WFH/ Remote only people how are you getting on?

[xxcatcatcatxx]

Just curious really now WFH/ remote positions are a bit more established

Do you ever miss the office?
What’s your routines like?
Can you distinguish now between home and work life?

Do you see many other people in a work day?
Can you really see yourself doing this forever?
Do you feel mentally ok with being home all day etc

I started a work from home office job but been pretty much told not to get use to it and that in 2023 so just a mere five or six months away, we will all be recalled back to the office in a purpose bult building. Training just cannot teach people remote if the trainer cannot control thee training screens then they are unable to do seven at the time.

Do you ever miss the office?
Nope

What’s your routines like?
Nice, instead of tearing my hair out in the morning trying to get a 7:30am train that's probably cancelled anyway, I go downstairs, get a coffee mooch about then swan into my home office at about 8:55.

Can you distinguish now between home and work life?

Sometimes this is hard but tbh I wfh nearly every evening after my old commute so now I finish up earlier because of no commute which is so much better, especially in the winter when no train seemed to be able to get me home without problems and it was cold!

Do you see many other people in a work day?
On teams. And even then I'll try to switch my camera off

Can you really see yourself doing this forever?
I'd rather not work but for me this is the best option right now.

Do you feel mentally ok with being home all day etc
I go out if I can in the middle of the day even just in the garden.

I am happy because I have my dh at home and we both like wfh. Can completely understand not everyone enjoying it though.

Do you ever miss the office? No

What’s your routines like? I get up when the husband and kids leave the house at 7 so no one asks me questions. I often do. Bit of exercise then. I make sure I do some every day which I wasn't previously.

Can you distinguish now between home and work life? I'm not so good at this as I work with 3 different time zones including Australia and the States.

I'm doing about 10h week overtime but don't hesitate to work less and take an afternoon out if I need to do something.

Do you see many other people in a work day?
No. The cleaner and family. I'm worried about this but.

Can you really see yourself doing this forever?
I hope so. 10 years left.

Do you feel mentally ok with being home all day etc Yes so far so good. I have proper office and a really good set up though.

I wfh. Some days I like it but I miss the casual chats by the coffee machine and there are people i used to work with who I haven't seen for two years now.

I also feel like "what's the point?" I get a monthly pay check in return for sending a few emails and doing some spreadsheets, but could be working for anyone. I know my employer is worried about diminishing "brand loyalty" amongst employees. My neighbour changed jobs recently and said it was "different laptop but nothing else changed" and I imagine more people will think like this and swap jobs more often.

It's a weird life. I only see DH in the flesh most days now, unless I go to Sainsburys. For me, work was as much for a social life as anything else.

We're very worried as a society about the effects of Covid isolation on our young ones, who didn't go to school for two years, but I don't here any concerns on the effect wfh has had/will have on adults.

Do you ever miss the office? No
What’s your routines like?
Walk or run before work, get it done, get some fresh air, line between home and work. Sometimes a dog walk with a friend, which is nice for some adult company

Can you distinguish now between home and work life?

Sort of, but I love my job and it also forms an interest. I’m currently studying in the field for a postgrad qualification. I have made my study a place I love to be and my work hours can be flexible, so I always feel in control and happy with the balance.

Do you see many other people in a work day?
Colleagues on teams - and there’s always someone up for a quick chat and cuppa on a video call if I need to talk more!

Can you really see yourself doing this forever?
definitely

Do you feel mentally ok with being home all day etc
yes. I love being on my own in the house, the peace and quiet, my total control over what I eat and when and so on

Can I chip in and ask about work socials?

Did you loathe them before so glad you don't have to do them now? Or do you miss that social networking and team building opportunity?

Or do you still have them?

I've been working remotely for 5 years and most of the time I love it. My company does arrange and pays for all-team get togethers twice a year and we have to travel for meetings every now and then (maybe once a month). I do sometimes get cabin fever if it's a busy week and I realize I've not left the house by Thursday, but generally I love seeing DH at lunchtime and DD when she gets back from school and I don't really miss the office at all. Plus I'm able to lead a life that wouldn't be possible if I had to commute. I'm all for remote work!

@MrsOwainGlyndŵr Im so interested in the wider effects too. Guess we won’t see them for a little while longer but everyone does seem pretty content at the mo xxx

I hate wfh 5 days a week, as do most of my team so we go in 2 days a week as a team which is really nice, have lunch together and its really beneficial to be back in the office. The staff who never come into the office don't really feel part of the team anymore, most people are doing at least 1 of 2 days hybrid now

I've been WFH since the pandemic. No great push to return to the office, although the odd person pops in once a month

Do you ever miss the office?

Sometimes a little bit but mostly for the lunches to be honest. I still catch up with colleagues and have chit chat here and there most days so not that different to being in an office

What’s your routines like?

Wake up exercise, sort children for school, drop off at 8:15 come home make breakfast and log on. Lunch at 12:30 meet friends who are also wfh for lunch, sort washing tidying up or watch a bit of tv. Back on at 1:30, pick kids up at 3:30 (school literally across the road) sort them with snacks and an activity then work until 5:30 logoff

Can you distinguish now between home and work life?

Yes - home office is on a completely separate floor of the house with own en suite etc so stay up there most of the day until need to come down and can close the door on it for evenings and weekends

Do you see many other people in a work day?

Yes a few teams calls and meetings during the day. DH also WFH so see him all day, see and chat to other mums at school drop off, sometimes lunch with friends at lunchtime, cleaner, neighbours etc.

Can you really see yourself doing this forever?

Until the children are 18 as it allows me the flexibility to constantly be present for them which is amazing and allows me to balance family life in a way I never thought possible. Post 18 it would be nice to have that social contact than an office brings and the nice lunches in central london again along with the buzz of popping to the theatre etc after work

Do you feel mentally ok with being home all day etc

Yes I Love it, my wardrobe is chilled out and comfortable so I'm not spending all day adjusting i'll fitting outfits, I'm not destroying my skin with constant makeup everyday, I can cook fresh meals and make time for 5 mins of mindfulness etc throughout the day. It's great for my mental health

@christmas2022 Maybe not exactly the same but we’ve had a couple of work socials whilst I’ve been on maternity and I’ve kind of felt like a con so no idea what it would be like if you were hardly in the office. I guess you’ve been doing the work though but I’m not sure I could rectify that kind of split.

A couple of girls at our office said anxiety etc was too high to come in to the office but were more than happy to come to socials where there were infinitely more people. I think people are able to rationalise illogical thought processes away though, myself included in that one.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens for the Christmas meals this year xxx

So many people make lifelong friends at work, and even their partners.
I don't see how people will ever expand their social circle if they don't meet new people.

No one will need to move for work anymore - not even after uni.

The whole thing is weird and I don't think it bodes well for future society and our future mental health.

Do you ever miss the office?

No not at all

What’s your routines like?

7am exercise
745-815 help DH get children out the door to school
815 shower and breakfast
9-4 work
4 onwards my time

Can you distinguish now between home and work life?

100% yes

Do you see many other people in a work day?

My DH also wfh, my children and then in evening I do lots of activities and see people then

Can you really see yourself doing this forever?

I will never work in an office 9-5 again

Do you feel mentally ok with being home all day etc

Absolutely - I love it

To add I do visit my office about once a month for 2 days at a time for in-person meetings. My choice though

@MrsOwainGlyndŵr I moved whilst wfh because I didn't need to commute to London anymore to a completely new area, I suspect I'd have to move closer to london if I couldn't get another wfh job.

I've made more friends through having dc than at work and now I wfh I have more time to meet new people. I go to local clubs etc to meet people. Something I could not do before as my commute took me past most meet-ups locally.

My dh also wfh and as he is the manager he offers up a paid for meal each year but this year no one cba so if his staff are lonely at least he's confirmed they all definitely don't want to meet up with their colleagues!

Like many introverts, I absolutely loathed work socials. Even the word ‘networking’ makes me recoil.
Pre-pandemic the world of work was set up by extroverts, for extroverts. They made the rules, set the expectations and cultural norms and many introverts hated it. Open plan offices. Zero privacy. Constant noise. The office radio. Post-work drinks. Team-building. It’s hard to overstate how much these things made my working life a misery.
Now I WFH, my work life balance has never been better and I’m so much happier & consequently more productive.

@PlanetNormal so you didn't go before and don't need to go now or did you force yourself before and now they don't happen so you don't have to go?

Agree about the way that offices are set up. I'm probably 60/40 extrovert but the pandemic has swayed it to probably the other way around. Just the thought of going into to office puts me on edge now. Strange.

@sallowsunflower

That's a nice gesture of your husband. Did they outwardly say they cba or was it a string of excuses so the meal never got booked?

@xxcatcatcatxx

Yes very true about the Christmas do and what will happen this year.

I think we have normally started to think about Christmas by now but I haven't heard anything at all as yet.

I'm one of those that would feel anxious going into office but would happily go along to a social. It feels less of a burden and more carefree I can't really describe it but it is a true feeling.

Do you ever miss the office? -No. I had a long commute. Though I do miss seeing people in person. The office has been closed now, so no option to return.

What’s your routines like? Turn on computer at 8am to start work. Turn it off at 5pm. A break at lunchtime.

Can you distinguish now between home and work life?-yes, it’s easy.

Do you see many other people in a work day? -no. my DH.

Can you really see yourself doing this forever?-yes.

Do you feel mentally ok with being home all day etc? - yes, I’ve saved a lot in commuting costs and time, and my commute was nearly one and a half hours one way.

I work from home and although it’s generally works very well for me I am not convinced it works from my perspective as a manager. Issues which would just be very minor can escalate so they become a much bigger issue and without being able to connect ad hoc, be impulsive and pick up on general conversations I have found that there have been issues I’ve had to deal with which simply wouldn’t have happened if we were in the office. I don’t think full office is necessary but I would absolutely prefer hybrid in terms of the work we do. Happily would support 2 days office 3 days home

I’ve found that lots of people, including my team say they work better from home when they really don’t. I also have concerns some of my much more junior staff have big holes in their knowledge as they’re not getting the mentoring they need.

I'm also a manager and have found no such issues in the last 2.5 years. The work gets done and my reports are happier because they have better work/life balance.

I've been working from home since covid and went from 5 days a week in the office to full working from home. I've been into the office around 6 times since the first covid lockdown in 2020.

The huge advantage of working from home is seeing the kids and doing the school pickup and spending more time at home. Before we would all be out of the house from 7.30am until 6pm sometimes.
The problem is I am now responsible for childcare and other things as I work from home and can be flexible around timings. My social life is not existent and I mainly instant message people at work so don't speak to people during the day.
Life before covid was too hectic and I didn't see enough of my family. Life after covid is boring and I'm the general family dogsbody who is the fallback for everything. I appreciate being able to spend more time with family, but I have lost my own identity as my whole life is at home and there is nowhere else to go.
Going into the office can be a welcome break, although organising (and paying for) childcare and spending time commuting can increase stress to the point that it's less of a break and more of a headache.

I work from home and manage others who work from home. We all have different routines but we all get the work done and have a better work/life balance than we have working from an office. So many more people have been wfh, especially over the last few years that things have adapted and most people are thriving with the better work/life balance.

Love it and hope to never ever return to an office. What a drudge and stifling on reflection....have no wish to ever return 😜

For all the people saying their mental health is suffering wfh, that is how many of us felt in the office. It’s hard to know who is worse off. As a person who suffered badly in the office, I naturally come to the conclusion that the struggles people facing wfh can’t be anywhere close to those we faced in the office, but I know intellectually that it’s not a competition. Really the only thing that has changed is that the world of work no longer only favors one group and tells the other that we are flawed.