Those now WFT are you slacking?

[grapesandcarrots]

My friend told me her boyfriend sleeps in until 12pm when he's meant to start at 9am. He sets his alarm for 8.55am and writes a message in the group chat 'morning everyone, I am working on XXX this morning. If anyone knows any great resources for XYZ then please let me know." Then goes back to sleep. If anyone tries to contact him before 12 he can just say sorry I was so engrossed in research for XXX.

I was really taken aback by this.

The friend then admitted to finishing early by 20m and starting a bit late by 20m. To taking lots of breaks and calling her mum during the day and cleaning her flat and endless news sites. Both her and her boyfriend are on great terms, love their jobs, and their bosses love them.

I have not slacked off because its not it my nature and found i've worked more due to little else to do.

What are everyones thoughts? Do you slack off during the day more now and to what extent?

YABU - I slack off more
YANBU - I would never slack off.

When I worked in an office, I slacked loads more. I would often have a friend stop by my desk for a quick catch up or else I would go with them to get a drink and have a chat. I was nearly always very early for work though (travel was unpredictable and my options were very early or stressfully risk being late) and would be discussing cases later in the evening.

Some days I've got loads more done than I usually would without office distractions & chit chat. Other days I've slacked off. We're quite open with each in my team (including the boss) and are aware that it's rough and everyone is likely to have gone down a gear at times, but as long as the work is ultimately getting done to a normal standard then it's all good. I should include the caveat that our workloads (and hours) are a good bit less than in normal times.

Sleeping in until 12 or starting late / finishing early is taking the absolute piss though.

Well, I'm in the office slacking off on MN at the moment, ahem.

I am, as I often am, waiting for a computer to finish doing something. I could multitask and work on something else, but I find that harder than it should be, and it'll probably slow down my main task anyway when I'm slower checking on progress.

I think it evens out. I'll wash up while making a cup of tea, pop the washing on when making lunch, maybe run the vacuum round, but if I was in the office there would be an awful lot of chat and distractions.

On balance I probably get more done at home.

Watching DH wfh has been a revelation....

@QueenPawPaws are you happy?

No time to slack off. My hours have been cut again (flexi furlough) but my workload not so much, so am already panicking about how much work I have to do in even more reduced hours.

I felt more relaxed at home when wfh. I got loads more done as there were no phones going off, no colleagues to chat to and doors going.
Dh feels the same. He gets more done, though on his meeting calls he finds it hard with us being at home.

No I'm not slacking but a number of colleagues definitely are. These are the ones who were inclined to this behaviour pre-covid though so it's no great surprise.

Working much longer hours at home - I'm a lecturer and my classes this year are much bigger because there is no restriction in terms of physical bodies in a room, so the marking load is huge.

I'm always logged in between 9 - 5, and teach live to my timetable, but like pp would happily go and stick on some washing or whatever, and I do try to get a walk at lunchtime. I tend to get my laptop back out after dinner, or will be picking up emails/Teams messages on my ipad. The shift to working from home seems to mean that working hours don't apply for people contacting you. Students seem to see it like chatting on social media!

@grapesandcarrots with work? It's exactly the same as it would be in the office so yes we can't just get up from our desk and wander off
In general... shielding since March 2020 is HARD

Nope, I do more, so do colleagues. Weve even received bonuses for doing so

I work for a lovely company and once I get my work done it doesn't matter what time I do it! some days i start at 7 and finish early - in fact my boss encourages taking a half hour nap if you are feeling wiped or tired!!

Other days I get everything done and just finish at 3

Sometimes I end up working til 8pm

some days I have a lie in!

But I get all my work done always and am very productive

I suppose some people need to work set hours though - in which case, yes this would be taking the piss I suppose

But this guy must be getting his work done?? otherwise it would be noticed - maybe he's just working later in the evenings?

Sometimes, yes. I really struggled with my concentration on Thurs and Friday last week and ended up and down in my seat continually trying to find something else to do.

But then I worked for 7 hours on Sunday when I felt more motivated and made up for the work I lost so I suppose it’s actually better than the office as I wouldn’t have caught up on that work at weekends normally.

I slack off more, I normally work from home but was out meeting clients at least half of my working week. This has now stopped and I'm much more productive via zoom etc. Meetings are shorter and moving forwards there will definitley be room for both face to face and online. However, there's only a certain amount I can do. Although the DC being home from school has now meant that I've got too little time.

*some days i start at 7 and finish early - in fact my boss encourages taking a half hour nap if you are feeling wiped or tired!!

Other days I get everything done and just finish at 3

Sometimes I end up working til 8pm*

I've worked from home for over 20 years and this is how to WTH effectively. Companies need to focus on output not hours.

My team is more productive than ever before and we are definitely not all on-line from 9-5: some people have childcare duties, some just want to take the dog for a walk while it's still light. It doesn't matter. The work gets done.

Only if I don’t have much to do. The thing about WFH is that there’s no one else to talk to most of the time like in the office so there’s less distraction and so I often find my work gets done faster. Then I end up sitting there twiddling my thumbs!

No. I started typing "Yes and No..." but then went on to explain and reminded myself that no, I'm not slacking! My hours are flexible anyway, and were pre-covid. But now that I'm home with 2 primary aged DDs, I tend to work intermittently through the day. Helping them with school work, lunch break together, a walk in the afternoon, etc. When I get up to make a tea, I'll chuck the washing machine on, or do a bit of washing up. But I also start working anywhere between 5:30 and 8am, and will work evenings too if I need. I'm actually doing more hours at home than I do in the office. But I do sometimes worry I'll look like I'm slacking if I'm not at my desk if someone calls (rare!)

For those who are doing more work, why don't you just tell your boss you have worked your hours?

What are employers doing to make sure you don'e slack?

@grapesandcarrots

For those who are doing more work, why don't you just tell your boss you have worked your hours?

What are employers doing to make sure you don'e slack?

My boss knows I do my hours. He often reminds me to not over do it, and I have time in lieu to take that he reminded me about today. But I like my work, I like my company, and I want us to do well. I quite often mull things over when I'm away from the office, but now I can just log on and make the changes straight away rather than waiting until I'm next in.

@grapesandcarrots that is the good side of working solidly - we are never expected to work over our hours, ever. Even the boss leaves on time as when we are closed, we are closed

I slacked more in work. At home you can see from somebody’s Teams icon whether they are away from their desk and I’m paranoid it makes me look like I’m not working if I’m not green, even if I’m stuck on a phone call or whatever.

@MangoBiscuit
@QueenPawPaws

interesting, I think people who like their bosses and job are less likely to slack

I take more little breaks, put washing on etc but I’ve just worked till 5.30 instead of 5 so I make up the time or do slightly longer if anything.

@OrangePlumGrape surely you can just leave teams open?