# So how much "work" do you actually do at work? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 11, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950 "2005-07-11T06:19:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![chefIL11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chefIL11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chefIL11)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/1 "2005-07-11T06:19:39Z")
I’m a student and I was elected to a university position and I was given a swanky office, lots of perks. On an average day, I would say I spend close to 75% of the time surfing the net… SDMB, fark, you name it. I’m trying not to get my hopes up that the real world is like this but I’m able to get my work done efficiently, then I just have to sit there. What about you? How much time do you spend actually working at your job on a daily basis? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/2 "2005-07-11T07:00:55Z")
Well, I generally come in at least fifteen minutes late, ah, I use the side door–that way Lumberg can’t see me, heh–after that I sorta space out for an hour. Yeah, I just stare at my desk, but it looks like I’m working. I do that for probably another hour after lunch too, I’d say in a given week I probably only do about fifteen minutes of real, actual, work. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/3 "2005-07-11T07:14:32Z")
Tell us more… ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/4 "2005-07-11T07:15:22Z")
I used to have a job where I did maybe 15 minutes worth of actual work in an eight hour shift, but my boss was aware of it - I was basically there just in case something went wrong. In my current job, it varies, but most often I’m working hard for at least 9 of the 10 hours I’m there. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Harmonix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonix)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/5 "2005-07-11T08:00:47Z")
I’m doing fairly intensive lab work, but there is usually an hour or two during the day when i’m bored off my ass and just sitting there waiting for a PCR to run or a centrifuge to spin. Perhaps you should try being pro-active? ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/6 "2005-07-11T11:02:26Z")
My day is usually, Straightdope, Fark, Straightdope, Fark, Something Awful, Straightdope, Fark, work for 10 minutes, work on my website, Fark, The Onion, etc. I monitor the computer system at work, so unless something is exploding, there isn’t much work for me. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/7 "2005-07-11T13:06:21Z")
**When** I work, it’s non-stop activity all day, 8am-12pm, 7 days a week. I bust my ass for a week, 2 weeks, a month… then I don’t do a damn thing for weeks at a time 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/8 "2005-07-11T13:43:07Z")
Quite a bit, actually. I have a shame-driven work ethic-- I feel guilty if I’m wasting time. I work in a museum, and there’s always something to do. The great thing is that I never know what I’ll be doing each day, so variety keeps it interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Stonebow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Stonebow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stonebow)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/9 "2005-07-11T13:44:09Z")
My office is really project and event oriented- so we’ll go for days without anything do do, and then work our asses off for a day or two. During the summers, that usually goes to 1 week downtime, 1 day working. though some of the days are on weekends and that sucks. but I’ve no cause for complaint. ---
**Author:** ![Stuffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f17d59/32.png) [@Stuffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stuffy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/10 "2005-07-11T13:54:31Z")
From 3-5 hours a day. Sometimes less rarely more. Work ethic has nothing to do with it, it’s just the nature of my work. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/11 "2005-07-11T13:55:46Z")
My office is also event-oriented. So from January to May we kill ourselves. April & May are particularly bad and stressful. Then the summer is pretty much down-time, so i have a lot of free time. In September it picks up again, and goes through November, and then December is a nice quiet month. I think I rather deserve the downtime considering how crazy the office is the other times! ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/12 "2005-07-11T13:58:32Z")
I work from the moment I get to work, to the moment I leave. Normally for around 6 to 9 hours without any kind of break. My work is not difficult though. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/13 "2005-07-11T14:00:42Z")
I develop and maintain software. Which means we follow the “hurry up and wait” cycle. Soemtimes there’s a rush. Sometimes people can’t be bothered to respond to my emailed questions about work they want done. Sometimes, it’s both. Basically, in my busiest times, during actual software development, I will block off a portion of the day, do nothing but develop until I can’t stands no more, and then resume the next day. I get more done when I can just take a big lump of it at a time. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/14 "2005-07-11T14:01:48Z")
Oh yeah, it has nothing to do with MY work ethic either. 'Tis just the job I do. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/15 "2005-07-11T14:07:50Z")
The beauty of sales is that once you’ve made your cold calls for the day, it’s just a matter of attending to any customers who come your way. No customers, no work to speak of, and nobody gets hostile about it. When it’s busy, you can be on your feet for ten hours, which is pretty brutal. When it’s not, you can be idle for eight hours, which is equally brutal. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/16 "2005-07-11T15:53:29Z")
I bust my hump to keep my customers as happy as possible. In my line, “happy” is defined as “lacking any cause to bother me”. I’m pretty good at it. That translates to 90% of my time spent here, 5% spent checking up on customers (just so the records show I’m doing _something_ with my time), and 5% actually doing something for my customers. Works for me. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/17 "2005-07-11T15:59:19Z")
I, too, have a job that has a lot of down time. Don’t know what I’d do if twarn’t no innie-net. I actually prefer the busy times, though. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/18 "2005-07-11T16:03:52Z")
In my profession, surfing the web is indistinguishable from work. So it’s a little tough to say. ---
**Author:** ![taxi78cab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@taxi78cab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taxi78cab)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/19 "2005-07-11T16:22:32Z")
I’m another with lots of down time. But when there’s work to be done, it often needs to be done NOW. And like others have mentioned, I’d rather be busy than bored, but it is the nature of the job that sometimes I’m incredibly busy and sometimes I spend all day surfing the internet. To the OP, I’ve never had a job that didn’t involve significant stretches of down time. Sometimes I think it’s because I’m efficient at doing my work and sometimes I think that’s just the way it is. Get used to looking busy even when you’re not. ---
**Author:** ![ErinPuff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dbc845/32.png) [@ErinPuff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ErinPuff)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2005, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950/20 "2005-07-11T16:25:59Z")
It varies for me, depending on how much else is going on. Generally, the busier everyone else is, the more Solitaire I end up playing, because no one has time to give me work. I’d say I’m actually working about half the time, and some days I hardly work at all. This is kind of frustrating for me because if I’m going to be playing Solitaire and reading the SDMB all day, I’d rather do it at home on my computer, which is a lot better than my work computer. This week my boss is away; I don’t even know what the point is of me coming in. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-how-much-work-do-you-actually-do-at-work/311950.md?page=2)