Re:Preindustrial workers worked fewer hours than today's (2009)
by bsanr2 on Thursday August 22, 2019 @01:27AM
(#20764913)
I beg to differ. Everywhere I've worked, people have despised the waiting built into the processes they have to conform to. Many roles are constructed so that they're actually two roles: one is pure productivity, with clear goals and deadlines. The other is some sort of service role where you're at the beck and call of clients who could waltz in whenever, defined less by your productivity than by your availability (which is always meant to keep you in an workplace for 6+ hours). Switching between roles is aggravating; effectiveness at one kills the other, to some degree. Most would rather just do one at a time, and be paid for either the time sacrificed or the work completed, at a dignified rate.
But that would cut into C-suite bonuses and dividends.
Re:Preindustrial workers worked fewer hours than today's (2009)
by isimluk on Thursday August 22, 2019 @04:30AM
(#20765877)
> But that would cut into C-suite bonuses and dividends.
I beg to differ. I think, the mixture of work items as you describe is solely motivated on fear that employees may produce less if not under 8hours control in open plan office. The fear however may not have anything to do with the reality.
If every office worker had their schedule cut to a 20 hours a week, I strongly suspect that only 10 hours of work would actually get done. It's just too much of the low efficiency is culturally ingrained on every level from the cultural to the organizational. It would probably take a generation for things to change.