Going into the office 5 days a week!

[Honeybunnny]

Hi

Im REALLY struggling with a good job offer which would probably kick start my career as it requires me to be fully office based. The office is a 2 minute drive so will have practically 0 commute but I have worked hybrid for a few years and I just love it. It changed my life so much and I am so much more relaxed at home, and more productive in general. It was a game changer for me.

The thought of returning to an office 5 days a week makes me feel queasy and I just can't shake it off.

It would be a shame to turn down the role purely because I can't bear to be in an office, they do not offer hybrid at all.

Any thoughts or has anyone gone from remote to office work?

Thank you

It won’t benefit your career if it doesn’t work for your life outside of work.

My commute is 1 hrs 20 minutes driving and train. It's expensive too. I only have to do it 1 day a week but if it wasn't for childcare and dog care I would choose to go in 5 days a week. I much prefer getting out of the house and having work separate.

Those of you judging OP for saying that she would drive 2 minutes, instead of mentioning walking as an alternative, please consider that there might be reasons why one decides to do that. It might not be the case but OP might be able to drive just fine and sit at a desk but perhaps might not be able to walk for 15 min. Or the drive is into and through an industrial park that is really not that suitable to walk around. Or the road cuts through muddy fields and streams in an area without pavements. Or she needs to carry a lot of tools/big laptop and files/folders/whatever and it would be too heavy each way for her back. Who knows! It might not be the case and it's just a frivolous reason, like she wears very high heels and can't do all that walk rushing to get to work... Or she might rather drive and stay warm and dry now we are going into winter. But she might also have very good reasons because of health issues or safety concerns. So many people rising an eyebrow...

OP, take the job. Get the experience. Go back home for lunch. See how you feel in a few months. You can search for another job whenever you feel it's not what you want. The lack of commute would be a winner for me, though, as it's a saving and you can probably arrange GP and dentist appointments around your lunch hour without much issue.

I always find it strange when someone starts a thread looking for personal advice, and then doesn't bother to engage with the replies.

Absolutely nothing, bar having to for money and even then i would have to reduce my hours. I'm disabled and extremely uncomfortable in the office. I do 2 days and have no need, currently to do more.

I would suggest that frustration is a more appropriate term.
Recognition that for the overwhelming majority of people WFH, they are fitting it around housework, life admin, shopping, child care, hospital appointments, hairdresser appointments etc.
I have neighbours who have cancelled child care because they wfh and frequently meet people wfh at the hairdresser.
So let's not pretend that it isn't a green flag for those who misuse the system.
As for those who say they can get their work done in a shorter time, what about contracted hours?
In my workplace, services are required 24 /7 365 days per year.
I have multiple examples of people who I know who are jaw droppingly abusing wfh to the point where it has become a the norm with an overwhelming sense of entitlement

It would massively inconvenience me. It could be next door and I'd still choose to wfh.

Depends on the area. My commute to work is a 3 minute drive but it's between 2 villages and you wouldn't walk via the road unless you had a death wish so it's an hour long walk. Not undoable by any means but not something I'm prepared to do every morning and lose an hour in bed. Not everyone lives in built up 30mph areas full of traffic lights.

I'd do it for sure. I don't see the difference between a 2 minute communte and being at home. In fact it would surely be better because your home would become your home again and not your place of work. I can't imagine coping with the two being the same but I've never had to do it, not even during Covid. I did used to live a 2 minute walk from work and loved going home for lunch but we aren't allowed to leave the site during the day now. But, if you're allowed to do that, you easily could and you'd have the best of both worlds.

Thank you

I have never been able to work from home due to the nature of my job and I am admittedly very intolerant of people who complain about having to come into the office. In my line of work, I have seen so many people say they are working from home, then posting pictures of themselves on a day out. Throughout Covid, myself and others had to listen to people saying 'oh I'm a lady of leisure now' or 'I can't do that my kids wouldn't like it' - it was too much. There are also a number of people who just spend time moving their mouse around so they look as though they are working - it's even got a new name in the dictionary.

Covid is gone - people should be back at the office. A day working from home is ok, but I do believe a lot of people are taking the piss now. Not saying you OP, just my views on it, but I am highly suspicious of this new trend of 'oh I work from home on a Monday and Friday'. How convenient!

Well as someone who has never been able to WFH and does a 60 mile round trip each day to get to work I’d do it, no brainer!

Is the money a lot better?

An awful lot of companies are 4 days in the office so if you were ever to change jobs you would probably be looking at at least that

If it's a career boost take it and tell yourself you'll do it for a fixed period of time.

You'd be a fool to turn it down with such a short commute

To me the main advantage of wfh is no commute. Unless you're skiving off while you're at home then what other advantages do you think it has?
I was VERY reluctant to return to the office after covid but now we're 80% in the office and I can see that there really are a lot benefits to being in the office together with your colleagues - it's something you may not even realise if you're home-based.
In your situation I think it's a no-brainer to go for the job if it will advance your career and the commute is practically non-existent.

I couldn't do it. I go into an office occasionally now and struggle with it - too much noise. I can do meetings etc but no work that requires proper focus. If it was 2 mins from my house and an amazing opportunity, that might work out though!

So you don't use cc on the days you wfh?

For me it would be a sign that the employer is rigid and inflexible and being a massive red flag. Requiring 5 days with no real business need beyond "because we say so" just seems backwards to me.

I’m currently working full time in an office and I’m desperately looking for hybrid work, the office politics alone are unbearable where I am. Not saying it might be different for you though.

Because…?

My workplace takes a very dim view of anyone not using child care when they're "working" from home.

A lot of people here assuming that anyone who WFH is a workshy chancer, which is incredibly incorrect.

Time spent working is not the measure of a productive member of staff, output is. If someone can get their work done in 4 hours and then put a wash on, I'd argue they're a more valuable and productive member of your team than someone who needs 8 hours of presenteeism in the office to produce the same work.

The 8 hour workday was invited by a man several hundred years ago, based on societal norms, the hormones and body clock of men, and the types of jobs available then. We have come on a long way and yet we still hold this up as the gld standard of productivity- why?

I also don't think you have to be sat at your computer for 8 straight hours to be providing value to your bosses, unless that is what your role specifically requires. I am self employed, I work 5 hours a day 4 days a week and produce more work and earn more money than I ever did in a full time employed position.

Yes you're going to get people who take the piss, as you do in any job, with any working location requirement. That's a hiring and a management problem, not a remote working one.

Wearing high heels is a choice, not a necessity. So not a good enough reason to avoid walking.

Except these days employers need to offer more than just salary to recruit and retain the best people. Culture and flexibility are a large part of people deciding whether to take a job, not just how much they'll get paid 🙄

If someone can get their work done in 4 hours and then put a wash on, I'd argue they're a more valuable and productive member of your team than someone who needs 8 hours of presenteeism in the office to produce the same work.

What exactly are these jobs where there are specific and finite amounts of work to be completed each day and nothing more to be done that day once that number is reached?

I've never been in any office where I've been allocated say 10 files per day and my work is "done" that day.

It's an employer's market these days. Most employees are easily replaceable. Including 'the best'.