Thief asked:
Anybody else notice how slow it is on Thursdays and Fridays these days? In the past when I would deign to come in to catch up on things on a Saturday or...gasp....Sunday there was always a little activity. These days the weekend seems to start around 4:30 Wednesday afternoon.
Am I crazy or just losing my powers of observation?
13 comments:
There used to be a clear mission and you did what you were asked to do.
Now, in this chaotic environment, you must not wait for work; Management is clueless. You can create your own challenges.Your management cannot help you with that. They need help themselves!
I have not seen this on Thursdays but certainly on Fridays. This is due to AWS Days. But it seems that the population drops by more that 1/2 so my AWS theory may be off. I do know that a couple people have 20+ years of service, get two days of vacation per month, do the AWS schedule, take the two days vacation and are gone every Friday.
It reminds me of the answer I used to give when people would ask me:
"How many people work at the lab?"
"About half on a good day."
At LANL it is interesting to see the volume of cars leaving the Lab between 3:00 and 3:30 pm on weekdays. Since most LANL workers are on the 9/80 schedule (equivalent to AWS at LLNL), and are supposed to be putting in 10 hours (exclusive of lunch) Monday through Thursday, I guess lots of folks start work at 4:00 am. Or maybe everyone is gaming the system and supervisors don't care since they are doing it too. I'm pretty sure they aren't all janitors.
There used to be a clear mission and you did what you were asked to do.
And can you believe that lots of times people didn't even need to be asked?
I see this too also I get the feeling that the managers like it this way. All employees are seen as just liabilities that could cost the management a bonus. If you come in you could cause a safety or security incident. If you do not come in you will not cause an incident. That is all that matters. It is logical if you think about it, a contractor will try to maximize profit and minimize effort or resources.
I don't about you guys but workers are "busting their butt" working at the waste facilities at Los Alamos. You remember, this is the stalag that Knapp forced many of his weapon engineers to go work. The waste facilities at LANL are also completely run by former 2nd rate Savannah River Site (SRS) managers. LANL waste facilities are literally "Chinese sweatshops" where you work 11 to 12 hour days and weekends to get waste shipped to WIPP.
When I first became a Lab employee, it was difficult to tell the weekends from weekdays. Most of the salaried employees and some of the hourly ones were at work. Funding was plentiful, and we had a real mission.
Now it is not safe to come in on a weekend. If you fell or had a medical problem, no one would know until Monday.
LANL waste facilities are literally "Chinese sweatshops" where you work 11 to 12 hour days and weekends to get waste shipped to WIPP.
July 31, 2011 3:53 PM
This is a great LANS recruiting tool for recent science and engineering graduates and post-docs. " Great Science Moping-up Waste Facilities ".
" Great Science Moping-up Waste Facilities ".
July 31, 2011 8:38 PM
I am unsure if the workers are "moping" but apparently they are indeed "mopping." Typical LANL scientist spelling skills? How to Make Yourself Look Like an Idiot 101.
August 1, 2011 7:20 PM,
Don't flatter yourself in your comparisons. The real scientists do not visit this blog often, if at all.
The real scientists do not visit this blog often, if at all.
August 5, 2011 7:41 PM
Really? How would you know? The crappy ones do.
* Monday is the start of the week -- best to start off slowly and not think or do too much. Maybe finish off that on-line training.
* Tuesday is the day to start thinking about what you'll accomplish for the week. Send off a few emails to look busy.
* Wednesday is the day to actually put in some work, say about 4 hours worth.
* Thursday is time to sit back, relax and think about the approaching weekend.
* Friday is a day to take off and make a long weekend.
That's where the labs are at now that the LLCs have taken over. In summary: No one cares anymore, especially the scientists. The morale busting over the last few years has been very successful.
You are absolutely right
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