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.

I can't relate to anything in your list at all OP. 🤷‍♀️

We're all individual and I suspect that the people you think are 'overlooking the benefits' of going into work are actually just not that bothered about those things.

I'm in my 40s, married with 3 young DC and I can't wait to get back to the office! I enjoy lunches out with colleagues, Friday drinks, a bit of chit-chat, and most importantly I miss the learning. I am in a fairly new role having moved teams last year and I cannot learn as quickly without being surrounded by senior colleagues. We have had flexibility to WAH part of the week for a while now, and it is handy to be at home sometimes, but if my job became WAH 5 days permanently I would quit in a heartbeat.

Oh, and I totally agree with @RanomMess I am going to be very cold over the winter!!! I've not saved anything by being at home and certainly in winter my fuel bills will skyrocket.

@FinnyStory

I think those who want to stay at home are lifes takers. I'm very much an introvert, I am happy working at home and I can get "my" job done fine but I recognise I contribute much more widely in the office, developing and mentoring younger staff, helping out a colleague in crisis etc.

Whilst I'm sure people can deliver adequately from home they don't seem to have any concern for the bigger picture, which is fine for them in their own small world but it won't be fine for the long term development/prospects of their employersor for the next generation coming through. They must have benefited from this kind of input themselves at some point in their careers but don't seem to feel any need to give anything back.

That's a lot of strange assumptions. At least it's an angle I've never seen before, I suppose...

Development, mentoring, helping out can all happen virtually. There are many companies (my own included) where teams are spread out geographically anyway - I used to go into the office purely to do my work at my own desk and have Skype/Teams meetings, because everyone around me worked in completely different areas. I now do the same thing, but from home. I'm sure I'm not the only one in that position.

I'm still fairly junior so not really in the position to be coaching others, but our company has been used to flexible and remote working since pre-Covid times, and I've never felt that's to my detriment as a young professional. I have great support from my management and my team, just not face to face. We have a brilliant culture, we have Teams chats, Yammer for various social pages, networks for women/carers/staff with disabilities, etc etc. I suppose it depends on your organisation - some are much less developed than others.

Nope I love WFH and would happily never set foot inside an office again

You’ve overlooked that most of MN hate their work colleagues and don’t consider them anything like friends.

Whereas in RL most of us have smashing work colleagues that become very close pals, come to our weddings, know our partners/children, we even go out and socialise.

I was already doing 1 day at home before covid and going back wouldnt mind if it was 2 days in the office 3 days at home.

I do get the whole in your house alot and yes you can leave and go about your local area but again it because same old.

My workplace is next to a cinema so I'd love it that straight after work I can go watch a movie, now I have to do that commute or if friends who live central or North it was easy to meet up cos I was already nearby.

You canalready see it now esp in my place that on meetings esp non video ones ppl are on mute and only half listening ..you know this cos end ul having to repeat yourself alot. Whereas if you were meering physically your more present in that meeting.

I thinm going forward a better balance is ideal.

My house is my happy place and having to work here everyday it doesn't have the same vibe. I dont have room to have an office i can close door on. I spent all day in my living room and then in the evening to chill out too. It literally is the same 4 walls

I like a nice mix. I would hate working from unsuitable flat share or in a tiny house with children and another adult sharing my workspace.

But 'the commute' and the environment are big factors 2. Maybe a couple of days at work, a couple at the office.

I’m in my thirties do established my career with a good support network at my company to Teams call through the day. I do worry about the next generation, no tea point chats, no learning on the job, no after work drinks. It’s easy for my generation to pull up the ladder behind us and not think about who is yet to come.

You could have the best of both worlds by having local office hubs that any worker (employed or self-employed) can use when they need them. Instead of travelling to one big office for their entire company.

I can't WFH in my role and I would hate it if I had to. I wouldn't be productive at home, my home is where I relax and the office is for work. Plus I need to be around other people to keep motivated.

I don't have a commute though as my work is a 10 minute walk from my house!

I think there is an element of novelty in WFH
Particularly for people with long hours/commutes
I have always been home to have dinner with my children

I live alone, am an extrovert, and I bloody love i!

My colleagues are all nice people, but I socialise with my actual friends.

The benefits of no commute, no make up (unless appearing on VC), no bra, and being able to have lunch with my mates regularly are fabulous. I live in between the beach and lovely countryside so I have peaceful lunchtime walks. If I want to see people at work I just do a Teams face to face.

You can't hug anyone or touch them anyway so it's no different being on a screen.

Luckily for me we are looking at switching to WFH permanently

I LOVE working from home, I have spent the last 9 years travelling 1000 miles a week and I hated it. My job is solitary anyway so I don’t have many of the benefits listed by the OP but my overwhelming goal is to negotiate full time home working by Christmas, I have currently started going back out on face to face visits two days a week but once those contracts are finished the only place I plan on going on week days is to take my children to school and pick them up again.

I can see why people used to the social aspect of an office hate it but I absolutely love it, it doesn’t even feel like work!

I really worry about the soft skills aspect that we miss by working from home. Learning by watching, networking, team development; physical and mental break from work.

It would be good to have a balance. The 5 days in the office should be over. But we should replace it with a mix of home and work.

@FinnyStory

I think those who want to stay at home are lifes takers. I'm very much an introvert, I am happy working at home and I can get "my" job done fine but I recognise I contribute much more widely in the office, developing and mentoring younger staff, helping out a colleague in crisis etc.

Whilst I'm sure people can deliver adequately from home they don't seem to have any concern for the bigger picture, which is fine for them in their own small world but it won't be fine for the long term development/prospects of their employersor for the next generation coming through. They must have benefited from this kind of input themselves at some point in their careers but don't seem to feel any need to give anything back.

Charming.

I agree with you wholeheartedly. WFH full time is making me seriously depressed.

None of your points sound interesting OP.

I haven't worked in a workplace for 23 years.
It has been blissful.

I haven’t been in my office since mid March and I do miss it. I never would have chosen a job 100% working from home and I don’t enjoy it now. I’ve got a study and DD is back at nursery so it all “should” be fine but I’m simultaneously overworked and bored, finding it much more difficult to switch off, gaining weight from snacking and far less exercising and it just feels endless. Work are provisionally looking at a part time return to the office from October, people have started whinging about it already but I can’t bloody wait. I don’t even particularly like most of my colleagues, I just want to get out of the house and restore some of that separation between work and home.

I love wfh. It suits me as I have no interest in office drinks, gossip etc. However I appreciate others may not feel the same.

No commute, getting up later, taking time to make a healthy breakfast & lunch are all huge pluses for me.

I love working from home. I have a medical condition and the commute can wear me out. I don't like a lot of small talk & chitchat, don't socialise much after work due to medical condition. Office is too noisy, too bright and either too hot or too cold. I sometimes have to queue for the loo and the accessible toilet is almost always in use.

At home I can listen to music, wear what I like, take breaks when I want, eat when I want. I can have a nap at lunchtime if I'm very tired. Moving about is easier and I don't need my stick as much.

I'd happily work from home for the rest of my career with maybe going in for a monthly team meeting or something. We have Skype, Teams and phones for everything else.

I was surprised by how much I grew to hate WFH as I'm not a particularly extroverted person and like my own space. For me it felt as though there was no boundary between my professional and family life. I found it more difficult to switch off at the end of the day, get my head out of work and be 'present' with the DC than I usually do.

I missed the camaraderie with colleagues, it just isn't the same over Zoom. I still saw my close work friends for socially distanced meet ups outside of work but I missed those little everyday interactions that I'd always taken for granted before. I realised how often we all laugh when we're at work despite the pressure we're under.
I thought I would at least enjoy the freedom to slob around in comfy clothes and it was quite nice for the first few days but then I found it wasn't great for my mood. So I started to do my hair and make up everyday regardless and make an effort to dress reasonably smartly. It felt a bit pointless but made me feel better.

I went back to work as soon as I was allowed and was much happier and more productive for it. But I am lucky that I have my own office and work is only a 10 minute drive away. If the alternative is a long commute sat in traffic or on crowded public transport and being in a big open plan office full of people all day then I can certainly see the value of WFH.

@Goosefoot

I do think though that many people now live in developments without many shops or public spaces, and in towns or cities far from family. So working from home could seem very isolated, especially if you were single.

But if people worked from home in those areas, there'd be more chance of shops etc opening to cater for them. It's chicken and egg.