How have you skived whilst working from home

[Ryder02]

I have been working from home for some time now - at first I was working to a target so if I smashed out my required rate I could kick back and read a book.
Then I moved to another department on a promotion - at first ran off my feet, so working until 7pm with no overtime some evenings. Changed job slightly and now it is all chill. And as I work from a laptop it is cheers easy as I can move around the house.

As long as I keep an eye on my inbox and deal with anything that comes in that is needed I can crack on with more fun stuff. So far in the past couple of months I have:

Played way too much Assassins Creed - Valhalla
Watched a lot of porn - with attendant activities.
Read books
Watched 3 concerts on youtube
watched about a fair few ‘normal’ films. Well sort of normal - ’The warmest colour is blue’ and ‘Mulholland Avenue’ were amongst them.
Listened to a lot of podcasts
Worked out at home
Made a pizza base for that evening
Made a pot of broccoli and Stilton soup
Bought ton of crap online/amazon and had it delivered - next up is a kayak

Oh and of course read a lot of ARRSE and put up a fair few comments.


I have just assembled a side table, delivered earlier today (ordered whilst ‘working‘ last week) whilst in virtual team meeting - it was one where I knew I only had to listen so could multi-task. So far I have resisted the temptation to call on one of my, erm, ’special female friends’ to come over and crawl under the desk whilst I am on a video call in my study but giving it real thought now.

Has anyone else been guilty of misusing work time so much as I have?

 

[LEGZ30]

 

[FrosteeMARIA]

I wish I had. Booked this week off as leave, and I've realised that although I have had multiple skive opportunities over the last 13 months, I feel I must stay glued to the desk. Feel terribly guilty otherwise. Even when I have nowt to do! WTF is wrong with me?

 

[Ryder02]

I wish I had. Booked this week off as leave, and I've realised that although I have had multiple skive opportunities over the last 13 months, I feel I must stay glued to the desk. Feel terribly guilty otherwise. Even when I have nowt to do! WTF is wrong with me?

Yep - that was me.

For a large part of my career in the mob I was doing a job where my attention was required 100% and to react to ongoing activity - sort of a watchkeeper role.

So in the office, and at first I was like that - glued to the laptop. I still answer anything instantly through the messenger, but as we are quiet and as long as my work is done (which I am making sure it always is...), well time for another podcast. And if the laptop goes ping whilst I am sat on the couch then it gets answered!

 

[ches]

Been doing it for the past year with a 4 month hiatus when furloughed by my previous cuntish employers. With new lot for 6 months & now been offered permanent role after 2 x 3 month contracts. I'm smashing it as my role is actually a step down in responsibility from my previous management duties & the day to day stuff is tasks i was on 15 years ago.....but i'm the same wage as i was on as a manager. Win.

I do fcuk about though, listened to loads of podcasts (while actually working - nearly always had music on so a podcast no different), watched some films, played some old WW2 PC based wargame i used to love, spent loads of time on net inc here. But cos i'm outperforming my oppos due to my exp with the process & software needed for my role I end up with spare time to kill. Win.

 

[Taffwob]

Your experience mirrors mine somewhat.

Get up at 8.45, separate tongue from roof of mouth, switch on 'puter and check e-mails.

1. Nothing new coming in?
a. Right back to bed until this hangover is gone.
b. 3 S's coffee & brekky whilst watching another JRE podcast then walk the hound.

2. Non vital job with no time limit?
Refer to point 1.b. but listen to podcast whilst working. . . . . after walking the hound.

3. Urgent job needed by end of day?
I think I just knocked it out ASAP whilst the missus provided tea, coffee, toast, sandwiches etc. . . . before she walks the hound.

I wish I had. Booked this week off as leave, and I've realised that although I have had multiple skive opportunities over the last 13 months, I feel I must stay glued to the desk. Feel terribly guilty otherwise. Even when I have nowt to do! WTF is wrong with me?

I wasted too much timed doing that and have adopted a more "casual" approach to work and I find I'm producing better quality and a quicker turn around than expected. I'm allocated a full week every Monday morning & I'm having to be creative with my timesheet to cover at least 3 of those days.

 

[Themanwho]

I have a lot - A LOT - of Teams meetings every bleeding day, and the company convention is to have your camera on; having realised that a majority of these meetings are now in place of a phone call ("I know! I'll invite everyone who could possibly have an input to my TEAMS shindig to camouflage that I only need to talk to one engineer, and then I can put "regularly convenes meetings to develop solutions"on my P&D!"), my camera has become very temperamental; I sit with the camera and mic off and surf on Arrse, Guido and the Speccy whilst half listening to the usually pointless drivel that could have been dealt with in 5 minutes one to one chat.

 

[SauceDoctor]

I did a lot of working from home even before COVID, so already had established something of a routine.

Ticket system on screen 1, Windows desktop/Teams on middle screen, Outlook inbox on screen 3.

XBOX on the TV, completed many laps of many tracks

TalkSport on the radio.

I've read quite a few books as well, and am currently reading the G. Gordon Liddy one mentioned on here.

To be fair, they don't really care what I do, as long as I do what they ask when I'm asked.

 

[lokiuk]

I've long since gone for the WFH home uniform, something that will look ok on a webcam for the top half, and if you're lucky I might even be wearing underwear for the bottom half if it's summer

Find it hard to concentrate all day as it is, so get as much productivity done as when I was in an office, but in less time without so many distractions

Leaving more time for surfing arrse, reading books etc, and of course leaving time for country walks during the day

Makes it hard to want change, I could get more money with a proper desk job, but then I'd lose 2-6 hrs a day commuting and have to spend more time pretending to work and more time attending pointless meetings and pretending to like people

 

[mush_dad]

Always have a couple of pieces of work that you've already done, or a long email outlining why you think x is a good idea, or bad idea.

Then when you feel a bit guilty about doing feck all send out one of pre-prepped pieces of work, or send out an e-mail saying you've been thinking about x, what's everyone else's view. Then 1/2 day later send out your prepared draft on the virtues, or not, of x

Don't forget to make use of Outlook's 'do not send before' option to send it out at some hour to show that you've been at your lappy since 07:00 and are still there at 19:00

 

[exsniffer]

The really bad part about every other body working from home with all the skiving opportunities that offers. is that it stops me feeling smug about retiring at sixty

 

[Toastie]

I have a lot - A LOT - of Teams meetings every bleeding day, and the company convention is to have your camera on; having realised that a majority of these meetings are now in place of a phone call ("I know! I'll invite everyone who could possibly have an input to my TEAMS shindig to camouflage that I only need to talk to one engineer, and then I can put "regularly convenes meetings to develop solutions"on my P&D!"), my camera has become very temperamental; I sit with the camera and mic off and surf on Arrse, Guido and the Speccy whilst half listening to the usually pointless drivel that could have been dealt with in 5 minutes one to one chat.

Weak.

My internet connection is very poor and having the camera on uses up too much bandwidth.

Which is much better utilised watching movies, YouTube, music etc whilst people do their thing. Ad breaks are a good time to chime in with something to prove you’re still alive.

 

[Mech_Eng]

I'm on mixed site based and WFH due to the nature of my job. When WFH I have the attitude it's the quality not quantity that counts. I please myself through the day working in small bite sized sessions, laptop is always on and I still get e-mail shit through to the company phone if not.

I put enough time in responding to e-mails outside normal working hours including weekends, I'm not officially on call but I still respond at the time as leaving it can make the situation worse and more work for me when I do react.

Work seems happy so **** em.

BTW I do prefer being in the office as things happen quicker. I'm an impatient ****** especially with up their own Arrse management types.

ETA: My broadband at home is shit, allegedly, so the camera stays off during teams meetings. I don't want them watching me smoking and having a crafty Guinness.

 

[Issi]

Pre Covid, I was working from home for a large Insurance company.

I was selected to film a TV quiz show, and so I waited until 5, then drove from Swansea to Nottingham, quick overnight hotel, turned phone off for a couple of hours, filmed the show, won £500, and then drove home.

My phone was only off for about 2 hours, had no incoming calls, and nobody ever knew that I’d buggered off for the day.

 

[padme]

I'm jealous, would love to work from home.

 

[padme]

Its not all its cracked up to be in certain situations.
I am able to, and have worked from home quite often. It means Im limited to dealing with just online reporting of things though, and a few other things.
I'd much rather be taking 999 calls and dealing with "proper stuff" and gaining some job satisfaction- as opposed to being stuck in the spare room upstairs, with a force issue laptop, trying to use the same amount of systems I have access to but only with one screen, and being mainly confined to the "her at number 23 has a visitor who is parking in my space" type shit.. Wife currently working from home and has frequent zoom stuff and crap civil service team-building stuff. Factor 3 young children into the mix and its currently school holidays.
Can be a nightmare.
When working from home Im not exactly monitored on my output but...I'm pretty sure that if I did feck all it would get noticed. As it happens though- I just crack on and often forget to even take a VDU break-we are allowed 10 mins every hour. Ive often got so stuck into something and been comfortable at home at the same time that Ive ended up working after I was due to finish and didnt realise. The only plus side I actually see is...saves on petrol.

As a father of 3 young children and with a wife who currently works from home also, I'd much prefer being in work.

I work in a surgery, no chance ever going remote. With more demanding panicking patients, being one step away from being sued. Patients don't want to go to hospitals even tho they need to, because all the corona patients are there, GPs not having time due to vaccinating in their surgeries, the patients come straight to us. Tbf we are all tired, overworked. And you can't switch off when you go home, as the only thing you are allowed to do is work, essential shopping, stay home..

 

[lokiuk]

I'm jealous, would love to work from home.

There is more pressure on you to get things done, and it's hard to stick to 9-5 hrs, as people will contact you out of hours and expect a response

Still, keep my work phone on me, and I can go for a country walk anytime I don't have a meeting scheduled, so it's personal preference really.

It's not all lazying about in your underwear looking at xHamster and playing video games, well not all the time anyway....

 

[kiwidoug]

I wish I had. Booked this week off as leave, and I've realised that although I have had multiple skive opportunities over the last 13 months, I feel I must stay glued to the desk. Feel terribly guilty otherwise. Even when I have nowt to do! WTF is wrong with me?

It's called the "White Protestant* Work Ethic"

Otherwise known as White Privilege.

*Other Myths or Fairy Stories can be easily substituted

 

[FrosteeMARIA]

I have a lot - A LOT - of Teams meetings every bleeding day, and the company convention is to have your camera on; having realised that a majority of these meetings are now in place of a phone call ("I know! I'll invite everyone who could possibly have an input to my TEAMS shindig to camouflage that I only need to talk to one engineer, and then I can put "regularly convenes meetings to develop solutions"on my P&D!"), my camera has become very temperamental; I sit with the camera and mic off and surf on Arrse, Guido and the Speccy whilst half listening to the usually pointless drivel that could have been dealt with in 5 minutes one to one chat.

 

[Ortholith]

View attachment 564104

Plus you literally have a captive audience that you can bore to ******* tears, even as they all make comments like "Is that the time?" every 5 minutes.