To enjoy going to the office? I'd hate to WFH forever.

[YesEllis]

Just from the social side, I'd be so isolated working from home everyday. My office is my only interaction with other adults sometimes. I would become such an introvert working from home permanently. Yet everyone I speak to seems to want to forever! I get their arguments, and the environmental ones of course but it's not for me. Does anyone agree with me? Or is everyone pro WFH ongoing after covid?

Does work not involve actually, you know, being on work tasks during working hours

I’ve been wfh for 3 yrs. My job essentially involves writing reports. They can be done anytime within the deadline. It doesn’t need to be 9-5.

What I have noticed is people are so embedded in the 9-5 they carry on doing that at home, even when it isn’t necessary. For some I guess they are fitting in with partners/DC. But people seem to be very routine based and just stick to what they’ve always done.

I embraced being able to work any time. I don’t have a partner and DC are adults. I will often work on a Sunday as I wouldn’t be doing anything else, certainly not through lockdown! I might do a couple of evenings. This all gives me time back during the week to go out, spend time in the garden, do stuff in the house.

Also, as a pp said, when you take away all the time spent in the office making coffee, chatting, fielding calls, etc. Work gets done quicker. My tasks have been set by management as a weeks work. Because I’m focused and working, not being distracted by anyone, I can get a days work done in 5hrs. So I’m working average 25hrs a week rather than 37. Spread out that gives me a lot of free time. My boss is happy with the work I produce and I’m happy with the flexibility.

I don’t see any difference between popping some washing on while at home and those who would have a chat while making tea in the office, go out for smoking breaks etc.

Working from home has been the worst year of my life. I work at a very senior level, and having a DP who seemed initially supportive, then by the end having him actively trying to sabotage my work meetings, I wish I worked from the office full-time. With 2 DC under 5, it's just not possible for me to do that now.

He's now an EXDP, as the relationship hasn't survived lockdown for this and many other reasons.

I don’t see any difference between popping some washing on while at home and those who would have a chat while making tea in the office,

If I'm having a cup of tea in the office, I'll often talk to someone in the kitchen about "work stuff" and learn something that I didn't already know. If I make a cup of tea at home, I miss out on this.

If my colleague is having a chat about the football in the office and I need to ask them a work question, then I'll interrupt their conversation.

If they are out hanging out the washing, they are uncontactable.

If they are out hanging out the washing, they are uncontactable.

If I am away from my desk, even just making a coffee my work phone, with my email and teams is in my pocket. So not uncontactable at all.

Also, most people making a brew are just chit chatting about the weekend or the weather or catching up on gossip.

I think its completely unrealistic to assume all office chit chat is a work related and a learning opportunity.

This is the issue. Everyone's work environment, rules of working, office culture, employers are different.

So no, I don't care if someone pops washing in whilst making a brew or hang their washing out. We rarely have anything that needs immediate attention. That would come to me anyway.

And the team are as productive, never have issues getting hold of them and if they don't answer, they call straight back.

In the office, I have seen people who are "just going to the loo, and getting a drink' who don't come back for 20-25 mins. So hanging the washing out is quicker.

One director used to disappear to the toilet for an hour, every morning he was in. I would rather someone was hanging the washing out

I think my issue is that people who are "hanging out the washing" often do vanish for an hour. If it's literally 5 minutes, then I don't really care what you are doing :)

I think it depends a lot on a person's commute.

If I lived a 10 minute walk from work I wouldn't mind being in the office. But I dread the thought of having to wake up two hours earlier, sit on a packed train, get soaked in the rain, wait at the station for delayed or cancelled services etc.

On the other hand I feel like I'm living at work and I don't see how people can progress in their roles while WFH permanently.

I hate WFH. I would be okay with 1 or 2 days a week of it but all day every day is grinding me down.

I hate not having any physical separation between work and life. I hate trying to train up junior people remotely, it’s a total pain and is so much harder. I miss my colleagues. I miss not shushing my children if I’m trying to work outside normal hours (I sometimes work irregular hours that don’t overlap with childcare). I feel like my employer is squatting in my home.

And I miss my commute! I know many people loathed theirs but mine wasn’t a waste of time, it was a way to get exercise into my normal day and a time to read a book or listen to podcasts on the train. Now it’s ping ping ping on Teams all bloody day instead.

I do see why working from home works really well for some people and some employers and I hope we can move to greater flexibility where the option to do it is there more often.

SOME of my colleagues who are having a good time WFH, though, are really bloody annoying about it and I wish they’d stop presenting their own preferences as a generous act of solidarity for the organisation as a whole. “We shouldn’t be made to do these long commutes!” Well nobody’s making you, you chose to live in a big house in the countryside, and I support your choice to do that but I draw the line at campaigning for a WFH-by-default model for everyone to facilitate your chosen lifestyle.

I have absolutely loved wfh.

Still chat to colleagues over video call regularly, it doesn't feel any different to being in a room with them to me.

Luckily my employer has decided to sell most offices and just keep one for the people who don't like wfh. So far this has only led to one person out of 250 odd resigning because she doesn't want to wfh but the office that has been retained is too much of a commute for her.

I suspect things will settle down after a while and those who want to work in an office will ensure that's the job they go for and vice versa.

Horses for courses and all that.

I don't live on the mainland so to keep a career I've worked remotely for years, I've definetly noticed more remote first roles lately which is good for me, but I hope and it's highly likely that they will I suspect still be plenty of office based roles even if flexible. No solution is going to please everyone, so I hope a lot of companies that were office based keep even a small office for the people that thrice better in an office.

@speakout

Pottedpalm

I make and sell things online- think Etsy ( although I don't actually use etsy). So much of my work is physically making stuff, packing, posting dealing with emails etc.
Not just a little side job for pin money though, my profits put me into the higher rate income tax bracket.
I can work the hours I like, can down tools and go out whenever I want.

Are you self employed then? That is a whole different ball game, surely.

Are you self employed then? That is a whole different ball game, surely.

Is self employed not working??

As self employed you are presumably in control of where and when you work and are not subject to changing circumstances of wfh/office working etc. So this discussion does not really relate to you.
But you know that really, don’t you?