to think it doesn't really matter what you do when WFH as long as you get the job done?

[workyworky1]

When I WFH, I get most of my household tasks done in the day, I will do top up shops, pop to the library to return books etc.

Occasionally I have been to IKEA.

The work gets done. I just do it between life admin and tasks.

I have won an exceptional performance award in the past and my manager told me last week that he wants to nominate me for another.

It depends on the nature of the job of course but it works for me.

No my job can't be outsourced to India because it involves some face to face work along with expertise.

It depends how much you are paid as it’s obviously a very easy job.

Ever? How long do you have to wait for more?

(I've never worked anywhere where you're just 'done')

What role is it? I need a job like that.

i have really busy times and quiet times and work remotely. In the quiet times I doss about and get housework done, in the busy times I log on early, work late and take client calls from the US at 9pm if needed. None of which I would do if working in the office as would need to be home for DC or commuting. It all works out and both my employer and I are happy. I could probably get away with going to a gym class or something but I don’t quite have the nerve unless just taking a longer lunch break.

Men haven't given this any sort of thought since about1945?

YANBU but MN is full of tedious jobsworths who have a fit at the idea that someone may WFH and yet not be chained to their desk for 8 hours a day.

I WFH 3-4 days per week and often spend time during the day taking care of a variety of household jobs. I start at 7am (1.5 hours before actual start time), have very clear and measurable performance targets (which I generally meet or exceed) and if I leave the house always have my work phone with me. More often than not when I’m doing the dishes or the laundry or whatever I’m still thinking about work and will often get back to my desk having solved a problem or composed a tricky email in my head. The “WFH is a skiver’s charter” brigade can do one.

It's so dependent on the role.

DD2 couldn't do that as her role is answering customer calls between set hours.

DS1 is looking after set clients. Which can mean doing very little Monday and Tuesday and then working 8am-10pm Thursday and Friday, plus answering some emails over the weekend.

As long as the job is done and the flexibility is both ways then it's fair enough imo.

In DS's last job they expected the flexibility from him to be around until 10pm if needed but wanted them helping others on quiet days. Flexibility has to cut both ways.

Did your employer agree when you told them this?

Does it not depend on your job/ contract? I have flexitime. I have to take a minimum 30 minutes in my role, but I can take 2 hours if I make it up elsewhere over the course of the quarter. I don't generally as my team is currently understaffed. But I could. I know folks who work longer on so e days, to enable them to have a longer break for a gym/ swim session one day.

As with many, there will be some fixed points in the week where you have a meeting or deadline, but outside those points workloads vary. The amount of times I've had a busy few weeks working an extra couple of hours a day... I don't think taking that time back on a quieter day is a bad idea!

I get in the zone with some work bits at home... And then realise I've not moved from my desk for 6 hours... I do wonder if a task like laundry would actually help enforce screen breaks. Load on. Check load after X time. Put on extra spin and drain. Later, hang up / put in tumble dryer laundry. The tasks are short 5 mins. A d at predictable intervals.

Problem is, I hate folding... So I think I would create a backlog at that point.

I just want to know what you do and how much you get paid? Also if you have any ambitions to progress your career?

I’ve actively been told this by my manager! And I more than cover my hours and role with out of hours events so all good, thanks!

All the people worrying about people taking the mick WFH… typical day for me.

6-11 (4 hrs - with some breaks for washing and tea making thrown in)

1-3 - work (2 hrs)

4-6 work (2 hrs)

another hour after dinner

Time for dinner making, ikea trips, dog walking… time spent working 9 hours out of 14 hrs.

Hours paid by employer 7.5
How is that taking the mick? I don’t get it?

I guess my question would be, do you not have enough work to fill all your hours/would the business you work for be doing better if you did your full hours rather than just getting the minimum tasks required of you done?

This is something DH and I were talking about last night, we both have people in the teams we manage who are competent and their work is acceptable, but are frustrated that they dont stretch themselves and go the extra mile like we do, but then debated if we are mugs for doing this when it doesn't get us any more salary than those who cruise along. My perspective was I get more satisfaction from doing my best as I see better outcomes for my patients, but DH in a more business role doesn't have the same vocational 'drive', and you may be the same, happy to just get the job done

I agree with you op. Wfh has given us a bit more of a work/life balance.
I love that I can catch up with some quick chores like laundry and be able to make some healthy meals for lunch and dinner.
Anyone not doing their job should be having a discussion and a warning but if the job is getting done well then there should be no issue.
People are happier and I don't know why companies want to disrupt this.

Some real bootlickers on this thread.

The 8 hour work day was invented in the early 19th century, when there was no internet and no Slack and no email and none of the myriad of other ways we now have to work async and more efficiently.

If someone can get the tasks they are required to do done, what benefit is there from them sitting around twiddling their thumbs for another eg four hours?

Crack on OP, and enjoy the meatballs!

It just depends on the job. My job can be very reactive at times depending on what stage I’m in on a project. So I’ll have multiple meetings, emails and chats that need to be answered almost straight away. I can’t really flex my time during those times.

However the last 2 weeks I’ve been working on budgets - so working completely alone with my calendar blocked out and I just did them when I felt most like it, mostly in the evenings actually and did a few nice things for myself during the day. I had to work solid over the last weekend to get in on time but I did it.

This is called quiet quitting. You do enough to get the job done to a satisfactory/good level and then you can focus on other things. I do this at my workplace. I do my work to a good level. Boss is pleased with me. I run a business on the side which makes more money than a promotion would. Getting promoted is nigh on impossible.

Good on you OP.

I always used to be super productive and get work done really quickly, when I was temping the other temps would tell me to slow down 🙄 and I've left a few jobs where I've been replaced by 2 people.

I'm now in a role where I spend lots of time in meetings to make progress, this really slows things down! Some days I am glued to my desk and don't even get the dishwasher emptied... Other days I can get on with jobs around the house.

However, I have an unhealthy work ethic and feel compelled to be at my desk even when there's no work. It's so infuriating,I wish I had your approach OP!

Has the OP been nominated for some kind of award? She doesn't make it clear...

Anyway, going to IKEA or the Library whilst being paid by work IS taking the piss, unless it's agreed by management.

I get the concept of being paid for skills and experience rather than contact and engagement hours...I'm much the same..but let's not kid ourselves on that we couldn't find other work to do.

Otherwise your saying you can be paid for a 37 hour week and just work 20, just because you know what your doing.

You're just one person doing your own specific job with your own specific circumstances. Your argument doesn't apply universally across all jobs and all people.

if you were to look at the nature of the work I do, my home to work location, my team and all the circumstances I have in my work life, you'd see that you can't apply your rules to my job.

For a start, I can't be doing life admin during the day, my job needs my attention and focus.

I'm taking calls with numerous teams I need to collaborate with, the timing of those calls won't stop while I decide to do a bit of Tesco shopping.

Then there's the report writing, materials needed for a leadership meeting, or performance reviews etc.

being so blasé about wfh is the very reason it is receiving such bad press.

I couldn't do most of those things WFH. I'm in Teams meetings a lot, will get quite a few calls an emails to respond to and need to do a lot of work in between. I can put washing on and un-stack the dishwasher, empty some bins or briefly tidy. But only rarely get a chance to nip to the shop for milk. Definitely couldn't go to IKEA!

Huge range of opinions on this! I’ve been doing a fully agile, fully remote job for a year now, pretty much the same as OP, some times are completely flat out busy, some days nothing happens and I am not needed. It’s not the sort of role where I can make work for myself, so on those slow days (which are semi predictable), the dog gets a longer walk, I do a house task I’ve been meaning to do for a while or sometimes I just bring the laptop to the lounge and read / watch something on TV.

But on the other hand, I am often required to work evenings, but don’t note it down as late hours on our timesheets as I feel I get those slack times in compensation.

I’m an ex teacher and it’s really strange to be alone all day until DS comes home, with a to do list that can be finished daily (sometimes in just 2 or 3 hours of a morning) - so I’ve actually just interviewed for a role that does have an office days requirement, though similar work, as I miss having a team around me to learn from and get to know - all my team now are just faces on a screen once a week and we have no knowledge of each other beyond that.

I’ve really appreciated the breathing space after many years of leaving the house at 7, getting home at 6 when teaching and working at home after DS was in bed - it’s been like a reset button for me but I realise I do need human contact and the motivation of being around others. I’m a lone parent and DS is an older teen now so often out at the gym / sports training and his dad has never been around so it’s just me and the dog a lot of the time and I miss being with people! I also miss being consistently busy.

Say you're glued to your desk during your work hours, You can still get things done at home to improve your work/life balance because you have no commute and you have an hours lunch break.
When I worked in the City, people would go to the gym at lunchtime and come back a bit late due to showers, people would go shopping, take long lunches.
During the day people would be chatting to colleagues, faff around getting coffees and teas, popping out to buy cakes for everyone.
No one was glued to their desk and expected to work for 100% of their working hours.

Love this post. Some people are highly efficient. I say, good for you. Anyone saying otherwise probably doesn't have the same time management/processing skills (we're all different). Plus, noone in their right mind, unless they are bored, would voluntarily tell a company 'I'm so good, please give me more work'.

I uses to work in education and now in the civil service. Going from a job that was 100 miles an hour every day, I can literally get my entire week's work done in 3 days. At first, the slow pace of the CC really annoyed me, but then I realised they were much happier than people in education because they worked at a normal pace.

Good for you.