Am I the only one who actually LOVES WFH?!

[Battleoftheislands]

I genuinely feel like a bit of a freak as I have seen so, many posts about WFH over the last 18 months on here and an overwhelming number of posts on those threads are stating that they hate it. I’ve started to feel a bit weird about it all and am genuinely thinking, is there something wrong with me socially because I’m honestly okay with not seeing many people?

I will pre-face this by saying I am extremely fortunate to have a nice house and a designated study to work in so I appreciate that this plays a huge, huge part, but I really don’t want this thread to be derailed and turned into a bloody class debate.

Is there anyone else on here that enjoys WFH and doesn’t wish to go back to the office? My colleagues and I all meet up every 5-6 weeks for a ‘social’ event so that’s working well in keeping us all ‘bonded’ if you like and I speak to them a lot during the day day on Teams meetings etc.

Honestly, I used to do so much travelling, I’d cover 450 miles a week in my car and I was completely burnt out. I don’t miss that part at all.

I love being able to walk my dog every lunchtime, I have more time for exercise now so have taken up running 3-4 times a week. I see my husband more, I can whip the hoover around or hang a wash up if I get a spare 10 mins etc which means my weekends have been freed up.

I also try and ensure I have a social life and meet up with friends or family every weekend to do something. I have a hobby that I do 2 evenings a week too so see people then. I see the odd person out when I’m walking the dog at lunch and as it’s a small village, mostly know them so have a chat.

Can we have a bit of a WFH appreciation thread for those that enjoy it?

I don't have a home office, we have no spare rooms but before I worked in an office I freelanced from home so I have a "home corner" which is my office and had already spent three years training people that when I'm "at work" I'm work, not available to give you a quick trim, take your dog to the vet or pop to Tesco for you.

I genuinely don't understand why anyone would not work in their PJs all day with on tap biscuits and coffee, no commute, total control over the heating and music and the option to walk the dogs on their lunch break.

I love WFH: there is no commute, my space is my own to do what I want and I can start whatever time I like (provided I work core hours). Bliss.

I love it.

I’ve been asked to go into the office every now and then and find it an enormous faff!

I save a lot of time and money WFH. I have more time for the kids, exercise, looking after the house etc because I’m not commuting 2hrs a day. I’m also more productive and work longer hours.

I am lucky to have a spare room to work in and my DH WFH so have someone to have a coffee or lunch with.

If I didn’t have small kids I might not enjoy it so much and miss socialising in work. But the ups heavily outweigh the downs at the moment.

I love working from home too, I have a designated office space that doesn’t encroach on the rest of the house which makes a huge difference. I have a lot of reading in my job and have far fewer distractions at home - and no sarcastic “good to see you busy” comments from people who don’t understand my job role.

It is a bit isolating at times, but I generally like my own company and keep in touch with colleagues day by day. There’s no plan for my role to go back to full time office working, and I’m happy with that.

I hear you, OP! I love it. I wfh exclusively for several months and it was fantastic.

My rented property was sold before lockdown so and I moved back in with my parents as they are aging so it was a win/win. I have a dedicated office in the old third bedroom, and it's been great for my mental health. I haven't had to see anyone face to face. I not only get my own work done, but can also help others.

The only distractions I get are usually one of the cats wandering in. Although tbf one of the Siamese doesn't like my divisional head for some reason so if he's up there, he shouts very loudly whenever she speaks

Also love it
My role changed last year which means I no longer have to be in our local office none of my colleagues or stakeholders are in that office so there is genuinely no benefit to be going in
I have adequate space to work from home, am 20 years into my career so am lucky I don’t need to be in to learn from others, my previously large team I used to socialise with were made redundant a few years ago so don’t miss the social side of being in the office.
There are times when I might travel to other offices across the country but that might be not even once a month and I can plan those trips on days that suit me
I do do the washing, take the dog out but disciplined enough to not be watching tv in day think that’s a slippery slope
Off to work now!!

I love it too. We don't even have that much space - both DP and I are working from home from the small spare room in our 2 bed apartment. Even at that though I much prefer it to being in the office which I always found very distracting. Before Covid, I worked from home one day a week.

We haven't gone back to the office yet (you can go in if you want but very few people have) and won't be going back until at least January. I'm hoping/expecting huge flexibility in terms of hybrid working. I'm glad things won't be going back to the way they were before.

I think I would enjoy it too in your circumstances. For me it's not so good. I live 200 miles from family, don't have any current hobbies which take me out the house (life revolved around driving teens to their activities!), I have friends who work full-time out of the home so are still too exhausted to do anything mid-week and I live amongst urban sprawl so don't have a sense of local community or guarantee of bumping in to anyone I know when I walk my dog. It doesn't feel healthy or sustainable to only have DH or DD to speak to face to face during the week.

I do enjoy it for the other reasons you stated though. Keeping on top of laundry, being available to take delivery of parcels, thinking about dinner before dinner time comes, not being worn out by a commute. Weekends do feel freer, I just need to ensure I now make more of them.

I think it's the threads you've been gravitating towards. I've mainly seen the ones about dreading a return to the office, and it's clear there is a lot of love for WFH. For those that can do it at least. Those threads always end up with a slew of comments that go as follows:

• What about people who've been working all the way through the pandemic? If it's ok for them, it's ok for you.

• If your boss realises your job can be done from home, they'll realise it can be done from India.

• It's selfish - the economy needs office workers to buy sandwiches and do dry cleaning near their workplaces.

• Nobody actually works from home. All my mates say they've been spending all day on Netflix and meeting friends for coffee!

• It's not fair on young people. (A fair point, this one, but over-stated. One poster enthused about their DC experiencing a busy building with hundreds of people - even if they never interacted with the majority of them.)

• It's not natural to spend all your time alone.

• The party's over LOL. Time to get your arse back to work!!!

• People who do this will come to regret it - they won't get the promotions. Women will especially be affected, so it shouldn't be encouraged.

• Everyone will be back at their desks five days a week within a year or two, mark my words.

There are probably some I've missed, but you get the gist! All provoked by the numerous threads started and populated by WFH enthusiasts.

One thing I have noticed is how popular WFH is on forums and in anonymous polling. Less so when people have to put their name to their views - LOTS of enthusiasm on LinkedIn for being back in the office, for example. I think people worry about being seen as antisocial or difficult.

I didn't think i would like it, but have got very used to it. DH was WFH as well so we've effectively spent 18 months together working either side of the dining table. We were able to go in voluntarily to the office so I started going in once or twice a week just to keep on top of paperwork that had come in. I liked the fact that I was able to get to a couple of classes in the evening without worrying about whether the train would be delayed.

We have now gone back to a compulsory 2 days in the office and annoyingly I end up missing class last night as I had something to finish before I left the office. Ironically if I'd been at home I'd have got the job done and made class.

I'm addition my boss has decided she wants her team in (including me) 3 days a week from next week - I'll be the only PA doing that so I'm a bit miffed I must say. Watch this space about that one......

I was at first really resistant to WFH but now would hate to go back to the office. I realise the dash from school drop off to the office was the most stressful part of my day! I now walk to school and can be back at my desk before 9.

The one thing I do wonder though is how to build in some social interaction in my day.

What do other people do? I’m thinking of trying to find fellow WFH people locally to have lunch with occasionally!

Forgot the number one anti-WFH comment: "Customer service is shit now, so WFH doesn't work. I can never get through to my bank."

I love it, to the extent I kind of hope there's another wave over the winter so that I don't have to go back into the office until next year.

I wouldn't mind going back to the office if it were better and meant I'd be more productive, but the last 18 months has shown I can do more work in less time at home. It's the lack of interruptions and pressure I love.

My work did a survey and
10% want full time in office
60% want full time home
30% want a mix

So it’s not just you.

I've mostly WFH for years but went entirely WFH for the pandemic and hoping to keep it that way. We bought this house based on us doing a proportion of our weeks from home.
I'm disabled and WFH makes an enormous difference to me.

I love working from home. I swapped jobs part way through the pandemic to one working from home.

I have had no sick days since I started working from home. My mental health is massively improved and is now sub clinical after years of ill health and having to take months off.

@OhDear2200

I was at first really resistant to WFH but now would hate to go back to the office. I realise the dash from school drop off to the office was the most stressful part of my day! I now walk to school and can be back at my desk before 9.

The one thing I do wonder though is how to build in some social interaction in my day.

What do other people do? I’m thinking of trying to find fellow WFH people locally to have lunch with occasionally!

Yes - I used to be a WFH freelancer and would meet up with other freelance friends for lunches, coffees, drinks.

Another great thing about WFH is that you're not chained to your desk on a slow work day. The nature of my job means that while I'm flat out and working into the night sometimes, that's balanced out by days where I can take it fairly easy. Nothing better than one of the latter happening on a weekday with nice weather when I can just see who else is around and we can sit in the park or do lunch. It's like a bonus weekend.

I’ve done a mixture of wfh and office for about 8 years and I enjoyed the balance.

At the beginning of the first lockdown I loved it, didn’t miss the 1.5 hr commute each way on dirty trains. But as time went on I started to hate it. Missed the chat with colleagues, the purpose of walking to the station, instead of ‘going for’ an aimless walk.

Things improved when we were able to meet friends for coffee/lunch again but I still think a mixture of wfh/office suits me, so I’m starting to go in a couple of times a week.

I am quite surprised that although lots of people that didn't WFH before and now do the traffic is back to pre pandemic levels of awfulness and you can't get a seat on the train again.
Surely it should have made a difference?

I love it too - but I've been doing it for years!

I absolutely hated being in an office - the presenteeism, the shit gossip, the cliques, the just under the radar competitiveness, the hierarchies.. And that's on top of the expensive miserable waste of time commute .

Working from home I feel like I have the best of both worlds - I can get DCs ready for school and clubs at a leisurely pace, cook them breakfast if I want to, pick them up and take them to afterschool stuff.. In my downtime, instead of surfing the internet for things to buy or depressing news or celebrity gossip I can start dinner, tidy up the garden, do a bit of DIY.. At lunch I can go for a walk, walk to town, do an hour at the allotment, run errands, go to the library, go out for something to eat, draw or read, or just sit outside in the garden.. (I realise I could have done a lot of these things working in the office - but I just didn't and neither did anyone else)
I wear what I want, wear make up or don't, can have a 20 minute nap if I feel like it, I'm home for deliveries or to pick up an ill child..

It's great - no one is dragging me back to an office!

@HarrietsChariot

I love it, to the extent I kind of hope there's another wave over the winter so that I don't have to go back into the office until next year.

I wouldn't mind going back to the office if it were better and meant I'd be more productive, but the last 18 months has shown I can do more work in less time at home. It's the lack of interruptions and pressure I love.

Same. One of the stock complaints on the anti-WFH threads is that people are using it as an excuse to slack off. Believe me, I slacked off much more when I was in an office resentfully filling time until I could actually leave!

WFH means I can get on with my actual work without people constantly interrupting for nonsense reasons. And because I can work WHEN I want, it's better quality - if I'm stuck on a difficult bit of work I can go for a walk or a run to clear my head. And conversely if I'm struck by inspiration out of office hours I can quickly get something done at 9pm or even 5am if I want.

My husband and I both love it.
I was lucky enough to permanently work from home for years pre Covid. My husband had an hour commute so it’s made a massive difference to my life.

Commuting sucks and I just love having my own comforts around me, not having to make small talk with people I don’t like and I can avoid all the office politics.

Best thing I’ve ever done x

I try to meet other neighbours who WFH for a coffee and it works well.

But also have had a chance to join a running club in the evening due to the extra time. So perhaps a hobby if you can fit it in?

I much prefer it but must caveat it that by saying it only works when the kids aren't here.

Luckily I work 3 days a week, kids are at school / nursery and I have an amazing MIL who picks the kids up after school and has them for a few hours. We take leave to cover holidays. Illness we just have to wing it.

My commute was fine (30 minute walk) and I like my colleagues etc but I feel I have a better work / life balance by WFH. Even though I have worked way over my contracted hours since March 2020.

My companies plan is to move towards a hybrid model of homeworking in 2022. Not sure how that will work for me being PT?

Yes, I forgot the no more having to make small talk with colleagues that I'm not bothered about!

I've been really lucky in my last 2 jobs actually, in that the people have been/ are lovely and I get on really well with them but the job before my last one, OMG. There was only 4 of us in my team, 2 of whom WFH so were never there, therefore it was just one colleague of mine who literally never spoke all day. Getting more than 2 words out of her was just tedious so I stopped bothering, so we sat in silence, all day. She would huff and puff if anyone from another department came by to chat to me so most days, I literally didn't speak to anyone all day. I would much have preferred to be at home.

Also, with that job, actually with all of my jobs apart from this one actually, I could pretty much get all of my work done by lunchtime so I would be sitting about bored for a lot of the day and having to 'look busy' which was so stressful and got tiring very quickly. It's rare I get a lull in work in my current role but at time when I do (like now for instance ) I can go and empty the dishwasher or start prepping dinner or even just chill out with the dog for 15 mins, it's lovely. No having to pretend to be busy.