Do people wfh (esp public sector) relax during day?

[Phy]

by relaxing I mean do other stuff rather than working? Have recently started working public sector and wfh a lot. I am surprised how little gets done. When I knuckle down I can do a lot, but this seems unusual. I am not sure if it’s just assumed people will work less hard than say, private sector, maybe to offset lower wages?

Goady. Workers work, shirkers shirk, whether in the office or at home, public or private.

I take breaks when I need to and do other bits and pieces as and when I need to. If I were in the office, I'd also be taking breaks and shooting the breeze with colleagues every so often as part of the work day. The amount of actual focussed work time is about the same whether I WFH or in the office.

My productivity is better at home, though, because when I am focussing I don't get constantly interrupted by colleagues.

You seem to be talking in passive voice though - 'surprised by how little gets done' - 'when I knuckle down I can do a lot but this seems unusual' - what exactly do you mean? Do you mean because you can't focus on work/ are relaxing or distracted by being at home?

You do need some amount of discipline and motivation to work from home and you need to take ownership of it if that's not something you are great at.

The opposite for me. Going into the office is a jaunt! I get far less done there.

I work in the public sector and can WFH. I work hard at home, as I think it comes with a trust element and don't want to be seen as not doing what I need to.
I've noticed there is a degree of flexibility, for school pick ups for example - but the expectation is the time is made up elsewhere. Considering the odd hours I received emails from people in my workplace people are definitely working into the evening etc.
I also have friends in the private sector and notice they seem to be even more flexible, so I don't think it's a public sector thing.

Last time I went into the office, it took
about an hour to actually start work as people kept coming over to chat, managed a couple of hours and then my boss asked if I wanted to go out for lunch with him and some others so we were out for two hours, got back and managed a bit more work then some of us went to Starbucks, got back and never really got back into work again, then we went home via the pub

Haha, this seems a bit of an odd question to ask...but no, as a public sector worker I don't 'relax' when wfh. What I do though is usually more work than in the office, take more frequent but shorter breaks (better for concentration) and get less distracted by people or noise, so end up being more productive overall.

Much more productive WFH too. I might stick the washing on or put away a shelf of the finished dishwasher load while the kettle is boiling. But generally, I work harder WFH than in the office.
On the rare occasion I get a non work visit during the day, I work the hours later on, so my company is not short-changed.

I get far more done at home than in the office- public sector. After months wfh during covid, I was amazed at how much time is wasted in the office.

I take fewer and shorter breaks at home - plus in the office I can yap to colleagues for hours and do fuck all. There's no one at home to distract me, so I crack on!

I take the dog out a couple of times for a pee (she'll not go in the garden and there is grass a few feet from my front door) and make myself a brew at the same time. I eat lunch standing rather than sitting (no hour long naps or afternoon shagging in this house!) and I don't take food into my home office (too easy to graze all day). The laptop is on at 0900 and off at 1700 and I'm happy - as is my boss - that I'm working very well.

I work hybridly for the public sector. I work really hard wherever I am based. HTH.

I'm public sector and I get much more done wfh- no distractions/people to chat too/ long lunchbreaks with colleagues etc like in the office I don't personally take breaks in the day. I work 8-9 hours and eat lunch at my desk, my colleagues who do take a break will make up the time later in the day or earlier in the morning (it's quite normal to get emails timed at all hours of the day and night). Given the increase in our caseload over the last few years working less hard is definitely not expected either. We are certainly all working far more hours than paid for with flexi leave periodically banned for operational reasons.

I work from home, public sector . As I'm working from home with no commute I tend to spread my work out a lot more over the week than I would have done if I had been in the office . I am contracted for part time hours - but as long as I am present for any contact time / meetings then I fit in the rest of my work / hours as suits me that week .

I do more at home than the office. In the office it’s a 20 min round trip for a brew or a piss cause of distractions. Plus clock watching and leaving early. At home I work through my commuting time.

Last time I was on site I got twenty minutes actual work done in between all the interruptions, micromanagement, and pointless gassing. I'm way more productive at home and if anything work longer hours but actually have something to show for it at the end of the day, and since most of my job needs me to concentrate fairly intensively, having to go on to site is an absolute nightmare. I only manage a couple of hours sleep the night before usually as I get so anxious about it (yes, Occupational Health are aware as is my manager but the bottom line is we haven't got enough staff for what we're asked to do and more and more keeps getting dumped on us, quite without the almost certain imminent jobs freeze).

I agree. I get more done at home with no distractions than I do when I go to the office. I have a very good work ethic and and am highly motivated. I don't take the piss or need to be micromanaged.

Hahahaha not in my department. We're chronically under-resourced and the caseload and demands from the Exec keep increasing. I WFH several days a week and it's mainly because I don't get interrupted as much, as others have said. Yes I'll put a wash on or unload the dishwasher, but I'm much more likely to work late at home than in the office and it's a habit I'm trying to break. I like going into the office but I never expect to get much done - too many distractions and people needing something done immediately.

Breaks? Not a chance.

You need to buck-up, ok.

If you’re in a new job and not getting much done, you might find you soon have a lot of time to relax at home.

No, I'm usually flat out, and don't get the chance to relax during office hours. We're private sector. We have instant messaging that shows if we are active very publicly, so it's not an option.

I do take my lunch break and put it on a timer so I take the whole hour. 🙂

OP maybe wfh just doesn't work for you. It's not for everyone. You need a degree of discipline

FFS why do public sector workers always get branded as lazy freeloaders who work considerably less than their private sector counterparts? It really irritates me. It’s Just.Not.True

It's not 'assumed' people will work less hard. I think you'll be collecting your P45 shortly if you have started a new job and are arsing about because you think no one is checking on you.

I doubt that is the case, however. This has 'goady shite about public service workers' written all over it.

Disclaimer: I neither work from home, nor in a public service role.

I hybrid work but not public sector. I find I can skive from home and skive from the office if I feel inclined. Reality is that the work needs to be done regardless and I've just spent 7 hours working on a bank holiday to catch up!

Yeah, I sit at home with my feet up watching day time telly and painting my nails. It’s what all public sector workers who wfh do 🙄

Of course I fucking don’t. I’m working 40 plus hours a week managing multiple projects and staff across multiple sites. Working hybridly means I’m not driving all over the region to meetings as I used to and I get more work done in my commuting time. The most I ever do is stick a washing on while I’m waiting for the kettle to boil. If it makes you feel better I’m knackered by the end of the week.

Sometimes I do mindfulness colouring in during my screen breaks, sometimes I do a load of dishes. The company actively encourages us to have screen breaks so we don't all fuck up our eyesight.