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> In all fairness to Susan, I think her question is legitimate. As a manager
> of 9 people, I can tell you I'm concerned about how my people are spending
> their time. That is, frankly, my responsibility as a manager. While I'm not
> a micro-manager or a "crack the whip" type, I let writers know that company
> time is for company business. Here are some of my indicators that people
> are spending their time inappropriately:
>
> Writing projects are consistently late, with no real explanation as to why.
> Writer has to work excessive overtime, staying late or coming in on
> weekends, on projects that don't need that much time.
> Writer spends more time researching the interesting facets of the
> FrameMaker icon bar than writing.
> Writer is constantly frustrated by PC problems, personal problems,
[snipped a list of similar observations ]
I'm not a doctor and don't play on on TV (or TW), but as an amateur, I'd
say these look like the same symptoms that are on the lists that begin
"Are you stressed to the point of danger?" or "Do you have undiagnosed
depression?" or "What's your 'BQ?' (burnout quotient.)"
Healthy, motivated, balanced people don't have more than a couple of
these behaviors at any one time, and when they do, they're transient.
"Warning: Self-medication and self-diagnosis is dangerous. If symptoms
persist, see a professional."
I'm not kidding or intending this as accusation, irony, humor, riducule, or
flame-bait. If I've misinterpreted the post, excuse me. Relevance to
list? How about, learn to recognize when your own or your colleagues'
behavior and symptoms are telling you that something needs attention,
change, vacation, etc.
Regards,
Peter Gold
pgold -at- netcom -dot- com
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