Do you work from home?

[Rainydays55]

If so what sort of job are you in? Do you see working from home as a benefit?

I'm a PA to a CEO. He travels around the UK a lot so it works well for us as we naturally wouldn't often be in the office together, anyway.

I like the flexibility of being able to drop DS off at nursery whenever he wakes up. I work flexi time so can clock in and out, so long as I do my contracted hours which I do more than.

I have no time lost to commuting, and because of that, they get more time from me. If I was travelling in, they'd get 1.5 hours less from me each day (this is where the over and above of my contracted hours come into it).

As somebody else mentioned, it's great to be able to hang laundry out, take in parcels, wash the dishes in my lunch break, or I'll clock out for 10 minutes if I hear the washing machine ping and I'm not on lunch. Again though, that's only because I have the flexibility of working flexi time. My partner works from home and is in meetings/on calls all day long, so doesn't have the flexibility to be able to clock out for 10 minutes aside from his programmed breaks.

For me, it really helps maintain a work-life balance. Being able to keep on top of the small things like a few dishes, or a load of laundry, means I'm not doing everything in the small window of time I have from picking DS up from nursery to bedtime.

I do think it probably depends on the type of worker you are, though. I get very distracted in the office - I am a chatterbox and will get drawn into conversations whereas I don't have that distraction at home. I'm also not the type of person to be precious about counting the hours and minutes I've worked; I just wake up, shower and start work, and work right up until I need to pick DS up from nursery which is usually 8am - 5.45pm, whereas I only need to work 8am - 4pm to work my contracted hours, so I don't feel guilty about any small amounts of time spent away from my desk taking in parcels or hanging some washing out, because I know I give back more than I take.

I work in sales. Had only been at this company just under a year before lockdown. I do a much better job working from home and it’s having such good results that my bosses are happy for me to carry on. I had to shield and being able to work probably saved me from losing my mind.
That being said, I have just started going into the office to keep up with the team, and to train new staff. It’s good fun but exhausting and I really miss using the travel time and my lunch break to get stuff done in the house.

Lawyer. Bloody love it. I get much kore done at home and like being sble to clean up during the day and walk the dog at lunchtines. I don't think if I went back to the office I could cope with my existing workload

In IT. Didn’t like it at all at first but DP is here occasionally, working in the other spare room. Allows time for a morning swim or leisurely start to the day instead of spending time in traffic. I pop into the office once a week for a change of scenery and to meet people face to face. Wouldn’t go back to five days in the office. I’d retire or look for another job.

Management Accountant. I love WFH, it works so well. Great work/life balance. As PP says, being at home means I can do school run, sign for parcels, be here when tradesmen are here, get supermarket shop delivered, prepare dinner in slow cooker, hang washing out (and bring it in if it rains). Appointments are quicker too as my dentist and doctors are in my village rather than miles from work. DD has Covid and I've not needed to take time off work to be at home with her. It's made a massive difference having the office in a separate room that can be closed off.

I'm a freelance editor, author and designer. I love it and it works well for me because I live with a chronic health condition that makes me very sick a lot - working from home means I can still get some stuff done when I'm struggling, just curled up in bed / on the sofa with my laptop.
I do need to get out and socialise though so I build that into the diary.

I work in higher education. I work from home 4 days a week. A good balance for me.

I love it. No commute, can put the odd bit of washing on, some ironing at lunch some days so none to do in the evening, in to receive deliveries etc.

About 6 months before lockdown my team was moved to an open plan office. As someone with ASD (who masks fairly successfully) it was hell. The noise, the distractions, the mindless small talk about bloody Love Island....

One day in allows for a bit of interaction, meetings, catch up lunches. I wouldn't want more. I'm so much more productive and happy. I just got a promotion .

I would have hated it in my 20s - the office was our social life! Plus where else to learn how to actually work and deal with office politics, get to know and learn from more senior staff etc. I learned so much in the first five years that I never would have working from home.
Now I work from home and in my late 50s and I don't have to deal with a commute and have to work for someone else. So happy to do that now - I set my own hours, can do domestic stuff as needed.

I work from home exclusively. But hate it and am looking for a hybrid role.

@ukborn

I would have hated it in my 20s - the office was our social life! Plus where else to learn how to actually work and deal with office politics, get to know and learn from more senior staff etc. I learned so much in the first five years that I never would have working from home. Now I work from home and in my late 50s and I don't have to deal with a commute and have to work for someone else. So happy to do that now - I set my own hours, can do domestic stuff as needed.

This is so very true. I would have loathed it in my 20s 30s and 40s but in my mid 50s it’s very different. It works well for me and I run my own company.

But in the early stages of a career you learn so much from being surrounded by work colleagues and also the soft skills that are picked up.

The only downside is not being able to immediately bounce ideas and thoughts off others. Also I have the space for a completely separate office which also makes a huge difference.

Editor. Full time from home. I love it. I couldn't work in an office now, not for all the tea in China. I love having no commute, my own space and set-up just how I like it, that it makes childcare for DH and me easier (he WFH too) and more flexible, that I can have proper meals, etc.

In learning and development.
I work in the Office 2 days a week. 3 at home.

I enjoy seeing people in the office but wfh saves me 2 hours per day in commuting.
I get to drop the kids off every day and pick them up 3 days.

I would never work somewhere that didn't do at least a hybrid wfh policy.
I love it.

Consensus is WFH is brilliant !

I WFH but we have to go into the office two days a month. I work for a charity in the financial sector. It's saving me a lot of money, I feel like my work life balance is 100x better. If they wanted us back in the office full time I'd move job.

Local Authority senior manager housing- mostly meetings, stats, emails. We were only WFH as a covid measure, but now the LA wants it to remain that way. We are able to go on once or twice a week if we want to and if there is room.

I quite enjoy going in to see colleagues but having a choice is nice. Heating bills have definitely increased and we’ve invested in an outside office space for DH.

IT, and I love wfh. I have the option to go into the office if I want to, so will go once or twice a month.

I'm disabled so not having to do the commute every day is doing wonders for my joint pain. Which means I can do more exercise. So really helping with my health and wellbeing.

I'm in IT and I love working from home. I used to have to do a daily commute (in my car due to family responsibilities after work that meant I had to drive to/from work) and being in rush hour traffic was soul crushing. I love driving. I find it freeing bit that type of driving was giving me road rage!
I love the fact that even as society opened up, I didn't have to do as much driving and I still don't. Driving is now for pleasure not for purpose.
Long may it continue.

Work from home for a charity, but go out for visits. Used to work long hours with early starts. This is much more relaxed. I call it my pre retirement job.

Risk analyst.

Benefits: Can do all the school runs, do the washing/load the dishwasher and never miss deliveries.

Cons: I miss seeing my colleagues face to face, miss the office environment and I find WFH very lonely!

Software engineering, specifically AI. Been working from home since 2005, my kids have grown up around me and have never known me to go to an office. Love it

Most people have worked from home over the winter really. If you wfh in the summer it’s a completely different ball game and when you really reap the rewards of the benefit.

Prof services, I was wfh 2 days a week per covid anyway, am now contracted fully wfh but am going to the office once a week now. Perfect balance for me.

Accounts. In the office from June 2021. I prefer it this way. My cats really interrupt me at work, plus I like to get dressed and see people. It's hard for me to distinguish between work and housekeeping while WFH. It's too tempting form me and I end up doing the laundry, cooking etc. Plus my husband works from home, so we would see each other all the time.

Up until the pandemic i worked in the office, complaints advisor for an energy company, WFH was my idea of hell. When forced I realised actually not so bad. I'd pack the laptop away at the end of every shift, no commute, spent break times with my young son and felt I wasn't as distracted. Now work as a customer advisor for another company who are working on returning us to office. Dreading it, mostly because we work late and weekend shifts, anywhere up to 2am and I don't drive. It looks like we'll be in office for half of our shifts. Doesn't make sense to me but I'm willing to try.
I do understand why some people don't like the WFH, if my son wasn't here I wouldn't of enjoyed it to be honest. I think it should be an individual choice if the role allows it.

Public body. I’ve always worked from home one day a week but now it’s 3-4 days a week. I would never want to be in the office more than 3 days, I don’t think I could cope any more!