> Of course, these can also be minuses to some / to some degree. I.e., the interruptions that come with semi-random interactions, digressions in conversations (of overly substantial length) about current events &/ recreational activities etc., the "talking behind the backs of others" gossip, ...
I keep thinking about the many recent theories that these "minuses" of office work were essential to the systems to maintaining an illusion of a scarcity in labor and maintaining a controlling grip on employee time inside and outside of work. As things got more automated companies knew that they didn't have 8 hours of work each day for the average employee, so they built fortifications of busy work and moats of "social life". It provided defense structures against labor asking for more time off, longer weekends, shorter work days. (In US at least, the 5-day, 40-hour workweek was never the compromise, the preferred request of Unions at the time that was established was 4-days, 20-hours which more closely resembled useful productive hours and provided better family time/family planning. The hoped-for compromise was 5-days/30-hours or 5-days/35-hours and the hard won 5-days/40-hours was the bare minimum they asked for. 5-days/40-hours is the bar line for "human exhaustion".)
Of course, in no economy would any company admit that they were concerned about being "Too Productive" nor would any MBA program overtly have courses like "How to Sabotage Productivity and Get Away With It".
But there's so many little things built up in the systems and norms and practices and rituals of "office culture" that seem to only exist to waste time, to give the appearance of work without the productive essence of it. These seem like "bugs" in the system, but they are so ubiquitous it is hard not to wonder if these didn't become accidental "features" somewhere along the line (even if we can't ascribe intent or malice to them) and why they became so ubiquitous. Especially in a time like this when so many companies seem so desperate to return to that old known to be buggy status quo. Especially in a time when many of those same companies seem adamant that the impossible and weird choice is between "layoffs" or "return to office work" or "iteratively both until 'morale improves'".
I keep thinking about the many recent theories that these "minuses" of office work were essential to the systems to maintaining an illusion of a scarcity in labor and maintaining a controlling grip on employee time inside and outside of work. As things got more automated companies knew that they didn't have 8 hours of work each day for the average employee, so they built fortifications of busy work and moats of "social life". It provided defense structures against labor asking for more time off, longer weekends, shorter work days. (In US at least, the 5-day, 40-hour workweek was never the compromise, the preferred request of Unions at the time that was established was 4-days, 20-hours which more closely resembled useful productive hours and provided better family time/family planning. The hoped-for compromise was 5-days/30-hours or 5-days/35-hours and the hard won 5-days/40-hours was the bare minimum they asked for. 5-days/40-hours is the bar line for "human exhaustion".)
Of course, in no economy would any company admit that they were concerned about being "Too Productive" nor would any MBA program overtly have courses like "How to Sabotage Productivity and Get Away With It".
But there's so many little things built up in the systems and norms and practices and rituals of "office culture" that seem to only exist to waste time, to give the appearance of work without the productive essence of it. These seem like "bugs" in the system, but they are so ubiquitous it is hard not to wonder if these didn't become accidental "features" somewhere along the line (even if we can't ascribe intent or malice to them) and why they became so ubiquitous. Especially in a time like this when so many companies seem so desperate to return to that old known to be buggy status quo. Especially in a time when many of those same companies seem adamant that the impossible and weird choice is between "layoffs" or "return to office work" or "iteratively both until 'morale improves'".