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I'm literally not allowed to do these things

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  • I'm literally not allowed to do these things

    I've had a desk job for a year now and I've gained 20 lbs. I had previously lost by changing my diet but not my activity level. Really, I had the same retail job I'd had for 11 years and I didn't add exercise. But now the retail job is gone and I'm fat again. I'm not eating differently, still on the same plan I lost weight with, but I've gained. So yeah, I'm one of those people who has to do both just to be at a normal weight.

    OK, I can accept that. I actually do like to go outside and walk for 45 minutes. I just have less time. I don't get up in the morning because I rarely get to bed at a decent hour due to pain flare-ups caused by sitting all day. (They took away my standing desk.) Sometimes I think, "I'll go hike after work." But hunger and a destroyed kitchen and sunset at 4:30 pm and being sleep-deprived from being up in pain half the night get in the way.

    I don't want to give up. I need to start moving more at work. I can do that, right? Well, here's some advice I gleaned online:

    Go to a coworker, about something you need instead of phoning her/him
    Use the bathroom more often (clever, I know!)
    Get something from the kitchen – like water
    If making phone calls – stand instead of sitting
    Volunteer to go to the copy machine
    Stand up and do some stretches

    --I used to do the first thing all the time, but I've been told specifically I am not allowed. I *have* to use the messaging, period. We all do.
    --The second one: yeah, no. It's a call center. I have less than 4 minutes outside of break to go and if I go over that (call center--you bet your sweet bippy that it's logged in!) for more than one week in a row I will get a write-up. Yes, I know OSHA may have a problem with that. I haven't been disciplined as of yet.
    --Kitchen, water: same deal as with going to the ladies' room.
    --I make a copy of something once a month, if that. It's all email.
    --Stretches: I just can't. The second I'm done working on the last account I pulled, I have to be back on that phone. In fact, I'm literally tied to the phone by a headset. The kicker is that we are told by management we should be getting up from our desks and moving around. How??

    The above advice must be for people who aren't treated like they're 5 years old. What do the rest of us do? Do you think I should just take the 50% paycut and go back to retail? My debts will take forever to be paid, but as it is now I lose so much money to taxes anyway. At least I'd be healthier...
    "Is it hot in here to you? It's very warm, isn't it?"--Nero, probably

  • #2
    Why did they take away your standing desk? If you have a registered medical issue surely that's breaking OSHA?

    If it's not documented, get it documented, then fight for your standing desk back. That would solve several issues right there; if you're getting more and better quality sleep it actually helps you lose weight as your body is functioning correctly to process everything, rather stumbling along in emergency mode.
    "It is traditional when asking for help or advice to listen to the answers you receive" - RealUnimportant

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    • #3
      . The kicker is that we are told by management we should be getting up from our desks and moving around. How??
      They're just paying lip service to the idea. If asked, I'm sure their response will be something like "Figure it out!" or "What do you think all of that break time is for?!?"
      "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
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      • #4
        It's pricey, but have you considered one of those DeskCycle things? You put it on the floor under your desk, and just pedal away...

        I can't believe they won't let you have a stand-up desk. Although I could see it being a "distraction" to the other reps. "How come Food Lady gets a stand up desk?". Then you start getting into HIPPA, and all that stuff...
        Skilled programmers aren't cheap. Cheap programmers aren't skilled.

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        • #5
          I find that pretty much all call centers just pay lip service to OH&S rules. They go on about desk ergonomics and the importance of not sitting all day, but then they do virtually nothing to implement it. And if somebody takes the initiative to deal with it themselves, that person gets in trouble. I used to do yoga between calls on dead days but then got called in HR for being a distraction...despite being in my little cubicle where few people could see me.

          I know in my last call center they tried to tell us that any thing we needed that was not standard issue we would have to supply ourselves - despite that being against provincial OH&S standards and me pointing it out to them more than once. It probably wouldn't have irked me so much if we weren't told that we couldn't take it with us when we left...even though work hadn't paid out a single cent for the damn equipment.

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          • #6
            Quoth greek_jester View Post
            Why did they take away your standing desk? If you have a registered medical issue surely that's breaking OSHA?
            I think by registered you mean on partial state disability? No, not yet. I have a doctor's note for it. I moved desks and was going to have it moved but that day it came out that they are moving all the standing desks to one area so we could share them since we don't have enough for everyone. (I don't get that; there are a handful of people who really need them.) At any rate, that day I told our nurse that I thought I could do OK just sitting in my special chair and having my keyboard and mouse raised up. That works most of the time but the last week I would've liked to stand up. They haven't moved the desks yet so I'd have to go all the way across the office to an unfamiliar team area and not have all the stuff I need at my desk. (A lot of it is references up on my walls that I use all the time.) So I just stay where I am.
            "Is it hot in here to you? It's very warm, isn't it?"--Nero, probably

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