What do people do at work when they are bored?

Another way to sum up what you just said: Bludging.

As for me, I can space out for ages...10 minutes, 15 minutes, 45 minutes...hell, if I wasn't worried I was missing out on something, I could spend the entire day spaced out...it's a great feeling. I just sit there, doing nothing, just letting my thoughts wander, and I think that sometimes, I can genuinely think about nothing...of course, that realisation wrecks that.

Then again, wouldn't realising that it happened imply that I knew what was going on through my mind, and therefore thinking about nothing? Nice little paradox there...I really should read Catch-22...

 

When I am bored at work, I generally annoy my colleagues. I have several tactics I employ, dependent on circumstances.

• De-railing is where I talk about the work they're supposed to be doing. I ask probing questions as to why they are doing it a particular way and keep my responses as vaguely pessimistic as possible, allowing playing on their natural self-doubts. After a while, they generally lose confidence in what they were doing and stop work in favour of staring vacantly, confused as to how they should proceed.
• Carping is a systematic approach to making complaints. First, I find a reason add to the daily-bitch¹. Then, building on the inevitable sympathetic mumbling, I move to an issue that I know to be affecting someone else within earshot. It doesn't have to be one that affects me, since the idea is to wake the bee within their bonnet. Finally, I use the indignant fervour to slip in a new complaint, which, with nurturing and the usual management deafness, will eventually grow into a new daily-bitch. Carping is aimed at getting people to become so enraged that they won't work or, ideally, they'll spend some time composing a rant-mail to management (which they'll probably delete without sending).
• Gossiping about people who are in another room or off sick, is an excellent way to promote sulleness and infighting. I generally try to hint, without actually saying, that someone else is being given priveleges due to us, or is getting away with taking liberties. Specualtion about how bosses spend the time out of the office, or what sales people really do during "client meetings" are good sources of this type of gossip. If you can breed enough resentment, people eventually find ways not to help each other, thus causing all but the most independent of tasks to break down before completion.
• Wittering is the last resort when none of the other tactics are appropriate. I generally just pick the last thing my attention focus on and construct an "Isn't it funny how ..." or a "What if ..." about it. It's a high-maintenance technique, since it only disrupts work for as long as I can continue speaking seemingly-reasonable nonsense. Fortunately, all forms of speaking nonsense are a bit of a talent of mine.

As you can see, when bored at work, my main aim is to make sure that my workmates aren't making me look bad by being irritatingly productive.


¹The thing that everyone has been complaining about every day for the last few weeks/months/years. Examples include "Why do we always have to clear up the mess made by sales" and "Why does Silent Bob always have a smoke outside our window."

 

i drink, yeah for me!

 

Fatman have you been chanelling Dilbert again?

 

I don't read Dilbert. In a position like mine, it'd just be déja vu. I'd be constantly worried that they had just changed the matrix.

 

Dilbert rocks! That comic is so funny...

Fatman, if I had a talent like yours of being able to disrupt office work at will...well, let's just say work would be something I would look forward to each day. I love sowing the seeds of dissent, disruption and discontent, unfortunately I suck at it though...

 

It's a tough job, but someone's gotta keep our company on the edge of bankruptcy, and I'm just the man to do it!

 

Hey Jar, I think that I found a job for you. Check this out: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=s ... t_security

They are looking for men of your talent.

 

I don't know fifty bucks or a date with abdul's sister and Jar would ignore the ticking in the bag

 

It's not that simple, as you probably know. Cost of living has to be taken into account.

 

Actually DU, $23,600 to $40,700 really isn't that great. Especially considering that most of these new employees will be working and living in the larger US citys where the cost of living is much higher.
I have only been at my current job for 4 months and I make considerably more than that. BTW, all I have is military training and I am pretty low on the corporate totem-pole.

 

Are you a corporate assassin, using the skills picked up in the military to hunt down and kill rival company execs?

Or maybe a bodyguard of some sort, intimidating people with your crew cut and army-toughened physique?

 

Why, yes. :akimbo: I am hired to take out high level execs who lie on their expense reports.

Actually, I was a mechanic in the Navy. Now I take care of my company's computerized maintenace management system. It's cool because none of them understand it, and I screw with it enough to make sure they never will.

As far as other Navy training, they did a great job at teaching me how to fall down without spilling my drink. :booze:

 

Actually, DU, the politicians secretly increased their salaries by five thousand or so to $98000 at least.

As if Troika would go to Adelaide. Sure, they could do what you mentioned, but then they'd be the only business in town. Where would they get their sushi from? Nah, Brisbane would be a better place - there's already a couple of development companies here.

 

Well, I would love to visit Austrailia, but I don't think I could live there (see my profile for a couple reasons why).
Our Senators make $250,000 a year. What's more if they do two terms they get that salary for the rest of their lives! How's that for screwing the taxpayers?

 

what? you don't think we do those things here in OZ?

 

I was specifically referring to the Shooting Sports thing. I kind of like owning my own guns. :deadly:
I also tend to believe that it is a little easier to find an ice-rink here (like any lake in the winter). I could be wrong.

 

no, we have gun clubs and lakes in the winter so your safe there :wink: