'Looking' busy at Work

[JanetRose]

Some of my co-workers will watch you-tube videos or play computer games while at work.

I told one that the first time someone sees you playing a game while at work, there's a chance that they think that is all you do. She then asked me what should she do if there is nothing to do.

What do you all think?

 

[Gumbo4x4]

There is always something that needs doing, even when business is slow.

 

[MariDisney]

My first job in high school was at McDonalds. There was a saying there, "If you have time enough to lean, you have time enough to clean".

 

[MamaLema]

At my work, if they see that you are doing nothing, they will give you something to do. Either that or they will send you home.

 

[CocaColaGuy]

I agree that there is always something to do. Keep in mind that should layoffs ever occur, you will look much better than someone who is caught screwing off!

 

[LJSquishy]

Well, I'm a housewife now but when I was working in an office setting (leasing apartments) there was always plenty to do. My coworkers (and boss) would watch videos online also and I was shocked that people really do that. On slow days, I would end up organizing files, etc if there was nothing better to do.

My husband used to get incredibly bored at his job and would go around the office asking if anyone needed help with their stuff. They always took him up on his offer and he would be more productive. He's moved way up in his career now and I have no doubt it's because he's such a hard worker. They see his value.

 

[Bounce_Tigger]

I do some clinical hours at a place where many websites, including Facebook, youtube, etc are blocked (moreso so that the clients don't access them, not for the staff)

My direct supervisor doesn't have a lot of down time, but when she does, she'll do things like review training modules, organize files, create new initiatives, and stay ahead of her workload. It makes me wonder how much extra stuff everyone would get done if every worksite blocked those sites.

 

[NMAmy]

Six months ago, another full-time job combined with my job and they just took away another one of my part-time staff. I wish I had time to not be going full throttle every day. I'm just grateful when I can occasionally break away to go to the restroom.

 

[Christine]

My office is extremely busy; however, there are some times when we actually have a small amount of downtime. Also, the work we do can sometimes really get to you. I don't care if my employees take a quick Facebook "break" or they take a quick read on a message board or something like that. Sometimes it's enough to kind of refresh them to get going on the "treadmill" of tasks.

What I don't like is to see a trend of constantly being on the internet. I've told my staff that if they are truly bored and feel that's all they have left to do, then come to me and I will see if I have something. If I don't even have anything then I don't mind if they goof off a bit. But, this is rare.

I do think an employee should ask their supervisor if they have nothing to do.

Alternatively, I've personally never been good at "looking busy" when I'm not.

 

[MIGrandma]

When I worked as a church secretary they wanted me there 5 mornings a week, 9 - 12. I was responsible for doing the weekly bulletin, the monthly newsletter, answering the phone, dealing with the food pantry, and a few other general duties.

Many times there was "nothing to do." They had a weekly cleaning crew so there wasn't any cleaning to do. I remember organizing the cabinets, rearranging the office furniture, etc. but there were some times where I was literally twiddling my thumbs. I remember discussing it with the church pastor, and he said if I brought a book with me he didn't care if I read it when there was literally nothing to be done. I could also write a letter if I chose to, he didn't care. I felt bad when there was nothing to do, but they wanted me there if only to answer the phone.

Then when I worked as a waitress there was always cleaning to do when we had time, even just wiping down the menus, pulling everything out from beneath the counters and wiping them down, washing windows, etc. Usually this stuff happened during the slow times between breakfast and lunch, and lunch and dinner. The hours I worked were generally quite busy so we didn't have much, if any, time for cleaning.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Clean my desk/office area, including phone, computer keyboard, etc.
Clean up/organize computer files.
Make copies of any forms/etc that are getting low.
Check and clean calendar.

Once all that is done and no one else needs help, I'll make lists of things I need to do at home, make menus, etc.

 

[denisem]

If things were slow, I'd cross-train helping in other depts. with my supervisor's approval. Came in handy later when layoffs began, even though it was ultimately more stressful/hectic picking up slack. In today's economy, I'd suggest doing the same.

They eventually closed the office and I was one of the last to go.

 

[daisyduck123]

Elementary school teacher here...

In 20 years, I have never, ever been NOT busy. I even eat my lunch everyday while standing in line, waiting to use the copier.

Our principal would never say anything to anyone if it looked like he/she had a free moment to themselves. She'd just let her enjoy it.

 

[NoSoup4U]

When I have downtime at work, I too will go on youtube, facebook, and disboards! Lol. And I will clean up my desk. Thats about it.

 

[SLP958]

Clean my desk/office area, including phone, computer keyboard, etc.
Clean up/organize computer files.
Make copies of any forms/etc that are getting low.
Check and clean calendar.

Once all that is done and no one else needs help, I'll make lists of things I need to do at home, make menus, etc.

This is exactly what I do during rare downtime!

 

[tvguy]

Some of my co-workers will watch you-tube videos or play computer games while at work.

I told one that the first time someone sees you playing a game while at work, there's a chance that they think that is all you do. She then asked me what should she do if there is nothing to do.

What do you all think?

We laid off one third of our staff in 2008, and while a few positions have returned, most everyone is doing 2 jobs now. However, full disclosure, looking at YouTube videos is part of my job.

 

[superme80]

I had a job where I had a ton of down time. I worked in a call center. I could have my entire job done by 1 pm or 2 pm. I was always getting reprimanded for assisting other departments, so I stopped asking for more work to do.

 

[tasha99]

I don't know--it sort of depends on the job and how hard your skills are to replace. For an office worker, I'd say there probably are things that could be done. For an IT worker, I think there is often time when there is nothing to do but wait until a problem arises.

Where I work, there is no downtime. I'm contracted for 37.5 hours, but it really takes 45-50 hours a week to complete the work. If I goof off (and I will admit to occasionally going to someone's office for a chat to take a break), I end up putting in more after hours time. In fact, I'm procrastinating now. I have to go in to my office for about 6 hours today to be ready for Monday morning.

 

[sasywtch]

My office is down a third of staff so no real down time but sometimes we do need to do something "not work" to save our sanity. We get yelled at a lot on the phones and that can really weigh on you.

The people in our office who have all their work done (because they don't have the workload the three of me/my coworkers do), don't offer to help. They watch you tube, facebook etc.

When I get the "I need a break" mood, I clean my emails out, clean my desk and occassionally look at the opening page of my MSN to see what the current news is.

 

[aprilgail2]

Where I work we will read a newspaper, read a book, hang out and chat with each other, play on our phones. I bring my ipad so I can play on that when I have nothing to do.