Lawndale Tribune
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Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - November 2, 2017
Career Pathways 180 Graduates
Thirty-six formerly incarcerated adults were proudly recognized on October 20 at the Inglewood One-Stop Business & Career Center for being the second group of parolees to graduate from the South Bay
Workforce Investment Board’s (SBWIB) week-long Career Pathways 180 Job Preparation Academy in cooperation with the Los Angeles Central Parole District. Photo credit: Tom Quintana
Survey Enables Employees to Reveal How Much They Loaf
By Rob McCarthy
technology, management or some other aspect
Once as a supervisor, I reprimanded a young
of the economy has gotten twice as good,”
customer-service rep in our office who was
Smith writes.
checking her smartphone every time I looked
He adds, “Even if slacking off is a bad
up from my desk. She was the niece of a
thing, it could be good news for technological
good friend, so I persuaded HR to hire her.
progress.”
My request seemed reasonable. However,
And, Smith writes, it would explain why the
it went over as well as a burp in church.
adoption of information systems technology
Another manager in the office later told me
in U.S. companies hasn’t lifted the nation’s
that I was wrong to single out one employee
productivity over the past 30 years. Why
for something everybody in the office was
productivity is flat has stumped economists.
doing. That our staff goofed off was hardly
The OfficeTeam’s examination of employee
a revelation. I just didn’t know how much
habits found that management underestimated
or exactly why--until now.
how much paid staff time is going towards
White collar employees admitted to a Bay
non-work activities. They guessed too low.
Area staffing firm that they goof off 10.5
Some the managers--39 percent--thought
hours a week. Millennial males say they’re
their people had too much work to complete.
the most bored in offices and cube farms.
Others acknowledged the lack of motivation
They estimate playing on their phones,
to get things done, saying that employees
surfing the Web and--get this--working on
didn’t feel challenged enough by assignments.
their unfinished novels almost 14 hours per
While slacking off is a year-round habit, office
workweek.
workers reported feeling the most bored in
The survey sample wasn’t huge, for what
the winter months.
it’s worth. The OfficeTeam, based in Menlo
What are these people doing instead of
Park, says that the researchers took responses
work? One answer: Trying to look interested
from 380 adult workers and 300-plus senior
and engaged at meetings. Employees admit
managers at companies with 20 or more staff.
to putting on appearances at their desks, too,
This project calls to mind screenwriter
in case their supervisors pop in unexpectedly.
Mike Judge’s 1999 film Office Space, about
“Let’s face it, the workday isn’t always filled
a group of restless tech workers. The leader
with excitement,” said Brandi Britton, district
of the group, named Peter, spends his day in
president for OfficeTeam. When it comes
a cubicle updating banking software ahead
of the Y2K changeover and watching out
for his boss who’s going to ask him to work
the weekend.
Another writer who has explored the topic
of slacking on the job is Bloomberg View
columnist Noah Smith. He penned an article
in May about “Goofing Off at Work Masking
Rising Productivity,” in which he opined that
companies are getting their money’s worth
even if today’s employees are shopping online
at their desks.
The average working American puts in
roughly a 34-hour workweek. Work output
is rising even though the actual effort is
declining, meaning “more is being done with
less,” according to Smith. That’s a good thing.
“If I can complete a task in two hours
that used to take four, and spend the extra
two hours surfing Twitter, it means that
down to it, the responsibility for staying busy
and not pushing back from work is on the
employees themselves, she said. Managers
and supervisors can check in with staff to
make sure they are engaged and staying on
track too.
The question, “What do you do when bored
in the office?” brought some garden-variety
answers. People said they browse the Internet,
check personal email and social media, pay
bills and talk to co-workers. A few talked
about waging “rubber band battles” and
working on an unfinished manuscript.
Britton with OfficeTeam offered some
career advice for those who find their work
dull and uninspiring. “When boredom strikes
or there’s a lull in activity, individuals should
proactively ask to help with projects that
challenge and interest them,” she said.
Some creative ways people say they dodge
work are:
• Learning a language
• Doing crossword puzzles
• Doodling
• Daydreaming
• Making videos
• Watching TV shows and movies
• Playing online games
Asking for extra work, cleaning their
desks, and looking for another job finished
near the bottom of the list. •
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Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Partly
Cloudy
67˚/59˚
Saturday
Partly
Cloudy
66˚/59˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
65˚/59˚
Employees say they talk to their co-workers when boredom strikes at the office.