# Co-Workers/Applicants to jobs you had who had completely unrealistic ideas of how the job worked **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 5, 2019, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-applicants-to-jobs-you-had-who-had-completely-unrealistic-ideas-of-how-the-job-worked/839723 "2019-09-05T07:45:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-applicants-to-jobs-you-had-who-had-completely-unrealistic-ideas-of-how-the-job-worked/839723/141 "2019-09-30T21:02:50Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Let’s say I live three hours from my workplace. Is it O.K. if I work for only two hours after I arrive at work? After all, I “put in” a total of eight hours… Um, as a salaried person, I’m expected to put in however the hell much work my employer wants me to put in, up to and possibly over 170 hours per week. That’s how being salaried works. I’ve been fortunate that my workplace only expects 40 on-site hours; I know others in my career that have had to put in 50, 60, or 80. So if it takes you three hours to get to your workplace, your office expects you to devote (at least) 14 hours per day towards getting your work done, because they expect you both to put in the hours at the office, and to _get_ to the office too. And seriously people, whether or not you _think_ your workplace is paying you to haul your butt to work, it _is_ paying you to do so regardless. The upshot of this is not that you get paid more - it’s that you get paid _less_ per hour if your work regimen includes six hours of “unpaid” commute time. If this effective decrease in your wage drops it enough that you feel you’re not getting paid enough to make the trip to work, you’ll quit - the same way you would if you suddenly learned that you would be paid a substantial amount less that you thought you would be. > [@TruCelt](#): > > IME people are either going to work or goof off, no matter where they do it. Some of my most productive employees and colleagues have worked from home. Some of the worst goofs have worked in office. In two cases, moving non-productive employees from home to office only served to disrupt their coworkers. > > Self-discipline and work ethic are not location dependent. This is not necessarily the case. I work best with a distraction-free work environment. My home, on the other hand, is entirely devoted to distracting me. That’s literally the purpose of everything there. So working from home is nigh certain to kill my productivity - because I have arranged my work environment to maximize my productivity. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2019, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-applicants-to-jobs-you-had-who-had-completely-unrealistic-ideas-of-how-the-job-worked/839723/142 "2019-09-30T21:09:32Z")
I could never successfully work from home because I would need the internet to do so, and the internet is where the porn is. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-applicants-to-jobs-you-had-who-had-completely-unrealistic-ideas-of-how-the-job-worked/839723/143 "2019-10-01T01:30:29Z")
> [@begbert2](#): > > Um, as a salaried person, I’m expected to put in however the hell much work my employer wants me to put in, up to and possibly over\*\* 170 hours per week\*\*. > . . . > > This is not necessarily the case. I work best with a distraction-free work environment. My home, on the other hand, is entirely devoted to distracting me. That’s literally the purpose of everything there. So working from home is nigh certain to kill my productivity - because I have arranged my work environment to maximize my productivity. Bolding mine - that’d be one heckuva trick. LOL! I suppose you meant 70? Re: distraction-free environment: Sure, but if your job depended upon your getting it done from home,mightn’t you set up a small corner or closet where you could sit and only see your desk and computer? Just by being the type who s introspective enough to know this about yourself, I’m betting you are also the type who would find a way to get your work done. > [@KneadToKnow](#): > > I could never successfully work from home because I would need the internet to do so, and the internet is where the porn is. I mean, how long does that really take though? Most people can . . . erm . . . clear their minds in about 5 minutes and be ready to get some work done. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-applicants-to-jobs-you-had-who-had-completely-unrealistic-ideas-of-how-the-job-worked/839723/144 "2019-10-01T10:07:47Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > I know someone who commuted 77 miles ( which I think is about 123 km) each way for over 10 years. At the time he traveled, that was at least 2 hours each way, maybe 2.5. His office didn’t move at any point - he simply took a job that was 77 miles away from where he chose to live.\* Are you saying there are countries where that would be considered “time worked” Since he’s more than 70km\* away, yes, there are countries where it should be considered “time worked” (“federal level” law). But, in those same countries, people normally try to come up with an arrangement which avoids the long commute. And yes, week-commuters are people who commute for the whole week, spending 3-4 nights away from home (many have 3x12 or 4x10 work hours, or work from home one day per week). - Specific number from the specific legislation of Spain; I understand other countries also go for the same breakpoint but it’s second hand info. The Spanish law, I’ve actually read it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-applicants-to-jobs-you-had-who-had-completely-unrealistic-ideas-of-how-the-job-worked/839723/145 "2019-10-01T10:10:59Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Bolding mine - that’d be one heckuva trick. LOL! I suppose you meant 70? Or a graduate student… ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-applicants-to-jobs-you-had-who-had-completely-unrealistic-ideas-of-how-the-job-worked/839723/146 "2019-10-01T10:25:56Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Paying for commuting time for someone “working while traveling” sounds like paying people to “work from home”, which often turns into paying someone to goof off and watch TV. I’m surprised you didn’t work in the usual “sipping lattes” sneer. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2019, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-applicants-to-jobs-you-had-who-had-completely-unrealistic-ideas-of-how-the-job-worked/839723/147 "2019-10-01T12:02:17Z")
I don’t have any personal stories, but here’s a story of a Spanish man who skipped work for SIX YEARS and still got paid. > **[Spanish man skipped work for 6 years, still got paid](https://www.foxnews.com/world/spanish-man-skipped-work-for-6-years-still-got-paid)** > > A Spanish government employee took a six-year break from work and still got paid before his bosses finally discovered the ruse, local media reported. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-applicants-to-jobs-you-had-who-had-completely-unrealistic-ideas-of-how-the-job-worked/839723/148 "2019-10-03T11:58:11Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Or a graduate student… . . . in experimental physics perhaps? (1 week = 168 hours) ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-applicants-to-jobs-you-had-who-had-completely-unrealistic-ideas-of-how-the-job-worked/839723/149 "2019-10-03T17:22:38Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > That’s also true in the US but most of the holidays are fixed days of the week. (Most are on Mondays and Thanksgiving is Thursday.) Thanksgiving is the outlier there, but the other fixed-day holidays are all the ones created by the government. The ones that were adopted by holiday calendars because everyone is going to take them off to celebrate anyway (July 4, Christmas, New Years) happen when they happen. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-applicants-to-jobs-you-had-who-had-completely-unrealistic-ideas-of-how-the-job-worked/839723/150 "2019-10-03T17:44:02Z")
Unless you work in a business owned by Orthodox Jewish people. Then you get the first two days and last two days of Pesach (Passover), two days of Rosh Hashanah, and Yom Kipper. Then you work in all the other days for time and a half (double time on December 25th). ---
**Author:** ![begbert2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/begbert2/32/3357_2.png) [@begbert2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/begbert2)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-applicants-to-jobs-you-had-who-had-completely-unrealistic-ideas-of-how-the-job-worked/839723/151 "2019-10-03T20:55:27Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Bolding mine - that’d be one heckuva trick. LOL! I suppose you meant 70? Oh, there are definitely salaried people out there who are asked to work more then 70 hours per week. I meant 170 - on salary they can ask for ALL your time, and then some. Of course, persons this happened to would all quit, but there’s really no upper limit for what they can demand. > [@TruCelt](#): > > Re: distraction-free environment: Sure, but if your job depended upon your getting it done from home,mightn’t you set up a small corner or closet where you could sit and only see your desk and computer? Just by being the type who s introspective enough to know this about yourself, I’m betting you are also the type who would find a way to get your work done. It wouldn’t work; the temptation behind my back would always be on my mind. So instead I would find a way to find another job, preferably before my inevitable drop in productivity ruined that job as a reference. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/co-workers-applicants-to-jobs-you-had-who-had-completely-unrealistic-ideas-of-how-the-job-worked/839723.md?page=7)