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.

So, because you can't do it, no one else should either? I'd love a 6-figure salary, a Porsche and a holiday home in Italy, I can't have any of those (outside of a lottery win) yet I don't begrudge the people who do have them. Nor do I moan about how unfair it all is!

I think everyone understands why you'd be envious.

There's not a day goes by that I'm not grateful and that my life isn't infinitely better WFH.

I think the point of this and all the other threads isn't that WFH don't understand the benefits or why people would be envious, but that the envious people want everyone else to be in the office being as unhappy as they are.

At least you're being honest about it.

Most people are just being bitchy and envious without admitting it.

The exchange I had a few posts back was valid and informative but most people are like you, just pissed off and envious that they can't have it.

@SatanicAngel but others having those things don’t impact you. But a world without or with significantly less people who have to work outside the home WOULD. So it’s fine for people to be envious, but when they leave in droves, as they are currently (teaching, nursing, dentistry, social care, childcare in particular) and you’re just left with the people who can’t get anything else, that’s when we’re in trouble.
So what’s the solution?
A two tier system where those who work outside the house earn more? Would that suit the WFHers or would they moan?
Because otherwise why is anyone going to be a nursery worker or a healthcare assistant? If you have the skills to do either of those roles I expect you could also sell insurance from home or answer queries about universal credit or pet insurance?

or answer queries about universal credit

@Gandalfatemyhamster that is literally my job! I earn MW, and WFH. Why shouldn't I get the opportunity to WFH just because I'm a low-wage earner? Maybe tackle the actual problem, which is that jobs like nursery worker or healthcare assistant are chronically underpaid and have shitty conditions! Perhaps if people were paid more for doing the hard jobs less people would want to WFH.

@SatanicAngelI’m not saying you shouldn’t, I’m saying perhaps the nursery workers also on MW who have to commute and pay childcare should be paid extra to compensate. Would you support that? Or would you feel resentful?

Lots of jobs increase wages or benefits to attract people, I don’t feel jealous when some random other job gets an increase and honestly won’t care or be jealous/resentful if it happens to in person jobs like nursery workers, I hope they go get there bag if it happens.

I would absolutely support that!

I have no issue with how anyone works, as long as you enjoy what you do - between all the boring stuff. Within the next 30 years our professional roles will be unrecognisable. I know a lot of people think that ‘their’ job is immune to AI but unless you’re a Prompt Engineer or you fill some other tech role then you will be replaced. And you won’t even see it happening first your pay won’t change, or it might increase but not to the level it should, then the working week will go from 5 to 4 days, then you’ll watch your children unable to get a job, then you’ll be laid off, and then you’ll find it hard to get a new job.

In the meantime, and before all that happens I do agree that people working from home impacts other services. The lockdowns give clear insight and data into this; let’s not forget the passport fiasco, and the driving tests! An industry which is still smarting from the effects of lockdowns and forced confinement. Healthcare, I know of three surgeons (one a very good friend), who left their jobs after covid and retrained - what do they do know…hybrid jobs. Why would you want to be a teacher working in leaky classroom when you can have a nice comfy work from gig.

Socially we becoming digital hermits, and the impact is going to be huge particularly on young people who are entering the job market, previously offices were buzzing with energy, giving one exposure to a landscape of different people so one could develop communication skills, confidence, networking skills etc… Now offices are like graveyards.

One industry which will thrive as a direct result of the above is mental illness, but why pay for a therapist when you can just speak with chatGPT, and honestly it’s pretty good.

Totally understand why they'd like it. Because I love it and I feel lucky I can do it.

Don't understand the people who are mad that others have it and spend time ranting about how all WFHers are lazy or shouldn't have the benefits of it because some careers can't be done from home. I'm not angry that barristers get paid much more money than me, because I didn't train to be a barrister. I did, however, train to do my role and specifically worked towards a role that could be done from home and with flexible hours, because that's what I wanted out of my career and for my family.

If you'd like something like WFH more than your chosen career, do something about it. Much like if you want a car with Bluetooth and sat nav but yours doesn't have it, do something about it. Retrain, save, whatever. Just do what you need to, to make your life what you want rather than being angry that someone else has it.

If you're doing a job that can be done from home but the company won't allow it, look for another company. If you're in a profession that requires you to be on site and you don't want to commute anymore, you weigh up whether you want to change profession to WFH more than you want to stay in that profession.

I'm using "you" as a general term, not directly at you.

That is why I also have my own business. So even if my role ceases to exist, I have a backup plan.

My job couldn't be done by AI anyway.

Work offices are not a graveyard in my company as there are many roles that cannot be done from home so there is always a buzz there and support for younger people.

You start getting in a tricky situation then - WFH for me is an adjustment for disability so should my colleagues who go into the office get more money?

my WFH is very different to other people, I’m paid to sit at my desk and answer the phone. If I’m not on a call I can MN/read a book/stroke the cat/anything that doesn’t involve moving but I can’t leave my desk
if the doorbell goes I ignore it, no DC but wouldn’t be allowed to do the school run or take time to get laundry out etc

I agree that nurses aren't paid enough for what they do, but the average nurse earns more than the average woman. I also thought career opportunities were there, but I'll take your word for it if they're not. However, I do believe there are pay increments for experience, which is not the case for many shift-based jobs.

When I said 'unsociable hours' I meant, in my opinion.