WFH - what does your dayclook like if you wfh

[Working9tomidnight]

What does anyone who wfh (either every day or in a hybrid model) day looks like.

Argument with DH yesterday because I was sat working from 9-12, lunch 12- 1230, then back until 1630 as they're the hours I'm meant to work.

Did take a couple of quick breaks for the bathroom, grab a drink and chucked a load of washing on etc

We're lucky enough to have a space in the house for an office and the majority of work I do involves needing 2 screens which I have.

Dh says I should have come and sat with him in the living room with the laptop and watched something on the TV to relax a bit rather than sitting in my office all day (I think he was bored!)

Should also mention I did school run for 2 x DC before starting at 9.

Sounds like you've got a good WFH routine. Why on earth would you decamp to the sofa where you'd be less productive and risk poor posture etc?

If your husband is lonely in the house, perhaps he needs a dog?

My wfh colleague do a mixture of what you do (fairly strict hours similar to what they would have done if based in an office) and a mixture of attending essential meetings (which tend to be in the morning) and then working whatever hours they fancy.

So I guess it depends on your job and your personality, but if your job is ok with you taking a couple of hours off to do something with DH (and then working two hours later) then that would be fine. But the way you do it is equally fine.

Your arrangement sounds reasonable to me. DC get themselves to and from school these days.

I usually start at 9 unless I need to be somewhere before 5 or have something I must do during the day, like taking a DC to an appointment. I take an hour for lunch because I need a break - might use it to go to shops for something, go to gym or just watch some telly. Usually between 1-2.

The back at desk until 5. Somewhere in there I'll usually put on a laundry-load.

Why didn’t he do the school runs if he isn’t working...?

I WFH one day a week and most of that is spent on the phone to patients. I usually end up working from my bed because my dog sees a bird and starts barking when I work in my living room! If DP is off when I’m WFH he takes the dog out so I’m not disturbed.

Both DH and I WFH and did so long before Covid.

The routine is go into office.

Work.

Most days take a lunch break.

Go back into office work.

Stop at end of day.

you are at work, just like you are at any other job, you just happen to have a desk at home.

i can do things like accept parcels for delivery or pop in a waiting load of laundry when I get up for a cup of tea. Those things take literally a minute and aren’t really different than having a quick chat with a coworker.

I work the same way you do at home - get to my desk, log on, then I'm there until lunchtime barring loo breaks.

Same as above really. Work from 8-1. Usually an hour for lunch. Finish at 4. I work harder at home with no interruptions than I did in a busy office.

Same as you but 8-4. I have some flexibility, so I do a class over a lunch time but work late to make it up

Pretty much the same as you. I shut myself away in my office or I can't concentrate.

You mean he wanted you to work on your laptop with the TV on next to him? Or do you mean during your lunch break he wanted you to come and watch TV with him? Either way isn’t really acceptable. Both DH and I work from home. I have two screens and work from the dining room on a PC. I couldn’t work on a laptop, ever, and I need silence to work. I will quickly put a wash on if I have a few minutes, go to the loo, etc. But basically I’m at my work station all day. I can’t disappear off to do something else in work time, as there’s a time stamp clicking away. DH works from his PC in the kitchen. We bump into each other, but don’t spend any time together in our work day. In my lunch break, the last thing I want to do is stare at more screens.

Mine depends on the day.

Friday, for example, I got up at 5:30, stuck my sheets in the wash, hit the gym from 6-7, home by 7:20, showered and hung up the sheets, and at my desk by 7:45. Worked till 1, had an hour’s lunch where I tidied up, then worked till 5. Went to a yoga and aerial class, home by 8, 30min logged back on, and then ate dinner and had wine.

My formal working hours are 9-5:30.

you are at work, just like you are at any other job, you just happen to have a desk at home.

Exactly this (and we've been reminded of this during the last week when the WFH policy was renewed).

I work the hours I would work in the office. There's just less chatting in the kitchen and more hanging washing out every now and then. Or I run the vacuum round while the kettle is boiling.

I work 9-5 from home with a 30 minute lunch break and I work similarly to you, except my desk is in the living room.

Everyone knows not to disturb me as I'm often on camera with colleagues or in morning meetings. DH works shifts so when he comes in and the door is closed he knows I'm in a meeting and busies himself in the kitchen or on the computer upstairs where he watches TV in the bedroom or via his computer.

My work needs two screens so I don't usually relocate to just my laptop until I'm done with all tasks and I'm just keeping on top of emails and messages which is around 3pm as the children come home from school (we organise our own diaries so this is manageable) and then I'm 'available until 5'.

My DH would never expect me to work from the sofa with him while I'm at work.

Should add that DH works but shifts so he had finished work at 5am as I was getting up for a run.

We hadn't seen each other much during the week because of his shifts and I do 2 days in the office. I also do the majority of school & nursery runs when he is on nights.

He said he would have liked me to sit in the living room and work with the laptop for the afternoon as we hadn't had a lot of time together. But he knows I like having the screens as it makes my work easier.

6.45 - wake up and walk dog
7.30 wake kids, give them breakfast, do school run
9.00 log on while making coffee. Look through emails/calendar, prioritise work.
Work in 45 min increments, taking 15 min breaks to play instrument or play with dog. If I am in a meeting, I often turn my camera off so I can do my nails/washing up while taking part :-)
1.00 dog walk
1.45 look at emails while eating lunch, pick up anything urgent, bitch about colleagues with partner, scroll through news (keeping an eye on the news is actually part of my job)
2.30 get down to business, might take a break to practice instrument some more, around 4.00.
5.30 ish log off (I'm supposed to finish about 5 but seem to be working more since WFH).
After school club run.
6.30. Dinner, baths and bed
9.00 sit down and relax. Occasionally do more work if there is something urgenton, or I have been distracted during the day.

On the plus side, I get more done WFH as I multi task during meetings and don't have to chat to colleagues. I also work slightly longer hours. I can then take more frequent breaks, which has been doing wonders for chronic back/neck and headaches I suffered wile working in an office. I also have time to cook proper food for my family, without the commute, instead of just ordering constantly and I get an extra half hour in bed.

On the downside, my office wants us all to go back 3 days a week soon :-( As public transport is so shit since COVID it means I'll be doing shorter hours on office days and longer days WFH, which will probably wipe out any of the benefits. I'm now looking for another job. There has been a mass exodus from my company since the new hybrid working announcement.

I work more hours and find it really hard to take a break now I wfh

Work used to naturallyhave break points, people having a chat, stuff like that. Now the work volume is up and there are no interruptions. I start about 8:30 and finish too late...

8:30 logon and start work.
12:30 - 13:15 lunch sit in garden if its nice.
13:15 - 17:30/18:00 log off.

With the odd 5-10min coffee break during day.

Work in 45 min increments, taking 15 min breaks Interested in this, maybe I should try it. This would more closely replicate what the office was like.

Pretty much like you - but constantly answering the phone so would not be able to work int he way your partner suggested.

Pretty much what you do. No way I could get things done your DH’s way!

100% WFH since Covid started.
I wake up at 7:30 & start work at 8:15am, stop 1-2 for lunch and then finish at 6pm-ish.

Other half, starts 9 stops 1-2 for lunch & finishes at 7pm.
I have two 15 min breaks in the day, but I try to treat it like I'm in the office & don't touch the house until I've officially finished and logged off.

Both of us have a desk in separate rooms, there is no way I could work on the sofa with a laptop. I need silence for concentration and my huge monitor

It looks exactly the same as it does when I'm in the office. I do whatever I'm doing before work (walk the dog, chores, have a leisurely breakfast, watch TV- whatever). I then sit down in my office for 9am. I work until 12 when I either take a lunch break or grab food to take back to my desk. Then I work from 12.30ish until 5.30 at my desk until I close down for the day.

I start at 8.30 until I fancy lunch (no set time) and then work through until I finish. I sometimes go for a wander in the garden or to the post office or corner shop. I never finish
on time though so don’t feel guilty.

I’m in the living room and I usually have music playing or have the cricket on in the background during the summer. When we first started WFH DH didn’t feel he could be in living room in case he disturbed me but my view has always been it’s his home before it’s my office. He wanders through if I’m on calls now which means I’m more relaxed as I don’t feel as though he’s being pushed out

Normally start at 8am, remember I need a wee & food about 3pm, finish at 4pm 😄.

No, I do have a couple of breaks for food / feed cats etc but I don't like taking an hour for lunch - it breaks my stride and I don't want to go back up! Unless it's a nice day, then I'll go out for a walk.

You're all much more disciplined than me! In theory my hours are 9 - 5.30 with an hour lunchbreak, but I tend to wander out to the office and fire off a few emails about 8.30am then drift back indoors to dry my hair/eat some toast/make a coffee.

Start back again just after 9 and work through the day, stopping to grab a drink or a bit of lunch here and there, and work through to about 5pm with no real scheduled breaks.

I'm not necessarily productive all of that time (who the hell invented tik-tok as an utter time waster), however - my job/salary is mostly ensuring that people behave as they should and I take responsibility for all their fuck-ups on my watch, so it's not really about being productive 9-5 - it's about carrying the can.

Besides, I'm a director and have no line manager, so the only person monitoring me is me! I've given myself a half days annual leave to have my hair done, nobody would know the difference other than me and DH finds it hilarious.