Whistle while we work

I've been waiting tables for almost five years now. I love to hate it. I've got a bachelor's degree, and graduated with a 3.9 GPA in 3 years. A few months ago, I decided it was time to leave the world of beer and chicken wings, and venture off into the "real world" and put my degree to use. I got a job as an office/production manager with a small construction company. I lasted two months. My foray into the real world ended with me back in the restaurant industry, or as we call it in the restaurant world, "the industry". I couldn't do it. The money was ok, the people were ok, but seriously. Sitting at a desk for 9 hours a day, 5 days a week was ridiculous. I was good at my job, but I felt less than productive. In fact, I felt downright unproductive and lazy. I spent a good majority of my day playing around on Spotify and hiding behind my monitor playing Angry Birds on my phone. Also, since I was salaried with no bonuses, I felt like I had lost control of my income. Waiting tables I can (to a certain degree) control how much money I make. Its all up to me. Of course waiting tables isn't for everyone, but it did make me think about corporate America.

How much time do people with "real jobs" spend being productive? A couple of my really good friends who have "good jobs" spend more time on Facebook and more time talking to me and texting me throughout the day than they do actually working. And this is by no means a poor reflection of the work ethic my friends have. Nearly all my friends leave restaurants for their 9-5 jobs, and all of them are hard working people. They know what it means to earn a dollar. But once you get behind a desk, its different. Is there really something you can be doing every second for 9 hours 5 days a week? Highly unlikely. I know there are some powerful people with powerful jobs out there who's days are completely full and productive. But why is corporate America structured this way? Does everyone need to work 40 hours a week to get stuff done? Maybe if we spent less time at work, we'd be more productive. Wouldn't 30 productive hours a week be more beneficial to everyone than 40 hours where only 20-30 of them are spent actually working?

For those of you with real jobs, happy Thursday! Your week is almost over!