To think working from home is a cushy number?

[MrsSlimShady]

I’ve got a new job that entails loads of e-learning, and webinars. They said I could do it at home and I literally sat there on the sofa and ate crisps and had cups of tea in my loungewear on the computer.

My DH works 3 days a week at home. He has back to back meetings but also manages to go the shops, go the gym, do exercise classes before work and at lunch time and do other chores. He’ll say his first meeting is at 0900, then nothing till 1130, then he can pop out 3-4pm….. it all goes like this.

I have another job and I have a 2-3 hour commute, and I am on my feet all day. I cannot get one chore done for my outside life. It has to wait till I’m off unless it is a text or email.

I know there are people working from home who work really hard too, but come on, AIBU to say that if you WFH you are really lucky and have it a lot easier than most other people?

it's not that easy. an example of it was of it last week was a colleague was sitting beside me just about to go onto a call on teams he was chairing the meeting also. a manager two levels above him camt over to his desk he had his head set on just about to go onto the call. manager tapped him on the shoulder to ask him a question due to his level he couldn't do anyitng but answer..manager was carrying a coffee cup. 4 times my colleague said I must go on this call but manager wasn't getting this hint. colleague was late for his meeting but manager wanst getting the hint. due to his level you just couldn't tell him to f off or else you would be in trouble 🤷 if wfh you don't have that issue but in office you do

Wearing make up or not has no impact at all on looking professional. Anyone who only takes someone seriously if they’re wearing make up is extremely unprofessional.

Agree our director of our department fois on calls with a hoody on him makes no difference. he weaea slacks and a shirt in the office shows he is normal. we lucky camera not needed on all the time. I wear a sweater and some light glowing face brightener mainly cause I look so tired 🤣but not full make up like office. I draw the line on payjames dressing gown etc. I need to wear something that gives me a kick to be productive

I didn't like it during the pandemic, much prefer to keep work and home life seperate myself

I am seen as a professional because of my input to conversations, the output of my work and my proven success in meeting objectives. How much eyeliner I’m wearing doesn’t factor into it at all.

This! I'm so unproductive in the office, get way more done at home!

Completely, I really struggle to zone out the distractions.

I do both - no eye liner though.

I work from home five days a week. I have since 2011. I prefer it. But my job isn't any less stressful or busy because I'm at home. I just don't have a commute, office politics, etc. on top of a busy, stressful job.

I’ve never really got the whole ‘put a wash on’ thing with working from home, my WFH days are none stop with actual work, I often get to 2pm and realise I haven’t had lunch. The benefit for me is that I will often be able to collect my son from school. But I don’t think it’s cushy, I’ve chosen a job on purpose that allows me that flexibility. It’s a demanding job though, sounds like yours and your husbands aren’t.

I wfh 3 days a week start exactly same time as in office - sit at a desk and probably get up to go to make a drink and the loo and back at my desk- might sit on balcony for half an hour lunchtime !

I think its really important to understand that all work from home is not the same. I'm measured on performance, not hours. I'm also treated as an adult so it is upto me how I get my work done. That means sometimes I may take a bit of time out to exercise or prep dinner, but there's plenty of times I'll respond to emails well into the night or still be sat at my desk several hours after a normal finish time.

I WFH 90% of the time and couldn’t work unless I did. DH is away all week with work and we have 4DC. If I had to commute and be somewhere else every day they couldn’t do their hobbies, get easily to the dentist etc. But I am hugely motivated, work way over the hours I am expected to and even though I may finish at 4pm to sprint to school and then spend the next three hours taxi-ing them about, I then log back on and finish what’s left over. So I do everything and more.

The downsides are the isolation and the expectations of family and randoms that I’m around and available just because I’m at home

Absolutely you are wrong. I own my own business and cannot work from home, but my husband does and he works so hard every day. Most weekends he’s still acting like he is on call and he is chained to his laptop. Yes he’s home, but 99% of the time he is in our bedroom working the entire time.

It's really sad that you think you can't be seen as a professional if you're not made up and dressed up. Your workplace must be terrible.

Our policy is camera on at all times. Also, I want at all times to be taken seriously as a professional and that doesn't stack with wearing a hoody, no make-up or being a state.

Hoodie and no eyeiner does fine for our male CEO and similar high folk on internal calls, so does fine for me. 😁 What I do and all problems I solve quickly and well absolutely override my fluffy oversized hoodie and lack of make up. I do my best work when I am comfy. Probably wouldn't excell as barrister...
Not like I even own eyeliner though. Or wear more than basic 3 make up items at any time.

I do think this dependa highly on workplace though. Some still rely on presenting well a lot even remote and on internal calls. So yes, might be of course case in many places.

This can be a big problem with WFH - switching off.

i often envy the businessmen (and very rare woman!) of the olden days who left the office at the end of the day and no emails or phones calls could find them! Yes sometimes the land line would ring, and paperwork could go home but there wasn’t the same culture of constant availability.

when peoples home is also their office the lines can get even more blurred. This can be an issue when people are experiencing workplace stress. We need to get better strategies for managing it that recognise the change in boundaries.

It is not wrong, It is cushy for some people. It is cushy for me. I go out for walks, shop, do chores, get all housework done and get my work done. WFH has been amazing for me.

I think it’s the commute that’s the killer really, when I had a 90 min e/way commute I always did 1 day from home to make it bearable - but it was a full proper day, not doing house work or popping to the gym! . Now I have a 15 minute walk I much prefer to work on site daily - no extra heating bills in winter, face to face conversations not that blummin teams nonsense and when I leave for the day, I leave - no feeling that I should be doing a little bit more cos I can.

Yes you are wrong.

we have data privacy laws in this country that prevent lots of work being sent abroad due to the data that would be disclosed.

also, if you use your logic then all office jobs could be abroad because all office jobs ‘could’ be work from home

No, sounds like you need to rethink what it is you do and how you do it. Why are you commuting 2-3 hrs per day and why are you standing all day without breaks? You need a better workflow

it clearly depends on the job. i need to be physically log in to the system and have assigned breaks/lunch. if i'm away from my desk out with that then my employer knows and would be questioning why i'm not working. the only extra chores i can do are those completed on my breaks. the only benefit is not having to commute. it’s certainly not the skive people make it out to be.

I am struggling in my new role which is WFH. There was meant to be an office for me to attend 60% a short drive away. But it closed down and next closest office is an expensive train ride away. So they said I could work from home and come to office when I wanted.

I didn’t have any intro to new job or training etc. Nobody to build connections with to ask how to do things.

Had a nervous breakdown. Now have to build my confidence back up as feel like failure. Looking for new job and will check that there is space in the office

It's not cushy at all.
Not one bit.

But I can't bear the thought of working in an office for someone else so I'm stuck with it for now.

They get way more work out of me on my wfh days, plus I often work late. Office days are when I’m chatting and being sociable, and leaving on time if my non-negotiable.

That said, I really appreciate that I have the opportunity to wfh, as it apparently “wasn’t possible” in my role before it had to be.