to think WFH can completely change one's work life balance?

[LoveWFH]

I worked in an office full time for years and it always felt like my actual life had to be squeezed around work. The commuting, the constant rushing, the feeling of always being behind. I started a new role and now I WFH three days a week and the difference in balance is huge.

The biggest thing is how much more life I have now. I spend so much more time with DC and I am not constantly exhausted and snappy or trying to cram everything into evenings and weekends. I feel more present and calmer and like I am actually on top of things rather than permanently catching up.

Even Christmas was different this year. It is usually really stressful for me but everything was so much easier in terms of food, shopping and presents. I was organised and I did not have that last minute panic. It felt calmer and actually enjoyable.

It has helped my health too. My fitness levels have improved because I can fit exercise in more easily and it does not feel like yet another thing I am failing at. I also eat better now because I have time to cook proper meals rather than grabbing whatever is quickest after getting home late.

I have introduced lots of systems at work to make things run more efficiently, I passed my probation period and I have been offered a permanent contract. So it is not like I am doing less, I am just doing it in a way that leaves me with energy for my family and myself.

I understand that not everyone WFH is having this experience and for some it is really manic, busy and pressured all the time before people start rushing in.

AIBU to think WFH is not just a perk but something that can genuinely change your quality of life?

Couldn't agree more. I WFH full time and could never go into an office again.

Absolutely. I work hybrid with a couple of days on the office. I would love to go fully remote as it’s pointless going into the office and I get far more done at home and minus the 2 hour commute, I get so much more done personally.

Agreed, even if it is only two or three days a week wfh.

Absolutely. Full time from home here too. The work life balance is amazing.

Definitely. I don't even have a big commute to the office but I reckon I gain around an hour a day by WFH. A big thing for me is being able to get a daylight run in during the winter. I have a run at lunchtime where I would have had to run in the dark or on a treadmill at the gym when I was in the office.

I mainly WFH and almost grieve for the past when my DC were so young and had two stressed out parents hurriedly ferrying them to childcare, breaking their necks to get back on time to collect them, and how stressful that all was for all involved.

DH and I used to have dinner at 9pm on a tray in front of the TV, go to bed at 10pm, up at 5:45 for it all to start again the next day.

I’m fitter, happier, have a great connection with my children and husband AND hold down a full-time, intense job.

I have worked from home 3-4 days a week for the past few years and it's honestly one of the best things that's ever happened to me! ☺️ Totally relate to being less stressed, less hassled, more time for exercise and health in general, fitting work in around life rather than the other way around. I'm really motivated and productive, and have a solid routine. I can't even imagine having to commute 5 days a week like I did for many years

Completely. I didn't start remote work until my son was 4 and it was a revelation. Made me realise how stressful the young child/commute/work combo was. I wish I'd had the option for hybrid during his earlier years. Its a wonderful way of working that offers a much healthier balance and takes off a lot of stress, especially when kids are young.

I personally do more hours on a work from home day compared to an office day because I make the most of no noise and distractions to get my work done and can just carry on into the evening without having to worry about driving home after my work is finished, but I currently do a job with intense deadlines so maybe that wouldn’t be the case in another job. So work get a lot more out of me at home rather than in the office at the moment.

However, there are small things that help me such as not having to spend as much time to get ready in the morning, not having to sort myself out getting changed or unpacking lunch bags etc. when I arrive home, the ability to make a fresh salad at lunchtime rather than have to make it the night before, being able to do small things like open post, put on a load of washing etc is also helpful and being in to receive parcels. Also I find I’m less tired having not driven anywhere. So overall even though I’m working more hours I think it’s far less stressful not commuting and getting ready in the morning.

Work have tried to get us back into the office more because a small number have taken the mickey with it so I don’t know how long I will be able to do hybrid.

I also think as a result of hybrid working, one of the downsides is service industries, health services and shops see less of demand for evening appointments and opening hours so will naturally provide the less of this for people that can’t access them in the day. That is a shame I think.

I get far more done at home as well, I’m also less likely to make mistakes due to less distraction. I think management don’t always appreciate that there are people who are the doers who need to get their heads down and get on with work.

I worked full time in an office for 35 years, and home life was slotted around work. It was always a rush.
Wfh meant I could drop ds at the school bus stop guilt free. Back home & start work at 8am, rather than get on a train for 45 mins.

I work from 8am - 1pm, then put supper in the slo-cooker, put a wash on, eat a sandwich. Restart work at 2pm, work until 4.15, then collect ds off the school bus. Then work from 4.45 until 6.

Less stress, no money wasted on commuting, employer got 9 hours per day, supper was ready at 6.30 meaning family time in the evenings, and I didn't spend my evenings/weekends washing. It was blissful.

When employer tried to force a return to full time office (I had a fully remote contract), I moved to a co, 10 mins away. I can still do the morning school run, very low commuting cost (I cycle in the summer), I work 8.30 - 5 and we are home by 5.45. I benefit from not having to heat my home during the day in winter.

So a pretty good alternative.

I work hybrid and it's absolutely great. I can be flexible about which days I go in if I need to be. It also helps with our difficult colleague. He's much better in small doses. 3 out of 6 in our actual office work hybrid. One particular colleague says it's improved her mental health and well being, not least because she's got a dog now.

100%. I worked out of the home for many years until about 2 and a half years ago when I changed company. I still go into the office roughly 2 days a week but I never get anywhere near as much done - colleagues distracting you (sometimes work related; most often not), hot desking so quite often being on a different floor to colleagues you do actually need to speak to, photocopier jamming, lots of "noise". I'm so grateful for my quiet home office where I have zero interruptions if I don't want them. I don't take the piss with home working and I get a lot done very efficiently and to a high standard.

I agree, I can’t wfh regularly and it’s one of the main reason I work p/t but I do get other perks. DH is hybrid and it makes juggling family life so much better.

I'm a hybrid work and due to the nature of my job I have to be on site a day or 2 a week.
Whilst I love WFH the only thing I miss is the reflection time I have on my commute. I've tried to start my WFH day the same...having half hour to sit and run through things but it isn't the same. Similarly driving home I find i reflect on my day and find it easier to switch off when I get through the door.
Maybe I need to use my office door as that physical boundary to do the same?
Any tips?

I only, currently, work one day from home but negotiating for more- I get more done in that time than I ever do in the office. It was even raised at my recent appraisal how much of a difference it has made.

Its fantastic but you need to make sure you WFH and it doesn't turn into living in the office.

We started business from our conservatory. Before long it took over the downstairs of our house. Fortunately we've now built a garden office.

Absolutely. Full time I was out the house 7-7 because the commute was a PITA. Now I switched to part time and I walk the kids to school, get back and have ten minutes to make myself some drinks and then sit at my desk. I then finish half an hour before pick up so I run the vacuum round or put some washing away and then walk back up to school. The kids only go into after school club if I've got medical appointments so DH can work to 5pm as normal (he's also WFH). Holiday care is easy too because we only need school hours so it doesn't need to be a provider that offers longer hours. We are rural so limited to what we can use for childcare provision anyway.

The only thing I'll do WFH that I didn't do in the office is if I've been off ill log in the day before I return and clear my emails (an hour max) and flag what needs my attention so I can hit the ground running.

It is the commute time that is a killer. Work in the office can be fine with a short commute. And there are benefits to seeing colleagues in person and the informal chat and mentoring that goes with it.

but childcare plus a long commute is a killer combination that ruins family life. Commuting time is dead time that doesn’t contribute to either work or family.

I think wfh 2 or 3 days and office 2 or 3 days is ideal to get the benefits of both.

Yanbu, I’ve wfh fully for ten years, I will never take an in person job. No commute, much more useful use of my lunch hours and dead periods and I’ve been able to have growth in my career still living in a rural area, I love wfh.

Agree and disagree. Personally my parents had successful careers including my mother who is a high earner. I’m in my 20s and it was always instilled in me to go to work & be successful. So to me, I think there’s something slightly aspirational about putting a suit on and working in the city (hybrid is my preference) and being able to build a network in person.

Yes, you can connect with people remotely but sometimes you don’t get the organic meetings/exchanges. I work fully remotely now, but in my career but I think the early career networking and socialising, work lunches and drinks etc definitely helped me be more visible and respected at work cause I didn’t just get to know my direct team. I met up with others including random senior leaders who became my mentors. I’m now a high paid individual.

so yeah, it just depends on the individual. I don’t like working remotely too much - if I have the option to, I would go into office occasionally. Mainly because I like having a gap between home life and work life and sometimes the boundaries blur

I think the hybrid option is most desirable I wouldn’t want to be totally wfh as I think it’s better for my mental health to see my colleagues and talk. No chance for me anyway as I’m an assistant teacher.

Yes! DH and I both work full time but wfh 2-3 days a week. It is so much better than commuting to work every day.

I completely agree. It’s changed my life for the better. I can’t actually imagine how I used to be at work by 8 or 9, showered, dressed and with makeup on. Every day!

I now go in a maximum of 2 days and I wait until there’s no traffic, so I’m rarely in before 10. I absolutely love my office time now and look forward to it, choosing what to wear, going out for lunch etc.

A close friend used to commute into London 5 days pw. She wfh 3 days now and it’s taken years off her - she used to look permanently knackered.

This balance is great and the irony is we have a pandemic to thank for it.

I WFH two days a week and I genuinely believe it’s the only way I am managing to work full time and have a family in an enjoyable and sustainable way.

Pre-covid I did five days in the office (plus commute so out 8-6.30 minimum) and there’s just no way I would go back to that now.

The only group of people I have seen vehemently against WFH seem to be the retired, for tenuous reasons (‘I can’t get through when I phone the council’).