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> done at 5:00pm I really don't like this euphemism. When I read this I know what you mean[0] but I wish this meaning wasn't tied to leaving the office at 5pm.

by ecdavis 12y ago

> done at 5:00pm I really don't like this euphemism. When I read this I know what you mean[0] but I wish this meaning wasn't tied to leaving the office at 5pm. If someone's effective in their role, why should they be judged on what time they leave? This mentality doesn't encourage people to work harder or be better employees, it only encourages them to stay later. That eats into their free time every day, giving them less opportunity to relax and recharge and probably causing them to become less productive and more prone to burnout in the long run. If I can get my job done by 4pm every day then don't force me to sit at my desk until 6pm to keep up appearances. Either let me go home or help me fill my time by offering me more work (and if I'm highly productive, more compensation). [0] The person is only putting in the bare minimum effort, has no interest in personal development, is more interested in the paycheck than craftsmanship and professionalism, etc.

DarkIye 12y ago
In fact, Scott Adams proposed this in The Dilbert Future as a workplace scheme to improve productivity (he called it 'OA5'). He may be accurate in thinking it's up to the employer to destigmatise leaving 'early' (when in fact it's a symptom of an employee having a good work-life balance, providing his performance is sufficient). However, I've been thinking about this recently - the logical extreme is that you should never expect the employee to turn up at work at all, provided he performs his tasks (say via telecommuting). Perhaps employers mandate 'desk time' because it's important to have regular physical access to the employee, for example in order to talk to him? I can think of HR/legal reasons where a private in-person interview is needed in order to inform the employee of something or to retrieve information from him. Consequently, if an employee only came in to work for these meetings, it would be obvious when the employee was engaged in some sort of 'serious' communication with the company. It would make mass layoffs especially conspicuous and difficult for the company to hide.

by ecdavis 12y ago

DarkIye 12y ago

In fact, Scott Adams proposed this in The Dilbert Future as a workplace scheme to improve productivity (he called it 'OA5'). He may be accurate in thinking it's up to the employer to destigmatise leaving 'early' (when in fact it's a symptom of an employee having a good work-life balance, providing his performance is sufficient). However, I've been thinking about this recently - the logical extreme is that you should never expect the employee to turn up at work at all, provided he performs his tasks (say via telecommuting). Perhaps employers mandate 'desk time' because it's important to have regular physical access to the employee, for example in order to talk to him? I can think of HR/legal reasons where a private in-person interview is needed in order to inform the employee of something or to retrieve information from him. Consequently, if an employee only came in to work for these meetings, it would be obvious when the employee was engaged in some sort of 'serious' communication with the company. It would make mass layoffs especially conspicuous and difficult for the company to hide.