[plug] Test - No messages today

[Jonathan Young]

I'll make this the last reply I make because we are miles off topic with
no hope of making a Linux connection with this discussion...

However...

On 11/24/2005, "Adam Hewitt" <adam.h at staff.iinet.net.au> wrote:

>> Sure.  Plus extended lunch breaks and smokos, right?
>> 
>> Sometimes I suggest that staff bring in their mates or significant other
>> as well so that they can feel as little like they are actually working
>> as possible!
>> 
>> /sarc
>> 
>> I'm just kidding by the way... I'm not telling people what to do.
>> 
>> Phil put out a poll of sorts, so I was just answering and my work ethic
>> tends to be, if it's not work related... it gets done somewhere else!
>
>
>And it sounds like the moral of your office would be great!! Do you ban
>music as well? How about regular computer breaks to prevent RSI, or is
>that considered a misuse of company time?

The 'morale' is just fine with this approach in place.

Music is always playing.  That creates a mood and doesn't require any
input from people while they are working to make it continue to play.

Unlike ICQ which will pop up and re-rail your train of thought.

Breaks happen automatically.  We are an onsite service and are not in
front of our computers 9 to 5.  Plus people do take breaks for food,
drinks and to answer the phone so there is no RSI issue that I'm aware
of.

What I am against is taking all these normal breaks and then also doing
personal stuff in between your work.  When you take that computer break
for RSI, it shouldn't be 20% from using ICQ!

There is a difference between a happy, healthy work place and bringing
your personal projects to work.  So listening to music is in, coffee
breaks and discussion with your colleagues are in, but downloading music
and chatting to your friends on ICQ are not.  There is a line and it's
not that hard to figure out.

>
>I have worked for companies with these network-nazi type policies and
>found that not only does the moral decrease along with productivity, but
>the turnover increases.

And I could name some very good companies, with happy long-term staff who
still have these kind of guidelines in place and block SSH, ICQ and
other known ports on their firewall simply because they shouldn't be
needed. Where is the harm in that.

>If someone is abusing it, then punish that user

Why pick on one person?  If you make it policy that personal stuff
happens on personal time (outside of work or during lunch) then EVERYONE
knows where they stand, no exceptions.

>and allow the rest of the people to feel like they work to live, not
>live to work...in a prison none-the-less.

There are two sides to this and a big difference between expecting people
to come to work to work and having them feel like they are in a prison.

They can always go get a job where they are paid per sale, per item
completed or on comission. Funny how they would stop time-wasting if the
size of their pay packet depended on it!!

>
>Adam.
>
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