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 a mixed bag but my WFH role in particular is very cushy. I get paid £40k to do essentially a very easy job (but then again I’ve done it for 7 years so maybe I’ve mastered it?)

I couldn’t go back now. My work life balance is incredible. Spent a long time feeling guilty about it when I first started but now a year in, passed probation with flying colours and I think… life’s short, I’m going to make the most of it while it lasts!

BUT when I worked for the NHS in an incredibly busy, office based role.. I definitely took a dim view on those who worked from home. It was jealousy, I think.

Absolutely this.

I know there are plenty of people with not enough to do in my team and they are also vociferous about not wanting to go back to the office at all.

I also know our jobs work best if we have build up real life relationships, make connections and from this create projects. A lot of this has been lost from WFH full time. Especially for people who started post lockdown.

WFH full time has led to a real ‘work to rule’ mentality where I am.

Thats the point too OP. When your DH is doing all those other things you rightly feel a twang about that’s not working. That’s skiving and breaching his employer’s trust. If they have a Home Working Policy it should be clear that time is not for doing chores, gym etc. If he has flexi that be different but to me sounds like he is ripping a*se out of it a bit. Not everyone who wfh does that.

I get far more done when WFH, I just crack on because I have no one to chat to.

Dh has worked from home since lockdown. Everyone else in his office has now gone back but dh has been allowed to stay WFH because of health reasons as he would physically struggle with getting to the office. Yes it is much easier physically but he still gets same amount of work done.

It is a very strange question. If people, as they are saying on here, doing exactly the same job as they do in their offices, then your questions should be framed as 'is A easier than A+2 hours of commuting in all weathers?'

I currently have one contract and two new ones to start next month. I turned down something on Friday as not wfh. I'm newly disabled and I can't sit or stand for long in one place. My walking is aided by sticks and I do that because if I go into a chair I'm not getting out of it. Wfh helps disabled people because no one has to see what we don't want to share and I don't have to suffer the discrimination my industry is famous for.
I work very long days but I can choose my breaks and have access to support if I need it.
I give all my staff hybrid contracts and mainly they come into the office when I do.
Funny thing I turned down a mega job as they said five days in London. The guy was gobsmacked I said no. The money kept going up, I still said no. Luckily I could choose but I've done my time and retirement looks very tempting.

Lots of people get paid a lot of money for not doing very much . Previous posts on here are proff of just how many bullshit jobs exist nowadays.
The world is a mess when so many are overpaid and vast numbers are barely scraping by. This is why we have so many unwilling to work. It’s just not worth it to them.

It is and I miss it so much. Wish I’d never changed jobs and I’d even take the pay cut to go back lol. I worked just as hard too as there was less time for colleagues to jabber at me.

I have the option of flexible working, and until recently worked hybrid - I often popped a laundry in, made stews in the slow cooker, and whizzed the vacuum round in my lunch hour. I decided on September to go back to the office full time for a number of reasons:

1. Weight gain. I was too close to the fridge and the toaster, and the minute I was bored I’d be checking to see if any Crunchies had magically manifested themselves into the cupboard. Now I bring a packed lunch and once it’s gone it’s gone.
2. I’d become physically lazy. The act of getting ready and physically going into work (1/2 hour walk or 10 minute drive) has made me better prepared. It’s energising for me and I focus much better in the more formal environment. I convert into work mode.
3. Visibility. Out of sight means out of mind. I’m in an industry which is going through some tough times and being present to have that water cooler chat with the boss and colleagues means they can see me working and know better my capability. I’m now on a project I’d never have got if I hadn’t been in the room. Interestingly, it is mostly the men who come into the office full time while the women are less likely to make a regular appearance. I suspect this might have a career impact for some at some stage because they’re not building the social capital in the same way. Incidental coffees and asking quick questions over a desk go a long way to building networks.
4. While I’m at work I’m not thinking about washing, cooking, and picking up kids. I only need to think about work, and I like that.
5. I’m Not using my own energy - heat, light and power for laptops, microwaves, and toasters all cost money. I charge all my devices at work too.

It’s not for everyone, and my commute is short and inexpensive which makes a difference.

YANBU, although it definitely depends on the job! My usual job, yeah, very cushy. Current temporary role? Absolutely not! Absolutely slammed and have gone on sick leave to protect my mental health.

I work from home and work really hard! I often work longer hours as it’s easy to just carry on with no bus or train to run for. I definitely don’t sit around in loungewear eating crisps or pop out to do stuff. Your DH sounds like one of the people that give working from home a bad name. He might get away with it long term, he may not. If he gets let go or finds himself at the top of the redundancy list due to his lack of productivity he’ll only have himself to blame.

I also think that WFH has made people forget that talking with colleagues is actually a core part of their job. Repeatedly, I have had WFH fans tell me that they get so much more done as they aren’t interrupted by people wanting to talk to them about work. One telling me that people would talk to her about work stuff for an hour at a time or more. About work. But what they are actually, unwittingly, communicating when they tell me this is that they are using WFH to avoid doing that core part of their job and assisting their colleagues by sharing their expertise with them.

I think some people take the mickey and give others a bad name. When I wfh I don’t even break for lunch. I work non stop as no distractions such as people coming to my desk for a chat

Agree with all of this.

I know some argue WFH is brilliant for women’s careers but I expect the opposite happens. If women are more likely to WFH than men, then men will be more likely to get opportunities and promotions.

And on the above comment, most people don’t talk about work, it’s other things. It’s important to have a balance I think. Going in to build relationships etc but I get a lot more work actually done at home

lol and many don’t - but they don’t get coverage in the Daily Mail.

i know many workplaces (my own included) and are now fully remote and they don’t have a skivers problem.

This is because they are able to recruit and retain the best staff unlimited by geography and they have mature and professional work cultures

WFh opened my eyes to what my life could be like. I live in Ireland and unfortunately the majority of work is in the main cities. nearly half of my friends commuted - that's why the m50 is a car park. what would have taken an hour before 2020 now takes 2 hours of more to drive up. we have shite public transport too. I get up later when I wfh and and sitting at my desk at 8am. some days am on back to back calls or working in deadlines however my work goes up and down so there are some quiet days. it's great I can walk the dogs on my breaks. i don't do house work during work however as I am not coming on the door at 7pm i have time after I finish work to wash kitchen floor etc. also can cook proper dinners. I have also been diagnosed with a long term pain condition last year which if I was commuting all the time i more than likely would have to give up work or take a massive pay cut to have a job closer to home. the way jobs have gone some people have no choice with the location of their job. there a wasters in the office we all know them. with my job if I don't do it no one else will so it would be noticed straight away if I am skiving. I do love teh flexibility as now not stressing to get out the door to ensure I don't hit traffic when driving home or rushing to get to dentist or doc on time. I go in one day a week now ( agreed with company doc) but everyone else is suppose to do 3 days a week which is causing issues due to no desks car park and noise aswell. what I also like aswell is the day I go in there are certain people not in the office so I have have not seen a particular noisy bitch for 6 months now which is great 🤣.

It depends on the job.
And as long as you get the job done I don't see that it matters where it is done.
Employees working from home is often encouraged by employers as they need a much smaller business space, cheaper heating costs etc . When I was working people had to work at home at least twice a week as there wasn't enough desk space for everyone to have one each. It was a deliberate policy to reduce running costs.
I have worked from home and in the office. I got a lot more work done at home because I wasn't constantly being interrupted by colleagues and pointless meetings that ended in no decisions.
People seem to forget that a lot of time is wasted in offices the difference when people are working at home is instead of chatting at the water cooler with colleagues or sitting in a pointless meeting people working from home might load the washing machine in their down time

Usually people talk about their weekends , their family, their problems not the job.
Conversations about work can take place just as easily when people work from home , phones , instant chat and video conversations take place all the time and they are much more focused than chats in the office.

I know there are plenty of people with not enough to do in my team and they are also vociferous about not wanting to go back to the office at all.

I don’t get this. If there’s not enough work for them why are the roles still there and not made redundant?

I don’t think WFH is cushy, as most people can’t walk away from their work whenever they feel like it during their working hours even if they are at home. My WFH job involves answering the phone and being in a lot of meetings so I can’t do any errands or time consuming tasks.

But it’s obviously a huge advantage to not have a commute and to be at home during any breaks. Doing chores in my lunch break or being able to run a machine or tidy something up while waiting for the kettle to boil or coming back from the loo etc is also a big help.

Some WFH jobs do have massive flexibility and let them run errands or do the school runs etc. But I’m pretty tired of hearing from jealous people who don’t understand that those people are either making up the time elsewhere or in a role where hours are less important than output.

I disagree,

When I am in the office, I find we all chat about our personal lives etc. At home, we can video call to chat about any issues with work.

I do more work at home than in the office with the social chatting.

WFH pretty much full time - one day a month for a management meeting.

Honestly? That one day I'm in the office I get less done than all the days at home.

Yes, I put washing on. Yes, I prepared dinner. Yes I pop put to grab a few bits from the shops.

But I do not finish at 5.30. I love not having to do the commute everyday. I can pick my son up from nursery at a reasonable hour. But I ALWAYS feel on the clock. If I get an email at 7pm I feel obliged to answer it.

All that said though I do feel lucky. I don't think I do less work though

I'm obviously getting it wrong.

I clock on at 9 a.m and clock out at 5.30.
I've usually checked my calendar and DMs for anything urgent about 8 a.m., then of nothing's urgent I'll do something like hang out the washing and eat breakfast.
I don't nip out to the gym or shops, unless it's something like a medical appointment, and will always let my boss know, if my absence is going to be more than 20 minutes.
If I haven't finished my work for the day, I'll carry on working to about 6 or 7 p.m.
(I waste a lot of time on MN, which I shouldn't do).

Yes it's cushy in that I'd have over an hour's commute if I worked in the office, and I usually wear fairly sloppy clothes (sweatshirt and leggings not smart casual) . If I have no meetings I don't bother ro wear make-up.

The amount of work has to be done. I'd not be working for the company if I didn't pull my weight.