Working from home really getting me down now

[Honeysucklelife]

Anyone else? I’m very lucky in that I’m not having to juggle home schooling as well as full time home working, but my job is so intense (rarely have a lunch break due to endless meetings) and I’m getting so down about the lack of social interaction.

Don’t get me wrong I am enjoying the lack of a commute, easier to get jobs done round the house, more time with DH etc but I don’t think I ever realised before how much things meant to me - casual chat with colleagues at our desks, popping out for a coffee together, actually walking around to meetings etc rather than sitting in one place.

What’s getting me the most is we have pretty much been told we will be working like this until next year, so I know I have at least 6 months if not longer of this ‘new normal’.

Anyone else? I just feel like I’m in an endless hamster wheel and there’s no light relief. I do try and (socially distanced!) see friends/family at weekends but evenings I often end up working late.

[EnlightenedOwl]

Yes same here and no end in sight. Although its clear the role I do is being phased out by the business so probably be redundant by September anyway

[HorsesDogsNails]

I feel exactly the same. I'm so lucky that I can do my job from home, the IT infrastructure holds up brilliantly and I am also not home schooling, but I miss the face to face interaction, I miss having a physical space between work and home. I'm part of a Operations department so speaking to other teams means endless email traffic rather than walking up to another human and asking a question.

I'm public sector and work for a government body that is heavily involved in business support for companies affected by Covid so we are also really busy. I'm alright and can't complain as such but it feels like a relentless slog at the moment and we have no indication of when we might go back to the office.

I do count my blessings honestly but I'm not loving wfh...

[Honeysucklelife]

@EnlightenedOwl sorry to hear that

[Honeysucklelife]

@HorsesDogsNails yes the endless slog, that’s a good description. My workplace is usually quite sociable so I’m really missing that. The ironic thing is in my last job (left about a year ago) I was desperate for flexibility as it was very much a chained to desk culture!!

[HandsOffMyRights]

Same here. Husband also wfh and two teens homeschooling themselves mainly.

It's just so 'dry'. Work is extra busy, a relentless slog indeed, and the days merge into one. It's hard to switch off - there's always been a culture of presenteeism by some team members, who email evenings and weekends and this seems to have increased (I'm trying not to feed this, but everybody in our team of 8, seems to be messaging out of hours, apart from me).

I used to wfh 1-2 days per week, but it was just me at home (and the cats) and I had the choice to go into different sites etc. Freedom!

[TheGreatWave]

I am absolutely not missing the commute, but I don't like being at home all the time. I think what I miss is being "out the loop" things have happened that wouldn't have had I been on the ground and then it is so much harder to resolve it.

[Beebyonthewold]

Yes same here. I used to really like WFH but that was when I could go in for meetings, catch ups etc, and also go to the gym/meet friends in the evening. When it is just working at home all day and then staying home all evening/weekend everything just merges into one! I also hate having to look at my laptop and monitor in the corner of the room when I am trying to relax...

[HorsesDogsNails]

My manager sent me a meme which basically said we're no longer working from home, instead we're living at work. That sums up how I feel!

[emmathedilemma]

Totally agree, I'm hating it. Didn't used to mind it occassionally, maybe one day even but all the time is so dry. I miss talking to colleagues who i might not work directly with and long term I think we'll really miss out on opportunities to grow / develop the business. If they announce we're not going back in the office this year I honestly don't know if i can do this that long.

[ohthegoats]

Same here - endless prepping of video lessons that hardly any children watch, but I still have to do. Endless domestic drudgery, seem to be washing up all the time.

I went back into school every day as soon as I was allowed.

[Honeysucklelife]

@HorsesDogsNails oh god, this!!

[BogRollBOGOF]

DH is struggling with it. He came home (with his huge desk and chair) earlier in March so it's about 16 weeks now. He misses the routine, especially as workload is light and there's just no separation of work/ home. He's only really coming downstairs to eat, has lost the routine of getting out as there is little purpose and the local walks have been done to death.

Meanwhile I'm a SAHM (so at least he's not responsible for the ever-present DCs) but we're all just finding it very aimless as no one has routine or external motivation.

When I taught, I would maximise my time in school at the end of the day. It was a quiet space to concentrate. I couldn't avoid bringing work home but it was much harder to get in gear to work in my personal space for relaxing. My sweet spot was around 2008 when I had a few years of experience and before Michael Gove and the academies cranked up the workload even further. For a while I could manage my regular workload in school with sporadic bursts to bring home. Working from home meant no separation from work and relaxation. It was always lurking in the corner.

Same with the DCs. They're decent kids at school. They know the system and put in a decent effort. They can't switch that mentality to working without peers at the kitchen table.

[BogRollBOGOF]

@ohthegoats

Same here - endless prepping of video lessons that hardly any children watch, but I still have to do. Endless domestic drudgery, seem to be washing up all the time.

I went back into school every day as soon as I was allowed.

I swear I will have a ceremonial burning of the tablecloth when normality resumes. Messy eaters and using it as a classroom means that the table is constantly being cleared and wiped, cleared and wiped. Argh!

[GetUpAgain]

Yes to everything everyone has already said! Plus I am middle management, have a dreadful boss, so it's on me to keep the staff team going. Motivating and supporting them all. Family wise I am the mood-setter of the house because DH is depressed and the DC are mood-swinging teenagers so I feel I have responsibility for everyone's sanity. It is tough going. Thank god for mumsnet.

[peonypower]

Agree with everything everyone has said.
My job normally involves lots of face to face meetings, conferences and travel.
All that has gone and just the shit boring bits are left.

Also, I had a new junior start yesterday. How am I going to teach him properly and build his experience remotely? It's going to be significantly more boring and more difficult for him. I'm worried about it. Usually this would be a really exciting role for him.

The executive team though think it's great as they're saving on travel and office costs. They're not thinking about the long term implications.

[TazSyd]

Casual chat with colleagues at our desks, popping out for a coffee together, actually walking around to meetings etc rather than sitting in one place.

I agree with you.

[PicsInRed]

@HorsesDogsNails

My manager sent me a meme which basically said we're no longer working from home, instead we're living at work. That sums up how I feel!

Fuck me that's accurate.

If this goes on too long, a fair few keyworkers will end up signed off sick. Working right through, no holidays, no real weekends, and the pressure and knowledge of redundancy coming. Delightful.

I do think some people will break.

[Dinosauratemydaffodils]

Quite a few of dh's colleagues are really struggling, missing the social interaction. Dh is fine but he doesn't need people beyond family (although he's driving me up the wall).

I'm currently a student/sahm and I know I'd hate working from home.

[TokyoSushi]

I think I'll find it easier in September when I'm back to the school run. I usually speak to quite a lot of people at drop off and pick up so it will be good to have some face to face contact, and to then go back to what will just be me and the dog, rather than the constant background noise of the DC!

[Sallycinnamum]

Our organisation sent out an agile working survey last week.

Although most want to continue working from home the vast majority want to return to the office for at least 3 days a week.

I'm a big wfh advocate as I've been doing it for years but full time is awful. I'm missing the social interaction and we all feel out of the loop at the moment.

I suspect more people will want to return to their office despite all the stuff I keep seeing in the press about office based working being over.

[shieldedsally]

I've been WFH as a sole trader, absolutely on my own, for about 5 years now. My business involves nothing more than email contact with people. You get used to it - being by yourself is a learned skill, and you get more resilient to it, and you gain more internal resources to draw on, as you go on.

[dobbyssoc]

Myself and DP love it! Honestly the thought of going back to a commute and having to sit in an office all day get me down

[joan04]

I'm really struggling with it too and have really had to reign myself in from handing my notice in.

My boss is thriving in it, she's the type who sees her job as more than a job, almost her hobby in a way, she is definitely one of those 'live to work' types and happily does 12 hour days. She enjoys being a manager too so tries to micromanage me and having to permanently be online in my small one bedroom flat is killing me.

[HorsesDogsNails]

@shieldedsally I think it's a bit different when you're part of a team though. I'm in a team of 6 and we're part of a wider department of about 60, logistically some things are just easier in the office! I'm drowning in email because I cant just go and speak to a member of another team...

I am definitely better at it now than when we were sent home in March but I wouldn't want to do it forever. And that's with the acknowledgment that I have it much easier than a lot of others

[Honeysucklelife]

I think I’d be happier if outside of work life was normal but there’s (hardly) any social interaction, things still closed or if they’re open it’s tense and socially distanced. I know I would probably look back fondly if I was forced to be 5 days a week in the office again but I know I couldn’t work permanently at home - I’d go mad!!