When the Cat is away ..
I often wonder , on days when your boss is off .. or you are working from home .. do you actually get any work done? or do you just enjoy the freedom for the day ?
This is specially in a situation when for example , most of your colleagues are off , like during Christmas season … and just one or two of you left in the office , do you work with the same motivation as you would when the boss or other colleagues are around?
Re: The mice will play ...
Years ago I used to work for a company that had cameras in the office and when the boss had days off she would watch us on camera from her pc. If someone was away from their desk a bit too long she would ring up and ask where that person was.
Re: The mice will play ...
in my job it doesn't really matters if she is off or there... there is always some stress.
Re: The mice will play ...
the nature of my work is one of an independent worker. i'm a researcher so i do things on my own, at my own pace [which is always hurried] and i have regular meetings with my boss. she is superb!
Re: The mice will play ...
In my field, there is a horrible concept of putting in face time. When I first started as an Analyst I was doing 80 hour weeks, with a lot of the late nights to show that I was "in the office" and ready to go.
Since moving up the career ladder, I have less to worry about in terms of whether the boss is watching or not, mostly because I am always working on new pitches. The mentality has become more about how can I anticipate the clients needs instead of watching my back.
Re: The mice will play …
I will be honest , I have a management grade position and still I feel the jitters when the boss is around .. not because the boss is always looking … but mainly their presence means one has to be on their toes at all times .. so when they are away … yeeehaaaaa , its pure relaxation for me ! I sort of start feeling the freedom and do things at my pace…
I spend half the day working my head off .. and the rest of the day lazing around 
… I remember an interesting incident a few days ago .. one of the guys who reports into me .. also started lazing around much similar to me when our director set off for his holiday … I called him in my office and told him , this , that and this needs doing , lets get to work …
In my heart I laughed my head off as I thought , puttar , its my boss thats away , not yours ! yours is right here in your face 