Good things about wfh

[SpiderinaWingMirror]

I'm not a natural working from home person. I like going into an office.
This morning servers are down so I'm making a list of the positives
So far
Big one, being able to write passwords down in a big book of passwords.
What are yours?

I do like the not having to be on show side of it though!

I hate WFH full time but if I had to think of some positives…

I’m keeping on top of the washing
I can stick something in the slow cooker for dinner when I’m on my lunchbreak

I’m also not reaching for the biscuits in the office but… I now eat more at home
I can go on daily walks but… if COVID wasn’t around then I’d be in the gym which I’d much prefer
I’m not stuck in the car for an hour morning /evening but… I actually miss it!

God, I hope we can get back into the office from September, at least a couple of days a week

Listening to the radio.

Making nice hot coffee rather than relying on my thermos.

I still like going into the office though.

I used to do a weekly commute, staying in a hotel through the week. I’m enjoying just seeing more of my family! (And my home)

Although I find they are surprised at the long hours I work, and frustrated as they expected me to do a 9-5 so now they feel I am neglecting them. I hadn’t realised that the 12-14 hour days were masked by being away from home.

I've WFH for years but occasionally (pre-covid) worked in-house. A day in the office was always enough to leave me socially buoyed! Things I love:

• no commute, saving so much time and money
• taking a daily walk with my partner at lunchtimes
• reclaiming the evenings; I finish up at 5pm and have an hour+ before we start dinner. Before, it'd be a mad rush to get home and cook before flaking on the sofa (would get home after 7pm and often shop for dinner on my lunch break or quickly before the train home)
• lie-ins! Not stressing about being in bed by 10pm to get enough sleep before the alarm goes off
• the money I'm saving not buying disappointing lunches
• And an unexpected one is, for the first time today, I looked at my reflection and actually liked what I saw without make-up. I'd become so accustomed to seeing my face made-up that I felt ugly without it

Not having to get up around two hours I'm due to start work so that I can fit in my 1 hour + commute

Being able to make lunch at home (I do miss buying a nice lunch too)

Being at home and ready to start dinner when I finish work at 5:30-6 rather then getting home at 7-7:30

Not wearing much make up. I realise make up is not a necessity either way but I feel like I wanted to wear it when going into work and now I enjoy a minimalistic approach

I save money on buying coffee, breakfast and lunches most days

Saving money I would spend from going to the shops at lunch time (again I enjoyed this too)

Some of these are opposites for me.

Having my own desk with nice things on it. I have that at work plus a big monitor, laser printer etc. At home I'm at the kitchen table with none of those things and having to pack up every evening.

Eating - far healthier at work as I only eat what I take in instead of having free access to the fridge and breadbin at home.

Clothes and make-up - no real difference, we have a very casual dress code and I only wear minimal make-up.

I do keep on top of housework better at home though.

Not spending the previous evening making lunch, finding my work keys, ID and oyster card, setting out smart clothes.
All those colleagues who used to wander past the desk and say "can you just....give me information that is on the intranet, show me how to complete a form that you've shown me a dozen times before, answer a question that should go to your teammate but they're not here..." now have to put it in an email. I don't have half the number of interruptions that I used to get and am far more productive!

I can put laundry on during the week whereas usually I can only really wash clothes easily in the weekend

Positives: Daytime shagging if we aren't busy at the same time
Never having to compromise on the room temperature
Lost 3 stone due to only eating when I'm hungry, not at arbitrary times set by manager or dictated by the commute.

Not crammed into public transport with coughers and sniffers

Downsides: I have to make all the cups of tea spaced out throughout the day instead of taking turns so each person only has to do it all in one go.
Loads of instant messaging type chat but no actual real chit chat.
No juicy eavesdropping on the train.

Having to see myself onscreen during bad hair days. If I have a bad hair day in the office I at least don't have to look at it all day.

Doing a food shop on my lunch break

Fitting in appointments into the working week not always on a Saturday

Putting washing on, even better in summer with the washing line 😍

Walking my dog on phone calls

Healthier lunchers

General chores being done as I go

Less fuel

Not paying for a dog Walker

Getting up later if I want

Starting earlier and finishing earlier rather than driving

My dog being happier

Not wearing makeup everyday

More causal clothes

Remembering to take meat out the freezer is no longer a Olympic task

I appreciate I work flexi time in addition to working from home 80% of the time

More sleep. Comfy clothes. More time to exercise and cook healthy meals. I love it.

No commute is the biggest one. I’m also saving a tonne of money by not commuting/buying lunch/getting takeaway coffee.

I stopped working in June and started a full-time PhD so I’ve been really enjoying managing my own hours. I prefer to work in the evening and I can do that easily in my home office rather than dragging myself to the campus in the morning. Nobody cares when I work as long as it gets done.

I’ve been teaching undergrad classes via Zoom, which obviously isn’t as good as face to face teaching but student engagement is off the charts. We’re seeing twice as many people at the virtual classes compared to in-person lectures in past years.

Being able to nap at lunchtime if I happen to have had slightly too much to drink the night before.

Being able to prep dinner at lunchtime so my evenings are free

Being able to work on my small business in quiet moments

Spending Friday afternoons cleaning so the house is clean for the weekend while I listen in to conference calls

Being able to sleep in until 8.55 most days

Being able to watch Netflix while I work if I fancy it

Not having to make small talk with people I have no interest in speaking to

No commute, saving time and money

I know it’s not for everyone but I’m very happy to never go back to the office again

Having a lie in and stumbling downstairs 15 minutes before I'm due to start work

Being able to hear my children all day, and to sit with them at lunchtime, and to just pop down the stairs and see them for 1-2 minutes between teaching different classes.

Not having to get up at 5am.

Not having to commute to and from work.

Not having to set foot in a cold school building with manky old carpets and desks.

Not having to remind students to face the front, be quiet and listen when I’m talking. They don’t turn their cameras on and nor do I. I check constantly for their understanding through questioning etc, and I haven’t caught anyone out yet who hasn’t been listening to me, but in the classroom this would happen a lot.

Not having to physically spend time with incompetent and unfriendly colleagues, especially at break and lunch times.

Being able to wear pyjamas all day.

Only putting make up on if I feel like it (I always wear it if setting foot out of the house).

Working from my bed.

Showering during a free period, and making up my work at a time that better suits me.

Being able to put my washing on in the morning and hang it out during morning break time.

Being able to set my students off on a task and mute myself while drinking a hot drink and eating my breakfast, while catching up on work emails. They always know I’m there and can communicate with me any time, but the flexibility to eat and drink when I need to is amazing.

Being able to catch up on tv in the evening, and have a glass or 2 of wine on weekdays, as I know I can get up a lot later the next day and not have to get dressed etc.

The ability to go in my garden for 5 minutes in my lunchtime, break time or a free period.

Having more choice of food at lunchtime, and more flexibility to change my mind about eating a particular food and eat something else instead.

Just being able to be in the comfort of my own home. My anxiety has massively reduced during the first lockdown and in this one.

I know it’s important for students to get back to school, but I am seriously mourning the end of working from home. It’s been a lot of really hard work, but for my life, the positives far outweigh the negatives.