WFH - how much are you actually working?

[Hardlyworking0]

Long time lurker first time poster 😊

just that really.. I work 9-5 and previously was working with clients and very busy with phone calls, emails, meetings etc. I would often work overtime or skip lunches to make sure I could get all the queries done.
I moved jobs around 5 months ago and my boss has told me there is no worry about being visible but just to ensure that all my tasks are completed. I host/attend a few zoom calls a week but it feels I’m doing hardly anything compared to previous roles. It hasn’t been flagged, in honesty I’m quite bored but enjoying being able to get things around the house done!
So.. if you WFH and are constantly busy or do you have a fair bit of free time?

I work from home after being in on-site busy roles where there was loads of pressure and a massive workload and poor work life balance/culture. Now I’m really struggling to adjust! I always have glowing reviews and do work more than my hours but it’s just a totally different culture and much slower pace (probably much healthier!). But I do worry I’m not doing enough despite the evidence being to the contrary. Stupid really!

Overall definitely the same if not more hours, but I’ve found myself being less motivated in the day and working more evenings. Perhaps that just naturally suits my body clock. I appreciate the flexibility

I started today with 6.5 hours of meetings booked and a pile of stuff to look at. So flat out.

I can't wfh, but DH is still doing one day (it was five, but went down to three in lockdown as office couldn't function effectively). He works flat out from 7am, usually finishes around 5pm, one day a week it's 6.30pm. He never took a break i the office, working and eating at lunchtime, but he does have approx 20mins in the morning with me for coffee and 30mins for lunch at home. Despite that he's still doing a nine + a hour day, but at least he doesn't have spend time driving so feels he can relax a bit more.

I WFH 3 days per week as part of our new hybrid arrangements and am flat out all the time. Pretty much in meetings from 8.30-5.30 with a short break for lunch if I'm lucky. Most of the meetings are video so can't multi-task but a couple of meetings a day tend to be ones where I can listen while sticking a wash on / make some coffee. I actually prefer the days I'm in the office as it forces me to prioritise my diary better and I don't have meetings outside of 9-4.30. Overall I feel I have a good balance as my commuting costs have reduced (although are probably offset by increased utilities) but I still get the social side of being in the office a couple of days a week.

Before I took a sabbatical late last year, FT WFH was horrific for me in terms of workload. Always a busy role but 1-2 days home so was used to it, plus travel, but the implications of COVID in a variety of ways meant workload went literally nuts and way beyond manageable.

It was the final straw of my deciding to take a break.

No different to being in the office really for me. I tend to work slightly longer hours and am more efficient thought at home. I do housework in my lunch break, which aids the work life balance.

I did this! Three months in to my new role and it's amazing! Boring at times but I don't miss the 8 hours of solid back to back teams calls in the public sector that's for sure.

Flat out and our hours are tracked and billable so there’s no hiding behind tasks or spending longer than I should faffing on email. Desperate for a more task-based, own-workload WFH job with a bit more freedom to do my own life admin, go for a haircut, Hoover the sitting room etc.

I work flat out at home. University admin, not student facing. I get so much done at home because I am not chatting to colleagues. I go in one or two days per week but don't get nearly as much done in the office. I like doing a bit of both though.

Public sector here too and also flat out. My one day a week in the office is quite a nice break because we're more visible and our managers are very firm about us having a break. It's easier to miss people not taking breaks when you WFH.

It’s your job, not the WFH. I get loads more work done at home, and I can still put a wash on.

More than in the office, there all you have to do is show up and then everyone used to spend ages chatting at each others desks, feels like there's more accountability at home and more pressure to answer emails at all times of day.

Very busy, flat out even, aside from occasional calmer days. I'm less productive when I'm in the office but I like it from social and networking aspect.

My workload is the same whether I'm on the office or at home. If I need to get stuck in to something it's better at home cos there's a lot of distractions and noise in work.

Snap

You’d have to make up work. So fundamentally the OP’s job is not easier for being at home.

About as much as I do at work, some work, some faffing about. But when I'm at home I can get other productive stuff done as well as work and faffing about.

My data vary depending on what is going on. Sometimes I'm flat out for weeks, other times if is easier and I put washing on go to the gym af lunchtime and work later etc.

I’ve changed jobs to somewhere you clock in and out and need to do your hours a week. I also suspect computer use is monitored. It’s not as busy as my last job but whilst I’m logged on I’m near my computer.

It's the job not the working from home. I WFH full time and am just as busy as when in the office, I just save time by not commuting!

I am growing my team in a public sector organisation. I work pretty flat out on the team lead side and also some general workload every time I bring a new person in there is weeks/months of not quite full workload until they are really motoring. It can be really hard to balance as a team lead, but the work we do is quite niche and the organisation quite complicated and if I deploy someone alone too soon I always end up unpicking some sort of chaos. It works well for me as a team lead to take time to understand someone’s strengths and how best to balance the work within the team. Usually that means me taking on more than everyone else. Often my new recruits are quite impatient but they nearly all say that the workload has suddenly ramped up at around 6 months. I tend to hire in from the private sector and there is a significant amount of learning and understanding the public sector to do before you can really get motoring - especially as we work across the whole of the public sector.

A friend got a new job when it was lockdown and we were all WFH and she was worried about her light workload, as she felt people hadn't really noticed her and weren't passing work to her as they should. So it could be that, @Hardlyworking0? Although it is nice to have less to do, you do probably want it to increase to fill your hours.

Like others, my WFH days are pretty busy. I start earlier and finish later than I do in the office. I might occasionally put a load of washing on, but nothing more time consuming than that (ie I don't hang it out during work hours). I probably make more coffee, but then I don't have any time chatting to colleagues, so I think overall I do more work in the day. Personally I like the balance of a few days in the office too.

1. Congrats!
2. Enjoy it. Many office jobs are exactly like this, very little actual tasks to do and few meetings.
3. Part of the role is just like being in the office, being available to colleagues during core hours. So long as you keep your phone or laptop on and near you just in case, you're fine.
4. Enjoy your new found freedom and flexibility!

Flat out definitely WFH for business customers of a bank.

I use my lunch hour to do housework though which I appreciate later in the day so I can be with family