So I guess it's okay to steal money from your job :sigh:

[Kit]

I take things too literal sometimes and one of them was learning you need to be busy at work and if you can't keep busy, go home. Jobs don't pay you to play on your phone or play on your game system or just sitting around.

I work as a janitor and again, they shut down the daycares because one of the teachers got COVID and that means I can't get my full 4 hours in again. Daycares are not being used so that means less work. So I started to go home again early (after I had been written up for this before) thinking the boss will be understanding because the daycares are closed and what else am I supposed to do when I have my other tasks finished. Do they want me to sit on my phone for an hour or two? Then I would be stealing money from them.

Well today I got a text from my boss asking me why am I leaving two hours early and I told him the daycares are closed so they were not being used, no dirt, no trash and I don't think he wants me to be sitting and doing nothing. He told me I had been written up for this before for leaving early unauthorized and to ask other workers to see if they need help with anything.

So I started to ask my co workers if they got a text from their boss since they also can't clean the daycares so what do they do? Turns out I only got the text and not them and they actually put in their full hours. I asked how do they do that and they said "I am not telling you to do this but I will mess around on my phone while trying to find something to do like if there are any spots on the floor or on the walls." Another co worker told me "I just sit around and wait for my shift to end" and I said "really, that is like stealing money from our work" and he said 'I know but what choice do you have" and I said "That or get fired" and he said "exactly so they leave you no choice."

So I guess at this job it is okay to steal money from your work if they are going to be so black and white about our work hours. Either that or get fired and have no money. Which is better?

 

[Misery]

Well, nobody ever said the system was very smart.

With most jobs, there is one and only one thing they care about: are you performing your duties AS THEY COME TO YOU for the allotted time? Yes? Then you are doing your job.

Are you ignoring duties when they appear, or leaving early, thus breaking either of the first two requirements? Then you are not doing your job.

If you are at work and there are simply no duties to do that are related to your job description... then yes, you can generally sit around and do whatever. So long as you are ready to jump up and Do The Things if a task does appear.

It's not stealing. Think of it more as being on-call. You're there, waiting, in case something comes up that requires your presence. During slow days... THAT is what you're getting paid for.

It's seriously just how most jobs work.

That's the entire system, really. I guarantee you, management could not give less of a fart beyond that. Management follows the system.

 

[Kit]

It's not stealing. Think of it more as being on-call. You're there, waiting, in case something comes up that requires your presence. During slow days... THAT is what you're getting paid for.

At my old job in Montana, my boss would get mad if you just stood around, ugh. It didn't matter if there was nothing to do at the moment. You couldn't just stand and wait for the linen to finish drying or washing. It didn't matter if the room attendants didn't have any dirty linen for you. I hear lot of jobs are like this and if days are slow, tough beans, keep busy.

Then there are some awesome bosses that do not care if you just sit around and do nothing if you have everything done. Be on your phone or whatever, they don't care. I have seen the talk on Reddit that you are lazy if you do this and they refuse to believe that there is nothing to do. They say, "There is always something to do." I did have a boss at my job that didn't like it if you did nothing and told me "clock out if you are not on your break and you are done with your work." But my current boss does not like me going home early while the first one didn't mind because he said I am not paid to play on my game system unless I am on my break.

 

[Thinx]

In UK a substantial amount of people have been getting paid 80% of their wages to be furloughed ie not working at all, if their job can't be done at present.

 

[Misery]

At my old job in Montana, my boss would get mad if you just stood around, ugh. It didn't matter if there was nothing to do at the moment. You couldn't just stand and wait for the linen to finish drying or washing. It didn't matter if the room attendants didn't have any dirty linen for you. I hear lot of jobs are like this and if days are slow, tough beans, keep busy.

Ah yes, THAT sort of manager. I remember that type. The type that tends to not actually think very hard, preferring instead to just make a total doofus of themselves. "You must work because you are at work", and very little actual reasoning beyond that point, if any at all. NOBODY likes that kind of manager. You'd think they'd learn this by now. Being a constant snot by asking for things to get done that do not actually exist doesnt exactly increase morale and productivity.

Also dont listen too much to Reddit. It's, well.... Reddit. I always try to steer people away from that blasted site.

In your current situation, ask very directly what to do in slow situations. Explain directly that you get confused on the whole thing when there is no task that needs to be performed. And then just see what they say.

 

[Aspychata]

Welcome to employment world. Where sometimes nothing makes sense. This is a tough time to be employed because employers have more time to micromanage with less business.

 

[Progster]

First of all, this is by no means stealing. Stealing is when you take something for yourself that doesn't belong to you, and you are not doing that. Playing on your phone is not exactly productive and in normal circumstances, doing so is likely to get yourself fired, but under these circumstances where employees have no work to do but still have to be on duty, you can't really blame them. I personally would kill time by walking around checking things, it makes you feel that you're doing something and look busy, even though there might not be anything to do. It's the boss's responsibility and also his problem if the staffing hours and duties are not managed efficiently, his fault and not that of the staff. Really, in this case he should furlough some of the staff - at least you get to go home.

 

[Wolfsage]

Hmph. Encountered that at my last job.
Work took about thirty minutes. But, you had to spend the rest waiting around. No phones either they confiscated them. Hours were weird and all over the place.

 

[SDRSpark]

Hmph. Encountered that at my last job.
Work took about thirty minutes. But, you had to spend the rest waiting around. No phones either they confiscated them. Hours were weird and all over the place.

I question the legality of confiscating phones.

Being paid to be "on duty" is exactly what is happening here. It's not stealing.

I used to have coworkers who would work OT, but not actually work - they would come in 4 hours early, sit in the cafeteria and read the newspaper. THAT was stealing. For whatever reason, management wasn't really good at cracking down on it either. If they were on the clock, they had to be paid, so they would just show up and clock in. Supervisor would tell them "no more overtime" and they'd do it again and again because...they were on the clock, they had to be paid. They came in at 2 or 3 AM and the boss didn't get there till 8.

 

[Mia]

I won't say your wrong Kit, I agree with the idea that while not working on the job you are being paid for doing nothing. I've had many jobs, and several that early on seemed strange.

Polishing glasses for example, while working in a restaurant, during the quiet times, as our boss insisted that we do something even if it seemed ridiculous at the time. Continually looking busy, seemed a necessity in certain jobs, even if it felt wrong. It seemed a waste of my time really, time spent pretending. I wish the world was more honest.

 

[Pats]

I understand wanting to leave early if there's nothing to do, but it needs to be discussed with the boss first, doesn't it? As a nurse we would have lost our license if we had done that. But working at a hospital, you might be bored one minutes and the next minute running , but we had to be available for our patients or whatever come up during our shift. I'd say most jobs are pretty much like this - busy at times and nothing to do at other times. But whatever the case, it's the bosses decision to make whether or not to send someone home, not the employees. You're not stealing if you're supposed to be there.

 

[Kit]

I understand wanting to leave early if there's nothing to do, but it needs to be discussed with the boss first, doesn't it? As a nurse we would have lost our license if we had done that. But working at a hospital, you might be bored one minutes and the next minute running , but we had to be available for our patients or whatever come up during our shift. I'd say most jobs are pretty much like this - busy at times and nothing to do at other times. But whatever the case, it's the bosses decision to make whether or not to send someone home, not the employees. You're not stealing if you're supposed to be there.

You have a type of job where patients come and go and may have needs all of a sudden or where an emergency can happen. Hopefully you have understanding bosses that don't get mad at you when there is nothing to do at the moment. I have a type of job where everyone has gone home so there is no way a new mess can be made. Most janitorial work is done after everyone has went home. But if it wasn't as busy that day, then you get less work. Same as if rooms were not used but unless you work at a school or do daycares, then there is always work lol because kids and teachers make messes and there is always trash and restrooms are always used.

Another problem I have is if there is not enough stimulation, I just cannot do it like you can't get me to clean the clean tables. They have to be messy or have spots on them. I don't know if this is my ADD. I just can't clean clean stuff lol if they have not been used since they were last cleaned and do it over and over even though it's cleaned like I have OCD. OCD people will do it over and over even if it's clean but theirs is driven by compulsion and even they don't like it but they have to do it or that thought will drive them crazy. I don't have that. So here is a issue here I have that impacts my employment because of my inability to keep busy because of not enough stimulation.

I guess I was taught wrong and thought I was doing the right thing because I was saving my company money and I was taught it's wrong to mess around at work doing nothing and it seems too rocket science for people to understand there really is nothing to do. I suspect they never had that type of job where they land in this situation. My brother used to play on his PSP at work and then he would put it down whenever he got a customer and his boss was fine with it just as long as the customers were served and he did his job while they were there. He worked at a gas station as a cashier and his job was also to watch when they came in and also clean and keep things organized. Just keep up.

I'll just take other peoples advice and just stay at work and listen to my co workers advice and mess on my game system. I always catch up on my work and then there is nothing to do if the rooms had not been used. I will try and get over the money stealing guilt and tell myself "I am not stealing if I am required to stay here for four hours. They don't want to save money so I won't save them money and they can pay me to sit and wait or play on my game system or my phone. If I am reading a book, they are paying me to do that too just so I am passing time."

 

[Finder]

They are also paying you for your time. If they can't find you work, that is not your problem. They might also be in a bind themselves. If they have a contract for a certain amount of cleaning hours, they must honor that. If you leave early, they cannot meet that criteria. There are all kinds of criteria that define work, not just when you are actually active.

 

[paloftoon]

Certain jobs, it's more about convenience for the company, appearance, and liability potentially. If something weird happens where a mess occurs last minute, you're available to clean on-site. If not, then you are technically being paid to wait around basically.