Is it just ME?

Or is the perception homeworkers are shirking, insulting?

APPARENTLY our bosses aren’t keen on the idea of us working at home because they’re convinced we’re lounging around in our PJs doing our nails rather than toiling at a desk. That’s what a survey by a professional network called Cityparents discovered last week.

How ridiculous! I mean, yes, the Ocado shop may arrive mid-morning, but unpacking that doesn’t take longer than an office coffee break. Forcing people to work in the office is meaningless presenteeism at best, blatant distrust at worse, especially since going into the workplace is the biggest shirkfest ever.

To start, well actually the day doesn’t — not until about half-way through the morning with people dribbling in on flexitime, making breakfast which they then eat at their desks while checking Facebook.

Next it’s the office coffee fix, with everyone jammed into the kitchen chattering about Strictly, after which the personal Amazon deliveries arrive — and the ubiquitous Asos clothing parcels which Jodi in HR has to try on immediately and do a fashion show. Lunch is also eaten at one’s desk, after an hour in the gym or a wander round the shops.

In one office I worked in, there was also Gin o’clock on a Thursday, while it was seemingly always somebody’s birthday, necessitating cake and Prosecco at teatime, after which it’s time to go to the pub. All this against a backdrop of posting on Instagram, telephone calls to the nanny, and ad hoc eye tests and dental appointments.

So how can doing it at home with only a cat to admire your sweat pants, with no mid-day shopping and no celebratory alcohol count as skiving? No gossiping, no overheads, no distractions — we should get a medal. Or a pay rise!

Coffee breaks, Strictly gossip, Amazon deliveries...offices are the biggest shirkfest ever!