Do you like going in to the office?

[summermidnightsun]

Just wondered how people feel about this nowadays. Personally I find office days exhausting, hot desking stressful, and feel it’s something to endure. It would be easier if I could be someone who enjoys it but it makes me feel mentally drained.

YABU - I like going to the office
YANBU - I don’t like going

I dislike it for the most part, freezing (to me), no windows, I have a permanent desk but right in the middle of my team so people talk to me all day and I can't get any flow going. I have to be in at least 3 days a week for my staff but I get way more work done at home.

Also the aircon in the office in summer makes work much more pleasant than at home.

Can’t WFH so no choice! I don’t mind it, there’s only 3 of us

In theory I enjoy the social aspect of being in an office but I find it makes me phenomenally unproductive. At home I can just crack through the to-do list. In the office there’s a never ending list of things people “just want two minutes to chat about”. Or discussion about TV or someone’s wedding plans etc. I increasingly find office chat draining and wasteful. Not to mention the commute which is an hour of dead time.

I understand why f2f contact is important for junior staff but candidly for someone of my age and stage its a distracting, time sucking pain in the arse and if I could get away with it I wouldn’t come in at all.

I’m hybrid and do 2 days a week in the office, I hate the commute but do like being in. It’s good to see my colleagues face to face and sometimes you just need to have that interaction to get things done - mostly everything can be done remotely but it’s quicker in person!

Yes I love it. I work from the office 3 days, with 2 days at home, but if I had to choose entirely home or entirely office, I'd choose entirely office. The hill I will die on is that long term, more and more businesses will return to office-based work. I think too much WFH is bad for individuals (both productivity and healthwise) and bad for business. (To be clear, I think some flex is good - a day or two from home. But not full time WFH)

No. My team are geographically all over, so I go in, don't talk to anyone and go home.
It's all localised teams in the office passing cake round and literally skipping the tin over my hot desk where I have inevitably, accidentally sat in the middle of a team 🤣

I enjoy WFH where I crack on, have teams chats with various colleagues as part of our usual work and no commute.

It's a waste of my life to do go into the office and thank god my LM agrees and my employer is very chill about it all.

I work with Americans.

As soin as my arse hits the train seat on the way home my phone starts going "ping ping ping ping"

I can't do anything , because I am now on a 1h30 train home . And When I get home I will have personal shit to do because I have been out all day on a 4hr commute.

UItterly pointless.

I find I do far less actual work at the office as I'm forever getting pulled into chit chat about the latest work thing, how to collaborate on it etc or getting caught as I walk around for a spontaneous chat.

I come away feeling like I've done eff all productivity-wise but like i have a valid excuse because "networking".

So to summarise, lazy, social me loves the office, outcome-driven me thst actually wants to get stuff done hates it.

Basically the office is the equivalent of "this meeting could have been an email".

I haaaate it. I hate not having control over the temperature. I hate the layers of noise = people chatting, music, people on calls, walking around. I hate wasting 2 hours a day commuting. Im far more productive at home.

I like going in - meetings are increasingly in person and I have a better awareness of what is happening. My CEO is mainly in and will call for a chat - so it’s much easier to know what is going on and get ahead of issues. if a last minute meeting is called, I don’t have to scramble to get dressed and get into the office - i am already in the city. I also find colleagues are meeting more often for coffee and catch ups

i Work from home about one day a week and I love that too. It’s a chance to have some quiet time and get caught up on works that requires concentration. I also get an extra hour in bed!

I used to be in the office 1 or 2 days a week, but now at home 5 days due to health.

I miss the office, I miss the catch ups with colleagues but most of all I miss the drive to work and home, even busy traffic didn't bother me.

Hopefully my health will improve so that I can at least get back in 1 day a week, unfortunately I cant see that happening any time soon 😔

I am the same. I enjoy the interaction with colleagues too.

I prefer working at home, I don't like the commute and the expense and I like the extra time in my bed, being able to have lunch with my husband when he is also home. However I also manage a team and I do notice that everyone, including myself get more done and work better in the office. I know people don't like to hear that but I've spoke to lots of people who manage teams and that is the general consensus. It feels better on a individual level to work at home much of the time, you get more rest, you can maybe get some household chores done but actual work quality and quantity goes down even when people swear blind they are more efficient and less distracted at home the actual results show something very different.

I’m also in comms and have tried sitting with other teams and found it really helpful. How does it work for you? Do you just drop in to sit with different teams ad hoc? Have some kind of schedule?

No, I much prefer wfh. Luckily for me, my employer sold all but one central office after Covid, so we all wfh now. I go in about five times a year for training etc.

I would never work from an office again.

I like the flexibility of hybrid working.

I don't mind the office but I get nothing done there. I usually leave at lunch time and get my head down in the afternoon at home.

I go in one day a week, by choice more than anything but I wouldn’t want to go any more often. I get SO much more done wfh. We are a very small team and the nature of the role we have it is impossible not to actually work because it would be immediately obvious. That said one of the team is a part timer and she does absolutely fuck all other than cause issues. Makes us all resent her but nothing will change. She’s a couple of years off retiring. Hopefully she’ll go early.

I prefer the office. Aircon, comfortable desk and chair, speaking to people, going to the gym on my lunch break, two monitors, no dress code

No. I don’t really like it. I get more done at home. I find the bits when everyone is really silent uncomfortable even though people are probably just concentrating. It’s a small office though with only eight desks.

I like both. I learn so much about what’s going on in the company by going into the office, and it makes for much better relationship building.

I actually go into each our four offices at least monthly so sometimes I’ll have a 1.5-2 hour drive either way, but mostly it’s about 25 minutes of easy driving. I try to be in by 7am regularly to catch up with our construction crews, so I can finish by 3.30 and go for a swim on the way home.

Our office is pretty ramshackle, the temperatures vary wildly, the hotdesking is pretty random, we are nowhere near anywhere that sells good food. It’s basically a warehouse with an office attached - but it’s the people that matter to me.

I take my dog into work more and more now, which I know MNers usually hate but it’s totally normal in our offices, and a nice way to get to know more people who I wouldn’t otherwise meet.

I also love my WFH days - getting the balance right is really important.

I work 2 days a week from the office, 2 from home, but don’t enjoy my office days. My colleagues are mostly pleasant and the location is nice, but I really hate the inane drivel and rubbish music on the office radio.

I much prefer the comfort of my own home. I can listen to the news in the background, and have my cat come for a snuggle on my lap as I work. I can wear comfortable clothes and have the room at a good temperature for me.

i hate it. the office is an unpleasant environment with everyone grouped on desks that are way too close together, it's noisy, flourescent lights blaring, all empty white walls with nothing to look at. the commute is soul sucking (traffic is always terrible). i also cant take a truly relaxing break when i need one or take 5 minutes to put washing on or do the washing up. the only good parts of it are the canteen which is very nice and does balanced meals, and i suppose saying hello to a few of my coworkers.

I do 1-2 days a week in the office by choice. A few of us go in on the same days. I like the commute, I like going somewhere nice for my lunch and chatting to colleagues. I don’t think I could hack full time back to the office but I enjoy having the choice.