AIBU in thinking employers who do not embrace working from home possibilities are short sighted?

[indulged]

It seems wasteful to go into a workplace when you are just doing exactly what could be done at home. I drive 1 hr each way to sit at a computer and do exactly the same as what i do at home. I waste petrol, I chat, i have coffee and lunch. I am less productive at work.

I am amazed in this day and age that more employers arent embracing working from home. Less rental/room fees, green policy, lower utility bills. Why isnt this taking off?

argh typing on phone sorry :o

Working from home would be ideal for me. After working ever since leaving school and being made redundant 18 months ago i'm now on JSA. Many office jobs now start at 8.00am or earlier which makes it pretty impossible for me to apply for them as I cant get childcare in the mornings. (two kids, different schools, no places locally, I cant drive etc etc).

In my last job I had a colleague who talked constantly across our desks...seriously she never shut up even if she could quite clearly see I was trying to do payroll. "ooohh my friend on facebook has just bought a trampoline yadda yadda yadda" I nearly ground my teeth down to stumps. Add to this dealing with reception and opening the electronic door every five mins....

I could have been so much more productive working from home without constant distraction.

YANBU

YANBU

Obviously won't suit all employees or all types of jobs; but to just have a rule about it for no real reason is stupid.

We've had a WFH policy for a good few years now, and find it works really well. We get our home broadband paid so long as we do a set amount of days per month - for me it works out at a day a week as I work three days. I find it's a perfect balance - I do need to be in the office the other couple of days in order to maintain contact with other staff, but I always just make sure I have something I just need ot get done on my WFH days. IT is great saving the mileage and time spent travelling (though I still have a short trip to take ds to and from nursery)

I have to say I wouldn't like to do it all the time though - it's nice to have contact with other human beings too!

well today, my day consisted of : welcome session, coffee and chat to other part timers i dont see often, royal wedding debrief. quick look at emails, another chat with manager just about stuff, back to room, coffee and a chat about other stuff, one hour seminar I took, got lunch, back to room where other people had joined us, chat, meeting with student, colleague came in to ask a few questions, chat, admired his new model he designed, twitter, home.

Bloody hell I could have got loads done at home.

I work from home one day a week and am thinking of asking to work at home another day a week as well. I work for a Gov't dept - whilst I can't be wireless, security isn't a problem due to secure networks, passwords and being connected to the Gov't network.

It's great you get the best of both worlds - most meetings are now telekits as there is no money available for travel to London, so they can be done from home too (less distracting than the office). The laptop I have costs slightly more per year than a desktop PC but then the Dept get more work out of me so I think it evens itself out.

I consider myself lucky and agree more people should be receptive to this way of working.

I work from home two days and from the office two days and it's absolutely perfect. It's one huge reason that I am still in my job, because it fits in to my life so brilliantly.
I agree with others who say productivity increases at work. My home days are 9 - 3, and I usually work straight through with perhaps 20 mins for lunch and one two minute trip to the kettle for a coffee. In the office there is MUCH more distraction, talking, breaks.
The only issue we have is that we have client calls coming into the office every day so the staff that can't or don't want to work from home, feel they shoulder more of the burden there - which they do. But I certainly try and do more than my share of the phone when I am in. It's all about supporting each other I think.
And yes, homeworking should be REALLY taking off.
The one downside I find is that I finish at 3, and am picking DS up at the school gate literally five minutes later - sometimes a little time to clear my head and get my 'mummy' head on again would save my sanity. However that is not enough to make me want to give it up!

oo perhaps a freudian slip hahahaha! Productivity increases at home I meant, which I hope the point I was making shows!!

I'm quite lucky in that my employers are allowing me a trial of working three days in the office and one from home when I return from maternity leave. I'm a secreatary so understand that I can't work from home all the time but I'm really hopeful that this works as that extra days pay would make a huge difference for us.

we're not supposed to work at home really, but my boss allows me to do so sometimes - it's the ONLY way i can get something that really requires concentration done as my office is a project hub and always packed full of people talking and phones ringing etc.
i've even been known to go out to starbucks to read something difficult because my office is so hard to concentrate in.
having said that, i often have to listen to things or watch film footage which even with headphones can often disturb the others in my office.

This is why I started my own company. So I could work from home.

And I make sure my clients know that this may mean I am working at 2am, but do feel free to ring me other times. If I am free, I'm happy to chat. If not, I'm happy to set up another time to talk.

I do go to client sites on occasion, but it's maybe once a month.