Tuesday, July 12, 2005
"Show Me" How to be a Slacker
A new study reveals some startling facts--Americans screw off at work far more than was previously thought by HR professionals! I guess none of the folks doing the study must have email, web, or solitaire on their workstations like the rest of us. Truth be told, I've yet to be convinced that this is a bad thing really. I mean, the work we're capable of with just basic Microsoft Office technology is staggering. Think about making a flyer, or a calendar, or even cc'ing a memo in the pre-computer days. I spent weeks making a calendar in industrial design shop class in High School. I could bang out an even better product in half an hour using my computer.
But where has all this technology gotten the average worker? Our productivity has soared but wages have remained pretty stagnant over the last few decades. In essence, we do an awful lot more for similar or lesser pay. Put another way, if we do scads more work in the day than was possible in 1980, and were paid based on the productivity standards of that day, we'd all be really, really rich. But we're not. So human ingenuity comes into play and we learn to play through parts of each and everyday.
As alluded to in the title, it turns out that this study found citizens of Missouri waste more time at work than those of any other state. Though, to be honest, it was pretty close. As expected, the Governor and other reps of the 'Show Me' state got huffy.
"Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt was a little prickly. "Nobody can
match the work ethic of Missourians. This survey, which our busiest
citizens did not want to waste their time on, cannot undermine decades
of experience. Missouri workers are among the most productive in the
world."
I do love how whenever this sort of 'news' hits the local pols and pundits feel a need to get all indignant about it. They go insane picking over the study's methodology with a fine-toothed comb. C'mon, I'm sure not all Missourians are that expert at slacking. But hey, with an average of 3 hours and 12 minutes squandered a day, that's pretty impressive. I think Governor Blunt should take the high road here, the possibilities are boundless. "Missourians--we're smarter than you." or "Missouri--We get more done by 1 pm than you. . . and then we just sit around the rest of the day."
I mean lets make some lemonade here, Mr. Governor. And then while its chilling you can bid for some crap on eBay or check out some internet porn or something. That way you'd be a shoe-in for re-election--a True Man of His People
A new study reveals some startling facts--Americans screw off at work far more than was previously thought by HR professionals! I guess none of the folks doing the study must have email, web, or solitaire on their workstations like the rest of us. Truth be told, I've yet to be convinced that this is a bad thing really. I mean, the work we're capable of with just basic Microsoft Office technology is staggering. Think about making a flyer, or a calendar, or even cc'ing a memo in the pre-computer days. I spent weeks making a calendar in industrial design shop class in High School. I could bang out an even better product in half an hour using my computer.
But where has all this technology gotten the average worker? Our productivity has soared but wages have remained pretty stagnant over the last few decades. In essence, we do an awful lot more for similar or lesser pay. Put another way, if we do scads more work in the day than was possible in 1980, and were paid based on the productivity standards of that day, we'd all be really, really rich. But we're not. So human ingenuity comes into play and we learn to play through parts of each and everyday.
As alluded to in the title, it turns out that this study found citizens of Missouri waste more time at work than those of any other state. Though, to be honest, it was pretty close. As expected, the Governor and other reps of the 'Show Me' state got huffy.
"Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt was a little prickly. "Nobody can
match the work ethic of Missourians. This survey, which our busiest
citizens did not want to waste their time on, cannot undermine decades
of experience. Missouri workers are among the most productive in the
world."
I do love how whenever this sort of 'news' hits the local pols and pundits feel a need to get all indignant about it. They go insane picking over the study's methodology with a fine-toothed comb. C'mon, I'm sure not all Missourians are that expert at slacking. But hey, with an average of 3 hours and 12 minutes squandered a day, that's pretty impressive. I think Governor Blunt should take the high road here, the possibilities are boundless. "Missourians--we're smarter than you." or "Missouri--We get more done by 1 pm than you. . . and then we just sit around the rest of the day."
I mean lets make some lemonade here, Mr. Governor. And then while its chilling you can bid for some crap on eBay or check out some internet porn or something. That way you'd be a shoe-in for re-election--a True Man of His People
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