Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Why Workers Spend So Much Time in Office

A Russian lady who worked for a local company here in HK told a TV reporter one of the main reasons why she quitted working for somebody and started a business of her own:

She could not stand her colleagues goofing off for most of the day, and starting to work only when the end of the workday looms.

The situation that the Russian lady refers to seems to happen a lot in offices here in HK. And the question is why given that most white collar workers are not paid by the hour?

Part of the answer may be related to the fact that time serves as a proxy for a worker's contribution to the firm, and so by prolonging the workday and given imperfect monitoring, that kind of behavior would help build one's image in the eyes of the supervisor. In any case, I do not have a full answer.

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