Working from home

DigSunPap

I quite enjoy working from home as I feel it gives you more time in the evening to spend with family or hobbies etc. I think after a while though it does get boring, going into the office 1-2 times a week to break up the pattern is ideal I think.

amateur_house

I started my current job in March 2020, and worked from home almost entirely for the first 18 months or so, but now have to commute in to work 3 days a week.
I much prefer working from home, but have an 'office' set up in the spare bedroom which means I can keep work and home separate.
I find the constant chatter on my days in the office distracting and am much more productive working from home.

wizzie5

I changed my job and began in a totally different discipline six weeks before the pandemic lockdown, commuting daily.  Learning something new is hard whatever the circumstances, but when we started working remotely I was fortunate that the organisation's IT was good and my manager very supportive.  The hardest thing I found WFH was not having the commute thinking time - journeying in planning what you want to achieve or how you will approach tasks/meetings, and  then (more importantly for me) the decompression time coming home reflecting on the day and that actual separation between office and home. All of a sudden I was closing down the laptop, walking into the kitchen and being asked what was for dinner by the kids. So yes, the blurring of boundaries can be difficult but to a large extent you have to be strict with yourself or find a way of taking that pause. When I can at the end of the day I will go and have half an hour of peace in my bedroom, or walk the dog before getting stuck into family stuff. I feel no shame in explaining to them that I need that time to empty my head, as it were.

Benefits ?  Running the day with an element of influence, not being interrupted by colleagues just 'grabbing a minute' - you can choose whether to answer that Teams call ! Being able to have parcels delivered, put the washing out, go for a walk at lunchtime, have a powernap, take it a bit more gently if you're not feeling great, working the hours which suit you and not having to explain or ask permission. Do I miss social interaction ? Yes a bit, although our team generally go into the office one day a week which is a good catch up but frankly now feels too noisy in a large office to concentrate.  Do I miss the journey time and cost ? Absolutely not.  So in my opinion it is what you make it, although of course it doesn't fit all occupations. I wouldn't want to go back to daily office attendance now.

housebuyer143

FallenAngel2612 said:

Hi,

lm interested to hear from anyone who has or currently does work from home.  I applied for a job that I thought would be more hybrid but have since found out it will be mostly remote work from home.

On the face of it, I can see the benefits of it but I’m just concerned I’ll miss the ‘structure’ of a working day and that the line between work and home life will become blurred, I’ve always thought of my home as my sanctuary, to get away from work and relax etc.  I’m also wondering if I might find it isolating.  I’m not an extrovert and there are days when colleagues annoy the hell out of me but I wonder if I’d miss the interaction.

If you have worked from home did you prefer it? what do you consider the main downsides to it?

Many thanks,

I worked from home from the first day of lockdown until about 2 months ago and honestly, loved every minute of it! I had never worked at home before and always thought I would hate it as I liked the social, but turns out you can get interaction elsewhere with people you actually want to socialise with and no office drama.
I have a new job now which is fine but it's in the office and now when it's quiet, rather than getting to go into the garden to do some yoga, or hang the washing etc I am forced to sit at a computer in the office and do nothing.. 

Give me WFH anyday! 

2childmum2

Speaking as the wife of someone who now works from home 2 days a week, in a house with no real place for him to work, please just check with anyone else who might be at home how they would feel about it too. DH seems to always be in the way! When COVID first happened it was a bit of a novelty having him home full time, and at one point I had 3 working from home, but now it's a pain. I seem to have to fit my day around whether he has meetings/phone calls etc, and I can hear him from every other room in the house, making it hard for me to concentrate. We have compromised on him being home 2 days a week, and now I try to be out on those days! 

Elliott.T123

I have worked from home fully since 2019 (I am now self employed there is no office to go to).

With regards to separating home from work, I did used to struggle with that on the odd occasion I worked from home prior to 2019. That was down to working from the Livingroom (no other space in the house). I found it hard to focus and also found it hard to switch off.

Prior to going self-employed I had moved to a new house and converted one room into the home office. I find it much easier and no longer have any issues. In my mind once I am in that room I am at work and once I walk out and shut the door at the end of the day I am at home. That doorway is a magic portal that takes me to the office and separates home from work.

If you do go for it then I do recommend making sure you put in the effort to get out the house regularly, be it a lunchtime walk, seeing friends or family after work or hobbies. You can easily fall into the trap of not leaving the house for days at a time otherwise!

One final point that I find a huge help, I have friends who WFH and they say how much they love being able to wear "comfies" to work. For me it is a mindset thing, I don't go as far as a shirt and tie etc but I always make a point of wearing something I would be happy to wear into the office (my industry has always been very dress down so jeans and a smart polo or casual shirt) but I find that helps a lot with the mindset too.

Gurugurugravity

I love working from home. I’m disabled and I don’t miss the commute at all. Been working from home full time for 5 years now but here are some extra ideas for anyone daunted by it:

• Set an alarm for when you start and finish and stick with it
• Sign up for Slack/discord chats groups for people doing a similar job to you in other orgs for chat and ideas sharing, many do community zoom calls
• Look at co-working spaces you can work at nearby if you miss the office (never used this yet)
• Use your previous commute time for exercise time before and/or after work
• Get as much natural light as possible (I don’t miss horrible office lighting at all)
• Plan what to do with your extra evening time - I love being at home to spend time with friends and family 
• Get up and move around a bit every hour or so
• Keep work email and chat apps off your phone

 Will aim never to work in an office again personally, but appreciate it’s not for everyone. 

[Deleted User]

I prefer working from home... no office politics, no travel time, no wear and tear and fuel costs travelling to work and back. Jobs are often easy, it's people that complicate them I've always found. Removing yourself from the office environment at least eliminates some of that, even if you've still got to deal with colleagues over email/phone.

Just got to be disciplined enough to work hard enough in work hours and then be able to switch off and remove yourself from the work situation come end of shift.

It all comes down to personal preference.

MrsStepford

Husband has worked from home and enjoyed it. What he doesn't enjoy, is driving to another county, to then sit on his own in an office all day, doing back to back Teams calls with people in the same office block and not getting a lunch hour.

At least WFH he could  eat breakfast while answering emails, shove the washing on, raid the fridge or take his laptop to the park. He could walk round the block on the phone or to a convenience store and back.

He arranged meetings in the car parks of tourist attractions, country parks, town parks and at beaches so that he and his colleagues could socially distance, get some fresh air and a change of scenery. 

We converted the back end of our sitting room into an office space for him, so that he could walk away from it at 4pm or 5pm depending on start time. 

DigSunPap

MrsStepford said:

Husband has worked from home and enjoyed it. What he doesn't enjoy, is driving to another county, to then sit on his own in an office all day, doing back to back Teams calls with people in the same office block and not getting a lunch hour.

At least WFH he could  eat breakfast while answering emails, shove the washing on, raid the fridge or take his laptop to the park. He could walk round the block on the phone or to a convenience store and back.

He arranged meetings in the car parks of tourist attractions, country parks, town parks and at beaches so that he and his colleagues could socially distance, get some fresh air and a change of scenery. 

We converted the back end of our sitting room into an office space for him, so that he could walk away from it at 4pm or 5pm depending on start time. 

Why is he not getting a lunch hour? I am pretty sure by law you are entitled to taking your lunch.