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 love it but only since I set up my home office in our spare room (which I am very privileged and lucky to have). I have two laptops and 3 additional large monitors on a big desk I can work on. Before I did this I was working in my kitchen or living room and hated it.

Some people are stuck in the dark ages with fear and mistrust

They really are. I don’t know why - a love of a chat over the desk under the guise of collaborating? Shares in commercial property? A innate need to have their staff sitting in front of them so they get to remind them that they’re the boss on a daily basis? I totally get that some roles cannot be done at home, but so many can nowadays - it just requires change and a shift in thinking, which some people struggle with.

I think I’m going to try taking the attitude of if the work doesn’t get done during my salaried hours then it’ll have to wait. WFH means I have no work life balance, can no longer eat at the dining table, work longer hours and I’m not even saving any money as I’ve got a 20 minute commute!

Why are you working longer hours because working at home?

Mrs. HR loves it, no 3-4 hr commute, no listening to inane gossip, chit-chat nonsense.
She can log on an hr earlier and log off a little later if she so pleases.
She's had to go in this week because of the building works going on at home
She said the journey makes her suicidal, as does listening to the time wasters, wafflers, nosey bastards, and general gossipers.

I think those who feel work is a social event are missing the connection. Those with a separate happy life outside of work are pleased.

@LukeEvansWife

Plenty of ways to get noticed when working remotely

Absolutely. All my best networking and contact-building over a decade-plus of WFH has been over social media, email and online messaging.

I hated being in the office so much that I never wanted to socialise at the same time as trying to work; IRL networking events are a unqiue circle of hell. Reaching out to people in my industry online has enabled me to network and succeed in my career internationally, not just within one company or city.

If you think of mentoring and networking as something that only takes place face-to-face in your actual office you'll be very limited in where you can go.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat

But surely working longer hours isn’t something to be pleased about? It worries me that companies seem to think it’s acceptable or even expected for employees to work longer at home than they would in the office

Agree that companies expecting longer hours are taking the piss. Employees should push back on this however possible.

But for a lot of roles, like mine, "longer hours" aren't the whole story. My work doesn't exist in a convenient, set 9-5 timeframe on a daily basis - it changes according to workload, events, different time zones. WFH is massively more convenient as it allows - for example - for me to do early-morning work between, say, 8am-10am; then pretty much log off and do my own thing; and then when I need to work with people in the US, do some more work in the late afternoon.

Or if I'm doing some creative work I can literally just do it whenever inspiration strikes.

Set office hours just don't make sense for those types of job.

As you said yourself, it’s far easier to enjoy WFH in a nice house with a dedicated work space. And with other adults or family in the house to provide social interaction.

I live alone in a small flat and WFH meant working on my sofa in my only living space and having no face to face contact with anyone for months. Unsurprisingly, I hit a brick wall with it and I’m now back in the office full time. I’m normally very happy in my own company but months on end broke me last year.

And seeing how some of my colleagues treat wfh as a chance to skive I’m not a fan of it staying permanently!

‘And seeing how some of my colleagues treat wfh as a chance to skive I’m not a fan of it staying permanently!‘

But surely this is a lazy colleague problem and not a wfh problem ? It’s highly likely they skive in plain sight while in the office. There’s a million dodges available if they are that way inclined, and no I don’t believe that’s easier to manage while on site.

If you can’t trust people to do their job properly wherever they are, then you can’t trust them full stop, and why are they working for you in the first place ?

@SirChenjins

Why are you working longer hours because working at home?

For me my workload has increased and because I’m working in the living room there’s no line between work and home any more.

I LOVE IT!!! WFH is one of the best things ever! I can't see any down sides to it for me what so ever. Apart from I love shopping for work attire which I won't longer need to do as I'm not going into the office anymore.

My DH adores it.

Love it! We don’t even have much space, my desk is in our bedroom and my husbands is in the spare room. I feel like I’ve got my life back now I’m not commuting 2 hours a day. We are going hybrid but I won’t have to go in more than once a week so I’m happy with that!

@ThePlumVan

‘And seeing how some of my colleagues treat wfh as a chance to skive I’m not a fan of it staying permanently!‘

But surely this is a lazy colleague problem and not a wfh problem ? It’s highly likely they skive in plain sight while in the office. There’s a million dodges available if they are that way inclined, and no I don’t believe that’s easier to manage while on site.

If you can’t trust people to do their job properly wherever they are, then you can’t trust them full stop, and why are they working for you in the first place ?

At least if they are in the office you can go and ask them a question and they either have to answer it or promise to find out. And you can see if they are physically there and if they are sat working or surfing the internet.

If they are skiving at home, you just can't get hold of them for potentially days and they just mumble "very busy" if challenged. Weridly, quite a few of the "very busy" people did manage to watch an awful lot of the football when it was on.

‘At least if they are in the office you can go and ask them a question and they either have to answer it or promise to find out. And you can see if they are physically there and if they are sat working or surfing the internet’

Again, this is a lazy colleague problem, not a wfh problem.
Who’s got the time to babysit colleagues ?

Agree @ThePlumVan - if you have to have an adult sitting in front of you to make sure they’re actually working then you need to manage them and their performance more effectively.

My husband loves it, and is doing achool runs which is great! We’re definitely getting more family time.

It’s done us the world of good.

@SirChenjins

Agree *@ThePlumVan* - if you have to have an adult sitting in front of you to make sure they’re actually working then you need to manage them and their performance more effectively.

Sadly, this is my manager ...

Who presumably has a manager who isn’t managing them very well?

Meeeeeeee
I’m a single mum
It’s changed my life
I’m here when they leave , here when they return
And I’m massively productive

I’ve been WFH for over a decade. It would be very difficult to convince me to take a job that required reporting to an office.

I love it. I am lucky to have a separate room as an office with its own WiFi. Brilliant. You are not on your own.

I’m now permanently WFH FT and I love it. I’m as happy as a pig in shite sitting at my desk in my spare room with R4 on in the background. I’m saving 30 hours & £200 per month by not commuting and at least another £100 per month on sandwiches, coffees, office collections etc etc. Financially, I’m noticeably better off, which is great, but it’s the improvement in my work-life balance which has been the real game-changer.

It works for me. I did it pre pandemic but found it boring. But now I’m converted.

I don’t work in a social team so I’m not missing out of chats anyway. The time back from commuting is invaluable to having a bit more balance in life. Our alarms go off later, we have at least half an hour from childcare drop off to starting work so I can have a cup of tea, put the washer on. I’m always in for parcels and it feels more secure rather than the house being empty all day everyday. I walk the dog at lunch, can cook proper food instead of buying Costa toasties, in winter I can put stews on at lunchtime ready for dinner.

I would actively avoid full time office jobs now.