I’ve been going through a kind of post-college, odd-job phase for the last year and a half (not to mention the random jobs I’ve had before that). I’ve worked in warehouses, offices, restaurants, grocery stores, hotels – a big variety. And of late I’ve been developing a loose theory that office-workers just don’t spend that much time working, compared to people in service jobs or blue collar jobs. I started a new office temp job recently, and it sure seems like people spend an awful lot of time talking to friends in their cubicles, going on coffee breaks, taking personal phone calls, surfing the web, etc. (Based on the number of posts on this and other internet forums that warn that things aren’t “work safe,” there must be an awful lot of web surfing. And generally speaking, you don’t have a computer to surf on unless you have an office job.) I’m not saying they don’t work, but it seems much more leisurely than most other jobs I’ve had. In general, the more blue-collar or service-oriented the job I’ve had, the more guaranteed I am to be working – hard – from the minute I clock in till I leave for the day.
Any validity to this theory? There are obviously major exceptions to this – the lawyers I’ve known definitely work their asses off, overtime. And there are retail jobs where people are basically paid to stand around and keep themselves from drooling. Anyways, how much of your time at work are YOU actually working?