Drink free beer while working!

Theres prob a danger of sterotyping, but I think business owners gradually lose their liberal or socalist views, when realities of employing people kick in, and you realise 90% of the law seems to be on the side of the employee after any probation stage

Starting off in IT as a roving troubleshooter for a textile manafacturer, I had to visit loads of different factories fixing picking machines and random PC's, and its the first time I came across the "bell rings for break" mentality, and you only go to the loo during your break.

It seemed all very harsh and George Orwell at the time, but as I was there for a while, and got chatting to people on the factory floor and loading bays, I was always amazed at the the attitudes. As soon as the bell went, it was break. Even mid conversation, or if someone was helping you, it was tools down, break time. Likewise at hometime. 5.30 PM on the dot, the hooter went, everyone downs tools, even if you were mid way through something.

So it struck me it was very much a mindset and mentality. Chatting to people at different factories, most were very happy, usual moans and barrack room lawyer stuff, managers are all idiots, they are doing everything wrong blah blah, but all seemed happy with their lot, and in no great desire to advance or better themselves. It was simply a job. Nothing wrong with that, and not everyone wants to be the supervisor/boss/manager or company owner. Plus the factories provided a lot of employment for an area which had suffered badly after the pit closures.

So if you have that 9-5 job mindset entrenched in your workforce, it then became obvious why everything was regulated. If the bell didn't sound to tell you dinner break was over, no one would go back to work! But if the hooter broke at hometime, you wouldn't see many people hanging around. A lot of people really can't manage themselves

As business owners, who honestly has their organised breaks during the day, and how many have dinner, munching a sarnie in front of your pc! As for hometime, whats that? At least theres no boss to moan about any more..

So basically you're saying that in an environment where the workers were treated like children, they responded like children, and didn't internalise their work or company loyalty, developed the "it's a job" mentality, and were so ground down that it never occurred to them to try for something better or to act to change their circumstances, because it's not an environment where creativity is encouraged.

Which is fair enough. You want a bunch of mindless automatons who arrive at 9 and leave at 5 and never get enough qualifications to up and leave, that's the way to do it. And yes, it suits some workers to be in that kind of scenario, just like it suits some employers to have that kind of workforce.

But to expect someone to simply swallow the change from being treated like a respected adult to being treated like a child, and to expect them to be happy about that loss of respect and autonomy... it's never going to go down well and the price will be paid in terms of morale, motivation and attitude.

Good grief.. ..almost a heated debate! I thought this was the Take a Break! section

Agree with you, that once people have a right to something they should be consulted before taking away...

...and yes, there are some people happy to work on a factory floor and answer to a bell. Nothing wrong with that either. As long as they are happy. It'd be a boring world if we were all the same.

Sorry. I'm in a heated-debate mindset at the moment. But for some reason only about issues I'm not so bothered about. So I'm a non-drinker arguing about (not against) beer, a non-smoking non-driver arguing about (not against) smoking in cars, a self-employed person who is also an employer arguing for (not against) employee rights...

THERAPY!

lol did kind of generate into a rant. I reckon Mary should treat us all to some of Mama C's brownies

Brownies sounds like good therapy to me