It has been a kind of revelation. For a long time, my work life is governed by this law, much to my regret. This has been my great discovery: knowing that what happens to me is already invented, it is not a subjective appreciation but a law as universal as the law of gravity. It seems that this law derives from the observation of bureaucratic work, and this is what moves me the most, because my work, in theory, is not bureaucratic at all. However, I have been observing, rather suffering for a long time, the implacable application of this law. I am referring, for example, to the time devoted to meetings. The importance of the call has nothing to do with the topic to be discussed. It gives so much: it is about occupying all the time that has been allocated to the meeting. The topic to be discussed expands to occupy all the available time. This is the goal: to occupy hours. It is possible to be circling an issue without reaching any conclusion. There is also the opposite situation: easily reach the crux of the matter, then, take out another issue with which to complete the time available. The situation becomes exasperating (at least for me) when I realize that what is expected of me is not efficiency or efficiency, but simply time. Time that could devote to more urgent and significant works, but no. The result is a feeling of total frustration.
The solution is also invented, but unfortunately it is not within my reach. I can not manage my own time. My time, the most valuable thing we have, is in the hands of my superiors. At this point another equally exasperating case appears: the lack of punctuality. I have the impression that starting the meetings half an hour late (and therefore finishing them half an hour late) is a calculated strategy; Result: spend more time at work. In a job where, by the way, the concept of extra hours does not exist.
Faced with the impossibility of dodging useless meetings, and observing discreetly some colleagues, I opted for the following: to place myself in a comfortable second or even third plane, to disconnect and dedicate myself, while the boss speaks, to really important tasks. What in the school we called present body and absent mind. If what is expected of me is to make an appearance, then I must be an exemplary worker, however frustrated I feel.
I have tried to find an explanation for this behavior. I think it's a kind of quantity syndrome. Quantity ahead of quality. Reflecting on this, I see that in our society in crisis, what counts is the amount: the amount of hours you dedicate to work, the amount of money you earn, the number of trips you make per year, the number of items you consume ... Few people stop to give meaning to what they do, instead of trying to do as many things as possible.
In my private life, for a long time I have been counting quality versus quantity without any complex (because you have to admit that there is great pressure to the contrary). The weekend arrives and I do not run hysterically to do as many activities as possible, but I select what I spend my time with, sure that happiness is here, in the freedom to manage my time. In my work I have not yet found this happiness. I do not lose faith, although I see the solution far away. To finish, two more Parkinson's laws, equally revealing: the expenses increase until covering all the income; the time devoted to any agenda item is inversely proportional to its importance. It has to think.