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.

Except they aren’t. Not everybody who criticises is jealous. Some have perfectly valid points. Personally I don’t give a shit but I’m getting fed up with people who make the slightest criticism of something being accused of jealousy. It’s a weak response.You should be able to defend your position without lazy insults.

Nothing wrong with WFH. All I need to do my job is my laptop. I have a monitor at home so that's that.

I’m not jealous of anyone who WFH, if I wanted to do the same I’d apply for a job which enables me to do so. I personally couldn’t think of anything worse because I’d miss the interaction with my colleagues. Also my ADHD would be saying go put the washing on/peg out/hoover and I know I wouldn’t be productive. That’s just me personally though and good luck to people who it works for, as long as you are happy in your job I wouldn’t worry what randoms on the internet think.

I'm not sure there is as much jealousy as you think there is. I work in a role that can't be done from home, other than odd days. While I can absolutely see how WFH works for a lot of people, I would absolutely hate it. There must be a lot of people who feel like I do. There are a lot of positives in actually working with people and work being separate from home life.

If you’ve won awards for performance, while simultaneously doing chores, school pick ups, shopping, errands and napping, then you must have a very easy job!! Which makes me think it probably could be done by a robot, or maybe tacked onto someone else’s role. It doesn’t sound like a proper job to be honest, if you’re able to dip in as and when it suits you, and still be considered the best of the bunch, worthy of an award!

I’m not jealous, I’m a doctor so I could never do my job from home anyway, but I do think some people who WFH are slackers. My partner does hybrid working and admits he likes his WFH days, when he can laze around. He watched all the matches in the Euros!

I much prefer my in-office job to WFH. I get up, have a nice walk at the start of the day, spend time in a nice building with interesting people with a comfy chair, good desk and on-hand IT support without seeing piles of undone housework all around me, have a variety of people to chat with when I take a break and lovely places to walk or eat lunch during my lunch break. I can stop off at the gym after work, do some exercise, have a sauna, pick up any little bits of shopping I need on the way home, and then switch off properly when I get home, with no work stuff around me.

On the occasions when I've had to work from home, I've been lonely, bored, not had a proper workspace and felt obligated to do more around the house.

Even if I do occasional chores when working from home, I get as much if not more done than I do in the office.

People in the office don't actually sit down at their desk and work non stop until they go home.

There tends to be a lot of chat, cups of tea, being derailed by something else/ someone needing something, etc.

There is always going to be a portion of the day which isn't solid work, wherever you are. It's fine to put a load of washing on if you're at home.

I really hope WFH continues. For many jobs it makes way more sense than going into the office. Those jealous about it are being ridiculous / bitter. My partner WFH and he often barely gets a break and works earlier / later than he would in an office. But because he doesn’t have to commute it is ok. So really the company is getting more work out of him. On days when he is needed for school drop offs / pick ups / recitals / clubs etc etc he can usually work things about to help. It’s win win and way more efficient both work wise and family wise.

He goes into the office twice a week. Then comes home moaning about the long winded meetings and pointless conversations that have taken hours out of his work day lol. When he is at home he is focus as it’s just him in the house.

In some jobs, you're paid for your specific expertise not the number of hours you work so there's lots of flexibility during the day.

That’s a pretty huge assumption and massive over reaction. Actually, you could argue this is just nature evolution of the workplace given the technology is advanced enough to allow it. Also, young people hungry for work and experience will gladly take up any gaps in the market that supposedly wfh hungry people are leaving in their droves. I worked most my life in front facing jobs dealing with the public and it was extremely challenging but I enjoyed it and stuck it out as I could also see the benefits of the experience I was gaining. Now in my 50s I’ve become promoted to a project management role where I can wfh 3d per week and it’s fantastic as I’m older. So I and no doubt many others like me have done our time in the office and worked our ass off to get a better paid job with better working conditions. Also, I think you’re getting confused as most jobs are hybrid in the UK not wholly wfh.

I ve also won awards, and also up skill on tech/AI enhancements by listening to podcasts during work time. I also nap, dog walk, chat to friends. Work is about the end product, there are many people who turn everything into a pilgrimage and try and make it about a performative journey. People who like to turn everything into a team project, so that they can hide in groups.

There are no medals for martyrs, if you make money for and protect your employer, you get paid and get bonuses.

Right, I need a nap.

I’m in the office but 90% of our workforce are electricians.
I book in their jobs and everything that goes with that. I do CAD drawings which would be the 1% I couldn’t do at home.
I could do probably 99% of my job WFH but the owners can’t micromanage us from home so they won’t let us.

If I was paying an “expert” to shop, run errands, do school runs, chores and sleep, I’d probably see if I could find a cheaper expert who didn’t do all those things!

@CreationNat1on if I knew an employee was spending half the time pissing around with their mates, I’d pay them less. It would essentially be a part time role.

If you want that expert to be on call, available at the drop of a hat, and to prioritise you as a client, above any other. You ll pay them for their availability.

I think there is some resentment in my sector, civil service, as even just the costs of going to the office are unfair on those who cannot do their roles from home. It costs around 40 pounds a week to park here. It should be reflected in salaries I think.

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.

Our work force is international and most of us work remotely (there is an actual office in Hong Kong). When we advertise new positions, anyone from any country can apply. The best person gets the job. So "given to someone in another country" isn't a threat.

Exactly! This is what people who just let their jealousy override their brain don’t acknowledge. Before COVID changed how we worked, I’d actually asked permission to move to a different office floor as my bank of desks had lovely people but they gossiped non stop and expected to you to make small talk in between calls with them and honestly made it difficult to focus when you hear people chattering around you all day. Also, just going for a loo break or ti go grab a coffe takes like x3 times longer than if you were at home. Hybrid working is bliss because I do care about doing the best job possible and better still I can take deliveries and make healthier cheaper lunches for myself whilst reducing environmental pollution. What’s not to love!

@CreationNat1on being on call is different. If you’re on call, by definition you’re just “available” for work, if needed. Not actually working. You can get lucky and have no work to do at all during an on call spell, but your life is still on hold, waiting for that call.

But during contracted work hours, people should actually work. I’m a GP, I’m very experienced, I have hundreds of thank you cards, and multiple post graduate qualifications. I’m good at my job. It doesn’t mean I can pop to Tesco in the middle of my surgery.

I think it's overly simplistic and a little childish to assume that anyone who points out issues with WFH must be "jealous". I agree with a pp that some of the reasons I've heard for people refusing to return to their contracted place of work are ridiculous. One I heard recently was "I get a lot of parcels delivered and my neighbours won't take them in so I need to be at home".

I've worked from home and didn't enjoy it. I choose to work in a role that involves a lot of face to face interaction with people. I'm certainly not jealous, but I am frustrated that some organisations and individuals I have to liaise with have become noticeably less efficient, slower to respond and much more prone to miscommunication and error since their staff have been working remotely.

I know everyone who WFH on MN is adamant that they're twice as productive at home but I know people IRL who openly admit to taking the piss. I suspect that people like this are not as rare as many on MN like to insist they are, and are probably the reason some employers are pushing a return to the office, which is a shame for those who genuinely do work hard from home.

Surely the solution to this isn’t to make all jobs more miserable so that people aren’t tempted away from the NHS? The solution is to pay people more for jobs which can’t be done flexibly, in recompense for the inconvenience.

I know that paying people what they’re worth and what the market demands is a radical concept these days but it’s the only solution that’s actually going to work and make people happier.

Do any of you WFH exponents have to call customer services for any companies ever? Do you not get frustrated when the agent you speak to is clearly looking after young kids? And unable to answer your questions because they don’t know the answer (probably due to inadequate remote training) and they can’t ask their manager, because they’re working 200 miles away? It pisses me right off.

Yes this! sick of threads where ppl moan that the employer wants them back in the office, well if you started out as in the office working of course eventually the employer may want you back in, that's how it used to work!

I went from an office in the office job and then WFH during covid and then Hybrid, 1/2 days in the office and rest from home. I loved the day when I had to go in. I have now changed jobs and the job advert stated in the office only and the manager really stressed that in the interview as she was so worried about ppl not getting the fact that some jobs even though on paper they can be done from home is better in the office.

I am not jealous of WFH employers at all and my previous employer did it very very well and got people back without forcing them. I am worried about younger/newer work people who have never really experienced only in office working and their social skills within a work context. Yes I am actually

So you’d be happy to be repeatedly told you were a skiver?

I don’t think correcting a misconception means you have a chip on your shoulder.

This is positive and I hope as you say this does happen.

WFH has MANY benefits (not just to the employee) but to their families / society as a whole and the economy.

Many parents who WFH would not be able to work / contribute to the economy if they had to work in an office.
Equally, at the other end of the spectrum, many have caring roles for parents too.

I am one of those - mum was hospitalized earlier in the year - dad has dementia. If I did not have the ability to WFH , he would have had to go into respite / short term care.

My job can be totally done remotely - I do go into an office 2 days a week to take phone calls (not related to my job)

I get my work done but in hours I choose (so long as I get a sufficient amount done ) I have never been questioned (well not to my face. Colleagues have made sniffy comments about not being able to WFH, but they could choose a role that enables it. Plus, they make sniffy coments about any/every thing !)

For work life balance this is ideal - I can get GP appointments easily etc if needed for myself / others.