We are all well-versed in the life of the home office by now. So much so that a lot of Dutchies are avoiding the office altogether to work from home. But here’s the twist: their bosses don’t know about it.
Dutchies are famous for their admirable work-life balance, so they’re very deliberate on their home office days.
According to Metro Nieuws, Dutch people are working from home to avoid socialising. Instead, they’re choosing to take care of their kids or dodging workplace confrontations.
Avoiding the office
Birthdays? Nope, 12% of people purposely dodge the office on those days. And we’re not talking about a day off, people still sit behind their computers, they just don’t see their coworkers.
The same goes for work drinks: 27% of young people avoid the office borrel, which is interesting when you consider that only 16% of people of other ages did this.
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And here’s the most interesting one: 18% of young Dutch workers avoid the office so they don’t have to have a hard conversation with their coworkers or managers. This figure is also twice as much as older people.
They’re smart about it
But this isn’t just about dodging your coworkers. Dutch people also work from home to take care of their sick children, for example.
@alperavi For professional reasons, this is a joke 🫢😂 #iamjosemourinho #tactician #worklife #workfromhome #wfh #remotework #corporate #corporatelife #colleague #adult #teams #slack #chat #9to5 #ninetofive #workbreak #coffeebreak #starbucks ♬ Use this sound if Mo is gay – effortlessnz
They also tweak their hours: no one will notice if you start a little later or finish a little earlier, just send “Good morning” on Slack from your bed, and you’re golden.
(Uh, we mean, don’t do that. Get to work on time.)
READ MORE | Dutch Quirk #116: Have a great work-life balance
In fairness, not everyone thrives in the 9-to-5 schedule, so maybe Dutch people just know themselves well enough to know when and how they work best. They could very likely be working fewer hours but get everything done.
Maybe we can all take a page out of the Dutchies’ book and reject hustle culture. All hail the “lazy” home office! 🥳
How do you usually spend your home office days? Tell us in the comments!