To wonder how we ever did 5 days a week in an office?

[OptimismvsRealism]

I work hard and love my job (legal). Spent a day in the office today for the first time in months and honestly feel sick. The people flu! I couldn't go back. All those blokes in the City saying WFH was an "aberration" are deluded.

I get that some people love it and there's enough diversity in this world for everyone to find their niche but Oh My God am I glad I don't have to do the daily traipse any more.

Because older people tend to have their own homes, rather than living in a house share which a lot of younger people do - wfh in a house share would be a bloody nightmare.

Well stop starting goofy threads about how it is so unbelievably how we all did 5 days in the office and anyone can WFH if they really really wanted to.

You sent the tone of the thread with your OP, especially with the claim that those of us who work out of home love it.

I have a disabled child, who has an absent father. WFH is the only way I can keep a roof over our heads. I was working remotely before covid but now there are more employers who offer it I'm very grateful! I take the work seriously.

Everyone's circumstances are different. I'm sure people are capable of assessing their own needs and requirements and acting accordingly!

And yet if wfh was a sudden real priority for a person they are able to apply/train for other roles, nobody is frog marched into a particular job and never allowed to leave.

I have no idea how I used to do 5 days in the office.

I now do 2, occasionally 3 and I love it. But I go in late and leave early.

I think a lot of people think they get a lot more done.

One aspect of my role is monitoring productivity and I can tell you a lot of people’s perception on this is very off!

You’re enjoying the rise you’re getting, aren’t you? Are you in a manic high?

This sort of work was already done by people wfh. Those sorts of sectors had been switching a lot of staff to wfh. Our County Council had already sold off its huge county hall type building before lockdown etc. for example.

OMG @OptimismvsRealism , you sound so nasty

I’ve done full time in the office, fully remote and now I’m hybrid, 2 days in per week.
initially I thought remote was great but now I actually think office work is better. Starting a new job when hybrid was difficult, training new staff is much harder. The dynamics are completely different. I would actually happily go back to more office days.

I WFH only because my company lost its office during lockdown, it was a cost-saving measure. Why pay rent on an office you can't use? My manager is still an idiot, though. It's not the scenery, it's the people. I don't miss the weekly science experiments in the office kitchen.

Overall WFH has its pros and cons. Can't train people easily, which isn't helpful when recruiting is so difficult now. On the other hand, you can't get pulled into a meeting quite so easily, it's not so easy for people to be rude to you when you can mute them.

On the other hand I have no idea how I managed to WFH for the 4 months that I had to in 2020. The most soul destroying, boring, insular experience I have ever had leaving me in tears most days and extremely resentful of my husband who needed to go out to work. It left me in such a state of anxiety it required medicating.

You're right, horses for courses but you could pay me double my wage to WFH and I'd turn you down!

I changed jobs a few weeks ago and after the commute I am now permanently exhausted and chronically unproductive. I lose a minimum of two hours a day, and I weep for the progress we made in the wfh area for those of us with a disability which has now been overturned by backwards looking organisations. I'm not sure how long I'll last but my next job has to be mostly WFH. I am already dreading the winter.

This does seem a bit dramatic.

I quite like a mixture - so luckily my job is hybrid.

Hopefully the world is getting to a point where people can do what works for them more than in the past and can apply for the jobs that suit them.

How did “we” do it? In the not too decent last, where there was a married couple with a house to run, and especially with children, only one went to one. That person literally just did that- they came home to dinner on the table, playing with children was optional but they didn’t have to do any of the difficult bit, not worrying about the kids life admin etc, and could decompress entirely for their evening: then just get up and out in the morning.

The other person ran the house and looked after any kids 24/7.

That was how we did it.

The problem was, there was no choice for women and men as to who was who, and not choice to mix and match.

Are all your WFH partners doing school pick ups, washing and dinner prep as well as working or is this just another way women are expected to do all the family management work?

A lot, if my recent experience of trying to contact two different councils is anything to go by, and it's to their detriment. I was trying to hire a hall and despite numerous phone calls, it rang out each time. They lost my business as a result.

That was annoying enough and was just for a frivolous matter. I can't imagine how stressful it must be for anything serious.

The paid employment I had wouldn't have been able to be done effectively from home
I worked in a busy open plan office, saw clients and did outreach work
I loved it. I left pre lockdown. I'm now self employed (not full time) now and do some work remotely and some face to face in my own office. I can't imagine enjoying remote work for an employer 5 days a week and not having an office to go to and people to interact with. It would drive me mad in a week. I suppose we're all different. I do think customer service is poorer since so many people WFH though.

I certainly get more work done from home!

You realise that thriving high street exists because low paid works cannot work from home as they have to physically be in the shop to serve you?

And that if teachers switched jobs, your kids wouldn't be able to go to school?

Enjoy working from home. But accept its a lucky perk, and not that simple for everyone.

(Self employed, work from, appreciate the flexibility!)

I save my work that needs focus and concentration for my WFH days. In honesty, my office days are spent mostly chatting and going out for coffee with colleagues I no longer see regularly.

I'm a MN anomaly who actually likes, speaks with and socialises outside of work with my colleagues. I wfh maybe once a fortnight and it's useful if I need to go out/have an appointment to work around.
I'd probably like to do 1 day a week at home but we are a very small team and it works better if everyone is in the workplace (it's not office work)
But wouldn't like ft wfh

I think it’s great that WFH is more of an option these days. It obviously suits lots of people.

But personally, I hated it after the initial lockdown novelty wore off and I really appreciate going out to work every day more than ever.

Love getting ready in the morning and wearing nice clothes.
Like my commute routine - coffee, good book or podcast.
Love being in central London every day, the buzz and the stimulation.
Really need the human contact, the face to face meetings, the social aspect. Zoom meetings are like torture for me!

I manage a laboratory, I have no choice but to work there five days a week, neither do the lab techs. I’ve never worked so much as one day from home.

Is it none? I'd imagine a fair few go unanswered because of desperate understaffing though.

Right! And you will be happy when your child’s teacher decides to work from home? Your doctor/ surgeon/ dentist…