To feel WFH has had its day a bit?

[Seaswimminginwinter]

Bosses think workers do less from home - bbc article

My job doesn’t lend itself to WFH but I have noticed on nearly every thread on here about WFH, people insist that they are more productive. However, I have to admit that this doesn’t match with my experiences. But I am one person so maybe I’ve been unlucky, except this article is quite interesting about perceptions.

I also think it changes homes and areas. My own DH is WFH today and it is my day off, meaning I will spend it feeling as f I am I the way in my own home. Homes aren’t meant to be offices.

I get there are advantages but overall I don’t think it works well at all.

[OhTheLeetleHandsAndFeetle]

Works brilliantly here. I go out to work, DH WFM. He works really long hours, as has various international meetings in different time zones. WFM means he can structure his day so he can talk to China at 5 am and America at 9pm or whatever, but we still get to see him and spend time with him. He is someone who finds it easy to focus on work and is quite self-disciplined, whereas I would be forever mooching off to hang the washing out.

[babyyodaxmas]

It works if you have a dedicated space to do it in and a door that closes

[Believeitornot]

Works for us! 😁

[RoachTheHorse]

I've done it since before covid. Works great!

[BiologicalKitty]

WFH enabled me to build my career when I was s single mum. I'm now in a hybrid role and really appreciate the flexibility. Just yesterday I was able to run my dd to a gp appointment between meetings, no stress at all. If I was in an office 5 days a week, I would have had to take the afternoon off.

I think WFH benefits lone parents a lot so I'll never argue against it!

[EdithDickie]

I worked from home one day a week pre covid anyway and now do two or three per week. Works brilliantly for me. I do have a dedicated space though so not in the way. As for the boss being concerned people at home are not being productive, everything I do is recorded in 6 minute units (lawyer, we time record everything billable, each hour split in 10) so it's right there for anyone to see on the system.

I think the bosses that have a problem with it are those that don't trust their staff or are micromanagers.

[Believeitornot]

@BiologicalKitty

WFH enabled me to build my career when I was s single mum. I'm now in a hybrid role and really appreciate the flexibility. Just yesterday I was able to run my dd to a gp appointment between meetings, no stress at all. If I was in an office 5 days a week, I would have had to take the afternoon off.

I think WFH benefits lone parents a lot so I'll never argue against it!

Agree. It’s nice that the balance finally tips towards something that works better for parents as opposed to office working which suits a certain lifestyle.

Those who try and criticise it - don’t try and ruin it for the rest of us.

[GorgeousLadyofWrestling]

I have worked in tech start ups for several years and it’s very common there anyway, so was fully used to it. If I had the energy, a hybrid set up is best, affording the benefit of both the office and the flexibility of working from home.

But I have 3 primary aged children, I work in senior leadership…those two things needed a compromise and that was working from home. It’s just so much easier to get all the family stuff done in the morning before 9am, sit down to my desk and work really productively, go for a run at lunch and put a wash on, get several more hours of work in but also be home for the kids when they come home (we have an after school nanny) and be there to put dinner on. Those hours I’m not losing to the commute make all the difference in my home and working life 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Flopisfatteningbingforchristmas]

That’s not the impression I got from that article. Just because bosses think something doesn’t make it true and as the article explains soon there work force will be mostly generation z and with recruitment issues companies need to make themselves attractive.

[Welshrarebitontoast]

Ah, yet another article thread that fundamentally requires WFH people to justify their existence/actual work. I really wish the term WFH was ditched and remote working used.

If you have a job with targets, deadlines, outputs you either meet these or you don’t? If you don’t you should, rightfully be asked to explain why, if you do you have achieved your role and location is not an issue.

OP seems to indicate that the set up at home isn’t conducive and if WFH is hovering on a laptop in the kitchen with family life in the background it’s not. If there’s no dedicated work station perhaps home isn’t the place to work and other remote options should be looked at - libraries, work hubs, shed in the garden.

[towelhammer]

The vast majority of people I know do hybrid remote & have done so pre pandemic. If works great for all of us.

[towelhammer]

That’s not the impression I got from that article. Just because bosses think something doesn’t make it true and as the article explains soon there work force will be mostly generation z and with recruitment issues companies need to make themselves attractive.

yes

[Chumbibi]

@GorgeousLadyofWrestling has it spot on for us working mums

WFH is a great thing, but the problem is those people at work who take the piss are the same people who are doing naff all at home and making the rest of us look bad. However that is a recruitment issue rather than a WFH issue. Those that skive just have the opportunity to do it more so at home.

[Eminybob]

I'm just as productive at home as when I'm in the office. Possibly more so as don't have the office chit chat to distract me.
At the end of the day, the same work needs doing, whether I'm in the office or at home, so no time for slacking off.

[Sestriere]

I’ve long said this (under various usernames). I’ve WFH since 2006, and my employer first introduced it in 1999. It was a massive success, but then they realised that being in the office also had huge benefits too and started to reduce WFH and bringing people back.

Cut to the pandemic, due to our history, lifting and shifting 1000s of employees home quickly was a breeze. But now, two years on a formal policy has been launched this very week with the clear expectation that all employees will be expected in three days a week and can work from wherever two days. Because, given the chance to work hybrid without a policy meant people simply didn’t come in. Now they are expected in with the rest of their team. Our pass cards enable the company to monitor this. There is still some flexibility for appointments, caring responsibilities etc. it’s not all bad. I work for a huge household name.

we need to do this for the new recruits to learn, develop and grow as well.

there’s an article on BBC news about the same thing. Microsoft are expected in 50% of the time, Apple have been called back, Tesler are expected in five days.

Others will follow.

[Lovesacake]

Can only speak for myself but I work much harder from home cos I’m scared the bosses will think I’m not working and take away the option of home working. When I’m in the office I’m less motivated cos I don’t feel I have to prove anything.

[Believeitornot]

@Sestriere

I’ve long said this (under various usernames). I’ve WFH since 2006, and my employer first introduced it in 1999. It was a massive success, but then they realised that being in the office also had huge benefits too and started to reduce WFH and bringing people back.

Cut to the pandemic, due to our history, lifting and shifting 1000s of employees home quickly was a breeze. But now, two years on a formal policy has been launched this very week with the clear expectation that all employees will be expected in three days a week and can work from wherever two days. Because, given the chance to work hybrid without a policy meant people simply didn’t come in. Now they are expected in with the rest of their team. Our pass cards enable the company to monitor this. There is still some flexibility for appointments, caring responsibilities etc. it’s not all bad. I work for a huge household name.

we need to do this for the new recruits to learn, develop and grow as well.

there’s an article on BBC news about the same thing. Microsoft are expected in 50% of the time, Apple have been called back, Tesler are expected in five days.

Others will follow.

Yes I think hybrid working is really where most firms are now, not wholly WFH.

I moved jobs during lockdown and I felt like I started again when we returned to the office as I met people face to face. But now we’ve settled into hybrid it works well.

[Lunar270]

Theory X managers think employees are workshy employee shocker! Who'd have thought 🙄

Ask Theory Y managers and they'll tell you a different story.

It's unsurprising that US firms head the story as they're frankly nuts about working attitudes. There may be other companies worldwide but that doesn't say much.

I'd imagine WFH is variable and industry dependent. I work in engineering/STEM and it's fine with a lot of major companies sticking with WFH as productivity hasn't been negatively impacted.

[towelhammer]

Also with regards to the title of the thread, the fact so many London firms have shrunk or are planing to shrink their sq footage & there is so much vacant space implies that wfh has not had its day.

[Goatinthegarden]

DH has worked from home since the first lockdown and he seems really productive. He pops in to the office from time to time, but finds he gets interrupted less at home.

I’m out at work all day and our only other resident is a lazy house cat that sleeps on his desk, so those things probably help. He does have to go out for a run every lunchtime for fresh air, or else he’s a bit edgy, like a puppy that needs a walk, by the time I get home.

I’m a primary teacher and hated every single minute of working from home. I love interacting with the children, the buzz of my classroom, being out in the playground, the woods and the gym hall and catching up with my colleagues. I couldn’t stand rattling around the house all day.

[JaninaDuszejko]

I think it suits some people but not others. DH likes WFH and since he's on zoom the whole time anyway he might as well do that at home as at work (I wish he did go to the office though, his commute was a 30min cycle and he hasn't replaced that exercise which isn't good). I much prefer being in the office and get energized by being around other people so am back to my old pattern of WFH just once a week. If I WFH all the time I get less done because I enjoy work less.

Work now have a flexible working policy, historically it very much depended on your boss. However there is now definitely pressure to be in work more than at home. We recruited a lot over lockdown and there's a feeling that best practice has been diluted because people haven't been on site learning from others.

[towelhammer]

I personally like hybrid as does DH as we feel we then have a good mix.

[ShortOfShorts]

I wfh on my busiest days as I gain two badly needed hours of commuting time. Going in to the office is more relaxing as I get to read on the tube, but I get less done and miss early morning deadlines from overnight asks while commuting.

[Lemons1571]

We’re wfh with no formal policy so some people we never see unless they’re dragged in kicking and screaming.

Also finding it hard after a restructure, which had its particular stresses and left some people unhappy with the way it was managed. The newly formed team isn’t a team at all, it’s 5 siloed people all beavering away at home with little to no communication. Perhaps that’s the management though and it’s possible that restructures can be done brilliantly when fully remote??