To think remote workers exaggerate how much they actually work?

[ZippyGreyOtter]

WFH is convenient but AIBU to think lots of people log on, do a bit, then spend most of the day coasting, while loudly insisting they’re “more productive than ever?”

It really depends. Some days I can do 10 hour days and barely move because it’s so busy. Other days can be quieter but that happens less often. I also work 2 days a week in the office.

I think it really depends on the job and yes I would imagine that there are some WFH jobs that allow for a lot of ‘relaxation time’ throughout the day!!

@ILoveWhales

You just prefer working from home, don't tell lies.

And that’s bad why?

This attitude is bizarre. You seem to assume that because a certain way of working suits millions of people it must be bad.

That says more about your attitude to work than it does about home workers.

The whole attitude to wfh from some people is: “people are getting on with their jobs quietly and no longer needing babying or micro-management. Let’s take them down a peg.”

It’s based on bitterness and lack of imagination.

Except the objective (ahem that's not subjective) research into this area shows you're wrong in this assumption.

According to the studies highlighted in the Economist, see up thread for details, productivity drops by about 18-20% when workers are allowed work remotely versus in an office. This is due to a range of factors e.g. harder to supervise, out of sight out of mind factors, less cooperation & productive serendipity from bumping into each other & working more collaboratively in the office.

As for me, I (very subjectively) find my own productivity to be quite good when wfh, until I come on Mumsnet , etc when I get totally distracted & immersed in the online debate de jour instead of attending to my work, and then my productivity falls off a very steep cliff sadly.

I suspect this last sentence will resonate with many other wfh people on here right now, e.g. is there not something a bit more productive You could be directing your energies into!?

QED

YABVU

Some people take the piss, some are more productive. I prefer working from home because our office is open plan, and hot-desking. There are at least a hundred other people on my floor on any given day, and there's constant noise and movement from people wandering about for loo breaks, talking about their projects, talking about their kids, nattering in the kitchen area and so on. It is all REALLY distracting, and I don't even work with any of them. All of my immediate colleagues bar one either work overseas or in a different UK location, and I can just as easily do a Teams call with them from my home as from the office, then get on with some proper thinking in peace and quiet.

I find my productivity is inverse to the proximity of my phone.

I power through the first 5h of the day sans phone, then wind down the final 3.

Some do. Some presentee office types do bugger all too.

I wfh when not travelling and average 12h days recently.

People who work on site vastly underestimate how much time they spend not working during work hours. The only different with remote work is you can use the not-working time productively or pleasureably instead of browsing news sites and trying to look busy.

I remember one of my colleagues being astonished at how much work he got done at home when we locked down for Covid - how much time he wasted in the office yapping with the team, making cups of tea, going and chatting with others, pointless meetings. Razor focused and it’s done in half the time.

I think most of us experienced that. But there's a strong anti-WFH contingent on MN who insist it isn't true.

Working from home is fairly new to me having worked out of the home for 35 years, but I'm self employed so I do have to work if I want to get paid.
The flexibility is life changing though. I can start/finish when I want, sometimes start really early as a I'm an early riser and I'm done for the day by 2pm. I am really enjoying it! I used to envy all my work from home neighbours so I thought I'd join them 😂

I find working from home far more productive. There's so much chatting in the office. It's really distracting.
Every time I see someone say how the office allows for more social interaction, I think 'You're one of the chatty disruptors, arent you?'
I have my own friends to socialise with. My working hours are for working. That's what I'm paid for

Oh for sure. The people who want everyone back in the office are the type who spend 1-2 hours every day chatting.

Exactly. Its a “look busy, the boss is here…” mentality.

No, I would be out a job if that was true.

Most office workers only do three hours of actual work a day

There are simply too many distractions at work and people want to come over for a chat you can hardly tell them to go away.

Times have changed, wfh is more productive for me and for many others, I get way more done at home, I cannot work in an office 5 days a week as I simply cannot get enough done with the distractions.

Thankfully my boss doesn’t think like you or those who are anti wfh.

You clearly dont have a profession where you learn from others or have responsibility for training anyone.

I do. So we have to be there but that's ok you can sit at home in your nothing job because you and your colleagues are too unprofessional to actually bother to work productively while you're in an office. Chatting isnt compulsory you know, you don't have to.

You come across as quite an embarrassment @ILoveWhales . I am a lawyer like you but I don't see other, different, jobs as "nothing jobs". Are you just trying to wind people up or are you actually that up your own arse?

Nope. Just about 100% productive here when WFH. (More productive than I am at work with all the distractions.)

@ILoveWhales

So clearly the mania for office work hasn’t had the much vaunted impact on your soft skills… I thought this was meant to be part of the point of going back to the office.

It’s partly personality. Some people are skivers, other conscientious.

My old boss was the worst for presenteeism. He was always in the office, from around 5am until 8-9pm, and he never took sick days. He spent 5 minutes sending a few All Users at 5am just to let the whole organisation know he was in very early, and then spent the rest of his time doing personal stuff like producing music and promoting club nights.

I used to come in at 8am, and just work solidly until 4pm and get my work done. I was pretty efficient, but a lot of my colleagues we're really chatty and I found it very distracting. I now work from home (and for myself) and I'm much more productive, AND I save a few hours a day on the commute, so I can sometimes even put the legendary wash on. Usually I work for an hour before the school run, come home and sit on my laptop and before I know it it's pick up time. So in my case I do work a lot when working from home. I'm sure some people take the mick, but as long as the job gets done I wouldn't be that fussed.

It’s called being polite and having social skills, clearly something you lack.

I can see going into the office is doing wonders for you.