to think some people think WFH should be a constant nose to the grindstone?

I would say you’re not expected to be at your desk every minute of the working day whether in the office or at home and that regular breaks are important. So my view is that if I take a break to stretch my legs and reduce the risk of a dvt and put a wash on whilst doing it then not a problem!

I was in the office yesterday and at least 20 mins was spent gossiping (with 2 of the bosses - not about anyone in office, other people outside the company) so why wouldn’t I take 5 mins to put a wash on or clean the loo at home?

I’ve worked like a bandit today and feel like I’ve carpal tunnel as a result so they def get their pound of flesh!!

Sorry, have I understood this correctly?

You have the grand total of two years experience of the world of work, and yet you believe yourself qualified to comment on everyone else's work ethic?

I WFH we don't have an office and my colleagues are all over the UK. We are a training and consultancy organisation. Today I have been on video calls with 8 of them in different sessions. I've facilitated a 2-hour session online (for an international client) .Some colleagues I will talk with online every day, some it's just email or the team chat. Some colleagues I only meet in person - 3 times a year at our all staff away days. That includes members of my direct team. We still get on really well and discuss work and a bit personal - currently IVF for one and a poorly mother for the other. We all get our job done. I started at 8am I am finishing now 17.30pm that's normal. I've made a few cups of tea and a quick wrap for lunch - maybe 20 mins in total not at my desk. But somedays I will walk the kids to school or go to the Post Office. I do put my washing on and I do life admin (most of it is online people do that even in the office - I've seen enough screens open on ASOS when I visit clients to know being in an office doesn't mean people only do the office stuff!) If work is really busy I will work really late but then take time back at a quieter time. So long as I get my work done and keep bringing in new work no one cares really when it is done. I check my emails some evenings too. The fact I don't travel to an office makes me much more willing to travel for our client work and still have some kind of work-life balance. Of course there are jobs you cannot do from home but there are a lot you can with proper systems and support. It doesn't have to be an us and them.

Myself and everyone in my team work from home. My line manager says "you're all adults and I know you get your work done so that's all I need". Our productivity is good and no one has complaints. Sometimes I pick up emails late in the evening. Sometimes I'll go to the shop in the day. It's really doesn't matter!

It's jealousy.
I've had out of home jobs where nipping out to run errands was fine. Also I had breaks, plus the odd hour where not a lot got done as staff were chatting etc. My tasks were always done and done well. The times where my employer needed me to step up and stay late or whatever, I was happy to do it as flexibility works both ways.
So many corporate nose to the grindstone people on MN, bitching about people who have more flexibility. If you don't like your job then change it, don't make nasty comments because others have negotiated different terms and conditions.

I have a high-trust job where we can WFH. Some of the worry about it is jealousy where people have bad conditions so think others should too. Some is also projection where people know they themselves would be lazy at home so assume others are too.

I've done research degrees which were years of self-led work with occasional meetings with my supervisors so I just don't feel like I need someone checking up on me every hour to be productive.

My manager has said that, as she views it, work is different now and we can check things and generate data in an instant and on the move with phones and laptops and spreadsheets. I can have a bad cold but still work from bed if I feel up to it. That all lends itself to much more productivity so why make people trudge to the office and sit in a chair on top of that?

Possibly.

I couldn't bear a job like that. No one cares about my Teams status and they'd think I was nuts if I did.

I wfh half the time. I'm a trainer so am 'on' all the time. Do I put the washing on or prep for supper during my breaks? Hell yes. Does it mean I'm not doing a good job? No.
Very occasionally I get an admin day . I'll answer emails and chats, prep for training.
Many people have goes at people for not working but forget that there aren't jobs everywhere. Wfh means more people can work in places where there may not be an office. It speads the talent across the country not isolating it to big cities which must be a good thing?

Its failure to understand jobs are different.

Yup. I have no contracted hours at all. None. I am contracted to fulfill certain requirements and achieve certain outcomes. Obviously most of this work takes place during 'standard' office hours, because that's just generally more convenient, but it doesn't have to. Nowhere in my contract does it say X hours, X days.

3pm on a Sunday rather than 10am on a Monday? Sure, if I fancy it and it's appropriate. No one gives the tiniest of fucks if I take a few hours off as long as I'm not inconveniencing anyone else. It's because I have autonomy and I'm trusted to do my job.

People on here really struggle to get their heads around that.

Whether working at home or in the office, people are entitled to breaks. I could go to the gym at lunchtime in either location and as I don’t get paid for the lunch break, it’s not on company time.

People are also entitled to rest breaks during the day, especially taking screen breaks. Putting on the laundry while making a cup of tea isn’t that different to staring out the window or reading random posters while making a cup of tea in the office.

And in many jobs, it’s acceptable to take half hour to pop out during the day because the working time will be more than made up by an early start or late finish, a call with a different region for example.

So people could skive if they were so inclined, but they could just be using their breaks and working times wisely.

But that is poor management which can happen in and out of the office. Chances are these people also aren't pushed in the office because they have poor reporting lines with managers not passing work on - that happened to me once and it was a really difficult time in my working life.

I’ve got to admit when my pals tell me how bored they are are how they done the skirting boards today and the next series they plan on watching.. whilst my blood pressure is through the roof.. I do get a little green eyed. I know this is not how the majority wfh. Infact I’m not even sure I believe them?
there’s also a lot of long lunches and skiving that happens in the office too though..
I am all for flexibility, I think the best of both is the answer

This just sounds like a load of rules you have made up. Do you not think that people who WFH are not performance managed, that we don't get objectives, that we don't have managers and 121s etc.. Do you not think we have friends at work who we chat to and do "team building" as you call it? And whilst you say all these companies are going back to the office Mumsnet seems to be full of people who are still working from home including me. Even if I went in to the office, my line manager is based 200 miles away so she's not going to be sat next to me wherever I'm working unless its a day we meet in one of four offices.
And you know what just, I probably have a much wider and more diverse network of colleagues at the 250ftse company I work for because we are spread out we are forced to call each other, some of my now closest friends are based all over the country.

Yes op ! I think it’s jealousy

i just work whatever hours i want really once i get my job done ! Some weeks I work more than others! Sometimes I take the afternoon off and work that night instead. Some days I have a lie in.

some days I start work at 6am

i couldn’t go back to working another way tbh

My mum is one of them. She regularly collects my DD from school to take her home to hers - and occasionally drops in to mine to pick something up. If I have the audacity to be making a cup of tea when she comes by without fail I get 'oh are you off work today'🙄 Or her partner was ranting last week about working aged men on bikes at 2pm in the afternoon when they should probably be WFH. Doesn't occur to him that they could have a day off or just taking a break. It's ridiculous.

And he’ll pop a wash in when making his tea 😀 and take deliveries

Same with mine tag

he does pop out during the day or on his way to a meeting on occasion but he starts work at 8 and finishes at 6 or later so he is certainly doing the hours

Can't remember ever working in an office where someone was pegging out the laundry, doing all their life admin, prepping their evening meal, looking after their toddler and all whilst doing a side hustle. Doesn't exactly equate to a 10 minute chat with a colleague in the tea room.

I love WFH. Probably more productive but not ‘nose to the grindstone’ for every second. I put a wash on when making a cuppa and empty and peg out on lunch. All my little household stuff gets done and all in the safe knowledge that I haven’t got a 60 minute, each way, commute. Work isn’t far, but it’s fiddly and the traffic can be daft. When in the office I make a cup or tea or go to help out a colleague and not static in front of my screens.
I am looking for a solely WFH job and not have to commute in 2 days a week because I love it so much.

My dh says he works harder at home as there's no water cooler moments with work colleagues etc, he will take a break to make a cuppa then go straight back to it rather than have a 10 minute chat with someone that would normally occur with work friends.

Yes I work hybrid now (used to be full time wfh) and I get really nervous about my teams going to amber - I dash to the loo and back in case people think I'm slacking, it's ridiculous really.

If the work is being completed in a timely fashion and the boss is happy I don't see why anyone would care. Unless they were jealous.
It's true to say a shift from home would include certain perks like doing short errands and being near your family and your amenities, whereas the same job from an office, you'd probably just have to stay at the desk as the boss would be looking at your movements.
And if you needed to leave the building for a few minutes it would class as a break.
So I can see why someone might think it's preferable, and then consequently 'easier' to WFH.

I work all day in an admin job, the admin does not stop there is always something i should be doing

personally i think those people who think that everyone who works from home do not work hard, would struggle to work from home themslves as they know they would skive 🤷🏻

i am happy to agree that some people who work from home take the piss…and that some people who work in the office take the piss

Most employers want their staff to be working not going to the gym in office hours because colleagues and customers need them to be available. 100% flexible jobs are rare because most jobs have an element of outside input. I can work from home some days but people call and email, i need to promptly respond so going to the gym isn't appropriate.

I think there's a disconnect between what companies need from their employees and what employees think is acceptable hence employers wanting people back in the office, plus those random chats in the office can be useful to business, more so than the laundry, even if chatting to your colleagues isn't about work it's team building