To be so glad WFH became a thing (and to absolutely hate anyone who tries to curtail its availability)

[Designless]

It's just life changingly good

I can see that if you’re the SAH partner of someone who WFH that’s tough if they don’t have a defined space in which to work.

I also think it’s tough for new starters who really need training.

when I was junior I leant a lot from the side bar conversations/the quick asides outside of the meeting room before things got started. The fact that people miss out on that makes navigating the work place a bit harder

I think the issue is when people are looking after young kids when they are working from home. If you had a kid who was on school holiday or sick, you (or the kids other parent) would either have to take the time off or make arrangements for someone else to have them. But some people now just choose to work from home that day, or if they are already working from home just carry on doing so while looking after a child. Some jobs you can get the same amount of work done, but some you can’t. But on the other hand, I suppose as long as the boss is ok with it, it is fine

Its the people who purposefully dont work from home that spoil it.

My colleague agreed to have her granddaughter who is 2 stay over during one half term week last year. She didn’t awnser the phone once to the team shes working with during this week and refused to give her number to customers (and refuses a work mobile or to have her laptop hooked up to take voice calls). As such - the team in the office had to take an extra 20 enquiries or so because she did not pick up.

She came in and laughed about how she just jiggled her mouse and spent SO much LOVELY time with her granddaughter. It was a complete piss take.

Shit like this is why nobody trusts home working! Who could blame a boss for putting restrictions in place when things like this happen.

@Shinyandnew1
“I presume Farage is so upset about it because people are spending less on coffees, lunches and office rents!?!”

Allegedly one of his backers owns substantial amounts of property in London, Manchester and Liverpool. Always follow the money.

Absolutely! I was out of work for 2 decades after being a SAHM and carer for dd1. When I did get back into the workplace, the first job I got was WFH FT. I'd hate to have to commute, turn up to an office in person and try to work with the background noise of an office. I don't think I could do it.

It's great overall, though the experience depends how good/big your house is.

My employer had no wfh capability until the beast from the east (remember that!). After that they put a policy in place that meant when Covid happened, they weren't starting completely from scratch and in practical terms there was barely a blip for office based staff. They then spent the entirely of Covid talking about this and how hard people were clearly working since from our perspective very little changed apart from our location. It was more difficult to get new staff up to speed but again we worked round that while adhering to social distancing. No employer should be coming in cold to it any more. If they are, they're not a responsible employer, and that isn't the fault or the responsibility of people quite happily working from home either part of the time or full time.

There's absolutely nothing to suggest productivity in dropping as far as my employer goes. If anything, and I have been wondering about this for a while, workloads are increasing and the higher-ups don't really seem to have a grasp of that. There are multiple reasons for it, including sector-wide issues, but I have been wondering if there's more of an ability to gloss over overload.

That's a problem with the individual and should be treated as such, just like any other.

I have loved WFH and it was life-changing having small kids. Having said that I have just got a job in a school because I fancy a change and got a bit tired of it. I’d never judge anyone for WFH, it worked very well for me for six years. Office days were much less productive.

I am exactly the same as you.

My work and home life need to be completely separate and I really struggled when I’ve had to WFH in the past.

Going out to work is almost a sense of belonging and purpose to me.
But I would also struggle to be a SAHM for the same reasons.

I love waking up and getting dressed up and doing my hair and make up.
I love singing my heart out on the commute.
I love going into work and everyone being happy to see me.
I love laughing with my colleagues and venting about how crap the training was or how difficult a piece of work was.
I love having the heating on full blast without the cost concern haha.
And then I love leaving all that behind to come home and enjoy my home and family.

My MH really struggles when I WFH.

But I am all for it for other people if they enjoy it and are productive.

The more people who choose to WFH, the easier it is for me as it means less traffic on the roads, greater availability of appointments after work, less busy shops and gyms etc.

I think it would be a massive shame to get rid of it when it works well for so many people.

I have an 8 yr old with additional needs and a 4 yr old about to start school. I also have a niche job I love in a niche career and hour commute away. My husband is able to wfh 3 days a week which allowed me to return to my job with commute those 3 days a week after May leave. We couldn't physically do pick ups and drop offs and both commute. When eldest was 1-2 the race to work from nursery and nursery from work was so intensely stressful every day.

I thank the stars daily for wfh, for my son's school and their amazing on site after care, for my mil and her willingness to help out in an emergency etc etc but the main decider is the wfh capability as pre COVID I was at the point of considering giving up my career because it just wasn't possible to do it all with my son's emerging additional needs.

It was life-changing for me in 2009 when I started WFH. I was a young person living in a houseshare starting my career in earnest - the demographic there's a lot of faux-concern about - and it was only beneficial for me. Career-wise it didn't stop me networking (there was this thing called the internet, and you could still organise IRL meetings and attend events despite WFH). The benefits to my mental and physical health were, I can't emphasise this enough, life-changing.

I was in a depressed, exhausted rut commuting into an office every day. Career going nowhere, unfit, too knackered to do anything outside the commuter hamster wheel, hated all my colleagues. It's literally thanks to WFH that I'm physically fit, mentally content, a success in my career and working with people I basically like.

Back in the early 90s I spent four years working at an out of town office complex just 15 minutes from my home. I had a lot of the benefits of working from home - short commute meaning more time in bed in the morning/at home at the end of the day,able to come home for lunch or have picnics in local parks. I really loved it. Was sad when we were relocated into the city centre.

I have been permanently WFH since COVID (used to do maybe 1 day a month before). I don't drive due to a medical condition, so it's saved me so much travelling/ waiting time. DH is WFH maybe 2/3 days pw but we have an office each so work stuff doesn't encroach on our living areas.
But most importantly it's enabled us to have our dog. She's been with us 5 years this year and has brought so much to our lives. We never would have got her had I not been at home (no judgement to people who use doggy daycare/walkers btw just not for us)

I'm a mix of WFH, plus face to face meetings that are all over the county, which might be with clients or staff meetings etc.

It's the perfect balance. Mornings are chilled and relaxed, can take your time over coffee and breakfast, no sitting in traffic. You can even fit in a trip to the gym if you are so inclined.

Winter is the biggest game changer as you can walk the dog at 4:30 so get more time in daylight instead of having to start your drive home at that time. Amazing how these changes even impact on things like personal safety.

Although summers are also nice when you can sit and work in the garden to do admin/report writing (although obviously not for teams calls). You have time to walk the dog for a couple of hours before work when there is a heat wave, so they still get a good run around

Also nice to load the dishwasher while the kettle boils, or put the soup machine on for lunch.

All little bits that add up to a much easier, calmer and more organised life.

This is the trouble, that some workers do not give WFH the same respect that you would give the office.

There was a thread a few weeks ago about an OP who had just started and was having a teams meeting - her DH was singing in the background, she was sat on the sofa and her dog jumped on her and knocked her laptop off.
Everyone said that this is just as serious as if you were in the office - you would tell everyone in the home to be quiet as you’re having a meeting, you’d put the dog in another room and sit at a desk.

If your child is not old enough to entertain themselves, then you need to book AL or arrange childcare - just like you would in the office.

Some people think WFH is an excuse to slack off.
Unfortunately those individuals make everyone else look bad and it’s why so many people are against people WFH, which is a shame as many people are very productive WFH.

Do remember that for some new graduates and young workers, remote working is the reason they're able to get the job in the first place. Not everyone is able to afford housing close to decent sized job markets, for example.

Not sure about that outsourcing claim either, do you have stats? Outsourcing to India was underway a long time before remote working became easy in the UK.

I wasn't able to work from home but it seems like a huge plus in less time and money commuting and job satisfaction. I'm really in favour of it whenever possible.

Those commercial properties can be used for other purposes.

Oh meant to say, as I also have face to face aspects of my role, that counterbalances the problems with fully work from home, in terms of being isolated and not seeing other human beings!

My general approach to life is balance is key and try to have the best of both worlds when you can

I love wfh and wish it had been more widely available when I was younger. It's not for everyone and it's not possible for every job, but I hope it remains available for those people who prefer it and those roles where it does work well. People who are vehemently against it need to mind their own business. If the employee and the employer are both satisfied, that's all that matters. I do think that some naysayers just resent it that they think someone else is getting a better deal than they have, but every job has its own good and bad points. Why single out wfh instead of other perks?

I know lots of young graduates-none WFH everyday but all do a day or two and love it.

Personally I HATE wfh. I’m much less productive. Thankfully my job now is one I can’t do from home, but when I do have things to do I have to go to a cafe or shared work space. I need to physically remove myself from home.

It’s not great for the kids sometimes either during school holidays. My DH WFH a lot which means we have to be quiet / out of the house some days when the kids would like to be home. Or we can’t have friends over during the day.

I also think it’s quite bad for new people coming into work. It’s harder to make friends / connections with colleagues. Lots of useful informal learning is missed (like how to answer the phone or how to dress for work)

While it’s been great for some, it’s not great for everyone.

Totally agree.

As someone with long term health issues having jobs that let me work from home or hybrid has allowed me to stay in the workplace.

I think that in general it is so much better for work life balance and helps people with caring responsibilities, kids, disabilities and so on.

Commuting is such a waste of time, energy and money and less cars on the road is better for the environment.

I always assume people who are against it are:

• commercial landlords
• micro managers
• people who are bitter that others can work from home.

I miss WFH a bit, my new job is FT in the office and can’t be done from home

I guess that depends on your set up really, our house is spacious enough we don’t need to kick anyone out when I’m working. Friends are still allowed around.

I’ve found it’s been brilliant with teens, if I’m working and they’re on holidays we go for a walk at lunchtime, have lunch together. Even during term times I love that they’re not coming home to an empty house, can hear about their day straight away (assuming Im not in a meeting at that time).

I no doubt am much more present in their lives as a result.