To think this is petty

[MrsKQ]

I work in a office and pop and see my friend in her office probably once a day for 5 minutes.
I don’t get a break in the morning or afternoon, only my lunch break. I only share an office with one other colleague who I don’t have much in common with.
We are not allowed to use our phones which is fine and most websites on the internet are blocked including the news.
I recently got pulled up for going to my friends office for a chat.
AIBU to wonder why this is such an issue if my work is getting done and at a good standard?
I can’t see the problem of having 5 minutes away from my computer and speaking to a colleague?!!

It’s not about clock watching or being treated like children. It’s about doing (and being seen) to be doing a good job.

I tend to agree with Wishing - colleagues who have really excellent reputations don’t tend to get picked up for this kind of stuff.

Whatever the ins and outs, fair or not, it’s coming up for appraisal time in most places.

It’s in your interests to keep your reputation spotless OP.

It is petty. Only very new, junior staff were limited on the internet. We could wander off and chat to colleagues, the boss, make coffee. Have an extended lunch as long as we got our work done. However I worked in a professional practise and creativity was sought after. Sounds souless and demeaning. If you need the cash then get your head down and bear it but otherwise i woild have a career rethink.

*would

PeiPeiPing I’m afraid you must have drawn the short straw and had the bad luck to work in pretty shitty offices!

We have break spaces, communal sofa spaces, ping pong tables, coffee areas - and are encouraged to use them throughout the day to catch up with colleagues. We get time off during the day to use the gym, we can take long lunches and go to the pub and of course can use the Internet. We just have to do our jobs and do them well - and the kind of environment you’ve sadly experienced isn’t conducive to creating excellent innovative work.

Getting up for a 5 minute chat a couple of times should be perfectly acceptable. Particularly if you've no breaks aside from lunch. I hope your day doesn't consist of mostly screen time/working on PC? Because if so thats terrible. Your eyesight will be shot to pieces with long screen periods. I'd already be actively seeking another job. It sounds boring, and woeful

PeiPeiPing

This is why I don't believe people who claim they are allowed to surf the internet whilst at work I spend most of my day on the internet as part of my job! No one gives a monkey what I am doing on it (within obvious boundaries).

When a department exceed its target, you want to keep people happy. It's a balance. People are more efficient when they can take breaks, don't hate their jobs and the office.

@TheFlis12345

Really? Well my perfectly legitimate, multi-national employer does. We also check out each other's online shopping purchases, have occasional long lunches or (frequently!) a couple of cheeky drinks in work hours - shock horror! I'm truly saddened how many people work at places that treat them like children rather than responsible adults capable of doing a good job and managing their own workload.

@Shouldnotwouldnot

We have break spaces, communal sofa spaces, ping pong tables, coffee areas - and are encouraged to use them throughout the day to catch up with colleagues. We get time off during the day to use the gym, we can take long lunches and go to the pub and of course can use the Internet. We just have to do our jobs and do them well - and the kind of environment you’ve sadly experienced isn’t conducive to creating excellent innovative work.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 I KNEW a few people would come along and claim something like this.!!!!!!!!!!!

And meanwhile...........on planet earth.......

People actually do WORK in their job.

You are too funny.

I don't know what makes me laugh more; what you are saying, or the fact you expect people to believe it!

Poor effort - 1 out of 10.

No decent reputable employer lets people piss around on the internet all day, and tootle around talking to their pals, playing ping pong, arseing around at the gym in work's time, and lounging around on couches......

It's nothing to do with 'drawing the short straw' and having shit employers; I have simply always worked for reputable and professional companies with a very high turnover, and certainly NONE of the laughable shit I have read in the last few posts ever went on! (Like the claim on the previous page, that they spend half the day pissing around on the internet because it's part of their job and no-one cares! PMSL!) Clearly a few people here don't work for very professional companies.

I am actually my own boss now, and was in charge of several departments in my last job, and no WAY would any of that shit have gone down on my watch! You wanna get paid? You work. It's really that simple. Of course people are allowed a chat, and a rest now and again, and a coffee or 2, but some of the stuff SOME people claim they are allowed to do in their office/workplace is laughable.

(Makes me wonder if people who claim stuff like this actually do have a job ....... )

Another one here with table tennis and pool tables in the office! Monthly tournaments, even the MD gets involved. We can go online (except post on FB during work hours). Very relaxed atmosphere provided the work gets done, which it does.

Yeah I figured a few more would pop up PMSL!

Amazing really. People will make these outlandish claims, but in reality, nobody knows a real employer like this. Not a legitimate, professional one.

Um okay. You’re being a bit weird. Let’s move on.

Every large corporate I’ve worked for is as the others have described - I wouldn’t put in the heavy workload without a flexible workplace.

PeiPeiPing - I worked in HQ for one of the big 4 UK banks.

Ping pong tables, bean bags, flexi time, agile working is really in. I feel sorry for you working for such backward companies.

Best 'perk' I ever had was the bosses dog who used to come to work every day. No better stress buster than taking the out dog for a walk!

He did fart a lot though.

I am an employee and I also manage 30 staff. I would never be this petty.

I know what output I am getting from people and I know when they are taking the piss.

Taking the piss gets dealt with swiftly so everyone knows we are reasonably relaxed but they don’t tend to take advantage.

@PeiPeiPing

Wow. You've led a very sheltered life! Try visiting pretty much any large marketing, advertising or PR agency in London (I work for one of the top 10 globally), or any of the tech places like Google, Facebook or Amazon and you will find everything I described and more! We work damn hard but also manage that with some down time and fun. And because we are adults, who more than deliver in our roles, our employers trust us to manage our time and know where the balance is.

Maybe your complete lack of an open mind has led you to only working in controlled and dull places?

When I managed the rule was - do your job, tell me if you make a mistake/piss someone off before I hear it from elsewhere, ask if you don't know, don't take the piss.

If you treat your team like adults and let them know that you have their backs - but don't let them take the kicker, it's usually a good way to have a happy and productive team. And buy the Friday donuts 😁

Of course you will always have the odd tricky character but that's management!

V petty. I left my previous workplace because it became like this after we got a new manager.

When we had a manager who understood what I did it was all smooth sailing. I worked hard, got all my work done, but would take breaks, work from home occasionally, come in a bit later etc.

Once we got the new manager who didn’t quite understand what I did, she couldn’t differentiate the quality of my work from someone else who came in 9-5 and took a 55 minute lunch break etc. So she kept pulling me up for having my breakfast at my desk after 9 am (rather than coming in at 8.45 if I wanted to eat breakfast etc). I used to work till 9pm on many nights to get stuff done, go in at 5 am to TV studios for interviews (for our company), work on weekends if things came up etc. But a few months of this and I just lost interest in the job, and looked for other employment. It’s soul destroying to be asked to work this way, at least for me. But my job is a big part of my identity - many others of course derive their identity from other meaningful roles and relationships so this isn’t meant to be universally applicable.

PeiPeiPing

I doubt that you were a real manager in real life, but if you were, you were one of the worst kind. I like that, you can't keep your staff, they are desperate for other jobs and that's how I make a living.

*(Like the claim on the previous page, that they spend half the day pissing around on the internet because it's part of their job and no-one cares! PMSL!)
You do realise that in 2017 many people do need the internet to do their job? It's only one of many, but I dare you to explain to me HOW a recruitment agency could function successfully without internet. I can't wait to hear from you!