Working from home - or not!

[DELIGHTFULLY78]

Is anyone spending their WFH days mainly dossing and actually not feeling guilty about it (thinking about all the times stayed late in office and didn't take lunch break because of crazy workload)? AIBU to think this is acceptable?

no as I don't want to lose my job ..

Do they not expect evidence of what you’re supposed to be doing?

Don’t know how to get away with that but sounds interesting! I enjoy being able to do little jobs in the day (put wash on/prep tea/cuddle guinea pigs) for 5 mins but apart from that I still feel tethered to my phone/laptop.

I manage my own time, so no.

No I seem to be busier than ever, I need to separate home and work a bit more. Love being able to catch up on house stuff in my break and not having to retrieve parcels from my neighbours!

I have had very unmotivated days when I am present and sending emails etc put off calls - but I catch up the next day with double the work. I manage my own time so as long as I get the work done I don't see an issue.

No in absolutely slammed, I frequently log on in the evening to catch up, I work for a local authority and we're struggling desperately to keep normal services going and support residents and businesses.

But I didn't have a paycht which was a godsend when DH business plummeted under Covid and normally have a very good work life balance so even though it's been the toughest year of my life worldwide I feel lucky

Plus even though I end up working 9/10 hours a day with no commute I can quickly stick a load of laundry in etc while grabbing a coffee so it still feels manageable. But my kids are older and a bit more self sufficient and DH has had a lot of free time to be the main parent

Ummm... no, because I still have loads of work to do

No I am not. I work extremely hard

No, everyone i know wfh is working harder as you cant switch off. Yabu

Not in the slightest, I am also pubic sector and it's been a really tough nine months keeping people supported. I worked from home half the week before this happened and it's my most productive time.

It's your attitude that gives working at home a bad name and has made it difficult in the past for managers to agree to it.

*public sector
Doh!

I wish. Local authority like PP and it's relentless. Working 6am some mornings to stay afloat.
My colleagues are the same. Plus the depressing realization that work is now 24/7 with no decompression time at the time of the working day.

No because if I did that I wouldn't meet my project deadlines, do you not have any kind of target or objectives to meet? Are you in a bullshit job?

@DELIGHTFULLY78

Is anyone spending their WFH days mainly dossing and actually not feeling guilty about it (thinking about all the times stayed late in office and didn't take lunch break because of crazy workload)? AIBU to think this is acceptable?

No, because I enjoy my job, and don't want to lose it, I am too busy, and all the members of staff who have had to be micromanaged have left or been made redundant.

I'm a grown up and don't take the piss. If you worked in my department you would get found out and wouldn't last very long. Some posters on MN are under pressure from managers who feel that they have to micromanage their staff. This is because of people like you.

We have a very clear business plan (that I wrote), with clear roles, responsibilities and targets.

So long as we're meeting those (and we are), I don't give a stuff the exact hours my staff work, and am quite bossy about them not working excess hours unless it's to bank free time for later.

I had a shit day yesterday after two good, productive days. I have no use for staff who aren't relaxed and ready to give it their all.

I used to be an academic and spend average 3 days a week WAH. My boss and I would agree a target for our next meet, which was usually a couple of weeks away. So long as the work was done to a satisfactory standard it was up to me as to when and how I scheduled it. I had to attend the uni for certain meetings and so on but I spent a lot of my WAH days shopping and other leisure activities. I did the work in the evenings and weekends. Never felt guilty. On the other hand I once worked through christmas and new year on a paper and presentation to have it ready for a conference in early January. The conference was in Las Vegas so it was a great incentive

Busiest time of year so no. But it is much more flexible. So I start and finish at different times. I use my lunch break to do chores or pop to the shop so I feel like we have more us time. But I'm not dosing or working less.

Wfh takes me longer than the same work in the office. So no.

Posts like this do make me think if this is the main reason that so many people think wfh is fantastic, though. And that some of my colleagues are probably doing just this, which is why they take ages to respond to me.

Im in your boat OP, we have an amount that is expected but due to covid the workload has plummeted, we're all working from home and no one will be made redundant as we're public sector, so yes i can doss and not feel guilty about it. I get loads of housework done and just do the work they give me but it's definitely not enough to fill 8 hours a day

Not at all, I would feel guilty anyway but I genuinely have more work than can fit in my hours. I'm not happy feeling stressed but I wouldn't feel safe if I wasn't busy right.now - my organisation is planning to restructure and I hope being in a busy section is protection.

I'm not saying I never check the news for five minutes but I'm doing more than my hours for definite.

Being in tier 3 work is almost a welcome relief as something to do! I’ve got so much work that I’m super busy and it makes the day go really quick. I find trying not to work when I should be just makes the day go really slowly.

No. Im busier than ever.

My works been utterly insane. Working long long hours and sometimes extra on weekends to make up he shortfall.
I honestly got slightly near breaking point when childcare shut down earlier in the year as I felt I literally didn't stop 20 hours out of 24 but nursary is open now.
I'm a manager and generally it's really obvious when people are slacking wfh, so I'd be really careful as you don't wnat to lose your job in the current climate.

A little less than usual , though we have been told not to check emails in the evening , not book meetings in during dinner time and keep a work life balance so if need to pop out for a walk that's fine. In public sector , so it's probably pretty unusual for this to be in place.