I read posts about people quitting jobs because they’re boring or there is not much to do and I don’t get it: what’s wrong with being paid for doing nothing or not much at all?
Examples I can think of: being paid to be present but only working 30 minutes to 2 hours every 8 hours, or a job where you have to work 5 minutes every 30 minutes.
What’s wrong with reading a book, writing poetry or a novel, exercising, playing with the smartphone… and going home to enjoy your hobbies fully rested?
Am I missing something?
OP… for thousands, millions of years, our ancestors lived outside or in caves but spent much of their time actively doing stuff. Hunting, gathering, fishing, tending and harvesting crops, playing etc. What they didnt do is sit still in a gray cubicle with sycophantic motivational posters stapled to the cubicle walls under florescent lighting for 9 hours a day 5 days a week. The only thing that maintains sanity is having something to do to distract yourself from the completely artificial work environment you are basically forced to live in for 40+ years because if you dont, you cant pay for what you need to survive.
And you wonder why people dont want that?
I don’t see why reading or writing poetry don’t accomplish that
You cant do that in a secured environment. You are not allowed writing instruments, paper or anything that can carry information out of the room. You get a rubix cube and a stress ball. Thats your entertainment. That was my job OP. I worked in IT, insurance and a credit card company at different points and thats what there was. The only thing you were allowed to do in your down time was to read from the internal wiki about something no one and I mean no one thinks is interesting.
No one works in a place like that because they want to. They do it because financially speaking theres a gun to their head. And anyone that has the opportunity to leave is going to leave.
Sidenote: thats also why so many „accidents“ happen on the job and why a lot of company property lands on second had shops…
Making people do something and keeping half of their owed money is cruel.
On the flip side, I have a job where there are a number of roles where all you have to do is be ready until idle time stops. There are no restrictions outside of safety. When I’ve covered those jobs, I take it as a break from my regular job and enjoy some music or an ebook. I’ve seen others studying when it was their regular job. And I’ve seen some experience emotional distress, not from the boredom of their job but because it doesn’t allow them to be distracted from their personal lives.