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?”

I only WFH one day a week and really I am a lot more productive. Peace and quiet with a lot fewer interruptions and less chatting to others.
Howevwr I do know what you mean in some regards, I think for some people they may be less productive but cover that up due to the conscience. WFH is not for everyone.

Completely agree. Everyone I know has huge amounts of flexibility when WFH. My DH plays golf, goes for runs, does all school runs. I WFH too but need to stay near my laptop for anything that comes in. So I stay in the house but I would say 40 percent of my day is doing domestic chores, watching telly, scrolling on my phone.

Next Weds I’m meeting three girlfriends for lunch - all of us are technically WFH, but have blocked out our diaries from 12-2pm. All of us will then be doing school runs around 3-4ish.

I don’t know anyone that genuinely believes they work harder whilst WFH.

Oh sure. My view on that is that how hard people work is more about the person and job than the place. Conscientious people are conscientious everywhere and likewise lazy people.

One issue I have with the team I currently manage is that people are now starting work at the time they would have started their commute (so if start time is 9.30 and their usual commute is an hour, they just start work at 8.30 instead)- so the opposite of what op is worrying about. The person and the role make much more difference than the location.

Does no one notice that you’re only doing 60% of the work? I couldn’t basically half my output without it getting picked up on pretty quickly!

Or are you still getting everything done? In which case, does it really matter?

I deliver every task on time, I do not rush through things, I will volunteer for tasks. But do I work the full 37.5 hours a week? No. Do my employers care or even notice? Also no.

Why does it matter?

I also think it depends on the company structure. The last time I was in the office, I spent most of the day on teams calls with colleagues in other UK offices, one in America. So for all the arguments about how virtual meetings are less productive, it’s not always relevant. I can’t have a face to face meeting with someone in New York.

My immediate team, including my manager, are also based in different offices to me. So any direct supervision or collaboration still happens over email/video calls whether we’re sitting in different offices, or in our own homes. So again, even if there is fall in productivity if you aren’t with your team, it’s not always solved by being in the office.

My DD and her DP both work from home some days of the week. They are logged continuously, counting number of phone calls etc. There is no opportunity for coasting - though naturally they have breaks during the day. I think this is fairly normal for people WFH?

No. I WFH 3-5 days a week. They get twice as much work from me on those days as when as when I go in.

No travel time to the home desk, and no distractions!

Also my job has constant deadlines so you can’t just not do stuff.

I know I do. In fact, I’m in the process of having a desk bed designed so I can do all my work horizontal on a cycle of 5 minutes work / 20 minute snooze.

I'm so sick of this attitude. I've worked at home for nearly 30 years, full-on, no coasting whatsoever. Up till Covid I'd get comments regarding pyjamas, daytime TV etc. Lockdown was great as we were all in the same boat. Now I hear these old comments are back with a vengeance... sigh...

You just can't lump all "remote workers" in together. There are so many different professions, different individuals. I have no doubt that some are shirking and dossing about, but I know that some are genuinely more productive at home without the office distractions.

Why do you have to do that?? What field are you in?

Doesn’t the logging take a huge amount of time?

Yeah my 6 hours of meetings and 50 emails today would have only taken me a couple of hours to complete in the office 🙄

I expect that some do exaggerate, but also most don't. Plenty of people just make themselves look busy in offices too, or get interrupted all the time. As long as they're getting their work done when it needs to be and to decent quality, who cares?

She’ll work in law - all time is recorded and billed in 6 minutes units.

Guess it depends on the role and the person. Personally I am far more productive at home, I have distributed team working in different timezones, so on teams call for most the day regardless if I'm in the office or not, and work the additional 2 hours I would spend commuting each day.

I'm not sure swiping into an office, sitting at hotdesk listening to all the conversation around me make anymore productive.

Not in my job where all my time is recorded

Lawyer I presume. Everything has to be recorded in billable segments

Too many people take the p* wfh

Our system records the time automatically

It depends on the person and the job, but if someone's doing the bare minimum, their manager or colleagues will probably catch that sooner or later. For many jobs, it's obvious that the work is either getting done or not. Deadlines must be met. If you meet those expectations and the quality is there, why does it matter if you're sitting in the office or at home?

There will always be some who put in the extra effort and others who barely do enough to squeak by. Part of managing people is tracking that tendency, wherever the worker is based.

Remote worker here 🙋🏼‍♀️ (well 95% of the time).

Yes I definitely take advantage of the set up more.

Would I rather spend 2-3 minutes loading up the washing machine or spend 20-30 minutes stood awkwardly in the canteen whilst Beryl receives her flowers and does a retirement speech?

If WFH workers spent all day “coasting” we’d get sacked.

Ive got four hours of camera-on meetings tomorrow. No time to skive lol. I wouldn’t anyway.

Seems a weird thing to post about if there isn’t a specific example annoying you…

I was in the office today. It’s far easier to coast in the office - chatting, tea breaks, lunch options more exciting so take longer or go out with colleagues. Constantly interrupted so actually way less productive.

🤣🤣🤣