Measurement

A supervisor was upset because an employee seemed to be putting in much less effort than the rest of the team. The supervisor carefully monitored the employee's arrivals and departures and concluded the employee was a sluggard and dodging work.  The job was not like that of a receptionist or front desk position in which being there at certain hours was essential. Instead, successful performance was mainly based on results.

A review of the quality and quantity of the results, however, revealed that "problem" employee's performance was far better than everyone else on the team; people the supervisor believed were fine employees. The others were working longer but certainly not smarter.

The supervisor's proposed disciplinary action was dropped.