to think WFH can completely change one's work life balance?

It’s a game changer and a huge privilege to work from home.
I’m grateful every day for the shift and it becoming common ( took a global pandemic but that’s another issue)
im careful how I talk about it though as well aware some of my friends and family would kill to WFH but is not going to happen/feasible

I would find another job if I was asked to go back into a base

Sorry I was supposed to have written ‘do’ not ‘so’, it was intended as a genuine question.

So I would say it is within your gift to change that mindset? Sounds like the issue sits with you not your employer. I would talk it through with your manager. If I was your manager I would be concerned about your feelings and the impact on your wellbeing, I would want to support and reassure you.

No it’s not even them it’s me
My manager takes very little interest in my precise movements as long as things get done but I am a hugely disorganised person so with no external structure I just feel as though I have to be working and be available all the time in case I miss something. It’s just me and perhaps the nature of my job and the fact I never wfh pre pandemic, was transitioned in a hurry and never had any systems etc in place.
It’s also disadvantaged me even at work because I no longer have my own office or desk as it’s all hot desking now.

They are singled out because they have to cover operational/office hours which are 8:45 to 5:15. I try and give them as much flexibility between them as I can, there are 5 of them so they will cover for each other if something comes up.

Shit for the admin staff though eh? Why are they singled out?

What industry is this gum?

My organisation is leading the way in modern working. Not only is there no prescribed office working, we have an agile working charter. So performance is based on achievement rather than hours spent working.

I manage a large and committed team, most of whom have children with various responsibilities towards them. Our agile policy means that they can easily take time out for school runs, or sports events etc. Apart from the admin staff, none of them have to stick to set hours, nor weekly totals. They get their jobs done in whatever working pattern suits them and our customers.

@ThePureso you have a particularly challenging manager and/or organisation? That feels quite an extreme position to take. I certainly don’t feel like that, but my work’s culture is healthy.

I completely agree and that is precisely why some employers don't like it.

Can't have those pesky employees having a life now, can we?

I wouldn’t be working FT without it due to health issues. I’m hybrid but it hugely helps. Can exercise and decompress a lot easier.

For me WFH has made my life worse in all the ways OPs is better!

I find I have worse work life balance because the laptop is always there. I log on out of hours and I feel I can’t even have a pee in case people are calling or messaging me on Teams.

My fitness is worse because I hardly move from my chair on WFH days. My step count is tiny on those days and I eat biscuits and crap I would not have access to at work.

Yes I can put a load of washing on but that’s about the extent of the advantage so it’s really not great at all for me.

DD is nearing the end of a 6 month probation and can’t start her 1 wfh day until then!! Seems very unfair as that’s the terms of the job and 6 months is half a year! When did probabtion get so long? The commute is taking its toll but she’s nearly there. She’s hoping to request 3 days in office as that’s what everyone else does but apparently her boss likes everyone in. 🙄

Yes it’s brilliant. I only do 1-2 days WFH but even that makes a big difference. Fridays are always WFH days and I get a head start on life admin (eg laundry) which gives me more time over the weekend to do fun things. 🤗

For me a part that is valuable is being able to do some things in the week that have normally to be left to evenings and usually weekends- some shopping, above all laundry.

Entirely agree. I switched to a largely WFH job last year and it’s transformed my life. Previously I was constantly rushing - either to work to get there for 9am or back from work to get to after-school club pick-up - and always felt that I was letting someone down. WFH has vastly reduced my stress levels and enabled me to be more present for my DD. I don’t think I’d ever go back to a full-time office-based role now.

the job titles are going to massively vary, do you have an job you’ve already worked in or a job you want to go for? have a search on LinkedIn and choose the remote option, there are also various fb and instagram accounts that highlight wfh jobs.

Can people write down what job titles to look for. Everywhere online looks like you have to be in the company already. Can you give me some tips please?

Its a massive game changer for me as a mum of school age kids. I can do part time hours with shorter days rather than days off, and do some school runs on the days i work from, all within my contracted hours. Not to mention i save a massive amount of commute time & cost. Between DH and I our kids get so much better parenting with us around more.

That is truly shocking 😮

I HATE wfh. Hate it. I hate work invading my home. My short commute is the break I make between work and home. It’s my thinking time, where I can change pace before getting home and shutting the door on work.

I voted YABU because your experience isn’t some universal panacea. It works for you, it doesn’t for me.

Could you walk for half an hour in the mornings? I need to get out first thing or I can’t settle to work properly. I walk to and round the park near me, and/or pick up bread or some lunch stuff or sometimes a coffee.
I tend to use cooking dinner to unwind and switch off after work (I put music on and sing along/dance in the kitchen), but if you feel the need to get out could you repeat the morning routine?

I always think it's funny how before covid my job told me it wasn't possible to work from home. Then it was organised within a week when we had to.

I'd been seconded into a position for maternity cover but to do it I needed to increase my hours from 3 days a week to 4. I'd offered to do 5 (as that's what the person I was covering did) if at least one of those days could be from home and I was told it wasn't possible. 10 months later and I was doing the exact same job, in my living room at home. 😂

Couldn't agree more; I spent years office based and WFH has made me more productive - less distractions, I can work a bit later if needed and I am less exhausted

Yep - I always say WFH allows me to eat better, go to the gym 3 times a week (because I have an extra 1.5 hours a day from not commuting), keep on top of household stuff, saved me on childcare once my kids were old enough not to need constant supervision after school, allowed me to take kids to more after-school activities. Which means more actual energy for work.

I look back on it and I cannot believe I did 4 days a week in the office with young children! (I was lucky enough to WFH one day a week pre COVID and more in the holidays sometimes)

It is ironic that the technology existed to do this before COVID happened, but we would have never been allowed this flexibility but for the pandemic; no one would ever have tried it at scale.