To ask if you sneak off to the gym during work hours?

[inneedofaglowup]

I know there's a lot of "that's cheeky and taking the piss" bit how many of you actually do it when working from home and is it really that bad if you do do it??

No I don't and if I did would not count it as work hours.

I gym before work, appreciate that wfh means I can start without having a shower and getting changed some days (although then do that as a lunch break).

I do take long appointments as a lunch break which is very handy but does often cause a bit of stress if doctor running v late or something as my job is v busy.

I don’t sneak off, I just go to the gym or wherever else during the day whenever it’s convenient. Core hours are 9-5 on paper but ultimately I’m paid for completing the work which needs to be done when it needs doing. Sometimes that means I work a 16 hour day with barely a loo break, often it means I work a 2 hour day and do whatever I want for the rest of it. Apart from meetings and time critical contributions, management usually isn’t particularly fussed about how I organise my time. I think increasingly a lot of companies are discovering that this approach actually gets them greater productivity and more goodwill from employees who appreciate the flexibility.

I don't get the practicalities. How?

I sneak off to the snack cupboard / is that the same thing? 😂

On a serious note I WFH and I normally take an hour on my lunch and go for a walk if the weather is fine. I don’t see it as sneaking off but taking my rightful break.

I suppose going to the gym is no different? I have a really good workplace and regular exercise in the day is encouraged

It's an odd phenomenon that the majority of recent studies show employees that wfh are significantly less productive yet everybody on here claims they get much more done. 🤔

Why sneak off? Why not just take it as a lunch break? I used to go to the gym in my lunch break when I worked full time in an office in London. No sneaking required.

Actually, scratch that. I remember one of the studies saying that there was a clear disconnect between people's self assessment of their own productivity and the reality. In many cases their manager did not agree with them.

I get much more done because no one is distracting me with idle chit chat. I my last in-office job sometimes it would be hours a day spent being talked at. WFH I can get my head down and get work done, and it is expected too

I don’t go to the gym it I will go for a walk in my lunch break, pop washing on while the kettles boiling etc. My boss has no expectation that I’m chained to my desk 9-5, as long as I get the work done and it would very very obvious if that wasn’t happening.

It's an odd phenomenon that the majority of recent studies show employees that wfh are significantly less productive yet everybody on here claims they get much more done.

I dont get much more done, but I have a number of tasks that are better done in a quiet space, I have a lot of reading, research and writing to do. When I go into the office it’s for meeting and collaborative work. I’m as productive as I need to be for my job role and seniority, some days I’m on fire and some days I’m dragging a bit but that’s just about being human, not about location.

I was grateful that I had to transfer a customer the other day so I could finally get a mouthful of my brew
I kept picking it up to drink and the phone would go again
Absolutely no chance of leaving my desk during work

I've never snuck off to the gym. I got an hour for lunch and used to go then. I've got a Peloton now, so if I'm WFH I'll quite often hop on and do a lunchtime ride if I have the time. I've never "snuck". To me that would be like saying you snuck to boots in your lunch break .

Also a few years ago, pre-pandemic, I worked in a building that laid on lunchtime yoga and Pilates, so I was actually more likely to work out midday if I was at the office.

🤣🤣

It’s not sneaking off for my company because people tell everyone they’re going to gyn/run/volunteer/ski whatever. We’re accountable for getting our jobs done, not clocking hours. I honestly don’t think I could ever work in an environment again where they cared about my butt being in my chair 8 hours a day.

But yes. I usually “sneak off” for at least an hour a day, usually a lot more.

I go to the gym before WFH, no chance of sneaking an hour during the day and I wouldn’t want to try.

I’m more productive WFH because I can get my head down & concentrate. Office days are for meetings and catch ups.

That’s why they faked virus. Make sure we working people staying indoors.

I don’t need to sneak off to do anything because I can take my one hour lunch break at anytime in the day. 2 days I use the break for school pick up, the other day, I use it to go on a run.
I’m in the office 2 days a week and they’ve built a gym in my office building and we get constant emails asking us to come and do our induction. We can use it for free anytime we’re working in the office and just shower after. Some
colleagues now go to the office gym during their break when we’re in the office. We’re basically constantly being encouraged to do this.

Yes, as well as taking the dog out, tidying up and hanging laundry. I also travel internationally (and very often!) for work which means long hours and time away from my family, and take calls or answer messages out of hours when needed. It all netts out IMO. I’m pretty open about it. I’m in a senior position and earn a good salary, so it doesn’t seem to have caused many problems 😁

I wfh pretty much every day since my work gave up our office during the pandemic. My job varies a lot in terms of workload throughout the year, in that some months are much busier than others. Whilst we have generally accepted hours, nobody cares if I take 2 hours at lunch or finish early if I don't have calls then. I frequently start earlier than my contracted time then take time out in the middle of the day. As do my colleagues. The work gets done, and that's what matters. Working life is much more flexible than it used to be and I think that's a positive from the pandemic. I don't know why some people are so cross about that. I will never take a job that requires me in the office every day again and most jobs in my field would not demand that now.

I used to sneak off when I was in the office. My office was above the gym and I had a very sedentary desk job that gave me back problems. I would go downstairs maybe three times a day for five minutes to stretch. I got into trouble for doing this, even though the people I shared my office with went outside for fag breaks far more frequently. I hated that job.

Now I work from home, I don't sneak off during the day but I do go before work and sometimes come back slightly later than my official start time.

I do, twice a week when I WFH. The same way others go when they are in the office to our local gym.

Others go pick up their kids at 3pm. Or their physio appointment.

Its called "work life balance".

My work are perfectly happy for us to Dex our hours over the day to accommodate things like going to the gym so long as the hours/work gets done so no need to ‘sneak’.

Big misunderstanding about how some roles work tbh! I wfh, paid for 3 full days a week. Probably do about 2 hours a day working days and then spend the rest either at the gym, out for lunch, reading and working on my own projects (I write, I am learning to drive, I paint, have therapy).

Probably looks really unfair but it is what it is. It took me over a decade of absolute graft to get here. I’m paid for what I know, not what I do. I always answer the phone, 7 days a week, for questions or to give advice. Some jobs are like that. It’s not taking the piss.

I wfh and personally wouldn’t do a gym trip as realistically with all the faff etc it would take longer than my lunch break.

But I do respect flexibility as long as don’t take the piss. For example, I don’t mind if team choose when they have their lunch break but would expect them to take one hour around lunchtime eg not after 2pm and to be available for meetings between 9-4. I personally work 45 mins early morning and 45 mins in evening so not going to split hairs if I go out for a walk during the working day - am often in back to back calls and not healthy. I’m aware wfh means people work longer hours. People definitely work less in the office.

Surely the answer is fairly simple here - it depends on the job and the person.

Some people would find a way to skive whatever the situation, twas ever thus. Some couldn't possibly leave work whether that's from home or not because their role doesn't allow for it they are too busy or required to be constantly 'present'. Some people can take the opportunity to go to the gym/a shop/an appointment/walk the dog/wax their toes/whatever as the opportunity arises and bend their work around it and no one misses out. The majority are in the second two categories.