which sounds like quite productive behaviour.
I had been hired by a former colleague to fill lout his cutting-edge tech team with a knowledgeable DBA at this bleeding edge tech company.
I was new to the particular database in play, but knew how the "umbrella" software marshalled resources like redo and database pages, and when handed a thorny "unexpectedly slow performance" problem I thought and thought and wandered over to a window overlooking a stand of trees and thought some more, pulling apart what must be happening in Mr Brain and coming up with an explanation and solution in about five minutes treegazing.
I was pulled into my new boss's office and told that the directors "did not like me wandering around he office and staring out the window all day".
I pointed out that the five minutes was hardly all day, and had resulted in a solid win on a problem that had been puzzling the rest of the staff for months, but the boss was unimpressed and stressed the need to not be seen "wandering around".
So I said "Okay, then give me the empty cube next to the window. You allocated me one that looks out into the corridor to the kitchen (also out of bounds, and windowless anyway). I need the visual stimulation of something other than putty colored walls and grey carpet to get my mind working at full speed. So give me that empty cube and everyone is a happy camper."
I was told just to not let anyone see me when I walked over to the window for a look.
This was so demonstrably risible that I decided to treat the whole thing as a dream and continued solving problems my way. It was never mentioned again.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
