Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To hate working from home?

97 replies

Ruby0707 · 14/07/2021 18:03

Everyone I speak to loves it and never wants to return to the office.

I'm the opposite, we've gone permanently from home and I am so sick of endless days without interacting with anyone during the day. I have nothing to talk about when my partner gets home.

Am I the only one?

OP posts:
Carboholic · 14/07/2021 18:09

Same here.

I have headspace in my office, at home it’s all dinner-laundry-DH WFH - DCs mess - all right there. When WFH I can never fully engage and never fully disengage.

Original poster
Ruby0707 · 14/07/2021 18:10

Same, it's ruining the home for me. Time to look for a new job I think.

OP posts:
lemonyfox · 14/07/2021 18:11

Same, can't stand it, I feel like it really impacts motivation (for myself and for other people)

FSPea · 14/07/2021 18:11

Are there any coworking offices near you?

Notanewbee · 14/07/2021 18:15

Me too. I don't have a partner living with me so some days I get up, work, go to bed without seeing another soul, apart from on line. I've lost all motivation.

To try and make things better, I sometimes go and work at a friend's house - tricky for meetings sometimes but so lovely to have that interaction.

We've been told that from September I will be expected in the office 2 days a month. Simply hate that this is my future way of working.

Jazzledazzle · 14/07/2021 18:16

I am exactly the same. I am amazed I haven't been pulled up regarding the lack of work I have been managing to do. I can't focus, I end up sitting late at night doing stuff I should have been doing during work hours. The slightest distraction leads to a half hour recap of where I was before I got distracted. I hate not seeing anyone. I hate never leaving the house. I just hate it Smile

Original poster
Ruby0707 · 14/07/2021 18:20

@FSPea

Are there any coworking offices near you?
Not locally I don't think. A couple of pubs do a deal where you can use their wifi for the day but it's not the same. It's also a cost I'll have to pay for.
OP posts:
Glitterblue · 14/07/2021 18:20

DH was struggling with it but finds it so much better now we have made him a dedicated office. He was struggling to separate work and home, when he was sitting in his chair in the living room. That was always his relaxing place. He does miss having proper interaction with his colleagues though and being able to bounce ideas off them by just turning round in his chair rather than having to phone them

Rollercoaster1920 · 14/07/2021 18:23

I think there will be an interesting jobs market post COVID with different firms having different approaches to home / office. There does seem to be polarisation of people who want full time WFH and others that want mostly full time office.

I'm with you, I want an office to go to. I've been able to WFH for years and when the children were small I went in 5 days a week! Love them, but need space.

My employer is doing the 2-3 days per week hybrid fudge thing at the moment. Will be interesting to see if that works or just pisses off both camps.

waltzingparrot · 14/07/2021 18:23

@Notanewbee

Me too. I don't have a partner living with me so some days I get up, work, go to bed without seeing another soul, apart from on line. I've lost all motivation.

To try and make things better, I sometimes go and work at a friend's house - tricky for meetings sometimes but so lovely to have that interaction.

We've been told that from September I will be expected in the office 2 days a month. Simply hate that this is my future way of working.

Is that the minimum expected. Could you ask to go in more?
corlan · 14/07/2021 18:26

I hate it too. It's almost as if my home is tarnished now - it's not the retreat from work it once was. I've been in my job a year and really hardly know any of the people I work with.

lollypoppi · 14/07/2021 18:27

I pretty much love it. Everyone's situation is different though.

I've got 2 young kids and a daily 2hr commute. So for me I can put kids in nursery and get bk home to start at 8.10 I wouldn't get to the office until after 9am. I don't normally get home until closer to 6 but get that hour back too. I can also get an extra hour in bed 👍 as I'm not doing make up hair etc and out the door super sharpe to catch a train. I can go to the gym in my lunch break or even meet a friend for lunch nearby, pop to the shops. Can put a wash on too which is handy.
I do miss the social interaction but I'd happily not go bk. I used to have great friends but they've moved on to another company and I'm not so close to my current team. I do feel sorry for a colleague I work with, he's in his 30's he's no wife/gf or kids so it's a very long lonely 5 days a week for him.

CaptainCorelli · 14/07/2021 18:32

I love it, but I’m really struggling 5 days a week. 3 days from home/ 2 days in the office would be perfect for me unfortunately my new job doesn’t have the option of working regularly in the office. I’m looking for another job where it is an option.

whiteroseredrose · 14/07/2021 18:36

@Ruby0707 what is your job? I'll swap with you!

My company originally said that they would be flexible about the office / home balance. However my new manager loves being back in the office and wants us all there with him 😭.

I've loved working from home. Cool, quiet, natural daylight and no hoards of people yakking away.

I'm about to start looking again.

Original poster
Ruby0707 · 14/07/2021 19:01

[quote whiteroseredrose]@Ruby0707 what is your job? I'll swap with you!

My company originally said that they would be flexible about the office / home balance. However my new manager loves being back in the office and wants us all there with him 😭.

I've loved working from home. Cool, quiet, natural daylight and no hoards of people yakking away.

I'm about to start looking again. [/quote]
Hehe! Lots of places have gone fully remote now so I'm sure you could find something that suits.

Sucks that you have to though!

OP posts:
Waveafterwaveslowlydrifting · 14/07/2021 19:03

I'm teaching from home at the moment due to a positive case in my class and don't like it at all. I'd much rather be in the classroom.

CaptainMerica · 14/07/2021 19:08

I'm the opposite. I've found that WFH means I can do the school/nursery run, and say hello to people I would normally go weeks without seeing. I've got to know my neighbours better, and I can meet local friends for a lunchtime walk or a quick lunch. I feel much more connected to the community where I live.

There are things and people I miss about the office too. I'm hoping to get the best of both worlds with maybe 2 days per week in the office.

Tealightsandd · 14/07/2021 19:18

YANBU

WFH as a necessary temporary pandemic measure is one thing. Permanently it would be terrible on both an individual and societal level.

It would create an insular society of increased inequality.

Full-time permanent WFH may be welcomed by a privileged minority - those who have a home environment suitable for WFH and who are at a settled stage of life. Not so good for anyone else.

People unable to afford a WFH environment will miss out on career opportunities, and young people will be stuck starting their working lives spending all day everyday in their childhood bedroom or crappy room in a houseshare.

Public services (nurseries, libraries, social services, domestic abuse organisations, mental health care, park maintenance, etc) will suffer badly. The loss of the billions that the office based industries contribute to the economy is the very last thing they need. George Osborne's failed austerities policies (that left the country in more debt) have wreaked enough damage.

worrybutterfly · 14/07/2021 19:23

Same here. My ideal would be 2 days in the office and 2 days from home.

So lonely and feel like I can't escape work. Plus my DH thinks that because I'm home I can everything.

EdgeOfACoin · 14/07/2021 19:24

YANBU.

I hate it, but I seem to be the only one who does.

Tealightsandd · 14/07/2021 19:24

I've posted before on this. It's been shit from a customer and client perspective.

Standards have most definitely slipped, and it's very distracting and rather disconcerting to have to give out private information including financial whilst hearing someone's family noises in the background.

sayanythingelse · 14/07/2021 19:28

YANBU. I left my job in April because we were told we would be permanently working from home. After over a year of doing it, I was miserable. My home felt like a prison and I was fed up of my spare room being an office against my will.

Commuting sucks but I'm so glad to be back in an office with human interaction again.

Unsoliciteddeckpic · 14/07/2021 19:32

Yanbu. How could you be? No one thing is good for everyone.

I prefer hybrid, which I did pre lockdown. So I get the best of both. I had a great day in one of our offices on Monday.

I think the only problem for people who don't like it, is going to be that offices won't be the same when you go back. Especially, if your employer isn't making everyone go back FT. Even then, I don't think it peukd be the same

Theres no way to make everyone happy.

But you have my sympathy that you are having to do something that you really aren't enjoying.

worrybutterfly · 14/07/2021 19:34

@FSPea

Are there any coworking offices near you?
I did look into this, they look awesome and would definitely help with the loneliness factor.

But I need an extra monitor, full keyboard and mouse to do my job. The co working place in my town won't allow an extra monitor unless I pay for a private office at £500+VAT a month which is a hefty chunk of my income.

I've already had to pay for a full set up at home, which cost me almost £1000.

Unsoliciteddeckpic · 14/07/2021 19:34

@Tealightsandd

I've posted before on this. It's been shit from a customer and client perspective.

Standards have most definitely slipped, and it's very distracting and rather disconcerting to have to give out private information including financial whilst hearing someone's family noises in the background.

Customer service levels won't go up for years.

Its not just wfh that's caused poor service levels. Companies have taken advantage of this and used wfh as an excuse for not replacing staff.

But to be fair, this is about op not liking doing her job at home. Not the impact in others. Her boss, obviously, doesn't feel that companies standards have slipped