There is a big story in Chicago this week about the city’s garbage workers that were caught loafing around on the job. An investigation found that the average garbage worker wastes about 2 hours per day amounting to about a $14 million loss for the city. This story has sparked debate about whether or not spending time doing other things than work on the job is acceptable. Many people have commented that the average worker doesn’t work 100% of the day anyway, so why should these garbage men be expected to work a full day?

The problem with the garbage workers was that they were found drinking, urinating in the street, sleeping in their cars, and in some cases, just going home for a few hours all while clocked in. These acts are not common in the average workplace. However, if you’re a person that thinks it’s OK to even do other little things at work while clocked in, you are part of the problem in this country.

It may seem normal to spend time at work handling personal matters, talking to co-workers for hours about nonsense, or surfing the Internet, but that doesn’t make it right. Considering this behavior as acceptable is the problem. If you think it should be accepted, tell that to people that work manufacturing lines or call centers. They often don’t have time to pal around. They work a true 8 hours shift in most cases and probably make less than the average office worker.

These garbage workers will now probably lose thier jobs as Chicago is in a huge budget deficit and are one of the only cities left that don’t have privatized garbage collectors. Any other worker that steals money from their employer by way of not working during the hours they are clocked in deserves the same fate.