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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Anyone else fed up with WFH/Hybrid

221 replies

HelenIU · 03/05/2025 08:42

I’m looking to turn this into a WFH’rs are lucky/lazy/work shy sort of thread.

But genuinely interested if anyone who is WFH/Hybrid feels similar and has any words of wisdom:

-WFH in Covid which turned into Hybrid post lockdown ending (2x a week in office, 3 days at home)

I feel utterly fed up at home, miss the interaction and just genuinely long for how things were before Covid - in the office each day part of a big and supportive team. Even when I’m in the office it’s not the same with desk booking and not everyone in.

I finished work yesterday and just felt unfulfilled.

Has anyone been in this situation and seeked a full time non WFH job? Did it work out or did you regret it?

OP posts:
MinimogMum · 03/05/2025 15:18

I personally love WFH and never want to go back into the office.
Both me and my husband are introverted and we both work from home, so we don't feel at all lonely and it helps a lot with getting my toddler ready and getting her to and from nursery every day.

Due to my job, there wasn't really any collaboration to speak of anyway, so I was pretty much alone in the office as everyone is too busy with their own work to talk. Plus I don't miss the hour long commute and the terrible traffic every day and the fuel costs.

ChunkyMum667 · 03/05/2025 15:16

Sounds like you don't have enough going on in your life, not enough at home or local friends, and are using your job for the social.

Youmeanyouvelostyourkey · 03/05/2025 15:10

I’m currently hybrid but my company is shutting the office, so will be fully wfh. I only go in a couple of times a month and generally when there are only a few people in the office. I love wfh but feel strange that my option to go in, will be removed. Would prefer wfh to fully office based though as I work in a really bad area for traffic

UnstableCow · 03/05/2025 15:09

YearlySubscriptionRenewal · 03/05/2025 15:03

You can either chat and waste time with colleagues you haven't chosen and then have not time out of the office,

or meet friends and chat with people you like in the time you saved working from home.

I know which one I prefer.

But wfh many people waste the same amount of time browing MN, instead of interacting with people in real life.

And end up not even wanting to open their door when the doorbell rings, because there is a real person behind the door. I’m not from the UK but reading here I’ve never come across so many people with MH problems not being able to work or interact with real people. Or even use their words in the smallest conflict. It’s shocking. And not good for the society.

Totallytoti · 03/05/2025 15:08

Absolutely everyone I know loves the hybrid because they get a bit of personal life too.

Ponderingwindow · 03/05/2025 15:06

Im The absolute opposite. I’ve been exclusively wfh for about 20
years now, long before Covid. I don’t understand how anyone gets anything done with the stress of being in an office setting.

UnstableCow · 03/05/2025 15:04

I think younger people may end up with even less ability to talk to and interact with people in real life.

YearlySubscriptionRenewal · 03/05/2025 15:03

You can either chat and waste time with colleagues you haven't chosen and then have not time out of the office,

or meet friends and chat with people you like in the time you saved working from home.

I know which one I prefer.

YearlySubscriptionRenewal · 03/05/2025 15:01

It's obvious the reason why some people want to be in the office is the exact reason why others want to WFH!

Working from home without interruption, without wasting time and being constantly interrupted means being more efficient and having more time for family and social life.

Relying on the office to have a social life is not great for anyone. It's so disruptive for everyone else. I understand if someone from my team prefers to office because they have young children at home and they need space and silence to work efficiently, I would be wary of someone who is bored at home- and clearly not having enough work to do to keep them occupied.

That said, why isn't hybrid a good compromise? A weekly face-to-face catch up might be helpful.

CluelessAboutBiology · 03/05/2025 14:45

I only work from the office, I never WFH and hate the thought of it. Being alone all day with noone to talk to would drive potty.

DigitalTissue · 03/05/2025 14:40

HelenIU · 03/05/2025 08:46

We can go in more, but honestly some days the office is so quiet it would just be me and a handful of others who aren’t in my team, but work in the wider company. So whilst we chat etc, there is no work collaboration.

So you don't only want yourself to lose wfh, you want others to as well.

The world is always changing, people mourn the death of the highstreet - things change.

Some of us are happier working at home., don't force an outdated idea on everyone else

user8636283907 · 03/05/2025 14:37

Hard disagree. I'm 100% remote working. I will never go back to an office-only job, I might consider hybrid.

If I was commuting to an office everyday I wouldn't see my DC in the week at all.

TeatimeForTheSoul · 03/05/2025 14:37

Luckily my job continued on site throughout the pandemic as I dislike WFH. My employer kindly gives me the option to WFH when appropriate but I only do it when actually helpful.
On the other hand my DH loves WFH and it works really well for him. He now has to go in x2 per week, which I think is useful socially, but he’d happily do without.

girlswillbegirls · 03/05/2025 14:29

I forgot to add, I'm an extrovert but wouldn't go back to working 5 days in the office.
So hybrid is not just for introverts but for us extroverts. I actually like to get work done while working.
And when you WFH you finish earlier and there is more time to meet the people you want to meet, do sports, bring the kids to sports. And actually I feel less tired during the week to concentrate. With 5 days a week I'm the office, I remember being shattered once I sat down at my desk.

Niallig32839 · 03/05/2025 14:29

At my work we can now have 1 day wfh and the rest office or on site as we cover regions and can spend time in offices in the regions we cover. We can’t wfh on Mondays or Fridays. I don’t mind having a mixture but I hate when I’m in the office and we have teams meetings together and we are literally all sitting next to each other at our desks or some days I can be in and no one in my team is in so the argument for being in the office for better collaboration just doesn’t work. I’m much more productive on my non office days. Some days I have lots of reports and admin to do so go in the office and book a room to work in on my own all day as it’s easier with no distractions but can’t just decide to work at home that day and get it done.

I think having true choice and flexibly depending on workload etc and being able to decide what works best as individuals as some prefer being in more, others less so rather than hard and fast rigid rules works much better however I understand in a big business it’s not always as easy as that.

1457bloom · 03/05/2025 14:25

It is the biggest and best structural change to work for employees in 100 years. There is a reason senior management have generally worked hybrid in the past! When you look for a job you now have the choice.

BlackPantherPrincess · 03/05/2025 14:24

I miss the people and the office in many ways. But I couldn’t do the hours I do and this earn the money I earn if I had to factor in a commute.

girlswillbegirls · 03/05/2025 14:24

Ineedanewsofa · 03/05/2025 13:24

The majority of my team (and the business in general) is hybrid although some roles have to be onsite 5 days a week. Some members of my team choose to be in 5 days as they prefer it. What I find interesting is those people who are missing the being able to ‘pop and ask a question’ who don’t seem to realise how disruptive that can be to those who have to deeply concentrate. Now I’m sure folks on here will say “they can tell me to come back later” but in real life people don’t do that, they hover/lurk/keep talking until you’ve got no choice other than to answer them and bam! there goes the flow of concentration that has been built up. I need hybrid to be able to get any actual work done, days in the office are just lost to people walking up and interrupting me

I could have written this.
I love my team., I really do, but its ridiculous when you realise its difficult to get stuff done in the office. I try to get as much work done as possible in my 3 days WFH.
My two days a week in the office are constant interruptions, some unnecessary meetings, and people floating around.
If, for example, I need to prepare a presentation, I need to be 100 per cent working without interruptions. Its just impossible in the office.
I think it's the very young that love the 5 days a week in the office.
I certainly don't miss that.

NoWordForFluffy · 03/05/2025 14:23

LindorDoubleChoc · 03/05/2025 14:18

PMSL at the number of "I LOVE wfh" posts on this thread .

How irrelevant and unhelpful to the OP.

The question asked in the title elicits a yes / no answer. So people whose response is 'no' are also answering!

Pamspeople · 03/05/2025 14:20

Have you told your colleagues how you feel, OP? It would be awful if a few of you are feeling like this but assuming everyone else is happy with the situation! You might find that there are others who would be happy to join you in the office more often.

Personally I absolutely love wfh and the hybrid set up, but I'm an introvert so even lockdown suited me. I appreciate that many people miss office interactions.

LindorDoubleChoc · 03/05/2025 14:18

PMSL at the number of "I LOVE wfh" posts on this thread .

How irrelevant and unhelpful to the OP.

NoWordForFluffy · 03/05/2025 14:17

ChevyCamaro · 03/05/2025 14:03

Also, I have really good friends I have made in various jobs along the way. People I no longer work with but are still very much in my life. I really don’t see how it’s possible to build those friendships now, thru a screen on Teams.

I have friendships like that, built on Teams. It is possible!

AFrankExchangeofViews · 03/05/2025 14:13

I love wfh and hate going into the office, have zero need for social interaction with colleagues and find it much harder to my job. Hot desks never seem to function as well as at home and are never set up properly. Massively resent the extroverts who like to suck up others people energy saying we must all be in several days a week, so we can meet their needs at the expense of our own. There are plenty of companies and jobs which mandate you have to be 'on-site' - go work for one of them.

ForgettingMeNot · 03/05/2025 14:08

As a disabled person, having companies now allowing you to wfh is a blessing for me. It means I can work, have some social interaction even if it’s just via teams and have a purpose in life.

TheNinkyNonkyIsATardis · 03/05/2025 14:07

I am hybrid, but there is no coordination whatsoever between who is in when. Last time I went in I had happened to select the desk next to the CEO, but I haven't seen a member of my team in person in six months.

I would much prefer it to be a lower/random frequency of hybrid so long as it was coordinated to actually see my team more often.

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