Thursday 31 May 2007

I never thought I'd say this...

The Brits have the longest working hours of any western so-called civilisation. And yet we also have one of the lowest productivities per head in the same peer group. Therefore our productivity per hour is rock bottom.

So why does it appear that we're so busy?

My belief, having observed a number of companies both here and abroad, is that we are busy doing nothing much productive. We work on the wrong things. We do a lot of things for show rather than profit, we are allergic to good process and we're basically a nation of jobsworths.

Not us of course. Anyone who joins in here in massively productive and positively holding up the economy single-handedly. If a group of people can do something single-handedly, but I'm not sure what the right word is for 'group-handedly'.

While we continue to mock other economies for their obsessiveness about efficiency (Germany, Japan), their cost effectiveness (India, Eastern Europe) or their laissez-faire, if we are not going to be very productive let's at least make sure that we don't work long hours attitude (France, Italy) we will never compete with them. I think we should at least pick one of these to join in with. Efficiency and cost effectiveness are hard work.

Just for once, I suggest that we align ourselves shoulder to shoulder with the French and the Italians.

37 comments:

Anonymous said...

For my part Moose, I have only one reason for working long hours, and that is long meetings which are not properly chaired and therefore drag on for hours without deciding anything. We are now having meetings about meetings, for pity's sake make a decision!
Oh and a second one reason, Health & Safety, diversity & equality, life long training, so I suppose that's four reasons. On H & S did anyone else hear the story about the fireman in Manchester, who had their beds replaced with reclining chairs but couldn't use them until they had received their mandatory Health & Safety brief on their appropriate use. They are now facing disciplnary action for bringing sleeping bags into work and sleeping on the floor. Britain has gone MAD!!!

DD out

lyndyloo said...

I can honestly admit to being inherently lazy. I work very efficiently in short spurts or under extreme pressure but give me all the time in the world and I'll take it. I do a fair few miles around the country at present because I go out to see our purchasers wherever they are. You might notice that some days I contribute a lot to the pages and some days I only say hi or not at all. I do have the ability to decide some days that working is not working (if you see what I mean) so I take the day off and do something else. I love my job and I love the freedom of working for myself, I'm pretty sure I'm unemployable and as for H&S well don't get me started! What a load of tripe that is! Accidents happen...get over it!

Luv
Lyndyloo
& The Bears
-x-x-x-x-

ps. Roobear had to go to see the vet yesterday because she was not a well bear, shaking and finding it difficult to get to her feet. She was given a painkilling injection and I have to go back today to get her some pills to take but she seems loads better so I'm a happy mummy!

Anonymous said...

I work (well I'm here) for 40-45 hours a week. Somtimes I take a lunch break which allows for the '-' but not very often. When I am busy, I am ridiculously busy, and when I'm not I'm usually on here, dozing, or watching the birds and buns. I am well aware that I could find a job probably for more money and less hours, but then I love my job and I couldn't wish for better work mates.

I have a raging hangover today, and I know that very shortly I am going to have masses of work to do so I shall do my best to be extremely productive because the quicker I get it done, the quicker I can get back to drinking tea and staring out of the window.

In the meanwhilst, I'm going to the laissez-faire to see if I can win a coconut.

bon bon
love
hazel
x

Oh, and Moose, mushrooms, well avoided, but there is always the blow to the head...

...and DD, just wondered if you were around, and you were x

Anonymous said...

Dear Roobear

Get well soon beautiful girl...

love
hazel
x

Anonymous said...

My current boss (only till 5pm today) is in the office for ridiculously long hours - usually about 12 hour days. However, I don't notice too much of whatever it is she does coming my way - I have enough to keep me busy for the usual working day and a bit extra, but if she was being efficient & productive for all the time she was here then there'd need to be at least 2 of me to catch up.

I'm all for aligning ourselves with the French & Italians ... Pizza please, with frites.

Lyndyloo - fingers crossed that Roobear is on the mend.

Back later

PS is one allowed to enquire as to the nature of Moose & HL's apparent fixation with mushrooms?

Anonymous said...

And I forgot to say ...
The reason why some of us aren't always as productive as we could be is here in front of your very eyes!

Anonymous said...

analog, probably best not to really...if I ever meet you, I may tell you, but the best secret etc etc...

shitake
love
hazel
x

...Just can't wait to get in that Naughty Corner today! Oooh, and jollygit has found a water cooler too hoorah!

BRING IT ON! BIT O' BAZZA! FAB...doin the dance...my boss has just gorn art...even better!

Anonymous said...

Personally, I blame the phenomenon known as 'The Apprentice'. The upsurge in sharks at the company I work for is incredible. No longer are staff rewarded for their hard work, but instead are rewarded for being the loudest, most sychophantic, busy looking (because these types don't actually DO any work), stay in the office for the longest hours...

Need I go on? The company I work for - you've all heard of it - used to be fab. I was proud to work for them and grateful that I had an employer that recognised the importance of family and work/life balance. These days, if you have a work/life balance, you're obviously not working hard enough!

I calculated that if I downgraded to the grade below me, took a cut in salary to take me to the top of that scale and got paid overtime (as people at that grade do), I would be at least £5k per year better off!

Righty - I'm off to raid the Building Society account in Chaventry. Bit of a chore really, as I have 5, yes 5 - count 'em, cold sores, and can't wear lippy. Hoping I don't get pulled over by the Police, because as you ladies all know, DWL is a crime...

Have a FAB Friday all,

S xx.

P.S. Is it me, or are the BB contestants more annoying than usual this year???

Anonymous said...

In the surveying world, you are expected to come in early, stay late and work holiday Mondays. Weekends too, if need be.

I work my 8.30-5pm or 9.30-6pm shifts which are bad enough, but some Saturdays I do come in just to catch up on paperwork. Maybe if I didn't procrastinate so much during the week, I could stay home on Saturdays!

Hazel - hope you are feeling a bit better as the morning progresses. You have my deepest sympathy because, for me, yesterday actually last 72 hours!

Lyndyloo - love to wee Roobear xx

C xx

Anonymous said...

My entry for todays 'Ridiculously Cute' competition...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/6709127.stm

or http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/
scotland/edinburgh_and_east/6709127.stm

Sammie - irritating beyond belief. And you know it will only get worse. And worse. And worse.

ChrissieS...thank you! I am now blaming it on the fact that I started taking some new tablets last night, and although there is nothing anywhere to say that they should not be taken with two bottles of alcohol, however well chilled...I will be ensuring that my stomach is fully lined before this evenings onslaught though. Punk Rock theme, very good friend's 30th birthday, and there will be Jack Daniels. I shall probably not be drinking le vin.

...as it is, today is stretching ahead like a yawning chasm...

rock hopping
love
hazel
x

eg(scotland) said...

I've tried for years to work less - and I'll keep trying. There was that whole 90s thing driven by the BT advert (yes, others available) about working smarter, not harder. Well that all failed miserably. The mantra was adopted by all the work psychopaths who didn't really know what it was getting at (what was it getting at?) and seemed to be used as an excuse. This developed into the long hours culture where if one person said they'd be in the office till 8pm the next would say 8.30 and the one after that 9pm.

I'm with you Moose - Vive la shorter working hours.

EG

eg(scotland) said...

Probaly won't be back in today so:

Lyndyloo - luv to Roobear. Hope the wee soul feels better soon.

Have a great weekend when it comes everyone.

Luv

EG

Anonymous said...

Get well soon Roobear xxxxxx {{{hugs}}}

Have a good weekend all!

Mary xx

Anonymous said...

Ooooh, it's really quiet today, isn't it?

While I remember, Mary - have a great holiday. Just enjoy being off work and take it easy. Isn't it great to know you can suit yourself for the next 9 days!

C xx

jollygit said...

Hi everyone - sorry I've been absent but I've been minuting a meeting which started at 10am and has only just finished zzzzzzzzzzzz

Mary - have a wonderful holiday xx

Lyndyloo - love to Roobear and hope he feels better soon xx

HL - yup, I've got a water cooler - nur, nur, nur-nur, nur (he he). Hope you're feeling better and that you have a great time tonight ... how's the black plastic looking?!

Regarding working hours, at the moment I'm paid pretty poorly, as most temps are, so I do my work between 9 and 5 and then clear off. For the moment I have no responsibility so I'm enjoying it while I can. As soon as I get a permanent job I'll be as conscientious as everyone else and putting in the hours, I just know I will ! Until then, hurrah!

jollygit xx

Anyone want some cold water?

Jo said...

Anyone like drity dancing??

Check this out for a wedding dance!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZYhlm9GTAQ0&mode=related&search=

:o) jo (Who has a note from her mum!)

jollygit said...

Jo - love it!!! It's probably better with a sound card though ... I'll watch it again over the weekend!!

jollygit xx

Jo said...

JG - much better with a sound card!!!

Is anyone else half asleep and generally wilfing the net until home time?

And as for the French thing Moose - mais oui monsieur.

:o) Jo

Anonymous said...

I have no sound card and I can't get myspace at work. I only just manage to keep hold of my chair to be honest.

I think it may be time for some more paracetomol. I now have the 'quite sharp pain just round one eye' pain feeling as though it is just about to be starting...will head it off at the pass...'scuse me...

Thassssssss better!

Oh, delight, the boys are back...this means more tea...

vicar
love
hazel
x

jollygit said...

Oh deep joy, I'm going home in about half an hour!

'Im indoors was supposed to be going to Birmingham today (didn't he read yesterday's blog?!) but that was changed at the last minute and he's now apparently stuck on the M1 trying to get TO Milton Keynes, so heaven only knows what time he'll be heading back. I was very supportive, of course, and told him that if I didn't answer the phone when he rings me later, it's because I'll almost certainly be halfway down the first bottle of Merlot. Do your ears hurt when someone puts the phone down on you .... or is it just me?

jollygit

Anonymous said...

Hi troops,

Methinks I used up a tad too much energy earlier in the week - am shattered today! Obviously I can't cope with too much excitement!

Hope you all have a terrific weekend. We have nothing specific planned, housework and all the usual stuff, but weather permitting, we intend to take a long walk on Sunday and get rid of the cobwebs!

See you Monday - thanks so much for listening to all my drivel!!

C xx

Anonymous said...

Huzzah huzzah and once more huzzah...I have almost made it to the end of the work day...ChrissieS, I can feel a hair of the dog coming on...

On that note, hope Roobear is doing ok...

Have a superfabby weekend tous le beau monde
love
hazel
x

ps jollygit, if he gets lost he can always go and see Mr Dissing. I believe that is his local habitat...

BIG KISSES X X X X X X X X X

Anonymous said...

Jollygit, does he need the kettle putting on.

I am home now, have had today orf and went with Mrs and cousin and aunt to Tower of London. Gawjus day, and the first time I've ever been there. Had Pizza Express afore heading homewards all in all a fun day.

HL Has the body recovered from being Shitake faced?

DD out

Brews a brewing

Anonymous said...

Good evening all! Hope you've all had a productive week ... hee-hee! Same old, same old here! Thanks for all the emails and messages, guys! You have no idea how much they warm my heart!

The long and short of it, Moose, is that our nation has lost it's way big time. And yet we are arrogant enough to think ourselves 'better' at everything than those on the continent! Give me their way of life and family values any day!

DD - H&S, D&E, etc .... wouldn't you just love to get the guy who sat in his office and thought all these things up!?

Lyndyloo - I couldn't imagine you being lazy! Sending lots of love and prayers for Roobear!

Hazel - Hope the hangover was worth it, honey! At least it's Friday! I used to work between 45 and 55 hours per week plus sleepovers, but my bod couldn't take it! Who knows if I'll ever work properly again! However, if it was something I loved, I would have happily worked that!

Analog - I'll join you for a Pizza if there's some vino too!

Sammie - It scares me that it is so acceptable for folk to be so dishonest and ruthless in business! Don't get me started on that witch who's still in The Apprentice! You must be run down, honey, to have that many cold sores! Hope you're having a restful weekend!

Chrissie S - So much for computers giving us a paper free world, huh?! Hope the sun is shining in Glasgae!

EG Scotland - Hope you have a great weekend and the sun shines on Edinburgh! Don't be working too hard ... it's not worth the stress!

MwK - Hope the hols go well, honey! Take lots of pics to share with us!

Jollygit - Here's hoping that your next permanent job will pay you well and appreciate you!

Jo - Hope you are keeping well, looking after yourself and being nurtured!

Huggles all round and have a brilliant weekend!

Susan <><

Dr Joseph McCrumble said...

As an employer, I am acutely aware of the problem. I pay my staff for a full month's work, yet I can never be sure they have fulfilled their contractual obligations. I would have to resort to putting CCTV in every room at the Institute to make sure they towed the McCrumble line, but my anti-big brother stance makes that kind of action unfeasible. Does anyone have any suggestions?

J McC

Anonymous said...

Dr J Mc...

Spyware on the PC your staff use might be a start, alternatively...

Let them surf the sites they want to surf; they will feel so guilty, that productivity will rise! Works in my case, anyway!

:-) :-) :-)

Weren't Brazil just great???


S xx.

jollygit said...

DD and Hazel: 'im indoors finally got home on Friday at 8pm, having spent hours on the M1, M25, M26 and M20. He was shattered!

DD - thank you for the offer - it was much appreciated!!!!

Yesterday spent ambling around in the sunshine. Met up with a mate before she jets off to Majorca for a week's holiday ...... she's far too thin, drinks too much, smokes too much and hardly eats - I remember her when she was a curvy size 14-16 but now she's a size 8 bag of bones. It's not envy on my part, believe you me, just concern that although she says she's happy with her new fella/house/way of life, she was constantly on edge and I've never seen her looking so thin - or pale. What to do, eh? Any suggestions?

Today's a grey day - 'im indoors is currently trying to rig up our CD/DVD player to our TV that has Sky+ and the air is getting bluer by the minute, hence me staying upstairs and blogging ...... I'll give it another ten minutes and then check if the coast is clear!

Susan S - good to hear from you and hope all is well with you and yours - huggles to you too xxxx

Have a good Sunday y'all and catch you tomorrow

jollygit xx

lyndyloo said...

To all my blogger friends.... Thnakyou!!!!!!!!!!!!
So much!!! I'm sure that your thoughts have helped my Roobear and her general health and well being. She has had a lovely day today as her dumb mummy left the freezer door not properly shut and had to cook a load of food off. I invited friends round and we had ( out in the garden) fresh ham and peas with mint for starters then fish pie with spring greens followed by rubarb and rasberry tart and fresh cream and then a selection of cheeses with coffee and a very lot of assorted wine! What a lovely afternoon, and Roo was a happy bear with all the droppings and surruptitious spillage!

Thank you everyone
Luv
Me
& The Bears
-x-x-x-x-

Anonymous said...

Well and doesn't Monday roll around just that bit too soon to be waking up in the morning. I am at work atm, and planning to wake up somewhere around 11am when rent-a-crowd start arriving for all the meetings today.

J McC, the first think I do is surf n turf, and check the spam fritter for any junk, then I put the kettle on. However I am always here for my lunch hour, so I guess it all balances out in the meantime. You know in your heart of hearts that it would only be Dolores' mum who'd be surfing anything she shouldn't anyway...lucky heather anyone?

Anyhoo...I had a TOTALLY BRILLIANT TIME on Friday at my friend's birthday celebration...and fortunately so did she...a hair of the dog sorted me rightly, and we (eventually) went to bed after Doctor Who Confidential on Saturday...so yesterday was all a bit of an effort...to my knowledge there is only one photo, but hey, I have no problem with that at all!

Jollygit, about 'im indoors, I shall pass that on to Badger. He made it home from M1 in about 30mins on Friday coz he didn't want to miss Ali's do. I think he used one of our International Badger Rescue craft as he didn't get caught...

...and regarding your friend, there ain't nowt you can do babe, unless she asks you...

Lyndyloo, next time my freezer defrosts I can look forward to pizza, chips, one fish finger and something unlabelled that I think was in there when we bought it. Yours sounds FAR more interesting!

...and SusanS, the hangover was totally worth it...and it just carried on until about 3pm yesterday when Ali went home. An early night was had in the Badger Sett, and I think the shakes will possibly start round about Wednesday...xx

Full English anyone?
love
hazel
x

ps put on your dancing shoes and dance away your bloooooooooooz!

lyndyloo said...

Hazel - It was the offer of a full ENglish on Saturday morning (after my friends son's 21st party) that caused the freezer incident! Agggghhhhh!

Happy Mondays everyone!

Luv
Lyndyloo
& the Bears
-x-x-x-

Jo said...

Most random news of the day - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4174519.stm

Hazel - we did turf at the weekend but no surf, does that still count?? Any hoo, chicken wire fence went round newly turfed garden to stop puppies and uncle grumpy dog weeing on it (we have 2 guest dogs this week - joy!). Leave it 10 minutes and look out to see Sophie puppy sitting in the middle of the lawn wagging her tail, so of course I shouted to her out the window and she just jumps back over the fence, which is well over a metre high.

Think she is related to a gazelle!

'Twistin my melon man' everyone

:o) Jo

PS Call the Cops!

Anonymous said...

This is way way WAY too spooky...if you get the chance to look at CE eventually today, at the post I've put on this morning...well, you'll understand why...

Insert twiglet zone music here...

...must be the full moon...

lyndyloo said...

Have you seen the mad photographer that's been taking shots of hundreds of nude people in Amsterdam? How very bizarre!

Anonymous said...

So glad it's Monday again! Especially this one which is cold, dull and miserable - bring it on! Actually, I'd quite like to go home please!

Anonymous (Hazel?) no sign of your comment next door, as yet. I am intrigued!

Not much to report, very quiet weekend but no chance of the walk we wanted yesterday - torrential rain all day.

So, I settled down with Ms S and we watched Beaches on Channel 5. You guessed it - tears, tears and more tears! We were both wrecked by the end of the movie! It's been years since I saw this film and Ms S had never seen it, so it was fairly emotional! At the end, my lovely daughter hugged and said "mum, please don't ever leave me" which made me cry even more! Very messy!

Hope everyone is o.k. Will check back later.

C xx

jollygit said...

Chrissie S - Beaches is a lovely film and always, always leaves me a gibbering wreck. Have you seen Steel Magnolias too? That is funny and sad and is guaranteed to leave me helpless by the end of it. Shirley McLean in particular is brilliant.

HL - glad you had such a brilliant time with your friend for her birthday ... the DTs should be starting around now?!!!!

jollygit xx

Moose said...

New post...

:-))

Anonymous said...

P.S Happy birthday to Roobear, x(lick)x I am pleased she is feeling better!