Is working from home really easier, or just a different kind of exhausting?

[warrenettie]

I keep seeing people say that working from home is more relaxed, but honestly, I’m starting to wonder if that’s true. I’ve been doing it for a while now, and somehow I feel more drained than when I used to go into the office.
There’s no proper boundary between work and home life — I find myself answering emails late at night, or feeling guilty if I take a proper lunch break. And don’t even get me started on the constant background noise from the kids when school’s out!
At the same time, I know some people love the flexibility and not having to commute (which I totally get — that used to wear me out too).
So I’m curious — for those of you who’ve done both, do you actually find working from home easier, or is it just a different kind of hard?

It’s useful for me as i have 2 young kids so i can finish and do school pick up straight away without wasting time on commuting.

But honestly i miss days when i used to work in an office and i’m very lonely and feel very trapped.

i wfh with one day in the office per week. I like wfh as I can work to my schedule so I prefer to start really early and finish early (my boss is ok with this as the work gets done). But I also e joy my office day as I reconnect with colleagues and I do think it’s much better for planning and collaboration.

I find WFH easier in terms of managing family life as there’s no commute time and I don’t need to take time off work for sick kids etc (they are school age). You do need to be careful to set strict boundaries though. Pre
kids I would often work in evenings and weekends, but now I keep to my hours unless I have a specific reason not to.

Im strict about taking breaks and moving often. Some of my colleagues have walking desks which seem to work well. I don’t have room for one, but do prioritise exercise during the day.

I made a New Year’s resolution last year (24-25) to stop working from home. I turned my office back into my dining room and took all my equipment back into work. It had crept up on me but I’d developed a lot of bad habits working from home like not always having a shower and often dressing sloppily - t shirts and leggings or tracksuit bottoms. I was spending lunchtimes doing chores and I’d developed very poor boundaries- checking emails at night, feeling like I was ‘on call’ 247, etc. I’d become quite socially isolated and had gained quite a lot of weight purely because I was barely moving and the fridge was too near.

So I went back to work 9-5 Monday to Friday. I’ve lost over a stone, made some good work friendships (I’d joined during COVID so hadn’t met most of my colleagues face to face), my energy bills have gone down, I take a proper lunch break, and I’ve been given some great opportunities purely by virtue of being more visible. I am more ‘work ready’ because I’ve got up, showered, washed my hair, dressed smartly (well, smart casual, but I look nice and tidy), and put on a little bit of makeup. I feel much more put together and professional.
I am much less bored and feel much less strung out. I can’t work at home now because I leave my laptop in the office.

That said, my commute is short and parking is cheap, and my children are older and don’t need to be dropped off or picked up so it’s easy for me to do it. It’s not for everyone but it has been great for my mental and physical health just to have that clear demarcation.

I prefer working from home because I can concentrate more however I definitely work hard harder at home and get more done so I feel like perhaps I should work less hours however I never do.

I’ve worked from home for nearly 6 years now, these days I go in the office once or twice a week. It’s nice to see everybody but I get so very little done and it puts me back.

I’m trying very hard to take regular breaks and actually step away and work more flexibly, but it’s not easy!

I find WFH i work more intensely, in office theres distraction, chat but at home if im working its bulk work, its tunnel vision. There is also like you said no seperation from work/home, so no set time to shut off.

But i prefer it as the commute to office eats away so much time and i find that draining.

I really like being able to get a load of washing done when I'm at home, and when my laptop is closed that s it. I do find it tiring though but I think it's because I'm on a laptop rather than 2 screens so I lose my overview.

I have communicated almost wholly in emojis via Teams chat for the last year. I am done.

I think about this a lot, and I'm honestly not sure. Six years ago my kids were primary school age, I would leave the house at 7am and be home at 5pm. I went to the gym 4 x a week. I cooked every night, house was spotless. I was in a great routine with their homework and clubs etc.

Now I WFH, kids are in high school (older teens) and more independent with studying and clubs). I have no commute, I do have a dog now which takes up my 'commute' time and lunch break. I can stick the odd washing in during the day, hoover if I have 10 minutes but I am not in a great routine like I was years ago and really struggling with managing everything and feel like I barely leave the house other than walking the dog.

It's very lonely and that's what I struggle with the most. I do have a home office which I am very grateful for. I set my working hours on M365 which means I don't get email notifications on my phone past 5pm so no blurred boundaries, I didn't check my emails on getting home before WFH so wouldn't now just because my laptop is still set up and not in a bag.

I think it's just a different kind of hard!

I prefer the office but like pps have said a couple of days wfh a week is great as I save financially on the commute and needing far less smart clothes, get to meal prep early evening instead of getting home late, usually find time during the day to get the laundry done and can fit in a session at the pool before work. I find I work less efficiently from home, and miss office chat and general lively ambiance. Wfh several days in a row gets quite dull and depressing. I compartmentalise wfh clearly and while I always work a full day, I log off at 5 unless there is a rare issue that needs urgent attention, and do take breaks in the day, just as I would in the office.

I completely agree op.
WFH can be draining but i dont have enough energy to go into our new office (old large one sold) as no parking, commute time has doubled, rarely see anyone i know, new staff since covid so lots of new faces , no team days .
I liked our old office 20 mins door to door, coffee room chats, just general did you see such and such in tv last night etc having your own desk sitting with with your team, knowing lots of people from other teams, proper lunch break walking round town.
The transition time between home and work.
Even work clothes and weekend clothes!
Now I get up walk about 20 steps to spare bedroom which is an improvement as until DS moved out i worked from my bedroom which was shite-
I need 2 large monitors and have an office chair for back support so not easy to pack away and hide.
Anyway I seem to not have a proper lunch break. Am distracted by DD with SEN, theres a lot more housework now we all spend so much time at home (DH and oldest DD also work from.home) so when going downstairs to make a cuppa I always think something like think god bins overflowing, floor needs mopping , washing machine needs loading/unloading etc, dogs looking at me hopefully for a walk...
So my brain struggles to settle.
I seem to work a lot more hours than I did at office ,harder to stop a task halfway through to go home, instead i think I'll just finish it....and manager seems to rota us for more and more tasks as if she do
Pesnt think we really are working as she cant see us, so feels like more pressure too.

I get so much more done wfh. No distraction, no colleagues popping in for a chat.

Save 10 hours a week through not commuting.

Can put washing out at lunch.

Love it.

I'm self employed, so to some extent, while this is true, There’s no proper boundary between work and home life some of it is my fault. But it's so easy to think, I'll just do this meeting on Saturday evening, I'm not doing anything else important. But then it definitely means I get no switch-off time.

However, I was a teacher before I was self employed. And there is simply no comparison between the stress/amount of my current work and what I had to endure in teaching despite my earnings being the same.

Mu job is how you described yours used to be @Dutchhouse14 20 mins drive, free parking, friendly colleagues for a chat in the kitchen, everyone has their own desk or office and plenty of space, walk into town at lunchtime, nothing on earth would make me swap that for WFH, I actively like getting up and out for the day. Sorry yours has changed so much. I could retire, and probably will if anything happens to this job or if it went WFH, but as it is I still look forward to going to work every Monday.

My old job was like that, free parking, 20 minutes drive (or 30 in the morning rush hour) I used to meet a friend for lunch as his office was near mine, get the bus into town in my lunch hour. I loved having the routine of getting up and going to work, having a work wardrobe and a home wardrobe, finishing early on a Friday and going into town on the way home. I even miss the evening gym sessions (not enough to go back to them though). Covid/lockdown changed all that. The office was never the same, always half empty. Fridays were like a ghost town.

My current company is the complete opposite, wfh, hot desks when in (although teams do have areas), some days it feels like we're the only team in.

What I actually miss though is the distinction between work and home.

This will sound silly but I've worn out so many pairs of slippers because I wear them all day and I have so many lovely shoes that I don't wear anymore.

WFH is brilliant for parents with young children. Everyone on my school run who WFH does the school runs as a couple, attend school events together, hang out at the park after pick up, take calls and set breaks when they like. They save a fortune not paying for wraparound. Very relaxed and sociable people.

My husband and friends who are teachers can’t do any of this. One reason why there is a mass exodus of teachers.

IN hindsight wfh when they were younger would have been better. I was getting up in the morning and getting them out to school or creche then driving to work so thats an hour before I even clocked into work, a full day and then the hour if not more on the way back collecting etc getting home at 6ish and still having to supervise homework/drop to activities/do dinner/ beat them into baths or showers all before the bedtime routine. Now they get themselves out and home although my commute is the same but with nobody killing each other in the back of the car.

Honestly, I hated it. Yes it was nice being at home for the commute reasons, but I felt almost trapped and my home didn't feel like a home anymore. Far too easy to end up spending an hour longer than should have etc.

I also feel it was the job too - I was new and had very little support, only 2 team members showed up the the office weekly etc even though mandated to be in.

I'm glad I'm back to ft office work. However, there is now an option in my current job to wfh one day a week, which would be ok although it is a set day. Interestingly, there has been very little uptake in our department.

I’m hybrid but home 3 days a week. It means I finish on time (or at least writing 30 minutes of my end time) then I’m home so without the commute I get to see my dc go to school and they pop their head round to say hi when they get home from school. I feel more present as a mum. My work is high pressured but outcome based so I can take 10 minutes to ask teenagers about their days.

The work itself is just as stressful but feeling more present at home makes me less guilty. That said, pre covid throughout my dc primary years my work always allowed me flex to attend assemblies/sports days etc.

You see, this would be the one thing that, if I was an employer, would want me to get everyone into the office again. Pick ups, hanging out at the park, looking after children, taking calls when you feel like it, etc. all while you’re on the company dime, is taking the piss.

As an ex-teacher, who physically had to be at work, I genuinely had no idea how many WFH jobs there are with this degree of flexibility. I’m a SAHM, so on every school run, every event and everything after school, I genuinely thought lots of these parents were SAHPs too 😂 I’m not complaining, I love chatting to them all. I’d love to do the school run as a couple!

Far easier - entirely down to the lack of commute.

As for answering emails late in the evening etc or not taking a lunch break - that’s on you. I turn my pc off at 5 and don’t look at it again until 8 the next day. Lunch breaks - assign yourself the time - I tend to go to the gym. Work never encroaches into my home life. But there’s no flexibility. I certainly couldn’t attend a school play or drop the kids off.

I think it's way easier but you need to have boundaries. When the work day finishes, I switch everything off and do not so much as glance at my work phone until the next morning.

If kids are home, they have to play quietly in their own spaces.

I do not feel remotely guilty for taking a lunchbreak.

Of course WFH is going to be hard if you take no breaks and carry on working all evening.

That poster is just taking the piss. No one i know does all that. We are all online not hanging around in parks. They may go and do the school pick up(although even that isn't done by many) but they come back and start working again.

The days I get to work from home are way easier but I do take my breaks as staring at at screen solidly messes my eyes up and makes me ache all over. A whole week at home makes home life so easy as I gain so much time through not commuting and just being around to do littke tasks at lunchtime. I get more sleep to as can get up an hour later.