(Mis)Uses of Technology

(Mis)Uses of Technology

by Mike Masnick




Shirk Ethic: How To Fake A Hard Day At The Office

from the working-is-for-suckers? dept

While some people complain that new technologies mean they have to be working 24/7, others have realized that they can use that same technology to make it look like they're working when they're not. People have written programs that let them shift windows around on their desktop via their PDA from a nearby diner, send documents to the printer from home, send emails from the beach, schedule emails to be sent in the middle of the night, and plenty of other activities to make you look much busier than you are. The article then shifts into a discussion on the ethics of such moves. In the end, it comes down to the same thing we've spoken about in the past: it really doesn't matter when you're working if you're getting your work done. If you're really slacking off, then your work isn't getting done and you shouldn't keep the job. Finally, at the end of the article, they make this point, when a VP from Charles Schwab says he's more concerned about whether or not the work is getting done than the time stamp on an email: "I'm not thinking 'nothing's getting done here, but they sure work hard at 2 a.m..'"

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