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I WFH full time due to my position responsibilities. I usually go into the office 2-3x a month for a few hours to pick up items, and chat with the staff. I like having some interaction with my co-workers, sometimes to just catch-up.
Now there is a new factor to consider when working from the office - being paid more. Companies are starting to pay remote workers less than their "but* in seat" counterparts. This new trend may encourage workers to work from the office more, reducing The WFH popularity.
Not having to buy work clothes, not having to buy gas, less wear and tear on your car (which can cost huge amounts of cash to fix), not having to take time off to let in plumbers or repair men.....I dunno, could still be worth it to people to WFH, even with lower salary.
I know for myself, the year I was working from home, I spent a *lot* less money than what I usually do.
ETA: Not to mention, possibly being able to move to a lower COL area if you're WFH.
Now there is a new factor to consider when working from the office - being paid more. Companies are starting to pay remote workers less than their "but* in seat" counterparts. This new trend may encourage workers to work from the office more, reducing The WFH popularity.
actually most of that is companies in expensive coastal cities are starting to recruit remote working employees from the flyover states and paying them higher than average wages "for their region" but lower than the going rate for that job on both coasts.
so it's a "win win" for all except those that live in the coastal regions. many of the younger people flooding into Texas from cali are remote workers.
Also I have been offered more money to work in an office for other companies and I've turned it down as it's not worth the stress.
Not having to buy work clothes, not having to buy gas, less wear and tear on your car (which can cost huge amounts of cash to fix), not having to take time off to let in plumbers or repair men.....I dunno, could still be worth it to people to WFH, even with lower salary.
I know for myself, the year I was working from home, I spent a *lot* less money than what I usually do.
ETA: Not to mention, possibly being able to move to a lower COL area if you're WFH.
actually most of that is companies in expensive coastal cities are starting to recruit remote working employees from the flyover states and paying them higher than average wages "for their region" but lower than the going rate for that job on both coasts.
so it's a "win win" for all except those that live in the coastal regions. many of the younger people flooding into Texas from cali are remote workers.
Also I have been offered more money to work in an office for other companies and I've turned it down as it's not worth the stress.
I do know of some companies that allow the WFH option, but with the condition that the employee has to live within an hour's drive of the office 'just in case'. My friend and her husband work for such a company. The company has offices in several major cities across the U.S., and told their employees they don't care which office they choose as their 'home base', just so long as they're within an hour's drive of one of them.
First of all, working from home would be impossible for the kind of work I do, that is as Dallas told Ripley in the Alien novelization....."Come off it, Ripley! That's why we are on this bigger machine in the first place! It becomes our problem when the machines can't handle it!".
Secondly, there is "the order to life". Way back when I was working on thesis, two things I "insisted" on was to still take classes and to have a scheduled conference time with my Prof each week. Having these things in life prevented the disasterious path of "Oh, I will do that tomorrow," from starting, taking over.
Finally, seeing the bellies of my co workers who have been working at home does not thrill me.
Seriously? And how the heck is WFH "long term isolation?"
It would make sense to you if you had zero siblings, zero living grandparents, no spouse, no children, and no family within driving distance except for one person who is never available because he is a travel addict.
I don't particularly agree with this article based on my experience. I realize most people probably would agree with it especially the thought that remote work hurts collaborative projects where people interact with each other face to face in real life (the flow).
I personally did not feel that way during my Zoom project meetings. As I mentioned before I felt that I was more eager to make my opinions heard online remotely than in person because of my fear of speaking in public. I was definitely more engaged remotely than in the office.
It would make sense to you if you had zero siblings, zero living grandparents, no spouse, no children, and no family within driving distance except for one person who is never available because he is a travel addict.
The loneliness is real.
what about friends or romantic partner's? not all of your social interaction has to be blood relatives and coworkers.
That would be sad as it would mean the only people around you would be people forced to by "work necessity" and "familial obligation" and none because they choose to because they like or love you.
1. My job involves reading and writing long documents, and the office has multiple high-speed printers. I don't have that at home.
2. I also have a huge desk, very comfortable desk chair and nice office, with nothing in it except work materials. There are no distractions and the physical setup is conducive for work. My dining room table and sofa are not.
3. When the office is full I do get distracted by people, but my office is largely empty now, so there are, again, no distractions.
So I prefer the office because it's set up for work. My home is set up for anything but work.
I prefer working from home:
1. I purchased my current house with extra bedrooms, intentionally. One of those is a dedicated office that has no personal effects in it. Six or seven years ago I bought a used corner desk from a seller of used office furniture. It is a behemoth made of solid wood and solid metal and offers plenty of legroom.
2. Over the years I have worked for several businesses that went through moves or physical down-sizings and they offered to let employees take furniture and equipment that was perfectly good but still being disposed. Over the years I have obtained from those events: a really nice leather office chair (to go with the desk), two HP laser printers, a flatbed scanner and several working flat panel monitors.
3. At the beginning of the pandemic I changed jobs. My current employer shipped a full computer setup including two monitors to my home. I combined an extra monitor and a laser printer from above with it to setup the grandest workstation I have ever had the joy to sit at. No in-office setup from my pre-pandemic work history was close to what I have at my house for functionality or comfort.
4. I have a bathroom across the hall from my home office. It is literally 10 steps from my keyboard to the toilet... and I never have to wait to use it.
5. My kitchen is less than 20 steps from my keyboard and like above, I never have to wait to get something to eat or drink. Workplace kitchens are often too poorly designed to handle several people at one time.
So I prefer to work at home because it is setup better than any business office I have ever personally experienced.
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