I bristle at rules. I usually see them as advisory. If they make sense, I follow them. If not, I tend to break them. No wonder I have a bachelor's degree in traffic school.
Of course, some people need the limits that rules provide, but for those who might welcome a nudge to defy authority when that’s just, I offer these examples of worthy if not heroic transgressions. As a career counselor, I’ve had particular opportunity to observe where rule-breaking is likely to succeed in the workplace. So I will confine my examples therein. Of course, rules cry out to be broken in all bailiwicks, from recreation to religion. I will leave to you the pleasant task of finding opportunities therein for civil disobedience.
Work rules ripe for breaking
Accounting for your time at work.It’s the height of micromanagement to require all employees to account for their time, whether they accomplish their work or not. For example, many corporations require their sales reps to weekly list all customers they contacted, what they did, and the result. That may be appropriate for poor performers, but for most people, it’s treating them like a child. As long as an adult produces the required results, they should be allowed to allocate time as they see fit. Requiring all employees to have the same accountability is not only demeaning, it contradicts society’s #1 axiom today: celebrate diversity. We all have different ways of working. One size does not fit all.
In applying for a job, send in your resume as required. A resume can mislead an employer: An applicant with a perfect resume crafted by a hired gun could turn out to be a disaster while a person with a Grand-Canyon-sized resume gap could be a star. So justice is served when a job applicant submits a resume only when it validly contributes to the employer’s decisionmaking. If not, substitute one or more of the following: Work samples, a business plan describing what you’d do if hired, a human letter describing your tortuous path toward concluding that this job could be a felicitous match between the employer’s needs and where you are at this point in your life. Of course, many employers will round-file your application for not sending your resume but you don’t want to work for that person anyway. You want to work for someone who embraces your valuing substance over form.
Striving for balance.In today’s era of yoga and family-friendly workplaces, balance is deified, with long hours pathologized as workaholic. But many contented and productive people have out-of-balance lives, working long hours and with a greater sense of mission than if they spent the extra hours hanging out at home. Of course, if you hate your job and are exhausted at 40 hours, work-life balance is probably wise. But if you’d rather spend hours 40 to 60 working, shouldn’t you consider breaking the work-life balance commandment?
And if you’re the boss
If you’re in charge, ask yourself whether you’ve imposed too many or too-rigid rules or are applying them too consistently. As Emerson wrote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.”
Marty Nemko's bio is in Wikipedia.