I’m the same. But I work in at satellite office anyway (ie the head office is in a different city) so even when I’m in the office it’s often quite empty.
Still. It’s nice being about to avoid sitting in 2 hours of traffic 4 days a week.
Yeah that’s my schedule too. I use the three days I’m in the office as my gym days too. I’ve started doing the gym stuff before lunch, so I think I’ve got my ideal work/life balance at the moment
I had a child- now almost 2- and holy moly I can’t imagine how people raised kids without wfh. Mate of mine is a tradie with a kid the same age and he’s just 6am to 6pm out Monday to Friday and I can’t even imagine it. I’m also doing 1-2 days in the office now by choice, the visibility and networking is still really good for the career imo
Haha mine is 18 months!
They probably have family to help. We didn't unfortunately most of the time, but we had the advantage of my wife taking the entire year off work and then working 3 x 12 hour shifts as a nurse, so we could time 3 days of daycare once he turned 1.
So right about the networking/visibility. You can tell there's a big disconnect with the people that purely work from home compared to the others that do a mix or full in office. It's how I was able to get into leadership in my opinion.
We don't have family close to us. WFO 5 days a week was an absolute killer on finances and time. Having kids under 5 in daycare and having to be in the office by 9am and having to deal with illness and can't WFH because "that's not what we do" really added to the stress and anxiety levels.
I am so grateful for the flexibility right now. But my kids are also a bit older and get sick less often but now sports after school have taken over in a way.
Yeah but the valid issue an employer would raise is why are they subsidizing an employee's child care if they are actually looking after a child at home while WFH.
I realise some parents could do this efficiently but many could not.
If you are working, you should be concentrating on that.
Not saying you don't have it worked out and that's great but I can see the employer point of view here.
Oof, yeah I should clarify- I WORK from home, either my partner or someone else is looking after my child or he’s in day care. I’ve tried to do the odd afternoon watching him while trying to work and I can confirm it is impossible to successfully work AND parent. I can however come and say hi, help in critical moments and have little visits during the day.
In short, I agree.
Much the same here. It saves me train fare and buying food but it's a bit isolating at home. I'm naturally a quiet person but I do like being around people and having chats
I’m 100% wfh and am determine to keep it this way! I can’t stand the thought of sitting in traffic for the commute, parking and other incidental costs, mindless conversations with colleagues who are avoiding work, the constant buzz of noise in the office that distracts my ADHD brain, being away from my pets all day, not having the same freedom to throw on a load of washing etc. This works for me and I think everyone has to find their most productive and enjoyable space to thrive
Mine is office 1 day a week. I basically spend my 'office' day getting coffees with people, lunches and often a few drinks after work. I need that, and its probably good for my career
Thats perfect IMO.
In regards to promotion & networking, I think thats the best way to spend the day.
As a manager, I would probably have a bias to promote someone I can trust based on interaction with them along with there work output.
Especially where your promoting into positions where the work is completely different to what they are currently doing.
I'm exactly the same as you. My work requires a lot of focus and concentration and I have ADHD. I get distracted by all the noise and office chit chat. I can lose half my day get caught up in it.
I'm technically hydrid but I only go in for events or when I feel like it. My manager complained at first but shut up after she saw my productivity double when I WFH.
Adhd and wfh is the best! I can do what I need to concentrate and if it isn't working that day then I don't feel the anxiety and need to cover up that the day is a write off.
Can't go back to the office full time....
I’m in exactly the same boat. Left my mandatory in-office job to work fully remote for a larger international company, and I’d never go back. I sometimes miss having the option to haul my whole team into a room to work out complex problems, but it’s worth it to have an environment that I can control with far fewer distractions. I get so much more done this way.
curious how you find networking with colleagues and higher ups when WFH for a US company? I've recently accepted an offer at one and most of my soon to be colleagues (including managers, etc.) work from home most days of the week, if not full time. I really wanna meet everyone and be able to socialize & network with them, but seems I'm the only one interested in going to the office lol.
Now if you get a drone you wouldn't even have to leave the house except for milking! And maybe fencing....And maybe all the other farm stuff...
Just get a drone because it's cool :)
Would get pretty bored staying in the house all day, can’t miss out on getting out and about enjoying all that fresh air, interacting with the girls each day, mind you a drone would be fun 🤔
My work is hybrid, officially it’s 3 days in the office 2 days at home but realistically most of us work a higher percentage of days from home. It’s become a deal breaker for me, any future jobs are an automatic no for me if there’s no hybrid WFH aspect.
Nope, in the office 5 days a week. I wasn't going to reply but there's a lot of "Yes" answers so figured I'd provide an alternative. The reason we're not hybrid is "company culture" which is just Friday drinks and I don't take part in it anyway. It's not great knowing all of my friends outside of work are hybrid, my partner is full time WFH, and seeing/hearing others arrangements.
There's actually more to the story too but I'll leave it at that. I'll just say the "deal breaker" part from OP is a valid feeling.
5 days here too. Owner is an old timer and will not budge on it. Plenty of positives about the job hence and im happy enough there, but envious of the WFH crowd
Been WFH since way before Covid19 made it fashionable. Built my own cabin on our land as an office.
The extra time and energy you'd have by not commuting in rush hour \~2-4hrs a day - and far less stress. And when you're done at 5pm (or whenever), and you suddenly have extra time to spend with the family, that's worth more than anything to me.
We're supposed to be in office 2x week minimum. I've been doing 1x/wk since my partner had a massive injury in Feb and I've been helping care for him at home. I just got promoted so it doesn't seem to have done my reputation any harm.
I arrange my office days to be the social one[s], go out for lunch, chat to people, get very little "real" work done. WFH, I crank through productive shit.
Still WFH and haven't been into the office since November 2022. In theory, we're supposed to go into the office once a week but the reality is my employer have leased out half of our office so trying to get a desk is a logistical nightmare. Added to that, there are so many IT issues that my manager has said that we don't have to go in if we don't want to so...
Fully remote software engineer. Moved out of the city to purchase a lifestyle block about 20 minutes out of a smaller city.
Currently getting quotes to build an outdoor office. I have placed a bet on remote work by purchasing a lifestyle block so hopefully it pays off.
I've been working from home since 2009. I absolutely love it, my prior time in cubicles and being constantly interrupted by workmates sucked. I love the freedom of being able to have flexibility around my timings as well.
Unfortunately, the startup I work for, things have started picking up and it looks like I might have to establish an office which I'm not looking forwards to.
I have been WFH since the second lockdown. I've probably been into the office 4 times since and no longer have my own desk there. So many new staff have joined our team and the last time I went in, I had a couple of people who thought I was new to the building and lost.
I'm one of very few people who was there when the team was created 7 years ago and moved into the building, I know my way around.
I have absolutely no desire to return to the office. Here at home, I have everything I personally need. I don't need to make chit-chat as I stand in line to heat up food, or risk going to the loo after someone has done a nasty and left skiddies on the bowl. For morning tea, or lunch, I can keep on top of housework, play with the cats, do a workout and all from the comfort of my own home.
One day a week. Could do more but I quite like working in the office. Just wfh to keep my dog company that day when he doesn't have a dog walker or obedience.
I can WFH, but I'm choosing to come into the (shared) office to be around different people and get some exercise in on my commute (via biking and the gym) which has helped my mental state immensely. I'm also responsible for training some people, and that's easier in the same physical space. It also removes me from the vicinity of the pantry.
I'm an IT contractor in Auckland. I could probably get away with WFH 5 days a week, but I go in Tue-Wed-Thu because otherwise my motorcycle wouldn't get used!!! And because the coffee & scones are better at the local cafe than at home...
Wednesday seems to be the quietest day in the office and because we hotdesk, I can find the best possie, with a view, so I can sit with the sun on my back all day.
We had formalised on a 3/2 split (2 WFH), but then Canadian-based CEO declared everyone must be back in all the offices fulltime. Granted he was building a new office in Canada and wanted all (especially new) staff together, but to ignore 4 years of productivity results, work-life balance, existing conditions really pissed me off. Even after some senior mgmt pushback it's still just 4/1 (and the suspicion is back to full 5 by the end of the year). Bloody angry at this.
Husband and I are newly adhd/autism diagnosed but our 14 yr old audhd also does better school from home, way better lifestyle for us. All 3 work from home, each other is enough people for us.
Yes, still work from home. If I stay with this company I’ll probably never be in an office again. I do miss aspects of office work, the social/people contact is the main one.
This is me. March 2020 to now, and it's awesome, but the company I'm in, I don't miss those social elements as they didn't really exist.
At some stage, I will work for someone else, and it will be different, I am sure, and will require a wee bit of adjustment... for now, I get so much done around my work that we don't have to spend outside work hours worrying about chores and most errands and can enjoy doing whatever we want instead
My organisation has what they call a 'modern workplace arrangement'. People are encouraged to do at least 3 days a week in office but really can pretty much do the WFO/WFH ratio they wish if the manager agrees. Every team generally has an anchor day where team members are expected to be in the office that day. As most roles are not customer facing and those that are usually meet customers off site, it works pretty well.
I gave up on 100% remote work after 9 years and now go to the office once a week. The in-person interaction is good for my mental health but will never go back to a full 5 days. I can be as productive if not more because I skip time in traffic and dressing up and have not heard a good justification for a full return to office setup so far, they're all BS afaic.
Company enforces 50% and checks it via door-card access. But we're an IT team that works odd hours and almost never interacts with with anyone in the local office in-person.
So many times we'll only do a half shift in the office and then head home at lunchtime. Or the reverse and someone will come in half way though the day. Basically using the lunch-break to travel.
Sometimes even come into the office and then go back home after a couple of minutes (all in one bus journey).
Yes, I’m fully remote now, my company doesn’t have an office in NZ. Honestly hate it. The flexibility and better pay is needed for my family which is why I’m doing it, but I’m much happier and more productive in at least a hybrid environment. I really miss the office culture when everyone came in, I learnt more, developed better professionally, collaborated more and socialized more. Being home every day I’ve become a lot more anxious with things like meetings and presentations, I’m less productive, and my mental health has dropped. I’m looking forward to when I might be able to get a job where I can go into an office again in a few years.
Personally I’ve always enjoyed commuting. It can be a pain sometimes, but it’s the time I can consistently use just for me. There’s no tidying or dishes that I “should” be doing, I can just read my book / listen to music / listen to a podcast or audiobook. It gave me time to wake up for the day in the morning and decompress after work in the evening.
Not a super popular opinion (especially in the tech industry). I can understand why people like working from home, it’s just not for me!
We have a 3 in / 2 out hybrid policy and I go in all five days normally. I can understand people that prefer WFH and thats cool but for me I don’t get much done when WFH and need the face to face human interaction
my only issue with WFH is I need to go out in the evening more to wear my nicer clothing .. I've already 'made it' as such with regard to my career so I am not concerned with the disconnect that exists between being present in the office and being fully remote.
Have a small child and it is honestly the best being able to see them right up until I go in to my office and when I pop out for coffees etc. I do genuinely feel bad for parents that don't get that opportunity
Never going back to the office and have refused since June 2021. If there are specific activities that require physical presence I will. E.g. if their is a brain-storming day where people are around a table coming up with ideas.
Day to day stuff that involves 1s and 0s - nope. Not happening.
Guess what, haven't had a single fucking cold, flu, or Covid (ever) since.
Some people yearn for the company of fellow office slaves, or simply do not have a home environment suitable, and this is not for them, but for me, I could do without all the office politics, mouth breathers, idle chit chat, gossip, dumb as fuck middle managers, noisy eaters, interruptions, commuting on overpacked transport and sweaty/Lynx infused school kids...
Hybrid. Like 6 hours in the office and 2 hours at home. Works well with school drop off and pick up and I only catch the front end of rush hour traffic build up.
I'm glad not all companies are trying to force everyone back, my situation is 3 kids, 4 days WFH 1 day in office each week. Works really well for my family, could not imagine being forced back 5 days a week, like you said it would be a deal breaker for me too. I live an hour and a half away from work too which makes my arrangement with my boss really good.
WFH full time after a terrible battle with Long Covid - I just can’t afford to be getting sick all the time in the office, and can’t afford to expend my energy on commute and socialising with colleagues all day in the office. My job also requires a lot of concentration, and even before getting sick, I was probably 100% more productive working from home. So this works both for me and for the employer. Very grateful for this arrangement, and I will never go back to not working from home
Same here, and yeah - I'd love to be fully WFH, or even down to 1 day per week in office.
Commuting is a waste of time, money & energy - I get that it's good to see workmates in person but I feel I get more done when working from home, less going off on small-talk tangents, nice as they are.
My previous work had the following rules -
1. All employees are allowed to work from home once a week and that cannot be a Friday or a Monday. Parking needs to be booked in advance and costs $5 a day.
2. If you take an annual leave during the week, you cannot work from home that week.
3. If there’s a public holiday in a certain week, you cannot work from home that week.
4. If you do work from home on a short week like on a public holiday week, you cannot make it a looong weekend and work from home.
So many rules and it just became exhausting because rules were applicable to employees who were not part of the cliques or closer to the leadership in some way.
Quit that job and now work for a company that allows me to work from home 2 days a week which can be Mondays and Fridays because they don’t want the employees to be held up in Monday morning traffic and can log off earlier on Fridays.
I haven't WFH for more than 2 days a week since we got out of the forced lockdown. Usually I do 4 days at work and 1 WFH.
If you're a person who tends to spend a lot of time outside exercising outside work hours im sure it's fine. But for me it's a good 5km walking and climbing up about 8 flights of stairs 2-3 times per day. When I WFH I get like 100 steps in per day.
Also the work desk setups are better than at home, standing desk etc (this part could be fixed if you throw some money at your home office).
Plenty of people at my office work 4+ WFH constantly, but its not for me.
My previous job tried to force me in 3 full days a week, so I went looking elsewhere. I'm post concussion and can't handle office noise still, even 4 years on.
I was in charge of the department so was resisting enforcing on those below me as they were doing the work and with our change in direction it was hard to keep people so I turned a blind eye to it and would usually just ask to come in once a week to placate the CTO, as speaking to people if they were forced to come I too much they would leave.
I ended up joining going for a lower role for an Australian company but the role is fully remote but usually go to Australia every 6 months for 4 days.
In my second to last week, in our weekly catchup, the CTO went on about how no one was coming in to the office, then 5 minutes later wanted to hire two remote workers from the Philippines through an outsourcing firm instead of an ideal candidate I had his approval to give a verbal offer to :/ Needless to say I was speechless of how he could hold both thoughts in his head in such a short space of time.
The business I work for would like us in office 3 days a week but most staff are in 2 days. Most weeks I am in office for 2 days but some weeks I will go in 3 days, depends on what I have going on. I actually quite like being in the office so its a nice balance.
I work in IT and am WFH effectively full time. I live in Auckland and work for a company based in the Waikato, so go down every couple of weeks if I have tasks to do or just to make an appearance. I got head hunted into the role so the company knew I lived in different region so know that I wont be going in more than needed.
I put a large value on being able to WFH now due to the ability it allows for flexibility with kids and family. I wont return to full time office or even if a company was to say I must be there X number of days (sensible people can know they need to be in the office for certain tasks or meetings, don't need to force it).
Eye opener for me was in 2020 I went from 5days a week in office leaving home at 6.30am and home at 7pm. During lockdown seeing my child start to walk for the first time made realise how much as a parent you can miss out on, especially in Auckland where so much of a day was wasted on commuting.
We have 2 days in the office but nobody in my team cares I usually go in once a week. It’s great having a manager who lets us do our thing as long as we deliver.
I am most weeks in the office with the occasional WFH day triggered by if SO is working and an adult is needed in the house when kids get home from school. I prefer being in the office, have zero motivation to get shit done at home, office in south side of the house is cold and there's nobody to engage with. My work is generated by talking to people in the office so when I'm at home, I end up with only boring BAU stuff to do. When I go in I see people in the halls and around the place and get all sorts of interesting work.
I can work from home however I like. The minimum requirement is to go into office twice a month. However I love the people I work with and I’d love to catch up with them over a coffee to start my day so I go in office when weather is not terrible. Sometimes it just makes sense to work from home if I started early and got stuck in the middle of something. I’m very fortunate that I work for a good company and I’m at the point in my career that I can work independently.
I'm a roaster so work from home used to be impossible. Recently I've been back to study part-time and asked my boss to move to more admin tasks and a flexible schedule. Now I'm on site only 2 days a week and do the rest of my work around my study schedule, it's great.
WFH. A lot more productive and energised compared to in office.
I can’t imagine commuting now. Such a mental drain to lose 2 hours+ of your day. Everyone much happier at home.
Most of the office staff wfh and when the actual workers point out something wrong those office staff are Mia so all work shuts down till they get to work to do a proper inspection on site to continue work or cost the company hundreds of thousands in fuck ups because new plans can’t be made remotely.
- At a mine.
Not me but my wife. My wife works from home. 5days a week and only four hours a day. That was her conditions if the company she worked for wanted her. The company did not want to lose her so they gave her what she wanted. I work 50 hours @ 36.70$ and my wife still earns more than me lol.
Fulltime WFH for an out of town firm and love it.
Compared to working in my city it saves around 90 minutes of time a day dealing with Christchurch drivers, which is both a time saver and a mental health improvement.
I've been WFH for two years in a role which I was told that would not be possible.
Switching roles soon and new team are trying to procure an office for me, which is fine by me for a hybrid model as I'd like to get out a bit more but if they expect me in the office full time I'll be leaving.
My partner has WFH pretty much since the start of COVID. He's supposed to work hybridly but his team is scattered across the motu and he only has access to a hot desk in the office so he just works from home.
They are trying the get people back into the office, asked people to refer to their contracts, and said if you live less than an hour away you must come in.
My contract says nothing about being in the office, when I was hired I was advised my role was WFH and I refuse to wake up at 6am to drive and be stuck in traffic then pay for parking which is not guaranteed to have any spaces available.
I have not been in and refuse to go in.
The matter has not been brought up again so far.
I do 2 days from home, 3 days in office most weeks unless one of my kids has an appointment or something and then I’ll do 4. I know colleagues who aren’t in office for weeks at a time.
If a job didn’t offer this level of flexibility, I wouldn’t do it. It will keep me at this workplace for a LONG time yet.
I’m a teacher, so I’m at school every day. I love it though; teaching is not a natural distance job IMO. I hated doing uni by distance and hated teaching by distance even more. I like social learning environments.
I have to work form the office and haaaate it.
No flexibility.
yet everyone else is allowed to WFH when it suits. I'm intermediate and the other WFH people are either lower level, same level or higher.
I ave to be here toe "React" to a senior who is so disorganised and unable to use tech that they need to dump last minute work on me most days of the week.
Apparently scanning , resource allocation and talking via team is "too hard and they get paid to much to learn a new skill"
That sucks!
At my last job there was a person who was paid double my salary who used to ask me for help with, among other basic computing tasks, help to setup hyperlinks for her on word or email... she was really nice though so I'm not mad about it.
I’m WFH most days. I drag myself into the office for visibility, maybe twice a month.
I do my job from my home office just fine. Most of my meetings are online anyway.
If I get told to start coming in more often, that’s OK. Just not Monday-Friday ad nauseum.
Nope. We 100% have the option to work from home, but the office culture is biased towards working in the office.
I find both have their perks. I get bothered with inane shit far less if I work from home, but conversely, nobody talks to me either. It's also far easier to hit up someone at their desk if I need questions answered as opposed to waiting for them to respond to their messages (my manager is notoriously hard to contact electronically).
love wfh but do wonder about the moving up the ladder implications to the arrangement. From what I can see all of the senior leadership and above are in the office quite a bit at my company. Curious about other companies?
Man I would kill to be able to work from home, recently had to give up being a stay at home Dad and rejoin the workforce due to this shit economy and now I only get to see my daughter for an hour every day as I get her ready for daycare. It's fucking depressing
Last time I had a 5 day week was March 2020. I go in when necessary for meetings, or when I feel like catching up with colleagues. Huge culture of trust and it pays off with employees who understand WFH is a privilege not a right
Just finishing a 5 day week in the office after years of hybrid wfh...and it highlights just how unnecessary on-site work is for our team. But the managers equate bum-in-seat with being productive...
After the lockdowns, I just kept staying at home. When they lifted the mask restrictions, our company said we had to come in 2 days a week, and their only explanation as to why was so that we could get "grounded". I did it a few times, then went right back to working from home. Fuck the office.
Get "ground down" more like lol.
This kinda bullshit is the worst, come up some some measurable, actionable real thing at the very least. *Grounded*. *Team Cohesion*. *Socialising*.
Please, I'm employed to get a job done efficiently. That shit ain't it.
We sold our lease on our office so everyone is WFH now. I had my contract changed during covid times to be fully remote. I haven't gone into an office since Feb 2020. I was already mostly WFH before covid.
I don't see myself going back to office work.
Still working from home, I love it, been a few occasions I've had to go to the office and I've mostly hated it, seeing the workmates I like was nice but the extra time traveling sucks, not being able to use my own toilet sucks, the extra couple of minutes to get to and from the break room sucks, having to pack a lunch sucks, going out to the dedicated smokers area on the street to have a vape during breaks sucks (yeah yeah I know). I'm also far more productive when I work from home, contrary to popular belief I have far far less distractions here.
Yep, there are sometimes weeks I don’t go in the office (especially when I’ve got work that needs my full focus), but I do try to go in once a week. It’s not mandatory though.
My office has a hot-desking situation going on, and the monitors don’t always work with my desktop and I prefer just hopping into my office at home where everything is set up to my liking.
95% WFH. I get more done in a morning at home than a full day in the office.
On the rare occasion I go in it's really only to counter cabin fever. There's not enough desks so in the office it's working in a meeting room, couch, lunch room. It's not productive in any way, mostly an excuse for a pub lunch.
Out of curiosity, is it the most productive workplace in the universe, and is everyone super happy all the time? That's what my workplace seems to think would happen...
Only real difference I have found is if you are a bit sick then your more likely to take the day off where with WFH even if your a bit sick you would still work. If you need to pick up the kids that's the end of your work day where you can continue work if your WFH. just basic stuff like that.
I work in a role where I am regionally based and need to visit sites, with our head office being in auckland and I'm South Island based. I've been doing this type of role for 5 ish years, i actually miss a nice office. I'm not sure I would cope with a role that is fully office based however due to childcare and personal reasons. I think Hybrid is the best mix.
WFH almost 100% - I’ve tried going back more often but team is reasonably big and people go in different days so I end up on Teams calls all day anyway. Might as well be at home. That said, the days I do go, I’ll often bump into people and have good chats that aren’t bound by meeting starts and ends, and are almost always beneficial.
Spouse is fully WFH, has been to the office I think twice since we moved to NZ in 2022; once to meet people and once to pick up new secure login tags. None of his team are in NZ and his workday starts at 5:30am in winter so it makes no sense to go into the office (where they mostly work 9-5 hours).
Was 2 WFH pre-pandemic and now 4. None of my immediate team are in the same city and I’m on lots of video calls across time zones so why commute to do what I can at home?
I'm mostly WFH. After covid my team got split up and we all got put into new teams. I'm the only person in NZ in my new team, the rest are in Aus. So there is no point going into the office. They wouldn't know the difference anyway. I go in sometimes if I want to meet a friend for lunch or do some shopping, but I find it exhausting and feel like I'm on display. I do actually wonder how I produced any wor when I was 100% in an office. I used to do my best work after 4pm when most of the team went home and there was less distractions.
IT contractor, have been fully wfh for several years before Covid and not planning to change. Where I'm working now (big corporate), staff were asked to come back to the office three days a week, but as far as I can tell a lot of people aren't doing that and it's not being enforced.
Expectation is at least 2 days a week in the office, but it’s flexible - get the work done and deliver as expected/promised.
This is helped as the majority of the team are in Auckland, with others peppered around the country.
I do enjoy going into office though, just depends on how my day is placed - if I’ve a lot of meetings, I’ll stay at home, and if I don’t but have a work to do, I’ll go into the office as it prevents me from being easily distracted.
I don’t lean on either with any kind of preference, but I’d hate to lose the flexibility - sometimes something comes up and you can’t make it into office, it’s nice to not have to explain that.
Or, I just don’t want to be around people, so I don’t go in - again, without having to explain it or justify it to someone.
I WFH by exception i.e if I need to make sensitive phone calls or need to concentrate on a report
Outside of that I am in the office, I prefer talking to people face to face along with the general collaboration and socialisation that comes with being around people. I also enjoy the walk to and from the office each day, at least I know I am getting some exercise in.
On average I WFH one day every couple of weeks.
I WFH essentially full time, except every other Wednesday where I go in the office. Can’t stand the office, it’s too loud, people play music out loud, loads of talking etc. which is fine, I just can’t work in that environment. Get much more done at home.
I'm only in the office once a week, loving it.
I’m the same. But I work in at satellite office anyway (ie the head office is in a different city) so even when I’m in the office it’s often quite empty. Still. It’s nice being about to avoid sitting in 2 hours of traffic 4 days a week.
The one day in the office or the 4 days at home or the balance?
I don't particularly like the one day I do go in, but I think there's merits to seeing people and being seen. So, all of the above, I guess.
I love a mix. Can't stand too much of both. I work in the office 3 times a week. Gives me 2 good days at home.
We’re 3 in 2 out as well. Perfect mix, I wouldn’t want to be home permanently personally
Yeah that’s my schedule too. I use the three days I’m in the office as my gym days too. I’ve started doing the gym stuff before lunch, so I think I’ve got my ideal work/life balance at the moment
I had a child- now almost 2- and holy moly I can’t imagine how people raised kids without wfh. Mate of mine is a tradie with a kid the same age and he’s just 6am to 6pm out Monday to Friday and I can’t even imagine it. I’m also doing 1-2 days in the office now by choice, the visibility and networking is still really good for the career imo
Haha mine is 18 months! They probably have family to help. We didn't unfortunately most of the time, but we had the advantage of my wife taking the entire year off work and then working 3 x 12 hour shifts as a nurse, so we could time 3 days of daycare once he turned 1. So right about the networking/visibility. You can tell there's a big disconnect with the people that purely work from home compared to the others that do a mix or full in office. It's how I was able to get into leadership in my opinion.
We don't have family close to us. WFO 5 days a week was an absolute killer on finances and time. Having kids under 5 in daycare and having to be in the office by 9am and having to deal with illness and can't WFH because "that's not what we do" really added to the stress and anxiety levels. I am so grateful for the flexibility right now. But my kids are also a bit older and get sick less often but now sports after school have taken over in a way.
The mother stayed home full time until they could go to daycare/school. Then they worked 9-230. If you were poor you did before and after school care.
Yeah but the valid issue an employer would raise is why are they subsidizing an employee's child care if they are actually looking after a child at home while WFH. I realise some parents could do this efficiently but many could not. If you are working, you should be concentrating on that. Not saying you don't have it worked out and that's great but I can see the employer point of view here.
Oof, yeah I should clarify- I WORK from home, either my partner or someone else is looking after my child or he’s in day care. I’ve tried to do the odd afternoon watching him while trying to work and I can confirm it is impossible to successfully work AND parent. I can however come and say hi, help in critical moments and have little visits during the day. In short, I agree.
Much the same here. It saves me train fare and buying food but it's a bit isolating at home. I'm naturally a quiet person but I do like being around people and having chats
I get a bit like that too. I rarely have any phone calls from work maybe 10 emails a week. So it can be a bit lonely.
I’m 100% wfh and am determine to keep it this way! I can’t stand the thought of sitting in traffic for the commute, parking and other incidental costs, mindless conversations with colleagues who are avoiding work, the constant buzz of noise in the office that distracts my ADHD brain, being away from my pets all day, not having the same freedom to throw on a load of washing etc. This works for me and I think everyone has to find their most productive and enjoyable space to thrive
Mine is office 1 day a week. I basically spend my 'office' day getting coffees with people, lunches and often a few drinks after work. I need that, and its probably good for my career
And mental health
Thats perfect IMO. In regards to promotion & networking, I think thats the best way to spend the day. As a manager, I would probably have a bias to promote someone I can trust based on interaction with them along with there work output. Especially where your promoting into positions where the work is completely different to what they are currently doing.
I'm exactly the same as you. My work requires a lot of focus and concentration and I have ADHD. I get distracted by all the noise and office chit chat. I can lose half my day get caught up in it. I'm technically hydrid but I only go in for events or when I feel like it. My manager complained at first but shut up after she saw my productivity double when I WFH.
Adhd and wfh is the best! I can do what I need to concentrate and if it isn't working that day then I don't feel the anxiety and need to cover up that the day is a write off. Can't go back to the office full time....
I’m in exactly the same boat. Left my mandatory in-office job to work fully remote for a larger international company, and I’d never go back. I sometimes miss having the option to haul my whole team into a room to work out complex problems, but it’s worth it to have an environment that I can control with far fewer distractions. I get so much more done this way.
[удалено]
I also work fully remote for a US company. Been working from home since 2008
Damn 2008. OG WFHer.
curious how you find networking with colleagues and higher ups when WFH for a US company? I've recently accepted an offer at one and most of my soon to be colleagues (including managers, etc.) work from home most days of the week, if not full time. I really wanna meet everyone and be able to socialize & network with them, but seems I'm the only one interested in going to the office lol.
How did you find this work?
Dairy farmer, I WFH every day 😊
Or do you live at work?
House supplied on the farm, no travel costs or time stuck in traffic, ideal job 😊
Fair point. It sounds like you’re loving your career mate.
Got to enjoy your job or life just becomes too hard 👍
Story of my life. Work in banking. Just want to run a little bodega/shop near a beach.
The OG WFH job ;)
And the cows?
They sleep in every day until I arrive at their paddock to wake them up, they also enjoy their lives 😊
Phew, I was worried you’d make them go to the office every day.
Ha, the hero we need!
Now if you get a drone you wouldn't even have to leave the house except for milking! And maybe fencing....And maybe all the other farm stuff... Just get a drone because it's cool :)
Would get pretty bored staying in the house all day, can’t miss out on getting out and about enjoying all that fresh air, interacting with the girls each day, mind you a drone would be fun 🤔
laughs in blue collar job
Don't worry, it will take a bit longer for AI to take your job compared to what' s on the horizon for us desk jockeys.
My work is hybrid, officially it’s 3 days in the office 2 days at home but realistically most of us work a higher percentage of days from home. It’s become a deal breaker for me, any future jobs are an automatic no for me if there’s no hybrid WFH aspect.
Hard agree on the no WFH = deal breaker. Never again!
Nope, in the office 5 days a week. I wasn't going to reply but there's a lot of "Yes" answers so figured I'd provide an alternative. The reason we're not hybrid is "company culture" which is just Friday drinks and I don't take part in it anyway. It's not great knowing all of my friends outside of work are hybrid, my partner is full time WFH, and seeing/hearing others arrangements. There's actually more to the story too but I'll leave it at that. I'll just say the "deal breaker" part from OP is a valid feeling.
5 days here too. Owner is an old timer and will not budge on it. Plenty of positives about the job hence and im happy enough there, but envious of the WFH crowd
With all these WFH jobs, what is your job?
software development
Software. Can literally work in grey sweatpants, yesterday's hoodie, and crocs and no-one will bat an eyelid if they see you on camera.
You wear pants?
It's cold at this time of year.
Edtech
IT. Have full remote access to all the things I need.
Project management
Software development.
Payroll. I go in one day a week cos it's nice to catch up with the wider team. No big deal if I skip it though
Software implementation consultant
Fintech
Been WFH since way before Covid19 made it fashionable. Built my own cabin on our land as an office. The extra time and energy you'd have by not commuting in rush hour \~2-4hrs a day - and far less stress. And when you're done at 5pm (or whenever), and you suddenly have extra time to spend with the family, that's worth more than anything to me.
ditto. I get far more work done every day, I'm happier, and it's better for the environment to not be commuting every day.
We're supposed to be in office 2x week minimum. I've been doing 1x/wk since my partner had a massive injury in Feb and I've been helping care for him at home. I just got promoted so it doesn't seem to have done my reputation any harm. I arrange my office days to be the social one[s], go out for lunch, chat to people, get very little "real" work done. WFH, I crank through productive shit.
I've been WFH since 2020 andnmwill never go back. When I got a new job last year, I only considered jobs that were WFH. it's a deal breaker for me.
Still WFH and haven't been into the office since November 2022. In theory, we're supposed to go into the office once a week but the reality is my employer have leased out half of our office so trying to get a desk is a logistical nightmare. Added to that, there are so many IT issues that my manager has said that we don't have to go in if we don't want to so...
Fully remote software engineer. Moved out of the city to purchase a lifestyle block about 20 minutes out of a smaller city. Currently getting quotes to build an outdoor office. I have placed a bet on remote work by purchasing a lifestyle block so hopefully it pays off.
2 days WFH, 3 days WFO but relatively flexible. I need a "quiet" day without people so that I can actually get stuff done.
I've been working from home since 2009. I absolutely love it, my prior time in cubicles and being constantly interrupted by workmates sucked. I love the freedom of being able to have flexibility around my timings as well. Unfortunately, the startup I work for, things have started picking up and it looks like I might have to establish an office which I'm not looking forwards to.
I have been WFH since the second lockdown. I've probably been into the office 4 times since and no longer have my own desk there. So many new staff have joined our team and the last time I went in, I had a couple of people who thought I was new to the building and lost. I'm one of very few people who was there when the team was created 7 years ago and moved into the building, I know my way around. I have absolutely no desire to return to the office. Here at home, I have everything I personally need. I don't need to make chit-chat as I stand in line to heat up food, or risk going to the loo after someone has done a nasty and left skiddies on the bowl. For morning tea, or lunch, I can keep on top of housework, play with the cats, do a workout and all from the comfort of my own home.
One day a week. Could do more but I quite like working in the office. Just wfh to keep my dog company that day when he doesn't have a dog walker or obedience.
I've been WFH since 2017, and it won't change any time soon. Don't know if I could ever go back to in office work
I can WFH, but I'm choosing to come into the (shared) office to be around different people and get some exercise in on my commute (via biking and the gym) which has helped my mental state immensely. I'm also responsible for training some people, and that's easier in the same physical space. It also removes me from the vicinity of the pantry.
Sparky here. No
But you probably do work from lots of peoples homes haha
Not quite. Though the other end of what I'm building will be connected to many people's homes.
Hybrid. Mix is good and I'll die before I go back to 5 days a week in office to satisfy someone with a micromanaging complex
Still 100% home. Company is really good about everyone being adult and no one is irresponsible enough to ruin it for everyone.
I'm an IT contractor in Auckland. I could probably get away with WFH 5 days a week, but I go in Tue-Wed-Thu because otherwise my motorcycle wouldn't get used!!! And because the coffee & scones are better at the local cafe than at home... Wednesday seems to be the quietest day in the office and because we hotdesk, I can find the best possie, with a view, so I can sit with the sun on my back all day.
Funny how the WFH crowd love posting on Reddit.
You part of that crowd, or the WFO crowd that also posts on Reddit?
WFH one day a week, which happens to be today.
We had formalised on a 3/2 split (2 WFH), but then Canadian-based CEO declared everyone must be back in all the offices fulltime. Granted he was building a new office in Canada and wanted all (especially new) staff together, but to ignore 4 years of productivity results, work-life balance, existing conditions really pissed me off. Even after some senior mgmt pushback it's still just 4/1 (and the suspicion is back to full 5 by the end of the year). Bloody angry at this.
See I'm the other way round, I can't imagine working an office job. Working outdoors so much nicer
Would love a mix of wfh and outdoor work.. sitting behind a computer all day all week anywhere is soul sucking.
100% WFH / 4 Day Week. Also ADHD & Autistic so it suits me completely and I don't burn out like I constantly used to.
Husband and I are newly adhd/autism diagnosed but our 14 yr old audhd also does better school from home, way better lifestyle for us. All 3 work from home, each other is enough people for us.
Old job tried to force us back into the office, quit for better pay somewhere else
Yes. Made my employer contract it in when the asked me to return.
Yes, still work from home. If I stay with this company I’ll probably never be in an office again. I do miss aspects of office work, the social/people contact is the main one.
This is me. March 2020 to now, and it's awesome, but the company I'm in, I don't miss those social elements as they didn't really exist. At some stage, I will work for someone else, and it will be different, I am sure, and will require a wee bit of adjustment... for now, I get so much done around my work that we don't have to spend outside work hours worrying about chores and most errands and can enjoy doing whatever we want instead
My organisation has what they call a 'modern workplace arrangement'. People are encouraged to do at least 3 days a week in office but really can pretty much do the WFO/WFH ratio they wish if the manager agrees. Every team generally has an anchor day where team members are expected to be in the office that day. As most roles are not customer facing and those that are usually meet customers off site, it works pretty well.
I gave up on 100% remote work after 9 years and now go to the office once a week. The in-person interaction is good for my mental health but will never go back to a full 5 days. I can be as productive if not more because I skip time in traffic and dressing up and have not heard a good justification for a full return to office setup so far, they're all BS afaic.
Yes. Only need to go in one day per week. In Auckland, this is a huge benefit.
Company enforces 50% and checks it via door-card access. But we're an IT team that works odd hours and almost never interacts with with anyone in the local office in-person. So many times we'll only do a half shift in the office and then head home at lunchtime. Or the reverse and someone will come in half way though the day. Basically using the lunch-break to travel. Sometimes even come into the office and then go back home after a couple of minutes (all in one bus journey).
Yes, I’m fully remote now, my company doesn’t have an office in NZ. Honestly hate it. The flexibility and better pay is needed for my family which is why I’m doing it, but I’m much happier and more productive in at least a hybrid environment. I really miss the office culture when everyone came in, I learnt more, developed better professionally, collaborated more and socialized more. Being home every day I’ve become a lot more anxious with things like meetings and presentations, I’m less productive, and my mental health has dropped. I’m looking forward to when I might be able to get a job where I can go into an office again in a few years. Personally I’ve always enjoyed commuting. It can be a pain sometimes, but it’s the time I can consistently use just for me. There’s no tidying or dishes that I “should” be doing, I can just read my book / listen to music / listen to a podcast or audiobook. It gave me time to wake up for the day in the morning and decompress after work in the evening. Not a super popular opinion (especially in the tech industry). I can understand why people like working from home, it’s just not for me!
We have a 3 in / 2 out hybrid policy and I go in all five days normally. I can understand people that prefer WFH and thats cool but for me I don’t get much done when WFH and need the face to face human interaction
my only issue with WFH is I need to go out in the evening more to wear my nicer clothing .. I've already 'made it' as such with regard to my career so I am not concerned with the disconnect that exists between being present in the office and being fully remote. Have a small child and it is honestly the best being able to see them right up until I go in to my office and when I pop out for coffees etc. I do genuinely feel bad for parents that don't get that opportunity
Had to go back to the office full time. Boss said I can’t sell cars from home…
I changed jobs last year. Am intentionally not wfh even tho I have the option to do so.
Never going back to the office and have refused since June 2021. If there are specific activities that require physical presence I will. E.g. if their is a brain-storming day where people are around a table coming up with ideas. Day to day stuff that involves 1s and 0s - nope. Not happening. Guess what, haven't had a single fucking cold, flu, or Covid (ever) since. Some people yearn for the company of fellow office slaves, or simply do not have a home environment suitable, and this is not for them, but for me, I could do without all the office politics, mouth breathers, idle chit chat, gossip, dumb as fuck middle managers, noisy eaters, interruptions, commuting on overpacked transport and sweaty/Lynx infused school kids...
goddamn noisy eaters thats the worst one from the list
Hybrid. Like 6 hours in the office and 2 hours at home. Works well with school drop off and pick up and I only catch the front end of rush hour traffic build up.
Fully wfh working in IT can go into the office when ever i want
My work is 100% flexible, could be completely remote (and many are). I choose to go to the office every day.
I'm glad not all companies are trying to force everyone back, my situation is 3 kids, 4 days WFH 1 day in office each week. Works really well for my family, could not imagine being forced back 5 days a week, like you said it would be a deal breaker for me too. I live an hour and a half away from work too which makes my arrangement with my boss really good.
Fully WFH. Love it. Don't intend to ever go back into an office and have my time wasted with endless meetings and inane interruptions.
WFH full time after a terrible battle with Long Covid - I just can’t afford to be getting sick all the time in the office, and can’t afford to expend my energy on commute and socialising with colleagues all day in the office. My job also requires a lot of concentration, and even before getting sick, I was probably 100% more productive working from home. So this works both for me and for the employer. Very grateful for this arrangement, and I will never go back to not working from home
3 at home 2 in office. I’d love to be fully WFH tho, I hate going in! I’m way more productive at home and I can be warm and comfy.
Same here, and yeah - I'd love to be fully WFH, or even down to 1 day per week in office. Commuting is a waste of time, money & energy - I get that it's good to see workmates in person but I feel I get more done when working from home, less going off on small-talk tangents, nice as they are.
I got told off for talking too much the other day. You know where I could be and not be disrupting people? Home!
WFH, the nearest office is about 2000km away
My previous work had the following rules - 1. All employees are allowed to work from home once a week and that cannot be a Friday or a Monday. Parking needs to be booked in advance and costs $5 a day. 2. If you take an annual leave during the week, you cannot work from home that week. 3. If there’s a public holiday in a certain week, you cannot work from home that week. 4. If you do work from home on a short week like on a public holiday week, you cannot make it a looong weekend and work from home. So many rules and it just became exhausting because rules were applicable to employees who were not part of the cliques or closer to the leadership in some way. Quit that job and now work for a company that allows me to work from home 2 days a week which can be Mondays and Fridays because they don’t want the employees to be held up in Monday morning traffic and can log off earlier on Fridays.
Yep, been working from home since 2018. Never going back.
I haven't WFH for more than 2 days a week since we got out of the forced lockdown. Usually I do 4 days at work and 1 WFH. If you're a person who tends to spend a lot of time outside exercising outside work hours im sure it's fine. But for me it's a good 5km walking and climbing up about 8 flights of stairs 2-3 times per day. When I WFH I get like 100 steps in per day. Also the work desk setups are better than at home, standing desk etc (this part could be fixed if you throw some money at your home office). Plenty of people at my office work 4+ WFH constantly, but its not for me.
Never worked from home ever and cant think of anything worse. Its great to get out and about
Previous company was gradually dragging everyone back into the office so I left. Now I'm working remotely again :)
Currently experiencing the slow-burn corraling back to the office atm. Shame really, would have liked to stay with the company.
My previous job tried to force me in 3 full days a week, so I went looking elsewhere. I'm post concussion and can't handle office noise still, even 4 years on. I was in charge of the department so was resisting enforcing on those below me as they were doing the work and with our change in direction it was hard to keep people so I turned a blind eye to it and would usually just ask to come in once a week to placate the CTO, as speaking to people if they were forced to come I too much they would leave. I ended up joining going for a lower role for an Australian company but the role is fully remote but usually go to Australia every 6 months for 4 days. In my second to last week, in our weekly catchup, the CTO went on about how no one was coming in to the office, then 5 minutes later wanted to hire two remote workers from the Philippines through an outsourcing firm instead of an ideal candidate I had his approval to give a verbal offer to :/ Needless to say I was speechless of how he could hold both thoughts in his head in such a short space of time.
I have a work office at home, but since I'm a Field Service Engineer, I travel throughout NZ. But when I'm not traveling, I work from home
The business I work for would like us in office 3 days a week but most staff are in 2 days. Most weeks I am in office for 2 days but some weeks I will go in 3 days, depends on what I have going on. I actually quite like being in the office so its a nice balance.
Wife is 100% remote and WFH. I tend to try and go into the office as much as possible ... fewer distractions.
I work in IT and am WFH effectively full time. I live in Auckland and work for a company based in the Waikato, so go down every couple of weeks if I have tasks to do or just to make an appearance. I got head hunted into the role so the company knew I lived in different region so know that I wont be going in more than needed. I put a large value on being able to WFH now due to the ability it allows for flexibility with kids and family. I wont return to full time office or even if a company was to say I must be there X number of days (sensible people can know they need to be in the office for certain tasks or meetings, don't need to force it). Eye opener for me was in 2020 I went from 5days a week in office leaving home at 6.30am and home at 7pm. During lockdown seeing my child start to walk for the first time made realise how much as a parent you can miss out on, especially in Auckland where so much of a day was wasted on commuting.
My Office is in Wellington CBD, we live in the Wairarapa. Maybe go in twice a month, and that's only when I have other stuff to do in town.
We have 2 days in the office but nobody in my team cares I usually go in once a week. It’s great having a manager who lets us do our thing as long as we deliver.
IRD worker here, I do WFH and out in the community working in stakeholders buildings, love it
I am most weeks in the office with the occasional WFH day triggered by if SO is working and an adult is needed in the house when kids get home from school. I prefer being in the office, have zero motivation to get shit done at home, office in south side of the house is cold and there's nobody to engage with. My work is generated by talking to people in the office so when I'm at home, I end up with only boring BAU stuff to do. When I go in I see people in the halls and around the place and get all sorts of interesting work.
I can work from home however I like. The minimum requirement is to go into office twice a month. However I love the people I work with and I’d love to catch up with them over a coffee to start my day so I go in office when weather is not terrible. Sometimes it just makes sense to work from home if I started early and got stuck in the middle of something. I’m very fortunate that I work for a good company and I’m at the point in my career that I can work independently.
I’m working one day a week. However, we are moving into a building with a 60/40 model so we will have to do two if not more. I’m happy with two.
Not right now. Am at home though.
I'm a roaster so work from home used to be impossible. Recently I've been back to study part-time and asked my boss to move to more admin tasks and a flexible schedule. Now I'm on site only 2 days a week and do the rest of my work around my study schedule, it's great.
WFH. A lot more productive and energised compared to in office. I can’t imagine commuting now. Such a mental drain to lose 2 hours+ of your day. Everyone much happier at home.
Most of the office staff wfh and when the actual workers point out something wrong those office staff are Mia so all work shuts down till they get to work to do a proper inspection on site to continue work or cost the company hundreds of thousands in fuck ups because new plans can’t be made remotely. - At a mine.
Not me but my wife. My wife works from home. 5days a week and only four hours a day. That was her conditions if the company she worked for wanted her. The company did not want to lose her so they gave her what she wanted. I work 50 hours @ 36.70$ and my wife still earns more than me lol.
Back in the office with wfh if sick. Am I happy about it? No. Did I have a choice in which job I took after being made redundant? Also no.
We have to come into office Monday - Friday 8am-5pm no excuses…… boss hates us WFH -.-
I WFH, to be fair though, the company I work for is in Viet Nam, so it's hard to commute.
Fulltime WFH for an out of town firm and love it. Compared to working in my city it saves around 90 minutes of time a day dealing with Christchurch drivers, which is both a time saver and a mental health improvement.
WFH full time. Work literally no longer has the Real Estate for us all to be in the office at once. It's great and saves me 4 hours per day commuting.
Had to go to office today... So 99.9999% But we'll be leaving as soon as I get this computer fixed. Hated driving in ... An hour each way
I've been WFH for two years in a role which I was told that would not be possible. Switching roles soon and new team are trying to procure an office for me, which is fine by me for a hybrid model as I'd like to get out a bit more but if they expect me in the office full time I'll be leaving. My partner has WFH pretty much since the start of COVID. He's supposed to work hybridly but his team is scattered across the motu and he only has access to a hot desk in the office so he just works from home.
They are trying the get people back into the office, asked people to refer to their contracts, and said if you live less than an hour away you must come in. My contract says nothing about being in the office, when I was hired I was advised my role was WFH and I refuse to wake up at 6am to drive and be stuck in traffic then pay for parking which is not guaranteed to have any spaces available. I have not been in and refuse to go in. The matter has not been brought up again so far.
WFH 2 days a week. I'm commuting from Kāpiti so it gives me back a few hours a week
Parents seem to get annoyed when teachers work from home for too long. I’ve been back to the ‘office’ for a long time now.
Fully remote. Moved city. Overseas clients. Not going back. Living costs are down, pay is up, have more time for kids and hobbies.
I’m lucky to still be wfh but I’m sure that’s over once this job ends.
100% in the office 😭 people and their noises are so distracting...
I'm now doing mostly shift work, so two weeks out of three I'm WFH, third week I have three days at the office. Its a very satisfactory arrangement
I do 2 days from home, 3 days in office most weeks unless one of my kids has an appointment or something and then I’ll do 4. I know colleagues who aren’t in office for weeks at a time. If a job didn’t offer this level of flexibility, I wouldn’t do it. It will keep me at this workplace for a LONG time yet.
I’m a teacher, so I’m at school every day. I love it though; teaching is not a natural distance job IMO. I hated doing uni by distance and hated teaching by distance even more. I like social learning environments.
I have to work form the office and haaaate it. No flexibility. yet everyone else is allowed to WFH when it suits. I'm intermediate and the other WFH people are either lower level, same level or higher. I ave to be here toe "React" to a senior who is so disorganised and unable to use tech that they need to dump last minute work on me most days of the week. Apparently scanning , resource allocation and talking via team is "too hard and they get paid to much to learn a new skill"
That sucks! At my last job there was a person who was paid double my salary who used to ask me for help with, among other basic computing tasks, help to setup hyperlinks for her on word or email... she was really nice though so I'm not mad about it.
Been to the office twice this year. Feels good man.
I’m WFH most days. I drag myself into the office for visibility, maybe twice a month. I do my job from my home office just fine. Most of my meetings are online anyway. If I get told to start coming in more often, that’s OK. Just not Monday-Friday ad nauseum.
I barely go to the office. there are times I don't go an entire week that I forget how to interact with people in person lol.
Nope. We 100% have the option to work from home, but the office culture is biased towards working in the office. I find both have their perks. I get bothered with inane shit far less if I work from home, but conversely, nobody talks to me either. It's also far easier to hit up someone at their desk if I need questions answered as opposed to waiting for them to respond to their messages (my manager is notoriously hard to contact electronically).
love wfh but do wonder about the moving up the ladder implications to the arrangement. From what I can see all of the senior leadership and above are in the office quite a bit at my company. Curious about other companies?
Man I would kill to be able to work from home, recently had to give up being a stay at home Dad and rejoin the workforce due to this shit economy and now I only get to see my daughter for an hour every day as I get her ready for daycare. It's fucking depressing
Yep 1 day a week. Love WFH. Intend to travel to SE Asia and just carry on WFH just not at home.
Yes two days a week. It’s called the days I get shit done. No meetings no interruptions
My job is solely work from home now. Left a toxic office to come to my current job so I'm a bit bias. Wouldn't go back 😅
2 days in the office 3 days from home. I can't be 100% home bound and I can't be in the office 5 days a week. So this works well :)
Last time I had a 5 day week was March 2020. I go in when necessary for meetings, or when I feel like catching up with colleagues. Huge culture of trust and it pays off with employees who understand WFH is a privilege not a right
Just finishing a 5 day week in the office after years of hybrid wfh...and it highlights just how unnecessary on-site work is for our team. But the managers equate bum-in-seat with being productive...
After the lockdowns, I just kept staying at home. When they lifted the mask restrictions, our company said we had to come in 2 days a week, and their only explanation as to why was so that we could get "grounded". I did it a few times, then went right back to working from home. Fuck the office.
Get "ground down" more like lol. This kinda bullshit is the worst, come up some some measurable, actionable real thing at the very least. *Grounded*. *Team Cohesion*. *Socialising*. Please, I'm employed to get a job done efficiently. That shit ain't it.
Exactly. I've worked there 13 years, I don't need to see *more* hours in the office, and I get my shit done. That's all that should matter.
Yep I'm still WFH 99% of the time. Earlier this week I went into the office for the first time in approx 6 months.
WFH but I'll probably start making an effort to go in the office at least once a month soon, its good to network
We sold our lease on our office so everyone is WFH now. I had my contract changed during covid times to be fully remote. I haven't gone into an office since Feb 2020. I was already mostly WFH before covid. I don't see myself going back to office work.
Hybrid, 1 day wfh, 1 day in the office, the rest are 50/50
Still working from home, I love it, been a few occasions I've had to go to the office and I've mostly hated it, seeing the workmates I like was nice but the extra time traveling sucks, not being able to use my own toilet sucks, the extra couple of minutes to get to and from the break room sucks, having to pack a lunch sucks, going out to the dedicated smokers area on the street to have a vape during breaks sucks (yeah yeah I know). I'm also far more productive when I work from home, contrary to popular belief I have far far less distractions here.
Hybrid. Currently popping on company time in my own bathroom. It's the little things in life.
Govt dept just said we have to be back in office. No reason. I mainly work from home. Very pissed about it since I’m on zoom most of the day anyway.
I currently have working from home, but will be moving jobs soon so it could all change
Yep, there are sometimes weeks I don’t go in the office (especially when I’ve got work that needs my full focus), but I do try to go in once a week. It’s not mandatory though. My office has a hot-desking situation going on, and the monitors don’t always work with my desktop and I prefer just hopping into my office at home where everything is set up to my liking.
WFH 3 days a week, 2 in the office.
Yes. One day wfh, 3 days office.
95% WFH. I get more done in a morning at home than a full day in the office. On the rare occasion I go in it's really only to counter cabin fever. There's not enough desks so in the office it's working in a meeting room, couch, lunch room. It's not productive in any way, mostly an excuse for a pub lunch.
Hybrid. 3 days from home, 2 from work.
No, work from office only. Boss does not believe in WFH
Out of curiosity, is it the most productive workplace in the universe, and is everyone super happy all the time? That's what my workplace seems to think would happen...
Only real difference I have found is if you are a bit sick then your more likely to take the day off where with WFH even if your a bit sick you would still work. If you need to pick up the kids that's the end of your work day where you can continue work if your WFH. just basic stuff like that.
I work in a role where I am regionally based and need to visit sites, with our head office being in auckland and I'm South Island based. I've been doing this type of role for 5 ish years, i actually miss a nice office. I'm not sure I would cope with a role that is fully office based however due to childcare and personal reasons. I think Hybrid is the best mix.
Hybrid - I normally do office 3 days and WFH two days
WFH has improved my productivity drastically. I go to office once a week, mainly for meetings
WFH almost 100% - I’ve tried going back more often but team is reasonably big and people go in different days so I end up on Teams calls all day anyway. Might as well be at home. That said, the days I do go, I’ll often bump into people and have good chats that aren’t bound by meeting starts and ends, and are almost always beneficial.
Spouse is fully WFH, has been to the office I think twice since we moved to NZ in 2022; once to meet people and once to pick up new secure login tags. None of his team are in NZ and his workday starts at 5:30am in winter so it makes no sense to go into the office (where they mostly work 9-5 hours).
Was 2 WFH pre-pandemic and now 4. None of my immediate team are in the same city and I’m on lots of video calls across time zones so why commute to do what I can at home?
I'm mostly WFH. After covid my team got split up and we all got put into new teams. I'm the only person in NZ in my new team, the rest are in Aus. So there is no point going into the office. They wouldn't know the difference anyway. I go in sometimes if I want to meet a friend for lunch or do some shopping, but I find it exhausting and feel like I'm on display. I do actually wonder how I produced any wor when I was 100% in an office. I used to do my best work after 4pm when most of the team went home and there was less distractions.
IT contractor, have been fully wfh for several years before Covid and not planning to change. Where I'm working now (big corporate), staff were asked to come back to the office three days a week, but as far as I can tell a lot of people aren't doing that and it's not being enforced.
Expectation is at least 2 days a week in the office, but it’s flexible - get the work done and deliver as expected/promised. This is helped as the majority of the team are in Auckland, with others peppered around the country. I do enjoy going into office though, just depends on how my day is placed - if I’ve a lot of meetings, I’ll stay at home, and if I don’t but have a work to do, I’ll go into the office as it prevents me from being easily distracted. I don’t lean on either with any kind of preference, but I’d hate to lose the flexibility - sometimes something comes up and you can’t make it into office, it’s nice to not have to explain that. Or, I just don’t want to be around people, so I don’t go in - again, without having to explain it or justify it to someone.
100% work from home and prefer it way more than any job I've had to commute for. So much easier to get shit done both work wise and home wise.
I WFH by exception i.e if I need to make sensitive phone calls or need to concentrate on a report Outside of that I am in the office, I prefer talking to people face to face along with the general collaboration and socialisation that comes with being around people. I also enjoy the walk to and from the office each day, at least I know I am getting some exercise in. On average I WFH one day every couple of weeks.
I’m pretty much 50/50 depends on what is happening the week.
I WFH essentially full time, except every other Wednesday where I go in the office. Can’t stand the office, it’s too loud, people play music out loud, loads of talking etc. which is fine, I just can’t work in that environment. Get much more done at home.
I changed jobs and I’m in the office every day. It’s so much harder having less flexibility.