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Even "Taylorism" wasn't this bad...it at least tried to analyze conditions that were constraining worker productivity. This just measures output and manages by

by phonon 2y ago

Even "Taylorism" wasn't this bad...it at least tried to analyze conditions that were constraining worker productivity. This just measures output and manages by pressure and belittlement.

lmm 2y ago
> This just measures output Not even that. Measuring output makes a certain amount of sense. This just measures "looking busy". It's practically an admission that they don't care about actual production, they just enjoy hassling people.
- nimish 2y ago
  Bizarre that they would do this instead of trying to alleviate the toil of production instead. I just don't get it.
  - duxup 2y ago
    Improving processes is hard. Wagging your finger at that “bad” employee who is “slacking” that’s a very desirable and I think almost primal motivation for some folks….
  - timewizard 2y ago
    When market conditions give you a glut of "qualified" labor you can afford these practices. Then again these are precisely the types of "poverty studies" that have been done in India for years. "Should we fine nurses who are late to work? If so, how much?" "Should web publicly shame and harass office workers who leave early? If so, how much?" Lookin' at you, "Poverty Action Lab." This looks like the logical extension to what we've been putting this country through for years.
  - _DeadFred_ 2y ago
    Actual manufacturing engineers are expensive and tell you things that you don't want to hear/require work and long term thinking on management's part. Yelling at/blaming employees is instant gratification.
- tbrownaw 2y ago
  > This just measures "looking busy". It's practically an admission that they don't care about actual production, they just enjoy hassling people. I would tend to read that as saying more about the skill level (or lack thereof) of the people doing the measuring than about that their goals are
UltraSane 2y ago
This is like when I worked at UPS loading trucks over the summer and they recorded how many packages I scanned in 15 minute intervals and I was slower than they wanted. It sucked.

by phonon 2y ago

Even "Taylorism" wasn't this bad...it at least tried to analyze conditions that were constraining worker productivity. This just measures output and manages by pressure and belittlement.

lmm 2y ago

> This just measures output Not even that. Measuring output makes a certain amount of sense. This just measures "looking busy". It's practically an admission that they don't care about actual production, they just enjoy hassling people.

nimish 2y ago
Bizarre that they would do this instead of trying to alleviate the toil of production instead. I just don't get it.
- duxup 2y ago
  Improving processes is hard. Wagging your finger at that “bad” employee who is “slacking” that’s a very desirable and I think almost primal motivation for some folks….
- timewizard 2y ago
  When market conditions give you a glut of "qualified" labor you can afford these practices. Then again these are precisely the types of "poverty studies" that have been done in India for years. "Should we fine nurses who are late to work? If so, how much?" "Should web publicly shame and harass office workers who leave early? If so, how much?" Lookin' at you, "Poverty Action Lab." This looks like the logical extension to what we've been putting this country through for years.
- _DeadFred_ 2y ago
  Actual manufacturing engineers are expensive and tell you things that you don't want to hear/require work and long term thinking on management's part. Yelling at/blaming employees is instant gratification.
tbrownaw 2y ago
> This just measures "looking busy". It's practically an admission that they don't care about actual production, they just enjoy hassling people. I would tend to read that as saying more about the skill level (or lack thereof) of the people doing the measuring than about that their goals are

UltraSane 2y ago

This is like when I worked at UPS loading trucks over the summer and they recorded how many packages I scanned in 15 minute intervals and I was slower than they wanted. It sucked.