So my employer found my guitar at work

[AlexL]

Re: So my employer found my guitar at work

I keep an acoustic in my office. It comes in handy for long firmware downloads when I have to wait for updates to finish. Our pres plays guitar, and sometimes comes in and strums it. No one seems to care. I guess I'm lucky.


- E.

[Newc]

Re: So my employer found my guitar at work

If anyone takes longer than a 5-minute smoke break, they're sitting around chit-chatting, which is not the purpose of a smoke break.

Where I work, we can't smoke at our workstations (not like we work with anything flammable, but mostly it's a 2-handed job) so the press operators, if they have time, will give everyone on the line a smoke break, even if they don't smoke. Everybody gets a 5-minute break between their regular breaks - smokers and non-smokers. Sometimes a non-smoker will not take the break when it's offered, but they cannot complain about not getting a break when the smokers do, because it was offered.

I don't give smoke breaks any more, except rarely. I used to give them all the time - every hour on the hour I was Johnny On The Spot, till I got tired of each person taking 20 minute breaks. I'd have to go find them, and usually I found them sitting around outside talking with someone from another line. If one or two people take 20 minutes to smoke, it's too close to break time to give the others a break - they'd be on break when break rolled around, which isn't fair to anyone else, and is not what the company pays them for, so I stopped giving smoke breaks.
Some complained (they waited until the Associates Meetings were held, then pointed me out for not giving smoke breaks, and I let 'em have the whole truth right then [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]), but I don't care. I've got a job to do as well, and even if the press is running like a scalded dog, I have to watch it to make sure it stays that way. They're machines that can and will freak out (I've got 'em all on video tape crashing themselves), so I can't and won't do your job and mine while you sit around like you're the boss gabbing and smoking.

Whenever we get a new batch of people in, I'll offer them smoke breaks. The first time they take 20, it's the last smoke break they get. If they ask me for one, I tell them they have 5 minutes - go smoke, come back. Bathroom if you have to, but don't stop and talk to someone, that's what regular breaks are for.

[Budman68]

Re: So my employer found my guitar at work

[ QUOTE ]
They're machines that can and will freak out (I've got 'em all on video tape crashing themselves)

[/ QUOTE ]


<font color="aqua">Next stop: Toolmakerville........ [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] </font>

[axeman81]

Re: So my employer found my guitar at work

wow Newc, how many "breaks" did you just put in that post? [img]/images/graemlins/poke.gif[/img]
I got lost reading it on the 4th sentence [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Inazone]

Re: So my employer found my guitar at work

Charvelguy,

I'm familiar (by name) with all the companies you listed...as competitors, I'm guessing. I work at IWCO Direct (formerly Instant Web/United Mailing/Victory Envelope under different ownership), and sympathize with you. After several years of having my own office, I am now in an interim "shared area" until a new cubicle farm can be put together. I've never brought a guitar to work for the purpose of playing it, although I've shipped and received a few here. A couple years back, they announced that our warehouse crew would no longer be handling any personal items, so no more cheap UPS rates for me. Internet access keeps me sane, but they're starting to crack down on that, especially eBay. Once I get moved into a cube, I suspect that my limited music listening will come to an end.

Not because of anything that I've done, but because other people abused the freedoms they had.

[charvelguy]

Re: So my employer found my guitar at work

I relate Matt, nobody needs a 20 minute smoke break. Most guys take their lunch instead of a smoke break. Since I quit, I'm one of those who no longer and does not take one.

I like the flexibility in my job, since I'm usually not on the production line directly, my lack of presence does not directly hinder anything involving the other workers.
I can pretty much take my break whenever I want. Often I don't take one until very late.

Ryan, Instant Web/United Mailing/Victory is a huge company...much larger than our little shop but we do a fair amount of business for a lettershop/Sheet fed printing biz.

I've worked with guys that were former employees of United and we have a guy here whos GF works as a lead at Instant Web. Yes, you are basically a competitor but your company is far larger and more diversified. I hear ya on the sanity grabs. I share the work area and use the shipping desk as 'my place' My Boss took his office access away so I can't even go in there and have a phone call in private.

[Ace]

Re: So my employer found my guitar at work

I bring my guitars in to work all the time. Of course I do guitar repairs for a living...