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It matters if they're getting paid by the hour. I used to work with someone who was good at handwaving away why his work was falling behind, and the management
by dx87 7y ago
It matters if they're getting paid by the hour. I used to work with someone who was good at handwaving away why his work was falling behind, and the management believed him. In reality, he was missing deadlines because he wasn't working a full 40 hour week. He'd record his commute as working hours because "he's an engineer, and thinking about his work is just as important as doing work", so he ended up working ~10 hours less per week than everyone else because he claimed that thinking about work on his commute counted as billable time.
- marcinzm 7y ago>I used to work with someone who was good at handwaving away why his work was falling behind, and the management believed him. So you had a management issue rather than a worker issue.
- sweeneyrod 7y agoBut how would the situation have been different if he'd been underperforming despite working the correct hours? I don't think that would change things, except that it might make it harder to fire him.
- filoleg 7y ago>"he's an engineer, and thinking about his work is just as important as doing work" Not meaning to devalue your comment, but this is such a bs excuse from him. Like, I definitely think about solutions to work-related problems outside of work way more times than just during my commute, and I bet that's the case for a lot of people that do any sort of intellectual work (all kinds of engineers, lawyers, researchers, accountants, etc.).
- Swenrekcah 7y agoRest assured that your lawyer will bill every second he spends even thinking about working on your case.
- jpindar 7y agoAnd that's one of the reasons those positions are often salaried.
- marcinzm 7y agoEngineers are generally salaried for this reason. Although, personally, I very much do count thinking about work problems as work hours no matter what time of the day it happens.
- ratww 7y agoIn practice, the only thing that really matters here is the phrase "his work was falling behind". And "he was missing deadlines". It doesn't matter if a worker is secretly pulling 80 hours or 10 hours a week instead of the 40 (apart from legal/contract issues). If he's doing less than agreed between the parties, that's a problem. If management bought his excuses, then there's a problem with management.