wfh - how strict are you with routine?

[YellowDahlia]

I recently started a new job - I've moved from PT to FT and also there's a lot more working from home involved. I do enjoy some of the benefits of this (relaxed clothing, no rushing out in the mornings, better coffee 🙂 etc) but I'm also getting a bit hacked off with sitting for such a long time and staring into a laptop for such a large part of my day, which just doesn't happen in an office - there are interruptions from colleagues, you go in search of a file, meetings to walk to etc etc.

So, on an average or quieter working day, outwith meetings or deadlines, do you sit and work ALL DAY no matter what? Or do you sometimes spend a bit longer at lunch, or take care of some household chores or life admin, bearing in mind that if you were in the office the equivalent would be having a good old chat with colleagues, or nipping out for lunch or whatever ie time away from a screen even though it's a working day. And also taking into account there will be also be busier days when you probably will be flat out with meetings or deadlines or whatever. It's all a balance, right?

I feel a bit guilty when it takes me too long to hang the washing, or if my parents pop in to drop something off and we have a chat! If this was you would you a) take the time off your lunch hour or b) forget about it - you will likely end up working late some other day so it will all balance out

I'm just curious really about what other people's attitudes are - I need to make wfh work for me, and adjust to full time hours, but if it means being chained to my laptop for the next however many years then I think I'll be miserable...

I went into the office yesterday and found it so difficult to concentrate and do work. It was lovely to see more people back in but I look back now and wonder how I was ever ft in the office!

My days in the office now are more about showing my face than getting lots of work done.

I do take breaks at home to do chores and on days like today to have a cuppa in the garden. But when I need to properly get my head down and do some detailed concentrated work it is so much easier and more effective to do it at home. I can also do it more quickly without phones ringing and office chit chat.

I am focused when wfh - it’s something I did before lockdown anyway, so was used to it and really like it. All my files are on a shared drive, I manage sites across the region so can’t remember the last time I walked to a meeting and use the time when I might have spent five minutes chatting to a colleague while making a coffee to put on a washing. I definitely don’t take the piss, either at home or when I’m in the office and use my evenings or lunchtime for my work/life balance. I need to be contactable during work hours via Teams so wouldn’t take myself off to the gym etc.

They get more work out of me wfh, I actually find my lunch break will often get interrupted, so I might work into normal lunch break then when I try to take it someone else will call/message me (it isnt obvious you are on your lunch as they cant just glance over at your desk). I always thought I'd be really unproductive wfh but I work longer too, at the end of the day I'm not dashing for a train so will sometimes still be working 30min over my hours. I really miss office chatter, I find that there is no chit chat, every call/meeting is work focused so I know so little about everyone I work with even though I've worked with them over a year. I don't miss the commute, but I miss human interaction that isn't just work focused oh and moving around/being out the house.

Some days WFH I get practically nothing done because I'm such an awful procrastinator. Weirdly the most productive days are when I break the day up by doing little household chores inbetween.

So put a wash on, an hours work, clean the bathroom, another hour, hang the washing, maybe and hour and a half, walk to the post box. You get the picture. If I have lots of domestic jobs I want to squeeze in I seem to get more actual work done too.

I can honestly say I work all day. I start around 7:45am, take very few breaks and finish around 6pm or sometimes later. I get up at 6:45 and shower/dress, and basically work "full on" until the evening. I do appreciate not spending £1000 a month on commute/lunch, better coffee and no time wasted on trains so when I am finished I'm then done - not 1.5 hours commute!

It depends what day. One day I have Teams meetings most of the day and barely get up. The other days I log on at about 9.15 after the school run, take about 15 mins for lunch, but don't worry about the odd five minutes chatting to DH, or getting a coffee, as I'd do this jn the office. I work til 5ish but occasionally schedule an appointment on a quieter day. If so, I log on after hours for a bit.

I don't do any chores or washing until Saturday but I am not sure what is wrong with putting a load on. People don't work constantly in the office.

Wfh flexes around me. I drop DS at the school bus then back home by 8am. I'm already up and dressed so I start work immediately, work straight through until 1, then take a full hour lunch. I run or prepare/put supper in the slow cooker. Maybe potter round the garden. Work 2- 5.15, then collect ds from the bus.

By then, I've done my 8 hours, supper is nearly cooked and my evening is my own.

I love it

I'd love it if people gave a general idea of their job alongside their posts...

I am not strict. But I wasn't when I was in the office as organised my own diary.

I usually start around 7.30 work til about 10.30 then take the dogs out. Then work 11.30 til about 3pm. Prep dinner. Then work til 5pm. Have dinner and spend time with the kids and log back on about 9pm check any emails and make sure I have everything for the next day. Then go to bed.

I usually put a wash on before work.

I work for a non departmental public body in the environment sector.
Yes it has its perks, but its underpaid for the work and haven't had a pay rise for 10yrs. Swings and roundabouts.

@EllieQ

Yes, I work all day. That’s what I’m employed to do

I try to take a five minute break every hour, as you’re supposed to do when working on a screen, and use this time to put a wash on/ hang it out to dry/ make a cup of tea. To me this is the equivalent (time-wise) of having a few minutes chat with a colleague in the office. But I wouldn’t take any longer, and I wouldn’t be calling or FaceTiming people while I’m working - that’s just taking the piss! Plus I wouldn’t be able to focus on my work while chatting.

I am quite tightly constrained by the school run / after school club pickups meaning that I can’t just work late to catch up, unless I log in later in the evening (which I hate doing). So I focus on getting work done during my working hours.

But many people are paid to meet targets ....so why would they work all day🙄.... my DD easily meets her targets by averaging around 4 hours a day....the rest of the time she spends ...doing laundry....picking up kids....making dinner...ironing.....popping to shop etc....So her evenings and weekends are not filled with chores anytmore....maybe time to find yourself another job?

Finance manager in local government, so my work is a mix of technical/detailed spreadsheet stuff, projects, report writing and managing a small team. We do work flexitime so I can clock on and off, work around the nursery run, and I don’t just sit there for the sake of it - but my point was to get through my workload, meet my targets/objectives, that requires me to put the time in talking to colleagues and working at my computer.

If I could get my work done/meet my objectives in only 4 hours a day, it wouldn’t be a good use of taxpayers money to pay me for 7.5.

I work from 8 to 5 at least, usually have lunch at my desk. I only make coffee and have bathrooms breaks. Occasionally we have watercooler virtual non work chats.My workload does not allow for naps and housework etc..

Are you able to get additional IT equipment like a monitor and keyboard etc? If you have room of course but I find it much more pleasant than working from a laptop all day! I do try and at least stand up and do some stretches periodically otherwise I find sitting there for hours upon end even in a proper office chair leaves me feeling a bit achy and also effects my energy levels; I find taking a few minutes to do that or grab a drink or whatever sets me up better for the next hour or so. Beyond that though I find it okay, it doesn't suit everyone though.

There is no way I could achieve my targets in less than the time I am paid to work either. There is always something else to do.

Yes, contact centre. I'm paid to be sat down, answering calls so I take my breaks and that's it

But many people are paid to meet targets ....so why would they work all day🙄.... my DD easily meets her targets by averaging around 4 hours a day....the rest of the time she spends ...doing laundry....picking up kids....making dinner...ironing.....popping to shop etc....So her evenings and weekends are not filled with chores anytmore....maybe time to find yourself another job?

And many people aren't! I'm a solicitor with a full to bursting case load and clients who expect to be able to get hold of me during normal working hours. Some people also think I'm around during the evening and at weekends, which is rather optimistic!

My job requires me to be available during office hours and I interact with the public and service providers so can’t just do my work in the evenings or at weekends.

We have flexibility regarding start/finish/lunch times but there are core hours so not a come and go as you please set up. Anything over our contracted hours is “banked” and we can build up an extra day off every month so it would definitely be a piss take to go for walks, potter around the garden or take a nap during working hours!

I do take a few minutes to put a wash on or hang clothes etc which isn’t considered an issue at all but that’s a 5 minute here and there thing, no different to the time people might have spent making a coffee, chatting or, for the smokers, a cigarette break.

I tend not to take a lunch break but will have short breaks through out the day to do chores etc. Or if I'm super quiet I'll go for a run

Financial Adviser. Day is full of talking to clients and financial institutions. I start at 8.30 finish at 5.30 and don't stop apart from wee breaks in-between.

I am more task focused than hours focused. I tend to start earlier than my contracted start time, map out what I need to achieve that day and crack on with that. Once that's done, I can be a bit more flexible, eg pop to the supermarket, do a few chores, and check in again towards the end of the work day. Some days I work a lot more than my contracted hours, some days less.

I've been WFH for 2 years now thanks to covid.
I work longer and harder with being at home. Previously I'd work 7-3 now I work 8-5/6/7 if I log off 'early' I'm questioned by my line manager even though I've done my hours, although I think that's just him.
Previously there were a large amount of people finishing at 3, not anymore.
Days where I go into the office are shorter.
But then again, I couldn't just be lazy and not work. Vast majority of my larger team are like me, those new to the team are the ones who tend to be lazy.

Sounds like we have a similar job @BobbinHood - I work in project management (mainly the finance side) in local government. And like you, my point was that I need to work my full hours to meet my workload / fulfil targets. If I could do it all in four hours a day, I’d be expected to pick up more work, not slack off.