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Covid

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Original poster

To those of you still WFH and miserable about it

75 replies

Ethelfleda · 12/08/2020 19:26

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...

OP posts:

IrenetheQuaint · 12/08/2020 22:32

I probably could go in if I really wanted to, but there are very strict restrictions on numbers and working practices, and since none of my immediate colleagues are going in it wouldn't make much difference. But maybe I should try.

BlueJava · 12/08/2020 22:41

I probably don't qualify to answer because I like it! Things that probably help - I have a routine as I think that helps but I manage to get household jobs done at lunch, I put washing on whilst on calls, tidy up, have taken up yoga/pilates as I didn't get enough exercise and do an online language class once a week. I get up at 7am each day (used to be 6 to catch the train) so now have more sleep and know i save money as no fares a d lunch at home.

Jowak1 · 12/08/2020 22:45

I hate working from home- I miss my colleagues and the social interaction working in an office gives you. I miss the drive and walk to the office. I work for a local Council and we've been told the earliest we will go back is probably the New Year!! I obviously understand why we can't go back and am grateful to still have a job in these strange times, however it doesn't stop me longing to want to go back to the office .

bumblingbovine49 · 12/08/2020 22:48

I get up do an exercise video, shower. Go for a 40-50 minn walk. Potter in the garden a bit if there is time. Make a coffee then start work. I have lunch with DH mostly which we plan each week and we eat healthily. I am fitter than I have been for years.
I still find it hard to actually motivate myself to work though and feel.down quite a lot. If I miss the exercise and/walk for more than a couple of days in a row, my mood dips considerably and I feel miserable.

Even so some days are better than others . I don't have much other advice I am afraid

Judystilldreamsofhorses · 12/08/2020 22:48

I miss my colleagues, and also my walk to and from work which was a good way to set the day up, and leave it behind.

Right at the start I realised I would do better mentally to prepare for a normal working day. So I shower, do makeup, and get dressed in proper clothes (not work clothes, but jeans and a top, or a dress, no joggers or leggings) before logging on. My DP is at home too, so we have something like soup or scrambled eggs for lunch, then I usually go for a walk. Come 5pm, I shut my laptop and put it away.

It’s not ideal by any means, especially as I now have my work chair at the kitchen table (sitting on a picnic bench was giving me terrible backache) but I think I would be much worse if I was on the couch or in bed.

My office do a 30 minute tea break on Teams a few times a week, just the five of us who work most closely together. That really helps too, but it does feel a bit staged, not like the usual nonsense chat about what we watched on telly last night or what we plan to have for dinner.

Goatymcgoaty · 12/08/2020 22:53

I’ve struggled massively this week.Working in the dining room, family life going on all around, 35 degrees, really intense workload at the moment. Daren't go back into the office in case I’m test and traced as a contact, and then won’t be able to do the school run when it starts. Also need to be at home to cover the end of the school day as wrap around is not running for at least the first month back. So feeling pretty trapped as everyone else’s needs have to come before mine. In fact I felt quite ill this week, but hoping it’s just the heat.

overwork · 12/08/2020 22:56

No help whatsoever, but I asked to go back in and do 3 days in and 2 WFH now and I am so much happier. I enjoy the WFH days as they're a bit of a treat with a lie in, and look forward to seeing different colleagues on my in days. Best of both and I hope we may be allowed to do this going forwards.
Ask your boss their plan, and let them know you want to come back in. You all have my sympathy as I was at the end of my tether this time last month

Ellsbells12 · 12/08/2020 23:16

Our office has opened I am going in end of September at one point I didn't shower for 2 days how rank is that but I am going to take off an hour break now whether to read a book /exercise etc I mean I log on Morgan

Ellsbells12 · 12/08/2020 23:16

"More"

Sevo7 · 12/08/2020 23:41

I hear you. My productivity has gone down and down to the point where I seem to only being achieving a couple of hours actual work a day yet I’m still tied to my laptop and phone 9-5pm. It literally feels like Groundhog Day. I’ve handed my notice in on my full time position to take a part time one instead where they said I’ll be in the office. I nearly cried when I got an email saying after induction the plan is also to work from home, I’m going to beg to stay at the office!

Original poster

Ethelfleda · 13/08/2020 12:28

I’m so glad it’s not just me.
I feel so much worse again today. Every time I sit down at my desk I burst into tears! Trying to work through blubbering is not easy.
I will ask our employer but I just don’t know who. My line manager is an arse and mostly ignores my calls/emails so I darent ask him. He doesn’t work from the same office as me anyway.

OP posts:

HesterShaw1 · 13/08/2020 12:32

This is so sad :(

But the lockdown enthusiasts have taken over the building who won't rest until everything is "safe". They won't acknowledge that nothing in life is 100% safe.

audweb · 13/08/2020 12:40

Hate it. We won’t be back in till January at least. I’ve gone from being in the office a couple of days a week/travelling around Scotland the rest to being in the house since March. I work in my living room as only in a small flat. Now I hate chilling in the living room as spend all day there. Have no garden to take a break in. My kids finally back at school, but it’s soul destroying. I did meet my manager the other day face to face it made such a difference. I want flexibility for sure going forward, but I want the choice of going back to the office. That won’t be till 2021 though.

KensalGreen · 13/08/2020 12:48

This is what is working for me:

Go for a walk every lunch hour
Log off/close the laptop for lunch and breaks
Don't work past paid hours
Get ready properly and wear smarter clothes during working hours

Not saying I achieve all of these every single day but they really do help!

newyearnoeu · 13/08/2020 12:55

We've been told new year too, but that wfh most of the week will probably be the new normal even then. I hate it. I deliberately moved close to work and further away from family and friends to avoid a long commute. This was fine as I got on well with my colleagues and always got enough banter/human interaction between work, after work drinks, chatting to people at the gym etc.

Now i am alone in a flat all day, every day and can go days in a row without speaking to anyone face to face. It is slightly better now than in strict lockdown as I can visit family/friends/dp on the weekends but the weeks are horrible.

I have a pretty stressful job too so I hate not being able to switch off...my laptop and monitor is always in view even in the evenings/weekends so I feel I can never really escape work.

NiceGerbil · 13/08/2020 13:00

Hate it

Miss the people
Miss the socialising
Miss having a reason to get up and ready properly
Miss the motivation that being in the office gives me
Also work network is not working as we seem to only really talk to people we're directly working with. I don't get all the useful info and updates in the coffee area any more etc

I was WFH 2 or 3 days a week before which was a great balance.

I went on ADs second week of lockdown- it hit me hard and quickly. I was on them before on mat leaves when I felt stuck at home and what's the point in a very similar way.

Sorry that doesn't help your question but your feelings are shared!

Advice on this thread re routine, exercise are good.

lurker101 · 13/08/2020 13:01

I truly hate it. I feel so depressed and de-motivated. I know I’m lucky to have a job and be able to continue to work, but I’m so unhappy wfh. I miss the structure and social aspects of the office plus don’t like the lack of boundary between work and home life.

NiceGerbil · 13/08/2020 13:03

For those who are really struggling and haven't already, please do talk to the GP.

whereverwhenevernone · 13/08/2020 13:10

I hate it too.

IcedPurple · 13/08/2020 13:28

Also work network is not working as we seem to only really talk to people we're directly working with. I don't get all the useful info and updates in the coffee area any more etc

I find that too. Someone who might have been sitting next to me in the office is now unavailable because we're not in the same 'team'. So even though we're doing almost the same job, they might as well not exist.

I find WFH quite inhumane. Nobody will ever convince me that online communication is 'just as good' as real human interaction.

emmathedilemma · 13/08/2020 13:32

I feel a bit better about it this week but I went to stay with family for nearly 2 weeks and had some days off and worked there for a few days so that really helped to break up the monotony and I felt i was really productive there. If we're in this for the long haul i might just spend a week or month or something down there!
I think sticking to "normal" working hours is definitely advisable and try to do something other than browse the internet at lunchtime (oh, wait.........) I like going for a run or walk at lunchtime, or even just do a spot of housework which is definitely better than doing it all weekend which I would normally do.
I'm really really missing my colleagues though and interaction with people that I don't directly work with.

emmathedilemma · 13/08/2020 13:34

You've hit the nail on the head with this @NiceGerbil Also work network is not working as we seem to only really talk to people we're directly working with. I don't get all the useful info and updates in the coffee area any more etc i think it will really be of detriment to our business long term too.

IcedPurple · 13/08/2020 13:44

@emmathedilemma

You've hit the nail on the head with this *@NiceGerbil* Also work network is not working as we seem to only really talk to people we're directly working with. I don't get all the useful info and updates in the coffee area any more etc i think it will really be of detriment to our business long term too.

Also, those of us who are WFH now will mostly be working with people they have already established relationships with in 'real life'. However, if this goes on much longer, we'll only get to 'know' our colleagues via Zoom or Teams. That would be grim. It's impossible to really build up a relationship with someone when you only know them via a square on a screen. I'd hate to be a young person starting out on my working life in these circumstances.

NiceGerbil · 13/08/2020 13:47

A large and unofficial part of why I was valued was my ability to forge a wide range of contacts (friends ) in the business and through informal chats find out if there was stuff going on that my team should be more involved in etc. Link people up who were working on similar things etc.

The loss of this casual conversation with people outside your immediate day job shouldn't be underestimated.

Youngatheart00 · 13/08/2020 14:00

What I’m curious to know is - are we in the minority?

My work did a survey and ‘apparently’ 2/3 of people said they love wfh and they are now using that as an excuse to make permanent changes. That survey was done at the end of May through and I do wonder whether all those people feel the same now.

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