Working from home like it or not?

curtis122

I know a lot of people will instantly say love it but I work with someone who is choosing to be back in the office all week as hates the isolation at home and not having the split between work and home.

I'm working currently and do 3 days at home and 2 in the office, now being at home is good, I don't have to get up as early, no drive somewhere to sit in an office all day. obviously saving on fuel and my job is the type of job where its not busy all the time so whereas in the office I have to just sit there or go for a break or coffee etc at home I can be doing some small jobs, putting washing away, tidying up (all those exciting things!) that means I do not have to do them later. (while obviously keeping an eye on my work in case something comes in) so thats great as it give me more personal time with my family.

But I find working form home has its downsides too. As much as I never like the journey 'to' work as I'm obviously have to go to work, I have always not minded the journey 'from' work, not the journey itself but the 'time' it means I can wind down after what might have been a stressful, long, or annoying day, whether its have a rant about it to myself in the car or singing it out to my music, I then get home and can enjoy my home time more. Unfortunately the journey down the stairs is not long enough for me to wind down depending on my day, so if I have had a bad day I carry it on into my time in the evening or my husband has to listen to me offload!! 

 We have a home office, that now has become my 'Work' office and I hate even going in there anymore as it reminds me of work, every time I walk by it even with the door shut it reminds me of work. i don't use it anymore as a personal office,I just go in when I am working. If I need to do anything personal I sit on my own laptop downstairs. I don't like this aspect of it as work is intruding my 'home' space and I can't get away from it physically and mentally when its over. When I shut down on my PC at work I get up leave it behind and go home, its left there and I forget about it till the next day.

Its a difficult one as I like it but I also don't.

How do other people find it?

getmore4less

Why not plan the things that need you to get in the car to be done straight after "work".

Pick a supermarket a reasonable distance away and do a shop(if you do big weekly/monthly shops break it into smaller ones)

Its summer anywhere nearby you could just go and relax a bit.
go for a walk roughly the same time as your drive was.
got a dog make that walkies time.
got a bike use that. 

Depending how much kit you need to take could you have a temp office away from the house but not in the real one, any cafe/library etc nearby that you could do say 1/2 day to break up the week

comeandgo

I know what you mean regarding the home/work office.  I worked from home for the past 20 years, retired 2019 but the “office” still brings me out in a sweat.  My husband uses it now but I want to change it back to a bedroom or totally take away desks and cabinets and feminise it and make it part of our house again.

sammyjammy

A number of people I work with go through the process of "going to work" by sticking to their morning routine if they were leaving the house to go to work and then walking around the block/park etc for 20 minutes and then coming home to start work, ditto at the end of the day.  One of them even leaves via the front door and returns through the back!

ryan7

I think you weigh up the pros and cons very well. Working from home means 'work' stays with you even when you clock out for the day. That transitional period when you leave the office, get in your car and listen to music, radio, podcasts, etc.. is for some, the only ME time they get.
I think you should put your work things out or sight, laptop, paperwork, phone, etc.. So that when you enter the home-office out of work hours, that physical object reminder is no longer there.
Make that room airy, light and welcoming - pleasant to be in and not just functional. 
Finally, I think you should go for a walk to break that part of the day up.
Overtime you will learn to manage those feelings and rewire your mind so to speak.
You could always just break out the wine.... 

TELLIT01

I'm retired but my wife has been working from home since March 2020.  She enjoys the peace to get on with the job with far fewer interruptions than when working in the office.  She misses the direct interaction and chat with her colleagues.  One of her colleagues lives alone and can't wait to be able to be back in the office full time.

Her employer is trying to get people back to working roughly 50/50 from home and work.

Sandtree

Personally think that when WFH, particularly for this sustained period rather than a one off, I work less efficiently but I work longer hours so probably comes out in the wash from the client/employer position .

My work involves talking to lots of people, often getting people to do things that I have no authority to demand that they do it etc. I find informal office conversations can help a lot be that bouncing ideas off of people or hearing that 2 people in legal have just resigned so getting new resource commitment is going to become harder etc. A lot of that is lost when remote as you dont just phone random people to hear the gossip 

MovingForwards

Go for a walk round the garden or village while the laptop is shutting down. By the time I'm back in the flat my head is clear, mood is better and I don't care my equipment is in line of sight all evening.

Brie

I'm in the weird situation of liking my job, liking most of the people I work with (there's always a few....).  I completely get what you say about commuting as a great unwind and love the suggestions that some have made here. 

My problem is that while WFH is nice, easy I do find it is non stop.  I've even stopped at my computer to check emails before heading off to bed!  And on Sundays!!  

And while it's convenient to be able to jump up and deal with the washing or whatever there's also that incessant pressure of thinking "I really should multitask and put the washing on".  I used to be in the office and look out to see the rain start and know that all the stuff on the line will be well rinsed before I can get home - annoying but hey ho, can't do anything about it.  Now at the first sound of rain I'm up rushing to get stuff in.  I'm annoyed at the noise that others make at home (loud tv in one room and Wagner or ska playing at ultra volume in another) and that I get no privacy for phone calls.  Or that when on a call someone here is bound to flush the loo.  

So I'm of the best to get back in brigade.  I don't think I'll ever again be full time in the office but the interaction with colleagues and work/life balance will be better.

74jax

My husband seriously loves it.

He works with offices all over the world, so his team isn't necessarily in his office anyway, he works on Teams alot, so rather having to get up, drive to work and be on a Teams call at 8am (due to time differences in the world), he can roll out of bed, wash etc and be at his desk at home.

He's always had an amazing study set up at work, due to his work, so that's fine.

His work is letting those who want to go in the office, go in. And those who want to stay at home do so. He's at home 😂

Alfrescodave

Would Yoga help you unwind at the end of the working day. Switch laptop off and do 10-15 minutes Yoga before leaving the home office. Its a similar process to going for a walk as others have suggested. Helps clear the mind .