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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To work from home is of benefit to the employee and the employer loses out

110 replies

poppincandy · 03/08/2010 18:42

Maybe I just have the wrong RL friends but all of my friends who have the opportunity to work from home with their very well paid jobs take complete advantage of it.

They go off to the gym, get their hair done, go out for afternoon tea, collect their dc from school (therefore have the children at home from 3pm), take children off to activites, etc.

To do their job they have to always be contactable by their devices, but I'm sure the jobs would be more efficient if they were in the actual office. All of these friends have battled to get working from home introduced in their companies, and I can't help but feel that once companies cotton on to what is happening the opportunity will decrease not increase.

So AIBU that if you are working from home, you should actually be working from home? Or am I just jealous that they get to do all these things, whilst being paid fantastic hourly rates to do them?

OP posts:
mazzystartled · 03/08/2010 18:44

Bet they end up working till 2am on a regular basis to fit in the fun daytime stuff.

wastingaway · 03/08/2010 18:44

Do they get their work done?

I remember lots of hanging around pissing about in every job I've had, why not do it home?

hairytriangle · 03/08/2010 18:46

Yanbu.

Maisiethemorningsidecat · 03/08/2010 18:47

I regularly work from home, and can honestly say that I have never, ever used it as an excuse to go and get my hair done! If anything, I'm more productive working from home - it's amazing how much of your working day is spent talking to colleagues (or maybe that's just me!)

I think you have the wrong RL friends - I don't know anyone who does the kind of things you describe when they are meant to be working. They might dream of doing them, though...

TheOldestCat · 03/08/2010 18:48

YABU in general - I work from home and get loads done.

You must just know lots of cheeky slackers.

How come their bosses don't notice they aren't working? Mine would soon cotton on.

Original poster
poppincandy · 03/08/2010 18:49

The friends who do this are all particularly charasmatic, and therefore are wonderful at delegating, and getting the other people in the office to do the vast majority of the work for them.

This they boastfully proudly tell me 'so and so fancy me I can get them to do all the paperwork' etc.

OP posts:
ChippingIn · 03/08/2010 18:52

poppincandy - I think you and I share RL friends

I don't want to go into any detail incase they are reading this!!

miniwedge · 03/08/2010 18:53

yabu.

I have always worked partially from home. It allows flexibility, I can pick the dd's up from school but I will have already been working from about 7 ish at my computer, stop to take kids to school/childminder, then working again till about 2.30 ish when I stop for lunch, go get kids if they don't have after school clubs/childminder.
I will then usually put in another hour or more after bed time.

The whole point of working from home is that it benefits both parties.
TRhe employee gets flexibility, no commute and lower working related costs such as les childcare, less need for smart work clothes etc.

The employer benefits because;
the employee is happier and more motivated to achieve required tasks as they want to stay in that job.
they do not lose working time for child sickness, appointments, travel issues etc.
they have less overheads.
the employee generally ends up putting in more hours per week than n office based colleague as they are expected to be contactable during office hours but often work outside of those hours as well.

ILovePonyo · 03/08/2010 18:54

I think getting someone who fancies them to do their paperwork is a completely different issue!

I may be working from home soon and am not looking forward to the increased cost in heating bills in the winter, plus if I didn't get my work done I'd hope my boss would notice.

However I think in any job there are people who will slack off and take the piss, especially if working from home, and people who won't.

Maisiethemorningsidecat · 03/08/2010 18:54

If my colleagues did that, then yes, it would annoy me and my friends wouldn't, because they're not the kind of people I'd associate with.

MumInBeds · 03/08/2010 18:59

Dh works from home on average once a month. He does time it so he can use it as a chance to see the DC's assemblies and the like but he makes up the hours before or after.

His ability to work from home helps his work too as it means he can be called any time an asked to look at a problem or can be in regular contact with suppliers/support in different time zones - it's of mutual benefit.

nancydrewrocked · 03/08/2010 19:02

When I worked, I used to work from home 1-2 days per week. Sometimes I went to the gym or had a longer lunch, did chores, picked DC up early or even messed about on mumsnet.

BUT I got paid to do a job. Sometimes that job could be done in 35 hours per week if I really got my head down and we weren't hectic. Sometimes I needed 70 hours and I would be in the office until late or working at home until 2am. I was the only one responsible for my work load and if I skived off completely there was no one to pick up the slack.

of course my friends only ever commented on how lucky I was to have a job where I could pop out and get a bikini wax and were far less interested in the days when I had been up and in front of the computer at 5am and still there at 11pm.

MaeMobley · 03/08/2010 19:02

YABU. I can work from both the office and from home.

When I am in the office, I distract my colleagues with my constant talk because I crave adult company.

nancydrewrocked · 03/08/2010 19:05

mae I just finished reading The Help. Great name.

staranise · 03/08/2010 19:09

Are you referring to the Guardian article?

I work from home but hten I'm freelance so the only person I'd really be cheating is myself (paid by the project, not by the hour). I hate it - boring and lonely and you never switch off. But it is very flexible around the children.

staranise · 03/08/2010 19:10

I meant here!

MrsC2010 · 03/08/2010 19:11

I was more productive from home. I would log on earlier, finish later and get much more peace and quiet to get projects finished. And wonder of wonders, I would be able to take time for lunch. Sometimes I would be working from home because I had a personal appointment and the length of my commute meant that going to work was far more inefficient than staying home. With a Blackberry I could be staying on top of emails etc even waiting in the doctor's surgery. My old workplace had a system very much like MSN Messenger which was a primary form of communication, and when you were working you were expected to be online and responding. As such you couldn't just nip off down the nail salon and leave the laptop!

I loved working from home, but it certainly wasn't a doss. I can see how some could use it as such though, but the evidence will be there when the work doesn't get done.

Original poster
poppincandy · 03/08/2010 19:12

No I don't read the guardian, but very interesting, maybe the journalist is friends with chippingin and I.

OP posts:
Original poster
poppincandy · 03/08/2010 19:14

Maybe my friends are working up until the early hours, although they are normally out at dinner!!!

Okay I don't know how they do it, but they get head hunted, and their hourly rates are not being affected one ioata by this recession that seems to be affecting the rest of us!

OP posts:
fannyinafit · 03/08/2010 19:15

As long as you get your assigned work done on time to agreed quality I dont see how the employer loses out at all.

Obv, theres a limit to it - how I laughed when I heard an aiport check-in agent had applied to work from home : )

pointydog · 03/08/2010 19:18

Depends on what the job is that people are doing at home. Some jobs have flexible elements so work can be done in teh evening/night.

How come you are so sure that they are pissing about for the whoel day and evening?

SolidGoldBrass · 03/08/2010 19:19

The thing is, some people have jobs where insisting on them working regular hours is of no use to anyone. People whose job is basically Having Ideas of some sort can do what they are being paid for sitting on a bus, having their nails done, or scrubbing the floor. The reason they are paid so well (and the reason it's worth paying them by the results rather than standing over them with a stopwatch) is that the ideas they have are good. When the ideas stop being good, the person stops getting paid.

Of course, it's probably not entirely fair that someone gets paid vast amounts and allowed to work from home when the result of their work is simply a slogan that will sell more tampons, whereas someone whose job is wiping bums or scrubbing floors can't do that from home and gets paid shit...

Original poster
poppincandy · 03/08/2010 19:48

Because I am regularly talking to them, and I only work part time (for not their kind of money!), so am free, and I'll meet up with them, and then they'll be saying going to try out that new restaurant later.

But as SGB rightly says maybe that's the thing it actually makes them more productive.

But also agree SGB that the nurses, childcarers etc, should be rewarded in a similar fashion.

OP posts:
said · 03/08/2010 19:53

But you don't need to do the same hours when you work at home. It's amazing how quickly you can do some stuff at home compared to teh office

Nux · 03/08/2010 19:54

I am that your friends get away with this, I have worked from home in the past and always found it easier to concentrate, so got lots more done... you do clearly know slackers!