Latest research indicates that interruptions are a major distraction and cause of stress in the modern distributed workplace.
In keeping with our ongoing focus on the wellbeing of our staff, and in order to improve morale and productivity, these new policies are therefore in full effect starting immediately:
- Emails are to be checked and sent only during three half-hour periods each day: 8am, 1pm, and 4pm. This will prevent interruptions and maximise your focus.
- Instant Messaging (via teams AND slack) must be reserved only for urgent blockers. We are monitoring activity for the time being, continued "noisy" chatter on these channels may lead to further policy improvements.
- Phone calls and videoconferences require a clear, written agenda and are to be scheduled via email as per the thrice-daily email periods. All outcomes to be clearly documented in CRM, wiki, or task board as relevant. Email your project manager if you're uncertain on these processes.
- All such activities are to be logged against billable projects where relevant. Any non-billable communications are to be logged under "Focus Improvement - Internal"
Over time we will build up a clearer picture of focus, interruptions, and productivity, so our standard timekeeping policies remain in effect. Please submit all time entries immediately upon completion of any activity so that we can effectively track and manage these improvements.
And don't forget, our team virtual fitness challenge shirts are being ordered on Friday so don't forget to fill out the spreadsheet with your preferences and remember to hit up the donations page - it's for a great cause!
Love,
Management
Love,
Management
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Demanded by,
Employees complaining
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Management tends to invent things when they get idle, but it's the employees who demand the virtual fitness challenges, special interest groups (veterans, lgbt, hispanic, book clubs), complain about too many notifications, and send out their own meeting invites without agendas.
I wanted to carry on the fun but your rebuttal gave me pause to reflect, and I realised two things, one being that I was not entirely fair in my characterisation of management, the other being that by taking the sarcastic approach I wasn't projecting my values effectively either.
I'm not a big fan of the "I was only joking" routine so I'll take the time to try and straighten myself out.
In the context of the linked article, I chose to read it through the skewed lens of a ham-fisted metrics-driven management-stereotype who doesn't pause to consider the cultural and productivity impacts of half baked and reactive policy directives, leading to much chaos and dismay.
In actual fairness, I would say most managers I've had the pleasure of working under or alongside are not like this at all. I have worked with some truly excellent managers. The stereotype I called on is in my experience much rarer, usually new to the role or inexperienced, but it is what I've seen cause the most cultural and productivity damage in organisations which is why my reaction skewed in that direction.
If I am being totally honest with myself, when I first found myself in a management position, having ratcheted up from a development background, I was naïve and very much process focussed, and acted like every problem could be solved with additional or more detailed instructions. There was definitely also projection here on my behalf.
Nowadays I take a more measured and analytical approach to things in general, being thrust into management was a very tough learning curve but was also ultimately rewarding in terms of personal growth and professional development.
I definitely shouldn't be here taking my frustrations of the day out on random articles, even if thinly veiled in jest. I should have written some music or put on an audiobook instead...
Having said that, I couldn't resist one more before I turn in for the evening.
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Failure to acknowledge receipt of this email by COB will be considered an act of mutiny, and all dissidents will be fed directly to the server room boilers.
This is your first and only warning.
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Anyway, have a good day / night.
Sometimes I just crave talking with someone about what I am working on. If I am designing something I can't just call the people that do fabrication on my team because they are busy working on the last thing I designed. We're so asynch and efficient that I hardly ever talk with anyone about my task at hand so I spend a lot of time staring at the wall above my screen, second-guessing myself because I can't thrash out decisions with another mind.
Then I end up browsing HN for a distracting but familiar endorphin hit....
Every morning I go to the roof and get some coffee/hot chocolate as part of a morning "routine" which seems to be really important for productivity. I usually see a few people on the way there which I think does a lot for my mental health.
What about your working environment or current way of operating could resolve this issue for you? Could just having a like minded Discord server with other people you can talk to be enough (even if it's text based)?
My door is open if you want to chat.
This is how I do my best problem-solving. Recently my dog has been listening to me talk through my thought-process and work out the order of attack for implementation but this is one of the few instances where a dog just doesn’t hold a candle to a human. Even a person who knows nothing at all about what I’m working on can be a huge help to talk things through.
Best marketing is invisible, sadly this isn't.
I am starting to think of changing jobs again to something that involves more cooperation with others. Not too much of course.
My favourite part of software engineering is solving a problem with a bunch of people in front of a whiteboard trade pros & cons of a certain design approach.
This remote stuff has really killed my favourite part of my job. The software itself in enterprise is never exciting in itself especially in maintenance mode.
I asked a friend of mine at a factory about openings. I just do not enjoy working in isolation.
This environment was orders of magnitude less distracting than the modern open floor plan sweat shop. It was also significantly less distracting than working from home but I think that's because "productivity" tools like Slack didn't exist yet.
