How much time do you spend goofing off on the job? According to a recent poll, the average worker loafs almost two hours during the work day. The time wasters have changed a great deal in recent years. The old time wasters were things like socializing with co-workers, making personal calls, drinking coffee, looking busy when you were actually spaced out, arriving late, or leaving early. But the internet has added new and potent time wasters: returning personal emails, reading jokes and other junk e-mail, shopping via the web, and even applying for other jobs on-line.
Granted, employers assume a certain amount of loafing when setting an employee's pay. Most companies figure employees will waste about an hour a day while on the clock. And granted, sometimes squandering time gives us a break and makes us more productive in the long run.
But at some point, loafing on the job becomes theft.
I worked in a job like that once.
ReplyDeleteThen I became a commissioned salesman, and loafing cost me money.
For 28 years I have been a mailman, and believe me, 99 percent of us have no time to loaf at all. While we are given two ten minute breaks and 30 minutes for lunch, many, many times we cut these short or out completely.
We are constantly watched, measured, timed, walked (or driven) with. They make route changes constantly to squeeze every second out of you.
Their computer programs are designed and information is entered in such a way that it is a joke, but they use it to harass, cajole, intimidate, and threaten.
So, for all those who are stealing two hours per day, they should divide their pay by 6 hours instead of 8.
I enjoy reading your emails, and often share them on facebook.
David Cary.