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Working a job where I moved from the blue collar grunts to the white collar office denizens, the difference even within the same company couldn't be starker. I
by Workaccount2 4y ago
Working a job where I moved from the blue collar grunts to the white collar office denizens, the difference even within the same company couldn't be starker.
In lab you had to use a clock, only got a 30 min lunch, all work was tracked including time per unit, weekly/monthly quotas, manager breathing down your neck, strict PTO rules (if you have to leave for 1 hour, you must submit for it), station checks, gear/equipment checks, workmanship checks. Basically the pinnacle of "cog in the machine" work.
Then once in the office, it basically became "you get a salary, do whatever you want as long as your work gets done". Hell it's not uncommon for me to go a week without even talking to my boss.
I will say though, working in the lab as a "cog", when you clock out you are done, and when you take off, others pick up your load. In the office you end up taking work home with you and taking off means having to work extra to get ahead. I kind of miss being able to wake up and say "I don't want to go to work day" and just call it in.
- jimmydddd 4y agoReminds me of when I used to work as an automation engineer at factories. We used to have to work late into the night during new process line installations. One time one of the assembly line workers who was assigned to help us out told me he felt sorry for me. When I asked why, he said no matter how the project was going, he was punching out at 3PM, was going to play a round of golf, have dinner, and not give work a second thought until the morning. In contrast, I was going to be there all night.
- DaiPlusPlus 4y ago> When I asked why, he said no matter how the project was going, he was punching out at 3PM, was going to play a round of golf, have dinner, and not give work a second thought until the morning. In contrast, I was going to be there all night. He sounds like someone who doesn't actually enjoy their job.
- akudha 4y agoMost people don’t particularly “enjoy” their jobs. They are there for a paycheck
- vuln 4y ago> He sounds like someone who doesn't actually enjoy their job. Not especially. He sounds like someone that has hobbies and a life outside of work. If anything he has a _healthy_ relationship with work.
- jakear 4y agoAh yes, the American “if you have hobbies, eat, separate work life from home, and don’t stay in the office all night — you must be unhappy” mindset.
- DaiPlusPlus 4y ago> Ah yes, the American... I'm British...
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- windows2020 4y agoComfort-seeker vs. comfort-destroyer https://www.earlytorise.com/spend-more-time-with-this-destructive-person/ https://www.earlytorise.com/spend-more-time-with-this-destru...
- JohnFen 4y ago> Then once in the office, it basically became "you get a salary, do whatever you want as long as your work gets done". In my opinion, this is the only ethical and sensible way to do it. You judge an employee by whether or not they're producing acceptable work in an acceptable amount of time. Nothing else should matter.
- InitialLastName 4y agoIf you are paying people to operate in the cogs in a machine style, there are other cogs depending on them. You need them performing at certain times and at a certain rate, or the assembly line breaks down. Different roles are judged on different work; "I pay you based on what you get done in an hour" is supportive of fundamentally different work than "I pay you based on what you get done in a year" or "I pay you based on how much you get done".
- JohnFen 4y agoThat isn't at odds with what I was saying. The only legitimate concern of an employer is that the employees are producing acceptable work at an acceptable speed. There's no need to engage in intrusive surveillance. If the employee isn't performing acceptably well, that shows in the work.
- CapstanRoller 4y ago[dead]