It has it's place. I am getting my drives front window replaced tomorrow. I get to "work" from home so I can be here. I will not be as productive as I would be at the office. That's just the truth. Even if I didn't have to mess with the window guy.
Working from home
- Thread starter Glenn's take
- Start date
Likely will never happen again, but I was pretty productive without people coming in and out of my door all day long. Also working at 7:45 is a lot easier to take if you don’t have to get up at 5:45 and wrangle the whole family out of bed.
I started working from home a year or so before Covid and was more productive, but the longer I do it the less productive I am. If a deadline is approaching I do find it easier to focus and get something accomplished, but for the most part I work 25-30 hours a week. Will eventually look for more of a hybrid role, but plan on milking my current situation for a few more years if I can.
My job doesn’t allow me to work from home but personally I’m very impressed people are able to get things done, too many distractions for me, especially for people with kids. I couldn’t even study in my dorm room I had to go to the library due to distractions.
One other thing as well, I would imagine it’s difficult to not always feel like you’re working. Without that separation of home and work doesn’t it always feel like you’re at work? Would you actually end up working more? Just things I’m curious about. Will probably be one of the biggest changes arising from the pandemic - permanent work from home. Seems lots of people prefer it.
One other thing as well, I would imagine it’s difficult to not always feel like you’re working. Without that separation of home and work doesn’t it always feel like you’re at work? Would you actually end up working more? Just things I’m curious about. Will probably be one of the biggest changes arising from the pandemic - permanent work from home. Seems lots of people prefer it.
*Get to sleep about 30-40 minutes more, which for a night owl like me is awesome.
*As someone who is single, I'm more productive at home. Less distractions at home than in office.
*My dog is happier and gets more walks.
*Ultimately save more on expenses, especially daily parking.
I understand that for some people the office is where they socialize, or sort of an escape from the drama/stress at home, but not for me. I'm happier, healthier, and more productive. It's awesome.
*As someone who is single, I'm more productive at home. Less distractions at home than in office.
*My dog is happier and gets more walks.
*Ultimately save more on expenses, especially daily parking.
I understand that for some people the office is where they socialize, or sort of an escape from the drama/stress at home, but not for me. I'm happier, healthier, and more productive. It's awesome.
Yeah. The my cutting the grass clothes and my work clothes being the same clothes was funny a while ago. It really isn't now.
So you have the 32-35 hour a week job that you are stretching to 40?
I very seriously doubt that anyone who's job is done by how much they get done versus just having to be there a specified time would say they are as productive at home.
Remote take, Glenn.
Seriously, we're back in the office 1 day per week and might go two days before end of the year. I get about the same amount of work done at both locations. Our dog has loved my presence at home over the past 29 months.
Seriously, we're back in the office 1 day per week and might go two days before end of the year. I get about the same amount of work done at both locations. Our dog has loved my presence at home over the past 29 months.
No, I just have something called discipline. And I actually work more hours weekly at home than when I did full-time in office, something I'm trying to be more cognizant of when it comes to unplugging and separating work/home time since that can be a problem. But hey, congrats on wanting the rest of us to be office cucks the rest of our lives just because you can't go half an hour working at home without stuffing your face with leftovers and flicking your bean.
I asked my wife if she is more effective at her office or at home. She said she’s significantly more productive at home. She credits way less time wasted on meetings because there’s no travel time and she does other work if she’s not involved at the moment. She also likes being able to force time vampires to use emails and voice mail without looking like a jerk.
Changed jobs last summer....company HQ in Charlotte, which only wants me there a couple of times a year. Otherwise, home office, 55" Samsung and my Golden keeping me company.
The big adjustment was not being able to talk to others...sports, bourbon, family life, etc....many friends were made in the office, and now it can get lonely.
The big adjustment was not being able to talk to others...sports, bourbon, family life, etc....many friends were made in the office, and now it can get lonely.
Mixed feelings about WFH.
Downside: 1. no office camaraderie 2. Better printers at office 3. Easier to separate work/home 4. not much of a 'team' attitude company-wide as everyone is in their own little silo
Upside: 1. Save 30+ minutes each way on commute 2. No expenses for parking, gas, etc. 3. Get started about 45 minutes earlier every day so can knock off around 4:30 4. Can take breaks middle of the day for exercise, walk the dog, errands
We're back to a hybrid schedule: 1-2 days per week in the office. Don't think we'll ever go back to 5 days a week, which, 3 years ago, I would've never envisioned nor wanted. Had never worked from home prior to COVID. Did not think I'd like it at all but have gotten used to it. If I were single and in the market for a significant other, I would absolutely HATE it.
Downside: 1. no office camaraderie 2. Better printers at office 3. Easier to separate work/home 4. not much of a 'team' attitude company-wide as everyone is in their own little silo
Upside: 1. Save 30+ minutes each way on commute 2. No expenses for parking, gas, etc. 3. Get started about 45 minutes earlier every day so can knock off around 4:30 4. Can take breaks middle of the day for exercise, walk the dog, errands
We're back to a hybrid schedule: 1-2 days per week in the office. Don't think we'll ever go back to 5 days a week, which, 3 years ago, I would've never envisioned nor wanted. Had never worked from home prior to COVID. Did not think I'd like it at all but have gotten used to it. If I were single and in the market for a significant other, I would absolutely HATE it.
Senior IT Engineer
WFH indefinitely, but had 1 day WFH even before the pandemic. Likely never returning to the office for more than 1 day a week. Still go onsite and to Datacenters now and then.
I find that even IN the office, you're still only so productive, say 60-80% of the time anyways. Lunch time, bathroom breaks, break room talk, BSing with coworkers, random employee encounters, non work websites... A lot of non-work stuff fills in the gaps.
So with WFH, instead of meaningless chit chat.. I can actually do a load laundry.. Instead of going out to eat for 60-90 minutes.. I can eat at my desk in 15 minutes and go mow the lawn or something. I no longer need to commute for 1.5 hours a day. There is no "getting ready for work" anymore. If I need to do something during the day, I can always just log in at night or on the weekend to finish. I save money on gas and car mileage. Even the dogs love it, as we're home with them 24/7.
There's a lot of shit that sucks about being a younger generation right now. But something like WFH, if you can get it, is a real perk, and something that society has never seen before. It's life changing for me. And for me to leave this, to go work for a company that's in person.. it would need to be like a 20-30k raise.
WFH indefinitely, but had 1 day WFH even before the pandemic. Likely never returning to the office for more than 1 day a week. Still go onsite and to Datacenters now and then.
I find that even IN the office, you're still only so productive, say 60-80% of the time anyways. Lunch time, bathroom breaks, break room talk, BSing with coworkers, random employee encounters, non work websites... A lot of non-work stuff fills in the gaps.
So with WFH, instead of meaningless chit chat.. I can actually do a load laundry.. Instead of going out to eat for 60-90 minutes.. I can eat at my desk in 15 minutes and go mow the lawn or something. I no longer need to commute for 1.5 hours a day. There is no "getting ready for work" anymore. If I need to do something during the day, I can always just log in at night or on the weekend to finish. I save money on gas and car mileage. Even the dogs love it, as we're home with them 24/7.
There's a lot of shit that sucks about being a younger generation right now. But something like WFH, if you can get it, is a real perk, and something that society has never seen before. It's life changing for me. And for me to leave this, to go work for a company that's in person.. it would need to be like a 20-30k raise.
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The downside: My wife works from home, too.
.. and that's a real struggle at times. We don't have a lot of house to sprawl out in. We have to be mindful of who is in a meeting, etc. We have to each give the other space when we can, like leaving the house entirely or something. It is NOT easy.
People say "Oh it's no different than working in an office with your spouse".. wrong. If I worked in the office with my spouse, I'd still have other human contact. Other conversations. Etc. No, when you WFH with your spouse, the two of you might as well be a two-man crew working on a space station. There's no one else. No where to go. No other real contact. I am basically with my wife 24/7.
.. and that's a real struggle at times. We don't have a lot of house to sprawl out in. We have to be mindful of who is in a meeting, etc. We have to each give the other space when we can, like leaving the house entirely or something. It is NOT easy.
People say "Oh it's no different than working in an office with your spouse".. wrong. If I worked in the office with my spouse, I'd still have other human contact. Other conversations. Etc. No, when you WFH with your spouse, the two of you might as well be a two-man crew working on a space station. There's no one else. No where to go. No other real contact. I am basically with my wife 24/7.
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Don't feel bad, Glen. JWG was the last serial killer that I've read about who actually was as productive at home as his office -- dude had like 29 bodies buried on his property.
And another thing:
I think society is realizing there's an awful lot of jobs that don't require 40-hour work weeks, or 8-hour days. My job requires probably 20-30 hours of "work" a week. And I can probably get by with only 10 hours if I really wanted to. Now, what they pay me good money for, is my expertise, ability to tackle big projects and issues. And sometimes those turn into 70-hour weeks..
But yeah.. plenty of positions in my office, and in my personal life (friends and family), are not really 40-hour work weeks. We've all seen state and government workers.. they certainly aren't doing 40h work weeks.
Which is interesting.. have we, as society.. basically stood by the Henry Ford model for far too long? Are other European countries onto something? That we don't need to be sitting in an office, working for 30 hours, and the other 10 with our thumbs up our butts? And that those 10 hours could be spent towards much more important things in your life?
Like I said, I will NEVER leave this job unless something changes or another place offers a huge raise. My work/life balance is just too great. I could argue it's nearly invaluable.
I think society is realizing there's an awful lot of jobs that don't require 40-hour work weeks, or 8-hour days. My job requires probably 20-30 hours of "work" a week. And I can probably get by with only 10 hours if I really wanted to. Now, what they pay me good money for, is my expertise, ability to tackle big projects and issues. And sometimes those turn into 70-hour weeks..
But yeah.. plenty of positions in my office, and in my personal life (friends and family), are not really 40-hour work weeks. We've all seen state and government workers.. they certainly aren't doing 40h work weeks.
Which is interesting.. have we, as society.. basically stood by the Henry Ford model for far too long? Are other European countries onto something? That we don't need to be sitting in an office, working for 30 hours, and the other 10 with our thumbs up our butts? And that those 10 hours could be spent towards much more important things in your life?
Like I said, I will NEVER leave this job unless something changes or another place offers a huge raise. My work/life balance is just too great. I could argue it's nearly invaluable.
I’m more productive at home. I hope to never go back to an office. I probably stretch 36 hours into 40. I’d do the same in an office. It’s not hard to “look” busy.
I changed jobs in July of last year. I’ve never been to my new company’s office. Our office is open and we can go in voluntarily if we’d like. I told my boss I’d come to the office when it was absolutely mandatory. Until then, you’re not seeing me with the exception of team outings.
I can control the distractions at home. I work in my office in the basement. If I need silence, I close the door. I’ll leave my phone upstairs if I know my day will be too busy to doom scroll. I no longer have to walk down a giant hall to use the bathroom. I no longer have to listen to the marketing girls giggle all day. I no longer have to make small talk with people I don’t really like. I understand why extroverts crave the office, but this introvert loves not having to be forced to be around other people for 8-10 hours a day.
We are evaluated based on getting the work done, not how many minutes we’re logged in. I’ve never been happier in a job. Boss treats us like adults and doesn’t micromanage.
My last job announced last June that mandatory office attendance would go into effect Aug. 1. No exceptions. Round trip commute was 98 miles a day. I immediately began looking and was hired by another company within four weeks for almost double the salary. My former company is struggling to keep employees because we all learned the office isn’t really necessary when all it took to do our jobs was a computer and internet connection.
Highlights:
I used to get up at 6 a.m. to get to work by 8:30. Now, I wake up at 8:28 am to get to work by 8:30.
I don’t spend 10-12 hours a week of my time driving to/from work. Closing the laptop at 5 p.m. and being totally done for the day and already home is awesome.
All those dress clothes have been chilling in my closet for two years. Just last week I attended an on camera Zoom meeting with a VP wearing a button down shirt, gym shorts and flip flops. I put the button down on five minutes before the meeting and hung it back up as soon as the meeting was over.
I couldn’t imagine yearning to return to an office.
I changed jobs in July of last year. I’ve never been to my new company’s office. Our office is open and we can go in voluntarily if we’d like. I told my boss I’d come to the office when it was absolutely mandatory. Until then, you’re not seeing me with the exception of team outings.
I can control the distractions at home. I work in my office in the basement. If I need silence, I close the door. I’ll leave my phone upstairs if I know my day will be too busy to doom scroll. I no longer have to walk down a giant hall to use the bathroom. I no longer have to listen to the marketing girls giggle all day. I no longer have to make small talk with people I don’t really like. I understand why extroverts crave the office, but this introvert loves not having to be forced to be around other people for 8-10 hours a day.
We are evaluated based on getting the work done, not how many minutes we’re logged in. I’ve never been happier in a job. Boss treats us like adults and doesn’t micromanage.
My last job announced last June that mandatory office attendance would go into effect Aug. 1. No exceptions. Round trip commute was 98 miles a day. I immediately began looking and was hired by another company within four weeks for almost double the salary. My former company is struggling to keep employees because we all learned the office isn’t really necessary when all it took to do our jobs was a computer and internet connection.
Highlights:
I used to get up at 6 a.m. to get to work by 8:30. Now, I wake up at 8:28 am to get to work by 8:30.
I don’t spend 10-12 hours a week of my time driving to/from work. Closing the laptop at 5 p.m. and being totally done for the day and already home is awesome.
All those dress clothes have been chilling in my closet for two years. Just last week I attended an on camera Zoom meeting with a VP wearing a button down shirt, gym shorts and flip flops. I put the button down on five minutes before the meeting and hung it back up as soon as the meeting was over.
I couldn’t imagine yearning to return to an office.
year 18 for me working from home.
it is not for everyone. some folks need the whip to keep them working/focused.
i support teams in north America and asia. i have meetings at all hours of the day and night, so it is very easy to put in more than 8 hours per day. most days are split into two shifts: ~9am to ~4pm and ~8pm to midnight.
best advice: treat it same as office. get up, get dressed, and get to work. you do not have the witty banter between office mates, but that is a major distraction in itself. the savings from not driving to the office are significant; time,fuel, wear/tear, eating out everyday and so on.
it is not for everyone. some folks need the whip to keep them working/focused.
i support teams in north America and asia. i have meetings at all hours of the day and night, so it is very easy to put in more than 8 hours per day. most days are split into two shifts: ~9am to ~4pm and ~8pm to midnight.
best advice: treat it same as office. get up, get dressed, and get to work. you do not have the witty banter between office mates, but that is a major distraction in itself. the savings from not driving to the office are significant; time,fuel, wear/tear, eating out everyday and so on.
Yep. 15 years for me and it is better for every reason listed in this thread. Definitely requires discipline and structure to make it work well. And as for the job bleeding over into your personal life, welcome to the future. It’s just easier to deal with when you work from home.
I still wonder about the next few years.. you KNOW that owners and execs, by and large, want the workers back in the office. Task managers and micro managers don't know what to do with themselves.
So for now, any company that makes workers go back.. those workers will find other jobs, there will be attrition. But, if enough companies get people back into the office, workers will have less places to go to.. and it will he a snowball effect. If 4 software companies on the block have workers in the office.. the 5th one can follow suite knowing his staff have no where to leave to.
That's why I say again.. enjoy this now, I'm not convinced we won't go back to pre-covid times within 5 years.
So for now, any company that makes workers go back.. those workers will find other jobs, there will be attrition. But, if enough companies get people back into the office, workers will have less places to go to.. and it will he a snowball effect. If 4 software companies on the block have workers in the office.. the 5th one can follow suite knowing his staff have no where to leave to.
That's why I say again.. enjoy this now, I'm not convinced we won't go back to pre-covid times within 5 years.
Have WFH for many years. I get more work done in 1 day than folks in the office get done in a week. Just too many distractions in the office. I do actual real work about 20 hours a week and milk the other 20 my employer requires. That said, I am a very productive/high performer so if they really knew how much actual work I did they probably would not care because I get the job done better than most. Some people simply need structure that an office gives them to be productive and some like me are racehorses working from home.
I love working from home and absolutely despise my wife doing the same.
I can only work from home so much as I cannot operate lab equipment or do most of my job from home.
Again, I am not saying it doesn't have it's place. Like today. New system goes in Monday. Took the old one down yesterday so I can't do much of anything anyway. Would have taken the day off but someone has to monitor a mailbox that mainly gets emails from people that mostly took the day off. My entire goal for the day is yearly compliance BS. Probably start drinking around 2 and check out around 3:30 and cut the grass.
By the way, it's BS that you can't just skip to the end of the harassment videos like you can some of the others.
By the way, it's BS that you can't just skip to the end of the harassment videos like you can some of the others.
Kudos to you for keeping your meth lab separate from your dwelling space!
I have to go into work on Tuesday’s. Rest of the week I’m at home. It’s stupid but it is nice to actually see my coworkers occasionally
I always thought that if I HAD to go in one day a week, I wouldn't mind it for those reasons..
.. and my wife agrees 1,000%.
Amazon just announced that ALL staff will be expected to come back into the office for some amount of days per week. This is pretty big because 1. Amazon was already largely remote before COVID on the AWS side of the house and 2. It's one of the top players in tech and 3. Many think this is to force people to quit as a "secretive" 2nd round of layoffs.
Very interesting. AWS folks are losing their shit over this. My buddy who just went there a few months ago has no office anywhere near him, and there's talks that they might make these people relocate.
Very interesting. AWS folks are losing their shit over this. My buddy who just went there a few months ago has no office anywhere near him, and there's talks that they might make these people relocate.
our company sold many of the office buildings in 2020 after we went WFH. We're never going back. Fine by me.
I hate to say anything nice about WeWork, but I think we should see more large companies going to smaller, but more offices spread across cities. And that plays into WeWork or Regis's model. The long commute is the worst thing that has happened to us. It's bad for the economy, bad for the environment, and bad for our health.
Now I got a promotion and my hours changed so I don’t get off until 8. And the team I oversee all live in Louisiana. And the latest anyone besides me that goes to office on Tuesdays gets off at 5. So I only have to go in for 4 hours a week now
Our office signed a lease for a new HQ in the same office park, about 2 months before covid hit. We never moved in. And just last week we announced we aren't renewing the lease for it. So, like others here, I don't think we're e going back anytime soon. Not enough office space.
We're reselling about $500,000 worth of webex equipment. And we won't be spending whatever the cost is for 400-person commercial real-estate.
We're reselling about $500,000 worth of webex equipment. And we won't be spending whatever the cost is for 400-person commercial real-estate.
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Tried it 25 years ago when I moved into a management position. I found that I couldn't turn it off at the end of the day. My wife would cook dinner, I would eat and go back to work. I had a room that was the office, but I couldn't relax and enjoy my time off knowing there was always something work related that could be done. Or I would continue working before going to bed. After 6 months, I requested the company rent me an office. It was 6 miles from my house. It allowed me to shut the door and go home.
During COVID my wife was given the opportunity to work from home. She was excited. After a few months her story was the same as mine. She worked more hours from home than she did at the office. Now she only works from home if she is under the weather.
During COVID my wife was given the opportunity to work from home. She was excited. After a few months her story was the same as mine. She worked more hours from home than she did at the office. Now she only works from home if she is under the weather.
You have to be able to pull yourself away, for sure. And I think some employers love that WFH causes some of their staff to be always dialed in.
I do some work after hours and on weekends for sure. But I make sure it doesn't go much more than 40 hours a week.
My last job was like that. When we went remote, I found myself working odd hours and checking my email on weekends. One of the reasons I quit that job besides being forced to return to the office was they expected us to be “available” on paid days off. Eff that. That job wasn’t my life and I didn’t get paid nearly enough to be on call permanently.
My new job encourages us not to “take work home” meaning don’t let it spill into our personal time.
Now, I close the laptop and 5 and don’t think about opening it again until the next morning. When quitting time hits on Friday, I shut the computer down and don’t think of rebooting until Monday. It’s really nice.
Can't really do my current job from home, but a previous job that I briefly did WFH before getting laid off due to COVID, I was more productive at home. I had a shitty computer at work, got to use a good computer at home. And if I got my work done early, which was basically every day, then I was just done for the day. I didn't have to spend 8 hours in the office wasting my time just because I was expected to be there 8-5 every day.
