I think you're being a bit reductive there. For one, the article indicates the greatest benefits are from a hybrid environments where some time is spent in the office.
When I moved, I gave up a 7km (4 miles) bike commute along a river and switched to WFH. Definitely missed that.
I also feel disconnected from work when WFH, like I don't care about the company at all. The obvious problem is that it made me think the time spent working was quite a waste.
I didn't take as many and as socialable breaks.
When I was unproductive, I felt internal psychological pressure to work longer. Now in-office, I clock my hours and am free.
I used to hate remote, especially being single. But then I started absolutely JAM packing my evenings with dates, run clubs, time left dinners, harassing friends to get drinks with me, playing magic the gathering commander (4 player), music lessons, etc. it has been way better but I do think a day or two in office a week would be amazing for me
Theres also the physical health. I can only get to a doctor easily because when wfh, I can do it in my lunch time. I remember when I would weigh up requesting annual leave vs not going at all.
I’ve been 100% remote since the Melbourne pandemic shutdowns, and I’ve absolutely loved it for the most part, and hope to be able to continue to work mostly remote going forward.
It definitely has its downsides though, I’ve missed a lot of the incidental chats and socialising, throwing ideas around etc, and it can be a bit mentally draining. I’ve started renting a hot desk at a wework in the city once a month just to be around people and feel part of something bigger. I actually feel less tired after schlepping into the city and back that day than I do on most other days, which is surprising.
I got minorly pressured to go into the office for my current job when hired, which was silly - in over three years I've never professionally interfaced with anyone outside of my one teammate. I agreed to go in 2 days/week, and I'm glad I did; it gives me some healthy facetime with other Homo sapiens. In winter, with Amazon Prime and Doordash, I can basically exist without seeing people at all. Not good for me!
I might be in the minority. But I actually like working at an office (or preferably hybrid).
At work, I work. At home, I do home things. When I work and home at the same place i find it very hard to switch into either mode.
This effect is greatly magnified when you have kids.
I worked remote for a bit , and my overall happiness levels increased when I started working at co-working space. Granted my commute is less than 15 min.
My gym schedule has improved since it’s on the way to the coworking space.
I've been "work from home" since 2012, mainly because the projects I worked on were actually in overseas cities.
Before COVID, I would go on work trips of 1-2 weeks every 2 months or so, which was more than enough "office time" to get my doses of office chatter, noisy work environments, stupid in-person meetings etc.
Even before the lockdowns (Melbourne had the longest in the world), I made it part of my routine to go outside every day to get coffee/lunch/sit-in-the-park/walk/talk to people.
It's important to have that human contact, but it's better that I get to choose who to have that contact with and when and how. There are numerous friends from my work that I also see out of work, but there are a great majority that I have no interest in being with in person or outside the work context.
I feel this is the perfect mix. Aside from a short stint at a company that didnt believe in allowing employees to work remotely in 2020 (don't ask), I have been fully remote since 2019. I love being remote, love being able to take my son to school and pick him up, etc. I do, however, cherish the two times a year I travel into the corporate office and work in person with my teammates. I wish I had the option to go into the office, not required, just a choice.
Standing on a crowded subway train, hearing people coughing and sniveling around you, infecting you with their diseases, costing you sick days... All because everyone has to work in the office 9 to 17 or else bosses don't think you work. It's so stupid shit.
I do miss all of those things (at times) and at some point visited a shopping mall and became very happy to see hundreds of humans happily walking around. It felt almost spiritual... could not replicate in later visits to the same spot.
I loved working remotely but I very quickly found I needed to schedule water cooler chats and be super available and quick to jump onto video call. That social aspect really matters and if you have a hybrid environment then the WFH people are getting left out and its harming their career. But in organisations that are almost entirely remote you have to spend the time to be social intentionally.
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[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 39.3 ms ] threadIs there anyone having a worse experience working from home? I'm curious to hear some stories.
I think you're being a bit reductive there. For one, the article indicates the greatest benefits are from a hybrid environments where some time is spent in the office.
I also feel disconnected from work when WFH, like I don't care about the company at all. The obvious problem is that it made me think the time spent working was quite a waste.
I didn't take as many and as socialable breaks.
When I was unproductive, I felt internal psychological pressure to work longer. Now in-office, I clock my hours and am free.
It definitely has its downsides though, I’ve missed a lot of the incidental chats and socialising, throwing ideas around etc, and it can be a bit mentally draining. I’ve started renting a hot desk at a wework in the city once a month just to be around people and feel part of something bigger. I actually feel less tired after schlepping into the city and back that day than I do on most other days, which is surprising.
At work, I work. At home, I do home things. When I work and home at the same place i find it very hard to switch into either mode.
This effect is greatly magnified when you have kids.
I worked remote for a bit , and my overall happiness levels increased when I started working at co-working space. Granted my commute is less than 15 min.
My gym schedule has improved since it’s on the way to the coworking space.
I think the best setup is hybrid IMO
Companies would change their tune on WFH real quick if that were the case.
Before COVID, I would go on work trips of 1-2 weeks every 2 months or so, which was more than enough "office time" to get my doses of office chatter, noisy work environments, stupid in-person meetings etc.
Even before the lockdowns (Melbourne had the longest in the world), I made it part of my routine to go outside every day to get coffee/lunch/sit-in-the-park/walk/talk to people.
It's important to have that human contact, but it's better that I get to choose who to have that contact with and when and how. There are numerous friends from my work that I also see out of work, but there are a great majority that I have no interest in being with in person or outside the work context.