To relish the prospect of wfh forever?

[yippityboomdeboom]

Pre-pandemic my department all worked from home 2 days a week and from the office for the other 3. It now appears they are going to downsize the office and we will likely work from home permanently, coming in only if we have a large meeting to attend.

AIBU to be thrilled at this prospect?? The thought of never having to deal with going into the office again has me salivating. No commute, no awkward chit chat at the water cooler, no eating lunch from a Tupperware, no getting dressed when you don't feel like it, no worrying who can hear you shitting in the toilets(!!). Always being home for parcel deliveries, to keep the dog company, when the kids are sick and need to stay home. BRING IT ON. Who's with me?

I’d hate to wfh full time. It doesn’t suit the work I tend to do which is project based collaborating with lots of people. We work best when we see each other face to face and decisions are made more quickly. WFH would be nice twice a week but not FT.

Doesn’t work for me. Well, covid WFH doesn’t. I had six online meetings in five hours on Thursday - I find them exhausting - and workload is about 50% higher due to covid and everyone so stressed. I can separate home-work at all now and I’m constantly on email. Until lone parents were allowed to form a bubble I didn’t see another adult ever and I feel like I’m really short changing my children. I’m starting a career break in 8 weeks and I can’t wait.

@JohnnyMcGrathSaysFuckOff

Surely it depends what your set-up is? We are 5 people in a 3bed house. We do not have a separate office at home. I cannot work effectively at the dining table as 3 small children running around. So I work perched on our bed like a teenager revising.

It's bloody awful, frankly!

Bit if you were going to wfh more permanently, like I do, you'd find a way of making a home office. Mine has been put in what was an underused part of the house. It tucks away after too. So it's not intrusive. The benefits far outweigh that! Your issues are more about the current childcare issues. That's entirely a different issue/situation. Wfh is great for flexibility, for managing school runs and activities etc.

I would happily WFH full time. I suspect I'll be going back in 2 days a week but that won't be implemented until January. I do a partly practical role so I'll have to work something out. I am so much less tired, I've saved a fortune from not commuting and I've got time to exercise. The dog is on her last legs so it's nice to give her some company.

@tunnocksreturns2019

Doesn’t work for me. Well, covid WFH doesn’t. I had six online meetings in five hours on Thursday - I find them exhausting - and workload is about 50% higher due to covid and everyone so stressed. I can separate home-work at all now and I’m constantly on email. Until lone parents were allowed to form a bubble I didn’t see another adult ever and I feel like I’m really short changing my children. I’m starting a career break in 8 weeks and I can’t wait.

I have to say as I wfh as the norm, I purposely have an alarm on my mobile giving me a 10 minute warning that my day is nearly up and I try to finish on time, and quite literally turn off the laptop, land-line, mobile etc and refuse to turn on again until the next working day. So actually find that I now work "less" and manage my days better because once works done that's family time. I think you need to have a mindset change personally and also work need to as well. Otherwise it's not sustainable.

Love it too! Would love to be allowed to keep it going, at least a couple of days a week but our bosses clearly resent it and are keen to get everyone back in ASAP
😩

Me ! I’m a Single parent

I also love that when it’s a boring bullshit meeting I can mute and do some other work

I also don’t miss my colleagues

I cannot wait to get back. My home shouldn’t be my work and my work should be my home. It’s not good for my wellbeing.

I know people are aghast on MN that you can actually be friends with people at work but I am and I miss them. Skype and Zoom doesn’t make up for that.

Also my gym is in my office so even when they allow gyms to reopen ours will not be until we are back which is looking likely to be next year

• shouldn’t be my home that should say

Love it, and it's generally been a total success tech-wise too. Would love to be allowed to keep it going, at least a couple of days a week but our bosses clearly resent it and are pushing to get people back in ASAP 😩

I don't love it, its ok but I find working in the office much easier generally, and I think training / on boarding / promotion is much harder in my industry in a full wfh model. I dont think it will happen anyway as my industry is generally quite young and working from home is not ideal for them - flatshares etc. If I am honest I worry that its middle to older women who take up wfh roles/offers and they will disappear from offices and that wont be good for promotion etc, perhaps that is too negative/ old school thinking.

I love it. We had 1 day a week at home before lockdown and I loved that day. Looked forward to it every week. It could be moved/cancelled for business requirements and I was genuinely disappointed if I didn't get to wfh one day a week.

We are not expected back in the office until september at the earliest and the rumors are we will be in teams doing 1 - 2 days in, reat at home so the office can be deep cleaned ready for the next team in.

I would love perm wfh but I do think a mix would be nice as well. 1-2-1's etc are easier face to face (but we have worked well with Skype/Zoom as well). I didn't realise how stressed/anxious I got with my commute (traffic jam meaning I could be late for nursery pck up) and I have felt so much calmer at home.

I know that if we are asked t go back into our office permanently at least 3 of my team will be submitting flexible working applications for permanent days working at home (probably me included!)

It's made life so much easier for my DH, though he's fed up with our DDs' bickering. Hopefully they'll both be back in school full-time in September.

It's certainly changed our family life completely. I obviously like it, as it's taken the pressure off us all, with him not having to travel to and from work, he regularly wasn't back home until 7pm, which meant that our DDs didn't see much of him during the week.

He misses the social interaction, though.

@RicStar

I don't love it, its ok but I find working in the office much easier generally, and I think training / on boarding / promotion is much harder in my industry in a full wfh model. I dont think it will happen anyway as my industry is generally quite young and working from home is not ideal for them - flatshares etc. If I am honest I worry that its middle to older women who take up wfh roles/offers and they will disappear from offices and that wont be good for promotion etc, perhaps that is too negative/ old school thinking.

Absolutely agree with your last point that in a mixed environment, people (mainly women??) who choose wfh may become invisible and miss out on promotions etc, I'd be reluctant to opt for it in that sort of situation. I think that's probably why I'm so happy at the proposal - EVERYONE will be wfh which will wipe out any discrimination towards home workers

I would prefer it but I’ve been told I can’t.
I could fit an exercise class in during my lunch hour or before I start work. No commute no expense of wear and tear on my car plus having to pay to park.
On top of that I’ve been told, due to covid, that I have to work from my least preferred office. So having to drive in heavy traffic, set off early, drive home, more expensive.
I’m forced to have an hour for lunch but will end up working through part of it, if I was at home I would take the full hour and do something productive for myself.

Morning. I absolutely love wfh. Really hoping I don't have to go back to the office. I live alone so have enough room to set up properly and no small children to be looked after.

Same as a PP subtly bullying and I'd wake up every morning dreading going in. I am much happier in my job overall.

Zero socialising amongst colleagues other than the Christmas party. No fun atmosphere to be missing and it's nice to not to be distracted by people coming in and out of the office all day.

I spend my getting ready and commute time going for a walk, doing yoga, some sort of exercise or sitting in the garden drinking coffee if sunny.

I would really consider looking for something else if I had to go back to that office.

Oh and to the PP asking what jobs these are, I work in finance in the public sector. Never ending budget cuts are driving the requirements to cut office space.

But if you were going to wfh more permanently, like I do, you'd find a way of making a home office.

Not if you share a flat or are lodging. I can imagine the threads - AIBU not to want my lodger doing Zoom calls all day from my living room?

I think WFH is brilliant for people who want it. But someone should not be unable to apply for a job because their accommodation is unsuitable for home working.

It would definitely make a difference to promotion etc if everyone was forced to wfh forever, from my small sample women seems happier / better at it. Perhaps more practiced.

But mid to long term, I don't think that an everyone working from home model would work, a few people would start getting together to work etc, and we would be back to offices, its human nature to be social, work in teams and although you can do more of that remotely, for me it doesnt fill the same gap, quite apart from the fact I am bored of the walls of my house.

Like many firms we have overseas colleagues now, and we work well with them, but it's not quite the same, and they still had colleagues local to them, mostly as did we, and pre-covid we did a fair amount of travel so people could get some facetime with their colleagues.

I am not especially social at work, at all, but I like that I get some social interaction without having to make an effort / invest in the way you do with friendships. I have been lucky I think that I have mostly (except my first grad job) had nice enough office mates, with minimal drama.

Currently WFH but will go back to the office when things are normal. I would like to WFH forever. It's fantastic. The job can be done 100% from home. No need to go to the office. I don't want to!

Mixed feelings here.

I don’t miss the smelly food and noisy eating at desks (big open plan office). Or the fact nobody likes a window open unless it’s 35 degrees.

I do miss the structure of getting up and out, walking to the station, metro paper/coffee on train. Walking through London to the office. Popping out lunchtime and spontaneous drinks after work.

1 or 2 days in the office would suit me.

I’m lucky to have a little office at home and older teens ... would be very different working on table with little kids.

To the person asking what the jobs are, I'm a lawyer.
Now this is long term for me I might get a proper desk for the spare room. At the moment I work in the kitchen.

I love it. Unfortunately, it's not a job that can be done 100% from home. However, I fully intend to only go in when I have face-to-face teaching to do.

My husband feels the same way.

If you can do your job from home and never go in the office, so can somebody overseas for a fraction of the cost...

I know of huge organisations already doing this before COVID.