Do you ever do personal tasks during business hours?

[Anonymous]

I sometimes take care of personal stuff (like paying bills and coordinating my kids' activities) during business hours. I try to make it up in the evenings by working from home, but I don't always do so. (As a mom working full-time, I feel pretty stretched. DH is great too, but a lot still falls in my lap.) I tend to take care of these personal tasks for about 45 minutes in the early afternoon, when I tend to be less focused anyway (and then I seem to get a second wind at about 2:45 pm.)

I have a good job (in-house attorney at a company here in the DC area), and I feel guilty because my employer is not getting a full work day out of me every day. (Sometimes I work way more hours, but most days I'd guess I'm "working" and focused perhaps 7.0 hours per day.)

Do you ever do personal tasks at work? Are you productive during business hours at all times?

I welcome input from others.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Yes, I do. Nearly every day. My company is very clear (in writing) they are hiring for results, not a certain number of hours. Other policies (pto, how doctors appointments are handled, work from home, etc) reflect this as well.

Some weeks I work 50 hours. Some weeks I work 35. I am always available between 8-5, and I give them the same flexibility in return - I am willing to handle important last minute things after hours.

It really depends on company culture. If you clock in and out, have defined breaks, stick strictly to scheduled work hours - probably nor good to handle personal tasks. If it is more of a work-life integrated place, then no big deal.

Would you be looked down on for taking an extra half hour once a month for an appointment over lunch? If so, probably not a good place to do personal stuff. If it is NBD, so is the personal stuff.

[Anonymous]

Yes I do. As long as I get my work done it doesn't matter.

[Anonymous]

Do you also take a lunch break? Do you have defined tasks or are you an hourly worker? It's kind if bad form to do lots of this stuff if everyone can see you doing it, but if you are getting your work done and especially if you aren't taking a lunch break, you're in the realm of reasonable.

I personally wouldn't do things like balance my checkbook at work, but do I call the repair guy or doctor or other things that require you to call during business hours? Sure.

There are studies that show that doing what appear to be mindless or relaxing tasks actually help you focus better and engage parts of your brain that you need to do other kinds of thinking. We actually have a space in our office for jigsaw puzzles and a few websites we're encouraged to visit for short breaks to help us do our jobs.

[Anonymous]

Of course. I work under non-exempt so I work until the job is done and not on an hourly basis.

[Anonymous]

No unless I absolutely have to. I'm paid to do my work not my personal business.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely. Somethings can only be done during business hours.

That said, last summer I was standing on the beach with my feet in the water, answering emails while I was on vacation.

The way I see it, for every 10 min of work time I spend on personal things, I spend about 60 min of personal time on work things. Sadly work always comes out the winner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Absolutely. Somethings can only be done during business hours.

That said, last summer I was standing on the beach with my feet in the water, answering emails while I was on vacation.

The way I see it, for every 10 min of work time I spend on personal things, I spend about 60 min of personal time on work things. Sadly work always comes out the winner.

+1

[Anonymous]

I do about two hours actual work on a good day. I feel no guilt because I achieve more in those two hours than most of my colleagues to in eight.

[Anonymous]

To the Non-Exempt PP - I think you mean to say " Exempt", non exempt classification is driven by OT laws and leave us scheduled in hours as well.

[Anonymous]

Leave is*

[Anonymous]

Yes. My employer issues me an iphone and I'm expected to follow messages, texts and phone calls pretty much 24/7, 7 days a week. I take time from my family every single day and while I am on vacations, sick leave, religious holidays, etc. In return, I pay my bills, make medical appointments, and call my elderly parents. I can't imagine that anyone does not have to get such chores done, OP, and it's a reality of modern life.

I also can't imagine that any supervisor or manager would begrudge an employee five minutes (or 45 minutes) down time to complete these tasks. FWIW, I am a manager. Whether you are paying bills or walking around schmoozing, you are not productive every nanosecond of the day. Get real.

[Anonymous]

Never.

My office requires you to provide notarized statements bi-annually attesting to this. Internet pages are tracked and managers get weekly reports on all sites visited by employees. Any external calls require a passcode. Tom sheets are completed in 15 minute increments regardless of level (director+ even). We also have mandatory training every 3 months on this policy (with a computer based quiz at the end).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never.

My office requires you to provide notarized statements bi-annually attesting to this. Internet pages are tracked and managers get weekly reports on all sites visited by employees. Any external calls require a passcode. Tom sheets are completed in 15 minute increments regardless of level (director+ even). We also have mandatory training every 3 months on this policy (with a computer based quiz at the end).

Curious what kind of place you work for?
Is this a govt contractor where your time must be vouchered?
Or a classified environment where they need to keep track of everything?

Or a commercial company that is just super penny wise?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Never.

My office requires you to provide notarized statements bi-annually attesting to this. Internet pages are tracked and managers get weekly reports on all sites visited by employees. Any external calls require a passcode. Tom sheets are completed in 15 minute increments regardless of level (director+ even). We also have mandatory training every 3 months on this policy (with a computer based quiz at the end).

You should find a new job. Wtf.