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?

This is just normal life for most people though. Don’t get me wrong, I think wfh is great if you’re able but but being out of the house 7.30/8am- 6 is standard .

YANBU. I work hybrid and getting to miss the commute (and all the coughs, sneezes, sniffles and loud phone calls of my fellow passengers, as I have to take public transport) 3 days in the week is wonderful.

I gain an extra 2 hours on my WFH days, which I mostly use for getting on top of the housework, rather than anything particularly special. But at least it's not dead time, staring out the window of a bus or staring at my phone.

Or like my DSis you could read in your commute. She taught herself a language. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I don't miss scraping the ice of the car on frosty mornings either! I will switch my days if it is particularly icy and dangerous on one day.

Yeah it’s frustrating because it’s an issue resolved with the policy of core hours which have been around and understood for years, but the organisations I’ve been in since Covid just don’t seem to enforce them anymore. I’m grateful to be somewhere flexible, but I’m worried it could jeopardise WFH generally if they don’t keep sensible boundaries.

I get ill a lot less now. Less time in the office means less time away from infectious colleagues too!

I find opposite from OP: WFH means never switching off, hard to focus on work too because home is completely distracting. I LOVE going to an office to actually be able to focus, and means I can relax & ignore work messages when away from work too.

I find it very hard to concentrate on books or learning on my commute, unfortunately. I read at night before I go to bed instead. Good on your sister though.

Yep - I always say WFH allows me to eat better, go to the gym 3 times a week (because I have an extra 1.5 hours a day from not commuting), keep on top of household stuff, saved me on childcare once my kids were old enough not to need constant supervision after school, allowed me to take kids to more after-school activities. Which means more actual energy for work.

I look back on it and I cannot believe I did 4 days a week in the office with young children! (I was lucky enough to WFH one day a week pre COVID and more in the holidays sometimes)

It is ironic that the technology existed to do this before COVID happened, but we would have never been allowed this flexibility but for the pandemic; no one would ever have tried it at scale.

Couldn't agree more; I spent years office based and WFH has made me more productive - less distractions, I can work a bit later if needed and I am less exhausted

I always think it's funny how before covid my job told me it wasn't possible to work from home. Then it was organised within a week when we had to.

I'd been seconded into a position for maternity cover but to do it I needed to increase my hours from 3 days a week to 4. I'd offered to do 5 (as that's what the person I was covering did) if at least one of those days could be from home and I was told it wasn't possible. 10 months later and I was doing the exact same job, in my living room at home. 😂

Could you walk for half an hour in the mornings? I need to get out first thing or I can’t settle to work properly. I walk to and round the park near me, and/or pick up bread or some lunch stuff or sometimes a coffee.
I tend to use cooking dinner to unwind and switch off after work (I put music on and sing along/dance in the kitchen), but if you feel the need to get out could you repeat the morning routine?

I HATE wfh. Hate it. I hate work invading my home. My short commute is the break I make between work and home. It’s my thinking time, where I can change pace before getting home and shutting the door on work.

I voted YABU because your experience isn’t some universal panacea. It works for you, it doesn’t for me.

I did put this in my OP:

I understand that not everyone WFH is having this experience.

That is truly shocking 😮

Its a massive game changer for me as a mum of school age kids. I can do part time hours with shorter days rather than days off, and do some school runs on the days i work from, all within my contracted hours. Not to mention i save a massive amount of commute time & cost. Between DH and I our kids get so much better parenting with us around more.

Can people write down what job titles to look for. Everywhere online looks like you have to be in the company already. Can you give me some tips please?

the job titles are going to massively vary, do you have an job you’ve already worked in or a job you want to go for? have a search on LinkedIn and choose the remote option, there are also various fb and instagram accounts that highlight wfh jobs.

Entirely agree. I switched to a largely WFH job last year and it’s transformed my life. Previously I was constantly rushing - either to work to get there for 9am or back from work to get to after-school club pick-up - and always felt that I was letting someone down. WFH has vastly reduced my stress levels and enabled me to be more present for my DD. I don’t think I’d ever go back to a full-time office-based role now.

For me a part that is valuable is being able to do some things in the week that have normally to be left to evenings and usually weekends- some shopping, above all laundry.

Yes it’s brilliant. I only do 1-2 days WFH but even that makes a big difference. Fridays are always WFH days and I get a head start on life admin (eg laundry) which gives me more time over the weekend to do fun things. 🤗

DD is nearing the end of a 6 month probation and can’t start her 1 wfh day until then!! Seems very unfair as that’s the terms of the job and 6 months is half a year! When did probabtion get so long? The commute is taking its toll but she’s nearly there. She’s hoping to request 3 days in office as that’s what everyone else does but apparently her boss likes everyone in. 🙄

For me WFH has made my life worse in all the ways OPs is better!

I find I have worse work life balance because the laptop is always there. I log on out of hours and I feel I can’t even have a pee in case people are calling or messaging me on Teams.

My fitness is worse because I hardly move from my chair on WFH days. My step count is tiny on those days and I eat biscuits and crap I would not have access to at work.

Yes I can put a load of washing on but that’s about the extent of the advantage so it’s really not great at all for me.

I wouldn’t be working FT without it due to health issues. I’m hybrid but it hugely helps. Can exercise and decompress a lot easier.

I completely agree and that is precisely why some employers don't like it.

Can't have those pesky employees having a life now, can we?