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?

100%. The amount of ppl who work from home and r always nipping here n there, watching their kids, doing housework etc is ridiculous. I’m sure there’s some ppl working hard from home but it’s few and far between. I personally worked from home briefly at the beginning of Covid but it’s not for me. I’m a secretary and need to be in the office to complete jobs fully and post things out etc

Definitely. I manage a number of remote people – it’s very clear who does a remote role really well and who takes the piss (even if they think they hide it very well!)

Generalisations about workplace settings are seldom valid, and this thread is no exception.

They are the ones who wandered around the office chatting, making lots of cups of tea whilst hanging around the kitchen for the latest gossip, found excuses to visit people on other floors, always turned their screens off when they left their desk or someone came over because they were doing their shopping/browsing random stuff on the web. These people always existed, it’s just that wfh hides them better for a while until deadlines are missed….

I work from home, my jobs very stressful and I'm constantly busy, I get an hours lunch which I rarely get to take. I don't have time to pop out, go the gym etc. Most people I know who work from home are the same.

I work from home and I work really hard.
I can start at 9 so I have time to do a few chores, put washing in, prep a meal. And I have time to pick up dc after school but between those hours it’s full on. I don’t even get time to have lunch.
I’m happy with it and gives me the balance I need.
I wouldn’t be able to take the piss and neither would anyone else I know who works from home.
I don’t know how others do. If there work isn’t allocated well or done well and unmonitored then that’s on the company.

Sitting on your sofa 7.5 hours plus per day eating crisps is a recipe for bad back and weight gain. Not to mention the old "living at work" problem.
Full time WFH is best in a separate room with proper desk set up that can have the door shut on it at the end of the working day.

I agree it does give you space to do home stuff, I run a business from home and manage to walk the dogs, put in some food at lunch time, tidy around the house. Etc.

Working from home I feel more relaxed, not just crashing in at 6-7pm and having to get straight into cooking and tidying.

saying that I still do 10+ hours days and I’m working today to catch up on Easter break madness that will impact on my business.

The best scenario for me is working outside the home with a short commute and pleasant colleagues.

The worst scenario would be travelling a long distance to a toxic workplace with a boss who's a bully.

Working from home full time by myself would be in the middle somewhere.

It’s also really helpful for disability and chronic health issues
so yes my time is heavily monitored, my breaks and lunches are timed and I cannot move from my desk during my shift unless I’m on a break
but I can wear pj bottoms when I’m so swollen I can’t get any other clothes on, I have my toilet stuff accessible, I can take painkillers that I don’t like driving on to be able to carry on working or I can take time to log off for painkillers to kick in then come back to work without people seeing me rolling round on the floor!
When I finish work I don’t have to drive home, I can go straight to bed for some sleep before I start cooking etc

I wfh 100 %. I do the same amount of work as people who are office based. However, I have no commute, can walk the dog at lunch time and I enjoy the peace of being at home so for me its cushy yes.

Honestly I work more hours, work when sick (unless puking or terrible fever) and often end up logging on in the evenings to take pressure off.
Yes there are SOME advantages of turning the washing machine on when making a cup of coffee but there is also the element of struggling to switch off properly.

Many think that wfh means taking the biscuit, reality is very different. I actually get through less work when I am in a office as someone always wants a quick chat or catch up etc.

I WFH full time and I hate it. It’s isolating, terrible for creativity, terrible for networking, terrible for collaborative working, terrible for just gaining and increasing understanding, terrible for building relationships. Terrible for my career basically.

We have a new Chief Exec and he says we need to go back to office and I am hugely relieved.

I don't know really, I think there is an expectation of you to put a wash on, hang it out, prep dinner in your lunch time, take packages in, deal with the next door neighbour's builders who want to access their work via your garden or the retired street spokesperson wanting to chat to you about some neighborhood issue because they don't perceive you as working. I just think when your whole day is about work, i.e getting up early for a commute, having time to source lunch near your office and then coming home pretty late so l what you can do in the evening is limited, it equals out I think. I am using my own examples as obviously I am not referring to shift jobs or outside jobs etc.

It's absolutely bizarre to choose to do a 3 hour commute then moan that other people who have made a smarter choice have it easier than you.

Who wastes 3 hours of their day every day travelling to and from work? Get a different job if you don't want to waste your life in this way.

I'm on the fence as it was easier when my children were young but now that convenience isn't as necessary and I feel a bit like you and that it shrinks your world when it is just about being at home,.morning, noon and night! I do go to the office twice a week but there are many, many chatterboxes which is fine and sometimes funny but it isn't the case that many people work really hard on the office as opposed to home IME.

This. 100%. I find it very difficult to switch off in the evenings and on weekends.

I WFH and I love it but it does have it's downsides. I often work very late just because it's easy to and I'll log on over the weekend or on my days off if there's something that needs finishing. I wouldn't go into the office to do that but when my laptop is just sitting upstairs it's easy to do it. I don't ever really fully switch off when I'm at home.

But that flexibility works both ways and I get to walk the dog every lunchtime which is great, put a wash on or empty the dishwasher. If I need to pop out I will and then pick up the hours later on. I wouldn't change it.

I can see that reads as I was suggesting you, Londonwaiting, were stating that people who work in an office are more efficient but I wasn't directing that comment at you.

Agree. It is definitely cushy for me. My quality of life has increased hugely since WFH. I currently go to the office one day a week.

I get all my chores, shopping and exercise done during the day which leaves the evenings free. I can get all the annoying tasks out of the way too like cleaning out the fridge, popping out to the post office, returns etc.

I have been making the most of the lovely weather with walks in the park.

All my work gets done - I just received an award for excellent performance.

Quoting to amplify.

Does it matter as long as the work gets done? I nip here, there and everywhere but all the work is always completed. Why is it ridiculous?

It depends really doesn't it, for some people commuting and sitting in an office is exhausting and stresses them out, therefore the same job being from home is likely to be easier and help them create a more balanced lifestyle. Other people hate it and find it isolating, so they'd probably find it easier overall to be in office.

I used to work on the wards and now work in a clinical office based role. In a weird way I find it harder even though the work is less physical and less emotionally taxing. It's too tricky to conclude for definite, but I guess if you compared 2 identical jobs for 2 people with identical circumstances it'd be easier for the one wfh.

Mine don't. They don't have the space for everyone to return 😂

I can get more work done quicker when WFH. I work from home on average a day or two a week and some days I'll fly through work and get ahead of the rest of the week, other days I'll fly through it and take the extra time to tidy up, meal prep etc. The proviso being I am on call 24/7 for emergencies as part of the management team and am always available should my phone ring. However everyone within my company has the same view that as long as the work is done to deadline and you attend meetings as required, you can do it as and when you like. Our standard office hours are 8-5 however if not in the office I may log on at 6am or log off at 10pm.

I love the social aspect of the office and am lucky my commute is a less than 10 minute walk, but I have primary aged children and sometimes working from home is easier.