Be honest… what do you really do if working from home?

[Wffhh]

Just that really.

I often have a bath at lunchtime. Go to shops. Clean. Last Friday watched a Christmas film in the background in bed while doing some online training. Made a pie.

Sometimes I have to work very late. Sometimes on a weekend. So I think it balances out. Anyone else be honest? Do you ever have almost a day off doing life admin?

I work in publishing in senior management. I was promoted recently, I've been doing this for years and it is a notoriously competitive industry, so no promotion would have happened if it was poor work. I deal with authors, editors, publicity, blah blah blah all day long. This is how we work, and this is how I tell my team to work, too, because there's no way in hell I want a bunch of miserable overworked sods chained to a desk and hating their jobs.

My manager is quite happy. As are my clients. I can assure you that your concerns are rather misplaced. We're not measured by hours at a desk.

I work.
I sometimes take the dog for a walk but this is effectively lunch time - i don't have a problem taking time off to do appointments but thats because i work a lot of hours - outside of the working day (and i have no problem with my team who also work hard doing the same) -
We're going back in the office a lot more- because of the people who take the piss like the OP- ie those people who take time off in the day but don't do work outside of their hours ( flexibility works both ways) or those people who don't have proper childcare.

And before you bleat that its output related - what would your output be like if you worked properly? whats to stop your employer deciding he can save costs by reducing the staff from 2 people having baths to one person working properly?

These threads always go the same way. MNers being honest about their workflow and other completely losing it about how unfair it all is.

It is really important to note that not all jobs and organisations are the same!!

Some jobs have lots of work constantly, others have ebbs and flows depending on their role/ industry. I have completely reworked my role to as efficient as I can be which saves me hours a day. Previous businesses I've been in would not be open to change and would be happy for me to do things the long way round for no reason other than we don't like change.

Why are people annoyed with the OP? Whatever she does or doesn’t do when WFH has absolutely no bearing on anyone else’s life on this thread. So suggesting she is ‘ruining it for everyone else’ is bizarre. No-one else’s manager cares what a random person on MN is doing.

There seems to a lot of bitterness and jealousy directed towards people who maintain a work/life balance when WFH and refuse to spend every single second 9-5 dealing with work. Everyone has the right to a break and if you have a light workload that allows you to pop out to the hairdresser or spend a couple of hours watching Netflix…great!

I made a shepherd's pie while listening to the Key Note speech of a virtual conference. I didn't need to contribute, just listen. Making a shepherd's pie doesn't need much brain power (like following a new recipe would) so it worked really well.

Clean, cook , walk the dog, PlayStation, tv, but I only get paid for the work I do, which is why I’m not rich✌️

That sounds like poor management within a poor business. You are being paid to do a job you can do in considerably less time.

I suffer with anxiety and I'm an incredibly guilt-ridden person, so when I WFH I work 9-5 as normal. In fact I produce more output as I genuinely often forget to break for lunch and I have nobody chatting to me, so very minimal interruptions. I do however sometimes boil some pasta for lunch (when I do have lunch!) or hang the washing out if it's sunny.

I'm not a great advocate for mental health though so I hope others take a more relaxed approach to WFH.

I take a similar number of coffee breaks as when I'm in office (2-3) with the only difference being that I might shove a load of washing in while I'm waiting for the kettle to boil. I'll also take in a delivery during work hours and if it's a grocery shop, put fridge and freezer stuff away (10 mins max). That's the extent of my home life bleeding into WFH.

I don't like finishing late so I need to be pretty efficient during the day to get everything that needs doing done.

I work in publishing, the work is never done. Even if we were completely on top of all the manuscripts coming through (never happened and would be worrying), we'd many, many other things to do. I set good work/life boundaries and am fortunate to have a garden office so I can 'go to work'.

Super curious to hear how you reworked your role to be more efficient! Is it specific to your role or general organisation/ structure of when and where you work?

I don't think anyone is suggesting people should not have breaks.
If people's managers are fine with their staff not working then that's fine, but I suspect many people are not being entirely honest.

People should do what their contract states.

I work. As a sole parent, I’m lucky to have a job I can do from home and I don’t take it for granted.

I'm WFH tomorrow after jumping through hoops to get a flexible working routine to help support several long term health conditions. (The boss meanwhile slopes off whenever she feels like it and her boss and HR couldn't care less. It would be easier to locate Lord Lucan some days.)

Anyway, I'll log on at 8.30 on the dot, answer emails for half an hour, work on a business case document and then a proof of concept that both require some fairly complex number crunching, update our web page and prepare a couple of short Comms pieces, select some stock, talk to IT about our latest project, put together a draft programme for someone coming to us for a work placement in the new year, talk to my team, run a few usage reports, email about various other projects from sustainability to improving the facilities in our service, and make a start on a small grant application.

So pretty much what I'd be doing in site without the petty politics, tense watchful atmosphere and tearoom chitter chatter. I might even have lunch and a couple of comfort breaks without having to put signs on the desk so the aforesaid boss knows exactly where I am at any given time, her latest diktat.

After work at 4.30pm I'll get to work on the assignment due in first thing Monday morning for a uni course directly related to my work area and paid for at a national level.

It would be lovely to think I might dare to take a ten minute walk at lunchtime but I'd be scared I might be reported by the Desk Presenteeism Council and made to account for every second.

For the record over 80% of my job can be done from home and once my uni course is done I'll be looking for a role with more flexibility around remote working.

One of the few positives to come out of COVID was more flexibility for those of us with health issues. And here we are again. If the government is serious about helping those with disabilities back to work employers are going to have to keep at least some remote working.

I am far more productive at home and I don't have a one hour commute each way on stupidly unreliable transport so I am not exhausted before I even start and can use that time productively.

TLDR: Exactly what I do on site with less stress and no stupid commute.

I wake up at 6, way before dc to get a headstart, then break around 8 to sort the breakfast and school run. Then I spend the rest of the day on back-to-back calls until quite late. (School pickup is done by afterschool nanny).

I work hard all day. I’m taking the piss when I say it either. I don’t stop bar less than 5 mins to get lunch. It’s so full on but it goes quick! I can’t imagine having a bath etc.

I work way too hard. I grab something for lunch, raid the snack cupboard. It's rare I put the washing on. I actually need to get more balance.

how on earth do you have time to bath or bake a pie? I hardly have time to eat my lunch most days 🫠🫠🫠

In my field it is almost impossible to do anything but work as they fill your day up with lots of meetings, often double or triple booked! Lucky if I get a chance to have lunch or use the loo so location doesn’t really matter. I am definitely more productive at home as less tired and end up using commuting time to also work. You are really lucky you can do all those things and not work and still get paid!

I get a full lunch hour, sometimes more, my boss encourages us all to get away from the computer/desk during that time and not work through it.

Never. I work.

Working from home in the way OP described is such a better work-life balance and such a more economical way to work. No waste of time commute!

I really need a job where I can plod through things at my own pace at home. I'm happy to retrain. I have good degrees.

She described taking almost a full day off. That's not a good work-life balance, it's taking advantage of misplaced trust.

It is outdated and unnecessary if you manage your team well. I have a team of 24 and all get their work done on time & well. Our Great Place to Work scores also put us in the top 5% businesses in the U.K.

Those who wfh are proven to be able to work more and they stay with businesses for longer. It’s far more efficient.

Move with the times ✌🏻