How to Fake A Hard Day at the Office

futileboy writes "There's a great article in the WSJ about how to use technology to avoid work, while giving the impression of working. At the bottom of the article is "A beginner's guide to making it look like you're working when you're not." "

Comments

Re:Not All That Funny

[dogfart]

There is a reason this was in the Wall Street Journal and not, say Wired. Should have been titled "How to Catch that Hi-Tech Slacker"

Or it might motivate bosses to use more sophisticated methods of employee surveillance, like actually walking around and seeing who is in the office!

Convincing people you do work

[stwrtpj]

Had this article come out about a year ago, I might have used some of these techniques just to prove to some people I was doing the work that I was legitimately doing.

On my present job, I am blessed with having a boss that allows me to set my own hours. I typically come in at the crack of dawn (6 AM), have lunch at my desk, and leave by 2:30PM. Combine this with needing only 5 hours of sleep a night and it gives me lots of free time (handy considering my wife and I have a new house with landscaping that is in awful shape, so I suppose "free time" is really a misnomer here :) ).

About a year ago, though, I had trouble with people from other groups thinking I wasn't working my 40 hours a week (which I was), and a whispering campaign started. My boss fortunately stood up for me, since she knows I work those hours, but I had to prove it to everyone else. So I got in the habit of answering all my email from the previous day the moment I got in at 6AM.

Finally one of the ones that I suspect complained about me tested me by coming in early and dropping in at my desk at 6:15 AM. Surprise, surprise, I was actually there like I said all along.

I haven't had any trouble since.

Re:Virtual Office?

[Smidge204]

it seems like an awful lot of "work" to not actually do any work.

It really is. But sometimes (and I speak form personal experience) there's just either really nothing to do, or you really want to avoid doing something for whatever reason, or you just want to buy some time... depends on the situation.

Once or twice I've deliberately created "network problems" (Very small office, doesn't effect the productivity of anyone else) - typically with the printers or something... then spend a good hour or so "fixing" it, since it happens to require standing next to the server and occasionally fiddling with the keyboard. (Which is out of sight from my boss, whom normally I sit right in front of all day long).

Sometimes you just need to escape, and since I don't smoke, cigarette breaks aren't an option :)
=Smidge=

Someone modded this as a troll? - Get a clue!

[Infonaut]

Zentec is dead on here. With all the bitching about moving IT jobs to India, now is not the time to be joking about this stuff. Seriously, the guys in India, Russia, et. al. are working their asses off for far less money than IT professionals make here. Do you think they are spending their time wondering how to goof off?

Maybe the person who modded Zentec as a troll is a high school or college kid laughing at how funny the story is, how clever you are, and how concerned all of us old fogies are about what's happening in IT.

But when real life jumps up and bites you in the ass, it's not so funny. I know a lot of people who are out of work right now and making very painful decisions about their future (i.e. - do I stay in IT or become a shoe salesman so I can keep up with mortgage payments).

A Little Trick...

[rbilli]

...I use is to set the timer in the BIOS to boot the computer at 0900. When I roll in around 0920 it looks like I've already arrived and I'm just away from my desk somewhere.

Re:As long as you fake smart, who cares?

[enkidu]

Hey you sound like my ideal boss. Actually, my current manager is pretty close to ideal. In work, I want three things from a manager:

1. Give me interesting, challenging work.
2. Give me honest feedback on how I'm doing.
3. Keep people (including my boss) from interfering with me and my work.

In return I do the following:

1. Do the work expected of me to the best of my ability.
2. Keep the boss informed as to what I'm doing and how it's going.
3. Give him honest feedback on him and my work.

I've given this mini-spiel at every interview I've had with whomever would be my immediate supervisor and I can get a good feel for what kind of company I'm interviewing at by their reaction.