WFH

[bluepinkyellowgreen]

Does anyone still work from home??
Do you enjoy it or would you rather be in the office??
Many thanks !

Yes.
No.

That should be yes, yes, no

Ah thanks! Any reasons why you prefer being at home than the office??

Yep, officially we have hybrid working. Realistically hybrid is just the company's way of not giving us home contract allowances and making sure we pay for ourselves to attend the office for meetings instead of being able to claim on expenses. Suits me fine, I only need to travel to my local office now and again and national offices even less often (these are expenses trips though).

I'd hate to have to work in the office regularly again. Currently this is a perk I'm grateful for - I don't take it for granted and definitely produce at least the same level if not more of project content.

That's great I'm glad it works for you working from home.

I seem to produce the same amount of work too. The only thing I struggle with is the socialising aspect. I am starting to feel like I don't exist outside these 4 walls #lonley I suppose lmao

I do and have been doing so for almost 10 years. I enjoy it but it doesn't suit everyone. First thing that I think is very important is to have a suitable space to work from in your home. If you have a room you can set up as a dedicated office then that's ideal but if you have to work in the living room, bedroom or at the kitchen table it will get to you quickly. Also think about other factors such as your immediate neighbourhood (external noise from vehicles, neighbours, kids etc), increase in energy costs and whether you are likely to miss human contact during the day.

@bluepinkyellowgreen honestly the socialisation is the bit I find the hardest about going into the office. Being able to zero in on my work and only having to speak with people I need to has made a massive difference to how well I can cope on an emotional level.

Frankly after the last 2 years I've had (caring for a terminally ill parent and losing a sibling to cancer), if I had to go into the office I'd be on the sick. WFH means I can be productive without adding additional stress to my life.

Omg how weird I literally just posted this exact same question 🥰 Great minds

I got to the office one day a week and to be honest wfh is a pain now. it's quite lonely and i do feel cut off some times, plus less motivated. my kids are older now though so i can imgaine it suiting younger parents.

i am def more productive wfm though!

Yes yes no
id rather spend my free time doing what I want rather than waiting for a bus that doesn’t turn up.

and tbh id rather socialise with whoever I want rather than people I have nothing else in common with apart from working for the same organisation

I only have to go into the office one or two times a week. Wfh saves me the cost of commuting and we certainly got used to having that extra money the last couple of years. Plus I gain back 3 hours a day of commuting time but it is quite lonely wfh. I really miss the office banter. Possibly less motivated as well.
Pros and cons

100% home worker. Boss in a different country as are rest of team (different countries!) Works perfectly for me.. can't even imagine having to do office socialisation thing again. Work is now basically about getting things done. Perfect.

I absolutely love WFH. I was never busy in the office, my role is mainly reactive to emails and calls that arrive periodically rather than full on non stop work.
Being not busy at home is much better than being not busy at work. My bosses are happy with flexibility as long as my work is completed promptly.

We eat better as I have time to prep healthy meals instead of sitting in traffic, washing is done as needed rather than piled up for the weekend, it can be pegged out rather than having to use the tumbledryer. I don't need after school care. We've gone down to 1 car as I no long need it 5 days a week. I'm not sat raging in traffic 5 hours a week. A one way trip of 3.5 miles took 30 mins. I'm always home for deliveries. Work/ life balance is excellent.

We are hybrid in that we have to be in for certain meetings. There is the opportunity to go in every day if we wish. Nobody is taking this up at the moment but a couple of colleagues have said they will go in during the winter to save on hearing bills . I live further out than most of my colleagues so petrol costs and travel time are a bigger issue for me .

My husband is retired so I have company at home if I want it.

We've been dragged back in three days a week and I hate it. Of course senior management only show up sporadically.

I'm more productive at home and I'll be looking for a job that's either fully remote or requires minimal office time. The commute is just so draining.

Am office based. And wouldn't choose to wfh - I really struggle with it. I don't have a big enough space etc at home and prefer the separation of work/home life.

After 2yrs 1mth WFH we went to hybrid working (min 2-days in).

Hate it and having worked perfectly satisfactory from home in all that time it shows just how unnecessary it is for most of our team to go into the office (some choose to go in every day but that is their choice).
Voted with my feet and have opted for early retirement instead (57).

What was reasons for dragging you all
Back if you were getting on fine at home?

I do, I bloody love it. Never thought I could combine a professional career with being around for my kids in this way.

I’ve worked from home for 6 years and it is utter bliss! No commute, no office small talk, no distractions and I get to spend all day with my dog. It’s perfect!

Also, I get to do lots of jobs at home during the day meaning my evenings and weekends are completely family home.

The longer we are away from the office the more I get nervous about going back in.

Still at home but get a sense there could be a pull to get us back in.

Much more focussed at home as no chitter chatter in the office

I work very part time from home, but when I was FT i was wfh too. I love it, much more accessible and flexible for my needs, I'm more productive and feel I communicate better with my team

I’ve just been offered a job working from home. In fact the company in question sold off a lot of their buildings after lockdown and declared that everyone would be remote from now on, meaning they can now recruit anywhere in the country.

I haven’t started yet but:

I’ve converted my spare room into an office space.

With the amount of train strikes etc I don’t have to worry about how to get to work as I don’t drive.

And while there is some office banter in most offices there is IME far more office politics which you can avoid by wfh.

Looks like it is the very very small monitory that would prefer to be in the office then.