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2010-5-30 09:41
The problemI work in corporate finance and for the past four years routinely worked 14-hour days. Now work has dried up and we are all sitting around pretending to be busy and failing to drum up business. I am finding the boredom far more stressful than I ever found the work. I don't know how I should behave. I am tempted to take three-hour lunches with friends, then go home early to learn salsa dancing. But would that be begging to be first in line when the axe inevitably falls?
Investment banker, male, 27 LUCY'S ANSWER Being bored at work is painful; being bored as a prelude to being fired is torture. You ask what the work etiquette is for this situation. You already know the answer: if everyone else is sitting at their desks bored witless, pretending to work, the etiquette demands that you do so too. What is interesting in your case is that the penalties for ignoring etiquette are lower than normal. This period of boredom will end with the fall of the axe and you will probably be fired, but so, probably, will they. Unless your bank is even less wise than the competition, it will not decide who to keep on the basis of who was best at faking industriousness when there was nothing to do. So some slacking is safe, but I don't think you can ignore the political game altogether. In normal times office politics is a part-time sport slotted in around work. But now that there is no work, your colleagues will be doing politics full-time. If I were you I would set out to play this game sparingly but efficiently. Be in the office long enough to find out what people are saying. Otherwise leave your jacket on the back of your chair and make it seem as if you are at meetings. Skive intelligently. As you hate emptiness, I suggest you write a plan to get through the days. Allocate time for looking busy, time for picking up the gossip and time for your own affairs. I should warn you of one thing. As you have always worked 14-hour days, you'll be a skiving virgin, and constitutionally may not be cut out for it. The first salsa lesson on office time, like the first few three-hour lunches, may give you a thrill but after that you may find they start to pall. But then you can always devote yourself to what you really should be doing now: finding a career with better prospects. YOUR ADVICE Fishing Employment is not just about working; it is also about being available for work. Rather like fishing or fielding in the slips, you sometimes need to be there for a long time when nothing is happening in order to be there when something does happen. Stay at your desk and practise looking eager and intelligent. Academic, male, 45 Shoe leather For all your energy and brains, you are gloriously obtuse about new realities. You and your shoes are about to start shining a lot of marble floors looking for a job. The axe has already fallen. A clue: the political marketplace has replaced you with partially nationalised lenders in no mood blithely to leverage investment banks. You and your yum-yums blew it by staying at the greed circus way too long. Good luck. Salsa dancing – as a hobby or career? Lawyer, male, 67 Enjoy it I was in this exact situation once. Instead of taking three-hour lunches and leaving early, I sat faithfully at my desk for six months, worried sick. The axe fell anyway. Looking back on it, I felt stupid for not using the free time by relaxing more. And my presence caused my employer stress since it was a daily reminder that they couldn't keep me busy and were paying me to stare out of the window. So I say make yourself scarce – take the time off. Lawyer, male Soup line How about thinking and acting on behalf of others for once? You could donate your labour hours to a local food bank. Who knows, you might be able to drum up new clients in the soup line. Male, anon 问题我在企业融资部工作，在过去4年里，每天工作14个小时。现在，没有业务了，我们全都无所事事，假装很忙，却接不 到业务。我渐渐发现，无聊比工作更难受。我不知道该怎么做。我很想花上3个小时和朋友们一起午餐，然后早早回家，去学跳莎莎舞。但当裁员的斧子不可避免地砍下来时，我这样是不是会首当其冲？
投资银行家，男，27岁 露西的回答 工作无聊很痛苦；无聊是被解雇的前奏则是种折磨。 你的问题是：在这种情况下，应该怎么做。你已经知道答案了：如果别人都坐在桌子边，无聊地发呆，假装在工作，常规要求你也这样做。 你的情况中有趣的是，无视规矩的惩罚比正常情况下要低。这段无聊期将随着裁员斧子的落下而告终，你很可能会被解雇，但其他人可能也难以幸免。除非你所在的银行比竞争对手更不明智，否则它不会根据谁在无事可做时最会假装勤奋来决定员工的去留。 因此，一定程度的懒散是安全的，但我不认为你可以完全无视政治游戏。正常时期，办公室政治是工作之余的一种活动。但现在没有工作可做，你的同事将全天候搞政治。如果我是你，我会谨慎但有效地开始参与这场游戏。在办公室呆上足够长的时间，听听人们都在说些什么。否则，将外套搭在椅背上，假装你正在参加会议。要聪明地开小差！ 既然你讨厌空虚，我建议你为每天制订计划。将时间分配用来假装忙碌、收集闲话和处理个人私事。 我要提醒你一件事。由于你一向每天工作14个小时，在开小差方面你会是个菜鸟，生性可能不适合做这种事。上班时间的第一堂莎莎课，就像第一顿3个钟头的午餐，可能让你兴奋不已，但随后你会发现，这种事开始令人生厌。不过，你总是可以专心去做目前真正应该做的事情：找一份前景更好的工作。 读者的建议 钓鱼 工作不仅仅是工作，还要随时待命。这很像钓鱼或狩猎，有时候，没事的时候，你要在那里呆很久，这样等有事的时候，你就会在那里。呆在座位上，学着如何让自己看起来既卖力又聪明。 学者，男，45岁 皮鞋 尽管你有精力和头脑，但你对新现实的反应迟钝的可怕。你和你的皮鞋即将倒映在各种大理石地面上，为了找一份工作。斧子已经砍下来了。给你一个提醒：政治市场已用部分国有化的银行取代你们，不乐意向投资银行提供资金。你们（和你们的满足感）在贪婪的好时光里呆得太久了，已毁了它。祝你好运！ 跳莎莎舞——作为业余爱好还是职业？ 律师，男，67岁 享受它 我曾经历过一模一样的情形。我既没有花3个小时去吃午餐，也没有早退，相反，我老老实实地在桌边坐了6个月，闷闷不乐。但终究还是被裁掉了。 回头再看，我感到很愚蠢，没有更轻松地利用那段空闲时间。我的存在令老板很有压力，因为这每天提醒着他们，没能使我忙碌，却要付钱让我盯着窗外。因此，我建议你溜走——去休假。 律师，男 领汤的队伍 何不为别人想想并付诸行动？你可以将工作时间拿来为当地粥场服务。你或许能在领汤的队伍里找到新客户，谁知道呢。 匿名，男 译者/陈云飞 |