to get life admin done on a quiet WFH day?

[LoveWFH]

I was working until about 10pm last night and today I’m waiting to hear back from international colleagues before I can continue with a project.

So I’ve been in that annoying limbo where I can’t really move things forward.
I’ve been for a walk, done a supermarket shop, been to the post office, done some batch cooking and got on top of the housework.

I’m still checking emails and available, just not glued to the screen. I don’t feel that bad about it because I know when things are busy I regularly work late.

AIBU to think this is just part of WFH and it balances out?

Comments from people at my workplace who cannot do hybrid working who feel it is unfair.

Im assuming you're salaried and paid to achieve outcomes rather than by the hour? If so, and you're delivering the things your employer requires of you in return for your salary, and doing so to the required standard, then that's all that matters.

I get why they would have resentment but that isn't your fault. As you said last night you worked until 10pm. If like my job that isn't marked it just 'evens' out. Which IMO works out best for the company and for me.

Some jobs cannot be WFH or flexible. DH is a farmer he can't just do it from the spare room or tell the cattle I'll get to you at 10pm tonight.

From my experience in offices about two hours a day are spent on social interaction and doing life admin by most employees, which never comes back to the employer. I wouldn't have any issue with you taking time for time. In fact I would encourage it in situations you described. I would keep a brief record in my diary just to make sure it is evening out and not skewed either way and that it wasn't at a detriment to the business outcomes. Sometimes the reality is not exactly what you think it was, so informal records are a good idea.

I WFH and If I was regularly doing 4 hours unpaid overtime, then yes I'd be taking the time back (although I am not that senior so I'd be running it by my manager)

I work for an international company and my team are all US and Canada based but my duties are EMEA focused so I have a full workload during the UK day. My team schedule calls for my afternoon. I do stay later if need be but never 4 hours!

I do have UK based colleagues who work US hours both officially (so they work 2pm - 10.30pm GMT) and unofficially (IE they may stay on late a few times a week and log on late the next day)

No shade on anyone who has the scope and permission to schedule their time as they see fit but there are of course piss takers who ruin it for us all.

Some people say not, and will wail and clutch their breasts that you'll be replaced by AI/outsourced foreign workers etc.

Other people understand that some roles have an ebb and flow, have specific qualification niches, and are about availability.

I'm currently in a busy period at work. I'll probably pull a 50h week in the next few weeks, and get it back in lieu. In the meantime I'm allowed to organise those hours as I see fit with the expectation that I perform.

Which I do, at a substantial saving to the organisation - compared to previous staff, especially.

It's like the adage about the man who fixed a warship with a knock of a hammer and supplied an invoice for £20050. When asked to explain his figure, he supplied: "Tools and time - £50. Knowing where to knock - £20000."

Some people have jobs where they're the hammer and the time. Some people have jobs where they are able to deliver timely value.

No I would not worry. Concentrate on what you achieve not numbers of hours worked. Some of the calls I do are boring and pointless, but calling this out would be poorly received. So I have done my Tesco order online whilst keeping an ear open. I think this is quite normal.

As a rule in any workplace for anyone, don't discuss anything like this with anyone that doesn't have a business reason to need to know. It never ends well and they never see the rationale as you do. I work very flexible and would often work late and be with the goats the next am, but would never say this to anyone apart from the thousands reading this thread. Only my manager needs to know and she often doesn't if the targets are met.
keep it to yourself.

Yanbu for some roles this is just how it is. I take probably one full day off unofficially per month, mix of waiting on others and taking a bit of time back for the early/late calls and logging on at a weekend sometimes to sort something out.

Suspect my team does this too 😂

This.

Ach I do this. WFH and a lot of times it overruns my specified hours or I work over the weekend.
I used to ring my boss and say 'need to go sort xxx" and always got the "go do your thing" response, so now I do my thing and if work calls while im at the post office or wherever i just get a "cool sort when you're back".

It balances out for me, I work unpaid overtime but there's some times during my working day when i go and do something else if i need to.

Depends very much on workplace culture and individual performance but i have no concerns about mine as i put in more than i take out.

@Verv my workplace is the same. I'm available at all times for work, including weekends and on holiday. The quid pro quo is that if I need to WFH to meet the gas man, I can manage my diary around it.

Are they happy to work till 10pm?

Swings and roundabouts. I logged on at 7am so I could take a 2hr lunch and hit the gym. I have days when I am full on for 10-12 hours. Then others where I get some washing done and go for a walk. I am scheduled for 35 hrs a week and average more than that overall and get great performance reviews. I wouldn't mention my schedule specifically to colleagues 100% in the office tho as I can see why it might cause resentment

What would have you done in that time if you were in the office? Do you genuinely have no other non urgent work to get on with? I mean not judging as I probably would have done the same in your shoes if I was WFH and no one was chasing me but this is the reason companies are bringing back full time requirements to be in the office. I regularly need to work until 10pm as do all my colleagues but we would not be expected to take time out for the supermarket etc unless we’d been working late for multiple nights in a row or working all weekend etc. Depends on your employer’s expectations I guess.

Good point. They probably are not happy to do late hours. They look at the perks of flexibility, lower car parking charges etc.

In the office, I would have chatted to others and done life admin. I am uptodate with my work.

My company can't bring everyone back in even if they wanted to as they have sold off lots of buildings so no longer have the space.

I won a bonus last year as I exceeded all my targets so it is working fine the way I do things.

I WFH most days. I always do other stuff, dog walks, gym class, shopping, general pottering. Tomorrow afternoon I have a 90 minute massage booked.

I get my work done. My organisation has an agile working policy, so we’re actively encouraged to have a good work/life balance. I manage a large team, I don’t expect them to be in front of laptops all day, and they’re not. It’s all about outcomes and productivity, not rigid working hours.

Well then you know the answer to this. Ignore the stupidity. There is something about remote work that makes some people misplace their brains.

Your colleagues appear to be whining because they think they should have the benefits of your job without the downsides. It's a double standard. But if in fact they do want what you've got, they can try to get a remote role that involves working with other timezones outside of the standard UK office hours.