Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If this post was real and not a troll, this was VERY inappropriate by the company you work for. I'm guessing every single person in this thread chiding the OP (real or not) for not "working" at work stares at their computer/paper/whatever they do nonstop from 8-5 (or whatever time they work) without as much as a conversation with another employee, checking the news/weather, taking a smoke break, paying a bill, texting their wife, setting up a dr's appointment etc.
Especially these days when many companies provide their workers with laptops and cell phones that receive company email and occasionally expect people to answer emails or take a client call etc. after hours or on weekends, they should never get upset at someone browsing the internet some at work *as long as they are getting their assignments done while meeting or exceeding quality requirements*. Not everyone works at the same pace either. I usually get all my work done PLUS some volunteer assignments (leading committees for example) PLUS creating extra software or spreadsheets to improve the efficiency of our work while still browsing some blogs, watching videos, reading the news etc. This is during the same time at work where other employees barely get their normal work done.
If anyone ever comments on my browsing history I would laugh out loud, literally.
Some older people I work with will work 'nonstop' (since the older generation seems to only focus on phones or internet browsing in terms of distraction) for 40 hours and only get the base amount of work done.
Depending on the industry, anyone who keeps a strict no cell phone, no headphones, & no internet browsing policy wouldn't even get my resume. That's essentially a hint that the employer is a dinosaur.
Last edited by Sunbather; 07-27-2014 at 11:23 AM..
Yes, I'm sure your personal anecdotes are a rock-solid observation that can be applied to anyone, everywhere.
Said the pot to the kettle. You've done nothing but disparage an entire generation based on your own "personal anecdotes". If you can't see the hypocrisy in that then it speak volumes of your intellect.
Last edited by Velvet Jones; 07-27-2014 at 11:09 AM..
Said the pot to the kettle. You've done nothing but disparage an entire generation based on your own "personal anecdotes". If you can't see the hypocrisy in that then it speak volumes of your intellect.
Its a safe bet that I know a helluva lot more about hiring millenials than you know about taking seven weeks of vacation a year.
But yeah. I cede the discussion to the great paragon of intellect that is the guy who said this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Velvet Jones
Now I know you're just another lying SoS troll. I've known a lot of business owners, none take a month off. Especially if they're a self declared control freak like yourself. You're another internet tough guy looking to get a rise out of people with your delusions of grandeur that exist only in your head. My guess is that not only do you have not a single employee, but that you are either retired or a some low level flunky. Please find someplace else to play fantasy.
Companies that are afraid of people not being complete robots and staring at their work nonstop are often the same companies who are slow to notice shift in markets and slow to adopt new time-saving technologies. I have found that employees at these companies are very "set" in their ways and older employees often do things the 'way they've always done them' even if it takes them more time.
Luckily my company has a good balance of younger and older folks, but I do find that the older folks who complain about the younger employees being on their phone or browsing the internet from time to time are the same people who expect the younger employees to "bail them out" and learn all of the new technology in addition to doing our normal jobs.
Some people in this thread 'know' millenials the same way some of us younger folk 'know' the older generations. Generalizing either is really hard to do accurately, but there is a lot of anecdotal evidence in my personal experience that people my age in industry are getting the same amount of work done in fewer hours than the older generations. So, while someone may look around and see these millenials messing with their phones or browsing the internet now and then, what's the issue if they are getting the same amount of work done in 35 hours + 5 hours of 'goof off' time as someone else is doing in 40 hours of straight work? If I'm utilizing excel, VBA, and access to get stuff done in 30 minutes that other people are still doing on paper or using very basic excel functions to complete the task in 1 hr, who cares if I spend 15 minutes catching up on the news?
I am 29 and my wife is 27 and each of us regularly gets more work done in a work week than older employees in equivalent positions at our company. And yes we both listen to music at work, keep up with our friends on our phones now and then, text or internal message each other, and even take a 20 minute walk together once a day!
Last edited by Sunbather; 07-27-2014 at 11:36 AM..
If I'm utilizing excel, VBA, and access to get stuff done in 30 minutes that other people are still doing on paper or using very basic excel functions to complete the task in 1 hr, who cares if I spend 15 minutes catching up on the news?
LOL.
If people are taking an hour to do a common-skill task that you do in 30 minutes, they're gone.
If you're taking 30 minutes to do that job and then taking 15 minutes browsing facebook, you're gone for the guy who spends that 45 minutes working.
Do you have any idea what the hiring climate is like out there for higher paying jobs? If I put out an ad tomorrow that says "Hiring: One guy to replace JamieCTA. Jamie was a pretty good worker but he spent 30 minutes on Excel and then another 15 on Facebook. I need someone who can work that whole 45 minutes doing work", do you realize how deluged with applications I will be, from people who don't care about what happens to you next, after you lose your job?
Sorry snowflake but unless you have a crazy esoteric and in-demand skill set where putting up with this garbage is just something an employer has to deal with because you bring so much to the table, being better then the old lady at Excel doesn't entitle you to a 50% "me time" bonus whenever you do a job. Finding someone to replace you who is significantly more productive is a matter 10 minutes time posting an ad, 48 hour soak and combing through the 300 resumes that come in from people who are more qualified than you and willing to not spend time 'browsing the news'.
Like I said earlier. Your kind who have employers willing to put up with this, never, ever quit that job because out there in the real world, you get kicked to the curb 3 times in 4 for that very behavior unless you're a superstar coder working for a funded startup who needs you.
Agreed. This is very disrespectful. The OP should have been taken aside privately by either HR or the manager to be told this not have it for everyone in the office to see.
Very tacky.
The guy dicks around on the company dime and THIS is disrespectful?
Ok.
American employees RULE!
If people are taking an hour to do a common-skill task that you do in 30 minutes, they're gone.
If you're taking 30 minutes to do that job and then taking 15 minutes browsing facebook, you're gone for the guy who spends that 45 minutes working.
Do you have any idea what the hiring climate is like out there for higher paying jobs? If I put out an ad tomorrow that says "Hiring: One guy to replace JamieCTA. Jamie was a pretty good worker but he spent 30 minutes on Excel and then another 15 on Facebook. I need someone who can work that whole 45 minutes", do you realize how deluged with applications I will be?
Sorry snowflake but unless you have a crazy esoteric and in-demand skill set where putting up with this garbage is just something an employer has to deal with, being better then the old lady at excel doesn't entitle you to a 50% "me time" bonus whenever you do a job and finding someone who is significantly more productive is a matter 10 minutes time, 48 hour soak and combing through the 300 resumes that come in.
I'm just glad I don't work for a stoneage employer like yourself.
I work for a Fortune 100 company and have improved the efficiency of my department measurably since being hired 7 years ago. I am currently assisting in managing a $200 million dollar project and have improved the efficiency of a particular critical area on this project by 10% in 2 weeks after it only progressed 39% in 3 months before I *volunteered to assist in improving production*. I'm passionate about my company and improving efficiency here. But I am also someone who mentally works in high-functioning spurts (not everyone works the same). Maybe 1 hr and then I need a 15 minute break to refresh and go at it again.
The reason that people my age don't like to work for stoneage managers like yourself is that they are so focused on the surface details on not the results. I would never be caught dead working for you for more than a few months anyway because you would not be utilizing my skill set and looking for proof of "hard work" in all the wrong areas. You come across as the kind of manager I hate who sees Joe Blow coming in early and leaving late 5 days a week as a better employee than me who gets more work done but it doesn't seem like im working "hard enough" because I'm not huffing and puffing at my desk 50 hours a week. That's an old school mentality for menial skill desk jobs.
I'm confident that I am in the 1% of performers for my job in my industry, especially in my age range so I'd probably give you a $1000 bonus on the way out if you were able to find someone in 10 minutes who is significantly more productive. You'd probably be a top 1% recruiter. A company our size gets thousands of resumes a week I imagine. If my managers thought that they could replace me with someone who would out perform me so easily, I wouldn't be here 7 years later getting promotions. I also get tasked with teaching myself new technology we are implementing and then in turn teaching a lot of employees (young and old) how to use it.
Guess what? I'm working at home today on a Sunday. I answer emails on my phone when needed on nights and weekends. I get my job done and then some which is why I am making 6 figures under 30. If I ever had a manager here who wanted to chide me because I spent 15 minutes on facebook or took a 20 minute walk with my wife during the day it would seriously be LOLable but luckily they aren't stuck in the '50s. Neither is Google, Exxon, Intel, Cisco, or other Fortune 100 companies. In today's business environment where, at an international company, you need to be available for work some outside of the 8-5 window, then the good employers also understand there is some 'down time' during the 8-5 window.
Please do not ever attempt to generalize the younger generations. It only comes off as ignorant.
PS you would be a pretty incompetent manager if you fired someone who does the same work in 30 minutes as someone else does in 45 just because they also spent 15 minutes on facebook. If anything, you give that person more work and pay them more if they are a high-performer.
As a manager (because yes I do also manage some people), this is my rule/observation for younger employees:
I give them a challenging amount of work. If they get that work done then I don't care if they spend a little time online or on their phones etc. The ones who don't get the work done get talked to about not getting the work done, not about being on their phones. It is their job to determine how they are going to meet my goals and the smart ones realize to cut back otherwise they are gone. Additionally, if I notice an employee on their phone or the internet a LOT but also getting their work done, that tells me that it is my job to give them MORE work because they are high-functioning. It's a good indicator to challenge them more. The good ones respond and are worthy of a pay raise for doing more work in less time.
Last edited by Sunbather; 07-27-2014 at 12:10 PM..
My personal phone use and internet policy is stated up front to all employees.
There will be no personal phone use on my time, if it's an "emergency phone call", you must notify management and you will be allowed to place/take the call. If you're constantly having "emergency phone calls", expect to be fired.
If at any time you're seen gazing into a phone, you get one warning. Two, fired.
All this is laid out very clearly pre-hire and you bet, particularly with millennials, a lot of them decide to withdraw their application for employment and spare us both the time once they're informed.
Cel phones are an astonishingly potent time-suck which is something I cannot afford to be paying for. I agree that maybe they handled the internet misuse issue a bit poorly but you're naive if you think that your behavior was acceptable. It isn't. Your entire generation needs to learn this lesson, perhaps this is why they're increasingly finding themselves unemployable.
I would not work for a company this strict and ridiculous.. Nobody will eventually.. I had a former supervisor who would get on me about checking my cell phone every 2 hours yet I would see her texting and taking personal calls on her cell phone in her office while I was working. Its a big reason why I left that job
What everyone is missing in this thread is that there should be a happy MIDDLE GROUND.. People should be working at work and be productive. But I dont see the harm if they are online surfing a few things for a few minutes a day during this. If the company makes a huge deal out of that.. The company is ridiculous. If someone is always on their phone texting or on their work computer surfing and NOT GETTING WORK DONE. They should be fired. Its always a cat and mouse game here with people pressing it both ways. Both extremes are poor.
I'm guessing employee satisfaction doesn't come in to play much with you're at. The truth is that employees are most efficient when they are happy to be doing the work and respect their employer, not when they feel threatened into "looking busy" at all times in fear of losing their jobs.
I'm a member of a pretty fantastic team who manages the systems infrastructure which runs the core of our large organization. My team does not have a set time to show up to work, leave work, or a set number of hours we work per week. We're simply expected to get the work done.
There are times when absolute focus is requires -- let's say, when there's an outage and business has halted. However, there are other times when it would be simply ridiculous to expect us to work non-stop for 8 hours a day. We take breaks, we go for walks, shop on Amazon, hit up the company gym, and we even occasionally break from work in the middle of the day to play some golf.
Does this mean work doesn't get done or that we're less efficient than a team who has zero morale, zero respect for the company, yet sits in front of the screen from start to finish? Heck no. We know our role, we know what's required, and we work to get it done. We work as a team, volunteer for tasks, and thoroughly enjoy being at work.
My stance on this scenario is that if the OP is in an environment where such a reaction is generated for merely surfing the web, then you're probably best suited to leave and find a company that better respects its employees.
I'd much rather work at a place like this.. I hope this is the way of the future
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
