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 work in a specialised marketing role for a big multinational, WFH since Covid, now in 1 day a week, normally pretty busy, 10 hour days standard

I’m pretty strict about being sat at my desk, properly dressed (top half ), made up etc by 10 to 9 to start the day right

My last job was regularly 8-8 with hardly any breaks/often no time to eat a sandwich so surviving on biscuits etc (this was the culture of the whole company, one reason I’ve left)

New company seems to have a bit more of a lunch break culture so I take a walk 12-1 nearly every day, then work when I get back and take a quick short lunch break about 2-3

I do sometimes take a 30 min break in the afternoon to do some chores, and usually have lunch with a friend 1 day a week (instead of the walk, for an hour and a half)

Finish by 6 or so instead of contacted 5.30 as prefer to have more breaks. It works both ways though: I have/would have meetings starting 7am-7pm if there is a rush on

I also would take an hour or 2 off here and there if I need/want to (go to the bank, supervise builders etc) - every few weeks. Make up the time usually as plenty going on

From experience of managing a team myself, it is apparent if nothing is getting done: not in 1 day but over 2-4 days it shows. I think being available to colleagues & not taking the piss is the main thing, vs ten mins hanging out washing

In your case, sounds like the unscheduled time is getting you down. I suggest you set a morning & afternoon break (15-30 mins) at a set time - and do some quick chores/grab a drink, then you know when is work and when off time

Also get a cheap fit bit or similar- they buzz at ten to the hour to remind you to get up and move

I step away from the laptop throughout the day.

Typically I log on 8.15, log off 3pm, log back on 3.30, log off 5pm. So I'm already online longer than my 7h25m I need to be. But during the day I will put laundry on, take a shower, run the vacuum round, prep a slow cooker dish, etc.

On busier days I never leave my seat save for brewing up, but I have a nice balance of busier and quieter days, so the chores above can slot in on quieter days.

@NoWordForFluffy

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!

So you likely earn a lot more than my DD ....she earns 32k pro rata....I’m assuming you earn at least double that....hers is a bog standard job and like I said has easily achievable targets....she’s no different than any of her colleagues...i expect her managers don’t put in a full day either

I work part time . Outside of meetings I tend to work my hours to suit. However I do log time spent doing my actual work. So for example I may walk my dog in the morning or go for an extended lunch break but I make my hours up later or the next day . I have to really or I wouldn't get my weekly work tasks completed .

I wouldn't count time spent popping to the kitchen to make a coffee as non-work time as I would be doing that in the office - just longer times away from my desk or if I've been really distracted.

@babywalker56

do you sit and work ALL DAY no matter what?

Sorry no😂 not me. A lot of people on MN seem to be very strict when it comes to WFH yet everyone I know in real life that works from home are super lax like me.

I'm currently on maternity leave but when I was WFH I'd often have a nap here and there, pop to the shops, do work whilst on the phone/ft to my friends. My auntie works from home and she'll often do a lot of gardening during working hours too. My work always gets done and I always prioritise meetings/deadlines but I definitely do not work all day. I'll always take longer than 1hr for my lunch too.

My manager does the same thing tbh😂 one time I called him and he was in the garden playing with his niece. As long I don't go off of MT for too long then it isn't a problem! I'd never leave early tho, always stay online until my shift is over

Hmm unfortunately an awful lot of people are "working" from home in this way, taking naps and walks and going swimming instead of working Meanwhile we've become accustomed to accepting shit service because of Covid.

Personally I've never worked from home but I think taking little breaks to chat to somebody or empty the washing machine is fine, but if you're boasting about spending long chunks of time not working when you're being paid to then you're a pretty rubbish employee to be honest.

So you likely earn a lot more than my DD ....she earns 32k pro rata....I’m assuming you earn at least double that....hers is a bog standard job and like I said has easily achievable targets....she’s no different than any of her colleagues...i expect her managers don’t put in a full day either

Nope, I earn nowhere near that much. Contrary to popular belief, not all solicitors are highly-paid.

I've also found, though, that I get a lot back in terms of reward for spending time streamlining what I do.

So I inherited lots of spreadsheets in my role, most of which were convoluted and overly packed with useless lines.

By spending some of my quiet time working to make them work better for me, I've saved stacks of time in the long run.

One piece of work I inherited used to take the previous person 6-7 hours to complete. I did that a few times and thought "fuck this" - realised I could pull certain reports, feed them in differently, and hey presto- whole thing takes 20mins.

Did I tell th boss? Nope!

@YellowDahlia: when I switched to WFH, I also found the sitting was getting on my nerves. As last job had a lot of meetings where you have to listen (but not necessarily say anything/have camera on) I used that time to step (on my bottom stair & eventually bought an aerobic step to keep next to desk). I was averaging an hour most days on that which helps a lot with activity; started to look forward to that kind of meeting:)

Do the minimum you can get away with. It’s a good rule for life I find🙂.

I do take breaks and get most of the the housework done during my working day, but I always do the hours I’m supposed to and meet deadlines. I’m happy to work a bit later in the evening if I’ve taken a longer break earlier in the day. But a few minutes every couple of hours doing laundry, washing up, hoovering, tidying, ironing, etc, during the day makes life so much better. When I log off for the day the housework is already done, it’s great.

I'm pretty strict, yes. if I weren't work would just pile up.

however, for meetings I stand up.
I do take coffee breaks.
go for a 'commute' walk mornings & evenings.

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.

That's a sign of a badly run workplace.

She's paid not only to meet targets, presumably, but to work certain hours.

If she has achieved set targets in 4 hours, she should identify more or notify her manager. And if they don't act on it & and are fine with her spending 3+ hours of her paid hours doing non-work tasks, they are mental.

I manage a team in higher education and do a blend of wfh and on-site. I love the blend. The days I'm on site, I feel a bit frustrated with the 'lost' time for commuting, excessive interruptions etc but I also value the interactions, the changed environment and the fixed start / finish time (I stop working when I leave, whereas I often go back to work in the evening when at home).

At home, I often do a slightly shorter day, as I'll fit in the school drop / collection, some quick household tasks & finish earlier to be around with kids & homework. However, I work flat out, no distractions, no other breaks, and my output is overall more than the days I'm in the office.

Saying that I'm conscious to give that time back eg if I nip out for 20 minutes on the school run; at some point - I might do some work early one morning, later in the evening or at weekends.

I love that flexibility. I feel I benefit from working from home and it's fair to pay that back.

Those of you who include runs, gardening and naps in what's considered your working day - I don't doubt you work well & achieve targets. But unless it's explicitly said 'you can stop working once this is done' you & your organisation should be getting even more from your excellent skills.

No it's not about 8 hours a day, not a minute less.
But it shouldn't either be that you have hours of intended work time to give to your personal life.

@EllieQ

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.

Exactly.

she’s no different than any of her colleagues...i expect her managers don’t put in a full day either

I would hate to work in an organisation like this. What a waste of resources.

£32k is not insignificant either!

Regardless of what anyone is paid, I expect them to work to their capacity, but I recognise that there would be little point in your DD doing this if her managers aren't either!

@EarringsandLipstick

she’s no different than any of her colleagues...i expect her managers don’t put in a full day either

I would hate to work in an organisation like this. What a waste of resources.

£32k is not insignificant either!

Regardless of what anyone is paid, I expect them to work to their capacity, but I recognise that there would be little point in your DD doing this if her managers aren't either!

Well it’s horses for courses isn’t it....my DD would likely hate your job....it suits her with a young family...she’s not career driven....so quite happy to plod along doing what’s expected of her but not a thing more

@Kitkat151

Yes, I guess. And if it's the company culture and all the managers also just work half-time, why would she do differently?

For me, I'd hate being in a subpar organisation that is happy to waste its resources that way.

I like to be busy, productive & achieve as much as I can. I work too hard, and as a single parent of young children, that's also not good.

In terms of working to ‘capacity’ though, humans are simply are not designed to work at 100% all the time. I read that working at roughly 80% capacity is optimum and you can then pull on your reserves to up it to 90-100% in a crisis or very busy period.

If you try to work 100% capacity all the time the quality of your work will suffer, and it’s not going to be great for mental or physically health either. Breaks are an important part of work.

So yes - when working from home I take frequent breaks, go for walks, put the washing on etc.

If I could do it all in four hours a day, I’d be expected to pick up more work, not slack off

Not everybody cares enough about a job like this. I'd also be expected to pick up more work but I can hit my targets within 6hrs so I don't go over and beyond to do more work. You can call it slacking off but I literally don't care

[quote EarringsandLipstick]@Kitkat151

Yes, I guess. And if it's the company culture and all the managers also just work half-time, why would she do differently?

For me, I'd hate being in a subpar organisation that is happy to waste its resources that way.

I like to be busy, productive & achieve as much as I can. I work too hard, and as a single parent of young children, that's also not good. [/quote]
Well you never get the time back when they are little....my DD is around loads for my GDs ...never has to spend any time doing chores or cooking or shopping when they are home....and I’m sure , later down the line, my DD won’t be saying ‘ I wish I had been more productive in my job’....she likes to be ‘busy and productive’ with her little ones....whereas you may( or may not🤷‍♀️) have some regrets about the time you had with your DC when they were growing up...... but we are all different....so no right or wrong

@CowboyFromHell

That's true and something I struggle with. I often work very intensely and working online exacerbates it - you can go from meeting into meeting, without even a pause to have to physically walk to it!

I found I would stop work & just ... collapse. No good to my kids and over-tired & unable to relax.

I'm now adapting - my blended working helps as days in the office are v different to home and I'm more disciplined about meetings and breaks.

However, not working at 100% can mean, working intensively for a period of time, then breaking to do something different and reflective. The great thing about wfh is that you can do that while getting a task done. I often do 10 minutes ironing while working out a solution to a staff issue. In the office, I'd do that while going for a short walk.

That's the benefits of working from home. But going for a nap or taking extended time off - that's just not working.

Totally agree with @FinallyHere

You’re competence and productivity are reflected by the results you give .. it’s hard to say someones slacking WFH when they are meeting their deadlines and getting good appraisals .. what employer is really going to cares if your also doing the laundry, dog walking, popping to the shops for 10 mins etc .. everyone wins and it’s less stressed!

Lots of people faff about in office environments chatting and getting distracted not to mention the commute time wasted !

whereas you may( or may not🤷‍♀️) have some regrets about the time you had with your DC when they were growing up...

I've plenty of regrets, don't we all?

I am a single parent and working hard and providing for them is key.

However, I also do it for me. I am ambitious, for me and for my organisation. I work very hard.

I find your post a bit offensive I think. It's lovely your DD is around for her kids, and I'm pretty surprised there's a functional organisation that pays all their staff to work only half their contracted hours.

It's surely not the norm. In my view; if your DD wants to be around for her DC, she should work part-time, not half her contracted hours.

I do all these things but I set a timer for my work hours for the day and if I stop to answer the door or hang out washing I pause it. Quite simple really.

Only thing I means that on a bad day by 5pm I might still have 2/3 hours left on the timer.

I have MAJOR concentration issues though.

I honestly can't imagine being able to do all these things on my companies time - that's not right to me.

@EarringsandLipstick

whereas you may( or may not🤷‍♀️) have some regrets about the time you had with your DC when they were growing up...

I've plenty of regrets, don't we all?

I am a single parent and working hard and providing for them is key.

However, I also do it for me. I am ambitious, for me and for my organisation. I work very hard.

I find your post a bit offensive I think. It's lovely your DD is around for her kids, and I'm pretty surprised there's a functional organisation that pays all their staff to work only half their contracted hours.

It's surely not the norm. In my view; if your DD wants to be around for her DC, she should work part-time, not half her contracted hours.

She does work part time....3 days ....as I said in previous post, her salary is pro rata.....are you easily offended? As I cannot see what I have have posted that would offend🙄 You have chosen Your way....and my DD has chosen hers. If there’s an easy way of getting through life or a hard way, then she will choose the easier way everytime 🤷‍♀️ ..... im 57 and semi retired now and if I had my life over I would take a leaf from my DDs book of life