Even though I knew what to expect it was still nice to get that letter in the mail this evening when I got home. A letter from the Director of the Missouri Department of Conservation….informing me that I was going to be receiving a raise in my July 31st pay check. Welcome news for me and my family!
The letter reminded me of an earlier conversation that I had with an IT Staffer about worker productivity and giving the Org. what they are paying for. Our conversation took numerous twists and turns as you might expect, but what stuck out in my mind was our dialogue about hours worked and the expectations. Somehow the conversation got to the point the question was asked, “How many hours per day is the Org. paying you for?”…I think we both agreed they were paying for a minimum of eight, (more so I believe they are paying for “whatever it takes” but, that is another point). So we tried to pick that eight hours down a little in terms of what could be the “typical” day for an employee.
We painted a scenario similar to the following: Typical work hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Employee walks in the building door at 7:58 a.m., makes their way to their desk, flips on the light and fires up the workaholic (their PC). AS it is booting they put their water bottle somewhere and decide to get a cup of coffee while they wait for the PC. They see their neighbor on the way to the coffee machine, say the courtesy hello and ask how the evening went with the kids. All is well and head to the java machine…..someone else is pouring coffee so I’ll squeeze in a bathroom break so they can really be focused and productive when they get back to their desk. Down with the restroom visit, grab a cup of coffee---say hey to the CIO on the way by and head back to the work space. Sit down at the desk and FINALLY the PC is waiting for log on, they log on and PC loads profile, start-up programs etc. They are ready to rock and roll for Conservation. Bottom right of the flat panel monitor says the Atomic Time is 8: 12 a.m.
Employee begins checking email and replies to a few, they check a few of the RSS news feed relating to their work and then get settled into serious work. Phone rings, it’s the kid, “Can I go to the pool with Jason today,” …..Sure kid be careful, obey the lifeguard, lock your bicycle at the pool and wear sunscreen! OK, now where was I….OH yeah, work….(bottom right says it’s 8:44 a.m.). The “work” begins in earnest now…a solid 35 minutes is spent head down, focused and getting `er done. Hmmm, what’s that feeling in my lower abdomen?....they glance at the time keep bottom right---it says 9:19 a.m….sure could use that second cup of “joe” and a quick potty break…off they go… Along the way, Charlie is in his office…a quick, polite shout out to him and they take the change to stab him a little about how poorly “his” Cardinals are playing. A little kidding and they move on to the task at hand. Finish the body functions, grab a fresh hot cup of liquid caffeine and back to work. Bottom right says 9:28 a.m. MORE work now….
They notice a few folks walk by their office door….they look bottom right….man it’s 10:00 o’clock already!! Time for my morning smoke break with the gang. They grab their smokes and head outside to the “permitted area” and inhale some carcinogens. Someone comments well, we better get back in there before the “time nazi” says something about our taking too long a break---back inside now and they sit down at their desk….bottom right says 10:19, close enough to 15 they think.
More work!...really focused this time, gettin` things done now. A few phone calls later, more PC work and one visit from the boss and they notice DANG! It’s already 11:55…I better take a quick potty break so I can get to lunch. Off to lunch they go….the Grub and Chub is really busy today so it takes a little longer than they expected, but you know what, the work ain’t goin` anywhere, it’ll be there no matter what time I get back. They finish the grub and head back to work. Sit down and begin the afternoon of chores…bottom right now says 1:14 p.m.
A meeting at 1:30 in the Conference room so they check the email quickly and reply to a couple and figure I better get to the meeting…but better visit the restroom first, it may be a long meeting. Meetings over and man it was a time waster! Back to the desk at 2:45. Check email again, that dang stuff really piles up! Cool I got one from Bobby---a quick shout out to him and confirm the plans for Friday night. A crowd shuffles past the door again….MAN it’s break time!!! Great, I’m ready for some fresh air after that boring meeting. Out they go….that cancer stick sure tastes good. Some dialogue with the others present, mostly about how fast their darn grass is growing and time to head in. They contemplate… how come breaks go so fast and work time just drags by…..?
Down at their desk and right on time…bottom right says 3:17 p.m. Back to the grind….recheck email to see if Bobby has responded and they reply to some work stuff. More work now…. They notice the room has darkened somewhat, they look over their shoulder and notice it’s darker outside….they hear a distant rumble….WHAT? the channel 8 weather goddess didn’t say anything about rain…they left their windows cracked so the heat could escape. A quick check on weather.com and sure enough a band or red is on the way. They select “map in motion” to see how quickly the storm has been moving…coming fast and looks potent. ON the way out, they announce to their friends…”rain is coming, if you’re windows are down…better get out there!” Out to the car, windows up and back inside before one drop touches the ground…Success!! They think, I better call home and see if Jason is back from the pool. They call, yes he’s home, a short visit about the scuffle in the restroom at the pool and the conversation ends. Bottom right 4:22
Martha stops by the door at 4:27 on her way home (she works flex time). She pokes her head in and asks if I’ve heard about John….NO, they say, what happened. A quick story is told about the horrible seafood incident that put John on the disable list for two days. She heads out complaining about not having her umbrella. Bottom right 4:35 p.m.
Another check of the email…crap, the boss wants to meet tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. to discuss projects---they wanted to come in a little “late” tomorrow as tonight is the poker game and usually is a long night. Oh well, suck it up….it is work. Scan the email….COOL! Bobby has replied….they read it and send a quick note back….no problem they think…it’s rare I do any “personal” stuff. They look bottom right thinking…”it has to be close to 5, this has been a long day”…sure enough the time keeper says 4:53 p.m. I better get ready to go they think….a quick potty break before the ride home, grab my stuff out of the fridge and back to my desk to shut down that dang machine that makes me work….They select the shutdown command and the last flicker bottom right says 4:58 p.m. They grab the umbrella and get out the door thinking…”I’m a couple minutes behind…I hate the traffic right at 5…”
….and the day is done! They have put in their “8”
Perhaps you’ve drudged through this long “tale” and are thinking….that’s a bunch of …..baloney. That’s horribly exaggerated and not true. If that is true and you are giving the Org. what they are paying for…they there is no issue. If you are not, now is a good time to rededicate your efforts to the job.
While the story, may be fictional….I’ll offer that it happens and without much guilt or remorse from the employee. The staffer and I further surmised that there is a mindset with “some” employees that they feel this Org. owes them….for whatever reason. Taking small liberties like in the story above, really don’t matter…”it’s only a few minutes a day…” Well those minutes add up over the course of a week, month, year…lifetime!! I read an article several months ago about worker productivity---their data showed that the MOST an employer could hope for would be a 75% worker productivity rate. Even though they are paying for 100%.....
Minutes do count and the fact is that we are being paid for a solid 8 and then some….
TAFN
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3 comments:
"without much guilt or remorse from the employee". I think that our work lifestyle in America is to this point. There aren't as many people who actually have a good work ethic as there used to be. I think that this has happened because it has been "allowed" to happen by our employers. I'm not restricting this to the State of Missouri, although the state agencies seem to be worse than outside employers. It used to be that an employee was fired for "playing" when they were supposed to be working. When did our society become so lax about work? Or, when did our society become so lax about personal responsibility?
I should qualify what I said earlier. I, too, am as guilty as anyone of slacking on the job. I try very hard to NOT do it, and sometimes I fail. But, sometimes I succeed, too.
Susan, I agree with some of your points. One of the keys to "perception" of not being fully engaged is a workers output or past productivity. If there is any doubt in someones mind, typically from past experiences, about how focused and productuve one is...then the door is wide open to for additional criticism. I think the simple solution is just to prove your value day in and day out and those little breaks, personal errands...all fade away because your overall work output (value), is quite easy to recognize.
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