Best and worst things about WFH for you?

[TakeAByte]

Probably been done before!
I WFH 4 days a week. Soon dropping the fifth day too.

Best for me is, being able to have a bath on my lunch break-that could never happen in the office!

Having everything I could possibly need-food and drink wise.
Working in comfy clothes ad being able to have the temperature I want!

Worst? I honestly don't really have one. I guess seeing colleagues is nice sometimes, but I cannot say I miss it.

[LoveSandbanks]

I absolutely love wfh and only go into the office when I need to. Comfy clothes, flexible hours, home for the kids (now late teens)

no commuting time which means more time for me.

I don’t think I’d ever go back to more than 2 days a week in the office.

nope, no downside for me.

[Fuelledbylatte]

Best; no commute!

Worst; I don't take sick days anymore as I just sort of can't really- things can be done on the laptop from bed and have snoozes in between

[Whinge]

I don't WFH, but a close friend has been WFH since the start of the pandemic. She now does 3 days WFH and 2 in the office. We've spoken about it a lot and she often says

She loves being able to concentrate on just work as there's no interuptions, and fitting in appointments (dentist / doctors etc) as she doesn't spend as long commuting.

She hates that she can't switch off as work is always there. Also she's realised how little exercise she does on WFH days, as most of her time is spent stuck in her little home office.

[TakeAByte]

Definitely! I'd have to be offered a HUGE payrise to go into the office again. I started a new job a couple of months ago however and nobody goes in the office at all, there sort of isn't one.

My day 'in the office' is a freelance tutoring role and although I do like that job a lot, I am exhausted when I get home. To think I used to be like that every day when I worked in a different job. Traffic, uncomfy attire, having to be 'switched on' all day, ugh.

[TakeAByte]

@Whinge that's a different perspective. I exercise so much more now as I am not as exhausted and I do pressups/stretches just as and when I get up to go to the loo or get a drink or whatever too. Can walk my dog before work as no commute.

[CrispsandCheeseSandwich]

Saving time on the commute. Our DC are in school/nursery but saving time means we don't need breakfast club for DD1, and we can pick them up earlier, which means we can all sit down to eat dinner together, which is cooked from scratch every day.
If we were commuting, dinners would have to be more rushed and I think we would struggle to eat as healthily.
I also have time in the morning to exercise, which I wouldn't otherwise (without getting up much earlier than I'd like). DH also exercises in his lunch break, which he wouldn't if he was in the office.
I'm also studying for an accountancy qualification and when wfh I can study on my lunch break. I could do this at work but it would mean carrying quite a large textbook in, and probably finding a quiet space in the office to watch the online course.

The worst is probably that there isn't quite enough space. We both work in the spare bedroom, which is set up with two desks, but it could do with being maybe 50% bigger. It fits, we're not on top of each other, but it's a little cramped. I appreciate we're lucky to not have to work from the dining table or bedroom though.

I wfh 2-3 days a week and am in the office the other days, DH wfh 5 days a week.

[ErrolTheDragon]

No time wasted commuting, I'm part time with flexible hours so can make better use of good weather.
And it enabled me to have dogs - not a lockdown thing, I started wfh when we moved here in 1995 and had two lovely dogs since then.

Downside - the full impact of which is really only catching up with me as I near retirement - is the social isolation. A lot of which is down to me not being proactive enough but I don't really know any of my colleagues very well, and I never really got to know people locally well, I was working FT then.

[Devilshands]

Best; no commute (2 hours door to door) and not having to make small talk with people I don’t like.

Worst; none.

[Tryingtohelp12]

Best - no commute, flexible, great for those with kids, opened up the job market as could apply for roles further from home as rarely in office
worst- it’s lonely. There’s no down time (eg on a commute you may have half an hour to chill/ switch off between work/home or making a cuppa a home you’ll do something productive like do the dishwasher we’re in the office you might have a chat). You need the space so lose a bedroom or other room. If a line manager it is quite tricky to support and develop staff remotely. If new it’s harder to ask questions.

I mostly wfh but if my office was closer (1 hour drive) eg a five min walk I would definitely go in most of the time. I don’t think it is really good for people to long term work from home full time.

[FlabMonsterIsDietingAgain]

Best - control over my hours, being able to get bits done around the house when I'm waiting for the kettle to boil or on my lunch, being home when DD gets home from school, being able to ramp the music up high when I need to blitz a task.

Worst - there's no firm 'end' to my day and work is right there in the corner of the living room. Often find myself working late into the night, or thinking 'I'll just log back on for 5 mins and get that done'.

[ErrolTheDragon]

I wfh because DHs job moved ... I did it first for a couple of years when he was seconded to the US, with monthly trips from Philadelphia to the office in Boston, and then when we moved here - I'm hundreds of miles from colleagues but the team I'm in is mostly in California so I can't drop into the office or turn up for social events. But it's the only way I could continue in a niche job I (mostly) love.

I'm kinda struggling at the moment with who I'll be after retirement.

[GameOfJones]

I work from home and am also in the office two days a week.

The things I love about working from home are no commuting time, so I get more of my day back. I often have a bath after I've finished work for the day to unwind and can be out, dried and dressed before I'd have even walked in the door when commuting on an office day.

I can wear my comfy clothes.

I can run errands if I need to on my lunch break.

DH also works from home and we have lunch together once a week at a local café.

I find there are generally fewer distractions at home so I can get on with stuff. I particularly value it when I'm doing something like writing a report and can have peace and quiet to do my work.

The things I prefer about being in the office are the social aspect. I work with a genuinely lovely team and it's nice to catch up with them in person.

I feel like I'm flicking the "off switch" more when I leave the office and drive home. It feels like a better split between work and my home life.

I feel I'm in the loop a bit more when I'm in the office as you get those incidental conversations, overhear something and ask a question etc.

I actually really love the mix of both but if I didn't like my colleagues or had a long commute (my drive to work is less than 30mins door to door) then my answers would be different.

[rufioooooo]

I've done both.

Best things:
Lunch time dog walks
Being able to cook nice lunches
Getting housework done around work
No commute
Watching daytime tv
Being there when kids are unwell etc and not having to take time off

Worst things:
No contact with other people
Cabin fever
Not being able to switch off from work/home life
Being overly flexible with childcare and housework - consequently trying to do 'it all' and stressing myself out

Ultimately I'm glad I went back into the office but I do miss some elements of home working.

[KnickerlessParsons]

Worst: lack of company and lack of exercise. In work I have to walk to get a coffee/go for a wee/to the printer/to get lunch - at home everything is in the next room. I've definitely put on weight as it's so much easier to snack, and I've had days when it gets to 2pm and I realise I haven't left my chair.
Until I started going back in this year I hadn't realised how lonely I was either. We've all agreed how nice it is not to have to make appointments with people for a catch up. And how much easier it is to ask someone questions about a piece of work you're doing. And the "printer conversations" are invaluable - we've all missed those too.

Benefits of wfh are not having to commute - saving time and money, being in when Amazon call, saving on work clothes, and more flexible hours.

[Semeliner]

pros

• No squishing up against strangers coughing on me on the commute
• No mad panic in the morning getting me and child ready
• cheaper in terms of food etc
• Can spend less on clothes
• I work on sofa which is comfy and I don’t get back ache like at work
• Temperature is how I want unlike at work which is always too hot/ too cold.
• I don’t get ‘socially exhausted’ like I do at work.
• I can manage my home life much easier - as a single mum this is essential
• I can collect my child earlier and spend more time with them
• I don’t have to keep up my appearance as much, ie do my nails, wash my hair
• No-one is having loud conversations around me distracting me
• I’m just far less exhausted managing it all

cons

• I’m getting less excercise
• I don’t get to see beautiful centre London where I work
• Sometimes I get bored

[Fulshaw]

It’s so incredibly boring stuck within the same four walls all week. Doesn’t exactly stimulate the brain does it?

[Aozora13]

Best thing for me is the fact I can actually have a job despite having a chronic illness. I also like the comfy clothes, more time with kids, not having to deal with London at rush hour, space to focus etc.

I am in the office 1-2 days a week and that’s more than enough for me. But my attitude to work has changed a lot since becoming ill - I took my career very seriously and a lot of my social life revolved around work/work friends. Now it’s much more about paying the bills.

[TakeAByte]

I don't find it boring at all. I didn't like working in my ltitle home office though. I like being in the sitting room better. I felt a bit 'cooped up' in there as it was 'just' a workspace. I like having the large window near me and being able to easily access the kitchen and garden.

[MagpiePi]

Best: being able to lie in bed first thing while I check emails, otherwise my commute can be about 5 minutes between waking up and logging on; being able to start early and so finish early and get out in daylight during the winter; not having to put together packed lunch the night before.
Worst: I live alone so can go days without speaking to someone in person; can get a bit cabin feverish during the winter when I don’t get out as much; being freezing cold because I don’t put the heating on.

[TakeAByte]

I am alone too @MagpiePi. I find the dog helps, I can say good morning to 20 people on my pre-work walk!
And I do make sure I see people, ring friends etc regularly. I understand that isn't always easy for the next person.

[sockarefootwear]

Best- No travel time, can concentrate on a piece of work without being disrupted by people having loud conversations or asking me 'can you just....' (previously worked in an open plan office). Not having to dodge colleagues asking 'Oh, just before you leave...' as soon as I stand up to go home.

Worst- Persuading family, friends and local groups I'm involved with that WFH is real work and I can't just nip out for a coffee/go shopping/volunteer/host visitors etc during the working day.

[Foxblue]

Best:

• Levels the playing field at work as its all output based, you don't get the issue of people who talk the talk in the office well but don't do any actual work anymore!
• Eat a lot healthier and spend less
• So many more that have already been mentioned, but a specific one for me is that I suspect I might be autistic and I have never slept better in my life than I do now I wfh, the sensory input has gone RIGHT down and I also now find it easier to deal with when I do go out to busy places - I used to get very overwhelmed and panicky, but its like I have a lot of 'calm' stored up!

Worst:

• I do miss the social aspect, but the good parts MASSIVELY outweigh this.

[MagpiePi]

@TakeAByte

I am alone too @MagpiePi. I find the dog helps, I can say good morning to 20 people on my pre-work walk!
And I do make sure I see people, ring friends etc regularly. I understand that isn't always easy for the next person.

I’m quite introverted and find it difficult to reach out to people, but I am also acutely conscious that it makes loneliness worse.

[ANiceBigCupOfTea]

I don't WFH anymore but I did for a bit.
What I loved:

• all the time I got back from not having to commute
• not having to get up as early so starting my days with a walk or run
• being able to have dinner half prepared by the time I finished work
• taking a break during the day to watch something or play a game

What I didn't love:

• less interaction with people at work. I'm a sociable person and thought I was grand, but I did find I got a bit odd when leaving the house which wasn't great
• having to rely on communication with people over Teams so waiting longer for responses when I needed them
• I actually found I had more distractions at home

All in all, I did enjoy it and I've changed roles now so I cant WFH anyway bar the very odd day here and there. Sometimes I do miss it if I'm honest, as I have mostly very early rises now to get into work.

[KStockHERO]

Best: Absolutely everything.

Worst: Really struggling to think of any downsides whatsoever.