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Tracking hours when working at home



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nameless




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 14 2019, 2:25 am
I'm just curious for those of you that work at home or have hired freelancers to do work for you from home on an hourly basis. Do you bill your hours only the exact minutes that you're working? Or if you need a coffee or drink or go to the bathroom do you stay clocked in? If you were working in a regular office in a salaried position these things are obviously acceptable breaks. If you're working from home by the hour are they also? Since it really is pretty normal to stop for a minute or two but on the other hand you can just clock out for a few minutes and reclock in.

I'm curious to know what you do and for those that have hired hourly freelancers what you're expectation would be.

For the record I'm usually pretty neurotic about 'signing out' for all these little things but I'm just wondering if I have to be.
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amother
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Post Thu, Feb 14 2019, 2:32 am
Anything that is reasonable, I stay on the clock. Bathroom, cup of coffee, drink of water. These things should only take a few minutes and it's reasonable to keep the clock running.
Anything else, I stop the clock - answering an important phone call, making supper, doing anything personal on the computer, etc. Obviously leaving the house or my desk for any period of time longer than a few min.
Anyone that I pay hourly I expect the same.
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rzab




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 14 2019, 2:46 am
I don't stop the clock to go to the bathroom or to make a cup of coffee but anything longer I do. Like you said, when you work in the office you are entitled to bathroom and coffee breaks. Why should it be different at home? As long as you aren't taking advantage
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nameless




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 14 2019, 2:53 am
That's kind of what I've been thinking. But I'm also curious to hear the other side - what other people's expectations are if they hired someone.
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amother
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Post Thu, Feb 14 2019, 3:08 am
nameless wrote:
That's kind of what I've been thinking. But I'm also curious to hear the other side - what other people's expectations are if they hired someone.

I've been on both sides and I have the same expectations of someone else that I hold myself to.
If you hire a freelancer and you think he/she is taking advantage and the bill seems way higher than the services rendered, then maybe you need to have a conversation.
But anyone I've ever paid hourly as a freelancer I've pretty much always felt billed fairly. That the work product I received was commensurate with the hours he/she billed and took into account regular breaks, not something like mopping the whole house.
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allthingsblue




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 14 2019, 4:34 am
I stop the clock for anything- talking to children, bathroom, snack/drink...
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forgetit




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 14 2019, 7:48 am
I generally charge per project and not hour for this reason (It also ends up being more lucrative in the long run). On the rare occasions that I do have a 'per hour' arrangement I stop the clock for anything that takes more than 1 minute.
As I client, I would expect different things depending on how many hours I'm paying for. Ex. If I'm seeing a therapist for a 45 min session I would hope he/she uses the bathroom, takes her coffee, personal calls etc. before or after the session. If he/she will need to do any of these on occassion that's fine, but I wouldnt want it happen on a regular basis.
OTOH, if someone is doing a job that involves a stretch of several hours at a time, I'm totally ok with bathroom/drinks/greeting a person who walks into the room etc. These are essential breaks. I wouldnt be so forgiving of personal calls unless its an absolute 911 emergency.
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acemom




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Feb 14 2019, 9:30 am
Quote:

I've been on both sides and I have the same expectations of someone else that I hold myself to.
If you hire a freelancer and you think he/she is taking advantage and the bill seems way higher than the services rendered, then maybe you need to have a conversation.
But anyone I've ever paid hourly as a freelancer I've pretty much always felt billed fairly. That the work product I received was commensurate with the hours he/she billed and took into account regular breaks, not something like mopping the whole house.


This.

It is impossible to stick to the second or even be expected to.
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