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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think nowadays, working from home should be allowed as much as possible

126 replies

welliesandleaves · 02/11/2015 11:35

I do a job that could just as easily be done at home most days as in the office. My senior colleague feels exactly the same as I do. Our job involves working on our own most of the time, has absolute deadlines, has a very definite outcome that can't be fudged in any way, and can be done best in peace and quiet.
Yet our boss, who actually has very little to do with our work but is just someone we officially report to, is very unwilling to allow working from home.
I know other people who are in a similar boat.

Surely, nowadays, with remote access, smartphones, email etc. working from home should be the norm in a lot of jobs, not an exception or a favour. It would cut down on rush hour traffic, allow for a better work/life balance and also bring a bit of life back into a lot of communities which are like ghost towns during the day.

AIBU to feel like this?

OP posts:
SmaDizietSma · 02/11/2015 18:24

I love working from home, my work life balance is much improved. I was self employed WFH for a few years and now work in the public sector. I work for a large organisation and as cost cutting measures there is only 80% desk space. I work from home 3/4 days a week and am industrious and diligent.

I manage people that work from home and I agree outputs and objectives must be understood and measured.

Bums on seats between 9am and 5 pm is a bit old fashioned.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 02/11/2015 18:54

I've worked from home and know from experience how much discipline it takes to not get distracted by every little thing - and that was running my own company so obviously I had a real motive to stick with it

Sadly, those I've known who allowed employees to do the same found it a nightmare; the commitment staff insisted they'd show rapidly turned to ever more inventive excuses and claims that their case was uniquely deserving, and it became clear that all they really wanted was the chance to do much less for their money

Doesn't mean it can't ever work, of course, but it takes some pretty special people if it's to have a chance

Original poster
welliesandleaves · 02/11/2015 19:02

I agree that anyone who starts slacking or coming up with excuses should have permission to wfh withdrawn pretty sharpish. But I think most managers would have a pretty good idea, in the first place, which of their staff would be likely to abuse the agreement, and which could be totally trusted to work on their own initiative.

It just seems wrong that so many people are spending so much of their time sitting in traffic jams and holed up in office blocks, while suburbs and villages are half empty all day, with community life suffering. Work/life balance would be much improved with a more positive attitude towards working from home and more willingness from employers to genuinely assess which jobs this would be suited to, and which employees could be trusted to work without constant supervision.

OP posts:
JoeMommuh · 02/11/2015 19:06

Yabu

I do not allow my staff to work at home. I know people would cut down on childcare because they were home, and run errands etc. Productivity would plummet. I never choose to work at home for the simple reason I can't get anything done!!

Melfish · 02/11/2015 19:13

Considering so much desk space in offices is being reduced, particularly in Central London, I think WFH will expand (hopefully!) as there won't be enough seats for bums in many places.

regenerationfez · 02/11/2015 19:19

Could bosses not just set targets for their staff for what they expect them to reasonably achieve in the week, then leave them to it as long as they were available for email/ phone contact? Then why would it matter if people were running errands/collecting kids from school but then worked when the kids were in bed or when they were watching cartoons or is that too trusting?

regenerationfez · 02/11/2015 19:22

There is a lot of presentee ism in an office environment. Lots of checking Facebook until 4.30 then working late just to show the boss how dedicated they are. The time spent chatting to people about nothing in particular adds up tooGrin

Artandco · 02/11/2015 19:28

Joe - but surely as long as they remain just as productive it doesn't actually matter if they finish deadline in 5, 7 or 10 hrs. As long as the work is done to the standard it should be does it matter if you know they went out for lunch or collected child 45 mins earlier?

EWLT · 02/11/2015 19:34

A multi-national I was working for in the late 1990s decided it was going to save money by making many of its positions work from home (less office space required). It was initially very popular with the staff affected but had to be scrapped after about 18mth because so many of the homeworkers were suffering from depression, due to the isolation. Turns out the act of going into work actually keeps us sane!

BillBrysonsBeard · 02/11/2015 19:37

Totally agree! We live in Leeds and my partners boss insists he goes down to the office in London, even though it's a laptop based job and he is on skype and available all day, he can screenshare, conference call.. This is a company all about the technology. It's daft.. waste of petrol and driving.

PeppermintInfusion · 02/11/2015 19:39

Exactly Artandco, though I suppose it depends on the type of work you do. Mine is more strategic/idea-generating tasks, so whether it takes me 5 hours or 40 hours to write a document, I have to produce it anyway so when I'm working from home it's in my interest to get on with it to free up my time when it's done. When I've worked in more operational roles, I've felt the pain of people who are hard to contact or slacking off when work comes in unexpectedly b

Artandco · 02/11/2015 19:43

Peppermint- that's basically what mine is. Say I have 5 clients to work with one week, I will have a couple of calls and emails to make between myself and them, but in terms of the actual write up and research it doesn't matter if I spend 2 hrs one day, and 15 hrs the next, as long as it's done by x deadline.

VelvetSpoon · 02/11/2015 21:09

I just posted about this. I do a job which I can easily do from home, in fact I'd do it better because I wouldn't be having to constantly have 'catchup' chats with people, which forms about 30% of my day, because everyone has to be told everything that's going on...

I did eventually get remote access. Even then it was made clear WFH was for exceptions.

I've now been told it's not possible pretty much at all, because I need to be visible in the office. You really couldn't make this shit up.

As for DSE assessment - I don't even have one of these at work, where I hot desk. I can't adjust any desk I sit at as it's someone else's permanent desk (I just sit at the desk of anyone who's off sick/on AL, rather than having a bank of hot desks) so my chair and monitor are constantly at the wrong level. Not that anyone seems very interested!

Finallyonboard · 02/11/2015 21:12

YANBU! I work from home, I could do it more but feel embarrassed. I don't know why, it's ridiculous really!

Topseyt · 02/11/2015 21:12

I would have been able to return to work (post kids) much sooner if working from home had been possible and/or accepted many years ago.

I now do have a job where I can work from home. My boss is abroad for several months of the year and for that time I work from home, conferring regularly by Skype messaging, Skype calls, phone and email.

It is very productive. I make sure I am disciplined and I love it.

I think it could have a place in future. After all, office rents are often extremely expensive and allowing working from home could significantly reduce the amount of office space needed, thereby offering savings.

Grilledaubergines · 02/11/2015 21:17

Depends on the business you're in. I would love to do a day from home but it's totally impossible because of the company I work for.

itsmeohlord · 02/11/2015 21:22

I would hate working at home, love going to the office and seeing people. That said when kids were small, if they were ever sick I worked at home - I do have a job that could be done at home, but a big part of working for me is to see other people and the camaraderie of the office (we are a friendly lot who all get on!)

JoeMommuh · 02/11/2015 22:05

Well to answer someone's question I suppose it depends what your job is. Not many jobs you can exactly account for what's been done.

My staff answer emails but they also liaise with clients, research stuff, contact retailers and do things which I can't exactly tell how much they've done.

I don't want to have to try and sleuth through everything they've done at home and satisfy myself they've definitely done 40 hours worth.

If they're in the office I can see them and I know they're working. I get people asking me to work from home because they don't have childcare etc. I'm always gob smacked. I have 2 pre-schoolers myself. I know EXACTLY how much work would be done that day. Zero.

DustingOffTheDynastySuit · 02/11/2015 22:24

If you have a day or two out of the office Joe, do you 'sleuth' through what was done by all your staff over the office hours?

Or does it not matter if everything that needs to be done, is done?

AChickenCalledKorma · 02/11/2015 22:31

What if they don't have pre-schoolers, Joe? My children are 10 and 13. I frequently work at home rather than pay for childcare in the school holidays and they are perfectly capable of accepting that I need to get on with my work.

Admittedly, I work part time, so I don't need to do a full eight hour day from home. But the idea that I would be basically skiving off while I'm at home is insulting. My productivity is at least as high when I'm at home, thanks to an employer who is fully supportive and has made sure that staff have the resources they need to do so effectively. Also, I have a professional attitude to my work. My boss trusts me - and I don't abuse that trust.

Grittzio · 02/11/2015 22:32

I work from home one day a week and it's probably my most productive day, I'm the only one in to cover my particular line of work and we have jobs to clear which are against the clock, it would be very noticeable if I was slacking, however after my day at home I quite enjoy going in to the office as I work with a great bunch of people, I like a mixture of both, it's just nice not to have to get ready and do a commute one day out of my 3 1/2 day working week.

thegiddylimit · 02/11/2015 22:54

If they're in the office I can see them and I know they're working. I get people asking me to work from home because they don't have childcare etc. I'm always gob smacked. I have 2 pre-schoolers myself. I know EXACTLY how much work would be done that day. Zero.

If I have to take a days annual leave because DS (3) is ill then I always take that as annual leave because he doesn't yet collapse when he's poorly. However, earlier this year my 7 year old had a nasty cold. She slept all morning, and watched DVDs in the afternoon. I took it as a work from home day and had a couple of telecons at either end of the day, and did some background research for a new project. My internet history clearly showed I'd worked all day, but also lots of people at work had contact with me during the day so knew I was working, it's not hard to prove if you need to.

VenusRising · 03/11/2015 00:06

I think it's the way to go!
I work from home, and have an office I pop into twice a week for face to face meetings. I'm on the phone, Skype and email all the time throughout the day. My commute is 30 seconds, and has zero carbon emissions.

I think children will be educated from home also soon and mega schools / universities and the idea of factorylike clocking in and out will be a things of the past, and good riddance.

Schools and factories/ offices are just a relict system of the industrial revolution and not needed when we are so connected up on the interwebs.

Artandco · 03/11/2015 07:11

Joe - you might not be able to work with toddlers, but others can. When mine were toddlers i could still work well at home and often took to my office also ( my office my rules). They were used to it since newborn so know the routine. Now they are 4 and 5 I usually collect them from school half the week and take back to my office 3 hrs. They play quietly those 3 hrs doing homework/ drawing/ playing with toys I have there. They know they aren't allowed to run about and be loud when dh or I need to work.

Senpai · 03/11/2015 07:16

It takes a moment to get past the hump of productivity because you don't have the "fear" of your boss popping behind you at any moment. It's doable if you're the right type of person. I work from home, but truthfully it's part time because I have DD to look after as well.

Offices have the advantage in that you can't look at distracting sites and you don't have home distractions pulling you away, like the dog needing to go out or kids.