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 have been WFH on and off since 2012.
I think it has its place, if you can do what you do from home, some people cannot, for obvious reasons.
I did not especially enjoy it during lockdown, but that was more because I had a new project and had never met any of my colleagues in person.
I very much enjoyed WFH on Mondays and Fridays from 2015 to 2019 because the whole project team was in the office on the other 3 days, which is when we had our meetings etc. However, it was very convenient to be able to do long telephone conferences in private, not to mention not having to disturb anyone else in the office during those times.
I am just in the process of starting a new project, where I will be able to WFH 1 day or more per week. Luckily, this time round, I can also go into the office and meet people, so am looking forward to it very much.
I am surprised that more companies have not "discovered" the advantages (to them) of having staff working remotely. For example lower energy costs, ability to rationalise or even dispose of premises etc. etc. where the employees take on the overheads of heating and lighting as well as providing office equipment, in some cases.
My preference is a balance between the two. There are some activities such as writing reports, presentations or documentation for a project, which I prefer to do in peace and quiet (usually went into the office for 07:00 when those were the order of the day), but I often wonder how much important information was not communicated or syndicated when WFH, simply because people were not talking casually to one another.

@MidnightMeltdown I have a small
child and DH works weekend so all my time spent non working is mainly around her. Of course I have friends and a life outside of work but I simply find spending my whole day in the same room draining, especially because when I finish work I am full on mum duty and don’t have the luxury to go off and do my own thing

BTW just to be clearI also prefer a hybrid approach and I am
by no means implying we should all be back i the office, having the choice is key. I am just curious to know how other people actually find it from a work perspective.

I don't hate it but my favourite days are the ones when I'm in the office and i get home and DH has made dinner and the all the kids things are done. It does work for in some ways and DC like having me here when they get home but I much prefer office life.

Tricky. I changed jobs a few months ago to one closer to home, but new job is all WFH. A lot of our work is teams meetings. But colleagues will also randomly call each other for a catch up or a debrief and just a general chat. There seems to be a culture of randomly calling each other and a scheduled daily meeting for whole team if anyone needs help with a tricky situation. It definitely all helps.
It's nice being in the office for a couple of hours each week but even nicer not having a two hour commute every day and being too knackered to socialise!

Yep. Lonley and missing the stimulation of the company

I probably would’ve appreciated it in the days when I had young children, did the school run etc. And I enjoyed the novelty of it during the Covid lockdowns. But WFH is definitely not for me.

I need to be forced to get up, dress up, get moving and breathe in some fresh air first thing to get me motivated. I’m a sloth without that structure.

I also really enjoy my commute (I read, listen to music, meditate). I like the interaction with others. I like being part of a proper team, the chat, the jokes, the pulling together. I love being in central London every day. I like being in the midst of things.

I’d absolutely hate to be at home in front of a screen all day. My idea of hell.

@PrincessBananaH you should have the choice, I notice some people always in the office when I go there. Just don't advocate denying the option of wfh for others, like Jacob Rees-Mogg would.

A lot of my work is editing and writing too. I am definitely more productive at home, but I developed the discipline to wfh before the pandemic, as a freelancer. There are downsides to it but I am genuinely more productive and less distracted by chatty (albeit very nice) colleagues.

@Googi I am exactly the same as you!

~@LlynTegid when have I ever said I'd advocate for that? my personal life benefits massive from WFH as I save tons on commute and helps me with childcare - but even if it didn't, I'd obviously want everyone to choose their preferred pattern. This was just a personal consideration and I was curious to know what other people really think, not me wishing WFH policies away!

I didn't want to jump on the thread about disability but WFH is a huge positive for me as I have hearing loss I often find communicating in person really difficult, especially in busy offices but using teams for chat or captioned calls means my new team aren't even aware I have hearing loss, its been life changing in that respect. Id previously had bad experiences with less than accommodating employer's I didn't even realise how much anxiety it caused trying to be able to / pretending to hear.

God I absolutely love wfh. It's made a huge difference to every part of my life.

Same here.

I do find I struggle to focus sometimes. I take myself off to a library or a quiet coffee shop perhaps once a week for a change of scene and I seem to get more work done on those days. I think its the "pressure" of having strangers around that I need, to look presentable and focused. Whereas at home I can easily be distracted by any number of things like.."ooh there's a hair on my chin that needs pulling out, I'll just grab the tweezers" whereas I'd never do that in a public setting.

OP I feel very similar to you. I only WFH twice a week and go in to the office twice a week. There are definitely benefits of being at home - the travel time and cost and also being able to do laundry and a bit of cleaning - but I prefer to go in and feel I get more done. I think I'd be depressed if I had to WFH all the time and like you I find it harder to focus at home.

I've never wfh and would never want to. I need the motivation to get up, dressed and out. I would also hate to effectively spend the entire day and evening in the same place. I love the bustle of the city and the banter with colleagues and the exchange of ideas. You can also pick things up from subtle nuances, body language or whatever when you're in person which you really can't remotely. I think it probably works best for people with young children but beyond that I think it might be a recipe for a lot of disconnected people in the future.