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The rise of the pointless job

theguardian.com

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Re: The rise of the pointless job

#211

Post by pault »

blackbagboys wrote: post #59
Aunche wrote: post #35

In some developing countries, there's an unofficial social contract that the wealthy should employ as many people as possible, even if they need to make pointless jobs. A company I worked for had a remote office in India that employed people to hand out paper towels in the bathrooms.

This is also common in higher-end nightclubs and bars in the U.S., although these aren't full-time jobs and the attendants work mostly for tips.

My brother does this. He makes about $300 per weekend, which supplements his income working in a call center. The real reason he's there is to stop people from trashing the bathroom and using drugs in the club.

Re: The rise of the pointless job

#212

Post by sicromoft »

egypturnash wrote: post #197
not_real_acct wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On a Monday I quit my job and gave my two week notice. The next day my wife was fired. The day after that, my old boss offered me a raise if I would stick around. I did both jobs simultaneously for six months. In my entire life nothing has been more lucrative than this. I've tried investing in stocks, bonds, and real estate. Nothing has been more lucrative than double-dipping. The thing that's so bizarre, is that it…

It feels like you're missing a line somewhere in this - you talk about quitting your job, your wife getting fired, and your now-ex-boss offering you a raise to stick around, then start talking about "both jobs" without ever mentioning a new job.

Yep, he definitely left that out. Looks like the full story is on the subreddit he mentioned: https://www.reddit.com/r/WWPGD/comments/6gbz84/how_i_became_...

Re: The rise of the pointless job

#213

Post by tboyd47 »

not_real_acct wrote: post #118
expensivedrone wrote: post #80

I'm a programmer working at a big-tech company. I make ~$350k/year, even though my job could be done equally well by a college intern. I only do ~2 hours of productive work in an average day. My previous jobs were far more interesting and challenging, and I had apparently done extremely well in my interviews. Hence why I got an offer with an extremely good compensation package. However, the team that I go put into, i…

On a Monday I quit my job and gave my two week notice. The next day my wife was fired. The day after that, my old boss offered me a raise if I would stick around. I did both jobs simultaneously for six months. In my entire life nothing has been more lucrative than this. I've tried investing in stocks, bonds, and real estate. Nothing has been more lucrative than double-dipping. The thing that's so bizarre, is that it…

I think this would a lot more common if it wasn't seen as unethical to bill time in two places at once, as well as if companies were more open to hiring part-time. Why do you think your old supervisor was so open to this arrangement (not rhetorical, real question)?

Re: The rise of the pointless job

#214

Post by killjoywashere »

SnowingXIV wrote: post #110
iriNjfk993 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The frustrating thing is though: we have plenty of real demand Social work, infrastructure repairs, mental health services. But all the effort coalesces around BIG Corp. and Douche Co. needs first Somehow we’re convinced that Bezos and Koch’s are more important than our neighbors Some looney economists will tell you it’s proven in physics these people are just better Ignoring the history of violent imperialism and co…

I might be missing a lot of what you're saying, but say I worked for FAAMG - they just pay a lot more than what my neighbor could pay me. Even if repairing the neighbors deck or planting new trees in their yard or whatever might be "better" for society than submitting code for review on some feature. I guess I'm trying to understand what you're getting at because I think a lot of people don't believe Bezos or Koch ar…

> they just pay a lot more than what my neighbor could pay me

My wife is a pediatric occupational therapist specializing in early intervention. She gets paid bupkis by the children's hospital but working super interesting cases. She gets paid reasonably by the county for providing homecare to some kids who really need help as the county is the Medicaid payor of last resort and the kids really need help. She gets paid handsomely by private parties, but the work is often dull.

I'm not sure people work at the corps because the pay is better. I suspect many are attracted by some of the crazy problems on offer.

Re: The rise of the pointless job

#216

Post by WJW »

foamflower wrote: post #83
lainga wrote: post #15

I have said this before, but I see some parallels between the modern world and Japan during the early Tokugawa era. Japan had pretty much reached a steady state by the time Tokugawa Iyeyasu came to power in 1600; most of the available land had been cultivated or settled, and, especially after the policies of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, society was locked in a rigid structure without much room for advancement or unrest. As a…

When my family lived in Japan years ago, we noticed that when taking the train, approximately three attendants checked our tickets before we boarded a train. At least two of those jobs are "bullshit" in terms of producing wealth, but they are socially beneficial in a culture where the social contract requires near-zero unemployment. (I, apparently like you, can't help but remember this kind of arrangement when listen…

Is visited the USA just once (in 2003), but there was an old man that took my bag off the end of the luggage belt at the airport and handed it to me. I could easily have picked it up myself, but he was there for those 30 centimeters of bag travel. I remember being amazed about it and remarking the pointlessness of that job to my coworkers.

Re: The rise of the pointless job

#217

Post by cema »

WJW wrote: post #216
foamflower wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When my family lived in Japan years ago, we noticed that when taking the train, approximately three attendants checked our tickets before we boarded a train. At least two of those jobs are "bullshit" in terms of producing wealth, but they are socially beneficial in a culture where the social contract requires near-zero unemployment. (I, apparently like you, can't help but remember this kind of arrangement when listen…

Is visited the USA just once (in 2003), but there was an old man that took my bag off the end of the luggage belt at the airport and handed it to me. I could easily have picked it up myself, but he was there for those 30 centimeters of bag travel. I remember being amazed about it and remarking the pointlessness of that job to my coworkers.

Strange experience indeed. I do not think I have ever seen that in any of USA airports, large or small.

Re: The rise of the pointless job

#218

Post by leroy_masochist »

pnathan wrote: post #103
leroy_masochist wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, and therein lies the Guardian's stereotypical grad student reasoning: militaries only exist because of humanity's lack of enlightenment, and military service is therefore a job that "lacks positive value" and is "essentially manipulative and aggressive". Even if you subscribe to the standard litany of lefty anti-person-in-uniform grudges, the notion that militaries around the world exist primarily to guard aga…

> A much bigger motivating factor for the existence of large standing armies is the general desire of illiberal regimes, be they on the right or on the left, to keep the young male population (ie the backbone of a potential revolution) occupied on a daily basis. Would you mind citing that or expanding on more depth? I'm curious as to your reasoning chain there and think it is an interesting critique of the article's…

It's a common practice throughout Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Arab world (and Russia until recently). Compulsory military service for males at 18, for a varying amount of time but enough to a) make a tangible difference in the number of young guys loitering about because they have nothing to do in the bad economy; b) have a large internally deployable force to quell any unrest at a moment's notice; c) indoctrinate young men with the idea that being a man / being a patriot / being of good character means supporting the regime and its ideology (while also giving young men a group identity as a veteran of the armed forces loyal to the government).

Fighting a war with another country is not the reason most countries spend money on their armies that could be spent elsewhere.

Re: The rise of the pointless job

#219

Post by ReverseCold »

WJW wrote: post #216
foamflower wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When my family lived in Japan years ago, we noticed that when taking the train, approximately three attendants checked our tickets before we boarded a train. At least two of those jobs are "bullshit" in terms of producing wealth, but they are socially beneficial in a culture where the social contract requires near-zero unemployment. (I, apparently like you, can't help but remember this kind of arrangement when listen…

Is visited the USA just once (in 2003), but there was an old man that took my bag off the end of the luggage belt at the airport and handed it to me. I could easily have picked it up myself, but he was there for those 30 centimeters of bag travel. I remember being amazed about it and remarking the pointlessness of that job to my coworkers.

> the pointlessness of that job to my coworkers

What if you were older/disabled and had trouble lifting a medium-large suitcase?

Seems like not the most useless job in the world, especially since it helps keep things moving in the airport and reduces congestion by getting people their bags slightly faster.

Re: The rise of the pointless job

#220

Post by SantaBarbarian »

Want to see pointless job? go into a nice department store in Tokyo to buy a shirt (if, say, United Airlines lost all your good clothes on the way over-- just as a hypothetical).

the sheer number of people involved in greeting, seating and feting you is stunning.

then there's the five levels of distribution to get any kind of product to market...

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