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.

Putting laundry on or popping to the local shop for milk is ok but going to IKEA? I tend to log on and work the whole way through. Some work I did the other week with designated lunch breaks made me realise I do need to take a proper break at lunch so I'm going to do that from now on.

Generally though as long as you deliver and work your hours at least I don't think it matters. But I know of someone who does neither.

If you're allowed to take up to two hours for lunch, it's not taking an 'extended' lunch break.

It's one of the famous MN jobs - £100K, share options and company car.

I can see how you'd get away with this if you were lightening fast at your job - we have one exceptional employee who could do this - the others though are much slower and their speed is something they are encouraged to pick up on - fast turnaround on jobs means a trip to Ikea might result in a someone asking you to talk through how you spent your time - so they could support you in be more efficient.

I agree with this. It’s also probably one of the issues with our abysmal productivity in the UK..people do enough to get by as long as they can do as they please..

But if we want growth then we need to change attitudes; which is probably why employers are focusing on coming back to the office more.

Suppose it depends on your job. There's alway more work in my job that needs doing. It's not finite so my time can always be used to do something

The funny I thing is I have your mindset and DP has your husband's, and that's why I'm pro-WFH and he's pro-office (also because that makes sense for our respective roles).

I would ask why you equate quality of work with quantity of work, and whether you think activities that are not strictly work-related can nonetheless have an impact on quality of work.

I'm one of those who, if I have a few hours in the working day where I'm not required to be available or do anything urgently, will go for a run. Or pop to the shops. Or read a book or watch a show. Or wander into the garden with a glass of wine and look at the birds. Or if it's a really slow day, meet a friend for lunch locally.

My job is a creative one and to do it well I also have to be in touch with current affairs, the cultural zeitgeist and so on. I have my best ideas, without fail, when I'm not staring at my laptop screen (almost always when out running). The quality of my work isn't really related to the length of time I spend logged on.

And to bring it back to WFH specifically, I've found that the office environment and the knackering routine of having to commute to it daily, rather than being relaxed in my own space, is about as unconducive as it gets to doing my job well. Creativity in an open-plan office is a non-starter.

I am assuming you've are making up the hours after or before normal office hour times, and through weekends?

If not, I'd question the efficiency of a business what means that employees have so much spare time.

And the other thing WFH enables is to spread your working hours out as it suits you.

On a typical day I'll be at my desk checking emails and overnight events by 6.30am over my coffee and breakfast - almost immediately after getting up. In an office I wouldn't get to do that til 9am. If I've moved my 9-10am tasks to 6.30-7.30am then that's an hour chunk of the typical 9-5 day I've freed up.

Similarly I'm in an international role so frequently have to work on Asian or American hours. The advantage is that I'm not really tied to UK working hours at all.

When I used to work in the office I’d go to the shops at lunch. I used to work just off Oxford street so had everything on my doorstep. Everyday I would have a wander around selfridges, do some food shopping, etc. Not sure why this is any different than going to IKEA or doing a food shop in your lunch hour.

My job is project based and I’m flexible so sometimes I will have to work over the weekend or late at night if there is a tight deadline. When it’s quieter I can take the time and do some housework or some time for myself. It’s a much better way, my work life balance is better, I’m more productive as I work more efficiently, and I’m being paid for the work and hours I do rather than all the unpaid overtime I used to do!

Wouldn't work in my job. I'm glued to my laptop. Also, Our boss has already mentioned in passing that he can see if our teams icon goes orange (indicating you are away from your desk).

Surely all this means is that there is capacity for you to do much more work?? If you can get your work done in just a few hours then your company either need less staff or they should be giving you more work. I can't imagine a day when there wasn't something else needing to be done regardless of how hard I had worked in the morning.

If you have time to do all this then you are stealing a wage and your job should only be part time, does your boss know you do all this in work time?
I work in the office always have done even through Covid I prefer it I have done wfh the odd few times and I cannot bear it, just don’t feel as productive. My job is busy and I work my ass off each and every day for my wage people like you are just taking the piss and must have poor bosses to not be able to see the workload you have is not enough. Yeah take a break of course just like you would in the office but going to ikea and doing food shops in work time is a joke and why a lot of companies are scrapping WFH.

As someone who works in the office everyday, I plan my life around my work. Dental appointments in half term, car service and MOT at the weekend. It’s incredibly frustrating when my colleague sends me a TEAMS to say I’m just taking the dog to the groomers, receiving my online shop, popping to the shops etc. It’s taking the piss.

Same here. I either have teams meetings or someone will teams call me without warning to discuss something. I need to be at my desk.

at best I can do some cooking at lunchtime and a few loads of laundry throughout the day.

Like you say, it depends on the job. Me and my manager are talking throughout the day and I need to be at my desk to respond.
If WFH I'll put a load if washing on or maybe take ten minutes to chop some veg for dinner. However, I'm usually working.
My work generally fills my working hours so if I was doing life admin and going to the shops, I'd end up working very late. I like the fact I can clock off at 4pm or 4.30 and do other stuff then.

I wfh and that wouldn’t be possible. The powers that be would notice immediately and it would get you sacked.

Yes totally depends on the job. My last WFH job was very slow, there just wasn't a huge amount to do and as a consequence I had a huge amount of free time and also performed to a very high standard completing what little work there was!

Current job is so busy that often I barely get time to eat let alone doing life admin during the working day.
I can easily sit at my desk and barely move for 8 hours.

Stealing a wage! What happened to worker solidarity 😁 Op is being put up for awards - the only more productive thing she could be doing is writing a book telling the rest of us how to get and excel at roles which don’t require hours of donkey work 😁 Op is winning at the game, we should be happy someone is rather than trying to drag her into a pointless 40 hour working week.

I think some employers believe that they “own” your total body whilst they pay you

it just doesn’t work like that, even in an office environment

employers that realise a happy well balanced working life will produce more work, do much better. They have less staff turnover which saves money and have more productive staff, which means less head count - which saves money

Do you have the same role, and do you have to be in the office every day, or do you choose to be?

If you choose to be in the office, why are you bitter than someone else is enjoying perks that you choose not to use?

If you have different roles so don't choose to be in the office, then I empathise that it sucks that your job isn't as flexible, but it's nothing to do with the person WFH.

How is it stealing a wage? I do similar work to OP. I have to wait until the work comes in and there are times there is no work at all. The managers know and accept this. I was told not to come into the office at all last month. I did the work needed and the rest of the time I could do what I wanted.

My company have seen productivity go up with hybrid working and no intention of scrapping it.

Fortunately my employers are more forward thinking and don't think like this. They know the workflow varies and look at the overall productivity rather than just sitting in front of the screen all day.

I'm fully on board with 'as long as you do you job'. I'd add to that 'and prioritise work during working hours'. As in I heard about a case where someone had a younger worker who said he couldn't go to an important meeting arranged a long time ago because he had made an appointment at that time - it sounded like he wasn't taking the piss, it's just because he'd only ever known WFH he hadn't grasped that it comes first 9-5. So your day has to work around work, not vice versa.

My new(ish) job is pretty busy so I can't take much time to do other things - previous roles I had a bit more time and I would, for example, drive to local high street in my lunch hour sometimes to get some stuff, but I wouldn't have gone to the local mall or into central London on anything on WFH hours.

If I do have doctor/dentist appointments etc, I always mark them in my calendar so people know I'm not available

What I am explaining is, some people have jobs that allow this flexibility (usually because you will then be flexible in return).