Mr. Jansen*, you are someone you could call a working time fraudster. What job do you practice?
I am an employee at a financial service provider. I don’t want to be more precise here. I am afraid that you could derive who I am.
What does your everyday work look like?
My work consists only of pure office work. I sit on the computer all day long, have various programs that I use to check processes to keep it in general.
Do you work in the office or in the home office?
There are so -called team days when we have to go to the office, and then I go to the office. But sometimes not. I would say that I work about 70 percent from home.
I earn well above average and work far less than many others
Do you perceive your work as fulfilling?
On the contrary. I perceive my work as very boring. I only do the job because salary, working hours and benefits are very good. I earn well above the German average and work far less than many others.
Is that a 40-hour job?
Yes, 40 hours are in the employment contract.
How many hours do you really work?
So effectively – if I’m honest – maybe I work half the time of my colleagues.
Since when have you been cheating on your employer?
In the beginning I really kneeled myself. Overtime worked, offered me. In my impression, however, this was neither valued nor seen. Nobody has what I do and how much I work here, I thought. And then I switched back a gear and noticed that it works that way. Over time – I have been in the company for three years – that was more and more.
Why does nobody notice that?
As far as I know, we are not checked. I also see that the tasks that I have to do will be finished on time. That nothing falls on my feet and I am sure of mine. And I always ask: “By when does this have time?” So I can take the maximum to deadline with me, but then I can’t overdo it too much so that it could be noticeable. I almost only do the least of what is expected at work.
Which tricks do you still apply?
For example, I register out of bed on the laptop in the morning, but then stay for an hour. During this time, write one or two emails so that there is simply a little traffic. You should see that I did something.
How do you spend your free hours?
Make, cook, clean with normal things like laundry. But I always think about looking for a part -time job that could be integrated into my everyday work.
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Do you have a guilty conscience or afraid that you will expire?
I actually don’t have a guilty conscience. The fear of being caught is there, but was greater at the beginning. I can still remember a feedback discussion in 2023. I was not long in the company and was really panicked shortly before the appointment. What do I answer when my boss asks me, how satisfied I am with my own performance?
How did the conversation go?
Of course, the question came and I knew that I could not rate my work as insufficient. If my boss doesn’t think that at all, he will be listening. So my answer was: “I am satisfied with my work performance, I do enough.” Then I got the confirmation back. That was really amazed at me because I know that I do very little. And then the question arose for me: if my result is good … What do everyone else do?
What do you believe how your colleagues work?
I don’t know it. That is the topic: everyone does a home office, and no one tells the other how he works. I actually believe that a large part of the people simply lies thick in the face from the reception to the executive floor.
*The interviewed person wishes to stay anonymously and was therefore cited under a pseudonym. The actual name is known to the editorial team.
Source: Stern
