The trick is to find your way out of the corporate maze...
Someday, I will make a living working somewhere other than in an office. I will play music loudly while I work. I will wear clothing that shows off my tattoos, rather than covering them up. I will take time off for good weather and good health. And, most importantly, I will be able to recognize that time is a precious resource that I can decide how to spend.
Sadly, that day’s not quite here yet, but I’m working on it.
There’s a website/comic/blog called A Softer World that I follow regularly, and today’s post hit a bit close to home. “No, I don’t have a doctor’s note. And maybe if you treated your employees like adults, we wouldn’t skip work to play video games.” Now, I’ve never skipped work for the express purpose of playing video games. But I have taken my share of “mental health days,” when I just need a breather, and, especially as the basement renovations have been ramping up, I’ve done quite a bit of “working from home” when I really just need to get errands done.
One of the consequences of my four-hour-a-day commute is that finding the time to run even the smallest of errands is quite a challenge. Heavens forfend I have to stop at a store or office that’s only open “normal” business hours – that usually requires taking a day off, as this week when I had to go to the MVA to get our truck’s registration and tags.
This would all be much easier if I was allowed to telecommute on a regular basis… but no luck. Our CEO, apparently, “doesn’t believe in it.” As though telecommuting is some sort of mythological beast that may or may not exist. Perhaps I’m being petulant, but this aggravates me to no end. Numerous studies have shown that teleworking is both viable and successful, and that it results in much happier, more productive workers. Does that matter to our CEO? Not a whit. He, like many others, is still stuck on the idea that if an employee can’t be checked on constantly, they’re obviously not going to work.
Ah, the problem of legislating to the lowest common denominator. Some schmuck downloaded porn onto a company computer, so everyone’s web surfing must be curtailed. Some doofus missed an important deadline because he lied about working from home, so no one can do so. Some idiot made off with a bunch of pens, so the office supplies are locked up. In my opinion, it’s much better to assume the best of people – show them trust, and they will reciprocate – yes, there are bad apples, but they can be dealt with without ruining life for the rest of the world. Of course, I’m not a manager, nor would I want to be. I much prefer to be the only one I’m responsible for – I know I can, for the most part, trust myself!
Meh. I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much – at least I have an office instead of a cubicle, and it even has windows. Of course, they don’t open to let in any fresh air… but I’m thankful for the small favors.
