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?

Your view may be a minority. It should be respected and everyone should have the option to go into an office if they wish.

More importantly than your reasons are people who have a home life that in some way working in an office is an escape from. Or who live in cramped accommodation.

I actually started WFH one day a week due to health conditions before the pandemic (I did it Weds so that I could break any patterns of migraine symptoms privately and without affecting anyone else).

I had a bit of stigma from colleagues, and I had to actually strongly suggest they take some WFH days themselves when I got the power to do so.

It very soon caught on and I put in a blanket WFH Friday policy. I also cut working hours from 40 to 37.5 with a small pay rise.

The pandemic was just the last stage of us going 8/10 hybrid (fortnightly two days in office together).

The boost in productivity and communication was immense. Dull meetings were ditched, we'd include people who'd previously been out of the loop, and we put on plentiful catering on the days we were in the office with some of the vast saved sums of office spends.

I will never stop advocating for the fact that DONE RIGHT a workplace can absolutely thrive with WFH and sensible hybrid models. And where it is done wrong, there's not a great likelihood that the same organisation would do any other model right anyway.

(Take my current workplace, where I work cross-organisation and cross-nationally. If I spend the expected 2 days in my assigned office, I'm LESS available to colleagues because of commuting, and then spend my available time there on Teams calls. My line manager is sensible and I actually do 2-4 days in different offices as suits my work over a month.)

I'm pleased it worked for you, but tbh WFH is my idea of hell. I've only done it on a limited basis during the pandemic though.

1. I like to keep home and work compartmentalised. Work's here and home's there and never the twain shall meet.
2. I like to be alongside colleagues for both bouncing ideas off and the social aspect
3. Getting out means I get some fresh air and exercise, no matter how limited it is.
4. Id get distracted by tasks at home
5. When I did it during the pandemic I could only do it from the living room as our WiFi was shit. This meant working off a fold up table and meant my husband who is retired coyinot access the front room or WiFi,though this is better since we moved house.

Mind you I work as a mental health nurse. ATM Im in a job that needs to be f2f. Some roles can be done over the phone or video calls but not the role I'm in.

Well done!

My DD lives in a house share with her friends and they all wfh at least one day- they have to work in their bedrooms or kitchen. Not ideal.

Agreed. I miss my last commute because it was 3 miles each way on foot but I have done the 1 hour each way drive or public transport and hates losing 10 hours a week to something so unpleasant. I also miss the company of other people.

BUT! I can hang washing on the line in the morning safe in the knowledge I can bring it in if a rain shower appears. I can prep dinner or nip to the supermarket during my lunch break. I can run the washing machine or tumble dryer without being nervous about fires. In summer I can do a bit of weeding or cut the grass in my lunch break. If it's just a team meeting or 1-1 I can do it from the garden.

For my employer it means they get more efficient work. I have to bill customers in 15 minute chunks so lack of distraction helps with meeting targets. I can easily do small tasks or respond to a crisis at very anti social hours because it's no big deal to nip upstairs to my office. I can work flexible hours to suit us both without having to consider ability to get to and from an office so can cover other geographies when staffing needs to flex. Win win.

Are there any working spaces around? Libraries, cafes etc, My library has small rooms to book for free so can work and make calls in private.

Not sure and don’t think they’d sit in a cafe all day-that would be expensive. At the moment they try to wfh on different days.