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?

Wow...
I've no words.
While I consider myself lucky to be able to work from home, I barely get 10 minutes off my chair every 2 hours to stretch, get a drink or use the loo; and 30 minutes for lunch.
I don't think everyone working from home has time to go to the gym, do shopping or any housework. I do that before I start work in the time I used to spend travelling to work.

It's a bit unfair to assume that people don't work hard just because they work from home.

I had an office job for 10 years. 7.30-5 Monday-Friday. And commute was 30-45 mins so a long old shift by time I got home. Now I do 9-5 mon-fri working from home. However a) when I used to finish at 5 in an office job that was the day done. Now I feel an inclination/expectation to log back on after 5 and check emails and b) in an office job wow do people chat/stand around/drink coffee so tbh yes I can do a load of washing in the day which takes 1 min to put on and 2 to empty but I get more done wfh than I ever did/do in the office x

I’m about to leave a FT WFH job for one based on the office 4/5 days a week. I’m a little nervous I’ll admit, that I am giving up my cushy number, but having worked this way for 5 years, I am ready for a change.

My current job is intense and the lines between home and work have become blurred… I’ll go from one minute dealing with something really serious/ upsetting to being all smiles when the kids come home from school.

I’ve worked out that I never get time to decompress from my working day before entering mum-mode and I’m done now. I do housework in my lunch break and yes, whilst I do sit in my pjs until lunchtime usually, I don’t actually get a proper break from anything - paid work or unpaid housework.

I’m looking forward to getting dressed each day, going for a walk at lunch, and seeing people irl, instead of communicating via Teams 99% of the time.

But hey, I may also be on here once the novelty has worn off complaining that I stupidly gave up a cushy WFH job for an office job. Watch this space!

There's employees doing the minimum in workplaces and there's fully dedicated hard working employees based at home. They might not be putting a wash on, but I've seen work colleagues in our office not only achieve nothing in a day but also disrupt everyone else whilst achieving nothing. TBH they would be better off at home doing the washing. Finishing work and straight into home life without the commute is a privilege, but not having a clear physical separation by going to a workplace can cause issues too. But it's all about organisations managing work loads and outputs and people.

I'm sorry this happened to you but you can rest assured you're not the only one.
In our organisation we have new employees who never get proper induction, support, or a feel for the culture of the organisation because everyone is WFH. Networking is poor and it seeps out to nobody ever attending any social events or external training or anything where they meet Colleagues face to face. There is a huge disconnect developing which is weakening organisations. Young people often get their first jobs in cities that are new to them and traditionally they developed social lifes through work colleagues before they get established. This is disappearing leaving them isolated and lonely. If you are well established in your role, have a family and lots going on outside work, then WFH is great. If you are in a new role, new city and low disposable income or anxiety to get out socially, it's not so good.

This is me.

I have WFH for 5 years and I am sick of it. I appreciate the huge upsides but there are significant mental and emotional downsides. I am looking for a new career into something that involves being somewhere every day and interacting.

I’ve done both. I think if workplaces can offer a balance, they should.

Pros;
Working from home is easier to juggle your life. I was still as productive work wise; I got the same amount of work done in a shorter time.

Working somewhere else has a psychological benefit of going somewhere ‘seperate’ to work, and having a soft social element (making small talk with colleagues etc).

I think important meetings are also better in person if possible, but that’s my personal opinion and not that big of a deal.

Cons;
Working from home can be boring, lonely, hard to separate/switch off from. Not necessarily good for your mental wellbeing.

Working somewhere else can make the rest of your life harder to manage. I also end up wasting time being present and looking ‘busy’ when I can’t really be bothered. Costs money to commute and for lunch.

I am a bit envious of those who WFH. So much easier with dogs and school run!
My neighbour WFH and it looks very laid back. I have family members who do it and work hard but their lives seem easier with less stress than those who have to commute.
That said, I think I would struggle and end up never leaving the house.

What you seem to be saying is that you and your partner have a poor work ethic, you’ll do the minimum required to get by.

"Cushy number" is a weird way of putting it. I've advocated WFH for over a decade so yes, I do think it's a better way of doing things. It's better for my mental and physical health, it's better for my work-life balance and it makes it easier to do my work. Those are all positives and yes, I think WFH makes my life nicer than office-based work would. "Cushy number" just seems to imply that people who have arranged their lives to be optimally pleasant are somehow cheating.

And tbh I know my working life is a "cushy number". I work in something I'm passionate about anyway (and would spend a lot of my time doing even if I wasn't working in it), the nuts and bolts of my role are completely tailored to my talents, I WFH except when I travel (which I also enjoy), I have a lot of autonomy in my role, I'm respected and paid well. I did organise my life quite deliberately though.

I am more alert at home than in the office.

I would go insane WFH all the time. Half a day I get here and there is enough.
The trick is to get a job with short commute
Problem these days is because of all the communication your work/life lives are annoying entwined and the the lines are blurred.

I’m glad I can work from home because it means I can pop out for a lunchtime errand - but that takes 30 minutes, no longer than a lunch break I would take in the office.

I go into the office 1-2 days a week, and I get a lot more done at home. I am working pretty much all day other than quick coffee/tea/toilet breaks and lunch. I can’t work in front of the TV because I need to concentrate and have two monitors to use also. I sometimes have the radio on low but I do need to concentrate hard a lot of the time.

Hmm it’s a funny one. I WFH 2 days per week on the days I finish early for school pick up. For me it is all about the work life balance and my kids school is just up the road. So it takes away all the stress/extra time in the morning. When I WFH I always leave my laptop on post my finish time as I have a busy job and like to keep on top of things. This is extra time I wouldn’t be working if i was in the office. So it’s swings and roundabouts really as it’s all about being flexible. Where I work people generally work harder at home, it’s about the commute / balance aspect that is more important

I get more work done at home due to less interruptions and distractions in the office - the amount of time wasted on non work related chatting is incredible.

Life shouldn't be a struggle anyway, I think it's great when people can have a "cushy" time at work.

That often tends to be the nature of very senior jobs! I am civil service and earn a good wage but I do a lot more actual “work” than a lot of the more senior people I’m sure, who have more of the meetings and handling responsibilities. I’m an awkward in between level of seniority where I have quite a bit of meetings and responsibility but also quite a bit of work!

I can't work in my office, space constraints mean we are packed in and it's noisy. It's like trying to do work at a train station sitting next to 10 other people on a bench.

WFH is busy. I often have back to back calls with no time even for a loo break.

I'm not mad on it. I've been working from home for the past year. I usually work in an NHS clinic. I'm waiting for major surgery so I can't do my usual work so I'm doing triage and online consultations.
I have less time to myself because I have to be in front of my laptop all day, I can get a teams call at any time of the day and I have to answer it immediately so there is no washing up or putting laundry on.
I also have daily time sensitive work so I have to crack on.
I miss my colleagues and my patients and the daily banter. I have nobody to ask if I need help with something, I just have to work it out by myself.
I can't wait to get back.

I WFH but still have to do my daily timesheet accounting for my full day in 6 minute blocks. I appreciate the flexibility and lack of commute, including being home for the kids finishing school (albeit still working) but still work more hours than when in the office.

I work on a hybrid basis with 2 days per week WFH. I adore my WFH days as I cannot concentrate in the open plan office, and I also hate office politics and gossip - and it’s rife where I work. I work flat out though when WFH, just as I do in the office, and I’ll always work later too if at home. My role is incredibly demanding.

I look at my messy house and decide to do some laundry and tidying while my soup is cooking and then eat while I work, so I don’t take any more than the 30 minutes lunch break I’m entitled to - and still I have such a backlog of tasks.

One of my friends who is also hybrid - but mainly WFH goes shopping, to toddler groups and to pubs and cafes for lunch with friends while she’s supposed to be working and just occasionally checks her emails on her phone. This is her life - week in and week out. Another friend goes for walks, goes to the gym and goes to cafes when she’s supposed to be working. Both also get their dinner cooked and most of their housework done in their work hours, and both earn around the same as me. I’m clearly working in the wrong field.

I think my DH probably thinks the same about me as you do about yours as some days I do have spare time to go for a run at lunch or put laundry on etc.

But some days I really do not and yet still expect myself to do it all. I envy him being out of the office where the house mess isnt staring him in the face and he can come home to it all being done.

It's also super boring and lonely. BUT I totally agree it is amazing to be able to, the alternative for me was a 3 hour commute and seeing very little of my children so I feel very lucky.

I have occasionally worked from home although this isn’t normal. I find I get loads more done as it is easier to stay focused.

Those mentioning about unproductive time in the workplace with people chatting or having nothing to do - the trouble with that is you can’t do anything productive for yourself either. If you had nothing to do for work at home you’d do some chores and life admin instead rather than the time being wasted. It can be frustrating having nothing to do at work at a whole list of things that need doing at home.

YANBU OP.

I have friends who WFH who have time to send me long voice notes, get their laundry done, make personal phone calls, go for a run, do painting and decorating, hoover, declutter clothing, do their school run. These are all tasks they openly chat about loving being able to get done on their voice notes.

My DH by contrast as a teacher doesn’t stop from 8-5.30pm. He eats his lunch in 15 mins, marks through his lunch break to max evening time with our kids. He can’t use his phone/get any personal tasks done on his phone. He can never do the school run (apart from the odd INSET day). He would love to have time to go for a run within his working day (he is of course grateful for the school holidays).

I actually think being able to WFH is really beneficial though in terms of people being able to have a better work life balance generally, as well as more time to parent and not having to purely focus on work and run themselves into the ground.