Slashdot Mirror
Vive La Loafing!
theodp writes "Bonjour Paresse, an anti-corporation slacker manifesto whose title translates as 'Hello Laziness,' has become a national best seller in France and made a countercultural heroine of its author, who encourages workers to adopt her strategy of calculated loafing in response to dimming prospects of success for rank-and-file employees. Could a translation find a Silicon Valley audience?"
And of course on Slashdot, it's always those evil, awful old unions' faults. The Big Three in Detroit agreed to and signed off on every letter of those contracts, so wouldn't that make the management at least one half responsible for this supposed "audacious slacking"?
I should move to France, I'd be a model worker!
I'm either going to wait for the English translation, or learn French! I hope the book will make its way to these U.S. shores, but I'm sure The Man will do whatever he can to stop it. OMG! Such subversion! What? People shouldn't work their guts out at jobs they hate for less and less money with no hope of advancement? Damn! That could bring this whole country down. Can't have that! That's a danger to homeland security!
Seriously, has anyone noticed how our corporate overlords and their government stooges have been less and less subtle about suppressing expressions of dissent in the media? I'm going to see if this is on Amazon yet...
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
First, this article is about the French. The US economy is vastly different from the French one. Socialist policies (read: Democratic) in Europe have led to the business climate that this book discusses.
If your manager doesn't want to pay you more, and you think you are worth more, GO FIND ANOTHER JOB. If you really are good, you'll find one. If you can't find another job, you're probably not worth what you think you are. In the U.S. you have to take an active part in your career advancement. You have to advocate for yourself. You have to prove to your company that you provide value to them.
Think about it from management's standpoint. You are willing to take low pay and still work. What economic benefit is there for the company to voluntarily raise your salary, given that you are already working for the salary you have agreed to -- agreed to through your own inaction.
I've tripled my salary in 5 years by advocating for myself, so I speak from experience. Show your value. Be dependable. Be consistent. Demonstrate integrity.
And most importantly, have a nice day!
I remember working in a union printing shop in the late 80's. One lady spilled an entire drum of ink on the printing floor in sight of everyone, and calmly walked away saying "I don't have to clean it up, it's not in my job description."
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
"...but there is something to be said for smoothing out the distribution of wealth too..."
Perhaps you could elucidate instead of just state? I find most people who spout such nonsense to be the inferior workers. Perhaps you aren't, fine. Most seem to be.
"...you're still living the life of a dog, and consigning those around you (many of whom, admittedly, may have lesser talents than yourself) to the same circumstances."
How nice of you to tell him what his environment is like. Perhaps you have checked up and know, or are you just presuming he's lying?
Having seen organized labor first-hand, I disagree with your view. I find it to be no more than bullying to allow slackers to pay them dues.
"the role of labor is to realize labor's true worth as a unit."
Ideally, mayhap, but in the real world they don't do that.