Molasses in the Workplace

As an hourly employee? I should not complain that more hours are required to finish the work. The shift begins as intensely as usual. The work peters out to a manageable level and most days- especially Friday- we are told when we are finished.

On Friday? If they tell us to leave when the work is 98% complete? The money is made for the week and I don't mind. Recently the latter half of the shift has been run in slow motion.

It feels like the last two minutes of a close basketball game. If you have two minutes to live? Let it happen in the last two minutes of a close game. It takes more than one hundred twenty seconds to play out the intentional fouls, free throws and timeouts.

It gives someone enough time to put their affairs in order and call loved ones to say goodbye. In heat like this? We don't want to Hack-a-Shaq or send a less efficient free throw shooter to the line. We want to complete the work.

Which led to a discussion on molasses. I know it as a syrup of sorts. How does something become "Slow as molasses?" Work can be enriching on many levels. The phrase is "As slow as molasses in January."

Any liquid would move slowly in freezing temperatures. Sounds better than "Slower than honey mustard". The workload seems to come too quickly or too slowly. In extreme heat the lack of work reminds me how long this heat wave has lasted.

It may be worse in other places. This is bad enough. Establishing that management knows nothing about pacing? Too slow is as tedious as too fast. Either way? It takes as long. Maybe we are melting and that is why it is so slow. It is challenging to build to a crescendo when they slow down like rush hour traffic which, I regret to inform you, is back.