 |
|
|
  | |
. | |
T A B L E__T A L K The Microsoft antitrust trial: Discuss events as they unfold in the Digital Culture area of Table Talk - - - - - - - - - - R E C E N T L Y The adventure continues Has the Web made porn respectable? Social engineering, Web-style Let's Get This Straight The 21st Challenge No. 14 Results - - - - - - - - - - BROWSE THE - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - -
|
|
good times for Dilbert THE WORLD'S BEST-LOVED CARTOON ENGINEER GETS OFF ON THE TIGHT JOB MARKET, WHILE HIS CREATOR, SCOTT ADAMS, TALKS ABOUT ZIPPERGATE AND THE ENDURING STUPIDITY OF HUMANKIND.
People are stupid. That, in a nutshell, is the observation upon which Scott Adams, the doodler behind the "Dilbert" comic strip, has built his empire. Over the last nine years, Adams has unleashed a daily flood of cartoons -- as well as books, calendars, a Web site and logo products galore -- documenting the inanity of the workplace. Dilbert, the bespectacled engineer, has become a subversive hero to geeks worldwide who are frustrated with bad management. Adams recently released his 14th book, "The Joy of Work," which continues his tradition of mocking "induhviduals." A compilation of reader e-mails, comic strips, wry observations and suggested pranks, "The Joy of Work" is a guide to making the daily grind more fun. You, too, can bring humor and creativity to your job, while humiliating your inept coworkers and tedious bosses in the process! Salon caught up with Adams on the press tour for "The Joy of Work" to talk about the evolving workplace, what Zippergate says about America -- and whether Dilbert is happy. How has the workplace changed since you first started doing "Dilbert"? And how does your new book, "The Joy of Work," reflect that? The balance of power has changed. At the moment, it's hard to get fired. And if you checked with all the people who had been downsized in the past, you'll find most of them are happier, and many of them make more money now, or are working for themselves. The whole stigma of losing your job went away and people are convinced that the risk of being fired isn't high. So in some way, people are more willing to say things and do things at work, take bigger chances, have more fun. If I listen to my e-mail, optimism is high. I had a spy program, where I would ask people for their phone number at work and then I would call them and ask them what they were doing right now. I couldn't find anybody working. At a random call you'd always get them doing something personal: Playing on the Internet, or sending an e-mail to their boyfriend. That struck me as a really good sign -- there's more time to goof off. The concept of "The Joy of Work" is that "Dilbert" was born and raised on downsizing, but now the job market is tight and we are secure, and we're having much more fun. I wanted to collect all the ways that people could abuse their boss and their co-workers, have more fun at their expense ... ways to be abusive and disloyal to your stockholders. Dilbert's happier now? Dilbert's much happier, yes. It's a good time to be an engineer. But you aren't working as an engineer anymore, since you quit your job three years ago to do "Dilbert" full time. Do you find you're losing touch with the material since you aren't inside the office environment, in those cubicles, anymore? It's easier in some ways, because when I was in the office I would spend seven hours a day just sitting in a little box with no stimulation whatsoever. But now I get hundreds of e-mails every day -- I try to read all of it -- from people telling me their experiences, which reminds me of my own hideous experiences. So it's actually a richer situation now. N E X T_ P A G E .|. On fame, computers and taking sides on the impeachment issue |
Arts & Entertainment | Books | Comics | Life | News | People
Politics | Sex | Tech & Business | Audio
The Free Software Project | The Movie Page
Letters | Columnists | Salon Plus
Copyright © 2000 Salon.com All rights reserved.
