Work Daze

I don’t know if you’ve made your final decision yet, but if you ask me, I
know what I want to be when I come back in my next life. I want to come back
as an employee of SuperGroup Creative Omnimedia.

I understand that the concept of reincarnation does not often figure in the
science of career counseling, but a fellow can dream, can’t he? And if I may
be so bold, may I suggest that once you learn more about this most excellent
company, you, too, will want to send off a resume to SuperGroup SuperQuick.

So, why am I so moo-moo goo-goo for a teeny-tiny web design company in
Atlanta, Georgia? Why do I suggest that you pack up your button-down shirts
and pack in your golden parachute to sign on to Team SuperGroup? It isn’t
because of what they do. It’s because of what they don’t do.

According to a recent article in “The Wall Street Journal,” the inspired
co-finder of the business, Mr. Chris Wallace, has instituted a policy
wherein employees are allowed to fill their down time with whatever
activities they choose. That’s right! Instead of trying to look busy with
worthwhile work pursuits, SuperGroup’s SuperLucky employees have carte
blanche to “pursue their own interests in their downtime, doing just about
whatever they wanted, on the clock.”

Sad to relate, the employees of SuperGroup totally waste their free time
with worthless endeavors like “writing music and building photography and
video skills.” These avocations are not only promoted by the company, but
are used to entice new clients into the Omnimedia web. Like the time the
company was pitching for new business from The Weather Channel, and
convinced their potential client that they could not only turn pixels into
snow storms, but could also write music for the site.

“To prove its abilities, Mr. Wallace presented the Weather Channel with a CD
of employees’ original music – and won the business” Simona Covel of the
Journal reports.

Not only does the company benefit, but employees with a free pass for their
free time also gain new skills to put on their resumes, not to mention a
workplace experience that is truly rare in today’s nose-to-the-grindstone
economy -- an “ego boost.”

According to the boss, Chris Wallace, employees usually spend about an
average of one half-day a week on their personal projects, and only
occasionally have to be reminded that work for their clients comes first.
The only problem, he says, is to “weed out potential hires who seem to
thrive on a more regimented structure.”

As someone who has spent not half-days, but whole half-decades working on
personal projects in the midst of highly regimented organizations, I must
applaud the visionary thinking of SuperGroup’s management. But I am not
convinced that the youthful employees of the company are using their
personal time to the best advantage. Writing music tracks and polishing
Photoshop skills actually sound like work to me. I say – if your boss is
going to open the gate and let you be a free-range employee, why not take
full advantage.

What are top three activities to occupy your free, highly-paid hours at
work? I thought you’d never ask.

Workplace Personal Activity #3 – sleeping.

No longer will you have to glue yourself your Aeron Chair, and prop your
eyelids open with toothpicks to look like you’re awake. In a personal-choice
work environment, you’ll be able to get the quality sleep you’ve been
seeking. A well-rested workforce will mean fewer workplace accidents, like
the time your boss asked you to tell her what you really truly thought of
her ideas, and you answered honestly.

Workplace Personal Activity #2 – gossiping.

If you think it’s fun to spread malicious rumors about your co-workers in
your spare time, imagine all the damage you could do if you had a full
workday for your rumor-mongering activities. After only a few days devoted
to spreading poisonous lies, there are sure to be fights breaking out in the
break room and nervous breakdowns in the executive suite. Sweet!

Workplace Personal Activity #1 – tunneling.

Sneaking out the back door is a good way to get out of the office, and
everyone appreciates the classic false fire alarm ploy to empty a workplace.
But given enough free time, there’s no reason you couldn’t dig a tunnel
under your workstation and escape whenever you choose.

Of course, when you have a job where nobody cares what you do, or don’t do,
who would ever want to leave?