Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by cmn32480 on Saturday May 30 2015, @06:12PM   Printer-friendly
from the work-sucks dept.

The workplace is where people go to work. But much of the day is increasingly padded out with less productive activities, writes Peter Fleming. A few years ago a disturbing story appeared in the media that seemed to perfectly capture the contemporary experience of work and its ever increasing grip over our lives: "Man Dies at Office Desk - Nobody Notices for Five Days".

The case was unnerving for one reason mainly. People die all the time, but usually we notice. Are things so bad in the modern workplace that we can no longer tell the difference between the living and the dead? Of course, the story turned out to be a hoax. An urban myth.

As it happens, each country has its own variation that still fools people when they periodically appear. In the US the dead person is a publisher. In other countries, a management consultant.

Apart from getting the actual task done, which is typically completed in short bursts, there is also a good deal of messing about, chatting, paying the bills, surfing the net, daydreaming and waiting for the day to finish. Most importantly, much of our day is spent busy being busy rather than doing things that are socially useful.

A recent study of overworked management consultants in the US found that 35% employed in this occupation actually "faked" an 80-hour work week. For various reasons these individuals pretended to sacrifice themselves on the altar of work and still got everything done.

In this respect, entire occupations might be considered phoney - from life coaches to "atmosphere co-ordinators" (people hired to create a party vibe in bars) to "chief learning officers" in the corporate world. For those economists trying to figure out the present "productivity puzzle" in the UK, best start looking here.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32829232

[Source]: http://www.city.ac.uk/news/2015/may/why-do-people-waste-so-much-time-at-the-office


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by Gaaark on Saturday May 30 2015, @11:10PM

    by Gaaark (41) on Saturday May 30 2015, @11:10PM (#190246) Journal

    Bingo, bango, b0ng0... those who pretend to work and do what their supervisors want, will go uup witht the superivsors.

    those acutally doing the work will languish unless they get a manager who acutlly aappreciates the work they do.

    Shit rolls down hill.,.. the manager stands in the way and catches it or they shovel it down onto yuou...

    I'm glad my manager stands inthe way and let us do our job.

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 3, Funny) by Gaaark on Saturday May 30 2015, @11:12PM

    by Gaaark (41) on Saturday May 30 2015, @11:12PM (#190247) Journal

    Remember kids...don't drink and post.,

    Wowl I suck.

    --
    --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---