Thursday, October 07, 2004

Friday Isolationism

Tomorrow is Friday again. I hate Friday. Not in general, only at work. I am a paralegal whose chief responsibility is the firm docket (calendar) for an eleven attorney toxic tort law firm. I'm also responsible for processing and routing anything that comes into the firm of an urgent nature. For some reason, law firms decide to jack with each other on Friday afternoons, preferably after 3:30 p.m. This turns me into a running, typing, e-mailing, raving maniac. My entire motivation for Friday is to work my ass off so I don't have to go in on Saturday. Horrors!

What I don't understand is, WHY ARE THESE PEOPLE WORKING ON FRIDAY AFTERNOON? Shouldn't they be playing golf or drinking margaritas or cheating on their spouses? Where is their non-work ethic?

Here is my proposal. All law firms (and this may work for other businesses as well) should practice "Friday Isolationism." This would involve no bosses, no sending or receiving outside e-mails, no outside phone calls, no deliveries and, most importantly, no sending or receiving faxes on Friday afternoons. I realize that this will have a negative impact on Monday but Monday sucks anyway so, what the hell? Plus, you have the whole week to recover and regroup from a bad Monday.

I'm sure all the bosses out there are thinking that while they're away, these cats will play. That's not (entirely) true. Can you imagine how much work could get done with no outside interruptions that one afternoon of the week?

So, bosses, on Friday afternoon give yourself a break. Go home. Go to Hooters. Go anywhere. Just go. And, if your staff can't keep their fingers off the fax button, take them with you.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fridays could be "Mental Health" days! That would make for much happier and productive workers. I like it.

Anonymous said...

You are not thinking outside the box... or cubicle, in this case. I used to work with a older man, a hillbilly from Tennessee, who consistently missed work one day a week. I asked him, being his supervisor, if there was any special reason he graced us with his presence four days a week (being something of a smartass, you can imagine). He replied, quite politely, he could not afford to only work three days a week.

Or as Jon Lovitz said (A League Of Their Own), "You see, how it works is, the train moves... the station stays here."

Laurie said...

I bet that guy's a senator somewhere.

Anonymous said...

What an incredible idea! Sorry I'm just catching this, but when I saw the title, I couldn't help but comment. See, I am a FIRM believer in early release on Fridays. ('Cuz I know it's too much to hope for a 4 day work week) The problem we face are these bosses who think they just can NOT be away from their job, even if it's just for 2 measly hours. Contrary to the managers, and micromanagers, out there, 99.9% of the population desire NOT be at work. But with money making the world go 'round, Friday isolationism is a novel approach to bring us back from the window ledge, even if just an inch or two. Keep 'em coming, Laurie!

Laurie said...

Ah, the window ledge. We can't open our windows (a wise decision on management's part), but I have often thought of throwing my slow-ass computer through the window and going out after it.