Real jobs

Somewhat contentious thread title - but I was wondering how many regular forumites work from home, or are freelance, and so can more easily spend time on the forum? I work in an open plan office, with my computer facing my boss's boss's office, so can only join in at lunch time, or quickly first thing.

How do you manage to hide this addiction to talking about ironing, sweets etc from other people at work??
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Comments

  • Urm... Gotta job, don't do it though... Does that count?
  • I am the boss!! Anyway, as some of my work has connections with marathon running and some forum members would indirectly be clients of mine even if they don't know it, I can justify the time spent here as valuable research. Phew, do you think I got away with it?
  • drewdrew ✭✭✭
    As an employee benefits consultant I spend a considerable time researching companies and meeting up with HR directors/managers. When I am in the office I usually have 4 or 5 windows running at the same time and simply switch between windows when someone's passing. Having a laptop also makes it easier as I can position it so that no one else can see. Dead easy really. I'm typing this and talking to the boss at the same time!
  • I too am the boss! I work from home as a domestic engineer, and we have broadband, so I'm permanently connected to the outside world. I just have to check in every now and then if I get time to.
  • I've got all bases covered - freelance, work from home, own boss and employ others (but they all work in an office a long, long way away from me!)
  • I own an 0906 telephone chat line at £1.50 p.m., employing 150 women slaves chained to their mouthpieces, on a disused oil platform in the middle of the North Sea.

    No distractions then from tetchy bosses.

  • I work at a University - hence connection always open + working on v laid back arts campus + students not back yet + sharing office with gay pagan high priest busy checking out Californian kilt sites = not a lot of work gets done!!! Have Staff Development Review tomorrow though - not quite sure how I will explain my lack of development!
  • I work from home, and since I occasionally collaborate with a company, they've paid for an always on ISDN connection for me (I'm too rural for ADSL). Nobody really knows what I do during the day, and nobody really cares so long as I can show some result at the end of it.
  • I'm a postgrad, so no, absolutely no real job for me. I had one once though, although the sad details are best left unsaid - proletarian office slave!

    I work all day, and I do actually get work done. I have to finish my thesis by June, so I definitely have to work!

    I'm moving in a few weeks, so god knows what will happen to the quality of my internet connection when I will be forced to reply upon NTL. Shivers!!

    And come next summer, I'll be starting a postdoc, so still no 'real' job. Oh, how I love academia!
  • i work 9-5 as a civil engineer in the same room as my boss - the screen faces him. so generally i only check in before and after work and at lunchtime - but he's out at the moment so i thought i'd have a quick look!
  • I work in an open plan office as well, but the last desk reshuffle was kind to me! I got the prized corner desk with my monitor facing away from the rest of the office! So like Drew, I keep a couple of work windows (Outlook and Access) on standby and use the Auto Hide feature of the taskbar to cover my extra curricular activity when someone saunters over!

    Don't ask me what my job is - I can't remember as it's been several months since I dabbled with work!!!!
  • I'm in an open plan office too but currently everyone's too busy to take any notice of what I'm doing! (does that mean I should be too?). We spend a lot of time on the telephone, often on hold, so I can get away with browsing the internet. I also have a lot of 'work related' screens open ready for the quick switch. It's only when I start laughing aloud (last time at Caz's jokes) that I get inquisitive looks.
  • Suz,

    What you need to remember is that everyone else is probably also up to things they shouldn't be whilst looking so busy!

    DW
  • too true! Just had a quick look around - someone's playing solitaire, one's reading the newspaper and one's looking up something on Google. So yes, we are a very busy office at the moment!
  • I get the Double Standards of the Year award as on my last contract working from a client's premises I threatened to remove the internet facility from the temporary student team if they didn't immediately stop using chatrooms during work time.
    Actually I only log on during the day if I'm working from home; wish we could get broadband, it's so tedious listening to the bleep bleep bleep everytime the modem dials up so I can check the forum. Could do with some better employee benefits, perhaps I should give Drew a call?
  • drewdrew ✭✭✭
    Laura, I'd be happy to help you. Do you have more than 1,000 employees?
  • I am also at the university. I also have the argument to counter allegations of time wasting that I actively tried to stop them giving us a computer, they should have realised that as an addictive personality it was bound to get out of hand.
  • I work as one of Snoop Dogs women Slaves, from a disused oil platform in the middle of the North Sea. He doesn't realise that we have an Internet connection...doh!
  • I dread to think haw many hours are wasted, unless it isn't a waste just good keyboard practice.
  • Programmer working with web applications, so the work I do on here count as training, especially creating the wonderful, even if I do say so myself, was a little training exercise. Which was done with my boss looking on.
  • I've got my own room, and a lovely big room it is too, with an enormous, disgracefully cluttered desk, and my very own computer terminal. About a year ago, the dumb terminals in the consulting rooms were changed to PCs as a way of wasting more NHS resources on things other than patient care. I kicked and screamed and threatened to play minesweeper all day, but did anyone listen?

    Perhaps if I'd been able to utter the magic words "I'm a Runners World forum addict", they'd have taken some notice.

    My conscience isn't too sore because I've sneaked a look at my partners' computers and they've got far more frivolous stuff on their "favourites" lists than I have.

    I do the switching between windows thing a lot now that I know how.
  • I am the manager of a large pub/restaurant, and work 6 days a week starting at 0900 and finishing at aprox 0030 hrs.
    If I get any free time during the day, I try to fit in a training run, then tell the staff I am in my office doing paper work(which means checking forums).
    They must think my admin workload is massive lol.
    not too bothered about duping the staff, but the missus is getting p****d off with the amount of time I spend 'doing all that running stuff'(her words)
    best I go show my face I spose..........
  • How does autohide work Dog Walker? Sounds like something I need. I also have a univ web connection (but have given up research for tech transfer) so don't feel guilty about phone bills at least, just the time.

    Of course at the end of the day I can spend as much time as I want - but I think I really should be going home now...
  • I am a market researcher with media as my area of specialisation ... so this means that not only am I encouraged to surf this medium - but I also HAVE to watch lots of tele, listen to the radio, and read many papers and mags.

    And sometimes I work too.
  • I used to be the boss ... but I never used chatrooms at work as I was meant to be 'leading by example' and all that stuff (so working hard and only using the internet for client research and spying on the competition - ooh, sorry I mean 'competitor analysis')

    I now work freelance, so my time (and telephone bill) are my own. Must cut down but have three training courses to write so need a break every now and then.
  • Our hospital computers are so C##p that even if i had time it wouldnt be worth it trying to access the forum, as they crash every 2 minutes.
    So its all at home--youre keeping me from md write up!! Managed 30 mins tonite but the evil little envelope at the bottom of the screen keeps tempting me
    Up until last year, i could barely switch a computer on
    Please STOP being interesting and amusing, Im trying to work
  • I'm a DBA (database administrator) & a fair amount of my role is reactive i.e. I wait for things to go wrong & then have to fix them.
    Usually have an IE session (one of several, along woth other programs) connected to the RW forums hidden at the back of the screen on the PC at work. I check out the forums every time my neighbours go off for a coffee break.
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