To think people are over looking the benefits of going to work

[Poptart4]

I keep hearing about how great working from home is. No commute, saving money, more family time etc.

But I think people are over looking the benefit's of actually going to work.

• Getting out of the house, personally I dont think its healthy to spend all (most) of your time within the same 4 walls.
• The social aspect of working. Alot of people make friends or at least acquaintances through work.
• I know alot of people who met their partner through work. And alot who just had fun casual hook ups with co-workers. Either way there will be less chances at romance because you will have less social interaction.
• As a mother I find going out to work gives me a life outside of being mammy. It gives me a little independence for myself. If I was working from home all of the time I would never be away from the children. Never get a break.
• No after work drinks, office xmas parties etc.
• I've also read some threads on here about couples fighting because one or both of them is working from home and there getting on each others nerves. Couples need time apart.

I really think once the novelty of working from home wears off alot of people are going to miss the hustle and bustle of office life. And alot of people are going to end up depressed. Especially for people who live alone. The lack of social interaction will impact them the most.

@Ginfordinner

*s far as I am concerned, the sole benefit my

One of the benefits of WFH for me is that I don't have to sit in an arctic air conditioned office

To be fair I don't mind working from home, but am glad that when we can go back to the office we will be doing a mixture of WFH and going to the office, so I get the best of both worlds.

surprise at the refusal of the wfh evangelists to appreciate that some people - particularly the young - have been shafted. And the hypocrisy of trumpeting that they don’t need any company because they are just fine, thank you - completely forgetting that once upon a time they did go out and manage to find friends and a mate. But anyone wishing to do that now is sad, apparently.

Again, I agree with you @IrmaFayLear.

DD is an only child and hasn't kept many friends from school. I would hate to think that when she leaves university she will confined to sitting at her desk in the bedroom 5 days a week and never meet her workmates, and have no-one to socailise with outside of work because she hasn't met her workmates to socialise with. What a dismal future.

Why would people stop socialising out of work, If they really want to and enjoy it? I could see that continuing. Why would they never meet their workmates?

Some people are really catastrophising on this thread.

I totally understand that some people prefer to work in an office, and that's fine. I prefer not to, which is also fine.

I'm not trying to impose WFH on everybody, and it isn't 'smug' of me to prefer WFH myself. It's just a fact.

I've landed myself a fully WFH role during lockdown which I start in October. The firm I'm going to work for realised they could recruit from anywhere in the country due to how well WFH had gone, so I'm going to be based about 170 miles from the office. I'm happy with this.

Getting out of the house, personally I dont think its healthy to spend all (most) of your time within the same 4 walls.

Working from home doesn't mean spending 24/7 in the same room. You can work from coffee shops or the library. You also get rid of the commute so you actually have more free time to do what you actually enjoy.

The social aspect of working. Alot of people make friends or at least acquaintances through work.

My life is so much more simple now I don't have to deal with office "friendships" and politics. I did make a couple of friends from various jobs over the years but my better friends are people I've met online or through mutual friends. No need to work in an office for that.

I know alot of people who met their partner through work. And alot who just had fun casual hook ups with co-workers. Either way there will be less chances at romance because you will have less social interaction.

I met my husband online, lol. I did date an ex-colleague once and it turned out to be an absolute disaster! No office romances or hook-ups for me. People I know who did have romances that way ended up being the subject of a lot of unpleasant gossip.

As a mother I find going out to work gives me a life outside of being mammy. It gives me a little independence for myself. If I was working from home all of the time I would never be away from the children. Never get a break.

Of course you would. If you work from home full-time, your children will still be in school or childcare. Most jobs won't let you work from home if your DC are going to around as you won't get enough done. The lockdown situation is temporary and a lot of employers wouldn't let it happen ordinarily.

No after work drinks, office xmas parties etc.

This is NOT a bad thing.

I've also read some threads on here about couples fighting because one or both of them is working from home and there getting on each others nerves. Couples need time apart

I absolutely agree couples need time apart but if you both worked from home permanently you'd arrange things around it. Either you'd both do it part-time and WFH on different days, or you'd arrange to go out, or use separate offices etc. It won't work for everyone but it would be fine for some people.

Basically what you've listed is reasons you don't like working from home. Which is fine, but working from home is great for some people. I run my own business - most of it is out of the house but I do a fair bit at home too. I absolutely love it and my life is much more enjoyable now I'm not wasting 10 hours a week commuting and another 40 dealing with all sorts of office drama

@SunsetBeetch A lot of people I work with are in the vulnerable category and won't/can't socialise just now. And if you had read my last post we all live a long way from each other.

I've landed myself a fully WFH role during lockdown which I start in October. The firm I'm going to work for realised they could recruit from anywhere in the country due to how well WFH had gone, so I'm going to be based about 170 miles from the office. I'm happy with this.

That's good, but that's different than joining an office based job and having to then WFH.

I think the reasons you listed are fine for you but I'm a massive introvert so all of the 'social' aspects you mention are my living hell. Some things work for some people and not for others but for office based work the answer is there should be more choice rather than one way or the other.

@Savananan

I've landed myself a fully WFH role during lockdown which I start in October. The firm I'm going to work for realised they could recruit from anywhere in the country due to how well WFH had gone, so I'm going to be based about 170 miles from the office. I'm happy with this.

That's good, but that's different than joining an office based job and having to then WFH.

Yes. Which I've done for decades. The point is that before Covid that wouldn't have been an option for me, but now it is. I've WFH for the last 5 months because of Covid, doing exactly what you describe. Clearly you missed that.

@Poptart4

I keep hearing about how great working from home is. No commute, saving money, more family time etc.

But I think people are over looking the benefit's of actually going to work.

• Getting out of the house, personally I dont think its healthy to spend all (most) of your time within the same 4 walls.
• The social aspect of working. Alot of people make friends or at least acquaintances through work.
• I know alot of people who met their partner through work. And alot who just had fun casual hook ups with co-workers. Either way there will be less chances at romance because you will have less social interaction.
• As a mother I find going out to work gives me a life outside of being mammy. It gives me a little independence for myself. If I was working from home all of the time I would never be away from the children. Never get a break.
• No after work drinks, office xmas parties etc.
• I've also read some threads on here about couples fighting because one or both of them is working from home and there getting on each others nerves. Couples need time apart.

I really think once the novelty of working from home wears off alot of people are going to miss the hustle and bustle of office life. And alot of people are going to end up depressed. Especially for people who live alone. The lack of social interaction will impact them the most.

I wfh as norm. I think that if you have school aged children, it's entirely different to having preschool children. I love wfh. I don't add on hours of commuting, nor get my child up ridiculously early for childcare nor expect to be at after school clubs. I can and do manage to get the odd perk like working in the garden or putting a load of laundry on the line. Friendships via work are imo short lived. And I would say I have far more amiable relationships with my colleagues asyou have none of the office politics and irritations. I never miss school events. Can work fewer hours than adding in wasted commute so actually have more time for me. Win win.

Agree. I’m a teacher and was teaching ‘live’ via Zoom for hours a day. My dining room became me classroom and I bloody hated it. I ended up back on antidepressants. Can’t wait to get into school next week.

I couldn't work from a café or library without having conversations, on the phone or via video, that breach confidentiality. It's a bit different if you can silently tap away at a spreadsheet.

It's not one size fits all. Different things will suit different people, often at different stages of their lives. It will be great if more flexibility is a legacy of Covid.

@hammeringinmyhead

I couldn't work from a café or library without having conversations, on the phone or via video, that breach confidentiality. It's a bit different if you can silently tap away at a spreadsheet.

Yup. If I'm working I need confidentiality, so outside the house is a real no-no. It really is these 4 walls.

I worked from home for years by choice, running a hectic business. It was busy, but the work/life balance was great. When I returned to a job outside the home it was because I needed it, I'd worked from home for a few years and had had enough. I needed the interaction and routine. I think people will realise the importance of this as time goes on. At first it's great, and it is a nice way to work but there are sacrifices.

The reason people socialise with people they work with is because they don't have time to meet anyone else when they have long commutes. If they work from home or in local coworking hubs, they can be home by 6 and have an evening to enjoy and meet new friends that way.

My view is coloured by the fact that I've nearly always commuted a fair way to work. If you work locally, and are home by 6 anyway, what I've said above won't apply. But when you spend an hour commuting each way (or more!) you just get time to eat and go to sleep before the hamster wheel starts again.

Some people prefer WFH, others prefer being in an office, the majority probably want some combination of both. All should be possible (for office jobs).

Preaching to the converted, OP.

Maybe if more people were working from home we’d have more community? I suppose there used to be a lot more WFH when cottage industries, etc were more of a thing and then people socialised with their community I presume. I know as someone whose worked from home for 7 years my neighbours suddenly actually want to chat now they are WFH previously got a hi if I was lucky.

I'm another one who can't work from coffee shops for reasons. I have freelanced for short periods before and did the coffee shop coworking space thing a bit but it's not the same as working in an office.

One of the things that's clear from this thread is just how unpleasant some people find their working environments, and if employers want people to come back in then they're going to have to address that.

I've honestly liked all the jobs I've had in some way in the last 20 years, made proper long term friends (and great short term ones as well) and people have generally been nice and not obnoxious. Of course there is some office politics but I don't get involved. Even when the physical building hasn't been amazing (I've worked in the voluntary and public sectors) there's always been a sense of camaraderie. If more people felt like that I guess they might be more inclined to come back.

I'm really glad it's made some employers open up to more flexible ways of working. My teams have always worked flexibly and globally and we used Skype when it didn't even work properly. But it's not a personal failing to like going to the office some days (some enjoyable shade casting on after school care on this thread as well)- it doesn't mean you hate work life balance, it's part of my work life balance (because work is part of my life). We've chosen a smaller house with shorter commutes so we can both do that.

I know people have said being socially isolated isn't healthy, but neither is being stuck in an open plan office all day with a bunch of other people. We're not all extroverts.

Funny how nearly everyone has replied saying a variant of 'thank fuck' regarding the supposed drawback of after work socialising and the Christmas party. However, not being in the office doesn't mean you can't have a work night out. Personally I could stand a work night out (but for Covid) while i'm not stuck with these people for most of my week.

Regarding the outsourcing of jobs. First of all, the government need to properly enforce the minimum wage. Secondly, people who are well paid are typically highly skilled and valued and ergo hard to replace. A lot of office staff aren't paid that much more than the minimum wage anyway, so it's not as easy as paying Sergei 3 pound an hour and getting rid of Clive on 8 pound an hour.

One of the things that's clear from this thread is just how unpleasant some people find their working environments, and if employers want people to come back in then they're going to have to address that.

Ironically, just before covid hit, my employer dragged people out of their individual offices and forced them into a dire high density open-plan hell hole.

As a result, we can't return to work.

@Bwlch

One of the things that's clear from this thread is just how unpleasant some people find their working environments, and if employers want people to come back in then they're going to have to address that.

Ironically, just before covid hit, my employer dragged people out of their individual offices and forced them into a dire high density open-plan hell hole.

As a result, we can't return to work.

Open plan offices are my problem, i'm not sure how that can be addressed. I just like working alone and with personal space and away from the noise which wfh provides.

I went in on Friday and the big boss was in. He was scathing of the work practices of some in the company since this started and came out with a comment that will mean me going in more. I think they are going to be making redundancies and I don’t want to be one of them.

Thanks ginfordinner and everybody else who made me feel like I'm not totally weird and pathetic. 💐 to anyone who is struggling right now. Here's hoping things get better for all of us.

Dontmakemegoback2theoffice
What really? Because I sometimes like company, and the occasional low-key chat with people I know, I can't be an introvert?

I was only in the office 3 days a week and didn't socialise AT ALL in the evenings, but OK. If telling me how wrong I am is that important then fine, I'm sure you're correct.

Introvert, extrovert, who really cares? I only know that I never felt so down in my life

I think we are evolved enough now to give everyone a choice of where they work. For office work there is absolutely no reason to commute thru rush hour just to do work that could have been done at home. But then I'm pretty radical in that I don't believe in 40 hour weeks and think there should be universal income for all. Why are we still working the same way people did a century ago? It's madness

Yeah there's loads of evidence that open plan is horrible for creativity as well and the best mix is individual spaces- sort of pods where you can work quietly- mixed with more collective areas and social spaces. That really suits me, I know.

Completely agree. Whilst I don’t miss the commute, I do miss people interaction throughout the day and finding it hard being stuck at home 24/7.
I’m due to go back in September (once school back open) and have actually negotiated 50/50 wfh and office which for me is the perfect outcome!!