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.

I could WFH if I wanted to. But I feel quite passionately that our work is much better in person, and that our juniors can apprentice much more effectively. Certainly with clients it’s worlds more impactful in person.

i chose to live close enough to the office to avoid overlong commute every day - tiny and crap place but worth it in my view as this way I maintain some semblance of balance, and am better at my job, which I enjoy.
0 sympathy with those who loved far away from work place during Covid expecting to be allowed to WFH 5 days a week indefinitely.
but I appreciate I am lucky that I enjoy my job and therefore have a different relationship with employment than those who don’t at all.

It’s a godsend for our children too.

When they are older they will benefit from wfh themselves. Nobody wants their dc to have to commute 3 hour round trips, 5 days a week.

This is me. I am always mentoring, coaching, helping people who are struggling. So does everyone in my team. If we were remote, it just wouldn't be as good.

There are jobs it's great for. But complex, multi-disciplinary, teamwork jobs, it's crap.

I love my job! But I won't ever ever go back to office working and if they tried to enforce it (I doubt they will after 4 years but you never know) I'd hit the bricks.

I think people who love the office forget it's not best for everyone because some people hate it. You'd connect far better with me as a client or junior digitally.

As someone in the public sector I can honestly say my wfh days allow me to get an extra 50% completed as I literally have zero distraction.

As a hybrid model It improves wellbeing, reduces costs for both employer and employee but does had draw backs, not everyone works as hard as others and some need constant supervision and there can be a lack of team building etc.

Anyone can change careers, I understand and believe the op is meaning this, it is within your control.

However not everyone is able to make this change due to responsibilities and role, which is I believe what is irritating the posters

Yup. I hear you

I go in once a week and that's enough

Listening to people drone on and on about their boring lives, god help me. I just walk away

As someone in the public sector I can honestly say my wfh days allow me to get an extra 50% completed as I literally have zero distraction

^

This.

Plus work life balance, better for women, better for children, etc

@OptimismvsRealism are you rich enough to not need to work?
Blithely suggesting we all just find other jobs, or that you'd leave if someone had the cheek to ask you to work somewhere outside of your own house, seems to indicate someone who isn't worried about paying the bills!
I would love to wfh but am stuck in the type of job where it's not an option. Finding another job would mean re training, or a significant drop in wages. Neither of which I can afford.

I'm happy it's working out for you, but can you really not see that not everyone has the option?

I think a lot of people believe it's not "real work" if you're not suffering

^

Agreed.

Also, my job doesn't involve a lengthy commute, or an office environment.
No time wasted travelling , no water cooler chat. Just get in, and get on with it.
My health is in the toilet and I'd love to be doing lunchtime yoga and taking afternoon naps ffs. It's like an extra layer of privilege in society imo.

This is so true, it comes across in their replies!

Doh. Obviously.

I was specifically interested in the original poster who manages a lab and wondered what restrictions were in place for her particular workplace, if any.

In my workplace WFH was enforced and my workload increased enormously as a direct result of covid.

My family all do hybrid office based jobs and wfh a few days a week in our household. It’s the same as a house share in that sense, we all have a room to do it in.

The ppl saying that they don’t get the chance to wfh, ok fine, some jobs can’t. Do you want your dc to have the option one day? Yes, it’s a great option for many.

I have 2 sons and a daughter. All at home still and working and saving. My relief that they did not have to commute as much, for me has been immense. Accidents on the road, incidents on the underground My daughter using public transport and tube less is better and less tiring - constantly propositioned by creeps and crazies. Her going in to the office only twice a week, cuts her risks…

And people wonder why some folk prefer to WFH away from the random bitchy judgement of strangers...

My job wouldn't be accessible to me if it wasn't a hybrid role. Both for distance and accessibility reasons.

People don't want to take responsibility for their choices anymore.

Still WFH but have to come in 1 day a week for the ‘culture’ - costs £200 month extra in childcare, 3 hours of travel for the return trip and I get nothing done in the open plan office. I get home about 8pm and I’m exhausted. I couldn’t do 5 days a week of this.

Yet you're the one telling us all what "we" should be doing and thinking and starting goadyfucker threads about how amazing "our" WFH lives are.

There's quite a lot of random judgement of people in the office environment on this thread.

I actually think the prevalence of WFH has increased people's social anxiety and difficulties in connecting and communicating with others although I do acknowledge the benefits of flexibility, reducing commuting and making useful accommodation for disability.

Being happy with my life and to live in an age of more choice than we've ever had before is not goady.

True. You are factually right, of course.
But what is technically possible (sure, I could retrain as a call handler or an administrator of some description in order to WFH) is not necessarily feasible. Retraining in a new professional capacity takes years and comes at great cost. There are few WFH roles to which I could easily transfer my skills set which would be similarly remunerated.
WFH seems a real, brilliant all-round win for the employee. Blithely telling less fortunate workers to just 'retrain' feels disingenuous.

I imagine they did what I did (NHS) still went to work, not everyone got months off during lockdown.

Also train delays, strikes, temporary traffic lights. Misery of the commute. Oh we all had to do it so why can’t we all keep crap lifestyles? Like the four Yorkshiremen sketch.

@OliveK
Just realised I have written almost word for word what you wrote uptrend as hadn't RTFT -sorry to apparently plagiarise the hell out of your earlier post 😉

I was having the same conversation with one of my friends the other day. Pre covid I was up at 6am, get myself up and ready, wake 1.5 year old DS up at 6:45am to get up and ready for nursery, dropped at the door bang on 7:30 when it opened, to then literally run to the train to get to work for 8:15. Cut down my lunch hour so I could leave in time to pick up DS from nursery. Every. Single. Day. Seems like a lifetime ago.

WFH deffo suits my life in general now. Lot more relaxed and I'm so much more productive as I'm not totally burnt out my trying to juggle work / home. My work as really quite relaxed when it comes to school runs etc, and very much o don't care when work gets done as long as it does (baring deadlines obvs) so I'm lucky in that respect. But, the flip side of that is I do miss having that office environment, the chat and the laughs, after work drinks etc. I'd prefer a hybrid role but it to be on my terms when I go in 😂 but all in all I can't complain too much when I look back to the chaos of being in office 5 days a week.

I agree that wfh is a great choice for those that want it and have that kind of option. I am immensely grateful for it, particularly for my daughter.

I do not think you are goady, but some ppl on the thread might think you are saying that it is easy or possible for everyone to just opt out of a career or job. It isn’t. Plus they might like , need or want that job.