To dislike WFH. Am I the only one?

[PrincessBananaH]

I appreciate how privileged I am to be able to WFH when some people can’t but, even though I can see the practical benefits (lower commute costs, easier to manage childcare drop off and puck up etc), I really hate WFH.
When I started wfh during the pandemic I thought it was lovely whereas now I find it incrediblh boring and i truly struggle to focus, to the point that on the days I am at home I am much less productive. Does this happen to any of you?
All my colleagues say they focus more when at home so I wonder if I am the only one or perhaps not all pf them are saying the truth.
I likw getting ready in the morning, wear some nice clothes, make up, sip a hot drink on the drain and meet real humans. Am I the only one?

I absolutely love it. After 25 years of long commutes & very long days out of the house, it's great.
I'm productive, constantly busy role, my 'commute' is a dog walk before work, I save money, I don't have an arduous and soul-destroying car commute and am around if my (older teen) needs anything after college.
I finish work, close the door on my home office (used to be the garage/then playroom/now office) and am walking my dog or working out just after 5pm. Heaven for me.

I think having a home office is key - removes the distractions.

I love it but I work for myself so I am my own boss and answer only to myself and that makes a huge difference.

I love it. If I have to go to the office now I deliberately avoid TWAT days. Monday and Friday only.

Went in Thursday last week (big mistake…). Didn’t get any work done. Constantly had people popping by for a chat. Loads of people on Teams call speaking loudly. Had to queue to use the microwave. Awful. Spent all of Friday doing to work I had been unable to do the day before!

Plus my office has mould and damp on the walls and is just a bit grim tbh.

Love it. It’s so much easier instead of the long commute. Means I can make it in time when the nursery closes at 6pm instead of being on a train still. It’s more productive as I find the office chatter distracting as much as I do miss having a chat. Teams means I can work collaboratively still. I do enjoy it when I go into the office but for doing the day to day work it’s easier to get it done at home. Potentially it depends on your job. But I don’t think one way of working suits all. If wfh no longer works for me I will be asking if I can go into office more.

I agree! I hate WFH so I work almost 100% of the time from the office again now. We have to be there 3 days a week now so there's always people around and I love it :)

Depends on the job as well.

My last job was team based and it all fell apart when everyone else started WFH.

My new role is more individual so it doesn't matter as much but I still prefer being social.

I agree I think it’s boring af and joined a co work space, which suits me much better. Coffee is better there too 😅

ah no that was more for the people with no offices, maybe self employed etc.

Love WFH but I’m older, didn’t enjoy our office atmosphere or the commute. I was seriously unproductive in the office and my team were sat away from my office so I was in a box with bad lighting on my own. Now I’m at home, have dogs, speak to my team lots of teams and my husband comes home for lunch! Honestly if they ask me back in I’ll leave!! However in previous jobs with a better atmosphere I’d probably have gone in voluntarily a couple of days a week.

which is all fine in theory but not everyone has the sort of job that they can do in a shared space due to confidentiality issues and that comes at a price, i definitely couldn't work in a coffee shop because I need at least 1 large monitor ideally 2, and whilst I'd love a dedicated office space at home that would require moving house at a cost of at least an additional £100k on my mortgage.

Love it.
I sleep longer, eat better, spend less money and get more exercise.

Not sure if I'm more focused, I think around the same, but any shortfall is made up by the fact that I start work earlier and am not feeling the pressure to get out the door to be home for dinner and bed time.

I love WFH too. My cold dead body will have to be wheeled back into an office to get me there again.

YANBU but it's each to their own really. Some like it and some don't.

We are in a job market now where there are options to suit people's preferences, that's a really good thing.

YABU

In the nicest possible way, you need to get a social life. Don't you have any hobbies etc where you go out and meet real people?

I really don't get the need to go into the office to socialise. Like some kind of forced friendship.

I love it, I'm much more productive as I'm not chatting and can concentrate, plus no sitting in traffic, and my house is nicer than the office and I can run errands/housework at lunch time.

I'm not one of those piss takers watching films or whatever, I've too much work to do!

My team are good at messaging throughout the day so we're always connected.

I really really like it!
It allows me to have a better quality of life (wake up later, manage drop offs/pick ups from DS' school, keep the house clean and tidy during some of the breaks, or go running at lunch time etc).
It allows me to work better: I am more focused as no one interrupts me for a chat, I don't have to look for meeting rooms for private conversations, I can have back to back meetings without having to physically move....
However, I understand we are not all operating under the same circumstances. I work for an international company in the private sector and it's standard to interact with people based in several different countries multiple times a day (meaning, those meetings have always been online/video meetings). Also, I have been with the same company for many many many years and I know the culture and the people already, my need for real networking is very limited.
And at home I have a proper office space, a room I don't have to share with anyone, has only that purpose and has a door I can shut.
I can still go occasionally to my old office and enjoy seeing humans, but I also have hobbies, a social life and a child in school, so I am not lacking human interactions at all.

Echoing a pp, I have a little desk/area that I can shut away at the end of the day. Could never work off the kitchen table.

I wouldn't want to WFH full time, but really like the hybrid approach - a couple of days in the office being social/networking and having meetings, a couple of days skipping the commute and having some quiet time. Best of both worlds.

I’ve mostly gone back to work since the new year, but not to my office. I use a shared workspace in a different building so I can interact with others. It was driven largely by weight gain. I’ve packed on about 2 stone since COVID from moving less and hitting the fridge every time I have a break or get bored. I’m already down 5lbs and it was effortless. I can understand the reluctance to travel given the cost of fares and the time, though parking is free at this shared workspace and that really helps.

I have a separate office within the noise and used to love it.

Now I have just realised I don't. Even though sometimes I struggle with the getting ready and getting in!

Same as you it makes parenting easier so will continue with 2 days per week wfh but youngest will be at high school next year and I will then take the opportunity to be in every day I think !!

I love it, but I have worked from home since 2017. I couldn’t imagine having a job around people now!

I can WFH, but don't often. I get resistance from my colleagues when I do, even though they WFH far more often. They seem to think I should be in all the time for their convenience. They just have to call me on Teams if they want to speak to me at home.

I WFH so rarely on weekdays that it still feels like a novelty. I frequently WFH on weekends and that doesn't feel good!

I get far more done at home, save for commute time and cost. I also take a proper lunch break and go out for a walk.

No, you aren't the only one.
However, a member of the Lockdown Army here.
I had the most relaxing time, noone entitled to bite away from my life and energy just during this dire season. Felt the best. 🥴😳🙄😁

I like a lot of things about it but onboarding new staff is a nightmare and I think a lot of managers find managing remotely very difficult and it's hard to tell if people are doing a good job or not. (This goes both ways, not just poor performers, I think praise for good work is not being delivered as well as previously).

But a hybrid model makes sense to me. A good thing is that WFH has made flexible working more normalised - "yes, I'll be in on Wednesday for the 10.30am meeting" - and it's also easier to travel off peak or leave early for school pick ups if you're hybrid because you can just log on for an hour or so in the evening. The concept of people being "late" for work at 9.01am should never have been allowed to co-exist with those same workers also having work emails on their phone, and it's amazing we put up with it as long as we did.