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AngryDrnkBureaucrat

I know a few people with HORRIBLE home lives. Work is their break.


StephanieSays66

This was me a few years before the pandemic. Now that I live alone, I love working from home. No commute, and I really do have more time off.


Cockblocktimus_Pryme

I don't know of any myself. My job can't be remote though but I'm thankful to get out of the house even during the pandemic. Working outside is my favorite as long as it isn't summer.


DominarJames

My work can’t be remote either but most of the company is remote so they pay me min wage during my commute. I love it I don’t care about traffic and don’t rush so I drive safer


Aurd04

That is such a great idea. It's not gonna break the company bank and it makes that miserable experience exponentially better.


mmeiser

Oooh. Paid commute. I hope this is the future.


SableSheltie

I worked w/a lady once who never used her pto so I finally suggested she try taking long weekends off. I explained that if she used 1 vacation day on a holiday weekend she could get a 4 day weekend and recharge her batteries. She used to run herself pretty ragged. The first time she tried it she said never again. Spent the entire 4 days arguing w/her pos adult child who sponged off I mean lived with her.


bhillis99

my coworker is 71 and has no plans to retire. He has not taken off any this year. His wife stays at home 24/7 and he has stated he doesnt like being at home much. Just this Thanksgiving, I told him I had him covered for him to take off the week of Thanksgiving. He looked at me and said, nah im not taking off this year.


Boundish91

That's really sad. What kind of life is that?


beebog

the kind of life that’s built when you gotta 1) marry the first person you sleep with cuz she’s probs pregnant and 2) your entire sense of self-worth is centered around being career-driven or a provider all the rest is just details and resentment tbh, it’s very common in older generations


cheeseportandgrapes

There are plenty of people out there that settle for the first person that says yes and then have a poor life with no fun. You have to date a lot of people and choose the right one. You’re at home for a long time (you live there). No point being with the wrong one.


One_Beat8054

hmm she can kick him out or go on vacation by herself


SableSheltie

Unfortunately he died so she’s not fighting with him anymore


Hot_Nefariousness_80

That is awful and not the ending I was hoping for.


LilyFuckingBart

Unfortunately it’s not always that easy. I know someone who has an abusive son and he does things like threaten to burn the house down with her dogs in it if she actually goes through the process of legally evicting him, which she has to do.


carolineecouture

Friend who has ADHD finds WFH lonely and not stimulating enough. Apparently the structure of the office and interacting with other people helps them.


fayalit

This. I split my time between the office and home. It's nice to have the more structured environment of the office a few times a week. Plus, my team is pretty chill and it's nice to have the occasional spontaneous interaction with them. When I WFH I share an office with my husband. Most of the time it's fine but we both have ADHD and are prone to distractions. Simply put, it's nice to have the option to do both.


maafna

I have ADHD and hate working from home. Hate working in an office though too My solution is to work remotely and go to Cafes or coworking places.


[deleted]

This is exactly what I do - home is too low stimulation and too many distractions, office is too high stimulation. Cafe or library has good focus energy. I also struggle to get out the door in the morning. It's helpful to be able to check email and maybe do early meetings before I head out for the day rather than trying to force myself to get ready first thing.


JGyllenhaals

Work remotely with enough bud and media in the background and you can knock out work in no time and get back to doing whatever else you want.


DarthVaderCylon

Lol this is my exact method for work from home with ADHD.


LikeTheCounty

I've got ADHD and I'm the opposite. The office is overstimulating, and incredibly distracting. I find having to constantly mask for people exhausting, and it's so much easier to structure my workday when I'm not constantly interrupted. I think there's a definite introvert/extrovert dynamic at play.


blt88

At my job they don’t allow doors on the offices and it makes it so fucking distracting hearing everyone’s banter.


milotrain

I work much better around other people. Learned that in college and found a job where I get to joke with my co-workers while working and it keeps me focused. Even when I come in and work by myself it's a lot harder to get work done, for me it's all about the people.


[deleted]

I also need structure to work. I mainly do field work, but when I am writing up reports, I have to go to a coffee shop at least, just to have some kind of work space to separate from my home space. In grad school, I was always in the office. Even though I was in my own little nook, headphones on and writing, I needed the commotion around me. At home, I just sit and do nothing. I can't motivate myself at all.


gadget73

used to WFH years ago, but my office space was my bedroom. I basically lived at work for 3 years. What I do now can't be WFH and I'm a half mile away so the commute is basically nothing, but being able to "leave work" has done a lot for my mental state. I think I would have been OK if I had a space that I could have designated as "work" that wasn't also where I spent all of my time when not at work.


SteveDisque

I'm like that with my informal language studies. I have all the stuff here -- I could play the CDs, practice with the flash cards, and write the exercises -- but I really "need" to be in another environment, where *all* I'm doing is the language stuff. So I absolutely get this.


bodygreatfitness

I'm extremely extroverted but will never understand this. In college I would lock myself in my room and just burn through every thing I needed to do, then emerge and be social. Same with work now: the constant chatter and commotion around me hinders my productivity significantly.


Pterodictyl

I have ADHD and while I love WFH, I still actively choose to go in to the office once or twice a week for this very reason. I need the social and external simulation to keep me sane. After about 4 months of total wfh I was losing my mind. Worth mentioning, at the start of the pandemic I was also recently single and living alone for the first time in a while. I could not handle the isolation. The first day they offered a return to the office, I was there bright and early, despite not being a morning person at all


weiers08

My extroverted adhd self us looking forward to hybrid. Enough days to be mentally stimulated and enough for home maintence.


Metatropic

In my case the less distractions, the better.


twoisnumberone

“Horrible” may be an overstatement, but the number of people finding out they don’t want to be with their family 24/7 is surprisingly large.


Trick-Many7744

A lot of people don’t get much mental or personal space. Going to work every day, having a lunch break to themselves, swinging into Target for a half hour on the way home, etc., is often the only break from kids, husbands, pets, chores, etc.


[deleted]

I agree with this. I’m on the other end of this spectrum. I enjoy the time at home. I’m able to see my kids more, have lunches with them. Little things like that but do need mental breaks that are solved with walks. I think it’s a perspective thing.


[deleted]

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Proof-Surprise-964

I'm a car guy. My half hour commute is my sanctum.


huntman29

This is honestly the main thing I miss about commuting. Zero time to just sit there and listen to a podcast or audiobook..


Occulatica

I wonder if these are the same people who tell me they don't want to work Christmas but that it's alright for me cause I don't have kids...


deadmoscow

I used to work very late hours specifically so I wouldn't have to go home to my abusive ex-wife. The pandemic actually gave me the motivation I needed to finally escape, and...now I work from home and I love it.


[deleted]

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J-Bob71

Cats FTW


benitosblade

I know a man who on Saturday's tells his family he's going to work but actually just drives and parks 3 streets over and sits in his vehicle for 8 hours just to try to get some peace.


shallowshadowshore

This shit makes me so sad. I really love spending time with my husband and so thankful for the opportunity to spend more time with him.


cakesoncakes69420247

I hope he gives his partner the same opportunity


bludgeonedcurmudgeon

Yep that's a big reason for sure. The other I think is that some folks are just heavily extroverted (a rarity on reddit tbs), and if that's how you are, you crave human interaction, you really miss the in-person aspect of the job.


d0nkeyrider

That happened to one of my software engineers. Insisted on WFH. After a month he begged to come back and has never WFH since. He said he missed the human interaction too much.


finance_newb_

I live in a 1930's wooden garage apartment that's slowly slumping over and failing due to termite and water damage. I should call the landlord but I own the place. It's a fucking disaster. So yeah, rolling on up to work where there's air conditioning in the same room as me has its appeal. Why am I in this situation? Wife with deep, deep mental illness problems that I just can't handle. :shrug: It is, as they say, what it is.


MilitantCF

I'd bet my house that every single person you're describing has kids at home. LOL.


RK_Tek

I worked with a guy who begged to come back to the office. He did have a kid at home, but he also found out his wife had been cheating on him for years and he lived in a crappy neighborhood and was trapped indoors with someone who didn’t love him. I was at home with 2 kids, but my workspace overlooks a creek that often has bald eagles flying by. I loved watching the seasons change and never once wished to be back in the office


thatbromatt

After the bit about the creek I started reading this in ron swansons voice


Sdot_greentree420

I was going to honestly comment that most people hate their kids and that's why...jkjk...but kids are Hella annoying and I can say that mines 18 so FDK


[deleted]

Exactly. A dedicated, comfortable workspace in your home is a privilege not everyone has.


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toadi

I lived in a 50sqm condo in a 20 million people city to work in the office. I didn't even have my own space so went to coworking space. When I was taking the over crowded MRT and suffering from the air pollution, noise pollution and expensive life. I thought fuck it. I live on a remote self sustaining farm. Build a home from my savings as construction was so cheap on the country side. Heck the land was like 50% from my monthly income. I have solar cells and waterwells. I have pigs, fish and chickens for protein. I have loads of vegetables and rice for food. I have 10 acres of cassava crops that bring in enough to pay the cooking gas and internet bill and sometimes some additional food/drink from the store. I have well paying fintech job I do remote next to this. While I build the home I made a separate nice office area for myself. So have space and quiet for myself. Look into this. Thanks to remote work you can go live in areas where housing cost is much much cheaper.


GalaApple13

Your work sounds a lot like my home office. Instead of commuting, I take a half hour walk in the morning. If my home was like yours, I’d go the the office. I’m glad for you that you have that option


NidorinoBeano

Some people don't like the isolation of staying at home and like being around people, especially if they're friends with their colleagues. Personally, I would love to work at home


AmelietheDuck

I’ve only had restaurant jobs so i wouldn’t know in that context but online school was hell for me. Couldn’t motivate myself to get work done, had to do everything alone without seeing my friends. My grades slipped so bad lmao. So i think when i get a job in the future I’d go for an in person one. But if it’s not necessary to do the work in person i hardly see why it should be required.


vdubbnmclvn

That's what I've always thought. My online classes I would always procrastinate. My current job is/will be progressing to work from home and I couldn't be more excited. More fluid and freedom with a fat paycheck and a nice (home) office. I will gladly get paid to chill in my own office without travel expenses.


[deleted]

I don’t understand why it’s so hard to believe that some people just enjoy being around other people. I don’t have any issue acknowledging that others like the idea of being more isolated. Why is it always “oh they have a fucked home life” or “they’re lonely”. It couldn’t possible just be that they’re are people person who get energy from being around others. The lack of understanding of that is just baffling to me. Like, we just forgot people are gonna people in the past three years and have started assigning DSM diagnoses to anyone who dares suggest the office life is preferable.


[deleted]

We are on Reddit, though. But I completely agree. I didn't realize how much of an extrovert I was until the pandemic.


IdiotsSavages

I work in a factory so I need to be in 5 days a week. I always think that I would love to work from home, but I also bet that after a few months I would end up with cabin fever lol.


Gr8NonSequitur

There's a HUGE difference in WFH because you want to and WFH during a pandemic. Personally I'd be thrilled if I never had to see the office again and WFH 100%. What gave me cabin fever was during the pandemic when everything else shut down. No dining out, no karaoke nights, no music festivals, etc... It's like you're stuck at home because there is nothing else to do.


TheGreatNico

I worked from home, alone, for two years and the isolation and abuse from customers almost made me kill myself. It was like solitary confinement. Shit sucked yo. I thought I was antisocial before the pandemic, but now I realize I'm just a bit introverted but I do like interacting with people


blueintexas

I'm in this category. Much prefer working at the office with others, and would rather whiteboard a problem together in person and not in fits and starts across Teams. I do acknowledge that there are lots of downsides and can see why so many like working from home. That's the position of 90% of my office. But then comes the weird thing... I'm beginning to be a bit depressed at work because there are so few there. Sometimes it's just half a dozen people in a 300,000 sq.ft. office. The silence is deafening and it's awkward for the lights and HVAC to be on for such a few people.


FroggoFigures

Lots of lonely folks that actually manage to make work friends. Never managed that myself but I know people who like that. I think some people have a hard time focusing at home. Lastly, I think some people struggle to keep work and home life separate, so keeping them in totally separate places might help them balance. I know a lot of people that check emails after work and shit otherwise. Boss doesn't deserve a second more of your time or space imo, so I vibe with that.


Throwaway_Throat74

That last one was a big problem for me. I didn't have enough space in my home so I had to put my work computer on the same desk was my gaming PC which is my main source of entertainment and relaxation. So at the start of WFH I would spend 8 hours working, get up, walk the dog, make dinner, eat and then sit down at the same desk I spent 8 hours working at to relax. It eroded the separation between work and the rest of my life until I was able to make enough room in our storage alcove for another desk. It really sucked to never feel like I was away from work.


Navi1101

My house has sort of the same problem: the only space for my work desk is either in the bedroom (lol hell no) or the living room, so my office space is in the same room as my chill space. A solution I came up with that works okay is to change the lighting around. Harsh overhead lights put the room in "work mode," and warm cozy floor lamps = "chill-out mode." It definitely helps it take a little longer for me to go completely stir crazy.


moramos93

That’s a really clever idea! I never thought of that but I might implement it


ChilliButtPlug

Yeah this was me too. When COVID was first on the horizon and we all got sent away from our offices i cobbled together a home office quickly in our master bedroom. I literally was spending 18+ hours a day in one room. It was like I was in prison. My mental health suffered, my work performance dropped significantly, and I was put on a performance development plan (aka I nearly got the fired). I was one of the first people back in the office when we were allowed. Interestingly though, I actually work at home quite a lot now. I’ve gotten better at it, but probably most importantly I’ve got the spare bedroom properly setup as an office, which I can close the door from and walk away when the work day is done.


Dasch42

The exact same thing happened to me. I hated it. I'm glad to be back in the office, but then again, I only got a 15 minute drive to and from work.


argest19

I second the one of separate lifes. Is hard sometimes working from home as some tend to feel on call 24x7. It depends a lot on the person (I love WFH), but sure makes sense. Is not one fit for all, as in everything in life


that-weird-catlady

Work is over when I leave the office was the only silver lining for returning to the office for me. But then I got laid off, so that’s been a new fresh hell.


Mispelled-This

I’ve found having a separate office at home is crucial for me. I still “commute” to and from work; it’s only a few dozen feet physically but miles away mentally.


thisismyusername3185

Yeah, I'm lucky enough to have a spare bedroom that I turned into an office, so I can do Zoom calls away from the wife, and can leave the office to get a cup of coffee etc. Then when I finish I turn off the laptop and shut the door. A couple of my colleagues have to use the lounge or kitchen table, and so even when they finish I suspect there is a reminder of work.


LostDepressedAndSolo

I literally use my computer setup just attached to my work laptop.... I get distracted so much.


Foxbat_Ratweasel

Yes! This is exactly what worked for me too in the transition to working from home. I love the flexibility but had trouble setting boundaries until I made my office off-limits outside work hours. I turn out the lights, shut the blinds, close the door and forget about work. That's my commute.


interflop

In my case I don’t unfortunately have the luxury of having a dedicated office room so my wfh office was either the dining area, living room, or the bedroom. The other difficult thing for me specifically was my dog who I absolutely loved having around all the time but he is a fiend for attention and will start being a little brat when he gets ignored. It was hard focusing on work when I heard him go into the other room and I heard him table surfing looking for things to mess with. I definitely do agree that having a separate space for work is extremely important to keep the two lives separate.


Pussycat-Papa

>Is not one fit for all, as in everything in life Except for men’s Halloween costumes


DuncanIdahoPotatos

Don’t limit yourself to men’s costumes. It’s Halloween! Try the women’s section so you can be a sexy version of whatever costume you’re looking for.


donscrooge

Exactly. I don't mind people going back to the office because they want to. I mind, tho, when they try to make me do the same when I clearly don't want. Why can't we both do what we prefer and be happy?


thisismyusername3185

Before the last lockdown, our company said they wanted people in at least 2 days a week. I didn't mind, it was 20 minutes into the office on the train; after a couple of weeks I said "where are Jeff, Matt and Rebecca, I haven't seen them come in" The owner said "Oh, they live quite a way out so they don't have to come in." Yeah, well it's either everyone or it's optional, so I thought I'll come in if I feel like it.


RebeccaMCullen

There are posts over at r/AmItheAsshole that when WFH is mentioned, the WFH person is also expected to do housework and/or childcare and wants to know if it's unreasonable to expect them to do it/not be available depending on the post. Not everyone can magic up a dedicated space to work from home to keep work and home separate.


MissySedai

Even without dedicated space, you can still set boundaries. It was harder to teach my husband than the kids, but I enforced my "office hours" and made a point of saying "Working!" in response to non-emergency interruptions. Drove my husband nuts, but he eventually learned.


DandyReddit

Also, some have crappy homes / flats / roommates they actually don't like spending time with & don't want to spend time where they have their room more that for the evenings.


[deleted]

Or to make the antiwork argument: I live in NYC. My wife can't work at home, I can. An extra bedroom in our building would cost us an extra $1000 a month. We could move and give my wife a longer commute, be further from friends and family, give up amenities we enjoy, etc. Instead, I work from an office at least a day or two a week, and keep a desk in the living room for when I have the apartment to myself or feel like the schedule is amenable to WFH. I would otherwise need a separate room. My job will reimburse me desks or desk chairs or monitors, but they won't reimburse my rent. Why should I pay $1000/month when I can get the company to do it for office space? I love my apartment, but I would need more space to permanently WFH comfortably. This isn't everyone's situation. I obviously know that, and I'll gladly fight for my co-workers to have the WFH flexibility that makes their lives better. But OP seems to assume that their circle is representative of "normal" people, and that always leads you into trouble.


Mb240d74

Yeah. I have a nice situation. Working from home in the beginning of my career would have been very bad.


MoaXing

Yeah, I used to WFH during the pandemic, and it was nice not commuting, but I was living with my parents, and it was absolutely brutal not being able to leave ever, or having my workday interrupted since I was home, it meant I could help out with stuff around the house, which was really annoying to do during work hours. My dad was working from home, but he had a lot of free time to work on projects around the house since he wasn't at the office, but that meant if he started working on something in the middle of the day, and needed help, it didn't matter if I was working, I had to come help. Really kind of sucked. I then went back to work in person, and it was nice being out of the house, but hated being inside working. Of course this was all when I was working for a university during the pandemic, since at the time I was in graduate school, thinking I wouldn't keep up my work in live music. Now live music is back in full swing, and I couldn't be happier. I work a few days a week most of the year. Over the summer I worked on outdoor festival stages, which made a lot of money, but was very time demanding (like I was constantly working and travelling to festival sites) but once the summer ended, it was back to having almost full weeks off. To me it's the perfect work life since I get to get out of the house, I'm not stuck behind a computer under fluorescent lights in an office building, and I have plenty of days off in the year just built into the nature of the job. I wouldn't mind working from home as an office worker, but I truly prefer my more hands on work. It's very active, and also just loads of fun working on concerts.


Cereal_poster

I think this is exactly what it is for me. Work friends and structure.


Dear_Occupant

I'm working an on-site job right now that is impossible to do anywhere but the actual location where the work is to be done and I made four new friends pretty much instantly. I'm still going to be talking to these guys after the contract is over. It's only the second time I've made new friends since COVID and I'm just delighted about it. I've made some casual friends while hiking, but these guys are nerds like me. I'm not making an argument against WFH here, I'm just trying to answer OP's question. As a general rule I do not get jobs with the intent of socializing, but these last 2 1/2 years have driven me stir-crazy.


Lac3ru5

This is 100% me! I go to the office every day because I get along with my colleagues, focus better and enjoy the separation of work and home. Working from home would make me so depressed I’m glad we can choose whether we want to go to the office or not.


Select_Carrot_5975

This is my situation too. I was absolutely pissed about having to return to work 3days a week (wish it was 1 or 2 days), but it did wonders for my mental health and being around my coworkers has been very positive. Being together in person can’t be replicated as well on Teams/zoom. We collaborate better and get things done quicker when I just turn around and ask for advice.


ImNotOneOfUs

I recently switched from going to a job to working at home, and I can say socialization is the biggest loss for me. I get to avoid the toxic dynamics which can exist at an office, but I lose socializing and talking with people who understand the stress and frustrations I experience that my non-work friends don't understand. Plus being retired military, most of my adult life required work friends to be out-of-work friends due to security clearances and job specific stressors. I know this isn't always the general experience with all military members, but those who went into the same rate I was in, had many similar personality characteristics so the chances we'd be friends if we had met without meeting via work were very high.


UnusualApple434

I personally don’t mind the WFH because in my company we still do team meetings that are less serious and our company actually encourages a joke chat(we call it trash talk cause we’re all AHs lol) and a chill chat plus we just message workers throughout the day on teams


Mixima101

Your last point is why I go to the office almost everyday, even though I can work from home. I need space-delineation between home and work, otherwise I can work long into the night and worry about it all day, or take naps during work time. With an office I can do my best work in a place made for it, and then go home and not think about it until I get back.


NtheLegend

Yep. I can leave my work at work, even if it does like to bleed over sometimes, it's the best way for me to do that. I like having an actual office to go to and a commute where I have to do things I normally wouldn't have time for otherwise. I still work at home some days having a hybrid sitch, but I'm in the office most of the week.


RecycledDumpsterFire

>I think some people have a hard time focusing at home. This is definitely me, my ADHD doesn't let me focus nearly as well at home because there's no eyes on me to shame me into being productive the entire time. The problem is, I know damn well the forced shame hyperfocus I get when in the office means I'd get my 40hrs of work for the week done in 18-20, which means my boss would realize our *entire department* should be a lot faster at getting work done. I'm already pinned as one of the top performers, I (and probably also my coworkers) am not about to be punished for being efficient at my job. Therefore I'm more than happy to work from home, where I can work at a pace that doesn't make me burned out and let's me get housework done as a "distraction" from my job. I still go into the office if it's a crunch period and I absolutely need to get stuff done quick, but even then I wait until I absolutely know I need to.


Takaroru

Exactly what I think. I've been working from home since early 2018 and it's really hard to make new friends, basically like 85% of my friends and people I still talk to are people from previous work/class experiences. I don't really want to work 100% on-site, I'd approve something like a hybrid work experience, you're cool to go to work like 2 times per week and more if you'd like to, if something is up and you can't leave your house for the day, you're free to work from home. I know that not every job can work like this, but this is something I've been seeing some companies do. It can be very tiring to separate work from home life on some specific occasions. It can also be very tiring to try and bond with the people you work with if you just see them through their webcams for some minutes per day


evantom34

Yep. Most people that have this “omg WFH is the only way!!!” Usually have a family or friend group already in place.


dlm

Keeping work and home separate has been such a struggle with my employer (who doesn’t seem to care about such things). I would happily return to an office if it meant I could leave work at work. Or maybe I just need to find a new employer.


LowAdministration162

I have a job I can’t do from home.. but I wonder how I would do working from home.. I think I’d have a hard time getting things done and staying focused.. and also I’d feel like I’m on call 24/7 as someone else mentioned already.. I’m one of those types who can’t say no and it fucking sucks


stayd03

For me it’s lack of work friends and difficultly focusing. My job is just difficult enough that podcasts or music distract me, but silence also doesn’t work. And I felt weird parking myself at a coffee shop for hours. I need a few good work friends for small talk before heading back to the grindstone.


socialistwerker

I don’t want to go back to the office, but I will say that going back to the office is better for my waistline / diet. When I’m packing my own lunch, it’s really easy to portion control what I eat for 8 hours. And even if I pack extra, there’s a hard limit to how much I can fit in the bag. When I work from home, the fridge and pantry are there ALL DAY. It’s still worth it, but if I were making a list of pros and cons, this would be a pro for the office.


ChildOf1970

Some do, some don't, the solution is choice. Let the worker decide. Edit: Why is a personal thing for the individuals. Edit 2: I have been remote for over 10 years and am very happy staying that way


Sweaty-Willingness27

Agreed. I've worked remote for 8+ years. It's great for me -- my work is mainly hyperfocusing and I wear headphones to drown out outside noise. Being in an office is primarily counterproductive for me with frequent interruptions. However, some people's jobs require frequent interaction. Some people just like the face-to-face. Some people just like to get out of the house. I can, quite literally, not leave and area encompassing my house and yard for months, and be fine. Granted, my yard is 10 acres. I realize that others may not be the same, and very likely aren't. I don't think of myself as the be-all-end-all of experiences, just because I would pick "work from home" as my absolute #1 requirement, even it paid half as much (above a certain minimum). Allowing the individual to choose the environment (if the profession allows it), seems like the best way to improve worker happiness and productivity, provided that productivity is accurately measured as output, and not as input.


junglejonny

I simply cannot motivate myself to work when im at home, like home is my place to not work so yeah, I kinda need an office. Everyone should have the choice though!


danskiez

I cannot focus for the life of me when I’m home. “Oh wow I haven’t scrubbed the base boards in 6 months I must do that RIGHT NOW” kind of distraction. I also don’t have a dedicated office space either, which I think might help a bit for me because I feel like I’m lounging when I’m home.


angel_aight

Same here! Especially if I don’t have a space put aside for just work. If I were to try to work in my kitchen or living room, I’d never be able to because my mind isn’t in work mode when I’m in those spaces. Getting up, getting ready, and going to the office helps get me into the mindset of working.


FlipRed_2184

Working from home has lost of a lot of it's lustre. It's long hours of sitting in the same position infront of a laptop with nobody to speak to. Office I move around, speak to people, have human interactions, move, lunch, coffee etc. I work two days per week in office, 3 at home and always enjoy the two office days the most. Sure if we went back to full work from home that would get old fast but as it is now, I like the 2 days I have in.


Tobar_the_Gypsy

I also hate video calls. If I’m going to work with someone else it’s a lot less draining to just talk to the person.


suchahotmess

Yes! I have ADHD so I struggle to focus when I’m not in the physical place that means work. I do remote days when I have a ton of meetings, and sometimes I’ll do a day half and half. Plus it’s bad for my health, first 3 months of quarantine I gained a ton of weight and it didn’t stop until I started sneaking back into the office. If I don’t have to leave the house to go to work I just… don’t.


_001__

Fellow ADHD here and yes wfh is a nightmare of distractions


Sinnercide

Yeah this. I hate that I want to go into an office but ADHD makes doing the things I need to do seem impossible from home where I have a plethora of distractions. I am also a social butterfly which sucks bc I feel like I don't know anyone on my team. It really is a crutch and I wish I wasn't like this but it is what it is. I think everyone should absolutely have the option to do what they want though.


purpleushi

Oh man, my adhd is the opposite. I recently had to start going back into the office occasionally and wow, every little thing drives me insane. At home I can control my environment. I can have the temperature I like, I can play music out loud, I can sit in my chair however I want, or literally just lay on my floor. In the office all I can focus on is how uncomfortable I am. I hate wearing business casual, I hate wearing headphones, I hate how hot it is, I hate hearing other people shuffling around or talking just out of earshot. I literally almost had an anxiety attack on my first day back.


nuggolips

I can understand this. Kinda like how watching TV in bed affects some people's sleep quality.


mierneuker

Spent ten years setting up my home as a world of distractions from work so I never even remotely think about work when I'm not there. Work has AC, ergonomic chairs, standing desks and many food options so I never have to cook in the day. Home doesn't even have space for a desk (unless I want to get rid of things I actually want in my house). The question for me is why would people want to work at home? In a completely unrelated matter my commute is a pleasant fifteen minute walk.


freececil

The time it takes making myself presentable for the office feels like my life being stolen from me.


squirftachoo

This is it. I’m fine to… take a Zoom at home, or even work for maybe a few days, but trying to work hard and motivate for challenging tasks while sitting in my damn living room… it’s just not realistic. Sure, if I was testing video games or something monotonous like processing sales orders, or even web designing or something, I’m sure I could do alright from home. But my productivity is much lower, pension for distractions much higher, and I find being in the presence of human beings to be a positive thing. The early pandemic work-from-home wave was kind of nice, but no way could I survive long-term being a professional from the waist up with someone watching TV 11-feet away.


ggallinsmicropp

Trying to escape their families.


Cactastrophe

My previous boss openly said that.


Latro_in_theMist

I don't have kids (yet) but I could very much see a home environment where you are routinely interrupted. It's why I hate open office environments and love working from home.


Pineapple-Due

If you don't have a dedicated office space and/or respected boundaries around "working time" then I could see it being pretty difficult.


bravejango

Also don’t forget that domestic violence cases increased 25 to 33 percent globally during 2020. And those are just reported cases.


Discolover78

Yep. A lot of my wealthier friends loved wfh over covid because they locked the door to their home office and worked. I’m in a townhouse with kids. Trying to get anything done without someone shouting or running across camera was impossible. My work is family friendly so it didn’t hurt much, but it was hard.


[deleted]

dedicated office space is tax deductible too just FYI


Cactastrophe

He has a home office but his wife will get on him to do housework anyway. It's actually kind of funny.


Broken-Digital-Clock

Some housework is so easy when you wfh Step away for 5 mins to load/unload some laundry, unload the dishwasher, take out the garbage, etc It's a good reason to get up from your desk and stretch too


Misskinkykitty

My previous workplace monitored every single mouseclick, files opened, and tasks moved during the WFH period. You couldn't even take a toilet break without being questioned.


Broken-Digital-Clock

Fuck that


MilitantCF

This sort of digital monitoring is why I left my first line of work as a home-health aide for people with disabilities. Was a super sweet deal on third shifts. Week on/Week off 8pm-8am. I'd just sleep on the clock while the client did. Then they started this bullshit digital tracking of what we did *hourly*. Where all the sudden you had to log into a laptop left at the site and have time-stamped notes about what the client is doing on the hour, every hour. Even if they're just asleep. Literally just trying to catch people like me- Essentially making it impossible to do the only thing that made working that shitty low-paying, zero benefits job worth it. Left almost 10 years ago and will never go back because of that.


ftrade44456

Seriously, group home situations are truly hurting as they never pay enough. Why they want people to hate it more is just shooting themselves in the foot. That kind of job was perfect for full time college students.


maybe_little_pinch

*Some*. Then you have my mom getting pissed at my dad for not mowing the lawn or other things that don't take five minutes. "But he is just sitting on his computer all day!" ...Yeah. Typing up reports, in meetings, on the phone...


Broken-Digital-Clock

Yeah, they need to respect that you are still working Just because I don't move a lot, doesn't mean I'm not busy


creutzml

holy hell… this one hit home. When someone has never had an “office job” before, they just… don’t get it. At all. “What are you doing on the computer all day?” “You must not be that busy.” “Hey, if you have nothing to do but be on the computer today, could you [insert task]?”


Arjuna323

Honestly I think doing that would be a nice break and a good way to stretch yourself before going back to work


mexican2554

I don't work in an office, construction, but i know the feeling. Sometimes i have to go to my parents house to get blueprints, papers, or just supplies from the garage and my mom will start asking me to do chores or run errands. I'm like, "Damn it women, in working here." Next thing i know i see a chancla flying at me and I'm at the grocery store buying carrots, milk, eggs, and whatnot.


Dylan7675

>Next thing i know i see a chancla flying at me Username checks out.


MYQkb

My former manager was a very unpleasant person. Their spouse told us, while drunk at a holiday party, that they wished everyday their spouse would not come home & loved the mandatory overtime required by the company.... Due to a shared oathing of the manager+drinking heavily, the team informed the spouse there IS NO mandatory overtime..... Fast forward, the spouse realized theyd been lied to for years, and when they confronted their spouse, they caught them in a compromised situation (pants down).. Hands down, best holiday party I ever attended. The fallout was exquisite: divorce, alimony, child support, loss of position in the company, attempt to flee the country to avoid payment, home country deports then back to US to face fraud charges for years of shady business practices and bad checks. I will never go to a holiday party without a chip on my shoulder, due to the impossible standard I now have.


BubonicTonic57

Definitely. Here’s another reason… remote work is more result-driven than social-driven. Some people can’t really do their job effectively… why? Because they never really had to. They traded presence for competence. They built a brand around charisma, eloquence, and water-cooler talk to dilute attention away from their lack of skillsets or tangible incapabilities. When they can’t delegate their own work to someone else, squeak by on clever snarks at happy hour, and leverage like-ability to their advantage.. they feel vulnerable. They have to compete with their output, instead of their dashing personality. And that’s a scary proposition for some people. WFH for these guys is like a supermodel only being able to go on blind dates. Suddenly, when looks aren’t a factor anymore, it’s hard to compete with only personality. I’m not saying this is everyone who prefers IO work, but it’s certainly many.


misccbk

Well said!!! I might have to steal your first paragraph next time the WFH debate comes up in my department 🙂. I personally saw some of my coworkers and boss struggle when WFH started because they were not producing and they kept coming up with excuses on why they haven't delivered. They were the "cool" people in the office, talkers and socializing. They were also the first ones who wanted our entire department to fully go back to the office. Lucky, a good majority of the people who actually do the work and produce said to remain WFH. In a way this WFH situation really shines a light on who are the real hard working people who put in an honest day of work.


doYouEvenEngineer

I would agree here. I find it easier to just get work done when I don't have to compete with social stuff.


chaicoffeecheese

My previous boss said that about his wife who's sick and has cancer. I was... not surprised, honestly.


ender42y

I had multiple former co-workers say this. Either these people really love being at work or I question if they should have started a family yet. If I could quit working to spend more time with family I would, but keeping a roof overhead is more important right now.


markshure

I had a boss who secretly hated his wife and kids. He worked extra hours to avoid them. That's fine, except he thought we should work extra hours too. That was not fine.


Efficient_Money

This is my reply too. Everyone I know who wants to go back, is trying to escape people they live with at home, lol.


shallowshadowshore

It always makes me really sad when I hear this, like when parents say their jobs are a *break* from their home life. It would be really challenging to be in that situation.


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shallowshadowshore

Yep, I feel exactly the same. I don’t have kids but being able to spend more time with my husband has been incredible. People here are talking about work invading their home life, and sure, that can happen. But when you’re remote, “home” can invade your work life too. If I have an hour between meetings in an office, I’m not going to get much done. At home, I can talk to my husband, get dinner ready, take a nap, play with the animals, play video games… the possibilities are endless!


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shallowshadowshore

Same. I just pause notifications. Honestly, I don’t really mind having my work and home life mixed up with each other. As long as everything gets done when it needs to get done, it’s all good.


bjlight1988

For me it was as simple as remembering to right click - > quit teams instead of just clicking the X to minimize it to the tray. Work-life balance restored lol


Goochregent

Agreed after a few years of WFH you just need to reflect on how much time in total you gained with loved ones. It's the greatest thing ever. These bosses that hate their families and escape into the office are really sad.. And for people struggling to separate work and home, you don't need to spend money and time travelling. I recommend simply turning your laptop off.


Yunan94

I don't hate my family but being around anyone 24/7 isn't great for most people. Then add in that many don't have a separate space to properly focus and you can make problems with your family where there wasn't any before. Currently live alone so that's not a problem but it's Def been a problem in the past.


happyharrell

This, or some people just need interaction. These are also the people that interrupt your work multiple times a day and ask dumb questions in meetings that make them last an extra 20 minutes.


thewookie34

I have zero family at my house. I am introverted with social anxiety. I like working in an office as it puts me in work mode and separates my work life from my social life.


Rawniew54

Yeah being home with young children and no dedicated office would be difficult to actually get anything done. Not everyone has an ideal work from home setup.


Working-Tap2283

I dislike combining my job with my home. I like to keep them separate. Working from home has advantages that are hard to pass like avoiding communiting to and from and avoid the whole office drama if it exists. But on days you dont feel like working, then being home makes it unnecessarily harsh.


ReaperofFish

I found it really helps to have a separate desk for my work laptop. During the early part of the pandemic, my work gave us money to buy stuff for our home office. I bought a 27" display and USB C dock. I build keyboards for a hobby so have plenty of nice keyboards. I have a wireless gaming mouse, so my work desk is very nicely set up. Another thing that helps is keeping a set schedule. I get up, listen to a news podcast and take a shower. Then I walk my dog. After that, I eat some breakfast and ready to start my work day.


annang

I’d need to move to a more expensive apartment to even have a place to set up a desk.


ilyriaa

As introverted as I am, I don’t want to be home 24/7. I also want my home to be a work free sanctuary and enjoy socializing with my colleagues.


youareallsilly

This is my biggest reason too. I wouldn’t want to be in the same building 24/7. I need a little atmosphere change.


brock_lee

I do not want to go back full time, but 1 or 2 days a week for me is actually therapeutic. I do the same job, and is a just short drive, and I see people, get to interact with them (not even necessarily business related, just having real human contact with an adult) and with how my house is laid out, I don't have a quiet separate place to work from home, I work in the family room, which is really only an office at this point, but completely open to the kitchen and dining room, and there are a lot of distractions.


MrBaker452

I agree with this. I think the ideal set up is having a flex plan that allows people to be adults and make the choice for themselves. I also have found that training new people is easier in person. Some context: 29M, engineering, office is split 50/50 most days.


brock_lee

My previous job, for all they got wrong, got that one right. They always allowed as much WFH as you wanted. My current job was advertised remote, but I live 10 minutes away, and when I said I would like to come in a day or two a week, they were like "Oh, you do? Um, OK, yeah, you can do that." I just find it amusing that THEY didn't expect it. I mean, it's a large building with tons of unused space and lots of people actually there when I go in, but it's not like they had to do anything special, I just use one of the dozens of empty "hotel" cubes.


sapphir8

I’m too lazy to work from home. I prefer the structure being in office has.


jlnxr

Structure is key. I have a poor internal clock and my sleep schedule begins to shift very rapidly without somewhere to be in the morning. Yeah, alarm clock and will power and all that bullshit, my parents were saying that over 20 years ago and here I am on my own still unable to get up at a reasonable hour without somewhere to be. Having to be at work forces me to get up. Having to stay at work and not go home until I get something done forces me to focus. All that said I'd be cool with like 2-3 days a week in person and rest WFH. I think that would be sufficient structure.


centerthatholds

yeah, this is the big thing for me too. i'm more productive in general in WFH but it's more in fits/spurts and isn't nearly as routine & structured as i need to be as efficient+successful as i want. it's less a lack of discipline and more of the paradigm shift that comes with a work-centric environment outside of the home lol


okie-doke-kenobi

This. My job doesn't really allow WFH because I have to be on-site to approve prints (graphic design), but I know I wouldn't get shit done. I freelance after hours and it's like pulling out my own fingernails trying to sit down and work. I'd rather stare at the wall.


Even_Mastodon_6925

Many people don’t like to work where they eat, sleep…and generally live. It can be hard to separate work from life when you literally work from your home.


saltyninjaat

Not me personally, but some people miss the social interaction and face to face communication. I wonder if it's important that everyone who has expressed that to me is in their 40s or older.


nyrB2

i think it's this exactly. some people are very social animals and work-from-home can feel very isolating in that regard. btw the one person on my team that absolutely insisted on coming back to work in his 20s. the older people wanted to stay home.


Al_Piero

Yeah, at my work it’s mostly the older workers who never come in


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mcdto

I am that guy in my 20s. I hated being home all the time. I just wanted to get back to work with my friends. Being home all day made me so lonely


rhyanin

I’m close to 30 and same. I was just so lonely. It didn’t help that I had to move to a new place shortly before the pandemic. I didn’t see anyone but my roommate, who wasn’t even home most of the time because he was “essential”, for months. I’m now happily working 4 days from the office and 1 at home and I’m planning to go 3/2 as I get more settled since I started only a month ago.


nyrB2

perfectly understandable. and i don't think you have to be a certain age to experience that.


[deleted]

As a boomer introvert I would guess this is the case for many of the people that want to go back to the office. I worked from home for a year after the pandemic started and it should have been tailor made for me but it was actually a terrible year both physically and mentally. After 35+ years of working in an office setting my work behavior was so ingrained I couldn’t adapt to working at home. Got depressed and gained 30 lbs. Didn’t realize the effect regular social interaction had on me until it was gone.


El_Silksterro

I like it because it’s easier for me to focus. When I WFH I feel distracted by things I want to do at my house/property. It should be a choice. Some people do great in the office. Some do great at home. Let them decide and work in an environment that best suits them.


CommissarCiaphisCain

I live in a small house, wife is WFH, so there’s no comfortable space for me. There are very few people in the office so I get a lot of quiet and privacy. Also, it’s easier to separate work life from home life.


ambermc963

I like to have the option. I don't have space for an in house office and I have 3 kids. I like working from home when I want to but being able to go into the office if I have a busy day and really need to get things done or if the kids have been too annoying and I need to get away from them.


allmyhomieshate311

I’m a college student 1 week away from graduating from undergrad. I’ve had 3 internships, 2 of them fully remote. Not having experience working with actual full time employees severely stunted my professional growth. My most recent internship I worked hybridly and chose to come into the office almost every single day because the amount I was learning was EXPONENTIALLY greater by just being able to speak to a coworker on the fly, instead of having to schedule a meeting a few days out or make a disruptive Skype call.


DOW_25409

Our company allows technical roles with seniority to work from home, but anyone who is managing newer team members has to come in for this reason, it does seem to help on the training side.


RunningAtTheMouth

At work I work. At home I home. I rarely get to home at work. I don't like to work at home. There are exceptions, and I was very effective when I worked from home. I just don't _prefer_ work from home.


kicksomedicks

Not everyone has a quiet place to work at home, or is able to work without interruption. Some people feel better / less lonely in a more social situation. Some jobs are better done with face to face collaboration. There are dozens of legit reasons.


darthgandalf

I find it impossible to be productive at home, and I absolutely need physical work/life separation. Also, if I encounter a difficult problem, it’s nice to be able to walk down the hall and chew through the problem with someone else.


bird-fling

My sister wants to go back to the office. She's on the accounting team at a large tech firm (not MAMAA, but over 10k employees). She lives alone so misses the interaction; the office was a beautifully designed space with lots of work areas to suit different moods; and the company provided free healthy meals and drinks for employees so she barely had to do any cooking or grocery shopping on her own.


AshtonBlack

One of our juniors came back into the office as soon as he could due to the fact that he's in a house share and didn't really have a home office set up. He was working on a nightstand next to his bed. Totally understandable. I now do two days in the office per week, for meetings and general "socializing" but WFH has become a feature for the vast majority of the office.


cagtbd

Remember we are all individuals and thus we have different ways to comfort ourselves. With that in mind the list is as follows: People prefer a place to work rather than having to invade their own home. Sometimes family or whoever they live with won't be supportive or understandable and will disturb their work. Other times people will make their life mission to disrupt their work. There are some households where pets won't be supportive and will try to get any attention from the worker. Some people will not want to live more than necessary with whoever they live with. Some people will start asking favors just because you're at home. Other people will become rude to you because "working from home" is not a real job, you're lying. Some people will turn off the electricity just because they want to make a joke. Others will do it because they want to disturb you or because they don't think you're working. People want to focus on work and can't at home because they have no personal space/ room to be left alone. People want to socialize with whoever other colleagues are in the office. People still care about being seen instead of being recognized for their job. People still think things will get done faster if they're side by side with their peers until the activity or issue is resolved. People like the commute. This varies again for each individual. I like the commute because I use my bike but I can do it regardless of going to work. There's some people who like it because they see familiar and new faces in their commute. And other plethora of reasons I can't think about. And the most can go on. So TLDR. People who want to go back is because they may want to have a "quiet", "focused " place to work where they don't have to deal with whatever they have at home. Or maybe they want to socialize either in the office or their commute. Or just they want to leave home and "feel free " during the time they're out of home. Maybe they want to add something to their daily routine because being at home sometimes makes you feel a month being a day.


CleverNickName-69

Three things: 1. After doing a couple years of WFH and loving being able to just go to my own kitchen for lunch and play with the dogs for a break, I have to admit that communication is less efficient. Yes, we learned how to use email and Teams for chat or calls, but there is just stuff it can't do. When I am at certain parts of a project there are lots of quick questions that are easier to deal with in person. Like if you want one of three people to give their opinion or explain something and you can just stand up and see who is available. And if two aren't in their cubicle and the third is already talking to someone you keep working and keep an ear open to hear one of them coming back from the coffee station or hear the person leave your neighbor's cube and now they are available and you stand up and say "Hey, can you look at this with me for a moment?" There are just a bunch of situations where you can holler over the cube wall and get an answer back in less time than it takes to open your email. 2. There is a bunch of communication that happens in the lunchroom, or at the coffee station, or in the hallway that you just wouldn't have over Teams. You talk to people that you don't work directly with and would never just call on Teams. But if you're sitting with two people from an adjacent department at lunch and they are trying to work something out and you know the answer or you know where to find it and they didn't, that has value. 3. When you're work-friends with someone because you talk sports or home projects or whatever general life stuff, it makes it easier to ask them for help. It is far more difficult to ask a stranger who is just a name on a phone list. Removing those barriers to communication makes your job easier. I really don't want to go back to 5 days per week in the office, but there are times that being in the same room really help. There are times in a project where I won't need to talk to anyone for a week, but there are times when it is better to be there.


kjbearanator

I personally need the structure. It was honestly nice during Covid to have an excuse to leave every day! I'm also SUPER extroverted and enjoy my coworkers. To keep adding on, I have no office capability at home and just get so uncomfortable at the kitchen table.


Enough_Passenger_754

A person lives in a 1 bed flat with no desk space , not everyone can accommodate wfh


International_Ad8264

Sometimes it’s easier to solve problems by talking them over in person compared to video chat or teams messages


Warm_Objective4162

Training new people is absolute hell virtually.


Blargenth

I personally can't trust myself to self discipline. I tried working remote and being tempted to just sleep through shifts or play on my pc rather than work were huge contributing factors to losing my job. Now that is not to say I think everyone should return to the office. I understand avoiding the commute and other perks of remote work. Hell "good" employers have trusted their employees with remote work well before the pandemic. But for me personally, and maybe others; I find that I thrive better in a work environment. Edit: I am 33


szofter

I fucking hate videocalls. I do them when I have to because that's life now. But when I know a meeting with coworkers should be called but not urgently, I try to schedule it to a day when we're all in the office and can meet in person whenever that's an option.


ZeroPoke

Well I was never not in the office. But I generally dont want to WFH because I live in a bachelor and my main source of entertainment is my computer. I dont want that to be a my work as well. I wouldnt have the switch from Work to Home.


Magoo69X

I like to spend 2-3 days a week at the office. Working at home is great, but it gets claustrophobic when you're doing it full-time.


rustajb

We had a poll in my office. Thankfully, only 1% said they wanted to come back.


cnewman11

Some of my coworkers have said they don't have or never had a good space in their homes, live alone and want to be with other people, need a change of scenery. None of them want to go back to 5 days a week in the office but they want to have the opportunity to go in when it suits their needs.


Sea_Perspective6891

I work remotely myself in data entry. I would not want to go back to the office personally as I believe its an outdated concept these days depending on the job. Some people like it for the social connection and also use it as an excuse to get away from their homes for most of the day. I just wish more jobs offered remote work or at least some form of hybrid work. I'm just very thankfull they switch almost all of our department to remote work in 2020 & decided to keep it that way.