Why does it seem most are against WFH?

[user6776]

Just read an article that has said civil servants are now to work from the office at least 3 days a week. I'm not a civil servant, but my company adopts the same approach. WFH is generally frowned upon and they are all about being in the office as much as possible.

I prefer WFH. Less time commuting, more productive as no office distractions, can get stuff done on my lunch hour. It's a no brainer for me. I agree going in the office periodically to meet with the team and for important meetings but other than that I don't benefit much

What does everybody else think?

The public sector sold off a lot of land and office space in the last decade. Forced WFH was a way to cut costs.

People can say what they want but a lot of us don't have an office to return to.

@TrashedSofa
It's a MN thread, on a Saturday morning. Not an academic debate.
Feel free to pick apart every sentence I've written but you won't get a detailed response from me. It's impossible to have nuanced debate in this format, especially with someone who seems like they just want an argument.

I've explained that I don't think WFH is detrimental for ALL women. In fact, for individual women it can be beneficial.
However, for women as a group it appears to have some negative implications.
It is up to individual women to figure out what works best for them, their family and their career.

Nah. You wrote a massive overgeneralisation, based on a premise that wasn't even correct, and now are trying to behave like it's unreasonable to point out the whopping great flaws in it on a discussion board.

Nah. You wrote a massive overgeneralisation, based on a premise that wasn't even correct, and now are trying to behave like it's unreasonable to point out the whopping great flaws in it on a discussion board.

I agreed with someone's comment.....I do think its women (as a group) who are disadvantaged by mass WFH.

And I later followed it up with my own thoughts which have been developed over 20 years of studying, researching and teaching career development.

I stand by everything I've posted.
You are, of course, welcome to disagree with me. 😄

If I'm so welcome, hopefully there'll be no further asides about just wanting argument then...

But this does fit quite neatly within the wider trend of people being unable to resist universalising their criticisms of remote working. People know there exist some organisations and roles where face time is important for advancement, so extrapolate that to think women as a group are disadvantaged by mass wfh. It's just the same mindset as people who think that because they and their team get a lot from being in the same room as each other, that applies across the board. When actually, the answer is, it depends.

Jealousy by many members of the public.
Lack of trust in employees by businesses.

It's weird when people generalise about "what's good for women".

Most women of working age do not also have children young enough to require constant care so why is that kind of woman treated as the standard?

I've been promoted while WFH and doubt I would have been in office life because that environment just doesn't suit me.

It's true, there are lots of reasons why a woman who doesn't have caring responsibilities might still see career benefits from the availability of increased remote working. Childfree women can be disabled, living very rurally, ND. They might just dislike office environments and want to spend as little time there as possible!

It's not like the traditional office model was created with women's interests or career advancement (not necessarily synonymous terms) in mind anyway. It makes sense that some of us do much better when there are more opportunities available that allow us to bypass it.

It's weird when people generalise about "what's good for women".

Pointing out that certain work practices can create barriers, and that those most adversely affected are women is not stating 'what's good for women'.

If it creates a conversation and possibly makes workplaces consider whether their policies are directly or indirectly discriminating against a particular group then that's a good thing surely?

Why are people against WFH ?

From my experience, people taking the absolute XXXX
Management not managing their staff !

Example
My departments job role was always office based, pre covid, 24x7x365
During covid lockdown, everyone WFH

After covid we were requested to return to the office, which I did
However, some members of staff refused to return to the office for over a year !
The people that WFH did not share the work equally.
At one point, I was the only person working in the office with flu & other people were WFH.
I said to my manager, "I am the sickest & I am the one in the office !"
I took a couple of days off sick
From that point on, people were requested to return to the office & they did eventually !

I was so angry !

It was so unfair !

Because most people aren’t more productive. Junior staff need training, staff need to interact with clients, issues with confidentiality.

I have no issues with productivity, being able to read, research and write without interruption means I’m more productive in that part of my role. I’m able to meet stakeholders online and in person where need be and confidentiality is imperative in my job and I have processes to manage this.

Junior staff are, if anything, more able to use technology to make connections and build relationships. There are times in person contact matters and we facilitate that in a more purposeful way than simply dragging everyone back to an office for X number of days per week.

Working practices need to change to keep up with changes in business need, there’s nothing in your list that is insurmountable.

I love WFH and am way more productive doing it

What I struggle with is the disparity - some people seem to regularly get to, some even to the point of always being at home, I only get to if there's something I need to work on.

Really tempted to put in a flexible working request for a day a week at home but no idea what to write as I don't think "I'm more productive, feel happier doing it and want fairness with everyone else who does it" would go down too well

I like working from home because it makes it easier to breastfeed to be honest. I can pump on my lunch break easily and it doesn't affect my productivity as I'm doing it in my own time. Whereas in the office I haven't been given access to a space to pump, so have to sit there in discomfort until I can feed my baby when I'm back home. My baby isn't old enough to be weaned off milk yet so going in 60% is an unexpected pita.

Are you in the UK? Access to a pumping space is a legal requirement if so.

I am, but it is locked for some reason and no one seems to be able to locate the key for it. I'm assuming its not been used in a while.

I'd absolutely be making that my employer's problem. If that specific room isn't available, another private room where you can pump will suffice. Not the bogs.

Yep! I will be making that their problem to solve. 1 day a week in the office was bearable but I think at 60% my supply would dry up so I'm definitely going to be pressuring them to find a suitable space

Why would you think that people are jealous?
Most people don't care and its the management of companies that want people back in the office.

Mainly (from what I can see) because they are paying for a property that very few people are using.
Lost of companies round here, gave up their big offices due to WFH and are now struggling to get a reasonable place to work from.

I love WFH but it depends on how it's implemented. The female lead did a report on the impact for women https://www.thefemalelead.com/hybrid-working

Statistics show that if MN post goes on for more than 8 pages with 200+ reply’s it’s fair to say it’ll descend into an argument. Home working suits some and not others.

Jealousy seems to be a reason given over and over again, I have no idea why.

I wish I had a CEO who wasn't such a micro-manager control freak, I'm frustrated at my situation, not jealous because others out there get to wfh.

Why would you think that people are jealous?
Most people don't care and its the management of companies that want people back in the office.

Well surely people who genuinely don’t care simply won’t comment? It’s the people kicking up a fuss about WFH being discussed here.

because its a counter point to the OP who says that most people care?

@StockpotSoup those who wfh part of the time or 100% do care, given the benefits there are for many of them.

Er @BarrowPeaShingle821 going into the office with flu makes you a total jerk, not a hero.