The pandemic has had very few perks, but one that many of us hope will remain in place is the choice to work from home.
Lots of workplaces have granted employees WFH freedom, allowing them to choose the days they want to come to the office and those to remain at home.
The hybrid work pattern has left many strategically choosing WFH days that mean more sleep time or social time – Mondays and Fridays.
And those choosing to come into work only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays have been given an, err, interesting moniker.
Introducing the TWAT (which, if it wasn’t clear, stands for Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays).
City workers have reportedly been using the term to describe their cheeky colleagues taking advantage of the new ways of working.
And it may be catching on. Over on Twitter, people had a giggle at the whole thing. One person wrote: “Can’t say I disagree with this nickname from my behalf.”
Another quipped: “If only they knew we’ve always called city workers that.”
But one person defended the employees, saying: “Perhaps better described as hypertwats. They are generally super efficient in the 3-day work period.”
While the term might be super relevant right now, it actually hails from before the pandemic.
Writing in a piece for the Spectator, Rory Sutherland explained how some people had utilised the middle of the week for travelling to work for in-person meetings while using Mondays and Fridays to tend to admin that wasn’t location specific.
“Instead of their lives being a mess of different demands, they have partitioned their week by activity, meaning the ratio of communication modes they use is driven by their schedule, not other people’s whims,” he wrote.
“I’m not sure the name is going to catch on, but the behaviour should. The more people become Twats, the more effective twattery becomes.”
Boris Johnson, however. reckons you ought to be coming into the office more. He told LBC earlier this week you could even be gossiped about if you’re being too much of a TWAT person.
He said: “We are certainly encouraging people to get back to work in the normal way. And I think that’s a good thing… for young people in particular, it is really essential if you’re going to learn on the job, you can’t just do it on Zoom.
“You’ve got to be able to come in and sit at the [desk], know what everybody else is talking about, otherwise you’re going to be gossiped about, and lose out. You need to be there and you need to have the stimulus of exchange and competition.”
But if you’re allowed to and it makes you happy, then we say continue being a TWAT. After all, the real fools are the ones not making the most of it.