To be filled with panic about WFH culture becoming a thing of the past?

[themusingsofaninsomniac]

prefacing with please read the context before blanket responses 😊

I am stressing away as I tend to do lately on the same topic. I have WFH since the pandemic, with the odd day or so in the office I am lucky to have full flexibility with.

I have Autism. I also have ADHD. The combo together is quite the clusterfuck to navigate as a newly diagnosed female. Essentially the pandemic shone a light on so much and I'm so grateful that it enabled me to seek diagnosis, as much as it's an ongoing struggle.

From working remotely since the beginning I've never felt more stable and successful in my career. I was able to secure a promotion into a field I'd never have had the confidence to try in a non-remote setting in the first place, and I've been fortunate to earn a fair bit more as a result.

I feel completely at ease in my own environment and with the ability to tailor things to what works well for me. Having that commute time back has helped my wellbeing, as has having my lunch breaks in my own home. I am in a routine that I feel helps my mental health and the challenges neurodiversity brings me massively.

My current employer is great but they are the type of company that won't be around forever unfortunately. And from a lot of media and on here etc, it's becoming obvious that things are shifting to either back in the office or a hybrid with a good half your days expected in the office.

This absolutely fills me with dread. I feel like it would turn my world upside down. I'm sure people who don't relate to this will think I'm being dramatic but change and environments outside of your own control are so so hard especially once you've had several years of the opposite.

I guess I'm just wondering where this leaves me. I still have a few friends who WFH but not in my industry. I'm not sure if there would be more flexibility for me, but I also worry about how that will reflect towards my colleagues and I don't want to get anyone's back up. I guess I'm catastrophising that if I need to find another job I'll never be able to maintain what is working so well for me.

Not sure what I'm seeking here to be honest - reassurance maybe or just help to navigate this and whether it's best to be upfront with new employers from the start, or whether that might reduce my chances of being hired. I've been told I don't present as autistic, or typical ADHD but I guess the mix of both means it's a lot more blended. Either way I have generally got good feedback from interviews so it would likely not be known unless I was transparent.

I'd especially like to hear from someone in a similar boat too, if there is anyone? Probably not at twenty to one on a weekday though I imagine 😅

Thanks to anyone who has read this to the end as I know that got wordy!

I completely agree with the fact there are those that do and those that don’t love wfh. I don’t think hybrid is the best compromise though, I think a more flexible approach is best, so those that like wfh can do so more, those that want to be in can be full time, etc. This has worked well at my clients.

I do all that working from home, I put on make up and get dressed, make myself presentable it makes me feel good about myself. Although to be fair I don't have any slobbing about clothes (just old jeans and jumpers but they're fine to go out in).

I go to the gym either first thing in the morning or mid-afternoon, I couldn't do that if I worked in the office. When I did I was in the gym at 6pm along with every other person so constantly fighting for space or equipment.

I quite often go for a walk at lunchtime to get some fresh air or I pop to the shops. The walks clear my head so I can go back to my work, the shops mean I'm not rushing about after work.

When I'm getting stressed I can go off and do something to distract me. I've told my boss this is what I do and he was fine with it, in fact he thought it a great idea. I come back with a fresh,clear head. If I was in an office there would be no escaping the stress.

I can also (and this is the biggest bonus of wfh in my eyes) go for doctors, dentist or vets appointments at any time of day not just last appointment of the day or on a Saturday. I even go and get my haircut in my lunch hour. Its opened up so much and made life so much less stressful.

What's offensive are people pretending to be not fit to go to the office because they prefer being at home, doing the bare minimum and expecting to be paid full whack.

Those are the people who've given WFH a bad name.

I have friends and family who's WFH pre-covid and it was never an issue.
A joke how many companies still use covid as an excuse for shoddy service.

If people were doing their jobs properly and targets being met, most employers wouldn't be asking for people back.

There are millions of people in customer facing roles, those who have to be on site for their jobs who have ADHD etc, they have no option to work from home, so work towards managing their conditions.

Seems most just want the easy way out. Not all but a lot.

Work-shy Britain was coined from facts.

Right, so you are equating WFH as reasonable adjustment for a recognised learning disability as being "work shy'. Is a wheelchair user "walk shy" to you then?

Don’t be silly. Someone who is paralyzed (for example) CANNOT walk. The kind of personality types you are talking about (shyness, anxiety etc.) are different, as these things can usually be improved to a certain extent through practice and therapy.

Read my previous posts, neurodiversity is not the same as anxiety or introversion!

My brain processes information differently to a neurotypical person. I have a fucking psychologist report with the results confirming this. This means I cannot perform tasks in noisy environments to the same standard that someone who does not have my combination of Dyslexia and Dyspraxia.

Ignorant people like you are the reason so many neurodiverse people are too scared to declare and request the adjustments they need. If I work from home in a quiet environment, I can complete my work to the required standard during my contracted hours. If I go into an office, I can't focus, so have to take everything home and work on it until midnight.

But I'm saying that obviously op and others diagnosed with adhd and autism clearly managed successfully to work in the office before covid. Otherwise they wouldn't have held a job down and would have been unemployable. Yes, May be difficult, but there are many people with social anxiety whom might be deemed as having mh issues, which makes working in the office equally difficult. Not all people want a label and shouldn't have their concerns dismissed because they don't have one.

Fairly sure I’m ND, I feel the opposite about wfh. I thrive on being in the office around people. My head never stops and I love the distraction that others bring. I also love the random conversations in the office throughout the day and they bring so much laughter which you just don’t get video calling people.

Customer service has nosedived; however, I don't think that WFH is the reason, or even one of the key reasons. It may play a role on the sidelines.

But I have no idea why you have decided that there is a whole generation of people who are too scared of going into the office.

I also wonder if you've even bothered reading this thread to see the arguments (on both sides).

Which is also fine - if you want the office buzz you go into the office.

I see no reason why sensible office employers can't accommodate people who prefer WFH/remote working, those who like a mix, and those who like being in the office all the time.

obviously op and others diagnosed with adhd and autism clearly managed successfully to work in the office before covid. Otherwise they wouldn't have held a job down and would have been unemployable

well actually there's no obviously about it - there was a whole cohort of people moving between jobs that they couldn't hold down for long

Customer service is poor because it's under-resourced. It's under-resourced because it's underpaid - most people move on to something better-paid as soon as they can, meaning the staff pool is inexperienced; customers get angry, making staff even less inclined to stay in the job longer than they have to, creating a vicious circle.

If companies were prepared to pay decent wages, this wouldn't happen - people would stay in role, it would be seen as a desirable job.

It does if the employer says so.

If targets are being met with WFH why would an employer want to pay for office space for the same results?

Fact is standards have gone considerably down due to WFH.
Not everyone is suited to manage themselves and many do take the piss.

Funny how when people are asked to go to the office, they come on here to get ideas on how to avoid it.
Easy, find a WFH role in a company that supports it.

I suffer from anxiety and panic attacks, my mission is to overcome it, not use it as a reason not to go to work.

My husband works in mental health.
The backlog of waiting lists is insane.
You have psychiatrists who are WFH and only going in to see patients one day a week when they used to do 5 days a week. Reason being it's the new normal as one manager put it.
Except it doesn't have to be, especially when your employer says so.

Ok point taken, that’s true. But you can’t just use wfh/hybrid working as a panacea to make your life easier if you can’t work in a traditional office based setting.

Trust me, I’d love to work fully wfh/hybrid model but more employers are pushing back on this these days and if it’s a choice between a job and no job then I’ll take a job. Luckily I’m older (52) so in theory not long until I retire, if I can do so when I can afford to do so.

Ive worked remotely since 2002. Thousands of us worked for companies working flexibly and from home for decades before everyone else caught on to the benefits. Having said that- we didn’t say we would NEVET leave the house- home working still means you need to come in for meetings and for client work on site etc. So don’t fret. It was here and the opps were available since 2002 so they aren’t going anywhere now.

differnet workplace cultures ask for different things. You will find firms that thrive on in person community and others that like the autonomy of people doing what’s right for them.

It's not a label, it's a diagnosis.

But you can’t just use wfh/hybrid working as a panacea to make your life easier if you can’t work in a traditional office based setting.

Um yes you can. There are people who do just that.

It's also recognising your own needs as you get older as nd women. I know I struggle hugely with commenting (discovered when i took my first job) and always have so I moved near a big city and live in suburbs to avoid long commute and built my career accordingly. I'm fine with hybrid but not very productive on my office days so I usually go in early and work late so less distractions.

You mean if does if AN employer says so. And that often isn’t a need. It’s a want. So it doesn’t need to be done.

Plenty of employers don’t, actually, say so. Because plenty of employers had people wfh before the pandemic. Many others are choosing to stay remote. It may mean voting with your feet and leaving. But Op can still find something. She says she can’t be with that employer forever.

Many companies are struggling to get applicants due to their reluctance to continue. We have recently had a flood of great candidates from our main competitor. Because for many jobs we offer wfh. They decided to try and get everyone in. At least 4 days so people left, now the company is struggling to hit deadlines.

Some employees want people in the office because they falsely believe presenteeism guarantees more efficiency, or because their managers aren’t equipped to manage teams at home and the company doesn’t want to equip the managers. Or simply because people at the top are older and sometimes have ideas about the ‘good old days’. Some like the control of being able to see every at any given moment. They don’t need to. But they like it. There’s ton of reasons that someone may want people back, but it’s not a need. It’s a want. The company wants it, but doesn’t need it.

If the company managed for 4 years with wfh, why is it all of a sudden a need?

So again, for many jobs, there is no need to go back. It’s because someone wants it, often with no tangible benefits. Other people want to remain from home. Some people need to wfh due to disabilities.

It’s great you want to overcome anxiety. You can’t overcome many disabilities, that make life better if you can wfh. You can’t just over come being ND in the same way. Just like you can’t just over come have many physical disabilities. And if wfh is a reasonable adjustment, why would you not do it? As an employer?

I run several teams, many wfh. Because they are able to and the work they do is produced quicker at home. I don’t care if they go and put their washing on. Some are ND, one has a physical disability. I am very happy that my employer recognised that them being back in office wasn’t a need. They are happier and I get to retain great staff. Why would they want to go back to a situation that makes their life harder again? As you said, they would go find an employer that would support it. Which would be a massive loss to the company and me

not op but I had a wfh entry level admin role, now I’m searching for jobs again and I’m considering training for software development or something adjacent as that industry has a lot of wfh jobs and I can only wfh.

ND is both a diagnosis and a label. If you've gone through the NHS it's a diagnosis. If you've gone through a private company, it's a label. There was a whole Dispatches about this

If the company managed for 4 years with wfh, why is it all of a sudden a need?

You could argue that since everyone managed office working for far longer than four years, why is wfh all of a sudden a need?

I think the return to the office is being pushed by companies who have long leases with office buildings and want to get their moneys worth.

There is no diagnosis called "ND". If you are diagnosed with autism it id a diagnosis regardless of whether it was NHS or private.