To ask how often you’d go to the office if it wasn’t a requirement?

[Orangegreen]

I work in quite a small team where people are rarely in the office all at once unless of a training day or larger meeting which is infrequent.

I’ve fallen into a pattern of working from home a bit more lately. Nobody has said anything about it. Nowhere is it mandated or discussed how much we actually should. For instance, some people go in for the morning and go home at lunchtime to work from home. Nobody bats an eyelid.

I haven’t been in a while so I am considering going in early next week. It will be ironic that if I go, everyone else will have probably chosen to stay at home though.

Commuting in is quite expensive and I don’t have a good reason to work from there other than to be visible. Would you go, or WFH until requested to do otherwise? As I say nobody has said anything and it is usually our choice but I don’t know if you stand out by not going in as often as others.

Never if it was up to me. I've lost the ability to get my work done in a busy office and the lighting gives me migraines. I've also realised I don't actually like many of my colleagues other than those on my team. My boss makes me go in once month and there's a team meeting about once every six weeks. They are trying to get us to go in twice a week but that's all up in the air at the moment.

3 days a week, which is good as we're supposed to do 60% in the office or at face to face meetings outside the office (or travel). We can average that out over a quarter though- e.g. I am travelling next week and will be 'working in office' for 7 days straight.

I've had to do 40% for a while for a complex set of reasons and I don't like it- I get a lot less done. I had no meetings at all in the office yesterday but churned through a ton of work. I can cycle in as well which gets me about an hour and 40 minutes of exercise a day.

DP works 4 days a week and does 50% which suits him.

Never!! I have a high workload and am very productive at home, I get very little done in my one day a week at the office because of the noise and chatter. But I’m not chasing a career or friendships, the role doesn’t require collaboration, I’m paid to do a job and I want to do my best.

Me too

I’m not required to so never go in.

Ideally you need a day when the whole of your team are in if you have one. I go in 2 days a week

once or twice a month (just slightly less than what I currently do.) But I have a young child and am still breastfeeding. Think it would be more if my circumstances were different!

We currently have to be in for two days a week which to me is the perfect balance. Our whole team comes in on those same days each week and it really breaks the week up. There are mutterings of it going up to three which would tip the balance the wrong way for me! But I'd cope. I started this job in lockdown so have always been remote then hybrid.

Id go in once per week purely for drinking rose after work and bitching 😂

Never 😂

but I go maybe one or twice a month when other colleagues in my team are going in so we can catch up

my employer is happy for people to work how best suits them, for example my colleague prefers to work in the office so is in most days

I don't wfh, but did so in lockdown. Didn't suit me. Think I would go in twice a week

I feel like I often just go in to be visible. Your OP made me chuckle as one day I did it a couple of weeks ago I was the only one so might as well of stayed at home!
I work full time over 4 days - Tues-Friday. This week I was in Tuesday afternoon 12-5ish but that's it. Usually I aim to go in 1-2 days a week. Some of our team never go in, others are in every single day.

We do once a month. I don’t love Wfh but I’m not going to an empty office to sit on my own !

I wfh 100% officially (and love it) but usually visit the office at least once a month, often twice. I also have meetings off-site 1-2x per month so usually not WFH once a week-ish. I live 2hrs each way from my office and have to pay my own travel - otherwise id probably go in once or twice a week. I like catching up with colleagues but I can't imagine ever going back to 5 days in the office!

we moved office the year after the pandemic, not far distance wise, but now no parking and it is a shared building so no subsidised canteen.

so instead of free parking + £2/lunch it is £12/day parking + £6/lunch so I go as little as

Office also a bit rubbish as hot desking with many unrelated departments so usually end up next to someone I don’t recognise, so waste of time.

Depends on your role and the links you have/need to have with the team. We have a lot of team meetings virtually, some which are less formal so know how my team are and what everyone is working on . We also have events /workshops periodicaly when we meet for a purpose, so being in the office together for a normal working day isn't really a requirement . I would happily never go in the office but I make the effort sometimes for younger colleagues

I have to go in 3 days a week. 1.5hr commute. I don’t mind it at all. I’d maybe alternate 2-3 days week by week if I had the choice to save a little on commuting, but overall I enjoy it. Commuting is the only time I get to read!

I have a job where you can't wfh.

I often think I'd like to swap to a hybrid job to wfh FT unless necessary etc.

Honestly I think I'd love it for a few week and then choose to go on a couple of days.

If there's no requirement and you are meeting targets and don't want to go in - I wouldn't!

i am a hybrid worker and the number of days I go in each week depends on what work I’m doing- admin/report writing/phone calls/case recording/teams meetings vs. Client facing/in person meetings. It probably averages out at 2/3 days a week in the office at the moment but I can go periods where I am not in at all for several weeks. Wfh has its advantages and disadvantages. I like some personal contact and find wfh lonely and isolating and it’s bad for my lazy tendencies! But it’s more practical for family life, particularly as I don’t drive and have a long commute

I'm currently in almost every day as that's how my role lies. Those who can wfh ate expected in 2 days a week and should aim for a 3rd day if possible. I have diagnosed GAD and my entire cause of the whole bloody thing trigger/ root worry is work/the work place and perpetually going in is awful but helpful. I like the separation. Mentally it's probably better for me overall.

However my commute sucks balls and if they could change stuff around so I could wfh more, they wouldn't see me for dust based on that alone. Money and time saved would go a mahoosive way towards a happier, healthier less anxious me in the first place. DH is in 2 days a week. The company tried to make it 3 and he was quite vocal about it so they kept it at 2. He actually can work 100% remotely so given the choice he probably would and would go in once a month or once a fortnight or something.

I go in 3 days a week, considering 4. I like seeing people and have some good friends in there to go out to lunch with. Also like seeing other non-work friends who work in the same city. My step count is 14,000+ on an office day and only 2,500 when WFH. I feel a bit blah at the end of a WFH day, especially in the winter/bad weather.

Every day, as wfh sounds like my idea of Hell. The only reason I ever enjoyed work was because of interacting with my colleagues, and my home is my refuge from work so I certainly don't want it to become my office. Thankfully my job can't be done from home.

Would be weather dependent for me. 2 days a week is required in my job. I'd go in more if the weather was nice as Iive in a flat and hate wfh on sunny days, but I do it so I can be here for DS when he gets home from school. If it was raining I'd rather wfh.

I have to do 50% which for me is 2 days a week. Would probably do 1 day every 2 weeks if had the option.

I go in once a week although only work 3 days. The commute is a pain takes an hour and a half each way and I’ve got 2 kids with a breakfast club and childminder drop off. If I didn’t have to go in I probably wouldn’t bother