# Anyone else work in a "ghost town"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 12, 2023, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-work-in-a-ghost-town/978130 "2023-01-12T20:51:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-work-in-a-ghost-town/978130/21 "2023-01-13T00:49:51Z")
> [@carnut](#): > > I found it to be an ideal day to work from the office. I got so much done because there was no one stopping by my office space to ask questions or spread rumors. Yup, that’s one of the main reasons I picked it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-work-in-a-ghost-town/978130/22 "2023-01-13T01:01:56Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I was always a believer in taking the days off that nobody else wanted. I’ve got the world to myself when at work, and I’ve got the world to myself when I’m off. That’s a win-win. For me. When I was a pretty new to the job market, I realized there was little point to taking time off between x-mas and NY. Not only is it the ass-end of December in Chicago, but why do I want to take time off at a time that all the bosses are out of the office?! ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-work-in-a-ghost-town/978130/23 "2023-01-13T01:15:37Z")
In the military I made the same discovery. Everybody and their sister wanted off from 15Dec - 30Dec to go home for Xmas. Most got it and the few who didn’t were angry as all get out. I say “Hum bah-hug” on that idea. I asked for and was always approved for leave 1Jan-15Jan with no competition. I spent the last two weeks of the year in an empty office where my great great grand-boss was the first honcho still in the same state. Didn’t do shit. Then I bailed out as they all came back to overloaded inboxes & a massive flail. About when they’d dug out of the mess and were frazzled I showed up with a fresh tan from de Islands, Mon, and waltzed into work. Work smarter, not harder. A mantra for the ages. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-work-in-a-ghost-town/978130/24 "2023-01-13T01:37:44Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > I realized there was little point to taking time off between x-mas and NY. For me, my oldest daughter’s birthday is between Christmas and New Years, and she lives on the other side of the country from me. So often I take off that time for her. ---
**Author:** ![phs3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8491ac/32.png) [@phs3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phs3)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-work-in-a-ghost-town/978130/25 "2023-01-13T21:56:27Z")
A friend doing software maintenance from home for over a decade was told, after the product got sold, that he had to go into the local office every day. This was years before the pandemic. There were fewer than a dozen people in the entire 3?4?5?-story building, and he was the only one who had anything to do with his product area. He put up with it for a few months, then got a real job. He HATED it, not only because it was stupid but because he kept falling asleep. And he’s not a lazy guy. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2023, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-work-in-a-ghost-town/978130/26 "2023-01-13T23:05:39Z")
I returned to work in a school when very few students had parents who were comfortable sending them back. I still saw my remote classes, but also had the opportunity to get to know the kids who were in person very well. For instance, I noticed that a first grader who couldn’t read at all could interpret diagrams and other text features better than others his age. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-work-in-a-ghost-town/978130.md?page=1)