I have a day job and a night job, and I do surveys for money between work tasks and read books on my phone. My night job I can pretty much do one handed while doing whatever on my phone. I don't care at all.
There is a concept that companies and managers need to wrap their stupid brains around. And that is that they are paying for your work not your time. So long as you complete the jobs and tasks they ask of you and need from you it shouldn't matter what the hell you're doing otherwise.
But they're dumb Boomer infected brains have been programmed to expect people to sit in cubicles and offices like drones and stare at computer screens all day long. All so rich CEOs can walk through the building and feel more impressive.
P.S. obviously this is referring to salaried jobs not hourly jobs.
Me as a programmer
Edit: Side note - companies I worked at that had dishwashers also expected employees to take turns emptying it / loading dishes others didn't put in it.
If people realized just how much overpaid goof off was going on in the business positions between Director of Whatever and CEO and Company President most workers would rip their bosses asunder and wear their heads as hats.
Do office workers actually work? No, but they make coffee, collaborate, and network.
Collaboration is actually useful. The phrase you're looking for is synergizing the cross-functional modalities.
Alright stop, collaborate and listen
While experiencing overwhelming anxiety that their boss is going to come around the corner and chew them out for not working.
Don't forget smoking.
Offices still have smokers, right? The nearly retired old lady who smokes two packs a day and is way too familiar with the young men?
I've not worked in an office in like a decade, so I don't know.
Yeah she's still there and her name is Pam. Really interesting lady when you get her talking.
Oh yeah theyre interesting and usually fun.
It's the bitch who doesn't smoke who hangs around trying to fish out rumours who's not a good time.
I once worked with a colleague within an academic setting for a EU wide project. We were understaffed. She constantly complained about how she works extra hours at home and on weekends. Well, my problem was she wouldn't let me work at work because she used at least 5 hours of the day to trash talk colleagues behind their back (including me when I was on sick leave or, probably, out to pee). Damn I wonder why she had to work that much after working hours.
Fuck this corporate propaganda.
Work from home and be happy.
Businesses during covid: we are seeing an all time high in productivity from our workers due to them working from home, this is amazing!
Businesses after covid: these people working from home are nothing but lazy leeches who probably arent even doing their job and are robbing us of our money, despite all our previous statements to the contrary and verifiable statistics counter to this narrative we're now pushing!
despite all our previous statements to the contrary and verifiable statistics counter to this narrative
This was by far the most frustrating part of the RTO push at my old company. The unofficial motto I was always told was "Show me the data", as it was basically impossible to push for any sort of decision without solid data to back it up, even if everyone in the group thought it was a good idea.
When RTO was announced and the big all people town hall was held, multiple group heads stood up and asked the execs why they were doing this, and what data they had to back it up. Literally, and I quote from one of the execs, "Well, we don't really have any, but we feel that people will be more productive, will be sharing more ideas and innovating when in the office."
Yes, the executive at a multi-billion dollar automotive company literally said with a straight face to thousands of engineers who'd been working almost entirely from home for the past 3 years "This decision is based on feels, not reality". Even better was since there was already an initial non-mandatory RTO push, some absolute chads even interrupted them to pull up hard data showing they had been tracking productivity since the RTO push, and their group members were significantly less productive on days they were in-office. Not only that, but they also showed there literally wasn't the office space to fit everyone. The exec just hand waved it away and said "I'm sure we have plenty of desks for everyone".
It's absolutely infuriating seeing these people getting paid millions, if not billions, to suck so hard at basically everything.
I worked at a different company that was big on "data driven decisions". They had tshirts made that literally said something like"data > feelings"
Before the pandemic, someone mentioned that studies were showing 4 day work weeks were effective and made people happier. The CEO just said "Yeah we're not doing that." Didn't read the article or the study. Just nah.
After the pandemic, they were making people go back into the office. Same energy.
So what I'm saying is management and leadership are often just gutfeel idiots. Expensive babies.
It was never about RTO or Productivity. It was all about getting people to quit to reduce the bottom line. Otherwise they would have had layoffs and would have looked bad and cost more money in severance. It's all just trying to save money.
If they're mad about people shopping while working from home I have bad news.
People shop from their phones while working at the job site too. I see several of my coworkers doing this frequently. Shit, I've done it.
Sure, we can't shower on site unless you're a firefighter or something, or have a gym at workplace, but still.
Employers need to reign in their power hungry bullshit. You don't own your employees, and if the work is getting done on time, you have nothing to complain about.
I work from home since 2012, so almost 12 years. The small company where I work started allowing remote working with me, and then many colleagues followed. Now we are 100% remote with one day a week in office. All my workmates and I know very well that we are far more productive when at home compared to when we are in office. My commit history also confirm this. I will never take in consideration another developer position if not allowed at least 80% of remote working.
I'm in the exact same position now, 80% from home. It's incredible.
100% wfh is hard to beat when looking at new positions. I'd have to at least double my income for me to go into the office
I'll absolutely turn off the camera and do laundry or make lunch during a Teams meeting. I'm still on the audio and participate. I'm just able to be productive at work AND at home simultaneously.
Right? Shocker, I'm able to listen to a thing actively and vocally contribute while doing something mindless like doing/folding laundry or making food because they use different parts of my brain.
The meat mech is capable of doing something physical with no thought, while engaging language processing for something else.
This was my experience as well but I found it a drag. My family loved me working from home, because I did more of the housework, great dinners on time, basically I did more so then they did less. Wildly productive overall, yes. Work took longer for me, less condensed, probably better work product that way, so sure everyone was getting better work from me but it was unbalanced. Husband and kids did less.
I don't have a commute really, 20 minute walk or 4 minute drive, which I know is unusual, but I do like working in the office and leaving my laptop there better. Work stays at work. It's not a strong preference, would do either but life more balanced for me with the office job.
I take much shorter lunch breaks, but longer naps. Much more comfortable on my couch than in my car like I used to have to do.
Amen. I work through lunch, honestly. I'm sitting at home at my computer, may as well eat something and work for the 30m or so. I have no reason not to, besides not working for the sake of not working.
This article can be applied the same way to Office workers. No they’re not working 100% of the time. What’s a problem is if they’re exceedingly unavailable or underperforming at their job and affecting others.
Shit, my desk used to be next to the kitchen. I made lunch and ran/emptied the dishwasher at the office and the bosses didn't whinge about how I spent my time. I also did a bunch of my ideation on the office couch.
But do the same things in my home and it's a problem? That tells me what the real issue is: the threat of agency.
My management prizes my ability to write complex things ina professional and easily digestible manner. However part of that process might look like I'm doing nothing at all, while I've got a half a draft written and I'm just sitting there for an hour and a half doing sudoku puzzles while what I've written vs what I need to say percolates in my brain. And yet I have to be cautious about it because some of them are convinced we work in a widget factory, where ass in seat and hands on keyboard equals work produced.
I stay at home to work on cool projects and I go to the office to get through mountains of boring administrative tasks and socialize. The whole time at work issue being discussed isn't as important as labour productivity.
I'm constantly preaching that "we don't work in a widget factory, there is only the work there is to do, and if it's all done, wtf are you complaining about? Asses in seats does not correlate to work completed. As long as we're available to complete tasks, you're getting what you're paying for."
Gotta love how the articles frames it. While at work people "kill time" with tik tok but at home they "goof off" folding laundry
When I used to work in office:
Now that I work from home:
Every time I get asked about going back into an office my response is "Why would you want me to be far less productive?"
So that we feel vindicated in actually owning your productive time. So that management can show they add value by watching you work.
You think that's bad, wait until you hear about the shareholders and landlords.
They dont even have to pretend to work to get paid.
And in the office there are people who literally hang out at the coffee machine for 30-60 minutes at a time, talking to everyone who comes by under the guise of "networking".
The media gotta stop reporting on the laundry like it's the equivalent of stealing from the company.
A good boss doesn't give a shit about whether the workers do other things during work time, as long as the work is done satisfactorily.
Sounds like they take micro breaks, which is not only healthy, but can help with productivity.
Is anyone complaining about this?
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