Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

How much work are you getting done WFH?

104 replies

PlomBear · 23/03/2020 11:18

I’m currently watching This Morning in my PJs. DH is “WFH” playing a computer game.

The organisation we work for is struggling with capacity, we’ve been told to spend only limited amounts of time online to allow others to get on.

DS 4, is playing with Birdie Friend.

Next up: Good Karma Hospital and Belgravia

OP posts:
blue25 · 24/03/2020 20:20

Not doing much work TBH. Only got a few bits to do anyway, so enjoying relaxed working.

I’m finding it really hard to focus.

BobbinThreadbare123 · 24/03/2020 20:27

I was doing very well; extremely productive and quiet and calm. Until today! Everyone else from our site was sent home but our VPN can't cope, so we've got to log on in weird time slots. I don't think it's fair to make me become a bat/owl...! I got a lot less done than I wanted.

Whalette · 24/03/2020 20:31

Very productive (with a lot of over time I will be taking as TOIL) when Shitrix is being cooperative.

shinyredbus · 24/03/2020 20:32

I work one hour on and one hour off, alternating with my husband. We both wake up at 6 and get 1 hour in each and then alternate with the kids - I have 5 year old and a 3 year old. 7pm bedtime for them so we both work in the evening until about 9 (yesterday later).

DrMadelineMaxwell · 24/03/2020 20:40

I'm normally mad-busy at school with barely a minute to think until the kids go home, and then I'm straight into prepping for the next day/marking etc. Which has the upside of making the days fly.

Scheduling activities, responding to pupil questions (and my colleagues IT issues) and filling the time with paperwork just isn't the same. I'm missing the kids and I'm bored.

If my dds were younger and more time consuming/demanding then it would be different but they are self sufficient teens.

CountFosco · 24/03/2020 20:50

My work is classified as key workers (pharma) so work on site is continuing, albeit with everyone who can work from home doing so (so over half the site). So we've not seen any major impact yet, few supply issues but that's about all. Last week was quite nice, DH and I were both home and it was nice to have more time together with no kids even if we were working in different rooms. This week DH and I are working shifts round each other while the other does the home schooling which is exhausting. My work is quite happy about this and a lot of us are doing it, I had two zoom calls before 7 am this morning because so many of us came on line at 6 am! It fits with the people on site who are working shifts and with our customers who are worldwide. DH's work have been more arsey and he basically told them I was more senior than him and my work was more important so they had to accept he wouldn't be working core hours. There are a few male colleagues who are married to doctors who have basically said the same to my work. The joys of being male!

WearyandBleary · 24/03/2020 20:51

Fuck all. My manager hasn’t been in touch at all or responded to emails. Struggling to concentrate because of anxiety and managing my teens’ anxiety. Feel terrible and like I’m failing all round tbh.

MrsJBaptiste · 24/03/2020 20:51

I'm getting my usual 8 hours in and without the hour commute either side, it's going well but soooo boring.

I definitely get more done (no 10 min chats while the kettle boils, no getting cornered by someone on your way back from the loo, no pointless meetings) but am not looking foward to another few months of this.

My line manager had scheduled weekly Skype calls with our team and we're expected to all answer tne phone and seeing as you can see who has picked it up, we all have to do our bit!

eurochick · 24/03/2020 20:51

I'm a lawyer and I'm crazy busy at the moment - not corona related - it's just how the work fell. My husband is also a lawyer and in the same boat.

Trying to homeschool a five year old as well is breaking us. I barely managed to shower and eat today.

hannabarbera · 24/03/2020 21:47

Im not on the list of key workers but I still have to go to the office. Working from home isn't an option as its a huge breach of data protection.

Hierarchy think we can do it but if we did it would be dire. Slow, constant Skype. So id rather they shut shop as many other departments are already working from home.

So if i had to id not do much

lachy · 24/03/2020 21:49

I got about 2 hours actual work done today. DD was a bloody terror. Her nursery closed today so she was badgering me constantly. I'm going to have to get up at 4 am to get stuff done.

LargeGinOnTap · 24/03/2020 22:09

My job is very hard to do from home

And I've got 3 tasks to eeeek out over the however long this is going to be. Which normally all three could be done in a v productive day or 2 at work

Yesterday was making sure I could log on to Remote Desktop and stuff

Today was CPD which I had been saving for a quiet moment at work. Probably the same tomorrow. But at the moment I'm thinking I'll either do 2 /3 hours a day. Or one or 6 hour days. But after that apart from answering any emails that might come in. There's not a lot I can do. So it's a balancing act

carlywurly · 24/03/2020 22:10

So bloody busy it's ridiculous. 10 hours virtually non stop today. About 5 hours on zoom calls today. I've changed my zoom background to reflect the holiday location I was supposed to be in before all this kicked off..

I then spent a happy half hour finding new backgrounds for tomorrow's meetings once I'd finished. Our md had the cast from baywatch as his background today so the bar is set. Grin

Another busy day planned tomorrow and I'm hoping it will quieten enough next week once everyone gets sorted that I can get on with the stuff I have planned.

Mainly counting my blessings that my company and colleagues are amazing, we're all safe and currently well.

ragged · 24/03/2020 22:32

maybe 55% of productivity I could achieve at work. Which is a lot better than I expected, tbh. Everything at home is distracting.
I loathe wfh.

sleepyhead · 24/03/2020 22:41

I find that when I work from home I naturally spread my work across a much longer time period and am, I think, far more productive as a result.

Normally I'm office based 9-5 but a lot of what I do really benefits from mentally stewing over a problem and then coming back to it.

7-8am this morning and 7-9 this evening were really productive for me. I mainly attended conference calls and caught up with emails during the day and took breaks to be with the kids a bit more.

It also means I can deal with important requests that come in after 5 which normally I wouldn't see until the next morning.

It works really well for me working this flexibly although I miss the office and I wouldn't want to do it all the time.

Polkadotpjs · 24/03/2020 22:50

Bloody loads. Too much to do

NamedyChangedy · 24/03/2020 22:56

I have loads to do too, and currently working into the evening. So jealous of everyone wondering how to fill their time - I'm somehow busier than ever.

heidbuttsupper · 24/03/2020 22:59

Usually work 9-5 but our systems are running so slow that I've been trying to do as much as I can in the evenings and early mornings

Snorkelface · 24/03/2020 23:04

It was relentless today, hated it, it won't let up until the government work out the details of the 80% and the self-employed and everyone in the office works out how to use the remote IT and the IT actually set it up properly. Couldn't concentrate on any telly, ended up having the Parliament broadcast on all day in the back ground, strangely calming.

dellacucina · 24/03/2020 23:09

Fuck all. Newly lone parent with a 3 year old who doesn't nap. The VPN has been crashing out constantly. I can't work for more than a few hours a day and my concentration is shot. I'm too tired to get up early or work late into the night.

Elieza · 24/03/2020 23:46

I’m doing exactly the same work as usual, just from home. The 🐈 is most perturbed. How dare I be here during the day!

Choo975 · 24/03/2020 23:55

I’ve realised just how much I hate my job these last few days. I’m going to look for another one soon.

PontiacBandit · 25/03/2020 00:02

My laptop is far too small for me to work productively on so I brought my pc home with my 2 screens and I've got loads done.
I've been insanely busy for the last two weeks, it should ease off by next week and then I'll potter round the house, help the kids with their work more in between emails and calls.

Purpleartichoke · 25/03/2020 03:35

Same amount as normal, it is just taking me a bit longer to fit in my work day since I get interrupted by dd occasionally.

I have worked from home for a very long time.

Everybunny · 25/03/2020 07:15

DH and I often wfh. But we've never done it with our 2 year old and 5 year olds home at same time. Yesterday was the first day we were both supposed to be working together but we got really stressed we weren't getting anything done, the idea of taking turn about working/supervising/educating the kids did not work as hoped and by mid afternoon we had a meltdown.

Then just thought f* it. Decided everyone in the country is wrestling with this for the first time and everyone's expectations need adjusting, including our employers (luckily they're being very flexible). We can't do what we used to and need to prioritise our children.

Spent the rest of the afternoon playing with the kids in the garden, listening to them laughing their heads off in the sunshine and I relaxed for the first time in two weeks.

Today is a new day, we're giving ourselves until next week to trial different ways of working, and I am positive we'll feel better in a few days. Stay strong everyone.