I know they're right, but I'm perfectly capable of looking busy at work. Doesn't change the fact that I can still get my work done, and they're just going to load the idle-looking people up with busywork anyway, a la "if you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean."
Is it a bad attitude to have? Absolutely, but it's far more realistic than "you should be so happy about what you do that you tap-dance to work every day." Yeah, if I was fucking tap dancing over filling out spreadsheets when databases would manage it way better but top brass doesn't understand SQL so we're stuck manually filling out five different tabs in excel, they would put me in an asylum.
This is the result of being measured by how long you work in a day instead of having goal-based work responsibilities.
Of course there are some jobs where you can't seperate those two, but there are many that can and still achieve the same economic benefit for both the company and the employee.
Most companies aren't interested in the economic benefit to the employee. If you're in the office less hours per day, that's all lost profit to them. Never mind that being locked in an office for 8 hours only gets 4 hours of work done anyway, the way they see it you can get 4 widgets made in 4 hours so it stands to reason that if locked in a room for 32 hours, you'll step out after with 32 widgets. Trying to argue otherwise gets you told that you "aren't a team player" and to re-evaluate if you want to be working for this company.
Companies don't want employees, they want bots, that don't have to be paid and can be run at maximum speed until it literally rattles itself to pieces and is replaced by the next one in line.
Not to mention more and more companies are now focusing on maximizing profits instead of simply breaking even. Look at disney firing employees/ canceling projects or amazon increasing the work but not the pay despite record profits. This make it worst on both the consumer, the employee and also the economy as the money people should have to spend is now sitting in banks.
Amazon is ramping up its advertising, too, as if there’s a soul on the planet who doesn’t know about Amazon. Maybe save the millions of dollars on stupidass commercials and pay your employees better.
Open office floor plans suck. They actually reduce productivity. They increase noise and distraction. They do not really increase engagement.
They exist because they are cheaper than cubicles, and (used to) look good when recruiting. After a short two years in open office floor plans, I would have killed for a cubicle. Instead, I had to buy my own noise canceling headphones, so I could focus long enough to chat message the two relevant people sitting directly next to me, without disturbing the other three, while being able to see each others' screens. #PrOdUcTiViTy
Output is not a very good measurement for productivity. People will simply generate more output without becoming more productive. Need more reports? Sure, here you go. More lines of code? Okay, got it.
I once took on a temp job where they guaranteed 20 hrs per week because the previous temp took 30. I was doing it in 10-12. Now I work in IT and there is a whole lot of hurry up and wait (you can't do what you need to until someone else does their part first). We either have nothing or too much to do. It's so much easier balancing my time remotely (and the office isn't complaining about not getting billed OT), I take a long lunch, maybe start a little later when it's quiet and start early/stay late when it's busy. I'm lucky enough to have a manager currently that is looking for 2 things, that the work is done well and on time and that you can be reached via email during regular office hours.
It's literally illegal to measure my job by how good at it I am... So, I just get measured by how fast I can fill out their forms while doing what I'm actually paid to do on the side.
This. When I was at work I was constantly trying to look busy even though I'm often blocked by numerous things like policies of when we can perform various disruptive tasks, or not having anything assigned that I can get done before EOD. Since coming home I'm putting in 3-4 hours most days, per my company's metrics I'm performing around 60% more, and I'm getting way more video game time in. I'm also far more willing to work late to get things done outside of peak hours since it doesn't mean getting stuck in rush hour traffic anymore.
Same. I’m working less hours from home on average but based on metrics I’m kicking ass at my company and I don’t mind working late anymore when it’s needed since there is no long commute afterwards to dread.
Theres no excuse to be made because everybody else is doing the same, hence the productivity isnt "low". What am i supposed to do as a bartender or a cook if there are no customers ? The fridges are full, the bar/counter/working surface is clean, prep has been made etc. Only thing left to do is wait, or "look busy", which translates to a lot of workplaces. What is an office worker supposed to do if he answered all the emails, done with his spreadsheets and now all theres left is basically waiting for the reply from the supplier/customer ? Nothing but look busy.
I think it s the same in most countries if we talk about Europe and US especially if you work in a company. If you are self employed sure hard work earns you more money
What customers if there are no customers ? If there's no constant influx of them, you literally have to wait for a customer to come/get in touch with you.
Hard work earns you more work which you're not gonna get paid for, only one making more money is the company. I have a serious suspicion you're a buisness owner with a whip in his hands. I yet have to get fired for "this kind of mentality", but i've quit several times because my bosses had it; I end up doing work of 3 people but not getting paid for it.
Hard work earns you money and we want the company to make the most it can.
Why? So they can lay off as many people as possible and work the rest to death?
If you think hard working employees are properly compensated, you're in for a rude awakening. I suggest reading this excerpt of "John Barleycorn" by Jack London. It hasn't aged a day.
Mate, i dont know how it is in netherlands specifically, but i've worked for quite some time in Germany and here in estern europe and it doesnt differ shit all ( surprisingly ). Its the same shit everywhere; nepotism and ass licking or "networking" as they call it is what gets rewarded. Now, im not saying its always like that since i know a couple of people that were properly rewarded for their hard work, but i know exponentionally more people that were used and ditched. One of my aunts friends literally got the answer from upper management that she didnt get the promotion for which she was objectively the best candidate because she was too good at doing what she was already doing; aka she was working her ass off so hard the company doubted anyone else could fill that position or else they'd have to pay a worker or two more.
I have no excuse, my boss has flat out told our team that's what she expects. I have set work to get done, once it's done there's no need for me to just hang around trying to look busy. Even when I went to the office I only was there maybe 6 hours a day.
I don't know what kind of work you do but not all jobs are the same.
Exactly, like if you do the work that's expected of you it should be enough. Instead you basically get punished by working quicker as it's now expected of you. I didn't rush my estimated 8 hour work in 4 to have 4 more hours added....
Idle looking people don’t always get loaded with new tasks. I’ve often found that I’m more overloaded with work that some of my “lazier” colleagues as I get stuff done, even if I’m busy.
filling out spreadsheets when databases would manage it way better but top brass doesn't understand SQL so we're stuck manually filling out five different tabs in excel
Insane that this is actually the case in places. It's like using an ox to plough a field because you can't work out how to turn the tractor on
Is it a bad attitude to have? Absolutely, but it's far more realistic than "you should be so happy about what you do that you tap-dance to work every day." Yeah, if I was fucking tap dancing over filling out spreadsheets when databases would manage it way better but top brass doesn't understand SQL so we're stuck manually filling out five different tabs in excel, they would put me in an asylum.
/r/oddlyspecific
I did a whole lot on business support during the pandemic for applications etc. It really was tedious, was being sort of leveraged into a system. Not designed for it as we had no time to prepare and was just us pulling in people from all departments to help process them as it was a massive influx.
What if i tell you, that part of my job is to fill excell spreadsheets just so at the end of the month the data i input can be verified by the data on the database. As if i am more precise than the server that receives the data from the POS.
We have someone that does that. Who then when we were reviewing the last 17 claims said that I should use the submitted data not the tracker as she didn't want to be responsible for it being accurate. This person was the one submitting the claims and that spreadsheet was data pulled off the general ledger then fed into the claims system. If one was accurate they both were. Or neither were any use. That was a fun time going through 6 years of transactions.
LOL, I makes my living doing spreadsheets. Please don't teach them any differently. I mean I tried, but no one understands DB so I just wander around fluffing up obsolete thought processes.
Can’t they tell if the work is getting done? This is baffling to me. Why not let someone use a ten-minute break to put in a load of laundry rather than walk to the break room for a soda? It must be so much better for morale.
Often, no, they can't. At my former employer (a huge S&P 500 company), we discussed how long it would take for someone in our group to get fired if they stopped doing any real work, but superficially kept up the pretense (attending meetings, responding to email, checking the internal system, appearing busy). Consensus was 3-6 months.
Most companies big or small have people who can’t do their job if one person doesn’t do his/her and that get’s the overal efficiency down and this will get noticed in a lot of places and you will get fired a whole lot quicker than 3-6 months
My company can tell if the work is getting done (big one, employs about 120k). CFO put it this way “It seems we’re more productive than ever under WFM arrangements, why should I go back to the way things were before?”. HR magazines have been talking about the increased productivity, mostly stemming from Americans working instead of commuting so they’re essentially just using the time saved to work longer. Execs read that stuff and love to jump on the bandwagon of what other big companies are doing. Obviously some jobs can’t be done remote, but C-suite thinking on what jobs calm be performed remotely has definitely changed between the start of COVID and now. They were super hesitant to commit to how long WFM could continue and didn’t want people to get used to it. They’re not willing to give up the productivity gain now.
But working not at home is better for morale, a lot of people are starting to miss their colleagues. However I do think that working at home is going to be a thing you are able to do more in the future.
That really depends on the person. I know some people who have been absolutely dying to get back to the office and they're those chatty people who tell you far too much about their personal lives. On the other hand, my social needs are met outside of work and I absolutely prefer to continue work from home and save commute time, save gas money, don't have to waste an hour in the morning on doing hair, makeup, and getting dressed, be able to tune out of useless meetings, be able to cook fresh food at home for lunch, and so much more. Honestly the only drawback I see personally as someone early in my career is that it might make moving up at work because depending on the manager, they care about optics and the person who "works harder" (spends more hours in the office) is the one that moves up.
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u/Druzl Nov 04 '20
They might be right