Anyone else not want to go back?

[garlictwist]

Although it's great the end is in sight blah blah, I love working from home and really don't want to go back. It's had such a positive impact in my life.

I am lucky enough to be home alone without kids so it's so calm and peaceful compared to the office. I get loads done and if I want a break I can get up and go outside whenever I like rather than being chained to my desk not allowed to leave like I am at work.

I have so much more energy and feel much more in control of my life.

I guess it has to end sometime but wish it didn't.

If that's what you want from life then you need to look for a way to get there. Lots of jobs allow working from home. Of course we can't continue to bankrupt a country to let you use your garden more but you can make decisions that allow you to do that.

If you've had a good experience then find a way to make it more permanent for you.

I'm also going to look for WFH opportunities if my employer sends us back to the office (they sounded like we would not be going back ft anyway, but things change so not sure yet).

I think many employers will consider permanent remote working. If productivity rates are high then why not, it would save the business money on rent and utility costs for the offices.
Personally I hated wfh and would never consider it ever again but I did have young children here at the same time making it neigh on impossible

Find a way to make it permanent. Loads of remote jobs available now. I did, and will likely never work in an office again. WFH is great!

We’re moving to a smaller office (1/4 of the size of our current one) as 3/4 of staff will always now WFH.

Same here, I've loved WFH and no commute. Hoping my employer will make this viable 2 or 3 times a week from now on

I like WFH when my husband and kids aren't here, although I wouldn't mind a day or 2 in the office. Luckily my company aren't asking us to go back. They've ditched our big office and got a smaller one where we have to book a desk if we want to go in. I don't have my own desk any more. This has definitely been a positive to come out of this for me. Now I just need my family to get out
I think it helps that I have a spare room that we've turned into an office so I have a separate space to work.

If you have to go back can you start as you mean to go on and enforce proper boundaries for yourself like breaks?

Permanent change for me - my employer will not have traditional office space going forward - many will be following suit so if your employer won’t support this another will!

I'm the same I just love working from home. I have young DC at home but also have a SAHP and space away from them to get on. It's bliss, but I do worry as I am in my twenties and want to progress and I worry that lack of face to face networking may impact this. But at the moment it's still a small concern considering the boost to my happiness and work life balance. I don't think my employer will be considering a FT return to the office but you never know for sure.

I love WFH. Dread going back to the office, I WFH 1 day a week before this but I’m hoping the culture will change and it will become more frequent!

I can’t wait to go back. I’m seriously worried about how I’m going to get through the next 4 months WFH full time

We've done up to three days a week from home for a long time. Looking forward to getting back to a mixture again.

I take your point about getting outside. I work in a really tall building so half the time I don't bother going outside at all as it takes to long to get out the building.

I'd hang fire and see if your employer actually insists upon this. If they do
Submit a formal request for a 4/1 or 3/2 split. If they reject that-start looking around.

I got a new job back in November. It was not advertised as remote. But enjoying wfh and being 60 miles away i said i would only ever go in 1/2 days a week take it or leave it. They took it.

Even now-none or my colleagues even those close to the office want to go back full time. And office improvements and growth in numbers means we won't have enough desks to all be in at the same time and will need to alternate/book in.

I don't think this genie will go all the way back into the bottle, tbh.

WFH is here to stay - not least because now that companies and employees have spent a year building up the capability to, it would be mad to let it slide away again. In case it's ever needed again.

Our work place has repurposed most of the office space previously used by people now WFH. There is a hot desk system where you can book a desk if you need to go in but otherwise most people are now permanent WFH. There is no going back, there simply aren't enough desks now! I'm happy about this.

I'll be looking for a new job if we don't go back! I'm sick of having work equipment in my living room and I don't have anywhere else so it's like living in the bloody office.

My role has always required a day or two a week onsite and allowed working from home the rest of the time, while also having an allocated desk onside. I used to go in every day because I thought I worked better that way but this pandemic has taught me I can work effectively from home, though more so when my (older) kids are in school.

Agree with PPs that if wfh is important to you, look for a job where you can. Wfh remains a privilege, really, as many of the lowest paid jobs don't have that option, and live in homes that can't accommodate it. So we can't mandate it forever as it exacerbates inequalities.

I don’t want to go back- much much happier working from home. Never liked the office atmosphere- I haven’t caught Covid yet but fully expecting to as soon as I go back into work/

I've enjoyed my wfh experience for pretty much the same reasons as you OP but I'll be happy to go back to the office (presumably when I'm fully vaccinated). I want see people other than my DH, as lovely as he is.

@AnxietyDrivingMyLife

I don’t want to go back- much much happier working from home. Never liked the office atmosphere- I haven’t caught Covid yet but fully expecting to as soon as I go back into work/

I've been working full time throughout in a role in which wfh is impossible, mixing daily with lots of people, sometimes in situations where social distancing is simply impossible. If I've had covid it was asymptomatic. Anecdata I know but hopefully a tiny bit of comfort.

I love it when my kids aren’t here needing my help with fractions and creative writing at the same time.

I’m saving £300 per month between fuel and childcare so even going back just 2 days a week would make a huge difference to being in the office every day.

WFH is isolating but you do get used to that and start to love it. Hope you find a way.

I’ve worked from home for the last 10 years now and absolutely love it, particularly the fact that I don’t have to commute. I can have a spontaneous nap in bed if I’m feeling tired, or sit in the garden in the summer. It’s total bliss! I agree with others OP, if you don’t want to go back to the office, make it a goal to find a job that offers more flexible working. Good luck!

I hate the office and would happily stay wfh.

What i've found hard though is normally i'd be exhausted by Friday afternoon and just want to chill all weekend. Whereas now i've got the energy to go out and stuff at the weekend but everything has been shut off.

Ideal for me would be wfh during the week and an active social life at the weekend. The cruel irony will be if I have to go back to the office at the same time as everything opens i'll be back to just wanting to chill at home all weekend.