Anonymous wrote:
Sorry to bump an old thread but I just came across it and had to ask a question.

How on earth do businesses make a profit with this kind of employment model?

If an employee is getting paid for 8 hours, then they should be given the correct amount of work to keep them conformably productive for 8 hours. Maybe a high performer could get that done in 6-7 hours so they could either leave early on the clock or offered a bonus to get more work done during the remainder of their day. Under performers get put on a PIP and eventually fired.

If an employee is literally only doing 2/3 work a day and they are in a team of 8 who all also have the same productivity then the obvious course of action is to fire half of them. The workload only requires 4 people to complete.

Your assumption is that everyone is doing the exact same thing on a team and the work is interchangeable and that usually isnt the case. There can be natural downtime during projects while waiting for feedback from others or any number of things.

Some staff just stupid. My Head of HR and CEO are huge into face time and in person hours. They frown on remote even though allow it. Two day a week staff. One day a week managers.

You will get a zero bonus if you are not in the office at least 24 hours each week on average if staff. The boss will also get no bonus if team can’t show up and raises cut.

It is not about increased productivity. We have board members, regulators, customers, external Auditors etc and looks cray cray a CEO sitting alone on a room full of empty seats. Two days a week was max that would have some people in office.

That’s even worse then. The Tax payer, including Me, is pouring money down the drain by paying someone for 8 hours of daily work but only receiving 2 hours of work.

Anonymous wrote:
Sorry to bump an old thread but I just came across it and had to ask a question.

How on earth do businesses make a profit with this kind of employment model?

If an employee is getting paid for 8 hours, then they should be given the correct amount of work to keep them conformably productive for 8 hours. Maybe a high performer could get that done in 6-7 hours so they could either leave early on the clock or offered a bonus to get more work done during the remainder of their day. Under performers get put on a PIP and eventually fired.

If an employee is literally only doing 2/3 work a day and they are in a team of 8 who all also have the same productivity then the obvious course of action is to fire half of them. The workload only requires 4 people to complete.

Simple. OP doesn't work in a business. OP is a government employee.

Sorry to bump an old thread but I just came across it and had to ask a question.

How on earth do businesses make a profit with this kind of employment model?

If an employee is getting paid for 8 hours, then they should be given the correct amount of work to keep them conformably productive for 8 hours. Maybe a high performer could get that done in 6-7 hours so they could either leave early on the clock or offered a bonus to get more work done during the remainder of their day. Under performers get put on a PIP and eventually fired.

If an employee is literally only doing 2/3 work a day and they are in a team of 8 who all also have the same productivity then the obvious course of action is to fire half of them. The workload only requires 4 people to complete.

Many years ago before remote working was a big trend and working for a company that had absolutely no work from home options,and was big into face time, I was going through a terrible time in my life and marriage. I couldn’t focus at work and spent most of my time at work on blogs of women going through a divorce or bad marriages, infidelity or whatever. This is when all the bloggers were taking off before social media so lots of content to choose from.

I also would leave the office and go talk to my husband for like an hour working through things and had to clear my head and take lots of walks, etc.

Anyway, I worked about 2-3 hours a day and hit all my deadlines that year. I kept waiting to get called out but I couldn’t control myself- it was like an addiction.

I ended up getting a huge promotion and raise the end of that year. Go figure. Most “Knowledge Workers” are not paid for keyboard clicks - it’s about leverage relationships to get quick info and knowing how to put things together and keep things moving.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone else had this experience?

I spend at most, 2-3 hours per day working and the rest of the time listening to podcasts, making lists, planning travel for the year ahead, texting friends, reading the news, etc.

My productivity is down 90%. I’m slow walking EVERYTHING.

I work 9-5, take a 75 min lunch, and at least another 1-2 walks for 20-30 minutes each.

Plus I randomly chit chat with my one work friend at least 5 times a day.

I’m surprised nothing has happened. Nothing.

I’m starting to realize that my management has no idea what I do and they also don’t care. So long as my butt is in the seat, they are happy.

I guess I just thought that by working hard and producing a lot of deliverables every day, that I was a good employee. I was wrong.

Is anyone else having the same experience?

Your activity is not a sign that employers are doing something wrong, it is a sign that you lack integrity. If you feel to work only if your feet are put to the fire, well that is on you--you are cheating your employer. You should be held accountable by your conscience.

Op here. Well, there was zero holding of my feet to the fire when I WFH for almost 4 years and I crushed it for them then and was a top performer. If they are going to arbitrarily decide that I need to zoom people all over the world from their designated location, then I’m going to reclaim some of the time lost to commuting and getting ready by doing things for myself at work.

That's not how work works. You don't get credit for the commute and combing your hair and putting on pants. Grow up

It is now, Grandpa.

Anonymous wrote:Has anyone else had this experience?

I spend at most, 2-3 hours per day working and the rest of the time listening to podcasts, making lists, planning travel for the year ahead, texting friends, reading the news, etc.

My productivity is down 90%. I’m slow walking EVERYTHING.

I work 9-5, take a 75 min lunch, and at least another 1-2 walks for 20-30 minutes each.

Plus I randomly chit chat with my one work friend at least 5 times a day.

I’m surprised nothing has happened. Nothing.

I’m starting to realize that my management has no idea what I do and they also don’t care. So long as my butt is in the seat, they are happy.

I guess I just thought that by working hard and producing a lot of deliverables every day, that I was a good employee. I was wrong.

Is anyone else having the same experience?

Either you’re lying or exaggerating about not doing your work, or it will eventually catch up to you.

Lol at those trying to guilt OP about her morals. We all know at this point that there are essentially no more employers or bosses who have loyalty towards their employees, so there’s no reason to work hard unless you’re sure that it’s the only way to keep your job. And even then, you can job hop ahead of getting fired. I’ve essentially been doing that for the last 10 years. Not that I never work hard - I certainly have at times. But I’ve stopped playing the rat race. I take as many vacations each year as I can get away with. Come up with excuses to not go into the office. Do as little as possible. I still create profitability for my employers that exceeds my cost to them, often by a large amount. So absolutely no guilt! Life is short, I spent nearly two decades busting my rear, and I see no reason to keep doing it given that there’s absolutely no trust that I’ll be fairly treated regarding longevity, promotions, raises or bonuses, etc.

Many civil service managers, especially the few who are left who are in CSRS, focus on the time clock and time sheets, rather than output. When I was a Fed, I found this frustrating as I had higher output.

Troll post

Most of the RTO boosters are like this OP; they are the BS staff or management who like to run their mouths instead of doing work. And who want to see butts in seats.

With the exception of the commute, it's a lot easier to "work" (Christmas shop / listen to podcasts / apply for my next job) in the office and get next to nothing done.

Anonymous wrote:Please enlighten us— private sector or federal government worker?

Getting out your axe to grind?

I am guessing no one tracks productivity/deliverables because no one higher up the chain actually cares about the deliverables. Especially if you’re working for a government contractor. All the projects you worked so diligently on for the past four years were only good for adding to the bottom line.

Anonymous wrote:B/c most managers only care about "face time" and they don't do much themselves.

Put differently, many managers equate the ability to see you with doing work. If you’re seen, you’re working!