Are 2 breaks enough for system admins and helpdesk?

System admin and helpdesk jobs can be very stressful. So isn't fair that they get more than two breaks during a typical work day?

Some environments are very strict about break rules. Shouldn't they pay attention to amount of stress? There are other stressful professions too, but le's talk about IT.

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Comments

rossonieri#1

well - i dont know much about that in other countries,
in my country both systems admin and helpdesk can be quite busy sometimes,
but systems admin can get quite free sometimes also - except for helpdesk that keeps rolling in 8 hours shift.

busy time for systems admin is when they have to fixing/upgrading something in the backyard with other boys

while helpdesk get those calls - and spreading SOP words routines.

in case they get strecth - sys admin can get as much breaks as they want - because of safety first policy,
but for the helpdesk - they will have other boys (usually from backup helpdesk or off-duty sys admin) come to give help.

cheers.

seuss_ssues

I am a network analyst and my work mostly consists of 80% admin 20% help desk type work. We have two 15 minute breaks per day. After 7 months at this job i might have taken 3 breaks so far. I dont think this job is really that stressful. I worked at a retail store doing stock work for a year when i was younger. We had to stock X number of products per hour to keep our jobs. It was a very high number and very hard to reach. I found that to be very stressful and did not enjoy anything about the job.

I guess im trying to say there are much more stressful jobs out there. In a world with doctors working extremely long and hard hours I think working 8-9 hours in IT as a walk in the park.

networker050184

If you are so busy you can only afford two 15 min breaks a day as an admin you are doing something wrong. I'm lucky if I can find 30 min of work on the average day! The help desk guys on the other hand, they always have some sort of user issue to fix.

binarysoul

networker050184 wrote:

I'm lucky if I can find 30 min of work on the average day! .

Oh boyyy, That's a royal treat

I used to work in a place like that. But I found out that was very boring. I would read IT stuff, and after a while I would get bored with it. I believe balance is the key.

networker050184

If your network is stable and you are not doing any upgrades or other projects there usually isn't to much to do besides the usual traffic reports and the tickets sent up that the help desk can't resolve. I was being a little sarcastic with the 30 min, but you should definatley have time for breaks.

paintb4707

I've been doing help desk for almost 6 months now.

We actually don't have pre-set break times. We're only allowed to take a break when there's no calls in the queue (which is just about never when one of your clients happens to be Adecco).

We've actually been bribed with lunch on several occasions to not take a lunch break and to eat on the desk.

And yes, it can get very stressful at times and in which case a break is much needed.

Plantwiz

binarysoul wrote:

System admin and helpdesk jobs can be very stressful. So isn't fair that they get more than two breaks during a typical work day?

Is it fair? Straight up....No.

However, since there is much more data on job stresses, ergonomics, employee retention, etc...today then when I started working...depending on the job...it just may be.

Since being on a phone takes a fair bit of talent, many help-desk, customer support areas have gone into a cross-training/task rotation which not only allows for people to be sick, quit, or otherwise be abscent without hurting the workflow...it also alleviates the stress involved with being on the phone and having a string of bad calls.

It should be a plan that make sense according to your state/federal laws (or country) as well as your employer. Job fatigue isn't laughed at as much as it once was, then again, it is also the employees responsibility to come to work properly rested...leading to a less stressful day.

ladiesman217

binarysoul wrote:

System admin and helpdesk jobs can be very stressful. So isn't fair that they get more than two breaks during a typical work day?

Some environments are very strict about break rules. Shouldn't they pay attention to amount of stress? There are other stressful professions too, but le's talk about IT.

i also feel the stress working in IT, im working as administrator in an internet caffe 12 hours a day. i haven't tried to work in an office environment before so i want to ask you guys...is it harder? a work in internet caffe is so cumbersome and sometimes annoying because you have to deal with different people everyday + the stress that i encounter when the systems goes down. this is the main reason why im pursuing 70-270. everybody wants to be somebody

but its not just stressfull...there's also the joy of meeting new people, specially girsl!

dont ask me but i think IT guys have a higher charisma compared to others

networker050184

Try keeping an ever changing network up and operational on the battelfield! with peoples life on the line

Talk about stress, commanders yelling and breathing down your neck. After that not much stresses me out. Don't let it get to you. Stay relaxed and calm and everything will go much more smoothe. I'd have to say a large business enviroment might be a little more stressful than an internet cafe.

Kaminsky

There is never any point in getting stressed about anything... Not ever!

Stress will do nasty things to you without you even realising before it is too late. I have seen several colleagues burnt out and completely paranoid all due to letting stress get hold of them. One very very good network admin I knew completely lost the plot and forgot himself, wife and 3 year old daughter and they found him the other side of the country six weeks later in a doss house without a clue who he was.

Good rule of thumb.

If your stressed because your busy... Work out how many calls you have and divide that by the number of users you support and finally multiply that by 100. The ask yourself, "Am I really that busy?" (eg 150 calls from a 5000 user base is still only 3% of users with a problem)

If your stresed because you keep getting major system failures and your constantly getting it in the neck whilst your trying to fix it... work on the major failures first and if people are hovering on your shoulder reminding you how important it is (even though you already know that) just stop work, face them, look them square in the eye and ask "Do you want to talk about it or do you want me to fix it?". They will normally get the hint, bugger of and let you get on with it.

If it is senior work colleagues constantly hasstling you, either leave or make it look like you are on board with their ideas and pulling in the same direction. Play the game so to speak. If they are still on your case and stressing you out.... leave ! (Your never going to win that one)
Some guys where I work are desperately fighting for a £2,500 salary increase they were promised. They are getting very stressed about it. I explained to them that if you multiply 2500 by 0.6 as an rough tax deduction and then divide the remainder by 52 weeks, they are actually getting all this stress build up (and worst of all , stressing about it outside of work) for just over £28 increase per week..... Thats pretty much the price of a decent takeaway !! (They looked a little shocked when I explained that to them)

If your stressed by ignorant and rude users on the phone, just ask yourself would you let the person sitting next to you or your neighbour where you live, talk to you like that? If you threaten to hang up on a user unless they sort out their tone then you will be surprised how quickly they behave themselves..

Learn how to difuse people / users who stress you out. When they talk about their problem as if the world is about to end, just talk in a relaxed, "no worries, that's not a big deal" kind of way and you will actually turn the conversation into a friendly encounter. Not only that, the users will feel a lot more confident in your abilities. Learn to understand what the issue means to the user and show a bit of concern stating you will make sure something gets done about it and they will lap it up.

If, in the end you are constantly getting stressed, go find a different job. This is a stressful profession and our ability to handle it and work under preassure (not difusing bombs kind of preassure remember) is part of it.

I will typically take a 5-10 minute fag break each hour throughout my 11 hour daily shift. Nobody has ever pulled me on it and woe betide them if they do. I typically go for a ciggie with one of the guys who has been there a while and we call it "Knowledge Transfer Sessions".

Remember...... Nothing is worth strassing you out..... Quickest way to paranoia, a heart attack and death. Don't do it.... Grow round shoulders and let all the grief just wash over you. At the end of the day, you're not the one with the problem!

snadam

you guys get breaks?...

I wish I could be stress free at work, but it always gets the best of me from time to time. I havent taken an official "break" in at least 6 years.

EDIT: I guess since we all post on these boards during the work day, we do get some sort of break. I can justify posting on the boards to get some assistance at work and my studies, which usually go hand-in-hand.

Sie

What are breaks?

Have time to grab a cig or a sandwich but then its eat it at the desk today for 12 hours.

Depends on the work load but when things need to be done they need to be done!

2BEDB411

ladiesman217 wrote:

binarysoul wrote:

System admin and helpdesk jobs can be very stressful. So isn't fair that they get more than two breaks during a typical work day?

Some environments are very strict about break rules. Shouldn't they pay attention to amount of stress? There are other stressful professions too, but le's talk about IT.

i also feel the stress working in IT, im working as administrator in an internet caffe 12 hours a day. i haven't tried to work in an office environment before so i want to ask you guys...is it harder?

but its not just stressfull...there's also the joy of meeting new people, specially girsl! dont ask me but i think IT guys have a higher charisma compared to others

............plus all the coffee you can drink ? Where do I sign ?

Schluep

I usually eat Breakfast and Lunch at my desk while working. We have a lunch room at the office complex where I work and many people go there for lunches and breaks. I do not usually have the time however and would rather get more done and try not to have to stay as late than to socialize with people at the office. I do enough socializing with people I like to be around, so there is no need to start with the people I don't like to be around when I could be productive instead. I usually pop in a few times throughout the day to refill my water or make some green tea, say a quick hello to everyone, and head back to my desk to eat.

Netstudent

I don't take breaks either, but I'm not helpdesk. I'm in a more admin/support role and to be honest I don't really have a desire to take a break. I mean IT work is not pysically demanding. Only time I take a break is when i'm hungry as hell. That gives me any mental relaxation i may need. When I'm not working on something, I am posting here so thats a break.

Pash

Luckily i only do half day onsite support for a genetics research lab, every 6 weeks. The rest of my time im doing project work and remote support, i eat when i wan't, pop to starbucks if i like. Generally the guys above don't care aslong as projects are done and invoices signed back. That said, even IT project work can be stressful, a few weeks ago I was working on things for 5/6 different customers, it was a nightmare, typing in wrong IP's for remote work and getting things all mixed up. Luckily i didnt make changes on live servers of another customer, now that would be bad

jkstech

only official break I take is lunch, working for the city govenment, it is required, though sometimes I do skip it, actually often....

as far as breaks, being a network engineer, like others have said, it comes with the territory, if things are good, I have a day full of breaks, if not, i'm busy, I do see some IT people here taking scheduled breaks, most are smokers, that's fine with me

I like the freedom a net admin/engineer has, our schedules aren't too routing, we get busy, then we're not...

like, we've got a new SAN deployment, blade server/ERP system deployment, and fiber run to get finished once all the parts get in, this will be between now and the end of the year! lol

vsmith3rd

I must be very fortunate. My manager's attitude is "Just get the job done." He's very relaxed, but expects work when things need to get done. I've found this approach to be very effective. It promotes more feelings of ownership to various projects or jobs. I just left the Helpdesk, which was very structured, and that seemed like I WORKED 8 hrs. I probably get more done now as an admin, but its so much more rewarding and satisfying that it doesn't seem like work. I actually love what I'm doing, and I love it more day by day. Maybe they just found an effective way to brainwash me or something.

If I ran that company, I'd try the one lunch and no "structured" breaks. Just get the job done, take ownership of the job, because you'll get the kudos for finishing it, and if you need to take a break or breather, just take it, no big deal. I think that makes the whole environment more relaxed.

If people start to abuse the system, they can't hide from it, because all those projects assigned to them will be late, or done shoddily, and management will know.

binarysoul

I don't have scheduled breaks either, but in my previous jobs I did and it was like I was a robot; I really hated it to be honest.

Some don't realize how system admin could get tough at times when you have to fix things fast; the network is down and you have to pull your hair to figure out where the fault might be. So, I agree, so long as the job is done, breaks should be taken as needed...Now I don't mean we go out fishing on company's time, but you know what I mean

BigTone

If your users don't make you want to pull your hair out maybe you should let me know next time you have a job opening

I take breaks but its basically to chat with my wife or BS with the other IT guys. I'm lucky because our department is pretty chill so we can get up whenever we want. I understand though in faster paced environments that breaks could be tough to come by.

empc4000xl

Wow this is crazy hearing this. I usually walk around shoot the ish, give pounds to people chat with women. Really not much work maybe a hours worth in a full work day. Then I study. I guess that's gonna be a thing of the past when I get out.