to be "coffee badging" when I'm working from home

WFH I can u load the dishy while the kettle boils.
Bung on a load of washing between meetings
Hang a load of washing between meetings
Receive deliveries/have workmen in.

At work I can MNet between meetings, like now.

I usually render about 45 to 50hpw so if anyone had an issue they can get stuffed.

My wfh job is flexible and I run my team and expect them to be flexible too. I've done a load of laundry today. I popped it on when I went in the kitchen to make coffee and stuffed it in the dryer when I went in to make lunch! I also did my strategic plan for 2025 and wrote up most of the team's EOY reviews, met my boss and finished off a proposal so I feel I've had a good and productive day.

I have to be on hand all of the time. An urgent email could come in, my manager could video call me or instant message me. It's just like being in the office but I get to control the temperature/noise levels. I use my lunchtime to make a nice lunch instead of a crappy sandwich or to have a nap, which i couldn't do in the office. I sometimes put a laundry load in on my tea break and take it out on my lunch but I really wouldn't get away with swinging the lead. I have one colleague who is sometimes 'away' for a suspicious amount of time roundabout 'kids arriving home from school' time, but she often sends a performative email at 7pm so I think that's why she gets away with it.

Must be a fire safety nightmare not knowing if staff are in the building or not. Especially if you've seen them an hour earlier and now they're nowhere to be found.

Checking the Daily Mail ...

I think it’s all irrelevant anyway. People who are going to work hard will do so at home or the office. People who are going to take the piss will do so at home or the office (maybe with a preference for hone where taking the ouss might require less effort).

Kind of depends on your employers view.

My employer is largely remote workers. It is percieved as a benefit and part of your package. But, on that basis, there is an expectation that you take advantage of that flexibility and step away to put a wash on, empty the dishwasher etc. As long as work is done, and you are generally available as needed, no issue.

What about those who like me don't drink coffee?

Quite.
My DH is far more productive when he works from home than on the days when he actually goes into his base office. Aside from the fact that he's not wasting time on a long commute, there are far less distractions at home even allowing for the occasional domestic task. There's nobody to interrupt him with idle chat about last night's TV or asking for advice about their work, lunch is 5 mins in the kitchen and back to his desk to eat his sandwich as opposed to an actual break in the canteen and nobody switches the light off and wants to vacuum under his desk at 6pm. Not that that is necessarily good for him of course and there are definite benefits to interactions with colleagues, both professional and social, but just in terms of throughput, if employees are diligent I suspect many employers do pretty well out of those who WFH. Certainly if my DH has a deadline looming he stays at home as he values the peace and quiet.
Obviously doesn't work for everyone - my job had very little that could be done at home - and some employees will take the piss if they are not being physically supervised, but I think for lots of people, as long as they are getting their work done in the required timescales that's all that matters. One of my nephews spent much of last Summer working remotely at his grandparents house in a different country. I would put money on him having gone swimming or surfing more or less every day but he got his work done and hit his deadlines and that's all his employers cared about.

I'll be honest regardless of MN looking down on it. I WFH occasionally but will soon be moving to a permanent hybrid model, so will be at home half the time. I have and will be doing other things that need done when at home - I've previously had a clear out of an entire room on a WFH home day. Although I am salaried, my work has peaks and troughs. On clear out day, even my manager had said to keep laptop on to keep an eye out for any emails, but that was all. No point in sitting staring at a screen all day for no reason.

I assumed it was something to do with badgers. I would go into the office more frequently if they got a badger. Who wouldn't love that?

Can’t see how this works in practice - most company buildings require you to tap a card on the way in and way out so that they have an accurate role call in the event of a fire or some other emergency. If you coffee badge and skive off home without alerting someone you are potentially putting other people at risk if there WAS an emergency as fire crew etc could be in the building looking for people who have left. Bloody irresponsible.

"Coffee badging"? Do you mean skiving?

Are you saying you do as little possible for as much as possible? And that’s a good thing for the country? Or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

Bit

Sorry, but off track but is the WFH debate not resting on productivity levels..surely if firms are still getting their money's worth out of their staff it's a moot point.

I just noticed it myself, is it rude to laugh at your own typos!

(I saw this described a Muprhy's Law on another thread )

'Coffee badging' and 'working from home and not really doing any work' aren't the same thing though, surely? One is doing your work from a different location to the office, and the other is not doing your work at all, or at least not much of it.

Either way, though, I think it really depends on your employer what is/isn't OK. My own employer is pretty flexible and provided we put the hours in and get the job done (and are available for meetings etc of course) we don't have to be glued to our laptops all the time at home. Lots of people start/finish at different times or do a split day where they'll work up to the school run, then take a couple of hours off, then do more in the evening.

Well I work less than 2 feet away from my boss so I think I'd be rumbled pretty quick.

I do get a lot done around the house on my wfh days though

Isn't it just another term the youngsters have given for something we've been doing for years.

I can easily get the dishwasher filled, run and emptied, do a laundry and hang it up to dry during the day (most days). It only takes a few minutes and I just do little bits through the day, as I walk through the kitchen to get drinks or use the loo.

The firm I work for monitor office attendance based on security pass swiping. But you only need swipe to get in, to get out you push buttons, so they would have no idea how long anyone is staying in the office for.

They are only monitoring it to justify paying rent, not to increase productivity. From the non work noise in the office, I'd say productivity has taken a dive. On my office day I book a meeting room for my planned calls as it's too noisy otherwise. So it's just me sat in a room on a call, exactly as I would be at home but with only one screen not three.

🥱
Pretty sure that many people who are required to physically visit the office (due to policy ) but don’t need to be in the office to complete their work ( or benefit the team) will do this to some degree. Just wastes everyone’s time and money.
Good supervisors and managers will know who are pulling their weight whether the team are office or home based.

so social media told u this was an ok thing to do and you whole heartedly must do it because social media said so

Depends on your job.

I am grown up, no-one is checking what I am doing by the minute, yes I can deal with laundry, all the 10mn it takes. I am at my desk at midnight or on Sunday if I need to, it's give an take. I don't clock a strict 9 to 6, you can't have it both ways.

Jobs with a queue of customers waiting for you to answer their call for example? Not so much.

It makes no difference if you are in the office or at home. Can I pop down the shops to run some errands during office hours when I am in the office? Or even meet a friend for coffee? Absolutely. So what's the difference.