How do I get paid to do Nothing (Forbes)

A few years ago I had a colleague I call June. It seems that every time I went to the room of ' ladies and June was applying mascara, combing her long, dark ladies '-tresses and chat. She also spent a lot of time on sidewalks and in the cafeteria smoking. Extremely warm and friendly, she knew that everybody and devoted much of his time to catch up with their personal information. What did step pass time was at work. A guy who sat in the passenger cabin on its side once told me that he felt that it developed in only two hours per day of what might be described as a productive work.

Eric Abrahamson, Professor at Columbia business school that specializes in leadership and organizational problems, called people like June "Michelangelos work avoidance". Abrahamson examines workplace and time management fads and carefully examined ways to manage certain employees to paid to do nothing. They defend their practices, but it says that grasp them can help managers Office inequalities and make their most productive teams.

Work avoidance Michelangelos know how remain inactive while suffering without consequences or, in some cases even get promoted. June lasted in her employment for more than ten years before finally being laid off, and when his dismissal, he has little to do with his lack of productivity. The Office has been automating job.

One of his skills devoted little time at her desk or anywhere near the Department where she supposedly worked so that his bosses didn't even in his issue much. Out of sight, the spirit, might we say. "If people think of you, they can't give you work"Abrahamson said. " Other ways to accomplish that: arrival at times different and unpredictable for the day. Work from home. Implement your schedule so that you frequently change locations.

Another tactic: not emptying your voicemail box. In this way, when people call they will get the impression that you work hard, that you haven't even time to delete the messages. This has the advantage of impossible bosses or colleagues leave you verbal instructions on tasks.

If your boss track you and try to give you some work, you can strategically deploy a sort of jovial cluelessness. "Principal here is that you try to work a person and come to the conclusion that they understand the instructions", explains Abrahamson. In such a case, most of the patterns will be figure it is easier to do the work themselves.

If you are a service dedicated to your desktop, you can distort that time that he made. Between so-called jobs June maintained leaves time for staff of his Department. No one else knew takes the system put in place or how long retain data. Thus, it could be a task that took minutes seem to consume hours of hard work. People with computer expertise working in the Luddites can easily exploit this tactic.

And then there is what Abrahamson calls early blunder. Clearly say to your boss, the most pleasant as possible, that you fail the assignment, that she wanted to give you. "You have to fail" advises Abrahamson. "It need merely be clear that you are going to fail." Most smart patterns will then work to someone else.

Appearing overloaded work can be a surefire way to avoid new assignments. If someone asks you how you are doing, simply respond, "I work very hard, I have even no time to go to the bathroom. (June, this line of course not apply.) Good: "I am so busy, I think I just with something.