I think many of us have said this before, I certainly have. It’s something that comes out when your boss asks you to do something beyond the scope of your work, or something that you could do to provide great benefit to the company but that’s just extra work which you’re not supposed to do anyway nor has anyone asked you to do it.
In my previous company, 3 interns came in from a local college and they were absolutely clueless and had no usable skillsets to help them on the job. Their college irresponsibly produced multimedia students with totally no exposure to any graphic editing software except ms. paint (but that’s another story). My manager took the liberty to specially train them in Corel Draw every (non-working) saturday in the office even though its not required of him. That gesture changed the lives of the interns forever and I’ve learned to respect him even more.
You can do the same, even small things. Should a janitor just do his job to just keep emptying the dustbins that overflow during the weekends, or take a step further to install another one nearby? Should you complain or embrace when you’re a photographer and your boss asks you to help edit videos?
Caveat : You have to be the one picking the value you want to create, not let it be thrust to you. Doing extra is useless if it affects the quality of your main job, or the quality of your life.
This is something that we all wish to see or be able to do. Should especially stick this to the people working in the gov sector. Hehe. Good one!
@isaac- haha thx a lot
Its really hard to do .. but i think its worth doing… 
I know some ppl who does that. Help improve others. Lotsa gewd deeds
@massy – i think everyone can do it, in their own way..
I think….doing that…people start to expect that…and take your goodness for granted. Here in Aus…it is…I am happy to do the good deed…but pay me for it! Being Malaysian, I lose out cuz (guess what!) I don’t know how to ask for that money when I do the extra and sooner than later I get piled with the extra work!
To me…it is a do or die situation! Don’t you think so?
I think it doesn’t matter where you are, linchpins (ppl who excel in their art) are rarely recognized and rewarded. However, linchpins will quickly move on to someplace where they are appreciated. It just means your employer don’t deserve having you around. Even though you aren’t paid for the current work you’re doing, you will soon outgrow your current position and move on to greater things with the experience you’ve gained.
its a really difficult matter to keep in balance, that’s why I believe its very important to pick something that’s one off and creates a great impact (because we all have limited time/resource), not take on another person’s job. Like the example I gave, it takes quite a lot of effort to get a new trash can installed, but its one off.. if u’re emptying the dustbin for the janitor.. i think u’re doing it wrong…
amen!
D