to think some people think WFH should be a constant nose to the grindstone?

[Yodeloo]

I think some jobs are like that definitely. Heavy workload, helplines etc

Some people think all WFH should be like this and get horrified because someone hung some washing out or helped out a family member for a short time. Plenty of jobs have flexibility and it is about getting the job done not just being present in front of the computer non stop.

I get all my life admin done throughout the day around work. I do an exercise class most mornings and then start work later on the days I WFH. I will meet up with friends, work on my side business. Nobody cares at my work. All targets are met consistently.

Is it jealousy that people get so upset?

'If you were in the office and sat around not working, most employers would find more work for you to do if they are paying you to work those hours.'

When I was office basedI could see the computer screen of our line manager and she openly spent most of her day openly shopping online and conversing with her boyfriend...

Naive to think that managers don't waste their time too or that time in the office is always used productively.

Tell me you're THAT office worker who is always SO BUSY without telling me...

I am similar in that I realised pretty early on that my job didn’t take 5 days and after a degree of fannying about I got them to agree to me doing 4 days.

My colleague does the same job but in 5 days. That’s up to her, I don’t begrudge her that. I didn’t want to feel tied to my desk for an additional day, I actually found it really mentally draining, she obviously doesn’t mind.

Comparison is the thief of joy.

I once covered someone on sabbatical leave. It wasn’t a full time job which I worked out after a couple of weeks so I asked if I could do it part time, which was allowed. One of my colleagues said “I always thought X made a meal out of that job”. Something that X’s manager had clearly never noticed.

Yes, that's quite heroically optimistic isn't it!

But also, even without any piss taking, people have different work rates and patterns. Some people do better in bursts with time spent not working in the middle. Some people do better at a more consistent pace throughout. It's poor management to impose the second model on the first group.

What if you are then working outside work hours? So I take a couple of calls at 7am with colleagues in Australia/far east. Then send follow up emails. Then go have a shower at 10am and hang up some laundry. Work for a bit, then make dinner for later. Bit more work the school run. At 8pm i pick up with colleagues in USA and work for a couple of hours. That's a fairly standard day for me.

Does not compute, I expect.

Some MNers simply can't cope with the idea that anyone might need to do work with people who don't live within commuting distance of them, let alone in a different country.

I think some people also don't understand that many workers aren't employed to put a certain number of hours in - they have skills and experience that are valuable to their employer, even if they aren't actually 'productive' for a certain number of hours a day.

This is so true. I'm employed to get a specific job done, and I'm judged on my outputs, not the length of time spent at my computer, or whether I'm in the office or WFH.

We've come a long way from clocking in and out.

Very true.
Technically I'm contracted for 37 hours a week but I don't record my hours anywhere.
I just do my job and work the hours that requires.

Exactly I’m on the south coast. There are 8 people in my team 2 others live close enough to go to the same office as me. Another 2 in London, one in Shropshire and 2 in Scotland. Which office are we all supposed to be in or should we all commute to our nearest office to then sit on our own in an office and speak on Teams?
we also do an international job and have to have calls regularly with Australia, India and the US, which don’t fit into standard hours.

Won't be the case for me!

Clearly you've not read the thread. Do you think people who WFH aren't bound by the same employment laws as everyone else? I do 9 hours per day from home, 5 days per week. I have one hour unpaid break, that's broken up through out the day. 15 minutes in the morning, half an hour for lunch and 15 minutes in the afternoon.

Morning break I make tea and toast whilst putting a wash on and hoovering. Lunchtime, I'll put the washing on the radiators/in the dryer and then walk the dog. Afternoon break I have coffee and biscuits whilst doing any other housework that needs doing.

Do you work all day without a break? Do you never go the loo, make a cuppa, chat to a colleague or pop out for lunch? If you don't then you have a point, if you do, well bit hypocritical of you, yes?

But OP, if you do all that, your targets must be wrong. Still, not necessarily your problem.

We complete timesheets so it would be considered fraud if we put down times we weren’t working. If you don’t put down 37 hours, you’d be expected to make the time up. If you’ve run out of things to do, you’d be expected to help someone who’s overloaded.

God, you're smug.

You should be working the hours you are paid for.
It's not difficult.

This has been going on for decades. It isn't new. Many roles cant be done offshore because they require onshore working due to the services they provide.

It is not difficult to understand that all jobs do not involve working solidly for every minute of your working hours.

I get everything done in less time and hit all my targets. Then I do other life stuff. So what is the problem?

So happy my work doesn't run a timesheet system!

I dunno, it seems to be quite beyond the understanding of some people.

Fir people who used to work in an office but now reach all targets in half a day at home, how did you spend all the spare time in the office?

A lot of time being bored. I've tended to have jobs where you're waiting for an email or task to come in, so a lot of waiting around, keeping an eye on your inbox while time ticks by at a glacial pace. Making tea. Spending longer than needed on the tasks if I knew I'd be sitting around for a while otherwise. Seeing if anyone else needed anything (if appropriate - also tends to get people's backs up so not recommended on a regular basis). At least at home I can read a book (or go on mumsnet) during the pauses.

That’s so archaic. I’d hate to have a job like that.

I ran my side business, sorted out life admin, did transcription work.

A lot of industries operate on that basis, and in the case of many professional services it will be a breach of regulatory standards to fabricate time recording where a client is being charged (accountants, lawyers, auditors etc).

Even if your charging structures aren't based on hourly rates, surely it's a good way of keeping track of how much time people are spending on particular tasks, in order to allocate a cost to the business, assess staff capacity levels etc?