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 actually work because I'm dealing with vulnerable people at risk of harm. I think my boss would also realise if I wasn't sending E-mail's for long periods of time, especially if management are making random access checks.

I put something on in the background, but usually end up putting it on repeat because I cannot concentrate on both.

On that note -

Which newspaper do you work for? 🤔

You mean your newspaper is curious so you can write some damning report about this person's company.

I work from home 4 days a week and one in the office. I genuinely work when I’m at home. I use my breaks for housework, cooking etc. I have the tv on in the background but I definitely work and I’m very productive at home. My boss will also randomly video call at any given time. I appreciate working from home so much that I’d never abuse it.

It really depends on the sector people work. Some workers require to produce outputs, eg write an article with a given deadline, others need to react to customers, eg at a call centre. If you submit your article on time or you put on washing when there are no phone calls, what’s the problem?

if you don’t submit your article on time or not respond to a phone call, then there are HR processes in place.

Exactly. I had them sussed even before that post which clinched it. I’m amazed such an obvious journalist scrape has attracted so many posts. Watch out for the article in the DM in the next week I reckon.

What most people working from home don't seem to realise, from the comments, is that if you're logged into the company system remotely from home, the tech guys can see what you're doing on you're laptop, so you could easily be checked up on even remotely.

Measure by output and not by input.
It's the final product that matters ..not how you go about it. Each to their own. As long as u delivered Ur agreed outcomes, great. Watch the film, go to the shops, have a long lunch. Just deliver what u need to💞

I’m just super efficient especially WFH with no distractions.

This, no wonder telephones are not answered and you are on hold for ever.

I always have something on TV in the background else it’s too quiet, I work and then have lots of little breaks loading laundry, doing some embroidery, letting dogs out and normally take an hour for lunch where I either walk my dog or do a workout

Yup this!

Most of the answers on this thread underline why home working will end. There's a difference between flexible working policy and just skiving. It brings into question performance management across a large number of organisations. If you are doing your job in two hours, then you need to be set more work and managed more effectively.

@ArthurChristmas22 I agree but then people main about micromanaging - so where does it end? It's always employers fault.

Someone breaching their contract, who I given enough work but is choosing to skive should get formal proceedings or WFH withdrawn immediately.

Peppe always blame management, employees want to take no accountability - it's a joke.

I feel like this is a trick question….I work from
home all the time, and so I work - I do my job. I’m pretty senior so I have a lot of responsibility and it’s quite busy. I mean, I do have time sometimes to pop the odd load of washing on in between meetings or hang it out / stick it in the tumble drier, but I’m not watching films tucked up in bed, or going to shops unless I’ve booked flexi time off.

I’m not sure this is correct, because a lot of these roles are about niche experience rather than having your bum in a chair for set hours and being “set more work.” I think there are simply quite a lot of jobs where the true mark of their success to the business is not “how much work did I do today” or “how many calls did I make today” and the like, but loss prevention and added value.

I’ve reached a level in my career where what they pay me for is my specialism: the knowledge of a slightly archaic piece of Bermudian regulation around share purchase agreements which saves the company from losing $500,000 and a whole load of reputation on some idle Tuesday; being one of the only people in the company who knows the full procedure around listing eurobonds; holding the corporate knowledge about why we still have bearer notes under Libor and what we need to do with them. And for being somebody who will jump into a meeting at 5am or a quarter past midnight to talk this through with the lawyers in some of our other jurisdictions in distant time zones - something which I’ve noted is conspicuously missing from most of the indignant posts saying “I work non stop between 9-5” and “I work my entire contracted hours.”

They pay me very well, but ultimately what they pay me is a drop in the ocean compared to what they’d alternately pay out in losses and damages if my role didn’t exist. That’s the actual value of roles like this and why people are able to work flexibly and often take time away from their desks when not much is happening.

You're right.

However, there are always people breathlessly predicting the end of remote working on threads like these, because they simply don't understand that some jobs are quite unlike theirs. That there are roles where an organisation knows it will need niche expertise often enough that it needs to be in house, but that doesn't necessarily come up at regular intervals 9 to 5. And that the business is actually better off having the person with that expertise immediately available when needed, rather than wrapped up in some colleague's work. It's really a very limiting and narrow minded attitude.

Threads like this I find abit frustrating tbh and the reason why my company is probably trying to get us back in the office more.
I work when wfh except for my usual breaks. As others have said I concentrate a lot better and work for longer as I don’t have a commute train to rush off to. My job means it would be very quickly picked up aswell if I was slacking.
WFH massively helps with childcare for me. I drop my kids off at 8.45 and can easily be sat at for my desk for 8.55 finish at 3 to pick them up at 3.15. I hate that these privileges are being taken away by other colleague abusing it.

Posts like this make me want to cry. Not because I begrudge people who do this, but because I work myself to death day and night and probably earn less than half most of the ‘average’ salaries I see people moaning about on MN. Life isn’t fair. But at least I’m earning an honest wage.

I do my job and then I live my life. Probably the same as most people who don’t work from home. I’m so much more productive though as no distractions.

Orrr, they are so efficient in the office they can afford to take it easy when working from home. Anyone who has previously worked in a stressful/nonstop/non stop deadlines and demands job like NHS or teaching will be able to tell you that they get a normal person's full time hours done in 3 days, tops.

Actually work end of.....
Seriously bad attitude from OP, the very reason why employers don't trust their workers.
Secondly what has flexible working gotta do with WFH.
Am lucky I have both and think I'm doing well, high output, complete autonomy, trusted with big responsibilities and rewarded for it.

We have set core hours 10-12 and 2-4 when we have to be available unless in a meeting.

This is why companies want staff back in the office lol. Great gig if you can get it though. I’m jealous!!

This thread, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason why employers are reducing and in some cases eliminating wfh. Because a large number of pisstakers has made this gig unsustainable.

Back to the office for everyone. If not now, it will happen.