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

[poppincandy]

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?

I work from home, and yes, I can pop out and have my hair cut/go riding during the day, but then I work very flexibly around the business needs - so I do calls/online meetings with customers in the US late in my day (like 10pm), am available to others from 7.30am etc. I also don't take a lunchbreak.

I guess you don't see your friends when they have a big job on and are stuck working long hours - maybe their short days compensate for those times ?

I used to get so much more done at home, I actually booked out Working From Home days when I was utterly snowed under and could just plough through the work with much less interruption...

I am sure some take advantage, but my situation was to have both DC's in all day nursery care and I would work from 7.30/8 when DH left house with DC's to drop them and then go and pick up at 5 having done best part of 9 hours SOLID work...

Never was more productive than at home, my 9 hours at home would equal two office days, no doubt about it.

Without pesky staff asking me questions every five seconds I get much more done at home YABU.

You just have friends who are trying to make you jealous.

You really know people like that?! I occasionally work from home and would never dream of saying I was working when I wasn't. When I work at home I get loads more done than I would if I was in the office - it's usually better quality too because you can concentrate so much more. TBH I relish the time away from the office because there are so many less interruptions - you're contactable if a crisis crops up but not available to see everybody who just happens to turn up.

I also suggest to the people that I manage that they work from home if they need to get something done to a deadline or the work is complex.

When I worked from home it just meant I couldn't get a lunchbreak as they assumed I'd just eat at my desk. And as for working late, well I wouldn't mind would I?

either yabu or I am being a mug. I sometimes work from home, mainly when I dont have any in the office commitments. It usually ensures I end up working v.long hours and often even harder than I do in the office. There is no natural end to the day to make you stop work eg. getting a train, less trips to the coffee machine/loo, no lunchbreak, breakfast at my desk plus time I would have spent commuting is spent working. If I do stick a load of washing on thats about the most shirking Id ever have time for! My dh also works from home (not usually at the same time as me) and he recetly spent time co-ordinating the builders in the day which just meant I saw less of him in the evenings as he was working to 3am and weekends to make up for it. We are professionals, we do the jobs we are paid to do. I do not know anyone who can go to the hairdressers on work time... where do your friends work? Perhaps I should look for a job there

I "worked" a lot less when i was in the office, half an hour to recover from the commute in, client visits and company lunches, hair done on the way back on a Friday in lieu of lunch breaks and then out the door like a bullet at 5.31pm.
Now I work for myself from home I was answering texts 40 mins after giving birth.

I think YABU, although one of my pet hates are people in my office who say they are working from home cos their kids are sick.

They have kids the same age as mine, so unless they drug them or they have some kind of illness which makes them sleep 8 hours in the day, I can't see how they can get ANY work done at all.

When my kids are sick, I take a day off, because I know that I will be doing very little work, and a lot of cuddling! Although I still answer emails from home anyway.

Well IME the employer does bloody well out of it. I work from home one day a week. I am able to start earlier and often work later. But more importantly I am available at home out of hours and at weekends. If I didn't have the modem and dedicated connection I wouldn't be.

So what if I take 10 mins off to put the washing on or empty the dishwasher. I think it's quite sad that the OP only beleive that work is done when bums are on seat in the office between 9 and 5

What's so bloody great about all that wasted time commuting anyway? Benefits no-one.

This just gives people a bad name. Yes I'm sure there are people who go to teh hairdressers for 3 hours, but it is trust and if the boss doesn't spot this, if they get their work done.
people take the mick in the office or at home. makes no difference.
I have top directors on £175k, going out for company dinners, with £95 bottles of champagne on their expenses.
I don't think low grade employees like us lot, need to be punished for this kind of gossip. more of us commoners work hard and don't take the mick, compared to some top dogs.

I work in the office with many responsibilities one of which is day-to-day management of production and office team, therefore most of the time I need to be there. However when I am working on a special project I will always work from home as I get twice as much done.
I work on average 50 hours per week and I am able to decide where I need to be.

I am sceptical though of some people who put down that they are working from home when they are actually attending a school event etc. I personally prefer those that are upfront and say that they are taking an hour or so to do xxxxxxx but that they will make sure everything is done.

With regards to your RF friends we all know of people who boast about how little they do in the office each day and how good their social life is at work. I guess your friends are just like this

undercova, ds1 is 6 and ds2 is nearly 2. dh works from home regularly. he gets more done becasue is not interupted by phone calls.
he says ds1 takes care of himself. plays wii, plays ds, practicises his handwriting etc etc. put a dvd on for him, sorted. dh breaks for 1/2 an hour lunch. easy.

dh says he couldn't work at home if ds2 was there, becasue he is much higher maintenance.
so re sickness, it depends how sick they are. ds1 would lie on the soafa all day watching tv and i would get loads of work done. being sick makes no difference.

depends on childs age rather than being sick.

YABU - at least, I think so. I work from home sometimes - my boss is in the US so makes no difference to him, and my employees work in the UK and the US. I have no problem with any of them WFH and they all get their jobs done. Not everyone is like your RL friends.... and luckily none of them (apparently!) work for me

Totally agree Oblomov. I have a nearly 4yo and a 16mo. My colleagues have children of a similar age. I have trouble concentrating on reading work emails at home if they are both around, never mind doing a full days work.

" I personally prefer those that are upfront and say that they are taking an hour or so to do xxxxxxx"

Quite. I always come clean when I have a play to attend etc. It doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things as long as the work is covered. There as to be an element of trust and an assumption of professionalism. If my work isn't done, I'll be picking up the pieces.

"I personally prefer those that are upfront and say they are taking an hour or so to do x"

I guess this depends entirely on the role you ahve an the sort of environment you work in. If I was woking from the office and needn't to pop out for an hour to buy a birthday card/post some letters/meet someone for coffee I wouldn't tell my boss where I was going any more than he would expect me to.

The bottom line is I was paid to get a job done and it always got done. To some extent how and when is was not relevant.

TBH I think in a lot of professional jobs the "bosses" know that they are getting a great deal out of their employees who tend to be contracted 40hrs per week and frequently put in an extra 20.

DH has worked from home on occasion and he always works more when he works from home as he is paranoid that his bosses will think he is slacking off.

My DH has worked from home sometimes. He works very hard when he does it, starting often 7:30 ish, he may take time off in the day to get his hair cut, but always does his hours and gets more done (no office chit chat or unnecessary phone calls).
If he works at home to look after a sick kid, they will be mainly propped up watching TV or otherwise occupying themselves, and he gets as much done. If my kids are sick, I (or he) may cuddle them a bit, but we can still read whilst doing that. Or we may sit with them, but probably take laptops through to do some work while we do.

But then as our kids would say, they are neglected.

I work from home and since it is hol time that means entertaining a small child.... (I don't like her to go to childcare 5 days a week) before I settle down at 7pm and really crack on. I do the hours but am flexible about when I do them

I think another poster has pointed out that if the work gets done in 40 hours in the office but gets done in 30 hours at home (far more effcient at home) that's a saving that the employee is enjoying.

If you employed a plasterer to plaster for a week and he finished early on Friday would you ask him to sit around Friday afternoon because that's what was expected?

It's a similar thing with flexi hours. I have worked from 5am (wake early) and until midnight cracking through stuff and other times I have enjoyed fewer hours. The job is always done.

If your friends were headhunted then it is unlikely that they are paid on an hourly basis. They may have a notional working week, but are unlikely get paid overtime, and will have much more flexibility about hours - it will all be about delivery. That's not to say that they aren't taking the piss of course. I have to admit I find it virtually impossible to work at home unless I have an immediate deadline - I need the buzz of a working environment to get me in the mood. When I had a half day work at home schedule I was rarely very productive that morning, but I worked much harder the rest of the week (especially the day after my day at home) and always put in whatever hours were needed when there was a crisis or deadline. So I think that my employers got a good enough deal.

I have to admit I am quite task orientated (ie clear what they are going to achieve and then check it's been done a few days later - I don't care if they make up the time, because that's what I do, just no piss taking) when my staff have asked to work at home, except for those that are already very highly performing where to some extent I am buying their loyalty.

I work from home one day a week and sometimes I do pick my DS up early and meet up with a friend with her kids. And the other week I had my hair cut. But I also regularly work until 11pm and have conference calls at 8am and at the weekends and I don't get paid overtime. So while my employer pays me for working 35 hours, I work anywhere between 30 (if I'm having a slack week) and 60 hours. So they get their pound of flesh, believe me.

You sound bitter and jealous and not a particularly nice 'friend'. I hope I don't know you

YANBU!

Obviously not everyone is like this but a friend of mine is on maternity leave at the moment and she has bumped into our ex-boss out and about during working hours on more than one occasion! He's definitely not the sort to work in the evening instead!

On the other hand not everyone is like that, one colleague in a previous job who worked from home, I don't ever remember not being able to contact on his land line if needed.

Like a previous poster, I've occasionally worked form home if I'm really busy and find I get more done - specially as DH would pick up DD so I didn't have the discipline of having to finish at 5 to pick her up. I did find it a bit too intense though, someime it's good to have a bit of distraction so I wouldn't want to do it all the time.

I just had a very interesting discussion with one of my business English classes about this and the opinion seemed to be that if they could make everyone work flexibly from home all the time they would

Of course there were disadvantages but re: the hairdresser thing one woman said she had her highlights done and was on her BB answering emails, reading papers or thinking. Just because she was in a salon and not behind a desk didn't mean they stopped working. Clearly there are some jobs where that model fits better than others - difficult for a teacher or a doctor to do it - but I think the vast majority of people could do it.

One company even halved their officespace by having people doing the same job share workspace, all on a fulltime basis but half at home, half at work. I can't remember whether it was a week in, week at home or they split the week but it was definitely a big saving to the employer. There were very few people in that company who worked FT from the office!

YABU!

DH has worked 'flexibly' from home for 2 or 3 years now. He tends to do 1 day in the office when he's up at 5 & out at least 12 hours. He will do upto 4 school runs per week (5pm finishes after clubs), get his hair cut at 9am every month (late start), cover some holiday childcare (another 8 year old who can entertain herself), get the washing out/bins in etc. However, he is not paid hourly, does not get overtime and is available in the evening when needed.

I think we all benefit because DH doesn't waste 3 hours per day commuting most of which goes into extra working hours. And him doing school pick-ups sometimes has allowed me to go back to work in a job I could not do from home. Where is this unreasonable???

OTOH - there is one person at DH's place that everyone longs not to get on their project as he never delivers anything in a reasonable timeframe but can't be sacked because he says he's working so there are some that take the p...!

It depends on the employee and the employer - you need some self discipline and the workplace needs to manage that person to a similar degree as if they were attending the office and not just leave them on their own to get on with it.