To wonder how we ever did 5 days a week in an office?

I hate wfh so I'm happy that I'm in the office full time.

We work with a lot of trainees and their entry into the workplace would be much poorer if everyone wfh

Im also legal.

Pre covid firms hated home working. Just why?

Now I WFH full time.

No 2-3 hours of daily commuting. Flexible hours so I start work at 7:00-7:30 (early riser) and I’m done by 16:00.

No distractions, or constant interruptions, I can sit with my dog, cook at lunchtime, or have a nap and work the evening instead.

Doesn’t even feel like work tbh, I love my job!

There is a difference between going five days to an office and five days to a place of work in my opinion. There are jobs where it is necessary to be in a place of work, and those where part of the week it can be done well at home. Where I think some companies have got it wrong is basing such a decision on presenteeism or just simply what the senior manager prefers.

The times where it is better to meet face to face if planned properly do not need five days in an office in many cases.

If you can't give people a pay rise, at least give them some time back by a saving on commuting. And let's face it, I'm fortunate in my present job that I have people I like working with. I recognise that some people are difficult to be with, or are just different in some way without an ounce of malice in that.

I travel 3 hours a day and work until 10pm 5 days a week. 9-5 whingers make me laugh.

I don't get the phone answering argument.

All our traditional handsets have been removed from desks anyway. All phone calls come through teams.

My computer is a laptop which goes in a dock.

I don't know how anyone would be able to tell if I'm in the office or at home as the equipment is identical.

I also couldn’t wfh, I love the office I work in. My colleagues are more like friends, we chat as we work. We celebrate birthdays and share food and we work as a team.
Not only would I feel isolated at home and bored but I would be mega distracted by chores. I’m fairly sure my productivity would fall.

Me too, it’s my idea of hell. I’m in the office 5 days a week.

Did no one have a short, cheap, enjoyable commute before Covid? 😅 I love going into the office - fresh air, brisk walk, time to read or listen to something on the bus or train.

…. Don’t be dumb about this, OP. It doesn’t ‘work’ for everyone, some people just don’t have the choice. And saying you ‘quite literally couldn’t’ is bullshit. Of course you ‘quite literally could’. If you had to you would have to. Let’s not make up imaginary illnesses like ‘people flu’ to pretend we couldn’t. The long and short of it is that you just don’t want to. It’s really poor form to speak to people as if their life is the worse thing you can imagine.

@OptimismvsRealism you sound utterly insufferable and rather unpleasant in your smug boasting

Fair enough, I do see how it could be an issue on many levels, especially if you have a long/busy commute!
Personally I think wfh is a no brainer if the job can be done remotely, staff are happy and productivity doesn't suffer, as it's keeping costs down, but I've noticed a few companies now wanting a return to the office for some reason.

@LetTheCardsFallWhereTheyMay great minds😁!

@OptimismvsRealism I'm genuinely interested in whether or not you are so financially secure that you could just merrily leave your job if you felt like it?! You don't seem to have any understanding of the fact that people need to pay the bills?

I wouldn't be surprised, friend is looking for a new job and they're only on 1 day a week in the office at the moment.
I can't say it would be bother me, but their office is in a busy city centre so I think it's the rush hour commute that's a big issue.

Well of course teachers can ask their employers to be flexible so they can teach while sitting in their spare room or GPs can run a surgery from their kitchen

Fair enough that you have a work life balance that you like, I do too, but I am not selfish enough to not realise that it’s a privileged position to be in

I suspect a lot of people will leave?

WFH has changed my life.. I can take kids to school, once I finish I can start on dinner rather than an hour commute. Laundry done during lunch hour, no distractions from colleagues.. I am twice as efficient at my job and twice as happy. If I had to go back to the office 5 days a week honestly I would be distraught.

Same here, except I don’t have children. With hindsight, I was struggling pre-COVID. A demanding FT job, with a one-hour drive in each direction. I was out the house from 7.30am-6pm, 5 days per week and it was getting too much.

However during lockdown, and working fully from home for 18 months, I realised it was the travelling I struggled with, not the job. We now do hybrid, I go into the office twice per week, and it’s perfect. The best of both world and it’s saved my career. I really enjoy my two office days, I get my people fix, and on my WFH days I really get my head down. I am in my 50s and hybrid will prolong my working life.

I would be wary of "literally" not being able to work in an office again. A friend of mine, after 4 years of wfh in a job that can easily be done completely remotely, is now being phased back into the office along with all their colleagues. The plan was to remain at home permanently, then management fairly suddenly decided to do a phased return to the office (1 day a week, gradually increasing to 5 over time).

Horses for courses, l hate working from home find it so dull and lonely but l like my colleagues x

I agree that wfh is a great choice for those that want it and have that kind of option. I am immensely grateful for it, particularly for my daughter.

I do not think you are goady, but some ppl on the thread might think you are saying that it is easy or possible for everyone to just opt out of a career or job. It isn’t. Plus they might like , need or want that job.

I was having the same conversation with one of my friends the other day. Pre covid I was up at 6am, get myself up and ready, wake 1.5 year old DS up at 6:45am to get up and ready for nursery, dropped at the door bang on 7:30 when it opened, to then literally run to the train to get to work for 8:15. Cut down my lunch hour so I could leave in time to pick up DS from nursery. Every. Single. Day. Seems like a lifetime ago.

WFH deffo suits my life in general now. Lot more relaxed and I'm so much more productive as I'm not totally burnt out my trying to juggle work / home. My work as really quite relaxed when it comes to school runs etc, and very much o don't care when work gets done as long as it does (baring deadlines obvs) so I'm lucky in that respect. But, the flip side of that is I do miss having that office environment, the chat and the laughs, after work drinks etc. I'd prefer a hybrid role but it to be on my terms when I go in 😂 but all in all I can't complain too much when I look back to the chaos of being in office 5 days a week.

@OliveK
Just realised I have written almost word for word what you wrote uptrend as hadn't RTFT -sorry to apparently plagiarise the hell out of your earlier post 😉

Also train delays, strikes, temporary traffic lights. Misery of the commute. Oh we all had to do it so why can’t we all keep crap lifestyles? Like the four Yorkshiremen sketch.

I imagine they did what I did (NHS) still went to work, not everyone got months off during lockdown.