WFH - What is reasonable?

But sure we have to do what our employer wants. We have signed a contract.

If we want the money, we have agreed to work set hours.

I have agreed to work set hours for set money. I'm not supposed to leave my desk except for assigned breaks.

My aunt works in a totally different job to me. She looks after teenagers in a residential home.

She is also not allowed to leave the teenagers, except for assigned breaks.

That's what work is!

Do this OP

I think it’s quite unusual for an office not have a place where you can make a tea or coffee - would you not leave your desk for a glass of water then? What if you get thirsty?

I wouldn't say I'm unlucky to not have a coffee machine.

I'm not addicted to coffee.

Sounds like you’ve been quite unlucky in your workplaces then!! Hopefully they had a toilet?!

The last three offices that I worked in didn't have tea/coffee making machines.

I went out and got a coffee on my break.

None of us need a coffee/ tea that badly!

I'd ask your boss directly why he's calling then log your actual working hours, including everything past 5.30. Aren't you allowed breaks? As a teacher, I am currently on a 50 minute lunch and in my free lesson, I went to the photocopier, the loo, to get a coffee, to give a colleague paperwork she needed in between working (doing something that benefits my department). If I don't get the work done, I'll work through break and lunch, which I mostly have and I'm here 40 minutes before and after work to complete tasks.

Definitely - after working on a spreadsheet for about 2 hours my head is so wrecked - a half hour walk really helps clear my head after that. Your brain needs time to compress

Well then, in the nicest possible way, you’re a fool and what you’re doing is horrendous for your long term health.

No one ever needs a coffee. Grown ups often want one though. Unless you're in a meeting, why should another adult get to tell you when it is ok to get a coffee (assuming you have an office type job and you're not in the middle of brain surgery).

Not to mention if you’re doing anything that’s remotely technical, you’d lose focus quite quickly working in that manner.

I WFH for a large company and their official guidance is to get up from your desk at least once an hour as a minimum.

You should look for a new job, and I mean that sincerely. In my old job I practically expected detention if the train was late. Being treated like a grownup and trusted to manage my own time has been a complete game changer and I'm much happier.

🤣🤣🤣🤣 why do offices have tea and coffee making facilities then? Are you only meant to use them at lunch? That’s a new one, I must admit!!

That sounds incredibly unhealthy and very, very bad for your eyes, back, neck and general posture (as well as your physical and mental health).

You're supposed to take breaks from your desk every hour to get up, move about a stretch etc.

What you're describing goes against all the guidance about working with computers or at a desk, so nothing to be proud of 😂

Exactly 1000 percent
@BibbityBobbityToo i dunno what company who work for but from a health and safety point of view it not healthy to sit at your desk you are suppose to get up from your desk every 30 to 60 mins to stretch your legs and staring at a screen for long periods of time cause headaches etc. Even before Covid offices were busy with people wondering around going from meetings to office tec aswell as breaks and going to the toilet. If you were on a production line you would have mandatory breaks aswell. Humans are not machines, Dont mistake presentism for productivity. If the employer who you fired has a CF then i guarantee he/she was a CF before WFH came in and it was down to poor management that it wasnt dealt with properly.

Agreed. Our senior management actively encourage people to take breaks during the day. If I have nipped to the loo/to make a cup of coffee and my manager rings during that time she never minds in the slightest

Your poor eyes. And joints. And general physical and mental health.

I used to work full time from home.

I never left my desk during My work hours.

I made myself a coffee before I started.

Then I made myself another coffee during my break.

Why would you need to make a coffee during your work hours.

WFH for mamy years, I do more work that way. I would suggest that you take care if you are constantly using screens, just once every 2 hours got and get a cuppa tea from the kitchen. Just a 4 minute break is enough. Also will help with heart. You should be being actively encouraged to do that by HR.
I know it's difficult to get into that habit but I would really suggest trying it. Work isn't important enough to damage your eye health let alone your heart health.
Should add that not all mouse jigglers are seen as mouse jigglers so although your IT team may have found it, it doesn't mean they will find all. Also if it's a Bring your own device setup (rather than a company supplied laptop), then they acted illegally if they didn't pre inform the employee. I'm sure your company did, but I'm just putting it out there.

You only going to the toilet on your lunch break? Don’t make a tea or coffee? Sounds…healthy!

I personally think this is pathetic on the part of your boss - is this company policy or are they just micro managing? If you complete your outcomes I can't see what the issue is.

I WFH and my arse never leaves my seat except for my lunch hour.

I wouldn't be impressed with staff wandering off all the time unless pre-agreed and I would review if they should start coming in to work if they start taking the piss.

Automatic mouse wigglers are definitely great though, it helped us finally sack an employee who was an extreme CF, unknown to them our IT staff could monitor who was using one and we managed to get rid after going down the gross misconduct route.

So are you solidly working from the moment you log in to the moment you log off when you're in the office? You don't make a hot drink from time to time? Speak to your colleagues? Go to the toilet? Catch up with your manager? Pop out for some air? Stretch your legs etc etc? You do realise that all of those activities eat into the working day but are vital for good morale and a positive working atmosphere?

All of the above cannot be readily replicated when WFH, especially because people pack in online meetings constantly so you do spend an inordinate amount of time sitting and staring at screens without seeing other 3D human beings. Therefore, it is necessary for good mental health to take breaks away from the desk, and if those breaks involve a burst of fresh air and a chat with another human being then all the better.

In the same way that a person working in a factory works in a completely different way to a person working on a shop, so does a person WFH versus one working in an office. They are completely different environments with different needs.

This! I shudder to think of what it’s like working in a call centre/amazon factory where you are monitored so closely, even how long you take in the toilet!! - it’s not right and only benefits the employers - these places are like modern day workhouses

This. You have earned the right to flexibility, that's important for your role, and it needs to work both ways.

To all the PPs naysaying: a job is just a job, and if we all expected more and demanded better treatment as employees then we would all be in a much better place. It's not a race to the bottom.