To those of you still WFH and miserable about it

[Ethelfleda]

I will start by saying that I know I am lucky. DS has been back to nursery since June so I have childcare- I am working in a spare room and have decent equipment but...

I am really struggling. I feel so unbelievably low all the time. Same daily grind, same routine, no end date in sight. Employer originally kept stating that they were following government guidelines on WFH but since they announced the changes on 1st August - our company has communicated precisely nothing.

I know many people have it worse than me. But that doesn’t stop me feeling so desperately miserable.

Have any of you found routines that work to get you through the day? Or little things you might do to make it all more bearable? Im barely able to drag myself out of bed. Eating pure crap for lunch because I just have absolutely no drive to look after myself. I just feel like crying all the time.

Sorry that was so self indulgent...

Nope. Watching with interest because I’m stuck in the exact same hole OP.

I have started planning in exercise every day to compensate for not moving about as much.

I also try and take breaks and sometimes sit outside with a cup of tea to mimic the tea breaks I would get in the office.

I have stopped having snacks in the house to avoid the constant eating. I have cans of pop in the fridge as I would get one from a vending machine at the office. I have also tried to eat better to compensate for the lockdown weight gain.

It's just about trying to make things a little better as I like WFH but to do it all the time is making me stir crazy.

Solidarity Bereft

I dont like it much ' I'm finding the lines between work time and family time are blurring and I miss the chatter and support I get from colleagues who understand the stress and frustration our work brings!

Same here I feel low each day !!!! Can't wait to get back to the office I log on more and am logged in now

I absolutely HATE it. Started off well, walking every day etc but have just slid into a blur of same old same old. Somedays I dont get up until lunchtime, I take calls from bed. If i have another ( fucking) Zoom call i put on a bra and clean tshirt but still have pj bottoms on. I have a laptop, instead of huge double screens and some simple tasks take forever.I miss the drive to work, my workstation, my colleagues, human interaction. I am definitely less productive at home

Boundaries.
I log off at lunch and eat in a different room. Try to get outside for lunch or coffee.
Depending on how I feel when I wake up I sometimes go for a walk before starting work.

I've found my people. I miss my work environment sooo much. It's getting harder and harder to concentrate in Teams meetings. I'm really struggling.

It’s surprisingly soul destroying (I realise that sounds melodramatic but it really does grind you down).

@Cocklepops

It’s surprisingly soul destroying (I realise that sounds melodramatic but it really does grind you down).

It doesn't sound melodramatic to me at all, because I feel exactly the same way. In fact I used the very same expression to describe my work environment today! I know some people love WFH but I hate every minute of it.

I don’t know how anyone can love it. It’s awful. Sat at a kitchen table with an uncomfortable chair with one pointless zoom meeting after another. Hate it and thinking of changing my job I hate it that much.

Dislike most things about it, particularly not having childcare/school. v grateful to have the job (for now) but think it’s been v detrimental to our business.

Things that help me: daily exercise (I go first thing), eating well, avoiding snacking and booze. TV in evenings! Planning time off.

My old company introduced wfh a couple of years back, I found it soul destroying then and extremely isolating. I decided to leave so you all have my complete sympathy, it must be even worse under these circumstances. And to think everyone thinks it's a jolly working from home!
The problem is, lots of companies will realise how much money they can save, unfortunately they won't think about the wellbeing of their staff until it's too late.

I hate it too. Even though it’s hard with my children around I actually think it will be worse when they’re back at school/childminders as I’ll just sit on my own day after day.
I miss seeing people! Chatting about things. Just having some sort of social interaction!!
It’s really depressing.

I went to an actual office on Friday and it was bliss. Don’t get me wrong I don’t miss commuting in mad traffic, but it was great to see people, actual real life people, and INTERACT with them. And I wore actual grown up clothes and was cool because of air conditioning.

Oh the joy

I go out on my bike before my shift and go for a walk at the end of it. I've stuck to that every day. Problem will be sticking to that when the weather turns and winter approaches.

I like WFH but the job itself is a real pain at the moment, i've had to learn several different workstreams remotely and don't know whether i'm coming or going from one day to the next because everything keeps changing.

I'd feel better if I was more active at the weekend. I'm used to going out to the pub on a Friday or Saturday and letting off steam with friends, but haven't done anything socially since March and probably won't now till into next year. As it is it's groundhog day of being home 90% of the time.

Longer term an office/wfh hybrid is more ideal i'd find. 3 and 2 days either way in a week.

Yes, it is really getting to me now, especially as I live alone and most of my social life has been wrecked by Covid. My colleagues are lovely but screen meetings and chats are not the same.

I have wfh for 6 years. Whilst it fits in well with childcare, I absolutely hate it. I’ve put 3 stone on in weight. It’s isolating and you lack team banter. I have a separate office but I still don’t feel like I can escape work. If I didn’t have children I would always opt for working from an office!

I’m in the same boat.

Days blend in to eachother, I’m lonely, bored and gaining weight. Sometimes I only leave the house twice a week.

Miss office life and the social side of work so much.

I’m the same. I used to regularly work from home 2 or 3 times a week which was great as I had balance. Now the week just drags terribly. I live on my own, work on my own, eat on my own, take tea breaks on my own!! Plus I would kill for the office air con right now.

Planning in exercise helps. Try a morning and evening commute. I walk for 30 mins after breakfast before work and when work finishes walk for 30 mins. Also have some walking meetings, ones where we do not need screens, one to one’s with team for example. Always plan in an hour at lunchtime. Have lunch, have a walk. It’s tedious I know....

I don't like it, I don't like the blurred lines between home and work. I feel like my laptop ever present. Even when switched off I see it lurking waiting to be turned back on. Ugh.

I had a week off work and realised I needed to start thinking of wfh as a long term prospect than a necessary evil which I want to end soon.
I've given myself some "rules":

• get properly ready before starting work (I'd fallen into bad habits of not getting dressed, or not brushing my teeth until 11am and such like)

• force myself to take breaks and not just move from one virtual meeting to another

• make up a salad bowl in the morning so I don't end up picking up junk food by the time it gets to lunch

• schedule a call with a colleague every/most days where more of it is social than work related

• don't look at a screen during lunch. I read a book or sit in the garden

• do an exercise video or go for a walk as soon as I finish work

I don't like it much either at the moment but I have hope that it'll be better in September.

I've had the DC home since March so it's been tough going. In 'the time before' I worked 2 days a week from home and I loved it. Up, school run, chat with friends at school, back, dog walk, work in perfect peace and then back to school at 3pm for more interaction.

At the moment it's just boring, boring, boring. Plus my favourite part of my job was booking international business travel, and lots of it!

I really hope I'm not disappointed in September!

All the employers I know, so those of my friends and family, are trying to get people like you back in. It might not be possible straightaway due to office size etc but they are looking at who needs to be in to do their role effectively and who wants to be in for their mental health. Those people are put to the top of the list to go back in when safe to do so. Then leaving those who are happy working from home, to work from home a bit longer. A few colleagues of mine have gone back into the office, especially those who live by themselves. There’s enough people who enjoy working from home to let these people use up the available office space.

Have you asked your manager what plans are in place and mentioned you’d like to go back for your mental health?