to be tired of the jealousy towards people who WFH?

[WFHFan]

No one can post a thread about it without someone chiming in threatening if their job can done from home then it could be given to someone in another country or AI could take it.

Other people saying companies want everyone back in the office. Yes some do. Mine doesn't. They do not have the space anymore. Neither will my job go to someone in another country because of expertise and it does involve some critical face to face work. AI can't do it either.

Then some people getting offended saying if someone is WFH they shouldn't do anything else but work non stop. I can work and I do chores, shopping, school pick up, errands. It does not affect the standard or quantity of my work. I don't doubt it does affect some people's work.

I have won two awards for performance already.

These jealous people are gonna be seething as time goes on. Work from home is going to become way more prevalent if the government wants to get their way with forcing disabled people back into work - there's gonna be laws forcing employers to allow work from home employees if the job can be done that way. Mark my words there, it's the only way the government is going to come close to getting what they want.

Employers are not going to be able to disallow working from home without proving the job cannot possibly be done from home. I can't wait to see the fallout.

I work from home but don't get time to do chores etc though. I am at my desk constantly besides lunch and breaks. I have a job where I do have to be constantly present though, taking calls from clients on demand.

Still, no expectation of "busy work" . For instance now, all my work is done and no one is calling. I can sit here and read/browse online until someone calls, without having to pretend to be busy like I would in an office (which is a total waste of energy).

Totally agree. And a lot of the negative people don't realise that most of us do HYBRID, so we attend the office for a few days a week. Its not like you're completely "in the office" or "WFH".

I’ve only ever wfh, since getting my first job nearly 15 years ago. The sweeping statements post Covid times from people are getting boring. WFH jobs are as varied as office ones, some are flex, some aren’t (I’ve had jobs that happily allow people to do chores etc and others where every minute is recorded, call centre type work). Everyone’s going back into the office, lots of my jobs have had no office, they’re wfh only, so not sure how that would work.

I dunno. To me it feels more like a chip on the shoulder of wfh people because office people think they are lazy skivers.

These same people were happy during the lockdowns when they were furloughed and wfh peeps were having a massive juggle! Me and me Dh did a 18 hour day at work between us, home schooled two kids and cared for a toddler!

I don't understand why people would be jealous - if they want a WFH job, they could go and get one. I've worked from home for over twenty years and never experienced negative attitudes.

I find it odd that people think my WFH is similar to being a SAHM. I’ve had comments about cleaning and cooking, since I’m at home…

The one thing I will say is that those who do work from home, with all the perks in terms of saving on petrol, parking, train fares, childcare, lunches, coffee etc must expect things like shortages in NHS staff, local authority staff, long waits in restaurants and cafes, food shortages, delays to online shopping orders. Because those industries who can’t allow WFH for obvious reasons are shedding staff. We can’t recruit in our local authority, not to jobs which require an office presence or visits etc. It’s becoming impossible. Jobs like family support workers, lunchtime supervisiors, even OTs used to flexible enough to tempt people, but now even 9.30-3 jobs isn’t enough when they can work 9-5 at home and pick up children, do life admin, have work done in the house at the same time.
So it boils my piss when you see WFH people moan about their child’s EHCP application taking so long. Everything has a knock on effect and those sectors such as teaching, nursing,social care, social work, childcare are going to need to give their employees something back to prevent a further mass exodus.

Agree OP.
I work fully from home and recently won an award for my work output. I can do chores, school drop off, exercise etc during my work day, and it doesn’t affect my work output at all.
Appreciate I’m very lucky as my company is really on board with WFH and although some ppl are in office, most are still WFH including directors

You have to admit that some of the reasons people come up with for not being able to go into the office an are laughable.

Yep I think some of it is people who are retired etc and who have never wfh so are a bit bitter about it. I've done both in the past..wfh isn't all that either. You can be isolated and need to be motivated.

I WFH & can pick & choose & how I spend my time as long as I get my work completed every day. Sometimes I dont have a minute to myself & work far longer than office hours. At times I can be more relaxed. If I finish earlier than those in an office that's OK. It's all about efficiency & productivity in my working world.

Why can't an EHCP application be done remotely @Gandalfatemyhamster ? What is there about it that requires you to be behind a desk in an office, rather than behind a desk, at home?

@TheAmusedQuailyou have to see the child, and sometimes visit the school…. Hth

That's a funny way to look at it though really. I think there are many more issues affecting those jobs. I think we need greater flexibility in our work force especially as pp said, labour want more disabled people to work.

I don't think we should be angry with people who want to WFH at all. I think hybrid and WFH is an important mode of work that we shouldn't be trying to roll back on. It's not for everyone and it's not for all jobs. We need to have good transport and good wages and good working conditions all round to get people in jobs.

I would think the problem with a lot of hospitality and retail and public facing jobs is that the public are just so awful these days. We have a society problem. Angry and unpleasant people who don't know how to behave. Why would you want to put up with it for a low wage? We need better wages.

Really? I honestly wasn't aware of that. I don't know anyone who has had that. They've seen the ed psych or an OT instead. Couldn't that be hybrid though? Sometimes field work (in the schools etc), sometimes at home?

I did years of nightshifts/un social hours and missed important events due to rota inflexibility.

My current job is contracted, solely WFH. There is no office and my boss lives abroad. I don't find much hate IRL though. More just confusion of how my job could be done from home.

The point is that jobs in education, social work, healthcare etc cannot be fully WFH and often can't be hybrid. How are you going to attract people to these careers when they could get a WFH job that pays the same, cuts commuting and lunch costs, reduces/eliminates commuting time and they can stick a washing on? PP makes a really good point.

I work hybrid btw, so I'm not necessarily anti-WFH. But the swing towards it will have large implications. DH is a nurse and when he's getting up at 5.45am and not getting home till 8.30pm you have to wonder if it's worth it. I wouldn't encourage my child to go into healthcare, I'd encourage them to get a job that can be done remotely.

I also think people kid themselves on about how productive they are. My friend's employer wanted them back in the office 3 days a week recently and she was complaining about how she's more productive at home. 10 minutes later I asked about her pregnancy and she told me she's been so tired she's been napping during the working day...

At my workplace, someone refused to come back in at all (we're hybrid) after Covid as they'd sold their car.

Another because they'd acquired a dog.

🤔

I think some people kid themselves about how productive they are.

I have won two awards even with napping during the day at times.

I WFH air literally have no choice. The charity I work for can't afford to pay for office space and I'm carer to my disabled son so limited in what
I could do. I miss office life \ in person work and would love to be able to have that opportunity again but if I was forced back FT I would have to give up work it's not sustainable with what I need to do as a carer.

I volunteer when I can so he can actually speak to other adults

It's not jealousy. It is fact.

Okay, good for you?

I've been an advocate of WFH for over a decade so I think they're right to be jealous. It is a better way of working and my life is much more pleasant for it. In a way they're proving my point.

Also every industry and every role is different blah blah blah. Sorry if you're knackered because you're on your feet all day and your job can't be done from home. Mine can. I arranged my career specifically so that was the case.

Also I am the person in another country who took the job. WFH essentially opened my career up internationally.

Depends what you want to do.

And what the business who employs you is best for them.
People learn better on the job with others around them, at some point the middle aged workforce will need to be replaced with youngsters who will need training, and if a business understands this and want people in person then that will be your job.

Many people like working with actual people not a screen, and they will continue to keep their social skills and these will become invaluable.

Promotions might be heavily weighed on employees bosses actually see.

Some people don't have pleasant home lives and life to get out of the house.

Jealously about anything is detrimental to the person feeling it. There are many people who aren't jealous about being in the same four walls for work, homelife, family, all the time. Plus if you are WFH it will be expected that you do more of the unpaid domestic work.

The data that does come out of this social change will be interesting, there will be jobs that disappear, services that take far longer, and new jobs that benefit some.

As with everything there will be some winners, some losers, it won't all be beneficial for the WFHers or the office present or whatever, I am assuming office because it I assume it's the office jobs that are being done at home. This of course, indicates a lot of the country's money is tied up in services and they can be moved quite easily with minimal cost.

So it's not healthy to crow either way, we need a society where people who work, whatever they do, can afford to live outside working hours not just exist.