Not sure if I want to work from home full time - would you?

[GymGirl23]

I work in a big office environment and most of us in my department have proved during the lockdown that we can work just as well from home if not better in some cases.

Heard today that we will be offered the opportunity to choose if we want to work from home full time, we'll be sent a memo about it soon. A lot of us aren't sure as it was fine when we thought it was for a certain amount of time before resuming our usual routine of commuting, looking around the shops at lunchtime, quick chats at the coffee machine and just having proper social contact. We've all worked together for years so have become good friends in the process. We also work effectively together as a team in person rather than on Zoom.

I spend 2 hours commuting each day but I actually find it relaxing as I read or listen to music. At the moment I'm working an extra 2 hours instead of commuting and working the other hours fully whereas in the office we tend to work 50 minutes out of each hour. I would miss the social contact and general banter. I think the novelty has worn off even though we do have a proper home office set up. There won't be an option to work 1 or 2 days from home and the other days in the office btw, it's basically home or office! Also I'm not getting paid for the extra 2 hours which I don't mind (and they haven't offered either) but if I was to work from home full time should I negotiate extra pay going forward as it's an extra 10 hours per week? What would you do? Really need advice on advantages and disadvantages! The one advantage is during the winter months not having to deal with cancelled trains due to a bit of snow and ice! DH works from home part of the week and kids are teenagers so not really distracting like small kids for context...

@Lanthanum
We still have 3 or 4 meetings in the office a year when we can touch base and have "peer" activities we can attend or be involved in too. So we still have that touching physical base, but that in real terms means maybe 6 days a year. This works great for me!

One thing my DH pointed out which is super important is that if half of you are in the office, it won’t be at all the same as when 100% of you are wfh. Those wfh will struggle to join in meetings (as half the people will be in the same room already), feel left out of social stuff etc. It won’t be the same as now when everyone is separately on a video call. Of course for some people that will be worth it due to reduced commute etc. but it should be considered.

I very strongly agree with this. I also think WFH works well in established teams but starting a new job entirely WFH is very different - to some extent at the moment most people are currently relying and using the relationships they already have face to face, it would be totally different if you didn't have that.

I think it depends on the job and your personality. I've wfh the past 8 years and loved it, but usually I'm out on the road 2 days at least, and my job involves lots of phone contact.

All my work travel now cancelled this year at least so its 100% wfh which is not as appealing.

I agree that WFH is hard when everyone else is in the office.

In my office there's only 2 of us who are WFH (both shielding) as we work in the NHS (non-clinical side) and it's having such a negative effect on my mental health. I feel like I'm not doing enough as the others in the office because the system is fiddly from home and they're having to pick up things we can't do at home, which makes me feel guilty. Plus there's no checking in at all, no zoom, no teams etc, nothing. It's really isolating when you get an email sent to everyone and it makes no sense, to then find out it was a change the entire office decided, without your input or opinion thrown in the mix. I feel very much like an afterthought and I'm equally dreading going back while looking forward to it.

Sorry, ramble to essentially say, no - I wouldn't want to WFH full time!

I don't want to WFH permanently. I miss the commute, which is usually about 25 minutes through countryside and I am missing the turning of the seasons, everything coming into leaf, the crops growing and so on. I can now go out and see that, just not as part of the transition between work and home.

I also miss meeting people who aren't in my team, the casual conversations and connections, lunchtime chats, and the various events which go on. I miss my team, but we are still chatting on instant messenger and in the 9 million online meetings I now seem to have every day.

I like having the option of working f

...I like having the option of working from home, and was doing it once a week anyway before the lockdown, and occasionally at other times. I just don't want to do it permanently.

Seems daft it's all or nothing, though.

@EBearhug
I imagine the gauge of all or nothing is because many organisations are looking at saving costs. Some economists say productivity of wfh overall has increased or dropped by 1%. So even if a 1% drop in these unusual circumstances, most can absorb that loss to significantly reduce rental costs, leases, utilities, maintenance etc of all offices and buildings.
For many this may well be what makes them more competitive moving forward.
As I said before, I wfh as norm, our "office" could never accommodate more than 30% of staff and now its really only the staff who work on reception, clean, provide maintenance and equipment who actually are non productive, so less than 1% of the organisation. We already organise external meetings in free public locations as is increasingly common and imagine many will follow suit.
Though I fully understand we're ahead of the curve, but this could be the future for many. And actually find that there's no option of office moving forward.

You're highlighting one of the issues with working from home - the temptation to keep working all the time. At least when you're in the office you have to stop when it's home time don't you.

You should stop doing those extra two hours.

I think the wfh or office thing is a personal decision - I like the office but I detest my commute (longer than yours). But I've always worked a split between home and office - I think after this I will ask to be office based a lot less than I was though.

No, I miss seeing other people.

I hate it. I can’t wait to go back to the office. My job is so much harder without face to face contact with my network. I’m an introvert as well...thought I would love it.

And actually find that there's no option of office moving forward

And that jobs get outsourced somewhere cheaper.

I really, really hope to. I'm a teacher. I have been off sick for months due to awful problems with my leg, which isn't getting better due to lack of treatment.
Since lockdown I've been WFH like most of us.
When schools go back I would love this to carry on, as I still will be ill. Also my husband is shielding. From what my MAT and the unions are saying, they aren't keen on shielding family members going in.
I've definitely got to upgrade my laptop and IT skills though!

I work from home and have done for 5 years. I prefer it as I can do the school run and be around for the kids. It’s also much cheaper as we don’t have any commuting costs or after school wrap around care for the kids. You do work longer hours as there are less distractions (no popping for a coffee with colleagues) but I make a point of going in to the office once a week for a catch up with colleges and friends. It really suits family life for us, so although the pay is crap it’s worth it for me.
In terms of hours, you will find your routine. I log in early, clear my emails and then go for a run after drop off.

My DP has WFH FT for about 5 years and didn't know people there first. Loves the flexibility but it is very very isolating. His team are dispersed everywhere so has never met in person, no Christmas party, cake on someone's birthday, random chit chat. You're on your own.

I WFH 1-2 days per week before this and will be one of the last to return to the office. I also like the flexibility but have worked there a while and can call people for a chit chat/coffee. I will likely go back 1-2 days per week max. if I do at all as there are space issues in our office anyway.

Depends on your other social life and relations within the company.

Our company will be offering a mix of WFH and in the office two days a week. Win, Win.

Have work said what working in the office will look like?

We have not gone back yet but had TCs about this. They are reconfiguring the office to allow 2m between all workspaces, which will halve capacity. It will be a week in, a week wfh, the same people in on same week to minimise impact in case someone was asymptomatic. Once way systems for walking around the office, one person at a time in the lift, with an up and a down staircase as we would be asked to leave the lifts for less able people (six floor building). Can go for coffee with one other person at a time, lunch with four - same group when possible, social distance as much as possible. Stay at your desk other than coffee/ lunch/ toilet breaks.
With half the office not there you will be surrounded by people in calls. Even talking to people in the office will be done by phone a lot as meeting room capacity will also be reduced.
They have already cancelled the Christmas party!!

It all sounds very stressful! They say they 'realistically ' expect this to last at least a year.

I started WFH exclusively in January. After 20 years of commuting, spending between 2 and 3 hours a day in public transport, this has been the best thing ever. I have a tiny flat, so it means my living room turns into an office Monday to Friday, but I don't care. It's lovely.

I finish work at 5 and that's when I go to the gym, see friends, cook, walk and I've even picked up my hobby again. I would never go back to working in a noisy dirty office unless I was forced to.

*@GymGirl23

I think when lockdown ends it will be a while for things to revert back to how they were but I suspect they will.

While I have been WFH one of the things I have noticed is that while we do still have non work chats they tend to be shorter. Obviously there is no 'let's go for a coffee' meaning that people disappear for 30 minutes.

I have had more access to my boss as she has spent a lot less time chewing the fat with her boss. This was one of my frustrations in the office in that she would disappear for hours on end. As soon as the office opens she will be galloping back in as she is missing being able to have long chats with her boss.

Online meetings tend not to drag on so long as attended meetings. A lot fewer meetings about meetings.

On the other hand I know that some of my colleagues are desperately missing the social interaction of work.

I wfh for about 97% of my role. Everyone in my role also wfh. I love it. I can always drop off and pick up the dc. I can put a load in the machine. Pop the slow cooker on at lunchtime.

It works because bar a few fixed meetings roughly once a week, I have total control over my work timetable. I have deadlines, which I always meet but if I want to go on a school trip I don't even need to tell anyone. Emails only need to be replied to a few times a week (although I tend to reply within minutes or hours). If my manager rang and I said I was on a school trip with my dc she would be delighted for me and say she would ring me another time. If I do the work at 6am, 10am, 6PM or 10pm makes no difference as long as the work is done. Admittedly it is harder with dc and dh wfh too, I wouldn't fancy doing that forever.

In terms of socialising I sometimes meet with work colleagues at events. I have a few good friends at my work, some of whom I have never met but we email regularly. We chat online too. I also can pop out in the day to meet local friends for coffee/ lunch/ a swim.

I love my work-life balance. I think though it would be lonely if I was one of a few wfh if everyone else was in the office. I would feel constrained if I had to be logging in at the computer every five minutes. It works because it is flexible.

I wfh already about 60% of my week. In my team it varies from 60-100% wfh at usual times.

It is hard when there is a 'big' meeting - trying to follow on teams for 6 hours is hard! It's also hard to build that team relationship for new starters. However with effort it can be done.

I prefer a mix. I worked from home one day a week anyway but would like to wfh twice a week going forward and have 3 days in the office. That would work well for me. Commute time normally is an hour and 15 each way (London/ tube).

Really don't like working from home. Miss my cycle ride to work and really miss my colleagues (even the slightly annoying ones!) Gym is also opposite work building so I go at lunchtimes. I'm not as disciplined at home as I am at work.

I have never worked from home before and am enjoying it now. Am also working longer hours but not having the stressful commute is a bit of a revelation. However, if I was forced to choose all or nothing like you, I would still pick going to the office. I think I would miss the interaction too much in the long term. And I am getting so much less exercise at the moment I am getting fat!

No. I wouldn't. Apart from the money the main reason I got a job was to get out of the house and see people. I wouldn't mind working from home half the week and going in the rest of the time.

I mostly WFH for 6 years, then changed jobs and was in the office 3/4 days per week pre-lockdown. I wouldn’t want to go back to WFH full time, I felt very isolated and detached from the company & colleagues after a while. Talking on Zoom etc just isn’t the same as having a chat over a coffee when you’re sitting next to someone.