Do you know anyone who works but barely works?

[thea123]

So my friend's husband works in sales, I believe he earns fairly good money, but he seems to spend a huge amount of time during the week not working, but working. So he'll answer phone calls here and there and emails but he'll be out doing non-work activities like out with his friends or having meals. He also seems to be able to claim meals on his expenses that weren't meals with clients. My friend laughs it off and obviously likes the help with the kids when he's home.

In my job I can't be seen to be 'away' from my screen for too long or people would start noticing, I spend my working day working. I really wouldn't get away with the stuff and nor would my husband.

Anyone else know someone who gets away with this? And how!?

My DH to some extent, hes always home but manages to cram a days work into half a day, so spreads it to 'appear' busy and will play with the dog, watch some sport, sunbathe, gets tea ready etc etc.

I’ve worked with several women who spent most of the day talking and one who regularly went off sick with “bad flu” on Mondays.

I know quite a few women with a one woman business, but suspect they earn much. And one man who is a highly paid, niche technical specialist in ICT who does contracts and gets work done remotely, quickly and apart from a few important meetings can take time out in the day.

I expect people who don't know me think that of me - I do all the school runs, I'm at every school event, make time for daytime cake and tea with friends once a fortnight or so, cook/garden/do whatever else etc. (Single mother, sole care)

What they don't see is me starting work at 5am, getting back on the computer after dinner, being on call as needed 24/7, taking meetings in my car or a carpark, pulling over to reply to something in Slack etc.

My brother earns around £160k and has answered a handful of calls in the last 6 months. He’s usually doing his hobbies, cleaning his cars, meeting up with friends. He’s had a series of jobs like it but this one involves the least actual work he’s ever done. It’s a real job at a big name firm and his boss seems to love him.

Me 🙋🏼‍♀️ sales role but it’s all about client relationships and building them. It can take weeks/months to even get a meeting but once you’re in the sales just keep coming so I’m often doing school run, house/life admin etc when I’m on a “doing the groundwork to get new clients” week then the weeks I’m with clients I’m in the city 2-3 nights for meetings and taking clients out etc.

Ive been in the industry a long time and I’m good at my job so I make the most of any due time I have.

Me - I get paid for my specialist knowledge and charge a very high consultancy rate.

I knew a few guys in sales exactly the same. They get paid huge amounts and generally know very little and do very little, it's all about "gift of the gab".
Conversely when I worked for a lovely Senior Partner in a legal firm she would be paid less than quarter of their "fee" and have huge amounts of paperwork with multiple bodies to remember and over 300 clients at any one time. She frequently stayed late and came in early and often had to be reminded to have lunch!
I don't know how companies can pay these people so much, the things they sell hardly ever need a person to do the job!

Yes, a former manager of mine. When we called her out on it, she bullied us. We reported her and nothing was done. We strongly believed it was because she had a disability and the company were scared of getting into trouble.

Former so called Manager , looked busy walked around with a sheaf of paper under her arm , and a mobile but in reality delegated most of her job and spent a lot of time doing sweet FA . The place was overstaffed but eventually as staff left and didn't get replaced she got rumbled and resigned . She had a good 18 year run of easy money.

Are you looking at us? 👀

Me. I often go out for a run, do some laundry, cook etc. while working from home. I spent two hours in total out of the office today, going for a walk, for lunch, for coffee.

Not an eye is batted. We're adults. So long as I get great results and stakeholders remain well managed, my line manager isn't going to check up on me.

I don’t understand the terminology you’re using
laughs it off
get away with it

You’re implying he’s doing wrong, or he’s not actually doing what his bosses want. But you don’t know his job, maybe he’s doing his job, maybe he’s performing very highly and his employers are happy. Maybe he’s just lucky, but it seems a bit much to jump to negative conclusions.
I’ve had jobs like this, and jobs where I can’t move from my desk even for a lunch break without being questioned. I was probably just as productive in both, maybe more productive in the more ‘relaxed’ job because I was happier to put more effort in when needed. A lot of those jobs require a lot of unpaid ground work before you get to that point too. I’ve also had jobs with targets that I could easily achieve or surpass with just half a days work, I wouldn’t get paid more or get any thanks at all for continuing to work all day and double my targets, so I was productive at home instead or relaxed the rest of the day.

If he’s in sales, he should pretty strict targets. So if he wasn’t meeting those, they’d get rid of him. There isn’t much compassion in sales. You have different role with a different company, so it’s pointless feeling hard done by because he doesn’t appear to be working as hard as you. It’s like comparing apples to acorns.

MLMs 😉

You do see this a lot, it's not that uncommon, but only at high levels, not so much base level.

Friend works in sales, and always remote - a hangover from visiting clients which now happens over teams, so she effectively works from home, She actually works around 2 hours a day max. No one is snooping on whether she is online - targets are the focus. She earns over £100k. Honestly don't know why more uni focus/parent encouragement isn't on sales/commercial roles - everyone I know in sales works minimum hours for maximum pay, and rarely work long hours (no client calls after 6pm)! Wish I'd gone down that route.

No one would notice if I took the afternoon off, especially if I checked my emails occasionally and sent a few from my phone. I don’t though, usually, because it’d only mean I had to work more hours on another day. But I WFH and my work is target driven so if I skived a lot, eventually I’d get caught.

My friend who’s in one of the huge ones is the opposite. She’s constantly working herself into the ground trying to put a spin on making a pittance, it’s painful to see. She’s the loveliest woman and it’s tye hope that gets her.

Me, but I get done what needs to be done which involves court preparation work and reports.
I don't earn a mega salary, far from it, I see the flexibility as a non financial bonus and after 23 years in the job I can do it standing on my head if need be. I work probably half my contracted hours.

Many in my team. The expectation is to be in the office minimum 2 days a week and when working from home to be online 9-5 (with an hour lunch break ) I’m one of the only people to go into the office and 9 times out of 10
when you try to get hold of colleagues via teams they appear offline.
wondering why management never question them on this.

Me

But honestly it's sheer luck that I got this job

And there are people in another team who do far less than me!! And they are paid more! It's not even specialized!

One of my employees has more family stress and emergencies than an episode of Casualty. Have tried incredibly hard to be tolerant and supportive but there comes a point when you have compassion fatigue. And I'm there.

Me. I work really hard the 2 days I’m in the office and then barely do anything the 3 WFH days. I have a somewhat ‘reactive’ job where I have to be ready to spring into action at any point and when that happens I am busy, but phone calls and emails can always be answered another day.

So long as I get great results and stakeholders remain well managed

^

This. I deliver what is required of me.