WFH - do you ever just relax?

[ringoffiire]

I love working from home, and when I do, I will quite often do half a day's work and then put my feet up.

I do everything I need to do, and I do it to a good standard. My manager praises me and has no concerns at all about my work. I'm not behind at all.

But if I've done all my work, I simply leave Teams active so that I hear if anyone wants to contact me, and then I get on with whatever I want to do.

If I was in the office, I would still be sat there doing nothing, but just feeling frustrated that I had to look like I was busy until 5.

Right now I'm sipping a delicious beverage at 4pm and browsing mumsnet, because I've finished all my work.

Anyone else? And do you think it's OK?

Then your attitude is even worse!

This. It would make 0 difference. You can't magic up work. So you spend time attempting to look busy which is soul destroying.

My company has an approach that WFH is a benefit for employees. But with that they expect you to nip off and hang out your washing, or do the dishwasher, or nip out when you need. So I don't need to feel guilty when I'm away from desk.

I'm often answering questions from my phone both before and after my working hours. So I can be working in essence even if I'm not in front of the laptop.

@ProncessDiana Well I'm not able to say much more about my job for fear of outing myself, but what I know for sure is that no-one in my team is working like the OP - the kind of work we do (which is client-facing and extremely profit-focused), there is always more to do, and everyone is significantly incentivised in terms of personal bonus targets. So no-one would be just sitting there for four hours a day. They'd get found out quickly and it would be evident in their output versus the output of the rest of the team.

I absolutely agree with you thought that it's the responsibility of OP's manager/company to manage her workload properly and ensure she has enough to do - it sounds like a poorly managed organisation to me. But the manager can only do this if OP tells her manager how much spare time she has. Which it sounds like she hasn't done/doesn't want to do.

@mrsdineen2 To answer your question, my team all have massive flexibility about when and how they work - doing a mixture of WFH and office-based work, and a variety of hours around childcare etc. But what I do expect is that everyone works hard and for the hours they're paid to work, however they arrange them, and wherever they're based. No-one is expected to work above and beyond their contracted hours (although some senior people do, myself included, by choice, but I feel that's what I'm paid a high salary/get a bonus for, so fair enough).

It simply wouldn't be possible for any member of staff, at any level, to do a decent job in 50% hours and they'd get quickly found out. We are client facing and it would be pretty clear that we were serving clients poorly.

Mainly though I am just intrigued as to whether all the posters on this thread who think working 50% hours is fine, would still be fine with it if the person was working in a role that impacted you or you were actually paying - i.e. your doctor or nurse, your kid's teacher, your builder, your nanny, your cleaner the solicitor you're paying to deal with your house sale, your will, whatever. What about someone working for a charity?

I'm guessing it's a hard no to all of these people slacking at work, and so I think a lot of assumptions are being made that OP works for some faceless corporate entity/evil capitalist organisation where piss taking is to be celebrated.

Bloody hell! I’ve spent months since Covid persuading my control freak boss that people are working just as hard from home as under his watchful eye in the office; using stats and evidence to prove this. We are maxed out. We see and deal with the slackers. If you haven’t got enough work to keep you fully occupied, then you need to speak up, loud and clear, but the gleeful stealing of time is shocking. No wonder the country is on its knees. 😡

Yes exactly @ilovegranny - this thread is really a gift to any manager or organisation who wants to say no to WFH requests.

😂

Think you've been spending a bit too much time with your boss.

Why should someone be paid a lower salary for doing the same amount of work more work quickly than someone else?

Lol. Well that's not a very honest thing to do at all, given that most contracts stipulate that you can't do other paid work during the same hours (and mine actually says I have to declare if I do any other paid work at all).

I don’t understand this at all and would blame your manager and you for allowing this to happen
In my field if any of us have an unexpected gap due to a piece of work not taking as long as expected or a meeting being cancelled to ask if anyone wanted any help with anything - we do this via group email, what’s app if out and about or for those in the office just a check in with line manager or colleagues
In addition to this on our shared drive there is an activities list - some with team members names against and others that you can opt in to do if you fancy a change - could be things like doing research for a future project, compiling stats, designing publicity or just reviewing other peoples work, updating things etc
I have never yet got to the end of my own ‘to do’ list, in fact some days I don’t even cross off one thing as the day to day stuff fills the whole day

Sometimes I watch TV at my desk at home and it does distract me a bit. But I couldn’t put my feet up for the afternoon. It just sounds immoral! I also don’t believe you can’t find anything extra to be getting on with or that you couldn’t volunteer for additional project work. Honestly, I think you are taking the piss.

If you’re a manager, wouldn’t you know what others are doing? I know what my team are doing and if they’re appearing unoccupied, I address it. A manager should know if the worker is not receiving enough work, surely?!

I used to be super conscientious, always ready to work at start time, finishing late, working through breaks and if I finished early I’d be asking others if they needed help.

After having been passed over twice for promotion in favour of three useless candidates (one lasted 6 weeks). I’m now having to hand hold the latest line manager who hasn’t really got a clue.

Now I’m just doing the minimum expected and counting down until I can leave. If I finish my work early I just keep my phone with me, take any calls or respond to emails if necessary and don’t put myself out for anyone I don’t want to. A few nice colleagues - yes and of course customers, but the rest - nah!

Oh, the AMA OP has that clause too, but does not give a toss, apparently. You should read it, it’s astonishing.

This is the sort of thread that will compound the belief those who wfh can doss about and have it so much easier. No commute, being able to do housework, scroll through your phone, go to the loo and have a drink whenever you want, watch TV, pop out, etc, are all perks, so your question doesn't help to change that view of being lucky rubs it in. Many of us in our chosen careers (which we may well wish we hadn't) don't have this luxury, it's full on, timed breaks, interacting with the public, the stress and cost of travel, on our feet all day, face to face pressure, then going home to cook, clean, wash and iron clothes plus the rest with DC. Must be nice to not have enough work to do yet still get paid for it, that's the nature of the role, you clearly get all you have to done and to the best standard so fair play. 👍 Yes I am envious lol and looking to change career! Xxx

But they don't want to go back to the office, which is a lot less stressful than many jobs as wfh has so many perks. 😅

No, too much time picking up the work of people having a rest in the afternoon, looking after their children, walking their dog…🙄

I'm sure most who wfh do work hard so this type of post doesn't help to show that. Xx

I am autistic so I work really fast. My work isn't the kind of work that ever ends, but I'm able to work flexibly. For instance, I can meet with a parent and then I do need a break, so I take an hour to decompress. Not because I'm lazy, but because I'm autistic and social interaction/ masking for a 3 hour block like that can be hard. I'll then get on with whatever else I need to do.

I have the same caseload as everyone else. I do high quality work and do the same work as everyone else. So generally speaking I work in the way I need to work and don't really count my hours. If I work 30 that week and 45 the next, that's okay. The issue comes if the work isn't getting done, or if I could fit more work in but don't. I also have reasonable adjustments at work so this way of working is necessary for me.

And have no time to go to the loo or eat lunch in peace! Xx

Ffs
Alright for some

Yep I'm super efficient and factor time in for me to browse.

Had I been WFH now with my previous job, I would have probably impacted my home life. I would have been checking in on emails etc when I should have been relaxing. Now I can cut off, however my DH is in the opposite position.