Anyone else so depressed working from home?

[WFHhater]

Hence my name.
I just hate it. Yes I see the benefits for curbing covid, so I don’t mean in that sense.
I every day is just a slog. I have gone from loving my job (with HV team) to really hating it. I know there is nothing I can do besides looking for a new job, but just wanting to vent. And make a space for anyone feeling the same. It’s crap isn’t it.

I really miss my colleagues, getting dressed for work and putting on make up, office chit chat, bumping onto people, being in London and meeting friends for coffee or lunch. All my friends are scattered across the home counties and with family life, restrictions etc it's meant we've not seen much of each other and I miss them. Video chats are nice, but not the same. It takes more effort to motivate myself and to feel enthusiastic about work, which is not like me. I feel drained of energy.

On the plus side there's less rushing around, no commute, my daughter has shorter days at nursery and we get more time to spend together. I think ultimately, I need more balance in my life. Three days in the office, two WFH would suit me well.

I’m absolutely loving WFH. I’m saving ten hours and at least £60 a week by not commuting. I’m not that bothered about the money, but As someone who works to live, the saving in time and improved work/life balance is fantastic.

I can work in my scruffs, I waste less time in pointless meetings and spend more time doing actual work, so I’m more productive and I don’t have to pretend to be nice to people I can’t stand.

Long may it continue.

I liked it at first, I think it was because it was a bit of a novelty, but not anymore. I don’t know about anyone else but I find it excruciatingly lonely, to the point where I’m starting to miss people I didn’t even like! I miss the office banter and general chit chat with my lovely colleagues. It saddens me very much that things will never go back to how they were from a works point of view.

I've always hated mornings, but on my work outside of the home mornings I wake up at 5am like its Christmas morning and I'm a small child. I never thought I would be so happy just to have somewhere to go in the morning. I have been through a lot of shit in my life, but staring into a laptop screen with my children destroying our home and possessions around me with no childcare and no adult social interaction was a special Kind of torture.

I loved it at first but now it’s a complete rollercoaster. Some days ultra productive, nice breaks to make coffee or healthy lunch and a quick walk. Other days dragging anything out of the to do list to make my way to the end of the day. Days like that in the office I could rely on my colleagues to perk me up. And I’m one of the lucky ones with a desk in an alcove on our landing and a decent sized house and fabulous internet.

Hate hate hate it

Yes! I really miss the office banter. Made my job enjoyable. Now it sucks. The only thing I don't miss is the 2 hour commute

DH and his colleagues had a virtual coffee meet up once a week that’s really just for socialising with the odd work bit coming up. Any chance of something that? It’s good for us as he would usually have been overseas at least four times and a few trips off down to London since lockdown. He does have a separate office at home plus no toddlers to wrangle so I can see why circumstances make it a lot harder for some. But I do think this has really shown us all what personality type we have with the extroverts withering on the vine and the introverts not minding.

My incredibly balanced friend was losing the plot completely WFH. I was worried at one point that she was headed for a breakdown . She is like us with plenty of space and no small dc, hers have left home. Her DH and her have a wonderful marriage, they each had an office at home, but she could not handle seeing people at all.

I'm an hour into another day of lonesome working.

Lots of emails, lots to do..........but clock watch already and staring at my list.

I do appreciate that my house is in better order but I just cannot feel much enthusiasm about work anymore. Even though in theory it is really interesting and exciting work that I do - we are even 'doing well' in the pandemic, business is up. I just can't summon the energy at the moment.

I wonder if I just overdid it at the beginning - I was working 9-10 hours days, 5 days a week and didn't take a day off until mid August and even then did work on those days 'off'.

Maybe it's just exhaustion and not the wfh per se.

@Valkadin

DH and his colleagues had a virtual coffee meet up once a week that’s really just for socialising with the odd work bit coming up. Any chance of something that? It’s good for us as he would usually have been overseas at least four times and a few trips off down to London since lockdown. He does have a separate office at home plus no toddlers to wrangle so I can see why circumstances make it a lot harder for some. But I do think this has really shown us all what personality type we have with the extroverts withering on the vine and the introverts not minding.

My incredibly balanced friend was losing the plot completely WFH. I was worried at one point that she was headed for a breakdown . She is like us with plenty of space and no small dc, hers have left home. Her DH and her have a wonderful marriage, they each had an office at home, but she could not handle seeing people at all.

@Valkadin withering on the vine is very apt. That’s how I feel. My just turned 3 year old is at a very challenging stage where he doesn’t want me even talking to other people so if I arrange walks with friends on my days off he just howls constantly and runs away. And of course there are no playgroups due to Covid.

At the start of wfh I know my colleagues were doing a lot more virtual coffee breaks etc but I came in after furlough 5 months in and by that point nobody could be arsed anymore. DH’s work have allowed people who were struggling mentally to come back to the office but mine hasn’t. I feel so lonely and flat.

I hate it. 9 to 5 in back to back Teams calls then doing my actual job after hours (if at all). I just feel permanently “on” but at the same time massively unproductive

I feel like this (without the back to back meetings). Permanently on but very unproductive. I really struggle with discipline, partly because it's lonely.

My social media time is shocking. I’m just pissing about although I’ve got loads to do. I feel an endless new related trauma but I can’t stop looking. It’s awful.

medium.com/@judroppp/working-remotely-and-the-toll-on-your-mental-health-484614d77c87

I find it very lonely. It has highlighted my lack of real friends in my social life, being in an office was not a cure for that but sometimes being around people helped.

And the feeling of being trapped in one place is getting to me. Also, that I really don't like or have anything in common with my neighbours yet am now forced to see so much of them. I'm lonely but also crave alone time.

The summer holidays were hard. Children screaming in the street just under the window where I work all bloody day long.

Really wish I was wfh hiding away from the virus instead of sweating under ppe 8 hrs a day.

Of course @User56770987

No one other than those who work in healthcare have been at all affected by the pandemic. I forgot.

I have to wear PPE. Still much prefer it to being home. My family and friends in healthcare/NHS feel the same. We do jobs with people because we are extroverted types who need not to 'wither on the vine'

I have started to do some home visits in the past couple of weeks (for which I wear PPE). I agree I still much prefer and hate having to take my work home to write up. I have been in the office today for the first time since March and I felt like a different person

Interesting article @QueenArseClangers thank you

I actually do feel like that article
I have no patience for customers anymore. Which is bad. And I wasn't like that before
So I'm probably going to get bad feedback or something now

Oh that article brought tears to my eyes. Spot on. I’m so jealous of everyone getting to go into their offices, they’re just not allowing it at mine.

I’ve just read that article and it mentions decompressing on the way home. Now if you’re saving on commuting time then why not just take half an hour for yourself at the end of the work day to decompress. Read, go for a walk, do something that’s not chores or work. If you have older kids they can amuse themselves, if you have younger ones then what would happen if you were actually in the office? Presumably childcare of some sort? I generally switch off my work laptop at 5, i then spend an hour reading or some other hobby and cook at 6. Of course that won’t combat loneliness but does go some way to establishing better boundaries between work and home. It won’t be possible for everyone, but some people could probably do it.

If you miss dressing for work then do it at home, maybe not every day but mix things up a bit. A lot of people are potentially going to be spending another 6 months either wfh entirely or most days. So while I do have sympathy for those who are struggling, it will help to try and put some things in place to make it more bearable.

Dont miss long days but as you all said miss the work life balance. Is anyone less motivated now. When first off I was doing tons of exercise, doing big cleaning jobs in the house as had more time. i keep it really surface tidy now but cant be bothered as much. I sometimes go for a little lie down in my lunch.