
Just go home - neilpeel
https://medium.com/life-hacks/76632b62eb0b
======
ruswick
This, like most pieces on Medium, is just an extended platitude. Having
complete flexibility and ample free time is great. You know what else is
great? Stable employment with a benefits. There's a reason that most people
continue to operate within the established hierarchy instead of becoming self-
employed: companies afford certain things to their employees that freelances
do not receive.

Working for yousef can be difficult and fruitless. Working for a company can
be more lucrative, more secure, and easier. The latter are worth being bored
with your job to many people.

~~~
jader201
I see this argument often, and this is how I generally respond.

Benefits can almost always be compensated for with more money. 401(k), heath,
dental, paid time off -- all of these things are just another form of
compensation. If you make enough money to make up for what you would otherwise
lose, then these are no longer a reason to stay with a company.

Security, on the other hand, is a bit different, but in a way can still be
compensated for with money. For example, think about how long it would take
you to get a job after your own company goes under. 6 months? A year? If
you're able to stash enough of a buffer to cover you during that period, then
you have just established security.

Of course, I realize it's easier said than done to earn enough of an income on
the side to make up for the monetary value of all of these benefits/security.
But my point is, comparing benefits, security, and compensation as separate
things overcomplicates weighing working for a company vs. working for yourself
-- it all (for the most part) boils down to money.

~~~
paul_f
There are plenty of companies that focus on ROWE (results oriented work
environment). You can have a stable job and not have to pretend to work. And
if you have to do busy work in the office when you're unproductive as a show,
leave and find a place that values results.

~~~
cookiecaper
There is some value in having employees and colleagues available in the same
physical space within the same general timespan. I understand why entities
don't want you to just "pack up and go home" whenever you get bored. Part of
the reason they pay you is so that you'll be there when you're needed, within
the pre-agreed timeframes. "ROWE" is all well and good, but it's not mutually
exclusive with a work environment that expects, in general, to be able to
swing by your desk during the day and talk to you.

------
hpaavola
Doing nothing is the most draining task there is. Not only it is really boring
and mind numbing, but you pretty much have to pretend like you are doing
something, which is way harder than actually doing it.

But since corporations pay by the hours you sit at your desk, and require you
to sit at your desk, there arent too many options.

I've done 80% work weeks for about 6 years now, so I actually can afford to
leave right after lunch if I feel like it since I don't have to pull some
crazy 14 hour day next day.

~~~
neilpeel
This is SO true. It is incredibly boring to do nothing, and like you say, it
can be harder work to do nothing!! I wish corporations would wise up to it,
and allow their employees more responsibility and flexibility but I doubt it
will happen any time soon.

~~~
noptic
Worst job ever: During a semester break (vacation?) I worked in a factory
which produced wax powder.

A machine filled packages with various powders and them on a convoy belt.

If a package was to heayvy or to light another mechanism pushed of the belt
intpo a little bay where I was postioned.

My job was correcting the packages weight and putting it back on the belt.

I often had shifts where I got 3(!) package in 8 hours and I had no other
dutys, and I could not bring a book or anything else to kill the time.

------
jackgavigan
It depends on the nature of your job. Very early in my career, I had a job
manning the tech support line for an ISP. That's the sort of role where you
have to be in your seat in case the phone rings.

Even if you're not in a reactive role like sales or support, it may be
important to be around and available to interact with or be consulted by your
colleagues. In large organisations, it's rare for people to work entirely in
isolation. They're usually part of a team or wider group that collaborate. If
some members of the team/group keep strange hours, that can lead to delays
(e.g. a quick question could end up not being answered until the following
day). This is one of the downsides of offshoring work to different timezones.

It's very easy and glib to say "If you're not being productive, just go home!"
\- and that may well be the right thing to do if you work for yourself - but
keeping regular hours greases the wheels of large organisations.

Besides, there are alternative methods of clearing your head. Early in my
career, I found that the solution to a tough technical problem would often
come to me while I was having a cigarette. I realised that the act of stepping
back from the problem was what allowed me to solve it. I don't smoke anymore
but I frequently get up from my desk to go for a walk around the block, pick
up a coffee or just go do a bit of window-shopping for half an hour. Then I
come back to my desk, refreshed, productive and still available if my
clients/colleagues need to speak with me.

Sometimes, I don't even need to leave my desk - I just do a bit of web-
browsing and read some discussions on HN. :-)

~~~
pintglass
The problem with surfing sites like HN, S.O. is that it is _engaging_. On one
hand, if you can use the creative side of your brain, supposedly this will
help you with other problems, but on the much worse side of things, you get
pulled into another activity for a long time, and you never gave your mind a
break.

Taking a short walk is great because it doesn't take much of your brain to
walk, so you can collect your thoughts. As one person on HN said some months
ago, he used to have to take longer walks but now even a 5 minute walk is
enough to clear his head.

The worst part about this for me is that it is a small office of non-
developers with a serious work ethic, so any time I step out during the day, I
feel like they are looking at me like I think I'm an elitist doing whatever I
want. So, I try to limit walks to times where I'm really frustrated.

~~~
jackgavigan
> The problem with surfing sites like HN, S.O. is that it is engaging. ...
> Taking a short walk is great because it doesn't take much of your brain to
> walk, so you can collect your thoughts.

Very good point.

> The worst part about this for me is that it is a small office of non-
> developers with a serious work ethic, so any time I step out during the day,
> I feel like they are looking at me like I think I'm an elitist doing
> whatever I want.

This is a tough one. Essentially, if you adopt working practises that maximise
your productivity/output, you risk creating the impression that you are lazy.
In an ideal world, either they would recognise that you need to work
differently to them or their opinion wouldn't matter because the boss
understands what you're doing.

It might be worth thinking about raising the subject in conversation.
Sometimes getting things out in the open and discussing them is the best way
of clearing the air.

I would also suggest thinking about what you can do to avoid giving them the
impression that you're slacking off. For example, say you had a whiteboard
next to your desk. Whenever you felt the urge the go for a walk, you could
draw out the problem you're trying to solve first, look at it ponderously for
half a minute, then go for a walk, come back, amend the drawing and sit down
to code up the solution.

Okay, so it's largely theatre, but if it allows you to go clear your mind
(and, therefore, be more productive) without giving your colleagues the
impression that you're slacking off... _shrug_

~~~
Kluny
Haha, I love that so much I might try it myself.

------
reinhardt
"I'd say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real,
actual, work."

[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151804/quotes?item=qt0386869](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151804/quotes?item=qt0386869)

~~~
csmatt
I work for a software development company and one of the new hires had never
even heard of Office Space. I think it brings our entire vetting process into
question.

------
hawkharris
_I no longer have to sit at my desk pretending to complete tasks, as the only
person I am cheating is myself._

A job is not about individuals in the workplace. It's about people
contributing to an organization to make it better: asking for work when none
seems to be available; helping co-workers; coming in early and staying late.

Whether you work for a large corporation or you run your own company, you'll
have to think about your whole team, not just yourself, to succeed. And when
you think about procrastination from a group-oriented standpoint, workers
always cheat themselves by pretending to work.

~~~
jebblue
>> A job is not about individuals in the workplace. It's about people
contributing to an organization to make it better: asking for work when none
seems to be available; helping co-workers; coming in early and staying late.

I was with you up to that last part where you define a job as coming in early
and staying late. The hours worked do not define success especially if people
are doing the kinds of things the article mentions. I come in late, hit it
hard until time to leave, sometimes checking work mail in the evening but do
not attempt to tell me I"m not a good worker if I'm not in the office even
more hours.

~~~
StavrosK
I had the exact same reaction there. I'm doing the best I can for the company
I work for during work hours, but, once my shift is done, my time is my own. I
agree with the rest, and always try to go out of my way to make things better
for my employer, but asking me to donate my time when it's not necessary is a
needless imposition, and I do not generally take kindly to it.

I can understand (and will happily agree to) working overtime when it's a)
necessary b) compensated fairly and c) under the understanding that I'm
changing my plans at the last minute. Everyone has emergencies, and I don't
mind working a bit more to help out in one, but, in general, longer hours
quickly means less productivity overall (at least for me).

------
guard-of-terra
I have just the opposite problem - I come to work at noon, read livejournal,
chat with colleagues, fix urgent problems and am only able to begin coding
after five PM or even later. That's where I get my productive shift. But it
feels like I'm wasting half a day.

~~~
jacquesm
Wow. That's got to be the first LJ mention that I come across in a long long
time.

~~~
guard-of-terra
That's because where I live, not because my peculiar tastes. I also browse VK
a lot while procrastinating.

------
phryk
I somehow got the feeling that my boss won't appreciate me just packing up my
shit and strolling out on a work day…

~~~
LeonM
That's the whole point of the writer, he is his own boss, so suddenly it
matters to be productive to make money, but it no longer matters when he does
it.

I completely agree with the writer (being self employed). I no longer use
alarm clocks, I only work when I feel like doing so and I often leave my desk
to do something else to clear my head. (I can't "go home" since my office is
at home). In the end, I am much more productive than I used to be when I was
working for a boss. My work is also of much higher quality and I enjoy it a
lot more.

------
penguat
Does the writer realise the irony inherent in this? Where will most people
read this from?

------
agentultra
Being self-employed can also lead to a feast-or-famine lifestyle. I know
plenty of freelancers who make money for a few months and then spend the next
three trying to get deals closed. That whole time they're not getting paid and
are rather stressed out. The bills don't stop coming.

While I agree that the nature of knowledge-based work is hindered by
industrial-era work processes it is the nature of the beast that most
organizations that can provide the safety net people need to raise families
are not letting go of the past.

------
Bartweiss
I have trouble believing that there's anyone this is of use to. Is there
really a significant group of people who are wasting time pretending to work
when they could genuinely choose to just go home? It was my understanding that
sitting on Facebook at work generally indicates that one is expected to be
present for X hours as part of their employment, and isn't willing or able to
leave that job.

------
JulianMorrison
I wish companies had a policy that "unproductive time is recognized as normal
and if you are not productive right now, go home".

As with "please take a nap if you need one", another policy that would benefit
the bottom line, I believe the usual absence of this policy is more about
managerial "control theater" than about actually getting paying work done.

~~~
johncampbelljr
I concur but there are a lot of companies that equate butts in seats with
productivity. Plenty of employers still have the mentality that they have
purchased 40 hours (or more) from you. What employers should think is that
they are purchasing productivity, not hours.

But productivity is a harder thing to measure-far harder than just tracking
hours.

~~~
neilpeel
It is harder to measure productivity, but surely even implementing a measuring
system that was less than perfect would still be more beneficial to them.

------
droob
See, dummy? Just make money yourself and everything's fine. FRYRHELTH.

~~~
qwerty_asdf
Ya dingus!

------
nickthemagicman
Wow. Why don't poor people just make more money? Problem solved.

------
marvin
I'm really annoyed that more companies haven't realized that this could be a
good idea. I've been a student for 5 years now, and this is the _exact_
procedure I've used throughout all my studies. For me, it's an obviously
superior way to get things done. When you're in the wrong type of company, it
turns into an hourly grind that's more focused on being present and less on
actually getting stuff done.

~~~
neilpeel
This is exactly what I feel. I don't understand why more companies do not
subscribe to this way of working.

------
nubb
I'd go home if my bosses policy wasn't sit here until 5:30 no matter what. I
think that's fairly common, at least in the US.

------
yalogin
Something weird I have seen with all medium pages is the images get rendered
first and then after a few seconds of waiting the text shows up. The wait for
the text is always a few seconds (4-5 seconds). Not sure why.

------
cafard
"How do you deal with your unproductive days?"

I use all caps and bold letters a lot.

------
stitchy
Interesting choice in wording (emphasis mine:)

"I no longer _have_ to sit at my desk pretending to complete tasks, as the
only person I am cheating is myself."

------
goshx
So are you saying that if I work for myself I'm gonna have more time
available? Also, I'll be able to work only on what I want? hmmmm

------
burgerz
Yes I'll just quit my job and magically start making money from home. This
site is getting shit.

