JUST realized? Where the fark do you work?

Be nice if I could just sit at this terminal, but no, standing only..

Don't forget to tug your forelock when the CEO speaks.

Alphax: Be nice if I could just sit at this terminal, but no, standing only..

I have the least ergonomic desk in the world, and no chair. My hands are bent at close to 90 degrees to type. And some sort of anti fatigue mat that isn't really.

CayceP: Alphax: Be nice if I could just sit at this terminal, but no, standing only..

I have the least ergonomic desk in the world, and no chair. My hands are bent at close to 90 degrees to type. And some sort of anti fatigue mat that isn't really.

Heh, you're also a night auditor, I remember from the nude armed woman thread.

We got new computers and printers installed last week while I was on vacation, and they do run much faster, but the screens are aimed at my belly button.. would be just right if we were allowed chairs, but that will never happen.

The other "new" trend is to hire temps instead of company employees. Then you can work them like dogs, not pay any benefits, and kick them out after 3-4 months and get a fresh batch. It works particularly well in PA because there is a "fire at will" policy: the employer does not have to give any reason for termination of employment.

Why does the phrase "the new normal" sound like "we give up"?

Its all fun and games until all those underpaid, burned out employee's start going postal.

Maybe the CEO could be nominated for one of those cost savings awards!

/obscure?

CayceP: JUST realized? Where the fark do you work?

THIS. Has subby been unemployed for the past 5-10 years?

CayceP: JUST realized? Where the fark do you work?

They just realized they can do it again despite doing it last year and the year before that. I think we're up to a factor of 16 now.

FredaDeStilleto: The other "new" trend is to hire temps instead of company employees. Then you can work them like dogs, not pay any benefits, and kick them out after 3-4 months and get a fresh batch. It works particularly well in PA because there is a "fire at will" policy: the employer does not have to give any reason for termination of employment.

Don't I know it. The other fun thing for companies to do, is to tease with temp-to-hire positions. So, you work your ass off to try to get that full time spot and burn through the work they needed done. Then they get to drop you sooner and save some money.

\3 years of temp jobs
\\better than not working

In every job I've had since I was a teen, I was told not to work so hard because I make my co-workers look lazy. You have to love team players.

If only there were some way downtrodden employees could come together and unite their small amounts of power to collectively demand some kind of improvement of work conditions...

Skail: If only there were some way downtrodden employees could come together and unite their small amounts of power to collectively demand some kind of improvement of work conditions...

Yeah, but I only know of a few employee-owned businesses around anymore.

pkellmey: Skail: If only there were some way downtrodden employees could come together and unite their small amounts of power to collectively demand some kind of improvement of work conditions...

Yeah, but I only know of a few employee-owned businesses around anymore.

I interviewed at an employee-owned business with >10000 employees yesterday.

/come on, call me back

subversive (new window) Intended or serving to subvert, especially intended to overthrow or undermine an established government: "Sex and creativity are often seen by dictators as subversive activities" (Erica Jong).

Some people never get "it" and there is a name for people like that, they are known as slaves. Are you one?

Good luck making that work long-term in a consumer economy.

Old enough to know better: Its all fun and games until all those underpaid, burned out employee's start going postal.

Or more likely they hoard all of their valuable skills and train no one, in preperation for the day when they're too burned out to work, so you can't fire them without screwing yourself.

/Welcome to how to ruin your company 101.

Skail: If only there were some way downtrodden employees could come together and unite their small amounts of power to collectively demand some kind of improvement of work conditions...

Don't worry, we've made laws banning the public congregation, association, or communication between more than 3 citizens at any time.

I think Pareto's principle is being felt in the corporate world.

80% of the work doesn't need to be done, so focus on the 20% that does.
Also, 80% of the work is done by 20% of the workforce.

That means the 50% of your remaining workforce could be twice as productive, provided you actually do ditch the unproductive 80% types.

Skail: If only there were some way downtrodden employees could come together and unite their small amounts of power to collectively demand some kind of improvement of work conditionscould be effectively recycled into saleable foodstuffs....

FTFY

wildcardjack: I think Pareto's principle is being felt in the corporate world.

80% of the work doesn't need to be done, so focus on the 20% that does.
Also, 80% of the work is done by 20% of the workforce.

That means the 50% of your remaining workforce could be twice as productive, provided you actually do ditch the unproductive 80% types.

You'll burn out the other ones. The productive 20% will look for employment elsewhere.

Companies just realized they don't need to hire new employees, just make the current ones do their goddamn jobs like they take them seriously.

FTFY.

The nice thing about high unemployment rates is it makes the people who still have jobs grateful to have them and more inclined to do what it takes to keep them. That's why productivity's up. Nobody else wants to be the next poor bastard to discover his marginal product is zero.

They don't call it a correction for nothing.

MikeyFuccon: Companies just realized they don't need to hire new employees, just make the current ones do their goddamn jobs like they take them seriously.

FTFY.

The nice thing about high unemployment rates is it makes the people who still have jobs grateful to have them and more inclined to do what it takes to keep them. That's why productivity's up. Nobody else wants to be the next poor bastard to discover his marginal product is zero.

They don't call it a correction for nothing.

Actually, we have been achieving "on paper" productivity two ways - one being the way you describe.
The other is simply cutting wages. As wages decline, the "productivity" (on paper) increases - even though no more is being produced, nor being produced more efficiently in terms of anything other than money.

onibara: Why does the phrase "the new normal" sound like "we give up"?

because it means exactly that

One thing I don't get about people is why they insist on punishing themselves just because they hate their jobs. What I mean is, they won't develop any problem-solving mindset, figuring any increase in efficiency will only help the boss. Well, it helps you too; to hell with the boss. If you find yourself doing something over and over, optimize the damn task. Sometimes this is as simple as moving a tool closer to where you always find yourself using it. You'd think this is common sense, but I'm constantly amazed at how some people have some sort of bizarre determination to use their heads as little as possible out of some perverse desire to stick it to the boss. The boss doesn't care as long as you can be forced to stay until the job's done.

Once you know how to do a job, you have the best idea how to improve the process, so it's not that hard to reduce the time taken on a task by 50% or more. While you're at it; learn how to do your job in a way that makes it easier on your co-workers; it'll make their lives easier AND they'll look good. (I know altruism is a foreign concept to a lot of Farkers, so here's the upside -- if you're the guy that makes their job easier, they'll be terrified of the thought of you being replaced. No, they won't take a bullet for you or give you so much as a thank-you or a stale bagel, but they won't actively bring you down, either.) When your hours start going down, of course your idiot boss Lumbergh figures he could just pile more work onto your head. So you look for another job. . . and here's where it pays off. No one in this climate wants to hire someone who can just do their job. Been working like a tireless cog? You're a dime a dozen. But if you've been constantly making improvements and can estimate how much time you've saved doing a given task, it's GREAT resume material. (To an extent, you can even break down a task into sub-tasks to make this number look more impressive. For example, if your job is assembling widgets and over time you've gotten 10% faster, not impressive. If was there some "attach part A to part G" task that you improved by 60%, put that down.) Doesn't really matter if you used the extra time you saved to just Fark around; time = money to businesses, so time savings gets employers salivating. An employee that can improve processes is worth a hundred burned-out temps. Which leads me to another point: Contrary to popular belief, automating your own job doesn't make you expendable. Instead, because you're the only person who knows how your system works, if anything, it's job security.

During interviews I explain (truthfully) that I'll stay 'til the job's done, but that also means if I get the job done quickly and properly, it's not a problem. I know some people are coached into basically saying they'll willingly work 20-hour days, but despite holding firm on no "work for the sake of work", my batting average on turning interviews into offers is about 40%. I think a big part of that is building up a resume where I didn't just work, I improved the work.

/ Not tryin' to be smug; I'm tryin' to help

MikeyFuccon:
The nice thing about high unemployment rates is it makes the people who still have jobs grateful to have them and more inclined to do what it takes to keep them. That's why productivity's up. Nobody else wants to be the next poor bastard to discover his marginal product is zero.

Call me a dirty hippie communist, but I don't think it's healthy for people, businesses or society to have a system where the status quo is "work terrified that you'll be fired and lose everything". Kooky thought, I know.

dragonchild: time = money to businesses, so time savings gets employers salivating. An employee that can improve processes is worth a hundred burned-out temps. Which leads me to another point: Contrary to popular belief, automating your own job doesn't make you expendable. Instead, because you're the only person who knows how your system works, if anything, it's job security.

This, however, I can agree with.

Welcome to permanent 9-10% (twice that in reality) unemployment. Keep the employees scared and the employers rich.

Dancin_In_Anson: Start your own business.

Good luck getting a loan.

When you're running a business and it's uncertain when things are going to get better, you don't really hire anyone new. That's just how it goes. Better than over hiring and getting the company in a bind. Plus, you have a job. Better to have too much to do than nothing.

jso2897: The other is simply cutting wages. As wages decline, the "productivity" (on paper) increases - even though no more is being produced, nor being produced more efficiently in terms of anything other than money.

Productivity isn't tied to wages. Otherwise it couldn't be compared to wages as a ratio.

tgregory: When you're running a business and it's uncertain when things are going to get better,

When you're running a business, is it ever "certain when things are going to get better?"

If you're interested in certainty, "running a business" probably shouldn't be your occupation.

MikeyFuccon: The nice thing about high unemployment rates is it makes the people who still have jobs grateful to have them and more inclined to do what it takes to keep them. That's why productivity's up. Nobody else wants to be the next poor bastard to discover his marginal product is zero.

Because there's nothing better than worker oppression for engendering good will and cooperation.

Dancin_In_Anson: Start your own business.

And yay, Anson's here to tell me start-up capital falls out of my ass.

MurphyMurphy: Skail: If only there were some way downtrodden employees could come together and unite their small amounts of power to collectively demand some kind of improvement of work conditions...

In my industry (telecom/isp & the like) if the force were to even hint at unionizing your whole operation will be shut down and moved somewhere else at the drop of a hat.

it seems the best alternative is a faux union. if you and ALL your coworkers are getting too much piled on them the best thing to do is silently agree to cut back on productivity.

if anyone above the techs and engineers know this is happening , your all screwed. so silently is the operative word here.

management screams and kicks and complains but at the end of the day, the deadline failures and productivity numbers fall on them.

sometimes when people push you have to push back. and when they are aggressive AND your employer the best way to push back is to be passively aggressive... (if that makes any sense at all)

all that said, i bust my ass as a worker bee, but sometimes you have to draw a line. no job is worth stressing out and making yourself unhealthy for



This. This is exactly what my wife's department does. There are only 3 of them, so it's easy to pull off. This is how they get to go home before the sun sets, and this is how they continue to get most weekends off. Their upper management fumes about it and tries to make them feel bad for not putting in 80 a week, but they're hard to replace. Being awesome at math has its perks.

HansensDisease: Don't forget to tug your forelock when the CEO speaks.

Ev'nin' squire!

snuff3r: CayceP: JUST realized? Where the fark do you work?

^^

I've been working twice as hard since I can remember.

I have been working 1/2 as hard since I can remember.

Tyrone Slothrop: Dancin_In_Anson: Start your own business.

Good luck getting a loan.

Starting your own business is almost always a biatch, and more often than not you will fail. I worked out of my basement for five years before I was able to get proper commercial office space and hire my first employee.

Let me tell you, it's a strange feeling to be earning less than your employee.

Goimir: Yeah, you can find another job doing exactly what you did at your last job. Spending the first week learning, the second week perfecting, the third week improving, and all subsequent weeks doing the work of 3 of your coworkers, at the same effort level they put in. You know what that gets you? 25¢/hr more than your coworkers, title of "lead man", and the expectation that you can do absolutely anything asked of you.

Yeah, I was putting in caveats left and right precisely because I know what that's like, and you missed them all. Well, it's hard to see daylight when your head's down.

Again, to hell with the boss. Yeah, if you're efficient they'll give you more work to do. That's how it works. And when I worked for a place that just didn't appreciate productivity, I eventually quit. The thing is, if you're more productive than average, after a while you either gain the power to say "no" or gain the marketability to find a better job. They're long-term options, but they're real options. The alternative -- working like a dog until laid off or the boss magically becomes nice -- is just as miserable in the short-term with no options at all.

If nothing else, it's the one part of your job you can control. As long as you're improving, you're not helpless. You can't be trapped if you're marketable. You can threaten to quit and if the boss is such a dumbass that s/he doesn't realize that 80% of the department's productivity is about to walk away on two feet, it's not a bluff -- you can quit, and get away with it. The broken loser who does the work half-assed doesn't have that option. Yet your recommendation is. . . to become the broken loser?? Hmm. . . trying to keep the competition down, eh?

Goimir: just learned a few months ago that after I quit my one job, corporate got rid of my department. The reason was that nobody could make it profitable once I was no longer there doing the work of at a rate of 266% of average.

If all else fails, there's always schadenfreude. Goes well with any drink.