Working from home worth it?

[XeNoN89]

I've not been in to an office since March 2020, and I don't miss it one bit. I do have a dedicated room for an office though which helps a lot, I'm far more productive in my own space than I would be otherwise. I'm a contractor and have gone to a client who's based in Scotland, so I'm never expected to go to the office so will be at least another year or so when my contract is up that I may have to go in to an office.

Software development doesn't need an office, it's a waste of the companies time and money to expect people to come in. As bad as COVID was, it's fast tracked remote working and shown people that it can and does work

Similar situation here. Been fully WFH since march 2020 and love it. Extra hours available in the day and no wasting time commuting. I do think not having the in person contact with colleagues makes things a bit trickier sometimes but the benefits far outweigh the negatives

 

[Black Noir]

UPDATE: Didn't get the 1st job, unfortunately my presentation wasn't good enough however when I asked for feedback on how I can find out more information about the specifics of the job role (which the presentation was about) I was told to find a mentor... Sounds like a YouTube Guru response to me but hey ho.

2nd Job interview coming up, I think the main point for me is the ability to exercise more and make money on the side (my friend has been trading whilst working from home and has managed to make a decent return).

Maybe I am being unrealistic with the money making aspect but at least it will mean a change in my job role.

I'm confused, what was your interview about?

Are they saying you didn't understand the role or that you didn't present the specifics of the role very well? It's a bit of a BS thing to do (ask someone to present on a role they haven't got yet) but it's more typical to see a "what would you do in the first x days" or "what challenges would you face..." type of scenario.

The fact they've biffed you off without more information says a lot too. "Get a mentor"... ok.

 

[Infidelus]

If I lived within spitting distance of office, I'd be less bothered, but frankly I'd rather have an extra hour of commuting back every single day.

This is pretty much my opinion too. If it was a 20 minute walk to the office, I wouldn't be too bothered about a few days in the office, though would still want to be able to work from home at least half the week. The only reason I accepted the role I was offered recently was that work agreed I only had to go in once a week. It's only a 10 mile drive but the town I live in is notoriously bad to get out of and a 10 mile trip could take 90 minutes on a bad day in rush hour traffic, though the average would probably be closer to 45 mins - 1 hour. As it is, I'm only part-time now and don't start until 10:00 so it only takes me 20 - 25 mins each way.

 

[413x]

I refuse to go back to the office full time. Ideally for me it would be 1 or 2 days a month.

But personally I love it. But I do get outdoors in my free time. I've also always been a bit of a 'lone wolf' type. So I don't feel I lose much.


I love the time it gives me in summer. Finishing at 4pm and being home. It's amazing.

 

[Participant]

I LOVE working from home and I have a remote home-based contract, so I can claim expenses for going anywhere other than home.

I only look at remote opportunities I love it so much. My overall quality of life is 200% better since going full-time home based.

It sounds a bit misanthropic but other people can **** off in general.

 

[Grim5]

I wouldn't, but a friend does 4 days home one in the office and loves it. I couldn't live without the inane **** my colleagues talk about. Reminds me how lucky I am

I do mostly from home and it's not much difference for me; even when I'm in the office im just sitting there with my noise canceling headphones jamming music while working, don't talk to others unless I have to

 

[Bounce]

I can't stand our office. The 100 people in open plan all having their own conversations makes a wall of noise that is horrific to listen to all day. While the location might sound great being a 30 minute walk away, it is barely walkable as the major roads don't have controlled crossings (or even Zebra crossings), driving is pointless as there is about 50 parking spaces for 400 people, there is a shuttle bus I can use (which I can get a pickup point without driving to) but the punishment for someone asking you a question as you leave is a 30 minute wait for the next one. I have tried cycling once but you spend 10 minutes breathing in excuse fumes sitting in traffic. There is no food offerings on site, but the next industrial estate along has fast food, except you can walk through so you are back to the walking/driving problem.

That sounds horrible why don’t you look for a new job!?

 

[Vanquish-Storm]

UPDATE: Didn't get the 1st job, unfortunately my presentation wasn't good enough however when I asked for feedback on how I can find out more information about the specifics of the job role (which the presentation was about) I was told to find a mentor... Sounds like a YouTube Guru response to me but hey ho.

2nd Job interview coming up, I think the main point for me is the ability to exercise more and make money on the side (my friend has been trading whilst working from home and has managed to make a decent return).

Maybe I am being unrealistic with the money making aspect but at least it will mean a change in my job role.

Are you looking to stay as a pharmacist?

 

[OspreyO]

I think this is a somewhat overlooked advantage of office working, as a manager I used to get wind of potential issues before they blew up due to overhearing discussions in my team, i.e. there might be something they are concerned about but maybe not enough to want to directly trouble me about. Occasionally it might be something I'd want to get on top of early so being able to jump in and get the lay of the land was helpful. You could argue that's a byproduct of the culture not being transparent enough but I see it more as a reality.

It's also a reason why I'm generally not in favour of hybrid working, preferring fully remote or office based. With hybrid you have this awkward scenario of informal comms taking place face-to-face but with only a subset of people present, so it becomes somewhat pot luck as to whether people not present are kept in the loop, unless you put a lot of focus on comms channels. As I've said in previous threads, that's not to say you can't make it work, but I think people are a bit naive in thinking that hybrid working just literally means a 'best of both worlds' that will organically happen just by having people working some days at home and some in the office. I think hybrid is harder to get working well than fully remote and hence needs investment.

Unrelated to the above, the comments above about needing a dedicate working space / home office when WFH, I don't really agree that it's essential. Beneficial but for sure I can work anywhere so long as the logistics are there (proper internet connection, privacy etc). Whether that's the desk in my study or a kitchen table doesn't matter THAT much to me. The whole 'virtual commute' thing I don't really buy into personally, I do understand the principle about having a clear delineation between work-life and home-life but for me that doesn't need physical boundaries, it's a mental not physical thing for me.

I don't see needing to get information through eavesdropping as a advantage. Its poor communication work practises. Its pot luck if you happen to over hear it. Hybrid working just shines a light on it.

Dedicated work space, isn't about me working in the same location, its about conflicting with others in a shared space at home.

 

[Trifid]

I don't see needing to get information through eavesdropping as a advantage. Its poor communication work practises. Its pot luck if you happen to over hear it. Hybrid working just shines a light on it.

Dedicated work space, isn't about me working in the same location, its about conflicting with others in a shared space at home.

This. My boss complains about not being able to overhear conversations any more and head off problems. He has always sat in a separate office to us all (and is partially deaf!) so I have no idea how he even heard of problems before hand. Within the team, the use of a kanban board has allowed for pre-emptive raising of challenges before they are a problem with hybrid working.

 

[MichaelAwkward]

My line manager said something similar about when we had to WFH - something I much prefered - and in the time since the last lockdown there hasn't been one single occasion where being in the office has been more productive than when I was at home. When they say they want to overhear conversations to gain information, they mean they miss the idle gossip in my experience. Nothing actually work related.

Then they all come in when ill coughing and sneezing just to keep up the presenteeism.

 

[MatsyLR]

My current role could be done from home 100% of the time, but it doesn't seem to be on cards at the moment.
Our manager has said maybe when we get more members of staff we could start implementing 2 in 2 off (we work 4 day weeks) but that's awhile away as growth is slow.

 

[HangTime]

I don't disagree about benefiting from overhearing conversations being indicative of poor working communication practices (hence my "you could argue" statement), but that doesn't really change my view that if you have poor communication then it carries some 'pot luck' benefits you otherwise miss out on.

What I've found is that working for a 'new' company (founded less than 5 years ago) is that comms via public instant messaging is more 'baked in' so there is a lot more opportunity to 'virtually eavesdrop' than there was working for a company founded over a century ago.

 

[HangTime]

Within the team, the use of a kanban board has allowed for pre-emptive raising of challenges before they are a problem with hybrid working.

The kanban in itself doesn't fix anything though, it comes down to how it is used and I've never worked anywhere that has raised all issues/risks via a tool as the first port of call ahead of discussion with peers. Again, you can call that bad practice but the reality is bad practice is commonplace.

 

[rumple9]

I love working from home - get twice as much done because no interruptions, don't have the cost of travelling to work, plus less environmental damage, don't have the cost of city centre lunches and an extra hour in bed, wfh tax relief which pays for 1 days gas usage

 

[Infidelus]

I don't get a tax break as it's not mandatory, and I've always made my own packed lunch for work, but other than that I completely agree. I do one day a week in the office now as work won't let me go fully remote but I wouldn't go back to an office full-time even if work doubled my salary.

 

[Trifid]

The kanban in itself doesn't fix anything though, it comes down to how it is used and I've never worked anywhere that has raised all issues/risks via a tool as the first port of call ahead of discussion with peers. Again, you can call that bad practice but the reality is bad practice is commonplace.

I find that some will suffer a problem in silence until directly asked. The Kanban board is a good tool that provides that avenue.

 

[Participant]

Far fewer remote jobs on LinkedIn these days...have people found a big shift in work policy during the first 3/4 of 2023? I am still remote but the work itself is driving me potty, so much so that I'm considering a move to an office role for the same pay. I must be mad as WFH is amazing.

 

[malachi]

Far fewer remote jobs on LinkedIn these days...have people found a big shift in work policy during the first 3/4 of 2023? I am still remote but the work itself is driving me potty, so much so that I'm considering a move to an office role for the same pay. I must be mad as WFH is amazing.

Just less jobs in general, remote or not.

 

[Worthy]

Can’t say I’ve noticed a huge shift in the tech sector in terms of office, our place is officially hybrid still and the 20 or so people I speak to regularly are either WFH or a day or two in the office. I go in once or twice a week anyway to keep myself sane. I find being remote 100% of the time can make you blow small things out of all proportion - getting around people in the office gives me balance.