Goofing off at work

[bpaynter]

I have a desk job. I’m relatively new, and so they still haven’t pushed everything to me that they should. I am INCREDIBLY bored most day! (and have been all my life, because one problem is that I just work faster than most peopl). They took the internet away from us as a company, so I couldn’t goof off even if I wanted to. I tried to pray the rosary during lent (knowing, of course, that if I was interrupted I was to work!). But, seriously, I spend most of my time spacing out at my desk because there’s nothing to do.

Can you knit?

 

[yjelias]

I face the same issue, and I did discuss it with my boss, twice, in details, except he keeps pushing me aside telling me to wait…for what I don’t think he knows.
I am a senior engineer, and I see lots of work being done by other seniors, and I am the only one pushed to the side…I used the term isolated when I brought it up with him. He did acknowledge that I was “isolated” but didn’t offer any other incentives or new projects. I have a theory to why it is happening (personal/carrer competativeness), but my concerns are as follwos:
1- I will wait too long then there’s no real “work” to be done…and yes, ultimatly be laid off, whic is disastriuos in today’s economy with a large family.
2- The brunt of the work is being done right now by a small group of engineers very close to my boss, once it is done, I will be handed a finished product that I had no part in.

I was thinking of going over my bosses heads (manager & director), directly to my VP since we worked together in the past, but I worried that they will retaliate against me.

 

[jmcrae]

I face the same issue, and I did discuss it with my boss, twice, in details, except he keeps pushing me aside telling me to wait…for what I don’t think he knows.
I am a senior engineer, and I see lots of work being done by other seniors, and I am the only one pushed to the side…I used the term isolated when I brought it up with him. He did acknowledge that I was “isolated” but didn’t offer any other incentives or new projects. I have a theory to why it is happening (personal/carrer competativeness), but my concerns are as follwos:
1- I will wait too long then there’s no real “work” to be done…and yes, ultimatly be laid off, whic is disastriuos in today’s economy with a large family.
2- The brunt of the work is being done right now by a small group of engineers very close to my boss, once it is done, I will be handed a finished product that I had no part in.

I was thinking of going over my bosses heads (manager & director), directly to my VP since we worked together in the past, but I worried that they will retaliate against me.

There are a whole lot of flashing red warning lights there. If I were in your situation, I’d be updating my résumé, networking with other senior engineers in my local district, and making myself aware of job openings in competitor companies, quite honestly.

 

[CarrieH]

It depends on the expectations for your job, IMO. If there is a set amount of work to be done and it is finished, nobody else needs your help, and you are required to stay there through the end of your shift to answer phones or whatever, then I’d say you are OK to goof off during your down-time, as long as you can drop whatever goof-off activity you are doing and get busy with your job when the need arises. But I’d check with a supervisor and ask them if there are things you could be doing. Too much free time can lead them to think that they don’t need as much help, and then you could be out the door.

My last job was like that, with lots of down-time on slow nights. I was required to stay for the entire shift to answer the phone and deal with problems that came up. But it all evened out in the end, when we had really, really busy nights with barely enough down-time to eat our lunch in peace. So when we had these slow nights, I goofed off with a clean conscience.

 

[benedictus2]

Office hours is the company’s time. We are paid for it.

Unless there is absolutely nothing else to do, then goofing off is okay.

But in most companies, that is not likely.

Volunteer to help other people, do some cleaning up of your area or some other menial stuff.

I would be careful though with over helping.

At my first job I managed to automate a lot of task cutting down a job that took a whole day to a few key strokes completed in in a couple of hours at most. Bored, I decided to go to other departments and volunteered my services. Problem was when my department got busy again, I was still stuck with the jobs I had volunteered for.

So balance is the key.

 

[jack13]

How about if someone is ‘goofing off’ to the extent that they are spending hours of their time standing around chatting, surfing the web, etc. instead of working? If they know they are being asked to perform a task, but ignore it or push it off until later, just so they can chat or surf, does that count as sin? In the case I’m thinking of, we’re talking about spending 40 hours to do about 20 hours of actual work. It’s not due to inability. Just seems to be wrong to me.

 

[jmcrae]

How about if someone is ‘goofing off’ to the extent that they are spending hours of their time standing around chatting, surfing the web, etc. instead of working? If they know they are being asked to perform a task, but ignore it or push it off until later, just so they can chat or surf, does that count as sin? In the case I’m thinking of, we’re talking about spending 40 hours to do about 20 hours of actual work. It’s not due to inability. Just seems to be wrong to me.

Prioritize the work. Remember, you were hired to help your employer accomplish his goals. Get the work done first, do any extra work-related tasks (clean your machines, complete and file your paperwork, stock and tidy your work area, etc.) - then, if there is time left over, use your time chatting with co-workers and surfing the Internet to network with others who have the same work-related interests as yourself, and use the opportunity to improve your knowledge and skills. (ie: don’t just randomly surf the web, but go on sites that are related to the same kind of work that you do, and network with others in the same industry. Use it as a learning opportunity for your job.)

 

[Jermosh]

How about if someone is ‘goofing off’ to the extent that they are spending hours of their time standing around chatting, surfing the web, etc. instead of working? If they know they are being asked to perform a task, but ignore it or push it off until later, just so they can chat or surf, does that count as sin? In the case I’m thinking of, we’re talking about spending 40 hours to do about 20 hours of actual work. It’s not due to inability. Just seems to be wrong to me.

Depends on the job really. But it would be wrong to not do work when its required. Not all jobs are constant work loads, I have a 50/50 for the most part. Just a lot of waiting for things to break.

 

[CarrieH]

How about if someone is ‘goofing off’ to the extent that they are spending hours of their time standing around chatting, surfing the web, etc. instead of working? If they know they are being asked to perform a task, but ignore it or push it off until later, just so they can chat or surf, does that count as sin? In the case I’m thinking of, we’re talking about spending 40 hours to do about 20 hours of actual work. It’s not due to inability. Just seems to be wrong to me.

It is wrong **if **there is still work to be done and they are not doing it. If someone is being paid $20/hr to work, but is only working 4 hours out of the 8-hr. work day and goofing off the rest of the time, they are in essence stealing $80 from their boss because they are not doing that for which they are being paid.

But it depends on the job. I have some low-productivity days because there simply isn’t much work to be done, yet I have to stay there to babysit the phones, etc. It’s not the kind of job where you can work ahead; everything is time-sensitive. They are paying me for my availability and knowledge, not just for “piecework” of actual hands-on tasks. I am there, ready and willing to do hands-on work for the whole eight hours, but if they truly don’t have anything for me to do but answer the phones, it is not my fault and therefore not my sin if I’m not being very productive. But for another job I had in the past, there was always something to do – if you were caught up with your own duties, you were expected to help out your coworkers, and when everyone was caught up, there was prep work that could be done for the next batch of work. For that job, it would be a sin to goof off half the day. :twocents:

 

[PJM]

=Carmelite101;6553771]To what extent is goofing off at work sinful?

Example: I have one last project to do before there is nothing else for me to do. I can:

A: Take an excessive time doing the project until my shift is up. It doesn’t take me 2 hours to reconcile the daily company electronic transactions, but, with difficulty, I might be able to slow it down to that.

B: Take the normal 15 minutes to do the project, double check everything, and spend the rest of the time goofing off online.

The outcome will be the same either way. All of my work is finished.

A would make me want to rip my hair out and B is what I usually do.

If you’re job assignment is to do ONLY such and such and you are able to complete the task properly, quicker than many = NO SIN.

However:

**Luke 20: 21-25 ** "They asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, “Show me a coin. **Whose likeness and inscription has it?” They said, “Caesar’s.” He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” **

“Unearned” goof of time is a sin!

 

[KEVIN_WILCOX]

What to do about those who smoke outside contracted work breaks? They have regulatory breaks like the rest of us - smoking at morning tea, smoking at lunch and smoking at afternoon tea. Then they presume they are entitled to extra breaks because of their habit. It’s their choice - why should non-smokers be expected to tolerate it? Why should non-smokers be expected to support them in it? We receive the same pay, theoretically the same work conditions are contracted to, but the burdon of the work always seems to fall on the non-smokers who stay on duty. It shows disrespect for co-workers and arrogance on the part of the smoker, it’s akin to dereliction of duty. Non-smokers are getting exhausted feeling used and abused.

 

[jmcrae]

What to do about those who smoke outside contracted work breaks? They have regulatory breaks like the rest of us - smoking at morning tea, smoking at lunch and smoking at afternoon tea. Then they presume they are entitled to extra breaks because of their habit. It’s their choice - why should non-smokers be expected to tolerate it? Why should non-smokers be expected to support them in it? We receive the same pay, theoretically the same work conditions are contracted to, but the burdon of the work always seems to fall on the non-smokers who stay on duty. It shows disrespect for co-workers and arrogance on the part of the smoker, it’s akin to dereliction of duty. Non-smokers are getting exhausted feeling used and abused.

I’m surprised that the recent recession hasn’t rid most places of their smokers, or at least, of this habit of nipping out for a smoke every half hour. I would have thought that the more productive non-smokers would have been the only ones left.

In my own case, it’s been a long time since I’ve worked alongside a smoker - or at least, to know about it.