TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
If you got the impression that I'm doing personal business of some kind on company time, that's not the case. But my definition of company time, and your definition, and the company's definition, may be different. I work it out.
The only times I do anything like check my email or write out something for my own use is outside work hours. I may do that on my lunch break or before or after normal hours. My employer gets exactly what he is legally entitled to from me: 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week. He even gets what I think he's morally entitled to - when I agree to get things done by a deadline, I work more than 8/40 if that's what it takes to finish on time. I'm legally entitled to a certain amount of break time during the day, and I figure it's my business alone if I choose to take that break checking my progress on ebay instead going outside to smoke. If I do something personal between sunup and sundown while I'm physically located inside his building, that never interferes in any way with either the amount of time I spend on his concerns or the quality of the work I do for him. If I'm here sitting at this desk 9 hours a day and 1 hour of that is mine, he is not being robbed in
any way.
In my opinion I have a really simple rule about situations like this: I won't work for someone who has a bug up his *** about the hours I work. That doesn't mean I refuse to conform to company schedules. If the boss insists that I must be at my desk by 8 AM, I'm there. If he insists I can't leave before 5, I stay. But even so, I won't put up with the kind of employer who tries to turn me into a robot who does nothing but grind a keyboard all day long.
In the past, more than once I've taken a job and then found out the employer insists that every minute I spend inside the building must be spent on company matters. I mean, I've found bosses who would break up conversations in the halls and would cruise the cube farm looking for people who were in somebody else's cube talking about things not related to work. I won't work in such places. If I find myself in such a situation, I ask the boss if he is willing to compromise. And more than once he's said no and I've walked. Hard times or not, I will no longer work for Stalinistic employers - I can find some other way to make enough money to get by.
And no, I don't count time spent on this board as personal, because this is a forum where I get useful information on professional matters.
> Sadly, this does involve company assets. This involves
> company time.
> Companies are usually fairly flexible about this, but it
> should still be
> acknowledged. I am not a manager but I know how they think.
> From 8 - 5
> or whenever, you're on company time. There was a
> discussion on another
> list about this. People wanted to do creative writing --
> hopefully on
> their lunch hour -- and didn't know how to do this
> without involving
> company assets. The consensus seemed to be to use a USB
> stick. Okay,
> fine. Then a real live manager chimed in, saying that, if
> you do
> anything but your job on company time, then -- technically
> speaking --
> you are stealing from him, and that's called theft.
> I'm just saying.
Create HTML or Microsoft Word content and convert to Help file formats or
printed documentation. Features include support for Windows Vista & 2007
Microsoft Office, team authoring, plus more. http://www.DocToHelp.com/TechwrlList
True single source, conditional content, PDF export, modular help.
Help & Manual is the most powerful authoring tool for technical
documentation. Boost your productivity! http://www.helpandmanual.com
---
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
