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?

I am on the clock. I work 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and I get an hour for lunch. My colleagues/manager/employer would know if I was away from my computer for longer than a trip to the toilet.
I manage a busy inbox. It would not go unnoticed of I wasn't responding. Just as in the office a colleague or my manager could call me at anytime, either a voice call or video.

So yes, on the days on WFH I don't have a commute and I can use my lunch to prep a nice dinner or do some laundry, but I'd never get away with sitting in my pyjamas eating crisps all morning or going to the gym.

So now you know. And everyone who works at my huge organisation is in the same boat or we'd notice.
So that's how it is for many many people.
That's if you're a real person and not a Mail hack wanting to reignite the campaign against remote working.

Yep, I agree. My DH WFH most of the time. I know exactly what his working day looks like because I've had 2 mat leaves whilst he's been WFH and he literally cannot hide. 😂

His work day starts at 830am, or 945am, or maybe 9am, or whenever the morning TV shiz he's watching over breakfast has finished. Or sometimes closer to 10am when he's come back from cold water swimming. Mine starts at 6am when the youngest wakes.

And so on goes the day.

I want to know what your husbands job is, sounds great 😆

Maybe it is just my DH. He gets paid a lot of money for what looks like not doing very much.

Mine too. Ask my eldest what he does and the response is "he goes upstairs and talks to people." 😂

I actually get a bit low working at home for too long, which is why i sought out hybrid work..

But I do really enjoy the no commute and the ability to spread the day out a bit longer and do things like hang some washing whilst on a call, or walk the dog in my lunch break.

The actual work i do is the same whether I am in the office or at home.

Exactly. Someone with no commute naturally has more time available in the day than someone who does.

I wfh and no way can I just chill, pop out, cook dinner etc while on clock. I do manage to put a load in, but hanging it is differ matter. I mean, I am at work, so, obviously.
For me and many I know, the only difference is time saved on commuting really.

I always wonder what jobs do people having time to watch Netflix do😂

I’m lucky in lots of ways - wfh is one of them. I am also unlucky in lots of ways. That’s just life though isn’t it? I do think the OP is a bit disingenuous though - the husband cannot both have ‘back to back meetings’ AND have a meeting at 9am and then nothing until 11.30am.

And I’ve never watched Netflix (or any other tv) while working except if I have drawn the short straw and have to cover the weird days between Xmas and NY when a manager is needed just in case. Then I tend to work from my office in the morning and in front of the Xmas telly in the afternoon if it’s quiet.

I think any desk-based job is a lot easier than working on your feet all day. Add a long commute to that, it's WAY easier. I work on my feet too with children and even if I have just 2-3 doing paperwork it makes a huge difference to my energy levels. I'm usually exhausted after 7 hours!

Yes it’s lucky but I work bloody hard. Wfh means that my employer expects me to take calls at all hours (we work with people all over the world), not as bad as it sounds as I get time back for time spent working at non office hours. But it wouldn’t really be practical unless I could work from home.

i do think some people who wfh can use it to take the piss. But for us we’re extremely professional and hardworking and it’s the only way we can do our jobs properly AND deal with the other things in our lives eg family.

2-3 hours that should say. I only stop at all for a 30 min lunchbreak, not a cup of tea, not to look at phone. It can be challenging to get to the toilet and I often get infections from being so busy I don't even notice I need the loo!

This is also true. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve sat down to dinner and the work phone has rung and I’ve then left tea to go cold while I head back into my office for a couple more hours to help out with whatever is happening.

WFH is brilliant because it does add a level of informality which takes less energy to muster to go to work. I always feel different the night before an office day vs a WFH day. I’ve been doing it 5 years now, and ready for something hybrid, there are elements of office working I miss, I couldn’t ever go back 5 days a week though.

I think it depends on the person. I work a lot harder from home than I did in the office...I am able to because my breaks are actual breaks in greenery breathing in fresh air on a walk rather than walking to the other side of a grey office for another cup of tea or going to get some "fresh air" in the middle of a polluted city. So I feel healthy when I sit at my desk rather than in a bit of a daze from putting my body through unnatural surroundings. But I can imagine, if I wasn't particularly motivated to succeed, I might use the time to coast instead.

I WFH 2 days a week and it varies. This week I had to travel for work and was in the office until 11pm one night then back at 7am. This week I will try and take some time back somehow by doing a bit more round the house or getting my nails done. But I do work just as hard WFH as in the office. I work in a high pressure industry that regularly makes redundancies though so if I let my work go quiet I would start to panic!

@MrsSlimShady @HundredPercentUnsure
What are these jobs where they log on & do a bit of work & earn a decent salary? I don’t think I could wfh but their set up sounds great!

Am I wrong to think that if you can do your job from home then someone in a developing country could do it for much lower wages? Or AI could do it for virtually free?

I'm with you, OP. I'm envious of the flexibility my WFH friends have, and of the time and head space saved on travelling to and from work and having to get 'ready', even though my commute is short and, as long as I'm reasonably put together, I don't need to be super smart to go to work.

I'm 'on' from the moment I get to my workplace and there are no parts of the day which don't require 100% engagement. I fantasise about a WFH job but it would mean a different field and a paycut I can't afford (I'm a teacher). I do console myself that I do get to WFH a lot in my current role too: evenings and weekends.

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?

i am lucky outside of 8.30am and 5pm and lunch….as my commute is awesome 😀

but not so much in working hours as i work probably harder than i do on my office day as i am not distracted

i do love working from home though

I can’t say this is something that worries me as a civil servant no!

I am freelance now and this version of my job has pluses and minuses from the office one and wfh one (the core work is still the same)

I do hybrid, a couple of days in the office, the rest at home.
I love my wfh days but not because I'm off to the gym or popping round the shops, I work undisturbed.
When I'm in the office (great for touching base with the team) I'm always being disturbed, I get loads more done at home.
I've had to set ground rules with some family members though as I was constantly getting messages "are you wfh tomorrow, I'll pop round" Nope!
It does give you a good work life balance, no commute, start and finish when you like.
I do get up and get ready like I'm going to the office but I wear t-shirts and joggers.
I also sit at a desk with additional monitors.

And I still think anyone who HAS to travel to work e.g. shop staff, hospitality, teachers, nhs clinical staff, steel workers (great news guys!), construction staff etc etc should get an extra tax allowance?

"It doesn't look like much" is my fucking BIGGEST gripe.

Unconscious competence. We're paid for what we know, not necessarily our time sitting at a keyboard.