Anyone else fed up with WFH/Hybrid

[HelenIU]

I’m looking to turn this into a WFH’rs are lucky/lazy/work shy sort of thread.

But genuinely interested if anyone who is WFH/Hybrid feels similar and has any words of wisdom:

-WFH in Covid which turned into Hybrid post lockdown ending (2x a week in office, 3 days at home)

I feel utterly fed up at home, miss the interaction and just genuinely long for how things were before Covid - in the office each day part of a big and supportive team. Even when I’m in the office it’s not the same with desk booking and not everyone in.

I finished work yesterday and just felt unfulfilled.

Has anyone been in this situation and seeked a full time non WFH job? Did it work out or did you regret it?

PMSL at the number of "I LOVE wfh" posts on this thread .

How irrelevant and unhelpful to the OP.

Have you told your colleagues how you feel, OP? It would be awful if a few of you are feeling like this but assuming everyone else is happy with the situation! You might find that there are others who would be happy to join you in the office more often.

Personally I absolutely love wfh and the hybrid set up, but I'm an introvert so even lockdown suited me. I appreciate that many people miss office interactions.

The question asked in the title elicits a yes / no answer. So people whose response is 'no' are also answering!

I could have written this.
I love my team., I really do, but its ridiculous when you realise its difficult to get stuff done in the office. I try to get as much work done as possible in my 3 days WFH.
My two days a week in the office are constant interruptions, some unnecessary meetings, and people floating around.
If, for example, I need to prepare a presentation, I need to be 100 per cent working without interruptions. Its just impossible in the office.
I think it's the very young that love the 5 days a week in the office.
I certainly don't miss that.

I miss the people and the office in many ways. But I couldn’t do the hours I do and this earn the money I earn if I had to factor in a commute.

It is the biggest and best structural change to work for employees in 100 years. There is a reason senior management have generally worked hybrid in the past! When you look for a job you now have the choice.

At my work we can now have 1 day wfh and the rest office or on site as we cover regions and can spend time in offices in the regions we cover. We can’t wfh on Mondays or Fridays. I don’t mind having a mixture but I hate when I’m in the office and we have teams meetings together and we are literally all sitting next to each other at our desks or some days I can be in and no one in my team is in so the argument for being in the office for better collaboration just doesn’t work. I’m much more productive on my non office days. Some days I have lots of reports and admin to do so go in the office and book a room to work in on my own all day as it’s easier with no distractions but can’t just decide to work at home that day and get it done.

I think having true choice and flexibly depending on workload etc and being able to decide what works best as individuals as some prefer being in more, others less so rather than hard and fast rigid rules works much better however I understand in a big business it’s not always as easy as that.

I forgot to add, I'm an extrovert but wouldn't go back to working 5 days in the office.
So hybrid is not just for introverts but for us extroverts. I actually like to get work done while working.
And when you WFH you finish earlier and there is more time to meet the people you want to meet, do sports, bring the kids to sports. And actually I feel less tired during the week to concentrate. With 5 days a week I'm the office, I remember being shattered once I sat down at my desk.

Luckily my job continued on site throughout the pandemic as I dislike WFH. My employer kindly gives me the option to WFH when appropriate but I only do it when actually helpful.
On the other hand my DH loves WFH and it works really well for him. He now has to go in x2 per week, which I think is useful socially, but he’d happily do without.

Hard disagree. I'm 100% remote working. I will never go back to an office-only job, I might consider hybrid.

If I was commuting to an office everyday I wouldn't see my DC in the week at all.

So you don't only want yourself to lose wfh, you want others to as well.

The world is always changing, people mourn the death of the highstreet - things change.

Some of us are happier working at home., don't force an outdated idea on everyone else

I only work from the office, I never WFH and hate the thought of it. Being alone all day with noone to talk to would drive potty.

It's obvious the reason why some people want to be in the office is the exact reason why others want to WFH!

Working from home without interruption, without wasting time and being constantly interrupted means being more efficient and having more time for family and social life.

Relying on the office to have a social life is not great for anyone. It's so disruptive for everyone else. I understand if someone from my team prefers to office because they have young children at home and they need space and silence to work efficiently, I would be wary of someone who is bored at home- and clearly not having enough work to do to keep them occupied.

That said, why isn't hybrid a good compromise? A weekly face-to-face catch up might be helpful.

You can either chat and waste time with colleagues you haven't chosen and then have not time out of the office,

or meet friends and chat with people you like in the time you saved working from home.

I know which one I prefer.

I think younger people may end up with even less ability to talk to and interact with people in real life.

Im The absolute opposite. I’ve been exclusively wfh for about 20
years now, long before Covid. I don’t understand how anyone gets anything done with the stress of being in an office setting.

Absolutely everyone I know loves the hybrid because they get a bit of personal life too.

But wfh many people waste the same amount of time browing MN, instead of interacting with people in real life.

And end up not even wanting to open their door when the doorbell rings, because there is a real person behind the door. I’m not from the UK but reading here I’ve never come across so many people with MH problems not being able to work or interact with real people. Or even use their words in the smallest conflict. It’s shocking. And not good for the society.

I’m currently hybrid but my company is shutting the office, so will be fully wfh. I only go in a couple of times a month and generally when there are only a few people in the office. I love wfh but feel strange that my option to go in, will be removed. Would prefer wfh to fully office based though as I work in a really bad area for traffic

Sounds like you don't have enough going on in your life, not enough at home or local friends, and are using your job for the social.

I personally love WFH and never want to go back into the office.
Both me and my husband are introverted and we both work from home, so we don't feel at all lonely and it helps a lot with getting my toddler ready and getting her to and from nursery every day.

Due to my job, there wasn't really any collaboration to speak of anyway, so I was pretty much alone in the office as everyone is too busy with their own work to talk. Plus I don't miss the hour long commute and the terrible traffic every day and the fuel costs.

No it doesn't. The OP is looking for input from people who are fed up with wfh like she is. The word "else" is your clue.

For the record, I think disability and wfh is a separate issue, where wfh enables someone to work who can and wants to then of course it would be counter productive and probably discriminatory to not allow it. So I think that’s entirely different and separate.

Yes, you can build relationships remotely - I work globally so many are remote, but it is quicker and easier f2f.

As for social. Admittedly, I work in a VERY social space both internally and with clients so that may be different for others - we work quite long hours so there is a lot of eating together, socialising, many are also far away from home (again global). I also have lots of local friends, but the one thing working from the office also allowed me to do was meet with friends from all over the city (I am London based so that will also make a difference) - e.g. to meet a friend who lives in Greenwich when I live in N London requires much of a weekend day, when we are both at work much more centrally meeting for dinner, drink, coffee becomes much easier too so it facilitates my broader life too.

I do appreciate that is a broad set of unique circumstances.

Yeah, I’m not a natural WFHer and enjoy the buzz of an office. I go in 4 days a week, on average, which is 1 more day than is mandatory.

No. I love the 3/2 hybrid I do. For a few reasons I’ve had to do 4/1 last few weeks and I was craving my day at home.

I couldn’t stand being back in office full time. My company did put feelers out and nearly 90% of the staff applied for flexi working so they pulled it back to 3/2 as standard.

Im in HR and it’s the question that comes up in every single interview. Full time office working is a deal breaker for most candidates now.