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.

It sounds like you enjoy your work environment and you are right about the social aspects.

But there are millions of people for whom wfh has meant they are away from spiteful bullying environments, the stress of sitting in traffic for hours or unreliable public transport. It has taken the pressure off financially and given back as much as 15 hours a week with families they barely saw.

Skills transfer and development is the only issue I have found, but one day a week in the office would be enough to deal with that.

Plus the environmental benefits are huge.

I haven't worked outside the home for 23 years.

I don't feel I have missed out on anything.

It depends on people's different circumstances. DH loves wfh. He has an hour longer asleep, no commute, has lunch and drinks made for him and, as his job involves lots of meetings anyway, he gets to see his team and other colleagues regularly and frequently through the video meetings. He saves by not having diesel costs/train fares and there is no part of his job that he cannot do from home. What's not to love?

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.
If DH was in the office, he'd be spending all his time at his desk so just within a different set of 4 walls.

- The social aspect of working. Alot of people make friends or at least acquaintances through work.
DH has worked there a long time and has made the friendships and they have a general catch up by video call each day. He isn't missing out.

- 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.
DH gets all the romance he needs from me (who he didn't meet through work). I think you are right on this point though. If you are single, work is a great place to meet partners (although some companies forbid relationships between colleagues).

- No after work drinks, office xmas parties etc.
Tbh, that's a bonus.

- 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.
Surely if the Couples are actually working from home then they aren't spending any more time together anyway?

Dh thought he was an introvert - seems he likes mixing with people more than he thought - he’s really quite keen to go back to the office at least a few days a week. One of his staff was feeling overwhelmed before Christmas requested 3days wfh a week - now he has 5 and the anxiety seems worse not better, we are quite concerned - but it’s so hard to gauge when you only speak to him via Zoom, so a physical meet with him is starting to feel quite important.
And I want my house back - I work part time from home - I like my space - I want them all to go away just for the day, like they used to.

YANBU. I have been working from home during lockdown although my job isn't normally possible from home (teacher).

I have missed going into school and I am looking forward to being back after next week.

I love DH and DS but I have missed having time away to someone other than wife/mum, I have missed seeing my students and colleagues in person and the normal routine of the week. I couldn't work from home permanently and I take my hat of to those that do.

i guess it depends on your office set up.

I'll be back working in a small office, same 4 walls day in day out, with people I don't like, who make it hard to focus on my job.

We'll be sharing the same tiny grim space, no kitchen or area to escape to.

NotEverythingIsBlackandWhite

Totally agree- all the "benefits" that the OP lists are meaningless to me.
I don't have a workplace, my life is richer for that, not poorer.

There will be heating bills and maybe less things to do out of doors in the winter. So the novelty of wfh might lose its shine a bit.

This thread is really interesting. We are just in the process of opening our offices for people who say they really need to be back in the office. I estimate about 20% of the workforce are coming back in. All by choice, we are still advising WFH if you can, but we recognise not everyone has a great set up at home. Many of our returners are single people who are feeling isolated or mums who just want a day of working in peace away from their children!

I don't think WFH will be as popular (for employers nor employees) as people seem to think. At the moment due to Covid, it's a compromise to at least keep things moving. Long term, though, I think the reduction in efficiency, longer delays, etc will push employers back to wanting staff back into their normal workplaces, maybe not full time as previously, there may be more flexibility to WFH for part of the working week.

I've been working throughout, and dealing with governmental organisations, businesses, banks, etc on a daily basis. You can tell who is WFH and who are back in the office. The WFH are typically slower to respond, more mistakes, more delays, etc etc. We can excuse that in the short term due to covid, but when things get back to normal, people won't put up with inefficiency, delays, etc. I've got jobs on the go where I've been waiting for information/reply for 3/4/5 months which is really starting to impinge on other people. Yes, some of that will also be due to people furloughed, shielding or whatever so maybe fewer workers, etc. But WFH is also clearly causing inefficiencies.

One example, I phoned a Govt agency, very long wait for phone to be answered. Then, apology after apology during the phone call as their internet was slow, then they had to put me on hold as someone was at the door, then they hit a snag and couldn't do what I asked on their computer as they didn't know how to do it and there was no one at the "next desk" they could ask as they would normally, so they suggested either I call back and hope someone else would answer who knew how to do it, or that she could escalate it as a problem for the supervisor to look at, but she didn't know if the supervisor was working that day (in the office, she'd know as the supervisor would be there!).

WFH is a sticking plaster at the moment to keep things ticking over, but realistically, most people will be back in their office most of the time when Covid is over. Yes, as I say, there'll hopefully be more flexibility for say 2 days office, 3 days home, and I'm sure some employers will embrace WFH and improve systems to make it more efficient for those who want it.

You forgot to mention the joys of office politics. For some of us not being exposed to that every day and just being able to get on with the actual job is hugely beneficial to our mental health.

I can't wait to get back. I have been going in once a week for a while now. I love being in the office.

MY OHs company have had a total rethink because of Covid.
A small IT company ( 80 staff) they have now decided that home working for the majority of staff will be permanent.
The will retain offices as still need hardware work done, but those will be downsized.
They are finding staff are happier, more willing to be flexible with hours- and have seen an increase in productivity.

I think socially ideally a balance is good but from a business perspective if work can be done outside the workplace as effectively, it might not make financial sense to keep a large office space.
My DH shares a workspace with someone who works 3 days a week. DH prefers the 2 days the other person is at home as he never shuts up when he comes in. (However DH is much more unsociable than me. When I wfh I realise how much I check with others for advise or reassurance.....and I like having a chat as well)

It depends on one’s stage of life. Some people - older, secure, in a relationship, children, big house, garden - are laughing. Other people - in a flat share, studio flat, not much social contact - are miserable.

Ds’s friend is training with a large company. He is now fully wfh. Training by zoom, work online. He is 22. He says he would rather do anything for half the pay rather than be stuck forever in his bedroom all day. At least he has a job. Nearly all ds’s friends have had their graduate training schemes axed.

It is so smug when people say they are just fine at home. Presumably they at some point socialised, met a partner, went out . And, of course, they were actually able to apply for and start jobs, unlike current young people who are watching all the Smuggery Smugs hauling up the ladder and waving from their home offices.

Your benefits work for some people. Not all.

I don't have friends through work. I don't go to office parties or after work drinks (honestly I think those are just an excuse for mainly men to avoid home life). I don't like the commute. I don't like catching every disease because most people are filthy. I don't continue working after my hours either, and people do that anyway in the office (again for many this is to escape home life).

"Skills transfer and development is the only issue I have found, but one day a week in the office would be enough to deal with that."

Only if everyone else is in on the same day...

I think, as PP, said it's the soft interactions that businesses and their staff will miss more than some realise. If my I know a staff member needs X skill, I can arrange formal training for them and that can either be done remotely or by arrangement in an office, but it's all the "did you realise?", "I was talking to.." and the building of networks that will be missed. The snippets that we pick up by overhearing others work or realising that a colleague does something a different way.

Interesting post OP. Been WFH as a teacher during lockdown - obviously not something I thought my type of job would ever entail, nor something I've ever fancied. I've quite enjoyed it though in a 'novelty value' sort of way - no travel, lack of distraction, getting through everything quite easily within working hours. However, having now gone back to work, I remember how important the socially interactive aspect is to me and that I like having a 'workplace'. I also know that I wouldn't want a job that involved sitting in front of a computer all day without a break. Each to their own, obviously. I have got a little bit of a taste for WFH though and would happily do it for, say, a day a week if required.

@user1497207191 some of that delay has been about there being no childcare or school though. WfH shouldn't de facto mean a slower response but heaps of people have been looking after kids when working, so prompt responses are impossible.

I don't miss the office in the slightest, but I'm an unsociable bugger who prefers to get my head down and work rather than chat. The 'hustle and bustle' of the office drives me insane.

I know some people like the office for the reasons you mention. It's not for me though.

I also prefer not spending £140.00 per month and 3 hours a day travelling.

It would be dull if we were all the same!

The "social" aspect of the workplace isn't all it's cracked up to be.
Shut in a room with people for 40 hours a week that in RL you wouldn't want to spend more than 5 minutes with.
I like to choose my social contacts- not have them forced upon me.
WFH I only engage with my tribe.

I think there will be a general slow move back to office life but what I hope all of this will have precipitated is a wider acceptance of flexible working and the end of presenteeism. We don’t all need to be in the office all of the time. At times it is helpful, at other times it is counterproductive and not even cost-efficient.

I have been wfh for last 6 years and love it occasionally I get persuaded to do some locuming office work and am reminded how dreadful offices are. But that’s my sector (law) friends in creative professions have more interesting outward looking lively colleagues. That is not the case in provincial law firms dear god ...

I'm also worried about staff development. We're working well as a team from home but that's because we're worked together for years and we know our jobs well, but that's not going to be the case for everyone long term. Firms really need to stop and have a serious think about learning and development in a predominantly wfh environment because from what I've experienced so far (as a trainer) it's a nightmare.

I'm going to love the increased flexibility to wfh in terms of childcare and cost saving - but Christ, I'm bored staring at the same four walls for the past six months and I'm dreading this going on much longer. I miss people.

Yes @user1497207191 and as that staff member is not in an office, no one knows about that shockingly poor service, no one will over hear it.

In fact, that staff member is probably someone who believes wfh is great because it suits them even if it doesn't suit their customers. Even if they are one of the people who know they need to get back to the office for support, it doesn't help if all the experienced staff are determined to stay at home because they're fine, rather than contributing to team development.