Source
r/antiwork•
JDuCalisson

Gave my bosses what they asked for - not what they wanted

Since about October of last year, my company implemented a much more robust activity-tracking software to the computers of everyone below supervisor pay-grade (you know, the generic office folks, the plebeians, such as myself). This software tracks which websites and applications you use at any given time, and the main function explicitly was to keep track of idle time. The software would count up every second you weren't typing or moving your mouse and report it to your supervisor by rating you from 1 to 10 on how active you were (10 being the highest).

I always thought the idea of tracking idle time was ridiculous as the company was already tracking how many processes you completed in a given day, so I paid no mind to the additional software and worked as I always had.

Naturally, this led to me having conversations with my supervisors about my idle time. Generally, my idle time was quite high, which was something I already knew - but now it had become "problematic." During these conversations, I repeatedly suggested that the ultimate goal of this new activity-tracking was to increase productivity, not activity. The company just wanted to make sure office workers were completing more processes in a given day; my supervisors agreed this was the case. So I asked if there was an issue with my level of productivity, and the response was "No - you just need to lower your idle time."

Easy enough.

I have since resorted to weighing down one of my keyboard keys when I'm not actively working, which is enough to fool our activity-tracking software into thinking that I'm active. My activity score shot up drastically into the high 9s whereas it sat around 3 or 4 previously. For the last few months, everything has been just dandy in my supervisors' eyes, and I have not increased my productivity at all.

Well yesterday, I was provided with my mid-year review. Among the concerns listed for my overall performance, there were several mentions of my productivity being poor, approximately for the last 9 months (since last October - sound familiar?). This was quite surprising, as during every single interim meeting I've had with my supervisors, they have not once mentioned anything about my productivity; the conversation has solely been centered around my activity - which had increased drastically and was now consistently high.

I have a meeting later today to go over my mid-year review with my supervisors. I plan on telling them they had 9 months to tell me to improve my productivity, and since they didn't - not even once! - everything must actually be just fine. We'll just see how that goes, I guess. But if they had just mentioned they actually wanted higher productivity, they would have received it. You get what you ask for.

Posted Jul 15, 2021, 2:18 PM UTC

15333
Kentucky_Fence_Post:fem:•

I've heard of these idle time trackers. I would 100% quit a job if they added it in after I started working and never take a job that told me they did this.

70
JDuCalissonOP•

Same. I'm just in it for easy money now.

But since a lot of my coworkers are nervous about being laid off (and thus not wanting to quit), now they just spend time fudging activity/productivity numbers instead of actually working. Mission accomplished, management.

33
FrankaGrimes•

I did read about someone in a similar situation who wrote a little bit of code that entered a period every x seconds if he was otherwise idle.

10
LionelVerneyhere for the memes•

there is a portable app called caffeine that simulates pressing the f13 button (yes the f13 button) every 2 seconds. you can write a bat to change the frequency. my IT guys use a program called mouse jiggler, but that's to keep the computer from locking up.

5
IsThereAnyWorth•

You would probably have to ask at interview as I doubt they would volunteer the information. There were many messed up things about my job that I only learnt when it was too late.

1
etsmartfone•

r/Maliciouscompliance

46
ALikeSupreme•

I thought all the leadership were on the "results oriented" train. It's the greatest concept that shouldn't have to be said ever. You hired me to do a job, completing my job correctly is the result. Wtf else am I going to be? Idle time oriented? Okay, instead of doing the parts that don't require typing or clicking, I'll just smash keys and click for the sake of it.

That would drive me up the wall. Compared to many I'm a pretty efficient typist, so my time will be low there. You literally can't judge anything meaningful by idle time without more context, like actual work performed. It sounds like you are working with a chain of utter morons above you. Maybe they need an expensive consultant to tell them this in corpo speak, and then you can sell them on a new software package that will actually do less but make your job even more difficult, just like the asshole that probably told them about this idle time bullshit. But you won't have to work there anymore, because they will pay serious bank for asinine advice as long as you make it sound just like that mind numbing bullshit they tell their employees constantly.

18
JDuCalissonOP•

Our supervisors and directors claim to be "results oriented" or "behavior oriented" but it's all bullshit. It's just easier for them to look at numbers and tell us that they are too low and need to be higher than it is for have actual quality conversations with employees about their performance.

10
ALikeSupreme•

I've played the game. When I was doing phone sales for a bit they would have us call in to these conference calls when sales numbers were low. They were clueless to the local economy and didn't understand the concept of boom and bust cycles. There was a few years in which oil was really booming and sales were high, then it went bust in 2016. That's why I was working there for a bit in the first place. So our sales targets were skewed from the previous years already.

They purposefully hire malleable, spineless and ignorant people as management that won't stand up for themselves let alone their employees. It's all a numbers game, and the focus is on all the wrong things. In a smaller community it's especially important to form some relationships with your customers and not go full scamlord on them with their misleading scummy sales tactics and straight up disinformation. I've always been into tech, I can only assume most phone sales people working for similar companies either aren't or have no scruples about saying anything for short term gain.

That's the key, it's all about short term turnover. Not like any legitimate sales where you want to build long term relationships. That concept is designed for metropolitan areas where you have five customers walking in the door for every one you lose.

I tried explaining that to the manager, didn't take. There was another guy that worked there, been doing it for a few years so he had established some clientele during the boom. He quit after they fired me for not calling in to those conference calls, he really knew what he was doing and only worked there for fun as he had other income sources. I bet it really sucks there now from a customer perspective. I told her I wasn't going to do it so she should just fire me right then and there, but she must have mistaken me for somebody that could be intimidated by some greasy dumb bastard that could yell and try to demean people over the phone.

Oh yeah, forgot my favorite part. They wouldn't stock our store with much stuff either so we were constantly running out of popular shit that people would want, and I was supposed to try to sell them bullshit almost nobody wanted.

"Uh, no dude. This is awesome, trust me. These things are literally flying off the shelves, that's why the shelves are full because we have to order so many. We have a warehouse full of these that'll be gone by the end of the week. If you want one, which trust me you do, now is the time. I can give you 20% off this item that we mark up 1000% today only. Oh, you only want the phone? Well, I want to make sure you leave satisfied and with your device protected. So many times customers have walked out the door and moments later dropped their brand new phone only to scratch or break the screen, but there's nothing we can do at that point. I can bundle the screen protector, case and an additional accessory together and give you and additional 10% discount *cough* after I mark it up 1500 thousand percent *cough*"

5
lalalinzee•

The mere concept that "idle time" is unproductive needs to die. Sometimes I need to pause and think. Sometimes I need to take a shit. You best believe I am more "productive" at work and the quality of my work improves when I am so generously afforded the opportunity to do so. 🙄

Why are business leaders such dipshits...

13
Compositepylon•

Lol nice one!

11
1760ghost•

Check out move mouse. Learned about it a few weeks ago. I dont get monitored, but it help keep the screen from going idle. It wiggles the mouse however frequently you set it. https://move-mouse.en.softonic.com/

4
Impressive-Baker2549•

If you are using your own home computer that may work but if you are using a company computer they would lock down the ability for you to install anything.

I would recommend a more physical device such as putting the mouse on an old analog watch.

3
1760ghost•

Every company and situation is different. This probably wouldn't work for this poster, but just wanted to share. I installed it on my company computer, after being told about it by someone they hired to train us. The limits on my work comp are weird, they let some things in and block others. If you give presentations or are on zoom calls you could say that you need it so you don't always have to physically move the mouse just to keep the screen from going black.

1
willthesane•

This is so wrong, do your computers use powershell? Do you have a way of seeing whether or not you are classed as idle at any given time? I ask because I wrote a script that presses the f15 key every minute so my computer doesn't lock up.

It is trivial for me to set it to pressing for every second.

3
willthesane•

while (16 -gt (get-date).hour) {

$wsh=New-Object -ComObject WScript.Shell
$wsh.SendKeys('+{F15}')
Start-Sleep -seconds 10

}

A summary of it, if the time is less than 1600, type f15 every 10 seconds. f15 does nothing, it just exists so I will pretend to be at the computer.

3
[deleted]•

Since they are asking for more productivity, you can surely ask for a raise, right?

3
JDuCalissonOP•

Every time I ask for more money leadership just ghosts me.

2
chainlink131•

Methinks you're about to be fired.

3
JDuCalissonOP•

Thank god

2
chainlink131•

Shake that severance money makerrrrr

2
Impressive-Baker2549•

A lot of jobs are easy and require you to just go through the physical motions of doing the job. Be that putting the pin in the pin hole for a physical type job or pressing a key on a keyboard for an office type job.

However, other jobs require something unique. That is thought. Thought cannot be registered by pins in pin holes or key taps on a keyboard but by space. The space to think. The space to allow other distractions to go so you can think.

3
mama_emily•

Jesus Christ corporate America sounds like such a fucking nightmare

2
Interdigitated1337•

Have some internet points good sir

1
zhyzyk7•

It will backfire if you go in there with the attitude "I will do what you tell me and only what you tell me".

While common sense says this should be normal it is not what common business culture has said for more than 50 years. By now anybody should understand that when a company sets a bar the intention is to exceed it, not meet it. How far you exceed it is up to you, but only meeting it is not the understood norm.

-15
DUXICON•

if they have higher expectations, they should make them known.

the understanding of "meeting expectations is not good enough" is total shit.

12
[deleted]•

[removed]

-7
DudleyMason•

Are you lost? There are plenty of subs where bootlickers can pretend the insane demands of our capitalist overlords are reasonable. This isn't one of them.

7
[deleted]•

[removed]

-6
JDuCalissonOP•

Well, you are certainly right. I appreciate your realism here.

I've just been getting jerked around by this company for about a year now, so I don't really care if the attitude backfires. Just coasting at the moment to collect a paycheck while looking for better options.

10
[deleted]•

[deleted]

6
[deleted]•

[deleted]

3
[deleted]•

[deleted]

3
zhyzyk7•

I sound like a realistic person.

You may find realism to be soft and boring. That's entirely up to you.

-5
[deleted]•

[deleted]

2