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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To arrive at work and make a cup of coffee?

254 replies

FunnysInLaJardin · 07/02/2014 22:20

I have been criticised today for arriving at work and after logging on etc making a cup of coffee. Doesn't everyone do this? Or am I living in the dark ages and I should arrive and start work straight away? Maybe I should delay my first cup of coffee for a half an hour or some such?

OP posts:
OldDaddy · 12/02/2014 10:36

It depends really - I have staff who are supposed to be logged on,plugged in and ready to go at 9am. Some of them get there at 9am are logged on plugged in etc for 9.05 and then disappear off to get breakfast etc for another 15 mins. Am I just an old fart stuck in the belief of getting ready to go to work includes having a breakfast?

Fleta · 12/02/2014 10:42

It depends. When I got a new assistant at work she was due to start work at 9.00am. She arrived at 9.00am. Hung her coat, put her lunch in the fridge, went to the loo, made a drink. She used to start work at 9.10.

I told her what she was doing wasn't acceptible however I was happy to work with her - she could either (a) arrive ten minutes earlier so she started work on time, (b) have 50 minutes for lunch instead of an hour or (c) stay at work until 5.40pm not 5.30pm.

She genuinely couldn't understand why there was a problem

teaandthorazine · 12/02/2014 10:51

I guess it does depend on what your job actually is, but as a rule I absolutely loathe this culture of presenteeism that means productivity and usefulness in the workplace depends entirely on the number of hours a day you are glued, unspeaking, to your computer screen. I get that some jobs require a 'constant' presence and, certainly when I worked in the NHS, turning up late for your shift and/or making a cup of coffee when there was urgent work to be done was out of order. It genuinely inconveniences other people/colleagues and that's not acceptable.

However, in my current job, no one suffers if I get into the office and switch the kettle while I wait for my computer to grind into life. We don't lose money (god forbid), no one is inconvenienced at all. As long as my work is completed on time, as long as my students are happy, as long as I pitch up for meetings when I'm needed, as long as I contribute to the department, who gives a shit if I'm drinking coffee while I'm at it?

It's so shortsighted of bosses to demand robots for workers. There is a ton of research to say that people are more productive when they're happy and respected within their work environment. A sense of autonomy is incredibly important for, y'know, sentient adults.

I'm working at home this morning and then will head into the office for a meeting at 2pm. I'll be guzzling coffee, as will everyone else. We will, somehow, believe it or not, still manage to get some work done.

teaandthorazine · 12/02/2014 10:56

Wow, fleta. Micromanaging, much?

What impact did this daily loss of 10 whole minutes have on your business?

LCHammer · 12/02/2014 10:58

Fleta - they'll love you at work. Mostly when you retire.

CaptainGrinch · 12/02/2014 11:12

Fleta - I hope you reimbursed the company for the time you spent looking at your watch & tutting rather than doing any work.

If you've got time to be that pedantic, you obviously don't have enough to do!!

Mishmashfamily · 12/02/2014 11:18

There is a ton of research to say that people are more productive when they're happy and respected within their work environment

Spot on but it also applies to expected behaviours through out the entire workforce. For instance if you have a team of thirty people, most are sat by their station by 9 am. Ready to go. Have said their 'hellos' bonded by the coffee machine because they arrived a little early, hung their coat up. Then at bob on 9am one or two people out of the team stroll in, log on the wander off to make their coffee, every day. With out fail.

Two things are going to happen.

  1. people that are ready to go, with there pre made coffee are going to get pissed off and resentful. - why should they rush to work when so and so take there time. It's the same for lateness and sickness.

  2. people are gonna start copying. If you have 30 odd people not actually starting work till 9.10, the business is actually losing money.

If the bosses want you at your desk a 9am, tough. Make your coffee, breakfast in your own time. How would you feel if the management came over and said 'every day, I want you to stay behind ten mins after everyone else...unpaid'.

You would tell them to jog on!

TantrumsAndBalloons · 12/02/2014 11:19

I have a member of staff who comes into work about 9.15 she drops her dd to school and then gets here. She then takes off her coat, puts her lunch in the fridge, goes to the toilet, makes a coffee and then starts work
She is actually one of the hardest working staff member I have. She will always stay a bit later, work through lunch, come in on her days off if its really busy here.

I don't think she would have the same attitude if I was standing in the doorway every morning saying "right it's 9.16. No, you cannot put your lunch away or have a coffee. You need to start work now. Or if I expected her to make up the 5/10 minutes every day.
The quality and quantity of work she produces every day, and her attitude towards the job more than compensate for those few minutes, believe me.

But then, I am a peculiar manager I think

I don't mind how many breaks people have throughout the day as long as work gets done and when we are all tearing our hair out trying to meet a deadline they don't go "well I am entitled to an hours lunch so I am off"

And funny enough, no one does. They work until its done. And usually after 3 panic days it goes all quiet so I let them go at 3.30pm to make it up to them and as a thank you.

And I always make the first round of coffee Grin

And bring cake on Fridays

Fleta · 12/02/2014 11:23

The point was I worked from whenever I needed to. Offices open at 9.00 - given the nature of the work (solicitors) there would be an influx of calls the minute the lines opened - she wasn't at her desk so I would end up answering them - what then is the point of having an assistant?

The pedantry wasn't noticed by me - we had a card in/out system which was flagged to me by higher management - I dealt with it as her line manager.

At the end of the day you accept a contract that states you work x number of hours a day. If every day you're not doing that then the issue is raised.

Conversely we had generous policies on not needing to make up time for doctors appointments, you didn't have to take holidays for appointments etc.

Fleta · 12/02/2014 11:24

The thing is you have a start time, you get there in time. It isn't hard. Its a work ethic.

LCHammer · 12/02/2014 11:24

Obviously Fleta can't answer as it would be on company time. She'll come back after 5.30 (plus however long it took to type out the previous post).

Fleta · 12/02/2014 11:26

Obviously LCHammer's joke falls flat as Fleta works part time from home for her own business and is currently having some relax time

Mishmashfamily · 12/02/2014 11:28

For all the posters having a go at fleta...

Six days of some one starting work 10 mins late = 1 hour of pay for work that isn't done.
Four hours over the month
Twenty four over the year.

Three days worth of pay for making a morning brew!

Now times that by your entire work force.

Some business can't afford that.

teaandthorazine · 12/02/2014 11:28

But fleta, if that was the case then your 'compromise' of 'allowing' her to work ten minutes into her lunch-hour, or ten minutes later at the end of the day, would be pointless, wouldn't it? If the important thing was that she was there at her desk at 9am for the calls to come in?

LCHammer · 12/02/2014 11:30

Mishmash - in your model above, the business will probably lose more money with staff turnover and sickness leave. Stress and feeling resentful about being watched like this are likely to lead to that. Unless you're holding up an assbly line, customers on the phone, patients waiting etc.

Fleta · 12/02/2014 11:31

teaandthorazine - I was told I had to request she worked her full quota of hours. Yes, absolutely the time she was most needed was first thing but she was still missing 50 minutes of work a week. 5 lots of 10 minutes a week.

If it was an irregular thing it wouldn't be a problem - but as a regular thing it really takes the piss.

Kaluki · 12/02/2014 11:33

I get in, turn on my computer, do a coffee round (usually 5 or 6 of us), have a wee, have a chat ... by then my computer is usually up and running. Its very slow and needs a while to wake up like me.
I have worked for a company that used to restrict coffee making to set breaks only and years ago in the 80s I worked in an office where a lady used to come round with an urn twice a day and give us tea/coffee and biscuits!!!

LCHammer · 12/02/2014 11:33

Mishmash - do the sums. Think of all the toilet breaks. How much is that costing the British economy? We're all in this together, dears. Contain yourselves.

Please add up all the pointless meetings too. What are you left with?

SarahBumBarer · 12/02/2014 11:34

God - some of you would have heart failure at my job. Never mind making a coffee - last Wednesday we all headed off to Starbucks for a decent coffee, cake and chat at about 11 am. Funnily enough the team are responsible enough to only go along with something like this if they have all their work under control and deadlines will be met. I hate presenteeism. And you can see from some of the attitudes on this thread exectly why the Presenteeist brigade are not the kind of productive, responsible workers you actually want. They clearly do not understand or appreciate that it is output that is important. This is why I will bugger off to Starbucks for a coffee if I feel like it and it is also why when everyone else in my department headed off for a few drinks after Christmas lunch, one of my colleagues and I with reasonably good spirits headed back to our desks to get a report out and why I was perfectly happy to host two conference calls at the begninning of January from my winter holiday in Egypt.

LCHammer · 12/02/2014 11:34

I worked somewhere with a tea round too. All very civilised.

teaandthorazine · 12/02/2014 11:38

I do get your point - if there is a specific reason to be sitting at one's desk at 9am then, fair enough, you should be there. As I said in my previous post, when I used to work on a labour ward I would absolutely be there 10 mins before to ensure that no one was ever inconvenienced by my lateness. It would have been irresponsible and selfish to do otherwise, and the people that regularly did got short shrift from their colleagues.

However, your first post didn't say why you needed her there bang on time, which is possibly why you're getting a bit of flak!

Anyway, should get back to work Wink

Fleta · 12/02/2014 11:38

It all depends on the nature of the work also - some things can be more flexible. Some can't.

Yes my work were incredibly strict over hours worked. They were also incredibly generous in terms of number of holidays, sick pay (paid more than statutory), maternity benefits (again paid WAY more than statutory), paternity benefits, staff bonuses (which were not performance based - everyone got one), time off for appointments, they still paid for emergency childcare rather than enforcing the unpaid leave for dependants and the pension benefits were excellent. AFAIC, that more than makes up for people being required to work their contracted hours.

Fleta · 12/02/2014 11:38

teaandthorazine -thank. I was a solcitor though. This isn't flak Grin

jennifleurs · 12/02/2014 11:38

I work part time shifts in a well known retail establishment and we aren't even allowed to get a drink of water unless it's our allotted 15/30 min break time!

I always get to work early so I have time to sit down, have a cup of tea, fix my hair etc.

Mishmashfamily · 12/02/2014 11:40

LCH your wrong. People like to be treated fairly. Nothing causes resentment more than other people getting treated or behaving in a way that's different to other people.

If the way of the office is relaxed, people can come and go, fine. But if it's a sharp start then everyone has to act accordingly.

When you sign your contract it's a legally binding document to say you will start work at said time, if management want you to.

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