Bored office worker

Stevie_Palimo

Guest101 wrote: »

You must've read the OPs workplace policies on internet use?

Neither have you Guest101 and as the OP clearly states that they are on top of all the work they get then who is to say that they are not allowed to look at things online, I have a few people doing things for me and if they are not busy I would not expect them to sit there twiddling there thumbs so if they chose to look at various websites so be it as long as the things are done that are required of them then all is good.

Guest101

Stevie_Palimo wrote: »

Neither have you Guest101 and as the OP clearly states that they are on top of all the work they get then who is to say that they are not allowed to look at things online, I have a few people doing things for me and if they are not busy I would not expect them to sit there twiddling there thumbs so if they chose to look at various websites so be it as long as the things are done that are required of them then all is good.

No I haven't, but it's certainly unusual for an employer to have a policy where using the internet for personal reasons is acceptable (perhaps during breaks it's fine)


Perhaps employees could discuss their workload with you (or their line manager in general) and develop their inhouse capabilities?

No_Name

Not read the thread in full, but get the gist of comments.

By the sounds of it, nearly the entire department at the company I work for would be sacked. Maybe it's the culture, but there's a lot of chit-chat, browsing the internet for personal reasons, a lot of smoke blowing, personal calls on phones.

The list goes on.

Most days I see people doing next to nothing then go off to lunch.

Overpaid, under-productive staff - but they somehow manage to convince senior directors / managers of their productivity during the course of the day.

A lot of people are doing 3 - 4 hours worth of work in an 8 to 9 hour day.

ska_lover

No_Name wrote: »

Not read the thread in full, but get the gist of comments.

By the sounds of it, nearly the entire department at the company I work for would be sacked. Maybe it's the culture, but there's a lot of chit-chat, browsing the internet for personal reasons, a lot of smoke blowing, personal calls on phones.

The list goes on.

Most days I see people doing next to nothing then go off to lunch.

Overpaid, under-productive staff - but they somehow manage to convince senior directors / managers of their productivity during the course of the day.

A lot of people are doing 3 - 4 hours worth of work in an 8 to 9 hour day.

wow. any jobs going

katie_saver

Agree with No_Name, I think a lot of people would be sacked on the spot for internet browsing out of their lunch hour. I get the work required done and in a very efficient manner, I often stay late when required when I'm very busy. In the times I am not so busy I browse the internet or will now take on some of the great suggestions made on this thread.
In past jobs I have found saying - I don't have enough to do is seen as very negative meaning you are not doing or job or not needed. As I am a temp and very much enjoy my job - I prefer not to go down that route.

[Deleted User]

Actually on second thoughts, I'd be more worried you could have your hours cut.

I worked for one such company that allowed you to be on the internet and could crack out the adult colouring books, however, they also reduced our working hours.

Remembering when there was absolutely no customers for this business, we used to have to do reviews as if customers, marketing etc - could you do anything like this.

Lady_Bee

This sounds just like me, it's Friday afternoon and I'm reading this forum and writing this message while watching the clock and willing it to get to 4 o'clock so I can go home!! I work full time but if I was completely honest I reckon I could fit my total workload into half that time. I've twiddled my thumbs from the moment I started this job over 8 years ago, there were weird things going on then and it seems to have stayed weird!

I spend a lot of time on the internet but that can get pretty tedious after a while particularly as I try to be a bit selective about which websites I access at work. We do have a policy that says access in breaks only but I don't think anyone checks (I'd get a nasty surprise if they did!)


I can get away with it at the moment as I work in a small office where no-one can see my screen but there is talk of us moving to HQ where there will be lots of people around and it will be harder to look busy, I'm dreading it if I'm honest. There will be working from home options as it is hot desking but I think I'd feel even worse sitting at home not working as at least if I'm in the office I can answer the phone etc!


Anyway, I can't offer any solutions only sympathy that I know how you feel. I look forward to reading other suggestions and the excel one is a good one, I'll have to explore our e-learning catalogue.

lincroft1710

Lady_Bee wrote: »

This sounds just like me, it's Friday afternoon and I'm reading this forum and writing this message while watching the clock and willing it to get to 4 o'clock so I can go home!!

Only 30 minutes or 1800 seconds before you can go

hutman

TELLIT01 wrote: »

No staff should be accessing the internet, for any purpose which is not directly work related, during work hours. That goes double for temps, just for their own job security.
Speak to your manager, I'm sure they'll be delighted to give your more work to fill your hours. If they can't, then is the time to ask if it's OK to use the internet to access training material.

I couldn't care less if my manager found out i was looking at big booty girls on youtube.

getmore4less

katie_saver wrote: »

Thanks for all your responses. I do use the internet a lot in my current role, to book lots of travel and hotels. I also sometimes get asked to research companies so internet use is pretty well tolerated here. .

Research ways to save the company money on those bookings, cheaper hotels discount codes.

At my old place I could always find better deals than official travel agent we used. Could often get the flights with better timings.