To think people who work from home don’t understand this?! And they’re paid more usually

[Ugriap]

I work in a job where I can’t work from home. I get that’s my choice but when I trained, working from home was not common. Now it is in a lot of places. I know I can re train but it’s not that easy!

I can’t just go to appointments during my lunch break. I can’t ever do this. So I have to book leave if I want to get my haircut or dental appointments. Or I go on a weekend so I’m basically having less free time.

A close friend is a high earner and she is always galavanting round during the day then catches up on her work in the evening at her convenience. I can’t understand why people like this don’t get that I don’t have this flexibility?! My time is so much more limited. I feel really isolated from the friendship group these days

I work from home and I would say that some of the senior team take the mick, but all that means is that we have zero respect for them. I also find that I work more hours working from home than I did in the office.

When I worked in an office full time, some of the senior team definitely had a flexible approach to work so I don't see much difference. People still take the piss!

I often have back to back meetings online, no time for a coffee with a friend or a gym session!
i have to ignore the kids when they come home from school
when i go to the office, once a week i go for a walk at lunch because i can!!
whether im home or in the office i cant go to appointments…

Many years, I wfh entirely. I can assure you, no galavanting took place at all. Every minute was accounted for. I had a 30 min break on most shifts.

Has no one ever told you that “life isn’t fair” OP?
Thats why someone who works bloody hard, doing physically demanding tasks over a set period of time,such as cleaning, gets paid minimum wages while people in senior positions, apparently “gallivanting around” during the day while they are technically “working” seem to be getting away with it while earning far more.
However, the dynamics of senior positions mean that often these people are paid to get a job done, so if they are working efficiently and using their heads to get the job done in a shorter amount of time, they may have the flexibility to dip out of their working day.
Don’t forget though - if they aren’t able to get the job done in time, they are the ones working all night/weekends Etc. to make it happen - without getting overtime!
I WFH part of the week, and with less interruptions, get more done than on the days I’m in the office, so it’s not a one size fits all situation.
You sound jealous because you are making a comparison - and comparison is the thief of joy…

I think in many cases, people working from home feel they have to be even more present than people in offices. In office, I wouldn’t think much of having a chat with a colleague or getting a coffee etc. At home, I feel the need to justify myself far more. It’s the same with when I was part-time, I think I ended up doing more hours than some full-time people. I think women in general are more susceptible to this, that they need to prove themselves more than necessary.

Yes, I too 'gallivant' to the dentist/for my smear test in work hours. What fun it is 🙄

I'm not a high earner, well I suppose I am to some, but I can work pretty much whenever I want when WFH, no one cares as long as the work is done. I sat with my mum who was having chemo on Monday for 6 hours and then worked till 10pm - would you prefer that I didn't do that?

I know, right? 🙄

I’ve done both and I have to say I agree with you to an extent. In my job working from home sometimes I’ve been so busy I’ve not even had a break. I don’t get to swan off to appointments . despite this it’s still easier than not being at home. There is no commute and I can throw on a wash at lunchtime or start dinner on my break. I do think certain jobs deserve to get paid more for what they do. People who work in hospitals in general for example. No matter how crap the weather is or even if there is a red warning you have to be there and if you are 5 minutes late they’ll be ringing. If you are ten minutes late and not answering they’ll be phoning your next of kin. Despite the fact that your presence is so essential you are generally not treated well and there is no flexibility at all. It’s just exhausting. People can argue look for something easier or retrain but it’s not that simple in reality.

I had to stop gallivanting when going for my smear test, it made it hard for them to find my cervix without getting poked.

Surely it depends on the job? I worked from home up until last year, as long as I was available for meetings I could work my hours as it suited me - so I could put in my calendar they I was out for an hour for a haircut as long as I did my contracted hours.

It was great and I do miss that job.

the more senior the role, the more autonomy there is. Especially for high performing senior people. get the job done, how you do it is up to you.

you just havnt got there yet. And potentially work for An organisation that isn’t very progressive.

you have choices.

I wfh and can pop to appointments in between, very flexible as long as the work is done and well paid, it is a dream job , but I have previously worked in an office five days a week , but never again, I’ve landed on my feet and knowing that makes me work extra hard.
just got to look for another job if your not happy.

I WFH in a senior role, and yes I can gallivant if I want to. I’m paid for my output, not my hours, and I realise I’m extremely lucky to have the degree of flexibility I have. I have before now taken my laptop to the hairdressers so I can work while my bleach is developing - I very rarely am needed on unscheduled Teams calls. My boss is happy for me to work from wherever I want to, as long as I’m productive. Sometimes that means that I work all evening because I’ve had a long lunch, or that I work on a Sunday because a click and collect at ikea turned into a full-on mooch. There’s a big but coming - I allow my team the same courtesy. As long as they do what they need to do, and are available on the phone, then I literally could not care less when they do the work. One of my girls works better in the evening, which is fine. I’m more productive later in the day. One of my girls gets up at stupid o’clock and has more or less finished her working day by lunchtime. She picks up the phone if I need her to in the afternoon. I’m not in the business of making my team use annual leave if they’re contactable and their work is done. And what do you know, my team is the most productive and consistently scores the highest in terms of happiness in the workplace. They don’t take the piss, they know I don’t take the piss (actually no - they do take the piss sometimes but so what? They get shit done), and everyone is happy.

It sounds like you're the one with the issues. But I'd point out that most people who work from home do hybrid working or have worked office or other jobs so they're well aware of limitations. Also, many jobs don't have flexibility to work a few hours in the evening to catch up or whatever your friend does.
I think you need to look at your own jealousy issues and figure how to deal with those than frame it as a problem for people who WFH.

It absolutely does. A junior member of staff doesn’t have the same perks as a senior member of staff, whether they work in an office or from home.

I work from home in a pretty senior job. I sit at my desk at 7am and get up from my desk at 5pm or 6pm. Some days I don’t eat. Some days I manage a wee about 3pm (I know because the child seat is still on the toilet). Different jobs. Different people. Not sure it’s a wfh / not wfh difference. Just an industry / person based difference.

You have a friend problem (she’s not listening) or a job problem.

I wfh, I don’t go out to get my hair done. At most I nip to the shop for milk or to the post office. I work really hard and have loads of meetings that I can’t duck.

I wfh and get my hair done at the weekend! I get a half hour lunch so I don’t think this is unique to wfh/woth. She just has more flexibility.

I used to get way more errands done on lunchtime when I worked in an office. I was in a city centre and got loads done

You have more flexibility for contractors popping in , plumbers etc , no wfh means you need to book time off

My job is hybrid. When I am working from home that's 2+ hours I don't have to spend commuting, so I get more work done.

If I work from home, I can’t go to the hairdressers, I have work to do. I go to the hair dressers on a saturaday or during annual leave just like you.

I work from home. I can make appointments during the day if unavoidable, but I’m regularly working until late into the evening if operational need demands it.

I WFH.

I book time off for any appts, same as you. I don't gallivant anywhere

I do take my dog for a half hour walk some days. When I'm lucky enough that my schedule permits.

Basing WFH habits on one friend is not the reality for most

I work from home 2/3 days a week. I absolutely cannot do any appointments on my WFH days! If anything I do this on an office day when I am more likely to get a lunchbreak!