Working from home

elsien

There is no legal entitlement to an hours’s lunch break. The law says 20 minutes if you work more than six hours. Many places have more than this on a contractual basis (generally unpaid) but it’s quite variable and doesn’t have to be an hour.

Saver73

I've read this thread, it's really interesting to read the comments and to hear about the different experiences people have had working from home.

I've been predominantly working from home since March 2020. Initially I didn't like it but felt fortunate at being able to continue working through the pandemic. Then for a long period of time I really enjoyed working from home. 

In this last year I started to find it difficult, it made me feel miserable and I became quite lazy, I longed for the old office environment pre-pandemic but knew that was never going to happen, as things have moved on, times have changed.

I struggled with hybrid working, never seeming to get into a pattern of working which suited me.

3 months ago I started a new job and made the drastic decision to go back to office working 5 days a week. I'm really enjoying the job, I work with a great team of people, there are enough people in the office each day, so I have good levels of interaction, as well as being an extremely busy role, I have better energy levels and I'm feeling more upbeat and enthusiastic than I have felt since the pandemic.

I'm fortunate that this is a flexible arrangement and I can revert to hybrid working in the future if I wanted to.

The only negative is the travel, it took me a few weeks to adjust, I was very tired, some days the travel is bad - late or missing buses, overcrowding, heavy traffic, roadworks, etc.  Some days it can take 20 minutes other days up to an hour. Though for me the benefits outweigh the negatives.

So in answer to the original post, working from home a very personal choice, if you have the option trial it first over a period of time. I had a seperate space to work from home in and I still found it difficult. 

MrsStepford

DigSunPap said:

MrsStepford said:

Husband has worked from home and enjoyed it. What he doesn't enjoy, is driving to another county, to then sit on his own in an office all day, doing back to back Teams calls with people in the same office block and not getting a lunch hour.

At least WFH he could  eat breakfast while answering emails, shove the washing on, raid the fridge or take his laptop to the park. He could walk round the block on the phone or to a convenience store and back.

He arranged meetings in the car parks of tourist attractions, country parks, town parks and at beaches so that he and his colleagues could socially distance, get some fresh air and a change of scenery. 

We converted the back end of our sitting room into an office space for him, so that he could walk away from it at 4pm or 5pm depending on start time. 

Why is he not getting a lunch hour? I am pretty sure by law you are entitled to taking your lunch.

You are entitled to a lunch hour, but it's difficult when the head of department schedules meetings over lunch. He was expecting people in the building to bring lunch to the meeting. Whereas when people are WFH they can often set their working hours more flexibly. 

MovingForwards

I started a new job about 15 months ago, some training was done face to face in an office, most of it was done via teams months later to correct what I had been taught. Occasionally there's meetings in the office, which most of us think is a waste of time.

I've a small space in the lounge set up as an office area, basically my desk long with enough space to move my chair back a bit and turn it when leaving. 

WFH is great due to my health and I can take long lunches to have a rest. I enjoy the peace and quiet, no phones ringing, chattering or other office noises. If I want a natter with my workmates I text or teams them, they do the same. I am working longer hours as I've no commute, but I've done that in previous jobs too to avoid rush hour traffic. 

Husband also WFH and we set him up in the second bedroom.

DigSunPap

MrsStepford said:

DigSunPap said:

MrsStepford said:

Husband has worked from home and enjoyed it. What he doesn't enjoy, is driving to another county, to then sit on his own in an office all day, doing back to back Teams calls with people in the same office block and not getting a lunch hour.

At least WFH he could  eat breakfast while answering emails, shove the washing on, raid the fridge or take his laptop to the park. He could walk round the block on the phone or to a convenience store and back.

He arranged meetings in the car parks of tourist attractions, country parks, town parks and at beaches so that he and his colleagues could socially distance, get some fresh air and a change of scenery. 

We converted the back end of our sitting room into an office space for him, so that he could walk away from it at 4pm or 5pm depending on start time. 

Why is he not getting a lunch hour? I am pretty sure by law you are entitled to taking your lunch.

You are entitled to a lunch hour, but it's difficult when the head of department schedules meetings over lunch. He was expecting people in the building to bring lunch to the meeting. Whereas when people are WFH they can often set their working hours more flexibly. 

That is unfortunate - had a situation at my old job they would make us do mandatory training every other day at lunch. Told to go and buy something and come straight back in to train

FallenAngel2612

Thank you everyone for all your insight.  Given me a lot of food for thought.  

I found out today I got the job! I have to work a fairly lengthy notice period in my current job so I have a bit of time to get my head around everything and think how I can make it work best.  I’m excited for the opportunity anyway, it will be a complete change for me.  

route101

Interesting discussion. I have had two roles over the last few years. One was mostly WFH at the start and my current role is mostly office based. The WFH role was later start and later finish and current role is start earlier and finish earlier. In the WFH role I made sure to have a lunch break but in my current office role its at the desk while working, seems to be the culture. 

DigSunPap

route101 said:

Interesting discussion. I have had two roles over the last few years. One was mostly WFH at the start and my current role is mostly office based. The WFH role was later start and later finish and current role is start earlier and finish earlier. In the WFH role I made sure to have a lunch break but in my current office role its at the desk while working, seems to be the culture. 

Which did you prefer? I think I prefer the WFH lifestyle but it is the office culture that I miss 

maurice28

Lots of great points already made here but thought I would add my two pence worth. I started working from home in my previous job during the pandemic, then a couple of years ago an opportunity came up that was completely remote based at another company so I went for that. Hybrid or office working isn't an option anymore as there is no one central office!

For me, the benefits of WFH far outweigh the drawbacks. Sure, sometimes I can go a day without talking to anyone and you do have to be disciplined to start and finish at a set time. I find family life helps with that - I get away from the laptop around 5pm to start to make tea, and start at 9am after I've dropped the kids off at school.

That's one of the key benefits for me - previously I would commute an hour each way at least to the office, inevitably more when trains were delayed or cancelled. When my kids were young that meant having to miss dinner with them, or miss bedtime if I was particularly delayed. Now I can drop them off and pick them up every day, and am always able to eat dinner with them! Also, with the weather turning cold and wet it is such a relief knowing I won't have to sit at a desk all day having got soaked on the commute!

I'm fortunate enough to have a separate space and desk where I can work, so I can close my laptop down and not have to go near it again until I'm next working.

I'm lucky in that my employer doesn't log where I am, what I'm doing or how long I'm taking. As long as my tasks get done, that's what matters. And everyone else in my team (and in a lot of the organisation) WFH too, so I don't feel the odd one out at all.

Some little things I found that helped me were:

• Having a list of local places that I could work from if I felt I needed to get out of the house - cafes that don't get too busy (so you don't feel guilty working from a table), the local library, just anywhere that you can work from while also being around people.
• Get out for a walk or exercise every day - before work, during lunch or in the evening, it can be too easy not to leave the house and I always feel worse for that.
• Get dressed! Might sound funny but it can be easy to be tempted to stay in your loungewear but I always feel more productive when dressed. I'm only talking jeans and t shirt, I've not gone back to wearing shirt and tie!

I like the job I'm in now, but the WFH factor is a big part of the fact I no longer have Sunday feeling, which I feel very fortunate about. It's not for everyone, but WFH has been a really positive life change for me.

Undervalued

MrsStepford said:

DigSunPap said:

MrsStepford said:

Husband has worked from home and enjoyed it. What he doesn't enjoy, is driving to another county, to then sit on his own in an office all day, doing back to back Teams calls with people in the same office block and not getting a lunch hour.

At least WFH he could  eat breakfast while answering emails, shove the washing on, raid the fridge or take his laptop to the park. He could walk round the block on the phone or to a convenience store and back.

He arranged meetings in the car parks of tourist attractions, country parks, town parks and at beaches so that he and his colleagues could socially distance, get some fresh air and a change of scenery. 

We converted the back end of our sitting room into an office space for him, so that he could walk away from it at 4pm or 5pm depending on start time. 

Why is he not getting a lunch hour? I am pretty sure by law you are entitled to taking your lunch.

You are entitled to a lunch hour, but it's difficult when the head of department schedules meetings over lunch. He was expecting people in the building to bring lunch to the meeting. Whereas when people are WFH they can often set their working hours more flexibly. 

No you are not!

You are legally entitled to a 20 min break if your working day is six hours or more. The break should be somewhere in the middle of the day and not right at the beginning or end (although this is not tightly defined).

Any longer break is a contractual matter and not a legal entitlement.