How much time at work do you actually spend working?

Please report to my office, OP.

Same here...I am so fucking bored. I am fortunate to work for a company that the product sells itself but I hate being bored. I've taken up painting.

OP? Do you work for the government? Just curious.

I'm curious too, OP.

r3, no I work for a Fortune 500 company actually

I get my work done early in an hour and then “look busy” the rest of the day. I take care of all of my personal business at work and utilize work resources for printing, mailing, shipping, telephone calls, etc.

I spend WEEKS at a time surfing, gossiping and shopping!

How do I get a job like that? I can work 12 hours a day but the work is endless. Every day, half a dozen more critical things come up that have to be done. And it’s all urgent. I would love a job where I could internet surf all day and get paid. I hate my job.

I actually can’t remember the last time I did something productive at work! I have even, in the last couple of years, quit answering my work phone. I just press the “ignore” button and let it go to voicemail, which I never answer. Last month I was given a “cost of living” raise, which I didn’t even ask for. I have long since exerted any effort for the corporate good, and don’t go out of my way to advance as I am happy with my salary.

At my current position, maybe half of my time is spent actually being productive. The rest is spent on DL and twitter.

I am going to miss that probably at my next job.

R8, work for a very large company.

R10 - why would you choose to change jobs?

R8 - the tactic I used to get an easy job was that I interviewed extremely well, went above and beyond in the first 6 months, then started slowly taking on less and less responsibility until I was flying under the radar. And 6 years later it’s still working! I like going in just for the social aspect. I have a couple of very good friends there.

You have to move up in the world r10, can't stay in one position or at one company too long.

I am r10, meant to reply to r12.

I have about 10 years left in my career. I worked my ass off in the first 20--always doing great things for the company and got many accolades. The problem is none of that leads to much. They just take you for granted. The minute you retire, you're forgotten.

I've decided I will fly under the radar the last 10 years, like many of my colleagues have during my first 20.

“My father used to work real hard, and all they gave him was more work.”

Sometimes just 2 hours working, other times a full, grueling 8 hour day of never ending requests and tasks. I plan on retiring in 5 years and intend on keeping this job.

Working yourself to death as a loyal company man is a fool's errand r17. The truth is the company doesn't care about you, and would let you go in a minute if need be. The only way to navigate is to look out for your own interests.

Blessed be R19.

Anyone who makes any effort to be productive on a company he isn't a partner or the owner is a moron.

I literally spend half of my productive day here on DL, Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. My productive time is 1 hour and 40 minutes and I do everything by phone, which makes me look busy to most people.

I think my bosses are idiots to work so hard for a company that won't bat an eye to fire them. I'v been here for 12 years. It's a company related to the film and tv industry full of entitled bitches that are too busy trying to look cool while I just want to get paid to surf the Internet.

I even freelance as a designer using my office resources.

R19 I don't do shit all day. I work like 2-3 hrs a day. I work for the highest valued company in the world at present. It's insane.

In 2002, my manager got me in trouble for spending so much time at the DL - the reason he knew was because he spent half of his day socializing in the cube behind me.

Do you people have offices? Are you doing it from cubicles?

Would it have killed you to have at least posted a picture or link OP? Would it? I mean would that have really been so hard? Would it? Why don’t you try to think more of others next time before you post? What's your problem? I mean really, what's your damn problem?

I'm with you R18. I'm the director of a non-profit and I go in very early (like 6:00-6:30) to get the pointless emails answered and all the admin stuff done. Then I spend the next 4-5 hours listening to endless whining from staff if I'm in the mood to put up with them. Other times I just pretend to have a million things to do. Pay is good, though, and I'll retire in 5-6 years myself.

Nice to hear exclusively from New Yorkers.

There's middle ground between working yourself into your grave and slacking off all day. I wouldn't work myself to death to make my boss happy, but I would care about doing my share vis-a-vis my coworkers. Also, just personal work ethic.

When I did work in a large-ish office, I did "thinking" tasks in the morning (before lunch), brainless stuff after lunch. I did go through periods where I didn't feel that productive.

I work in a convenience store all night. I mostly talk to my friends and watch porn.

Exactly 4.7 hours

None of you has anything on this guy...six years without showing up to work.....

I have a cushy middle management position with a major media company in NYC. I have a title that makes me sound much more important than I am. I’ve been with the company for over a decade. My boss is extremely hands-off and usually preoccupied with other projects that have nothing to do with me. I usually waltz in around 10a, spend a good hour at the gym (and cruisy sauna!), and leave around 4 (my boss is usually gone before I am). I spend maybe 2 hours total doing any actual work. Once in a while I get busy with projects, but I usually have so much lead time I can accomplish big projects over long periods of time, doing things a little at a time. Whatever I don’t feel like doing, I push off onto one of my subordinates. I temper my do-nothing approach by constantly engaging my boss, making simple projects sound more consequential than they really and acting like his pal. I always volunteer to do things I know sound important, but will be easy for me. I always volunteer to travel (on the company’s dime, why not?) and I always keep lots of papers with scribbled notes on my desk, giving the illusion that work is happening. My boss also travels a lot, and I know his travel schedule. Whenever he’s out, I don’t even go in. I rarely work a five day work week. I don’t officially log days off or vacation. I’ll just pop my head in his office and say “oh I’m out” or “hey I’m working from home tomorrow”. They’re going to to have to drag me kicking and screaming from this job! As my dad says to me “who’s got it better than you?” And he is right!

To make things relatable, describe the job you have and the size of the company when telling us all about your productive day routine.

I only “actually work” when I’m on all 4s taking it from behind.

I am supposed to work 6 hours a day. I probably still work 4 of those most days. I've actually been a "hard worker" most of life. Mid-level white color job with some independence much of that, especially lately. Moderately creative, problem solver, did a "good job." I have no complaints about any of that. I'm now mid60s, in increasingly bad health the last three to four years, and slowing down. I come in 4 days a week, using vacation days, sick days, and everything else to do that. It's a union job so I have some protection. My present boss understands and appreciates past performance but the union contract is key. I still work but I don't undertake any new projects. Effectively I do the minimum. I want the salary and think I've been on the tread wheel most of my life and can coast for a few years. I have enough time on the job to utilize a provision in the contract to work half time in about 6 months. I've put in for a grade increase to bump salary so when I fall down from full time it will be a little better. I realize such union and other protections are rare in the US today. No pension to speak of but a decent but great 401K. Boring.

I stopped trying at work about 5 years ago. Posters above are right: the company does not care about you. I do the bare minimum to get by at work; my real life is outside the office.

I work for a Fortune 100 company (health insurance). They recently installed some new software that checks to see if I'm at my desk, and actively working. I've already been called out for being 'idle', and I've had to explain that, if I'm working on Appeals, I sometimes need to read hundreds of pages of medical records, and that isn't going to look like I'm doing anything in our claims system. Since we all work from home, in various states, it's not like they really know. I'll take short breaks after working some really time-consuming cases, and roll my chair over to the other side of the desk, and read DL for a few minutes. But I really do work most of the time I'm clocked in each day. I'll probably retire soon, anyway.

I literally have been watching You Tube at work and do ALL my personal stuff from the office. I work in New Home Sales and have the office to myself 2 days a work week. If we get traffic, i'm "on" but the rest of the time I have for myself. I was so bored last week, I was watching old episodes of "Honey West" Don't know how I ended up there...

I'm actually in the office for about 6 hours each day (9 - 3, with an hour for lunch), which is about normal for most of the people who work in IT. Since our company is 24/7 many people are working from home either before or after work. I guess when you add it up we work close to 8 hours a day.

I love being busy with actual work when I l’m at work. It makes the day fly by much faster than if I was watching YouTube videos all day. And I love the sense of accomplishment. Granted, I work in cancer research, so I feel like what I do actually matters.

Honestly, I don’t really do any work at work at all. I just go to work so I can wear my outfits.

my job is bursty - sometimes things are chill, yesterday i busted my ass, as much as one can at a desk with a laptop. i do the best job i can and help my coworkers when i’m not slammed.

i probably average six hours a day of actual work, but as a systems programmer the important thing is that i be at arm’s reach in case i’m needed.

i’d go crazy if i didn’t have anything to do. i don’t know how some of you bitches upthread stand that.

"My boss is extremely hands-off..."

So is mine. However, there is a big downside to that kind of boss - there are three totally incompetent people in my dept who should be fired, but boss doesn't want to deal with it. So I have to correct their work, which makes my 3 hrs of work a day into 5.

Wow - I feel like a sucker. I would kill for one of those low stress jobs. Do you people make a decent salary - for your city. Like 50, 70, 100 thousand?

R43 - hey I’m one of the “don’t ever do any actual work EVER” people above. I make 52K a year, so I’m not rich by any means. But my partner makes $80k and pays for most of our living expenses and my car has been paid off for 3 years. So we live comfortably.

I make 55 in New York. A good salary? HA!

I hate you lazy bastards.

R43 yes, $125k a year as a data scientist for a Fortune 100 company in a major Midwestern city and actually ‘work’ about 22-25 hours per week. Maybe if there is a big project or a rush assignment I might have to put in close to 40, but that probably only happens 2 or 3 weeks out of the year. Like others noted, I always volunteer to be on projects and special assignments that our low work load/high visibility and that makes me look busy and like my plate is constantly full. Being available and always engaged at work let’s me fly way way under the radar.

I don't make as much as most of you have reported and, while I report to a Fortune 100 company, I know I never will. I'm subject to constant monitoring at this point. Here's the funny thing (to me, at least): I'm constantly monitored for my productivity back at the home hive. My Dad was a union organizer at the local Coca-Cola plant. At his funeral, dozens of black and white men arrived to honor my Dad, who talked them into their union membership, and wanted to honor my Dad, and his family. My fucking asshole company can fire my fat ass if they don't think I'm worth my pay, but I have a limit on what I'll do for them. I'm a working class, blue-collar man, because my Dad was, and he's the person I admire the most.

R36, my company has the horrible software too.

What I do, it play a long video on YouTube that has to do with my work and that keeps the computer thinking that I’m working.

R46 - exactly. My job is all consuming and constant stress. How do these people have these cushy jobs? Like The Office. I wish.

R36, I will not give a rat's ass when you lose your job if we get Medicare for all.

R51, You do realize (I hope) that someone has to be paid to administer Medicare programs, right? And the Federal Government hires insurance companies to do that. I actually work in Medicare programs, and I know Medicare rules and regulations (and pricing) like the back of my hand, because that's what I'm paid to administer. I haven't even bothered to post on one other thread about 'Medicare for All', since it was so full of misconceptions.

Once I hit 40, I was very happy with my salary and I quit volunteering for extra work/projects. I’m gonna cruise the next 20 years and continue doing the bare minimum. A couple of years ago, a man who had been at the company 26 years and worked 6 days a week finally retired and they gave him a fucking cake. I can buy my own goddam cake! There’s no reason to go above and beyond, unless you’re a workaholic and enjoy it. I’m not a workaholic.

In my youth I always wanted to work at WJM-TV in Minneapolis. It looked like a fun place to work - and there was very little work!

I'm 52, since September; in the last 6 months our 48 years old Secretary had a stroke, in July, another coworker, who was retiring in September, also had a stroke. My boss just completed radiation treatment for breast cancer, only to have her husband drop dead a week ago. These are the tip of the iceberg. I'm going to conserve energy, strength, health and sanity, for the next 10 years and hope I make it, with a few years to enjoy life.

My job is basically 24/7. I live in NYC and work for a west coast based company so there is the 3 hour time difference to deal with too. Also when we are working on a project that involves travel there is no downtime for weeks. So if I can goof off all day during down periods I gladly will. I make it up in spades when things get crazy. The company always gets its pound of flesh.

R40 is Suzanne Sugarbaker