Fired For Playing Solitaire?
from the what-if-it-made-him-more-productive dept
Politicians love to find actions that make them look "tough" on something -- even if the end result actually has bad results. New York's Mayor Bloomberg seems to be going down this route, as he personally had a city employee fired after spotting Solitaire open on his computer. This really isn't a first for politicians. A year ago, a state senator in North Carolina looked to have Solitaire banned from government computers, claiming that it would save the government money. Apparently, both of these politicians think that if someone doesn't have Solitaire on their computers, they'd automatically be productive workers during the time that they were otherwise playing (rather than doing something else to waste time). Of course, studies have suggested that a quick game of Solitaire at work can often be good for worker productivity. It gives workers much needed breaks that make them more productive when they are working and makes them happier. However, none of that matters, apparently. Why not judge employees on the actual work they do, rather than on whether or not they take an occasional break?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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No Subject Given
So much so that doing a crap job, but being very visible is actually rewarded more than doing very good work but not being visible.
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The Problem Is....
I understand and agree with the productivity thing, but some employees will play solitaire for four hours a day.
Maybe if there were a timer integrated into the game so that it worked for X number of minutes per hour. Heck, it could even have reminders that it was time to play.
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Re: The Problem Is....
Personally I never understood how solitare can possible be enjoyable in the first place anyhow, it seems about as fun as jamming a spoon in your arse....
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Re: The Problem Is....
So true. In my company I see meetings with too many sidebars that have little to do with the topic at hand and casual hallway conversations that turn into 30min chat sessions as more time wasting than surfin' the 'net or playing solitaire (which my company saw fit to remove from all computers... thanks, that makes those business trip flights a REAL JOY!)
My thought is that if an employee is not performing their job, the manager should be involved enough to know it, and firm enough to crack down on poor performance. If the employee is fully performing their job, but is still wasting time on these things, then you haven't given the employee enough interesting stuff to keep them preoccupied throughout their day. Yeah, I know that smacks of Peter in Office Space getting promoted for doing nothing, but it's partly so funny because it's partly true - just exaggerated.
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Re: The Problem Is....
And you would know this HOW?
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Re: The Problem Is....
I get the same amount of work done every day. It doesn't matter if I take a long lunch, stretching it from 1.5 hours to 2, and 2 hours at the gym during work time. I still surf (alot) and get my work done. Granted, the majority of my work is reactionary but I still have planned tasks to do that get done in proper timeframes.
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Re: The Problem Is....
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No Subject Given
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Re: The Problem Is....
It dosent matter WHY they dont get thier work done,
It's not your problem.
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To much porn surfing going on? No need to fire anyone--give 'em some extra work.
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Re: No Subject Given
I'm a management major getting ready to graduate (well, in Dec. anyway). You said you were in consulting. What would you recommend to somebody trying to break into the field.
Thanks-
Dan
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Re: No Subject Given
Certainly true productivity is important but how do you plan on measuring it in the government sector?
Bottom line is that if government workers have time to play solitaire on taxpayer's money - that is one less government worker that we need to be supporting through our taxes.
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No Subject Given
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Re: No Subject Given
Back in the States, we had a couple of guys that would never answer the phone, and would sit and play solitare all day. I made it so the graphics weren't right for the cards, i.e. if it looked like an ace, it was a 2, and etc.
Now I work with a couple of guys that don't get their work done nearly as quickly as they could, and we all may end up unemployed as a result.
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Re: No Subject Given
"So much so that doing a crap job, but being very visible is actually rewarded more than doing very good work but not being visible."
This is beyond true. I've had jobs where I've been able to do absolutely nothing of value what-so-ever, and get raise after raise. On paper, it's a business, and productivity matters. But in the real world of people, it's all about perception. If people believe you to be working hard, then you ARE working hard. At least, you are in every reality but your own, and it doesn't get much better than that.
And the truth is, people don't perceive much in most white collar jobs, because there simply aren't good metrics. Laborers are usually tracked by the statistics of their labor (calls taken, bugs fixed, widgets welded, etc.), but those of us lucky enough to have more project-centric jobs (or even better, broad-goal-centric jobs as in several types of management positions), the only metric is other's perception, and that's when you have complete power to do only what you want to do, and craft a perception of doing whatever they're expecting you to do.
Disclaimer: Don't hurt America. Be a good doobie and work hard and all that. Yeah...
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No Subject Given
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Solitaire & other computer games
--
Violins and Musical Accessories
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Re: Solitaire & other computer games
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Re:: Solitairere && otherer computerer gameses
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how I waste time
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No Subject Given
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Re: No Subject Given
exactly, the employee deserves to be fired for being dumb enough to get caught.
Strict enforcement of company 'rules' breeds a smarter, more secretive employee who can get away with anything.
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Re: No Subject Given
Absolutely. The employee just becomes resentful of all the 'stupid' rules and circumvents them, if they are even somewhat clever. I'd do the same, and probably anyone here would.
It sounds like there really isn't much of a debate here; Employees need 'Office Space' - pun intended.
The fact is, if the supervisor is so aloof as to let an employee get by while wasting hours upon hours, it's the supervisor/manager's fault just as much as the employee's.
Additionaly, I completely agree with the idea that a worker [especially at a desk job a.k.a. sitting in front of a PC all day] should be judged only by their work output, regardless of when they leave or come in, take breaks, or anything of the sort, as long as the necessary level of professionalism is maintained.
I've worked at both ends of the spectrum...a company that was too relaxed to the point where people were literally wasting time and getting paid for it, to the opposite end, where ever single minute of the day was monitored and even if you had the runs your "Statistics" for that day would suck.
Neither one was perfect, but I think it depends on what the company really wants.
A) Creativity, Less error, long-time employees
or
B) Robotic repetition, plenty of errors, and a high turnover.
I also agree with the simple biological statements regarding attention span, etc...
If you don't allow someone to shift focus away from their task often enough, you will just end up with less efficient, stressed out workers.
And no, I'm not quite sure what a "spoon up the arse" feels like, but I'd imagine it would be rather painful and I'd probably quit that job the same day....
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Doing something else.....
My point is that, in our lunchtimes, we were not allowed to use the computers that we were forced to use the rest of the day. So we went out. And we came back late.
I persuaded an insightful manager to let us use the computers at lunchtime. We played Hearts. And we brought packed lunches instead of going out for a meal. We saved money, we had fun, we saved company time. And the four of us who liked playing Hearts were four of the first people out of 30 on that course to get decent jobs in the IT world.
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The average human...
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Re: The average human...
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No Subject Given
We don't know what that line is in this particular case.
What I DO think we can draw from this assumption is that the politicians don't know enough and were looking to make this sound important.
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Not in front of the boss
What this guy did that was really dumb is having the game open when the big boss is coming around. Everyone knows employees are going to do this kind of thing, but you don't flaunt it in front of the boss.
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Bean Counting
A person should be judged by the merits of their output, not by how many ticks elapsed while they sat facing a spreadsheet so that some yuk with a tie can move a bar on his gant chart and justify his own cubicle.
"One runs the risk of weeping a little, if one lets himself be tamed," said the fox.
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No Subject Given
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No Subject Given
p.s. play solitaire on mobil decive in the bathroom you won't get caught.
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Re: No Subject Given
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solitare firing
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No Subject Given
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Bloomberg
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Re: Fired For Playing Solitaire?
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More regulation = less work
At some Stream sites, managers allowed games - ping pong, foosball, et cetera. At other sites, nothing but work, you weren't supposed to leave for lunch, but you couldn't do anything but sit at a table and eat. They monitored bathroom time. The places without games had huge turnover. The turnover at the sites with games was still atrocious, (any company that has a standing "help wanted" ad in a major metro paper for years, while their business is contracting, has a problem in the human resources area), but less than at the other places.
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Re: More regulation = less work
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No Subject Given
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Bloomberg firing employee
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Re: Greg's post
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Fired For Playing Solitaire?
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Non-Issue
as a co-worker once said " does this sound like your problem, my problem or not a problem"
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No, You Should Get Fired for Something Good ...
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Absolutely!
Some employees were unable to use MSN at work (even if they chatted with colleagues).
You´re right... let´s measure the real productivity at work, rather than mere appearances!
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Six years service....
Bet the mayor spends more on lunches...
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No Subject Given
Politicians take a break too. A LOT OF THEM. Just because they suck at solitare doesn't mean they have to ban them (or fire anyone that's playing them) for good.
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OK: Remove the solitare.exe and not block websites
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Re: OK: Remove the solitare.exe and not block webs
They get their breaks mandated by law and that is all they get. This attitude that all work and no play is crap. The workers can play when they get home. Unfortunately in this touchy feely day, no-one understands what work ethic is anymore. You come to work early enough to get you shit together before your shift and then you can start working the minute you punch in (ON-TIME). You do your job to the absolute best of your ability (This means that you do EVERYTHING you are told to do without deviation and without missing your deadlines). If you feel that you have too much to do, then you are not managing your time effectively enough. If you have time to chit-chat with anyone, other than to clearify a task, to receive a new task, or to report completion of a task, then you are stealing from the company coffers. Any time spent on the job site not spent on work is theft and can be prosecuted. Not to mention misuse of timeclock and that is a terminable offense in most organizations.
So, while you are reading this at work, here is a helpful reminder: We are watching and you no longer have a job. I would tell you to pick up your last check, but since we are sueing you for all of the time you have stolen from us, you may still owe.
And, as always, Thank You for doing business with "local company", and have a great day.
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Re: OK: Remove the solitare.exe and not block webs
In any case, my point is, Work Smarter not Harder. Leave the backbreaking work for the cheaper developing countries. To excell in the US today you need to use your head. And companies need to understand that minds need breaks too. I take plenty of non-smoking breaks and thats exactly what I call them when my smoking manager asks.
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I need to
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Fired for playing solitaire
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wasted mind should be eliminated.
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newest jordan shoes
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nice..
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Richard Pierce, Sorry About That
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To be or not to be...
The world is made by the lowest commmon denominator and the majority. Lowest common denominator example, the kid who blows his hand off with a firework so the whole county bans fireworks, even though the rest play it safe and have a good time. The majority being everyone and anyone, if someones speaks up suddenly, they are the majority opinion cause everyone else had the good sense to mind there own business, but no someone had something to say something, whether its intelligent or not its and opinion so lets make a policy around it cause everyone is entitled to have there opinion respected... boo
I only respect things that make sense and come from good sense and common sense. Everything else is just office and classroom politics.
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Playing games
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