To struggle to see the appeal of full time remote working?

YANBU

My job is going fully remote and I’m dreading it and so I’ll have to find a new.

Its a shame because I love my job and team but I’m not doing remote work full time.

I couldn’t think of anything worse.

I hate wfh even though I’m an introvert. It fees too much like lockdown (a very dark time for me) and I hate the lack of separation between work and home. Also, I will admit I can be a bit of a slacker on wfh days (which is why I’m currently trying to catch up on a Sunday afternoon and hating myself).

I went from office full time, to home full time during the pandemic, to in the office 40% and I hate it. I much prefer working from home with the radio to keep me company. I like my colleagues but I’m happy having a relationship with them over teams and not in person. I also like my job but at the end of the day I’m only doing it for the money so I have no temptation to log on outside of my paid working hours.

I just feel so resentful having to get up earlier, commute and get home later just to do something I can do from home. I know everyone feels different. But for me wfh was the best thing to come out of the pandemic and it gave me such a better work/life balance that it feels like a backwards step going back to the office.

I’m the same OP - I work remotely most of the time and I’ve always hated it. I’ve had a few new jobs since 2020 and I’ve found it so hard to get to know colleagues plus new tasks, processes, etc. It’s also just so unhealthy to sit in the house on my own all day. I’m also introverted and don’t see many people in evenings/weekends.

It’s annoying because I have an office 10 mins away that I could (and do!) go to, but nobody else goes so it’s pointless!

It’s literally my dream set up (another introvert). However, I can see why it’s other people’s nightmare. Are there any co-working spaces near you or a reasonable distance away - these can be so brilliant. I go occasionally when cabin fever hits (one day every couple of months) and also sometimes do a couple of hours in the cafe at my gym. They seem more tolerant than a ‘cafe-cafe’ (and I figure I’m paying a lot to make use of all the facilities). I don’t work from ‘cafe-cafes’ because it’s unfair on the owners and other customers IMO and I’d feel guilty.

If you can find a happy medium and avoid cabin fever, the time and money saved on commuting soon adds up, as well as saving on the extra spent on the odd lunch / coffee, impulse buys that happen when you commute to a town etc.

I would hate it. I’m 50/50 (work 4 days a week) and much prefer my office days. DD is in Year 11 and I like that there usually someone here when she gets home.
I’ll increase my office days when she’s older.

It works well in our office as everyone has mandated days. I think offices when it’s completely flexible and half the time the office is half empty or no one knows who’s in when don’t work at all. You need the numbers in for it to work.

Agree. And I think it's a culture that's rubbed off on my wider industry, which makes things even worse.
I started hybrid working long before covid times; so, at home some days, office some days, in-person meetings other days. I loved my job. It was varied, fun, unpredictable and kept the creative juices flowing.
Post-Covid, it's like I've got a completely different job! Now almost exclusively at home, with next to no interaction with my immediate colleagues (we were 'required' to go into the office 2, 3 times a week, but hardly anyone bothered, so it's never really stuck). Similarly, meetings with clients/wider industry are almost always over Zoom where they would have otherwise been in person.
I used to really thrive at my job but this set up doesnt lend itself to staying motivated at all. Generally speaking, it's just a bit shit.

YANBU, it works well for me as it gives me more time to do my hobby every day and the DCs get home around 4 most days. I can see why people don’t like it though.

I prefer being around people at work and I know I would be miserable working from home. I have the option to do two days a week WFH, but choose not to. It works well for my team as two of us do hybrid and two are in the office FT, so there's always someone there in person. Luckily the commute isn't awful.

Oh no, fully remote is my dream. I’d move somewhere with a huge garden in the middle of nowhere, no neighbours, no people, no tedious small talk with colleagues. I’d love every second.

Like most things in life, it’s not for everyone.

I was FT remote for four years but now have to go into the office 3 days a week. I hate it. However I didn’t mind going in to the office two days a week in my previous job. I’m an introvert but I don’t have much of a social life so work gives me that but three days a week is really wearing on me. I’m thinking of trying to find something else but I don’t have anyone specialized skills so the job market is bleak for me.

Well I love my job and I used to commute up to 3 hrs a day to it, 5 days a week.

Now im fully remote and i couldnt be happier.

I meet friends for lunch, or coffee after school drop off. Also speak to colleagues both individually and in meetings regularly throughout the day.

Love it...

I hated it too. I just don't think it's for everyone. I'm an introvert and a homebody but I just didn't get on at all with remote working. I prefer having a nice big clear divide between my work life and my home, I actually like having a commute so I can catch up on my podcasts and audiobooks, I like socialising with my colleagues face to face, I despise Teams with a passion, and can't be fucked with paying to heat my house all day in winter!

I am an introvert and I WFH full time. Absolutely love it.

I have come to realise that hybrid works best for me. I do enjoy WFH but every day just is too much.

During the pandemic, I paid to work in a local co working space based in a yoga studio so you got free classes. It was really nice!

I am an introvert but too much time on my own at home and I get a bit weird. I enjoy it on one level but a mix keeps me healthiest

I love it when I can full time remote. I enjoy chatting on Teams messages and calls and prefer this kind of interaction.

I have lots of friends in the real world!

My line manager is the same. They prefer being around other people and is happy to spend 3 hours of their day commuting and getting stuck in traffic to achieve this. I'm the opposite and they think I'm weird, although they've never blurted this out to my face. Yet.

Some people get their energy from being around others = extroversion.
Some people get their energy from being alone or with one or two other people they are close to = introversion.

I'm a homebody and prefer stress avoidance, my own company with the freedom of not being interrupted, my focus undisturbed and to not get pulled into meetings that are unconstructive and generally descend into chaos.

Can you switch to a job that requires being in the office? Apply for them.

It depends on your personal circumstances I guess. I'm in the "oh my god if this train is 3 minutes late I'll be too late to get DS from nursery and DD from school before they both close" years so I bloody hate going to the office. But at other stages of life I'd feel differently.

I've been WFH full time for 13 years. I love it, would hate to be working in an office again. And it's allowed me to live in my dream location (very remote) and still earn a decent salary.

I am full time wfh and it is fine. I have absolutely no need to be friends with my colleagues. However I am absolutely not glued to my screen and get out and about for a walk or something every single day during the working day. I also have my own completely self contained office which helps. Even though the commute is only down the garden it is still enough to reset me. Job is completely unstressful though

No, of course not. Different strokes for different folks. It would only be unreasonable if you were making daft generalisations about remote working in general because you don't like it, but you clearly aren't. You have given it a go and the cons don't outweigh the pros for you.

I’d only like it if it meant I could go live in Thailand or Mexico City and work, I’m an introvert but I couldn’t work from home full time. I’d go up the wall. Hybrid suits me fine.

I agree. I love the freedom and flexibility of wfh but couldn't do it full time. I wfh 3 days a week and go into the office twice. My office also offers really cheap massages and beauty trearments, amazing subsidised restaurant and no end of perks, plus it's great to meet with colleagues face to face so I feel I have the best of both worlds

Remote working doesn't mean you have to be stuck at home all day.

Find a shared working space, use local coffee shops, or the library, or, if you have another friend nearby, work from each others' houses occasionally.

I'd also make the most of your lunch hour - go out for a walk (borrow a dog, maybe?) or meet a friend, or arrange to do an exercise class etc.