Companies with No Work to Do?
I'm looking for the work life balance company out there. Don't care about comp. What companies should I apply for? I'm looking to work an hour a week.
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These companies and positions exist but you can't really tell from outside the company. And the people who are working / have worked there have a strong incentive not to talk about it because it's damaging to their own reputation.
The issue is presenteeism. You might not be expected to work but you will be expected to keep your seat warm. The problem with this is it is mind numbingly dull, you will soon become sick of it.
It's true but presenteeism in the past couple of years has meant keeping your Slack online.
> The problem with this is it is mind numbingly dull
High level executives occupy positions at multiple boards. The premium business travel alone solves this problem.
High level executives occupy positions at multiple boards. The premium business travel alone solves this problem.
Not when I can work on side projects all day. This is my true passion.
There are development jobs where there is so much dysfunction, so many interruptions, meetings, slacks, whatever, you barely get any deep engineering work done. If there's no "real" work, you get assigned tickets that have been in Jira for 4 years and are now suddenly a priority, just so your scrum master can keep up appearances. Bullshit doesn't obey gravity: it flows up and down.
Look for a position in product management. Other than founders, almost every other "product person" I've worked with did very little.
Look for a position in product management. Other than founders, almost every other "product person" I've worked with did very little.
_Bullshit Jobs_, by David Graeber. The article it's based on is all over the web if you want to get a quick overview. The book expands on the ideas. It seems like a joke, and in many ways it is. But it's also a surprisingly thoughtful look at something that's real.
I do have to say, though, that I never thought of treating it as a handbook and not as a expose. (See the meme "_1984_ wasn't intended to be a handbook.")
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs
I do have to say, though, that I never thought of treating it as a handbook and not as a expose. (See the meme "_1984_ wasn't intended to be a handbook.")
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullshit_Jobs
It teaches people how to find bullshit jobs or just talks about them? I heard of it and only know that it's an attack on automation/keynesian economics.
It’s definitely not an attack on automation.
The value in this case would be to identify types of jobs and the various red flags around them. Some BS jobs actually have a lot of, pointless, work attached to them. You would want to avoid these.
Within the nomenclature of the book, some Flunkie jobs would be what you are looking for. Others not so much.
While the book is very poetic, and very funny, the most useful part for you, I surmise, would be the descriptions supplied to the author as part of his research. Lots of stories where the job in question had no real activities associated with them other than keeping a low profile. One in particular, a municipal water worker, who was systematically being deprived of duties by rival factions managed to stop showing up for work for several years, yet stayed on the payroll for several years unnoticed.
There apparently some unwanted notoriety and legal action towards the end of his tenure. Avoiding this may be considered an exercise for the student/reader...
The value in this case would be to identify types of jobs and the various red flags around them. Some BS jobs actually have a lot of, pointless, work attached to them. You would want to avoid these.
Within the nomenclature of the book, some Flunkie jobs would be what you are looking for. Others not so much.
While the book is very poetic, and very funny, the most useful part for you, I surmise, would be the descriptions supplied to the author as part of his research. Lots of stories where the job in question had no real activities associated with them other than keeping a low profile. One in particular, a municipal water worker, who was systematically being deprived of duties by rival factions managed to stop showing up for work for several years, yet stayed on the payroll for several years unnoticed.
There apparently some unwanted notoriety and legal action towards the end of his tenure. Avoiding this may be considered an exercise for the student/reader...
I once worked at a company like that without meaning to. It seemed great at first; seemingly limitless private funding and no expectations meant we could basically dither about on whatever we wanted. But it drove me crazy eventually because I actually enjoy getting stuff done, but trying to accomplish anything there was impossible. I ended up quitting two months before the company shut down completely (coincidentally). Turns out the funding _wasn't_ without limit after all.
Book/vape/music/stereo-shop cashier. You'll have to be present, won't get paid much, but you'll rarely ever have to work.
Also, mid to high-end watch store sales, or any other retail store with low traffic.
I thought of that too, but I don't think I'll be able to hide away and do my own work. Their pay is also too tiny to being worthwhile.
Im curious what you’re looking for then. You said “I don’t care about comp” in your post, but now the pay is too tiny? Are you looking for a company that’s going to pay you to work on your side project?
I'm talking about not caring if it's on the low end of standard industry pay, which would still be way more than min wage. If I didn't care at all, then there's literally no point in getting a job to do nothing because I wouldn't care about the money. 10$ an hour is not worth the inconvenience of being stuck somewhere and needing to do work once in a while
Protip: Stop being lazy
It's difficult - 30-60% of trait conscientiousness is genetic - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-82781-5
Even more difficult when you add some mental health problems on top of it.
Even more difficult when you add some mental health problems on top of it.
I've been in the situation of working 10 hours/week. I'm pretty sure that it's as damaging to your mental health as overwork. It's like being obese because you don't exercise and not exercising because you're not fit enough to.
I often define work-life balance as a point where you have enough of a life to escape from work and enough work to escape from life. When there's not enough work, you don't actually get that escape.
I often define work-life balance as a point where you have enough of a life to escape from work and enough work to escape from life. When there's not enough work, you don't actually get that escape.
Obesity has much more to do with diet and genetics than exercise. The human body is freakishly efficient and you’d need to run for miles to “exercise out” a couple of cookies.
There are over a dozen cookies in a box.
There are over a dozen cookies in a box.
"Protip: Stop being lazy"
Why? Maybe they've already worked hard and made enough. Or maybe they're like me and worked hard but was never rewarded for it, so why continue trying.
Why? Maybe they've already worked hard and made enough. Or maybe they're like me and worked hard but was never rewarded for it, so why continue trying.
The most charitable interpretation I can give this question is to treat it like a hypothetical. From that perspective, this is quite a fun question to ask!
Your assumption is incorrect. I love to work. Just not corporate work.
Government, government contractors, TBTF banks. Basically, anywhere productivity doesn't matter.
One hour is a hard sell.
When that happened to me, I had tenure with the company and slowly became a « reviewer », rubber stamping stuff and slowly become irrelevant technically. ( that’s usually when I switch ship or position )
When that happened to me, I had tenure with the company and slowly became a « reviewer », rubber stamping stuff and slowly become irrelevant technically. ( that’s usually when I switch ship or position )
Consider middle management.
Automotive, pharma, banking, insurance, business software - but only in their headquarters and main locations, and only after couple of years of employment.
Gov't contractor