If you're a sociable extrovert, would you consider a job where you work from home most of the time?

[ForeverTipsy]

I have had a break from work for a few months after being made redundant. Used to work in a small but busy office, but 75% of my time was spent out in the community.

I have two school aged children, albeit older primary/secondary. I'm looking for a part-time job that fits in with family life, and have recently interviewed for a 20hr a week wfh admin job. I'm just waiting to hear back about whether I've got it. I had dreams of working in my pj bottoms, zero commute or parking/petrol expenses, able to focus as no distractions etc

But now I'm getting cold feet, as I'm worried I'll get bored, lonely and distracted working in this way ! So don't know whether I should be looking for something in a school (TA) where I'd be surrounded by people, which is how I usually get my energy (apart from around four days a month where I want everyone to fuck off and leave me alone 🤣).

Any advice please Mumsnetters? Would I be mad to consider wfh?

I'd really rather not. DH (introvert and loves WFH!) keeps insisting it would be a good thing for me to look for but one of the main reasons I want to work aside from money of course is to meet and develop relationships with people!

Hope it works out OK. I work 20 hours or thereabouts and it gives me plenty of time for other social stuff (admittedly my DC are older), I have always had at least one volunteering role, meet friends for coffee when not working, exercise classes etc.

Thank you. We sounds similar as I too have a couple of volunteering responsibilities outside the home, along with a very active social life and exercise classes. Keeps us sane-ish I think!

I am, I do and I love it!

My hours are not set and kids are both teenagers

Because of this fit things around work - I go out to lunch or coffee with people, go walking with friends, occasional volunteer work, visit family etc.

Also like not having to get properly dressed if I don't want to, banging some washing on when convenient, painting nails in a gap, cheaper lunches, no commute

I wouldn't even consider a workplace based role now

If it's 20 hours you should have loads of time to do stuff

@jackstini thank you! You've given me hope that it'll all be fine (if I even get the job).

I'd never get any work done and end up having to do it late at night. This happened to me when I had to WFH in lockdown, at home all day with teens and just couldn't focus on work.

Well, I didn't get the job, so don't have to worry about wfh now anyway. Back to the drawing board.

I'm a massive sociable extrovert. I work 30 hours a week in a WFH role.

I get my social fill easily because I have 4 kids, a husband I like and get on with, multiple schools runs per day, super local - as in walking distance - friends. Once or twice a week I'll meet a friend for a walk at lunchtime, plus weekends we usually meet another family or have a birthday party to attend or I go for brunch. I have family within 10 minutes drive and I visit my nan at least weekly and see my parents multiple times a week, albeit not always socially.

Working from home is better for me because I have more time to spend with the people I love rather than with the colleagues I'm thrown in with.

That's a shame. Sorry I cross posted. If you are thinking WFH might work for your family or circumstances now, I'd suggest looking on charityjob.co.uk. Many charities aren't just "post Covid WFH", they've been actively choosing to WFH for years, so there are often policies in place to solve this exact issue. I wish you all the best in your job search!

How much contact will you have with others over Teams etc? I’m self employed and work from home mostly and love it but I am in calls a lot so I don’t miss the social interaction at all.

i couldnt do it every day
a hybrid form sounds more appealing.
the TA role sounds good op

@ForeverTipsy
well you didnt really want it
so that's ok really

I don't think I'm particularly a strong introvert or extrovert (probably closer to introvert if I had to choose). I love wfh and wouldn't consider a future job was full time office based.

I do have a dedicated desk and comfy chair which I find completely necessary. I used to be hunched over the dining table, which was awful. I do a job that requires a lot of reading and focus so I find there are certain tasks I really only can do well from home. I think a lot of wfh is what you make of it with your colleagues. I'm never shy to ask a quick question in the same way I would do in an office. I teams call rather than email with things I want a quick answer on. I also offer to train and support new employees so I can meet new people and I also make it very clear to those I'm working alongside (I do a lot of projects so not necessarily the same people) that I am almost always available for a quick call if they need anything which I find people often seem to like.

I do work on my own all day and I get my energy from being around people, so I do find it difficult. I sing in a choir which gets me out of the house anywhere up to 6 times a week. If I didn't have that I would be miserable.

Absolutely not. I need to be around people and I'm happiest when there are others to talk to. I can wfh about half the time in my current role but I go to the office as I need the social interaction and the company of others.

I like a work/ home split. I'd say I'm averagely sociable and I'd want the 20 hours to be at a workplace.

Have wfh for 18 years (freelance). Worked really well around school runs/kids activities. Now the oldest will soon be off to uni and I’m planning to retrain in a face-to-face role as the lack of external deadlines is making it harder to concentrate. The 30 minutes before I had to leave for primary school pick up used to be my most productive of the day!

I think you’ll be fine for six months with kids in primary. The flexibility is fantastic and is why I’ve done it for so long.

I love working from home and I'm a sociable extrovert. My day mainly consists of talking on teams all day though so I still get interaction. If I was doing admin all day with no one to talk to I think I'd find it tough.

Just seen your update, I'm sorry you didn't get the job op. In a way just the thought of it has perhaps given you a taste of how you feel about wfh and if it is for you.

I went from an office to WFH every day and do feel that despite it being easier and can get things done and skive occasionally I do miss being involved in office activities and chats and getting to know coworkers properly

Don’t do it op. I’m more on the introvert scale but it still sapped the life out of me.

I’m on calls so frequently on teams I don’t miss the work interaction at all. The main benefit is that I can avoid the people that use to piss me off in the office, and focus on having positive conversations. I found that by moving to wfh I needed to find more ways to mix with others, so now go to exercise classes (boot camp style) rather than go to the gym solo.

Yes it’s great if you love echo chambers. Because that doesn’t create pampered prima donas that can’t handle any else at all does it.

I am disciplined and productive in the workplace, at home I'm easily distracted, bored and unmotivated and have lower mood from lack of social connection. It is however way more comfortable and flexible at home and I can also focus better without a noisy environment and interruption from others.

Obviously there are big pros and cons to each way of working and of course very dependent on the individual.