Need advice about wasted time in the office

I am from a small office (3 drafters, 1 office manager and 2 principals) and I have seen a growing use of the internet and a LOT of time being wasted looking stuff up, playing games, chatting, etc. I am definitely not innocent in this, but I am just wondering from personal experience, how much might this be affecting the bottom line...both in office profit and projects just taking that much longer to get completed and being accurate.

I want to raise the alert to the principals, but not be a rat. I see a lot of time being spend pointlessly online...researching cad commands or finding blocks is one thing, but reading a blog about your favorite sports team for an hour is another.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Our office is small and our hours have already been cut by 8. If project productivity can help, I am all for it. I know I am sick and tired of going back to look at someones work and see that it isn't complete or accurate and wonder why that is.

If you're going to alert your principals, I would suggest that you make sure you have everything documented. Dates, times, individuals, amount of time wasted, problems with projects due to wasted time, etc., etc. Once you start making allegations there's no going back, so you better make sure you have all your ducks in a row, because the co-workers that you are accusing of wasting time are going to deny it and the burden of proof is going to be on you. And don't start blowing things out of proportion either. Did you actually see someone reading an article about their sports team for an hour, or was it really more like 15 minutes? A certain amount of wasted time is to be expected, and is actually necessary. No one can stay productive for a full 8 hours a day. People need to take breaks or else they would go crazy. So just make sure that you're not overreacting to something that's not really an issue before you decide to blow the whistle.

yeah, I see what you're saying. And maybe it wasn't a straight hour, but over the course of the day it is at least an hour on that one site...probably another 45 minutes on facebook, another hour playing facebook games. How would you suggest I document it? I don't readily have access to their computer and there is no log of what sites they visit in a day (other than browser history). I know I don't want to make a big ruckus, but I have brought this issue up in the distant past and at an office meeting it was simply, we should not be going online and texting all day. And there was no follow thru. I know the bosses are king of relaxed, but I don't think they see just how much goes on during the day. I'm just trying to find an appropriate way of dealing with it without just unplugging the internet. haha

You're walking a dangerous line. As you said, you're guilty, to some degree, of the same behavior. What if another coworker beats you to the punch and tells the boss that you are goofing off along with the others? Now the shoe is on the other foot as they say. Be very careful.

I agree, and trust me, they won't beat me to it. whenever the situation has come up i have always included myself in that conversation saying I need to focus more too. I don't simply point the finger and walk away unscathed. I would absolutely take as much blame as them, but I also am the only one who cares enough to raise the issue. If hours are getting cut and there might be more impact in the future, why not nip it in the butt now? I just don't know how.

mainly, I'm trying to go for an office standard/etiquette not get any specific person in trouble.

Just to test it out, for the last hour I was watching one co-worker (since I can see him from the corner of my eye) to see how long he was online. and out of the last 60 minutes, he was online for 36:55 of it. So over a full day of work, it adds up. (and no, it wasn't during lunch)

If it's really that big of a problem, there is internet monitoring software out there that could be installed on everyone's computer. You would, of course, need to notify everyone that the software is being installed in order to shield yourself from a possible "invasion of privacy" lawsuit. But if they know they're being watched, the internet usage issue will no longer be an issue.

But be prepared, everyone in your office is going to hate you for this.

There is a very high percentage chance that all that will happen is that this will blow up in your face. Unless you are in a position of authority you need to ignore the actions of those around you and let the clueless principals go about their business. I approached management years ago about a guy cheating on his time sheet, and I tried to approach it from the best angle possible. The manager accused me of having a personal vendatta against the guy (I didn't, just hate to see people steal) and he kept cheating and I left for greener pastures, valuable lesson in hand. That lesson, keep your head down and mind your own business. And of course, no good deed goes unpunished.

I agree with Rkent. Just mind your own business, do your job and don't worry about what everyone else is doing, or not doing. The slackers will be exposed eventually, due to their own poor behavior and negligence. And unless you are in charge, it's not really up to you to police the office. And believe me, the principals know what's going on in their office. They see the hours spent on jobs and they know who's performing and who's slacking off. If they were concerned about it, they would put a stop to it. The best thing you can do is just produce quality work in a timely manner. And remember, the cream always rises to the top.

true, very good points. i think i will do like you said. if anything it will show in their work. plus i have been in charge of the office cad standards, so once the principals sign off on what i've come up with and things keep getting redlined over and over, they will eventually see. thanks for the advice!

You would, of course, need to notify everyone that the software is being installed in order to shield yourself from a possible "invasion of privacy" lawsuit.

I'll have to say I have never heard of that. Every policy I have even seen on this essentially says...

* The computer, network, and all digital content belong to the company.

* The company has the right to inspect, view, save, etc. it's own property at any time without notice.

* Employees do NOT have privacy rights regarding internet and email usage.

Of course with all things legal in nature, it's all subject to opinion and I wouldn't ask for in, or take legal advice from, an online forum of any type.. :wink:

I'm not giving legal advice, but if there is no policy in place, which it sounds like there isn't, it would probably be a good idea to let them know what you're doing. C.Y.A., that's all.

Yeah, everything I have read in the last 4 or 5 years seems to say that we have no expectation of privacy at work and anything on the computer belongs to the company.

Every time we start our computer where I work there is a little splash screen that says that and other notices about the use of the internet, company computers, etc. To get rid of that message and move on you have to agree to the notice. No one can say they didn't know the companies policy here.

As I said, it sounds to me like this company has no policy at all concerning internet usage or anything else for that matter. So if someone were to be fired for excessive internet usage, without ever being warned against it, I would say they have a legitimate basis for a lawsuit. This is why I said they should probably let everyone know if they decided to install internet monitoring software on the office computers. It's one thing to know, from the beginning, that your online activity is being monitored and you have no privacy, but if they just all of a sudden start watching you without telling you, I believe that is illegal. But what do I know, I'm just a dumb Cad jockey.

haha. yeah i get both points being made, and in general this company is pretty relaxed about most things. hell, we are lucky to be using cad, the principals are old school and never learned it. we have an old office manual that dates back to before computers, we have been working on updating it, but until that is distributed, there's no official notification on computer policy...even though we have been told in meetings to limit use...that was just a one day thing and then it went back to what we were doing.

hell, i was at one office a few years ago where they had one dedicated computer for internet during the day but other than that it was turned off office wide from 9-12 and 1-4 so people literally couldn't access it.

If you are the boss then address it with the people concerned on there own. If you are not the boss & their slacking is directly effecting you work discuss it with your boss. If you arn't their boss & slacking doesn't directly effect you, then pull your head in. Less time worring about other people work and get your work done. Lead by example!

I agree with minding one's own business. As the saying goes, "I've often regretted my words, but never my silence."

But realistically let's remember a couple of things. Sure, we all need to focus more. But asking a human being to focus for more than 45-60 minutes at a time is just not realistic. Back in the late 1980's I worked for a firm with management who expected every minute of the 8 hours be accounted for. Yeah, good luck with that. Being a concencious worker I decided to track every minute of my days working for about 2 weeks. No matter which day it was, or what we were working on, about 1 hour per day disappeared. 3-5 minute bathroom breaks a couple of times a day, just shooting the breeze with a co-worker or even the boss (socializing is still an important thing at work), calling your wife at home to tell her something important and then just a couple of breaks in a shift to get up and move around and recharge or clear your brain. Even if we didn't have the Internet humans can't be expected to work non-stop for an entire 8 hour shift, week after week, month after month. There are days when you can fill up an 8 hour or even 10 hour shift totally focused on work. But to ask any human to do this for 2,080 man hours per year, well it just won't happen.

Now, if these co-workers are slacking off by surfing the net for non-related work stuff, that will probably sort itself out without you having to be a snitch. Maybe just mentioning something to them will be sufficient and you be the one to set the example. And always be careful about which battles you choose to fight.

I'm inclined to agree that if their activity doesn't directly impact upon you, it's best to keep your own counsel, but...

... if you really want to do something about it, you could suggest to the boss that it is possible to block access to specific sites which you've read have had a significant impact upon employee productivity. DBroada has limited access from work in this fashion, as do many other members

Most standard office servers record each website a workstation computer is on during the day and for how long it was visiting that site. If the bosses care, they will look at it from time to time. And of course if everyone know's that's the set up, there's a lot less surfing.

Also, another side of this whole thing is if the drafters are working on a task on an hourly billing basis to the client. Typically I look for anywhere from .5 to .75 hours a day marked on the timesheet as "admin". That covers the call to the wife mentioned above, the water cooler talk, setting up the football pool on Friday, etc. And allowing that builds morale and fosters a good attitude. But somebody who's surfing two hours a day ON TOP of the aformentioned activities is going to have to account for the time and it will be likely billed to a client.

Case in point, while I'm an architect, I had a civil engineer do some work at my personal residence. For one task of a very minor drafting modification to a swale (moving two contour lines), I got a bill for 2.5 hours. Probably because the drafter couldn't write down "4 hours" for admin time that day. The boss agreed it was excessive. I brought up the possibility of drafter "distractions" with him. Glad I wasn't there for that discussion.

I caught it but many clients wouldn't.

Doug

Microsaur servers will let them monitor Internet access. They have to turn on that feature, however, before they can learn anything. And to turn it on, they have to know it's there. They don't have to tell you it's on, but it's safe to assume it is.

It's true that employees have no expectation of privacy on company computers. The equipment, after all, belongs to your employer and is intended for business use. It is not there for your entertainment, unless you are allowed to entertain yourself during breaks.

I've worked in places where they didn't care what else you did as long as the work went out on time. I've also worked in places where they force you to account for every minute. I prefer the former, where I'm treated like an adult who's capable of managing my own time.

Not to disrespect Cad64, but sometimes keeping your nose clean is not enough. Sometimes politics plays a role, and sometimes people hate you just because you are better at your job than they are.Take the word of one who knows. I got into trouble, and eventually lost a job (not drafting), for being too good at it.

To the OP: it might be better to approach the matter obliquely. You might suggest a form of metrics for productivity, some kind of test that your slacker co-workers will fail. If your company's situation gets worse, it might make more sense to have two full-time drafters rather than three part-time. You want to make sure that if someone gets laid off, that someone isn't you. And you may feel that the company already values you enough to keep you. Every situation is different.