Sorry, not sorry, but wfh really is much easier

[Jeannie88]

I know it's become the norm, especially post covid, but do those who wfh realise how much easier their lives are?

Sorry, but I have found it a bit pathetic and embarrassing that there has been a big defiance of 'going into office' once a fortnight to be such an horrific ordeal?

Don't you all realise how fortunate you are? No commute, time at home to do things those of us have to do after a day of being on our feet, all frontline and retail etc then look after our children?

Sp my point from.personal experience. We are a group of 6 friends (f) and go out regularly together. When we have been to midweek gigs, comedy nights, meal, the 4 who wfh joke how they can roll out of bed and be online within minutes to show present, then have breakfast and just work at their own pace and even during teams meeting they can sit back and contribute what they have to.

Then, the 2 of us who have to get up at 6am, dress for work, ready to drive so sensible of alcohol intake the night before and buy ourselves soft drinks in rounds or even drive and give lifts. Then do a full intensive day with full on human interaction and check e mails on the evening when we get the time to do so.

Of course childcare issues come into this. We who don't wfh have to take our DC to breakfast club or childminder then go on to work, the 3 of the 4 who have DC drop them off at school and rush back having been seen to log on early but not really working as getting them ready.

Ok so my observation and opinions based on this. I guess all the moaning on MN about having to go into the office (which really isn't so hard is it?) had incited me to raise this point.

Oh and I do have DP who wfh and he totally agrees with me. He's hardworking and doesn't do the slob thing, but agrees, in his own words. 'It's a piece of piss compared to going to the office and even that was so easy compared to your job'.

So please those who have the privilege of wfh stop moaning! Honestly, how would the world work if everyone wfh? It wouldn't.

People know they are lucky and don’t want to go back to the office for that reason.

I’ve switched between the two and wfh definitely better for family life and work life balance, but I do like going in once or twice a week as my office has a good atmosphere and I find it energising. I make sure my productivity is good. I have 2dc and it saves me on childcare but only because they’re older, 10 and 12, and can entertain themselves. However being home when they get in and being able to let them stay home for inset days is really lovely.

I work for the NHS in a patient facing role, with a lot of other 'projects' and paperwork. I'm based in more than one surgery and do visits and surgery appts. The surgeries are so busy and packed with other health professionals, me and my colleague often have to fight for a room so a lot of work is done from home and dashing about!
I often feel incredibly guilty and worry that people will think I'm not 'working' - being a 'boomer' (awful and derogatory term) I've worked 'in' places all my life, but this makes me just want to work harder to prove I'm doing it.
Yes, it can be easier - yes, I am at this moment. working 'from bed' organising my day, but it isn't all lovely and hard work free, honestly.

I work from home and feel lucky in many ways in relation to being around more for my children.

However, my life is not easy. I still need childcare. I’m interrupted all the time. People don’t respect that you’re working. I work very long hours to the point it’s hard to fit anything else in. It can be awkward managing people when you can’t just pop over for a chat and update. There’s extra housework because you’re creating mess at home while working. It can be lonely (or stressful and intense when your partner also works from home).

I always get up, get dressed and prepped to take remote meetings first thing. I never roll out of bed and start working.

Given the choice, I’d rather work in an office for at least some of the week.

Commute-wise - definitely better off! But there are pluses and minuses to both situations.

I recently started a WFH job with one day in the office, that I applied for, interviewed for and was offered. Choice of career and workplace isn't really all down to luck and good fortune surely? You have some choice. Even SIL was a nurse and now works as a health visitor and does most of her admin and meetings from home. Also, haven't really heard anyone moaning about it.

When I used to WFH I used to start earlier, work longer and - especially when particularly busy - frequently though lunch.

Why? because I just had to roll out of bed instead of take the train (or car) to work.
I didn’t have coworkers to get lunch together, to catch up with etc.
And I didn’t have to catch a the train home in the evening. It’s so easy to just keep working a liiiitle longer.

WFH meant more (genuinely) billable hours in my case!

And I personally really appreciate the commute back from work. It gives me the opportunity to leave my cases behind, unwind, listen to a podcast etc.

What I appreciate about WFH is the opportunity to go the gym next door over lunch, do PT, stay in pyjama bottoms when I’m on my period etc.

There are pros and cons to both imo.

It's a skivers charter in my opinion. And those moaners whining about having to go in once a month because they've now moved to a tropical paradise. Honestly some folk!

My friends lol 😂 they whinge about EVERYTHING. The other day one moaned about how hard it is to work from the desk as her boss requested her to stop being in bed during teams meets.

Meanwhile I work in a nursery with two year olds and have to get up at 5.30am. Drop three kids to two places, get to work on the bus, do a ten hour day with a bunch of manic two years olds, pick up my own kids from thankfully one place this time to get home for 7pm and then spend 90 mins doing bath and bed.

I’ve been looking at admin roles online recently, think I’m going to start applying 👀😅

WFH certainly makes my life easier inasmuch as I have an extra couple of hours available to me in the day, I'm around for deliveries, I'm not constantly interrupted by people wandering into my office asking questions etc. On the other hand, I work my socks off, regularly going beyond working hours, so it's not exactly cushy.

That is true for a lot of people but I am only required to be in the office on one set day out of the 4 days I work I go in three times a week most weeks and sometimes I go in 4 times a week. I prefer the office but I know wfh is easier on parents with young children (most often women)

Yes WFH is easier. And often more productive. And better for employee wellbeing/work life balance. And better for the climate. And better for public health.

Because some have it easier, that is not a reason to argue that people who WFH should go back to the office, it's not a race to the bottom.

Maybe one day you will have a WFH job and will appreciate the people who are speaking up to keep it now.

Love wfh and not moaning. Cheers 👍

No. I am the manager and I just get more admin done at home allowing me to be more productive during meetings.

I take fewer breaks at home due to not stopping to chat about X’s recent childcare issue or Y’s lovely new cardigan.

There are pros and cons. My work has always been hybrid and for me that works best - into the office for meetings/teaching and then home for writing and admin. My organisation gets the full 40 hours a week from me, but I don’t work 9am-5pm. Sometimes it’s 6am-8am, 10am-12noon, and 4pm -8pm and sometimes it’s other combinations, often with a Saturday morning or Sunday night thrown in for good measure. That works for both me and my employer and I am a high performer - I deliver and then some against my targets.

One of the big advantages to the move to WFH is that it has opened up the world of work to many people with disabilities. I have a severely immunocompromised friend who has been able to get a job where she can work from home which uses her skills and qualifications and is flexible with how she uses her time, something she struggled to do before.

It might be a great opportunity for skivers, but TBH, there were always plenty of those in the office anyway - the ones who spent most of their time gossiping, spending half their lives making and drinking cups of tea, popping out 10 times a day for a fag, arranging and sitting in pointless meetings, scheduling off site meetings at 2.30pm so they could just go home after, etc. etc. They’re just not using the company toilet roll to do it now.

I wfh now but I feel like I put in a fair amount of time working in the office five days a week, with a three hour daily commute for over a decade. Once I had kids it wasn’t practical to be spending three hours a day commuting on top of a full working day (which is what many in London have to do). I am grateful to be able to do my job from home, though if it was possible I’d prefer to be in the office a couple of days a week, it’d be less lonely.

I can't wfh but I think I'd get really depressed if I did. I need some people interaction, I like the people I work with, I enjoy a bit of small talk about their lives

@GlennCloseButNoCigar hats off to you, that must be a really intense and hard day!

I absolutely love WFH. It's been a game changer for me.

Yes I agree with you about the 20/30 year olds needing to be in the office to learn; but if the older more experienced staff are all wfh who are they going to learn from?
I would say there has been a noticeable difference in service since Covid from almost every company and I’m convinced some of it is down to wfh.

Those of us with kids who work from home are definitely not rolling out of bed and starting work the next minute. I was up at 5.30am with my youngest today, then I have a school and nursery run ahead of me in two different locations. And it’s torrential rain as usual.

The people that really bother me (and annoyingly for the sisterhood, it's always women) are those who refuse to turn on their cameras for team meetings.

Our department is generous in giving people flexibility even within WFH. You can log on later if you need to, you can do school runs, you can block periods of the diary for appointments. We respect people have lives, and that WFH allows them to be present in those lives as well as present for the work we pay them to do.

But when I log into Teams and I see 8 attendees, most of them with cameras on, but two or three with cameras off, it is always the same suspects.

Interestingly, none of them have declared anxiety disorder, or any mental illness. These are people who still happily turn up to the monthly socials, and who used to be very chatty, well-dressed members of the office when we were in person 5 years ago.

I think the true reason is, they see it as a 'right' that they can get out of bed, throw on 'comfy joggers' or stay in their PJs, and just dictate the terms of how they WFH. When I ask for cameras on, they won't do it. Just refuse.

Worse, on one call one person left her mic on. It was abundantly clear (when I asked her to mute) that she had the TV on or some kind of noise in the background.

I don't directly line manage this person or any of the others, I am just a departmental lead in another area. However this kind of thing just makes me eyes roll, becuase it is so typical of the British women (and I am British) that I just hate working with. "I'll do me, and you do you" etc - no accountability, no sense of team or showing up or connecting with others.

I wfh. I certainly don’t moan about it or when I go into the office once a week. I don’t have to spend £ on my commute. I get up later than when I have to go into the office. I can fit some exercise in at lunchtime. The plus side for my employer is that I always work even when I am sick (easier to wfh than drag yourself into the office). I take calls and answer emails in the evening or weekends or days off. As I am not wasting time making pleasantries with people or walking down a long corridor to the kitchen or the toilet I get far more work done than I do in the office. It can be a bit solitary though. I appreciate going in once a week. Yes it is a longer day, but in many ways a nicer one as I see actual people and chat about things. I wear a proper work outfit. I enjoy travelling on the bus. I don’t get anywhere near as much work done and I wouldn’t want to do it every day. But I never moan about doing either as I feel very grateful to have the perfect balance.

you're not sat in front a keyboard and are actively working

so is it the sat in front of keyboard or the actively working bit thats the problem?

i sit in front of a keyboard but I also actively work…more productively than in the office

(i like going in to the office…i just wish it were closer 😀)

Wow, ok. You're clearly an expert on a job that you've never done. Congrats 👏

I struggle to be productive on my wfh days. I feel much more motivated in the office and around others. I wouldn’t like to go back to it full time.

I was a full time teacher until I burned out 18 months ago. I secured a job which is hybrid, 3 days at home, 2 in the office. I love this balance and I love the fact that the office job allows me to work in peace on tasks without constant interruption. I realise it was the human interaction job I disliked so much.
And every day I feel so bloody lucky.