A secretary who typed for fun or a caretaker who mopped floors for fun would actually probably be more productive than one who didn't. More specifically, someone who IMs all night long is probably a faster typing than someone who avoids a keyboard after clocking out.
What makes programmers special?
1) There are actually people who program for fun. If you looked for rockstar janitors who mopped floors for fun, you wouldn't find any.
2) There is an order of magnitude or two difference in the productivity of great programmers compared to average programmers, whereas a great janitor or secretary may be something like twice as productive as an average one. It's more important to find a good one.
3) Filtering good programmers is notoriously difficult - it's not like typing where you can give candidates a simple test and get a straightforward, quantitative answer, so every bit of information helps.
If you looked for rockstar janitors who mopped floors for fun, you wouldn't find any.
In honor of my late grandmother, who devoted about twenty years' worth of Saturdays to cleaning the floors and bathrooms of her local church -- for free -- I must inform you that this isn't true.
Whether or not she was maximally productive is quite a different question. A lot of ritual activity isn't especially intended to be productive.
What makes programmers special?
1) There are actually people who program for fun. If you looked for rockstar janitors who mopped floors for fun, you wouldn't find any.
2) There is an order of magnitude or two difference in the productivity of great programmers compared to average programmers, whereas a great janitor or secretary may be something like twice as productive as an average one. It's more important to find a good one.
3) Filtering good programmers is notoriously difficult - it's not like typing where you can give candidates a simple test and get a straightforward, quantitative answer, so every bit of information helps.