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 think mixed working is the way to go. I’ve just been told going forward I am two days a week in the office and three days at home. I am happy with this and have the option to go in more if I want or need too.

I miss the social side of the office and I miss having time out of my house. I am also a junior and miss been able to learn from my manager and quickly catch people to get things sorted.

Looking forward to finally going back even though it’s not for a few months yet.

I agree with @Pelleas. It's not wise to look for romance at work for various reasons. Socialising should be done predominantly with one's friends. Unless you mean wasting others' time by walking around ten office and initiating inane conversations about last weekend /next weekend /food /weather. Oh and the absolute worst is being treated like cattle on the overpriced packed public transport. Covid has made my life immeasurably better.

I agree with some other prev posters about wfh too long and finding it harder to switch off, esp as I live alone. I also feel I dont laugh or chat as much I can spend many hours in silence whereas at work I would be able to have small chats and jokes with my colleagues more.

Still think a mix is better than one way or the other and for some people they will love doing it 100% of the time.

But no not for me, a few days in the office to mix up the environment is better for me.

Nope. Nothing on your list is a benefit for me.

I am literally the opposite in every respect.

And anyway, there should be a choice in businesses. For too long it has swung towards offices, buildings and presenteeism. Now that it's been proved productivity is not reduced when people work from home then some businesses will increase wfh, some won't.

This is a good thing. What you see as benefits, many see as hindrances. Both options bring available going forward is the best.

Ooh I forgot about being able to swear out loud in the most inventive combinations I can come up with

I'm enjoying working at home, but I will be happy to go back to work. I've worked part of the week at home and part in the office for years. I am missing seeing colleagues and the way that we interact. Some aspects of my work is better for having them to work with.

I agree with @Pelleas. It's not wise to look for romance at work for various reasons.

It worked for me. I'm happily married to a colleague.

In my place of work it's not unusual.

Yanbu. I have carried on going out to work throughout and am so grateful - it's helped preserve my sanity in so many ways; the routine, physically leaving the house and going somewhere else, seeing my colleagues and so on. If I'd had to WFH I would literally have been sitting in our bedroom all day as there's nowhere else. I know some people who've had to do exactly that. Ime the people advocating for more homeworking are those privileged enough to have a big house and a pleasant workspace - for a lot of people it's really grim.

As a disabled person that works with minimum of my reasonable adjustments in place, wfh has seriously been a godsend especially now that children will be starting school.

At home my disabilities are managed better. I also don't have to experience the amount of things I miss out on a daily basis, like people going out and not inviting me.

I completely understand all the points you raise and empathise. I just find wfh good for my personal circumstances and if I could, I would keep it so.

@FinnyStory I do agree with an awful lot of what you're saying.

I'm responsible for l and d at our organisation and it really concerns me that if we continued this way longer term, a lot of learning opportunities would be lost. Coaching and mentoring are critical to our success and a lot of opportunities to learn or observe present themselves without warning. There would just be no way of replicating these on zoom.

We're doing fine for now (virtually no staff turnover, everyone settled and capable) but I reckon we would have a year of working like this at most before the culture really started to suffer.

Interestingly, we have offered people the chance to return to the office a day a week. (We aren't in a big city) Virtually everyone has taken this up and most have asked to increase days as they've enjoyed it - with zero pressure to do so.

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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
Have to agree to a large extent
In my business I am looking at the bigger picture and that means back to the office as the default position

Not paying £400pm just to get to work is a huge plus point for me. Train prices are ludicrous.

I enjoy WFH but would happily split time between the office and home 50:50. I love the flexibility of WFH and am dreading if my work says we have to come in full time. I’m a real home body and there’s nothing nicer than setting up my little desk for the day when it’s grey and rainy outside knowing I don’t have to go out in it!
I would get fed up if it was permanent though, so 2 days in the office would suit me fine and I’d be a lot more enthusiastic about going back if it was flexible!

I agree entirely about the swearing, @iklboo. In fact, I was quite worried about shocking my straightlaced spinster neighbour when DP and I had all the doors and windows open in the hot weather. The fucking and cunting was clearly audible out in the garden, so she must have heard. Then DP reminded me that she used to be a police officer, so she won't have heard any new words.

There are other very real benefits to WFH for those of us who have low standards in matters of dress and decorum. No-one knows or cares if you spend all day in your pyjamas with unbrushed hair. No-one raises an eyebrow when you go for a fag break and you can fart whenever you feel like it.

WFH works for me now, and my job is in a sector where wfh is undertaken by a lot as there are no offices for them. That said for 35 years I worked in an office environment, commuting daily. If I was younger perhaps I would miss the office interactions, the gossip, the politics etc but now I don’t. I love wfh it suits me and my family

I didn’t think I’d like wfh as I live alone but I’m really enjoying it. Save money, no travel, spend more time with my cats, much nicer lunches, and fewer migraines which is the best bit for me.
Zoom is fine for meetings and ‘seeing’ people. I also spend a reasonable amount of time on the phone to customers and colleagues so it’s all good.

The best thing for DP's mental health has been going back to work. If he'd had the opportunity to wfh permanently, he'd have taken it - however, that would have meant him up all night, working when it is 'quieter', sleeping most of the day, not leaving the house, not speaking to anybody, not seeing any daylight and then starting work just as I got in the front door, only to put on a podcast or video that completely distracted him and he'd take 3 times as long to do anything (as is proven by the time he takes and the disasters involved in him cooking whilst there's other things distracting him).

But by going back to work, he's up early in the morning, walks to the office, gets daylight, fresh air, a bit of exercise, he has to make himself presentable (and even though he doesn't admit it, he feels better about himself when he's got a clean shirt, trousers and work boots on), he has human interaction all day, set breaks and then walks home again.

In fact, the difference in him between when he wasn't working at all to the last year was so marked, I told him that even if he did have the option to wfh, I thought that anything more than one day a week was such a spectacularly shit idea, I would take the router to work with me to make sure he went in.

Conversely, I'd love the chance to wfh 1-2 days a week. I definitely couldn't do any more than that, as so much of my job is directly talking to people/helping them, but sometimes it's nice to be able to get stuck into spreadsheets and lengthy documents without being interrupted five times before the first line is completed.

I think a split is good.

I have friends outside of work so I don't need to worry about the social side of things. Before lockdown I was seeing more of my colleagues in the office than my own family. I've loved WFH, more time with with family and I've have been able to get so much more work done. Thankfully the company I work for are looking to now close one of its large offices with the intention of staff working from home.

I have plenty of friends outside work too, but i still really enjoy having social interaction with colleagues, many of whom I count as good friends. There is no rule that says you can't have great friends both at work and outside.

A balance is best.

I'd need the whole weekend just to recharge after spending 5 days 40 hours a week in an open plan office. I find it exhausting.

Working from home is much better for me, but I agree with OP that being within the same 4 walls all the time isn't healthy. I make sure to go out at least twice a day.

You can still socialise with your team, the loss of the social aspect at the moment is probably more to Covid than wfh specifically. I know colleagues who are now on other teams who i hadn't seen for years are really keen to meet up for drinks to catch up, but are waiting for the virus and restrictions to blow over more first.

I really miss dressing up for work! Clearly I'm in the minority.

I'd hate to WFH permanently (and did when I used to). Very glad to work in a school as it means I won't be expected to do it long term. I have friends outside work, but it's not the same type of interaction as I don't see them every day.

Completely agree OP. And I will add to that -
You don’t talk to people outside of your own team so you miss out on important information and updates that you’d get ‘at the water cooler’ so to speak. I think it’s very damaging in the long run.

I will add, I do think a split between WFH and being in the office is a good thing. For me at least anyway

My team had a balance anyway- a mix of wfh, remote workers, compressed weeks etc. Most of us would be in the office a couple of days a week so we got face time. The current set up is much less efficient- things that would be a quick chat become major meetings.

I loathe FT homeworking and I should be in the demographic who enjoy it- school aged kids, house and garden. It makes me really depressed. I've been voluntarily going in a couple of days a week anyway, but when school starts I'm going to have to FT wfh again because DH has a face to face role and has to go in, and there's no after school club. Which means I can't do my compressed week anymore and will end up working in the evenings as well.

It's much worse for my work life balance- previously I'd get home quite late but done, and had a whole day a week with youngest DC. I don't get exercise on the commute- which I run or cycle part of- and yeah I could work it into my day but that's a bit hard when your work day is 3 hours shorter anyway.

One additional homeworking day a week might be good, but I'm back in the office with bells on when wraparound care reopens. I've also not been travelling which is a part of my job I love.

So horses for courses. Most of my friends feel very unhappy about the prospect of FT homeworking as well and value the separation. On the bigger picture, I'm finding it really hard to line manage my team, who are not that experienced, well. It's v bad for L&D.