Aibu to thinking working on train shouldn’t count towards your contracted hours

[Daffodildainty]

I’ve noticed a couple of management colleagues recently working consistently short days then crediting 2-3 hours a day as working on train. Aibu to think this is bolocks, that you can’t concentrate properly or review papers during your commute and shouldn’t be working on highly confidential material in a public environment anyway?

I can get a significant amount of work done on a train. Ear plugs in and its no worse than an office for distractions

Depends on your job but I wouldn’t think it’s unreasonable if you’re doing the same thing as you would at work. I think it’s quite healthy because you’re not ‘wasting’ potentially hours commuting.

If your work is confidential that’s a separate issue and in that case it’s the fact that you’re doing it at all that’s a problem and not the fact that you’re logging hours ‘working on a train’.

As long as they’re getting the work done to a good standard, it doesn’t really matter when/where they do it, does it? DH works fairly flexibly, sometimes from home, sometimes from the office, sometimes in a cafe, sometimes on a train or plane... he consistently gets ‘top’ ratings in his performance reviews so his bosses don’t care where he works.

I wish more companies thought like them and less like you. Presenteeism is the bane of many offices.

I travel for work including long haul flights. It is some of my most productive time

Some of my colleagues have long commutes, doesn’t matter to me if they arrive later / leave early

If you don’t think they are actually working, that is another thing

Why on earth wouldn't it count? A train's no more distracting than an open plan office.

I wish more companies thought like them and less like you

Agreed.

I sometimes have to travel four hours a day for work on the train. I get work done a lot of the time - catch up reading, write things etc. Absolutely I credit it towards my working hours. Headphones in, then no problem.

YABU. It's also not really any of your business. If their line manager/clients/whatever are happy, then they should crack on. You shouldn't really be peering over their shoulders.

I'm a freelancer and I bill for my time wherever I work it. I quite often bill for work I do while sitting at a picnic table at the beach.

Unless you’re their line manager and are responsible for reviewing their performance, it’s not really anything to do with you.

My boss works on the train. Because she can, she thinks everyone can. I can't, I'm too easily distracted... SQUIRREL!

The only issue with working on the train is confidentiality. I frequently catch up with emails on the train, so that I can leave on time. No doubt my boss is counting up all the times I leave the office 2 minutes early. But I can easily do 20-30 mins work on the train on the way home (or on the way in).

What matters isn't how long you are in the office, or where you do your work, but whether you get your work done and whether your clients are happy.

Confidentiality isn’t so much of a problem if you get a privacy screen.

I would think that the deciding factor about this working latter would be based on their output.

Trains can be great for getting things done, no people to come up and distract you, often not a lot of phone signal. I have very productive train journeys.

I do however, see others that seem to consider just being on a train during work time as working, that grates a little....

YABU
It obviously depends on the type of work, but it can be a really effective way of getting work done and still being home at a decent hour. Far better than working late in the office and all the associated repercussions.

Unless a breach of confidentiality why wouldn't it count? Dh often works on the ferry, at an hour each way it is dead time otherwise

They shouldn't have confidential material out in public, no. But like others I find work on the train very productive. In the office I get all sorts of things thrown at me and it's very distracting. I do some of my most concentrated and best work whilst travelling.

You should assess productivity, not activity. If the work they produce is good, and meets or exceeds what you would expect from a full-time worker, it does not matter if some of that is on the train. It would be daft and counter-productive to turn travel time into dead time.

It's this kind of attitude that kills work/life balance and flexibility in the workplace. You do not need to be sitting at a desk in an office in order to be productive!

If they are actually working I don't see a problem (as long as they are not needed in the office for something). Lots of people spend all day in the office doing very little work anyway

Unless it’s confidential material then YABU.

I work from “home”. In reality that could be any number of places - do is matter as long as the work is done?

On the fence. If they are salaraied, they are keeping on top of their emails and making the best use of potentially wasted commuting and not putting anyone at risk by having data exposed then it's ok.

If they are not fully accessible as they would be in the office, for example video or audio conferencing, telephone calls etc and claiming extra time/hours for this type of work then I think it's unacceptable.

@ SQUIRREL!

Sometimes you can get more work done, without constant interruption.