To arrive at work and make a cup of coffee?

[FunnysInLaJardin]

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?

I have a cup of tea when i get up at 6.30. Drink it while getting ready, leave at 7am. I get to work at 8.30 - 9am. Switch PC on, go and make coffee while its getting itself ready. I also eat breakfast at my desk while checking emails etc. Almost everyone in the office does this. The computors and specifically the system we use takes 5 - 10 minutes to start up.

I can see that if you were a nurse or worked somewhere other than an office, this wouldn't be able to happen.

She's trying a cheap shot, as you say. Face time is an easy thing to clock if you are trying to harass someone and need a way in. It's like the snarky comments some parents get when they have to pick up their kids, or the stuff aimed at part-times about 'their lovely days off' when in actual fact they may have another job for the rest of the time, or be paid part time but end up doing a lot more work than they are paid for. Not a very attractive characteristic really.

I dont work in an office but its the norm here to have a coffee on arrival for daystaff but nightstaff wait about an hour when suppers are done

Shame you are too decent to install a sniffer program onto her machine to log what she's actually up to on there, isn't it?

I don't do this, my boss puts the kettle on as I pull up! Often there is a treat from the bakery on my desk too. I love my boss

This is normal in my office.

People come in, turn computer on, and then go get a tea / coffee while the pc is turning itself on. We have one of those instant hot water machines, plus a fancy coffee machine, so no waiting around for kettles to boil. People then go back to their desks with hot drink, log in and start work.

Incidentally, our time at work is counted as when we're physically in the building, as registered by the swipe cards we use to get through the doors. We have core hours of 9:30am - 4pm, with flexible start / finish times for the majority of employees - a few people, mostly reception staff and PAs, have set working hours.

But, generally, so long as people complete the tasks they're given at work, turn up on time to any scheduled meetings, and spend most of their time actually working, no-one really gives a monkeys about what time in the day they go to get a cup of tea / coffee.

We weren't allowed to make coffee except in 'designated breaks'. Even 'toilet breaks' were monitored.

NHS direct was like working for the nazi party

I think call centres need to have much stricter rules, but it can't be pleasant for people working there.

Wouldn't it make more sense to make your coffee and then go to your desk with it and log on?

We are not allowed (NHS) we had to sign a code of conduct about this. Essentially says we will be ready to start work at 9am (this means we are not to arrive at 9 and then get changed or make coffee)... We must start work at 9am, if we need to get changed or want to make coffee we have to et in earlier.

In our office we always start the day with a coffee, I think there would be a revolt if the rules were changed. We probably do drink too many rounds of coffee on a daily basis, sometimes I think it's just a excuse to get up from the desk and have a wander to the kitchen, stretch your legs a bit.
I have worked in other jobs where this hasn't been possible, however in those jobs you got proper breaks and one hour lunches. Where I work now we rarely have a real lunch break, we eat while we are working so I think those that pay us get their money's worth

I will make a cup of coffee if I feel like it when my laptop is firing up - but this takes me less than 2 minutes to walk about 3 doors up to the kitchen, fill cup from the hydraboil thing, walk back to desk.

If you're coming in, chatting to colleagues, wandering off to kitchen, chatting to colleagues there, coming back to desk, chatting again - then yes, that's inappropriate, but most adults in the workplace are there to be efficient and effective, and don't take the p. I can't stand bosses who throw their weight about and sweat the small stuff like people making the odd cup of coffee.

Hasn't your boss got anything better to do? How dull.

If you're coming in, chatting to colleagues, wandering off to kitchen, chatting to colleagues there, coming back to desk, chatting again - then yes, that's inappropriate

It depends what you're chatting about - it can be very useful catch up time, "oh, did you see Steve replied to that email, so we need to..." "Can you let us know when you're going to do that? It's going to affect our planning for..."

Call centres are the worst for loo & brew pettiness IME.

Yup -we had an email from a boss at about 5am telling us that we were not allowed a 'walkaway' (ie timed 5min toilet break) in the last hour of nightshift.

Thus us when your body is generally in shock at having had to operate 24 hrs with no sleep - you generally need to fart, you get abdo pains, diarrhoea, more pain (well I do) so some time is spent in the loo by everyone having s good old trump during the latter part of shift.

Of course it was immediate 2 fingers up to that piece of nonsense.

When I read the OP I thought you must be in a clock watching call centre which would be grim enough but you aren't and your boss sounds a patronising PITA.

Yy to the useful chat, coffee in the morning between day&night shifts is casual handover, everything gets told over coffee haha

In, computer on, brew up for everyone that's there while it's logging on, drink coffee and start work.
The thought of my morning brew is the only thing that gets me to work some mornings!

Southeastdweller"Shortly after me and some of my colleagues log in, we go to the canteen or cafe next door to get breakfast."

Your employers are OK with this? I think logging on and getting a coffee in the office, is a totally different thing to what you you and some of your colleagues do.

I used to work in an office and when I went part time I got loads of 'enjoy your days off comments'
Err hard really as I earn 40 percent less than I used to!

There was a discussion at my office a while back about what exactly was the start of the working day. Some thought it was the moment they walked into the building, and others thought that it was when you were ready to 'start work'. This was on the back of some people turning up at the last possible minute (work flexi so can get in as late as 10am) and then making drinks and breakfast, eating breakfast, checking bbc news website, laying a game of solitaire, having a chat etc and probably not really working until 10:30.

I personally think that you should be able to count the time it takes your pc to boot up as work time, as i don't see why anyone should have to get in early because of old computers. I also don't see a problem with getting a drink in work time or eating breakfast whilst checking emails/planning your day, OR having a brief social chat with your colleagues. Although sadly some people do take the piss and if a workplace gets too relaxed about this sort of thing then some people do start getting away with too much.

Lots of people will log on first as often It takes a Little while for the computer to load up.

I work in school but I always make a cuppa to take to the classroom before lessons. I sign in first with the time of arrival. It means that the school knows I am in the building so at a safety thing to start with.

We often have a chat in the staff room too. My actual start time is 8:30, children come in from 8:40. Even if I arrive at 8:30 I still make a drink. Usually I'm a fair bit earlier anyway.

Am more than happy for my team to make a drink first thing (and as many times a day as they want to tbh). I would expect them to switch on their computer first, but thats about all. If we're having a really frantic day, I insist they all stop to have a breather (in addition to their meal breaks of course). People are much happier, more productive and less likely to leave if they are treated as adults.

It's a long time since I worked in an office but I find this very odd. We used to have coffee machines where I worked and most people I think used to just go and get a coffee first thing. If you're a "knowledge worker" as it's known these days, you should be judged on your output rather than your input. Someone who sits at their desk 9-6 every day can be less productive than someone who works in a focused way for four or five hours.

I work from home and the first thing I do every morning after dropping DD in school is make a cup of coffee. Then I faff around on Mumsnet for half an hour.

There are three of us at work who arrive at 8am. One logs on and gets ready for the phone to ring (we're an IT service desk); one unlocks the yard and server room; one (me) turns on upstairs lights, unloads dishwasher, makes a cafetiere and a cup of tea for me. Brings coffee back down and we're all ready to work. I boot up before heading upstairs. At some point 1 and 2 get changed out of cycling gear while I cover phones. Works for us and seems quite normal.