To think that everyone WFH thinks they are more productive but this view isn’t necessarily shared

[Cucumbertomatoes]

On here, everyone who WFH insists they are much more productive than in the office. However, I’ve noticed this view is rarely shared by others, hence companies wanting workers back. It’s an interesting one as clearly perceptions vary. AIBU to think that while you might think you’re more productive you may not be?

I feel really uncomfortable working a whole day in the office. I have more space to walk around, stretch, catch my breath at home. In the office you're glued to your desk ( except for occasional toilet breaks). I also really dislike open plan offices. Luckily I only have to go in once a week. I would very actively try and avoid a job where I had to be in the office more if I had a choice.

I haven't failed to factor that in, believe me, I work in a sector that has been chronically short staffed for years. I'm talking specifically about issues arising due to WFH.

For example, a team of people I have liaised with for years, who all used to work together in an office. Now those same people are all working from home and don't seem to communicate with each other which makes my job harder. I recently had a Teams meeting with them, all in their individual homes, and it was a shambles. It was clear they hadn't prepared, one of them had kids at home, one had a dog barking constantly and they were unable to help me with a specific query because they needed to talk to a senior manager (also working from home) who wasn't answering her phone or responding to emails. One of them actually said they hadn't had a chance to discuss the issues we were meeting to sort out as they're only in the office one day a week and all in different days.

Where I work, the HR team now work mostly from home. They have always been somewhat inefficient and slow to respond to emails, but before you could overcome that by simply walking down the corridor to talk to them face to face, and things would get resolved. Since they've been WFH you've got no chance. Their capacity has actually increased so this is 100% not a staffing issue.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who genuinely are productive and trustworthy when working from home, but a significant number of people who have probably always taken the piss now have a greater opportunity to do so and this is contributing to people getting a substandard service.

What you're not factoring in wrt short staffing is that it stems from the labour market, meaning organisations have fewer staff options, so workers who are thus inclined have more opportunity to take the piss. Whether they're in an office or not.

Basically, you're making assumptions. Let's say you're right that remote working has increased the capacity for piss taking in your organisation/the small number you work with. You're turning that into a universal principle.

The claim that it's easier for people to take the piss where they're not seen is very oversimplified. It assumes that people in office environments are in a setting where there's someone managing them who's bothered about it and also some mechanisms to improve their performance. The fact is, none of this can be assumed. Before 2020 did you really never work with or hear about people who did fuck all but got away with it because they were mates with the boss, too hard to get rid of or too much of a pain in the arse, for example? Never seen people who use the office as their social life and impede others in their work?

It's not that there's no piss taking by remote workers, there certainly is. And the labour shortage exacerbates people's ability to do that. But some of you are really bad at noticing and acknowledging that office workers use their work environment to swing the lead as well. To the extent that we could just as easily have a thread about how office workers think they're more productive but this view isn't necessarily shared...

For example, a team of people I have liaised with for years, who all used to work together in an office. Now those same people are all working from home and don't seem to communicate with each other which makes my job harder. I recently had a Teams meeting with them, all in their individual homes, and it was a shambles. It was clear they hadn't prepared, one of them had kids at home, one had a dog barking constantly and they were unable to help me with a specific query because they needed to talk to a senior manager (also working from home) who wasn't answering her phone or responding to emails. One of them actually said they hadn't had a chance to discuss the issues we were meeting to sort out as they're only in the office one day a week and all in different days.

@neverbeenskiing that sounds dreadful and would never be tolerated where I work. We are expected to prepare for meetings, whether we’re at home or in the office

May be this was the reason he’s been required back at work. No way would we allowed that in our organisation. We work from home to work. Not for child care, school events, dealing with house hold admin and looking after our partner.

LadyGrinningSoul85

Sorry to hear you’re struggling but stay at home parents through the ages have had to manage at home alone. Previously without all the modern day help we now enjoy.

Your struggles are not the responsibility of any company and as a consumer and user of services I really wouldn’t want to be dealing with professionals whose mind and time clearly won’t be focused on the job working in that environment .

My DH is contracted to work 7 hours a day. He loves his job and is a bit of a workaholic. When WFH he regularly works 8 1/2 hours a day. On days he goes into the office, which moved a year ago further away from where we live, he takes 1 20 mins on 2 trains. It used to be 1 train of 50 mins. Another 1 hour 30 mins to return home so he only works about 5 1/2 - 6 hours on days he is in the office then on days he WFH he has to catch back up. It also cost £16.60 return per day on the train whereas his old journey used to cost £9 return. He goes to the office 1 or 2 times a week. He has told his employer he is happy to go in to the office everyday if they want him to, but they need to recognise he will get a lot less work done.

If you are at home putting on laundry, working out and cooking the dinner you are not really working from home. You are stealing from your employers.

Oh shut up, don't be ridiculous. I'm putting on a wash for five mins in the same way I'm talking to a colleague for 5 mins, or making coffee, or all the other things you do in the office that aren't tapping away alone at your desk.

And my employers are well aware I'm putting the washing on, and am not stealing from them.

I can only assume that people who think this way have very low level basic jobs that can only be monitored in actual minutes actively typing or something. In grown up jobs our performance is easily monitored by outcomes!

I also put the laundry on occasionally, but you sound patronising as fuck here.

It's not just popping on the laundry though is it? You said you worked out and cooked the evening meal too. If you were in the office would you work out at work? Or is that just kept for when you should be working at home? In between popping on the laundry and cooking an evening meal. In your opening post you said you have to catch up when in the office implying not much gets done by you at home if you always do other things and fall behind.

I've been in the office this week and it was crap. Struggled to hear my customers, someone had the heating on saying it was cold so I was sweating. Way too much noise, kept getting interrupted by questions
Back WFH now! The people that aren't productive at my work aren't productive anywhere because they're shit

It's not just popping on the laundry though is it? You said you worked out and cooked the evening meal too. If you were in the office would you work out at work? Or is that just kept for when you should be working at home? In between popping on the laundry and cooking an evening meal. In your opening post you said you have to catch up when in the office implying not much gets done by you at home if you always do other things and fall behind.

But surely what she means is that she can start the evening meal earlier than if she had to commute to and from the office? Not that she’s using work time to do this.

Also, surely it’s about the number of actual working hours per week? My DH does hybrid working. He breaks off work to do jobs occasionally, when necessary, and when our DDs come home from school. He just finishes work a bit later in the evening so that he works his allocated hours.

Admittedly he doesn’t cook the evening meal usually, I do this as I don’t have paid work. (A long story as to why, including illness and SEN, which I’ve spoken about on other threads.)

He.actually regularly works more actual hours when he’s at home during the day, because he doesn’t have the commute, which loses him one and a half hours each time.

I worked from office for one day last week, as had to replace my laptop.
Spent an hour in the car getting there and 45 mins back, great for the environment.

With the 7 hours there I I Spent probably about 10% answering the phone for other people, 15% being disturbed.
And when I wanted a coffee break I had to queue for 5 to 10 mins each time, and it cost me £3.50 per coffee.
Also got distracted by people asking me random questions.

I certainly won't be going in for a while again, as was then behind with my work.

If you are envious because you can't work from home, change your job. Pretty simple really.

This. I am definitely way more productive at home. I had to go in twice last week, and the week before that and am regularly in at least once a week but find it MUCH harder to meet deadlines if I'm in the office because I'm constantly interrupted! My output is way higher wfh.

My workload varies in quantity throughout the month, so I don’t necessarily have to work at 100% every day to get things done. I also get one WFH day a week, so I sometimes plan my week in such a way to get the important things done in the office so I can slack off a little when I’m home.

We did get a new member of staff a few months ago though, who constantly asks questions, so it’s become really difficult to concentrate in the office. I definitely feel more productive at home now.

I think it depends. Some days I can get so much more done at home I can start earlier and end later but some days I'm distracted by all the things in my house that also need my attention (I might remember I need to put a load of laundry on, or take the dog out, for instance). Some days I'm just extra lazy. And some days my husband is also home and drives me to insanity with his constant interruptions. I go to the office when I know I need interruption-free time.

But I work for myself, so my office is people-free. If I had colleagues constantly coming up and asking me things then I wouldn't be any better off than working from home.

I thought there was an edit button now? Please ignore the spurious strikethrough.

People might have been more productive in the office when they were in small offices when they had space and privacy to think rather than cramped open plan rooms common now

From reading here people need better offices! Why are all your offices so noisy and cramped? Who is paying £3.50 for a cup of coffee at work and moreover waiting 10 minutes for it?

Who the hell are you all working for?

My client has (again) appealed for me not to wfh at all next week "because there's so much to do!" ....as if wfh means not doing anything.🙄

What he actually means is he can't see me doing anything and doesn't receive work the day I'm wfh so wrongly assumes I'm doing bugger all. (He gets the work a day later) Depending on the nature of the order I can be much more productive at home because I'm not answering the door, or being interupted by someone asking me to "fit something in" that day, or querying if something is possible. I'm not running errands which might account for 30-40 min per day and I don't have a 50 min commute each way.

Yes, but as you say yourself "he gets the work a day later", so that could well be causing him a problem. If you were in the office, presumably he'd get your work a day earlier, i.e. the same day.

As for queries, who else is bearing the load of answering "is x possible" if you're not there - presumably, someone else is bearing the brunt of those questions, causing them to be less productive.

You really can't look at individual's own isolated productivity - you have to look at the wider picture. You not being in the office may make life easier for you, and may make your own work more productive, but there will almost certainly be knock on effects making life harder/work slower etc for your colleagues, boss, etc.

You really can't look at individual's own isolated productivity - you have to look at the wider picture. You not being in the office may make life easier for you, and may make your own work more productive, but there will almost certainly be knock on effects making life harder/work slower etc for your colleagues, boss, etc

I work in a very small company, in collaboration with other small companies and everyone has different working schedules and we all work round them. Some people are semi retired and only work 1 day a week, some have long breaks during the day, others have a hybrid working pattern. If a job is required for a set date it is completed within that timeframe.

Did you not read the part where I make up anything missed when I’m in the the office?

And you don’t need to worry about my employer, he would be the first to tell you that I more than earn my keep!!