April 11, 2012 at 8:40 am
jfogel-1131029 (4/11/2012)
I typically take 3-4 minutes to have a cig. I'm also here after hours, weekends and doing whatever it takes to get it done. For that alone I couldn't care less about what anyone thinks of my smoking. My health insurance isn't through my company and I'm not paid by the hour. The owner of the company smoke more than I do as well. We do have one guy who hangs out when smoking. He is one of those 15 minute people and that really does get on my nerves. I once had a client remark about how fast I was back from a break. I told them I wasn't going to lunch. They were used to people loitering while smoking. Time is time. For anyone here complaining about smoking, just remember that posting in this thread isn't what your employer pays you for so try not to let the pot and kettle get together.
Same company different person. I wondered why she if took a smoke break, she was only gone long enough to take two or three puffs and that was it.
Personally, I think smoking is a nasty habit. My parents smoked while I was growing up and I'm glad I didn't pick up the habit. I am not, however, going to force my beliefs on you if you do smoke. All I ask is be courteous around me. And yes, I have gone out on a smoke break with coworkers who smoked so we could talk. Not a problem.
April 11, 2012 at 8:42 am
I don't smoke but I know enough smokers to realize that excessive restrictions on smoke breaks is probably counter productive.
[This brings up a side thought: There are lots more restrictions on smoking in and around public places and I wonder what effect this has on jury members. Would you like to be facing jury members in a hostile mindset?]
...
-- FORTRAN manual for Xerox Computers --
April 11, 2012 at 8:45 am
Never considered that as I've yet to be called for jury duty. Still, I'd take that a bit more serious than a craving for a cigarette.
April 11, 2012 at 8:48 am
jfogel-1131029 (4/11/2012)
For anyone here complaining about smoking, just remember that posting in this thread isn't what your employer pays you for so try not to let the pot and kettle get together.
Please don't assume everyone who posts in this forum is at work. :w00t:
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
April 11, 2012 at 8:53 am
Did you know that sitting at your desk for long periods can be very unhealthy and consequently very unproductive? It is pretty routine for me to work a 9+ hour day where I am highly engaged in my job activities so I have to keep a close eye on how long I've been at my desk.
I try to get up at least once an hour for a quick 5 minute break. Sometimes the break lasts longer but typically it is 5 minutes. I find that I come back to my work with a better attitude and perspective more often than not.
I also take an occassional "brain break" and go google something that is not work related. But I don't spend more than a few minutes on such diversions. Sometimes I look up and see that I've "wasted" 20 minutes but that doesn't happen often and is still good for me. It is amazing how looking at an unrelated topic can get me pumped up intellectually and it carries over to my work when I resume the task at hand.
So give yourself a break when you need one. Chaining yourself to your desk is not a good strategy and fixating on the problem at hand isn't productive.
When I'm in that awesome intellectual groove where the code is flowing off of my fingers, nothing can distract me...except when the chair cushion starts digging into my behind and my lower back feels like a rusty hinge. 😉
However, if you are workin' eBay, Facebook and Twitter 3 or 4 hours of your work day I hope that you enjoy spending time in the unemployment line.
April 11, 2012 at 8:54 am
Well, I am at work and posting here while I debug a Crystal Report issue and text back and forth with the wife. Multitasking at its finest.
April 11, 2012 at 8:54 am
Did you know that living can be very dangerous to your health too?:-D
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
April 11, 2012 at 9:00 am
TravisDBA (4/11/2012)
Did you know that living can be very dangerous to your health too?:-D
Go to work!
April 11, 2012 at 9:01 am
I like this editorial because I have had this same conversation with coworkers before. You can only focus so hard on a task before you get worn out. Having some breaks throughout your day can really help to keep you going and recharge the batteries. Sometimes when you set a task aside and come back after a break, you may see something that you didn't before and figure out new solutions as well.
I agree with the fact that non-work related conversations with coworkers can help with your internal marketing. I also think it tends to help with teamwork as people will feel more comfortable working with someone who they have chatted with. You can also gain insight into what is going on in other parts of the business just by listening to someone complain in the break room. I've found out that projects were coming my way before the project meetings ever happened just by chatting with coworkers in other departments.
April 11, 2012 at 9:23 am
I would not be anywhere near as knowledgeable, not at the level I am today, were it not for participating in discussion forums like SQLServerCentral. There are other non-IT things going on when I get home, so I can't do all my web browsing there.
We really can only measure an IT worker by their net production and how able they are to step up the plate and resolve a problem in a crisis. Organizations that try to monitor their IT staff's activities by the minute, keeping them on a short leash and calling them out on it, they do so at their own peril. Their best people will defect when they get tired of being treated like grade school children.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
April 11, 2012 at 9:26 am
I hate to say how old I am, but I started working in business about 20 years ago, prior to the time that everyone had a PC on their desk. Email was not the primary means of communication, either.
Every day, the managers would receive a copy of the Wall Street Journal and would spend a portion of their day reading the news. This was not considered a distraction, but was part of getting the information they needed to perform their job better.
Today, we have high speed communications so the lag time from putting a memo in the inter-company correspondence and waiting a week for the reply is gone, but the part of gaining knowledge to do your job better has not gone away. We have faster access to the information so our breaks may be shorter in duration, but still just as necessary.
April 11, 2012 at 9:38 am
As with some earlier comments about smoke breaks, what looks like "non-productive" time to an external watcher may actually be very productive. During the Y2K years (12x7 days...) several of us would go for a walk for 15 to 20 minutes - sometimes up to a half hour. While walking we would discuss problems we were running into, and usually the group would come up with solutions to those problems. Plus we'd come back re-charged and eager to dive into the code again.
I think that counts as SUPER-productive time!:-P
Fortunately, our supervisor agreed - she saw the end results and was very happy.
Steph Brown
April 11, 2012 at 9:49 am
How many meetings are conducted on the GOLF course?
Certainly that can be productive too, right?
Jason...AKA CirqueDeSQLeil
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April 11, 2012 at 11:08 am
Stephanie J Brown (4/11/2012)
As with some earlier comments about smoke breaks, what looks like "non-productive" time to an external watcher may actually be very productive. During the Y2K years (12x7 days...) several of us would go for a walk for 15 to 20 minutes - sometimes up to a half hour. While walking we would discuss problems we were running into, and usually the group would come up with solutions to those problems. Plus we'd come back re-charged and eager to dive into the code again.I think that counts as SUPER-productive time!:-P
Fortunately, our supervisor agreed - she saw the end results and was very happy.
Yes, but I would venture to say that that is much more the exception than it is the rule. Most smoking conversations I ever overheard while walking past had nothing to do with business. They were about the baby spitting up or what hubby had to eat at dinner the night before. 😀
"Technology is a weird thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ...:-D"
April 11, 2012 at 11:15 am
jfogel-1131029 (4/11/2012)
Well, I am at work and posting here while I debug a Crystal Report issue and text back and forth with the wife. Multitasking at its finest.
The exact second I read this post while eating lunch at my desk, my wife IM'ed me (to pick up groceries tonight). The universe works in mysterious ways.
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