To dislike WFH….

No, people are necessary. Stop fiddling with isolation and sort out some contact.

I have been wfh excusively for 2 years and before that, mainly wfh for about 2 years starting with covid. I honestly think it has destroyed my mental health in the long run, not saying it would be the same for everyone but for me i need the people contact and the structure and stimulation. I have lost my confidence and motivation, have gained weight and struggle with energy levels, my productivity is worse than it has ever been and if you have any issues with adhd-type procrastination it is a killer. My stress levels are constantly high and i never 'switch off' at home. My family have to tiptoe around me in the home at times as i get unexpected meetings put in. I think WFH has caused a lot of knock-on issues in my life and it will take me a while to readjust, i am also about to leave my job for this reason even though i am good at it. I may be an extreme case though..

I completely agree @Loub1987 I'm not in OD but in staff comms and work closely with HR colleagues on comms/culture things and we're having the same conversations.

There really is a feeling that something got lost during the pandemic, that we're struggling to get back. Survey stats show that the pandemic/WFH has really impacted on colleagues' sense of community and belonging.

Also agree about the sofa!

Doesn't have to be. Since I stopped going to the office I spend zero minutes with arseholes.

That’s life though!

Same here

Going back into the office wasn’t what it was. Maybe check the company culture and see before moving.

I work in organisational development and I feel we talk a lot about trying to regain what has been lost through working from home (collaboration, wellbeing etc) as opposed to discussing how this can be achieved in a new environment where people want to work from home.

Agree that you shouldn’t be working from the sofa as well!

I love wfh but I have such a busy life outside of work (school run daily, walk at lunch, coffee with friends 3 x week, after school running around for 4 children, birthday parties and football matches all weekend) that I never feel isolated. Your family set up is different but maybe a hobby a couple of nights a week and the odd lunch-hour meet up with a friend who WFH / hybrid / part time / is on mat leave would help?

I think this is key.
I started wfh about 15 years ago. long before it was commonplace, and I absolutely love it for so many reasons but there was rarely a day goes by when I wasn't meeting other people for one reason or another.
Some parts of my work involved me leaving home and doing site visits. Occasionally I'd also deliver training and occasionally we had F2F Team meetings, but I think the most important part (for me) is that I have always been involved in all sorts of things outside of work.

What does concern me more, is those people who don't speak to anyone else all week. There are too many people who don't make the effort, and then we get a pandemic of loneliness, and all the threads about not having any friends or not having anyone to help in an emergency even.

I WFH full time. I only go into the office once a month. I used to love office life before the pandemic. We were a team of around 60 on one floor, there was always a great buzz, regular breakfast/lunch/drinks gatherings, and it was fun.

We all worked from home during the pandemic, and our company sold our office building and moved us to a much smaller building on a different site. Although our team has expanded, we now only have 18 desks for around 80 staff and have to hot desk. If there isn't a desk for you in the morning you have to work in a different hot desking area in another building where you may or may not see someone you know. There are no lockers and we have a clear desk policy, so you have to bring everything you need for the day with you to and from work.

The atmosphere just isn't the same now. The pre-pandemic buzz has completely gone, people practically speak in whispers and some people get irritated when others have an MS Teams meeting with a headset on (yet never had a problem with phone calls pre-pandemic).

I prefer working from home now to the hotdesking situation we have, but would prefer to work in the office if it could go back to what it was pre-pandemic.

WFH isn’t for everyone. I do extra bits I don’t have time for at home, but otherwise I’m in5 days a week. I could swap departments to be wfh full time if I wanted - same role. I did it during covid for a bit, absolutely not doing it again!

I have WFH since 2019 and I hate it. I feel incredibly isolated in my job. I actually liked my colleagues and enjoyed being in the office with them. They have all moved on and I have only had one real life meeting with new bosses and colleagues since 2021.
My work used to be an enjoyable, extra part of my life. I enjoyed spending time with people who are not necessarily like me or my friends and family. I liked leaving the village and the random experiences and encounters you have when you're out in the world.

Well, I went a bit mental doing WFH full time. I live alone, and after about 18 months of it (and actually seeing no-one in person, during the lockdowns), my mental health was in the toilet.
I've since changed job - like others, I work in a University - and go in 2-3 days per week, depending on commitments. We have a team day on a Wednesday, where we all have to be in, which has been good in building the team, especially since I'm newer in the role.
I have saved a fortune in petrol, however; and enjoy the extra hour in bed in the morning!

I do a mix and know I’d hate it full time. Dh wfh full time but is an introvert and very happy.

If you read the link, it states that the employee should not have to fund their own equipment. The relevant part is extracted here:
Where your DSE workstation assessment indicates you need to take some action, for example providing a piece of DSE equipment, your workers cannot be charged for this.

As I said in another response, it depends on the type of contract, the above only applies if the worker is permanently working from home (which the OP appears to be), and not for occasional home working.

You need to move more. Brisk walk, run up and down stairs whilst kettle boils, walk outside? Does help. Lunch out to celebrate something going well at work. Arrange a reason to go to office more?

I WFH 100%. In an ideal world I would like to be an easy walking commute to the office. Maybe 30 minute walk. Then I would go in most days, I think.

However, I live 2.5 hours from my office, which is in London (drive + train +walk). Even when I worked in the next city over from where I live - many years back - I was always 1 hour away (either driving or walk +train). This was a pretty normal commute that many people did every day, but it still stole 2 hours of my life everyday.

The commute is the killer. I don't want to go back to that again. Sadly, I can't afford to live in London without drastically changing my lifestyle and downsizing to a tiny flat. Jobs in my town wouldn't align with my profession, so I would end up getting an office job and taking a huge pay cut.

So I 100% get you. But also wouldn't want to give up WFH.

It's just bliss not having to sit in a room with a bunch of randoms any more

If I were made to go back to the office I think I'd go insane (or at least wreak a terrible revenge - hot tuna sandwiches in the open plan, anyone?)

I wouldn't push to change that, instead, make sure you take your lunch time every day and go for a walk or meet a friend for a quick catch up/coffee, this way you'll have the best of both worlds...

I'm with you. I'm hybrid but not in the office much and the office is not what it was pre covid. Sometimes v few ppl in.
Dd is early 20s and has wfh as an option, but would rather get up earlier and go into the office every day.

I love wfh. I changed jobs after the pandemic - I worked in the office every day for years with no flexibility for wfh even during covid due to the nature of my job. I had my own office so it wasn't too bad and could leave my office to speak to people as and when suited. I'm now in a hybrid role and love the wfh element. I struggle with office working now as I'm in an open office with hot desking so you never know who you'll be sat next to. I also struggle with the constant talking, which is mostly not work related which is fine and I don't mind if I'm doing emails etc but if I'm trying to concentrate on something more demanding I find it really distracting and everything takes much longer. We also seem to have a lot of people who want to have loud conversations. We aren't allow to wear headphones of any sort other than those issued to us for meetings so there is literally no escape. I also find people's lack of consideration infuriating- despite having breakout space for eating lunch - a colleague from another team recently decided to move desks solely to have lunch as in her words she didn't want to stink out where she was working but apparently it was ok for her to do that where I was working!! At home I can work uninterrupted yet still have conversations with colleagues if we fancy a catch up! Appreciate it's not for everyone though.

There is no way on earth i woudl swap my job for an office role ever ever again

No way.

I have a proper office and force myself to take proper breaks. You do have to force yourself but you get organised itll work

Sitting on the sofa sounds so bad for your spine

I work from home and have done for a long time, way before Covid. It was great when our DD was at school and has worked really well alongside DH's more demanding job as I can take the strain of the home life stuff.

However now DD is at Uni, I am finding it increasingly miserable. I like the work and the people and I've been with the company years, but I think it's bad for my mental health. I used to have DD coming in from school at 4pm, so a shorter day, but now I'm home alone until DH gets in.

I am considering a part time job that's somehow working with people - care home or similar maybe, just to get out and be with others. I can maybe cut down my hours in my current job.

I think give it until Christmas maybe and see how you feel. The grass isn't always greener but as you say, a mix of office and home would be ideal.

@HappiestSleeping I'm not sure how you think that link proves your argument? It doesn't. The OPs employer has an obligation to check that OP is able to work comfortably and safely from home. That doesn't automatically mean providing her with a desk and/or chair if she can demonstrate that she already has a suitable option available. Obviously, if the OP has declared to her employer as part of her DSE assessment that she has no suitable option other than working on a sofa, then providing her with office furniture is one option her employer may choose to meet the requirement.

My last role was WFH. It was lonely, I hated it. I'm hybrid now with 2 days a week in the office but flexibly, and it's great. A change of role is what you need.