To think people who work from home don’t get it?

I used to WFH (no choice due to the office reconfiguring post Covid) and hated it. No separation of work and home, no getting into 'work mode,' no casual chatting, meetings were really awkward due to Teams instead of just sitting around with everyone. Everything had to be put in an email or scheduled, nothing could just be a walk by someone's desk. Lonely, easy to misconstrue people's tones so everyone was more prone to aggravation. Really didn't like it.

Covid was in 2019...most people who WFH did not prior to that

plus everyone assumes you could/should be putting the washing in

Not in my household, they don't!

I work hybrid so best of both I guess but there is a downside to wfh. It can be hard to focus plus everyone assumes you could/should be putting the washing in etc when you want to fully ficus on work. There is no air con at home on hot days and no colleagues to have a breather with on tough days and personally I take less breaks at home as there is no one to chat with for a couple mins or grab a coffee with. Plus people assume you are not working all the time so just drop in for coffee randomly expecting you to be free to stop and chat.

I love the balance of hybrid but I certainly don't think wfh is always better than being in the office

I WFH ever since covid but I'd go back into an office in a heartbeat. Apart from the school run I am NEVER regularly away from my office, sick days are a thing of the past and I don't even have a lunch hour anymore as I have to use it to go and collect my children from school. Sure there are a lot of benefits but there are also a lot of downsides and if I didn't have children at primary school that I needed to collect I would be really unhappy working from home. I don't see anyone at work any longer so there are no relationships, we no longer have Christmas parties or social things - it's downright lonely. In the sunshine I still have to work inside as I can't see my laptop in the sun so that makes no difference to me whatsoever. You do not have anything to be envious of believe me.

@UnfriendMe yes I get 25 mins so I make food, make a cup of tea, go to the toilet, eat and then go back to work

WFH or not makes no difference to me. I can't eat when I'm working or exercise during work time. I do try and exercise after work but not all WFH jobs mean you have a lunch hour or time to do stuff while you're working

I've worked longer hours since I started WFH. When I was going into the office I only had a 15 minute commute so I don't have any extra time left at the end of the day, I actually have less as I think 'oh I'll just finish that'. Lunch time isn't enough time to exercise, shower and wash and dry my hair. Thankfully I'll be out of this soon!

Well, I'm assuming you have a lunch break? You can exercise during the lunch break and eat at your desk. Either way, working from home gives the flexibility to manage your time much better than being in an office, not to mention no commute time. This was my point. Anybody who says they can't exercise when WFH are just being lazy.

@UnfriendMe that depends on the job
My breaks are set and I can't move from my desk apart from those breaks

This just sounds like your brother doesn't know how to manage his time and is lazy. If you work from home it's very easy to get exercise, you just make time for exercise. I have been WFH since COVID and I'm eating better BC I actually have time to prepare my meals and I take multiple breaks throughout the day to exercise. Not to mention since I'm done at 5 and not getting home at 9, I can still take our dog out for a walk.

@UnfriendMe I agree with you! I work from home 3 days per week and either exercise in my lunch hour, or take advantage of the extra time at the end of the day, when I don't have to commute, and go to the gym then. I'm also eating better since COVID, as I have more food prep time.

This just sounds like your brother doesn't know how to manage his time and is lazy. If you work from home it's very easy to get exercise, you just make time for exercise. I have been WFH since COVID and I'm eating better BC I actually have time to prepare my meals and I take multiple breaks throughout the day to exercise. Not to mention since I'm done at 5 and not getting home at 9, I can still take our dog out for a walk.

Plenty of pros to working from home and I will never work in an office again. Luckily I'm a highly skilled worker in a job that has more vacancies than people to fill them so I can always make that demand.

No idea what you're replying to - must have been some time ago!

@zonder you can claim tax relief on those expenses

It's also strange that since the WFH productivity boom it seems to take twice as long for many services I have to get anything done.

But when 99% of what you need doing is done via computer, then I’m not sure WFH is to blame? I do my job in exactly the same way, regardless of whether I’m WFH or in the office. I think that many places have less staff since COVID, I think that’s the problem

Exactly this. Which is why I'm usually suspicious of the motivations for managers/orgs who are "clamping down" on office presence. In a previous workplace, my ex-colleague friends said they are becoming very strict on a "3 together, 2 wherever" policy, but they've closed down offices so where are all those people going to go? And when you get there, you're on teams calls with colleagues in other geographies anyway...

The thing is, WFH opened up a lot of doors for skilled people with disabilities that had been closed before. There is a danger that going down the two tier route it could be argued to be disability discrimination if WFH is a reasonable adjustment for the same work. How do you fairly compensate staff for their talent if it all becomes about geography, whether necessary or not?

This is a part of the issue I feel. It very much depends on the employer, and I feel sorry for you having managers who in my opinion are unfit to hold the role.

Except - they can if they change their circumstance! Move into education me, or online tutoring or in person tutoring etc
So OP could probably find a way - tell us what your job is OP - maybe we can help!

friend was a genetic researcher - NHS - very much lab based but now works for a publisher …

It’s not all it’s cracked up to be - you have to be very focused and the blur between home life and work can be its own stress.
retrain, if you think you want to have more flex. There are plenty of NHS roles that offer flex.

personally I think the ideal is probably 1/2 office days 3/4 WFH

Although I work 9-5 in an office it’s only the management and key employees who get to wfh when it suits them, not unsurprisingly usually on Fridays and/or Mondays! It seems to be considered a perk for the so-called important people. The peasants like me and a handful of the other accounts/admin staff have to have our bums on seats 5 days a week. All of us could do what we do from home, but no we’re treated like children. Not allowing us to wfh, or even hybrid, just seems to be used to highlight a two tier system of the haves and have-nots.

If you work for the NHS then assume you are in a care profession, you chose that role because you are passionate about care.

it's like a teacher complaining they can't work from home

Of course we get it, we’ve been there! I work in public service, used to work 6 days on 3 days off, early, middle and late shifts until midnight, all bank holidays except Christmas Day and did so for 10 years. Then Covid arrived and changed everything. It’s made a massive change to work life balance. I changed role in the same service but now work 4 days on, 3 days off, normal office hours, all bank holidays off and only go into the office once a week. I saw what other people were doing and wanted a bit of that too with having a toddler and a baby.

I know it’s hard when some roles just won’t allow for WFH, but you need to decide what’s important to you - the role you do or the set up because sometimes you can’t have it all unfortunately.

Basic economics of supply and demand will solve that over time. If employers can't attract workers to work on their sites, they'll have to pay more, otherwise they'll not have staff - due to low supply of willing workers.

Likewise there'll be high demand for jobs that are fully WFH, so, again, simple economics, if there are high numbers of applicants for such jobs, the employer will realise they don't have to pay as much, so, again, over time, pay will fall.

None of that will be quick.

Could not have articulated it better...... 🤔

How are these people working outside? Ever tried working on a laptop in the garden? Even on dull days it's impossible!

Did it once many years ago and spent the rest of my laptop's life trying to ignore the thunderbug that got behind the screen!