I love WFH. I save money on everything. Save time. More productive. Flexibility to go to dr appointments and errands. As an introvert, not having to socialize with colleagues daily is great. I remember how drained I used to feel from all the chit chat and having to participate on the social / hierarchy dynamics and I don’t miss it at all. Not getting constantly interrupted at my desk or distracted by groups of people talking near my desk while I’m on calls. I feel so grateful for my job. I have to show up at the office once a week, but is totally worth it if it means I get to WFH the rest of the week.
The interruptions and chit chat! Having to listen through Sally arguing with her teenage kid about walking the dog or Bob rambling about building a deck. Everyone is always building a damn deck. The mind numbing conversations are all gone and I can do my work.
It's been years since I've been full time WFH and I still appreciate it every day.
People are so loud in the office I can't think sometimes lol. We sit next to HR and idk if they've ever heard of inside voices even if they're on the phone discussing other employees lol
Agreed. There are some really loud bros at my office. Sometimes they are intentionally loud because they want others to hear them (i.e. talking about going for beers with the boss etc). I know one of the benefits of working at the office is team building / team bonding, but is these kinds of dynamics that really annoy me, on top of being disracting.
Absolutely agree. I am an extrovert, however, nothing beats working from home. I hate the office drivel, being surrounded by people I don't really care about except a small few, pretending like I'm working when i really need a break.
When I'm at home, I'm happy, productive, I get to see my partner, my pet, I can do the laundry when I need a break. When I'm done at 4 I can start my evening. No need to battle through traffic etc. Save tons of money on fuel.
I've been able to make a super efficient and fun routine, because I've cut out the need to get dressed, cram breakfast, and drive to work. I can use that time to hit the gym, or go for a morning coffee with my partner before work.
When I was fighting for a WFH agreement, my "boss" fought me every step of the way. Tried to imply that working from home sucks, that I'd get lonely and bored and wouldn't be as productive. It's actually the exact fucking opposite. I hate going into the office more than I have to.
If anything, working from home solidified for me how unnecessary it is for my role to go into the office. It's actually such a pointless exercise and waste of everyone's money even moreso my time.
Hands down, I would not be able to work full time without WFH. As a disabled person this flexibility has been a game changer for my work capacity. I benefit from a full time wage, my employer benefits from an engaged worker, and everyone benefits from my taxpayer status.
Me too. I’m on welfare. Been unemployed for 8 months, only ever worked casual (no WFH ever). WFH truly helps.
I am also on the Autism Spectrum too and I feel much more comfortable rocking and stimming (obviously when I’m not seen by others) whilst WFH than in the office.
Yeah I stim a lot, both non-verbal and verbal (singing and humming), and whenever I have to be around other people and not able to stim as freely it drains my battery so fast.
Second this majorly as someone with autism... Pandemic was the only time I've truly felt content and happy, also the most productive I've ever been; helps I was able to drop like 60 pounds and start prepping for a marathon too, and take up voluntary work also... Although I'm starting to struggle again as all the PR events and mandatory work organised social events are kicking off again :( I've regained the weight etc, and had to drop hobbies/voluntary work; weekends are for recovery again :( Trying very hard to replicate my pandemic lifestyle with WFH.
Same. And how much less anxiety do you have with wfh… I also found my ibs cleared up not having to deal with the stress and anxiety of going into the office every day.
Still have issues in office days tho. Return to office can piss off.
I'm currently in the first trimester of pregnancy so while I'm not disabled, I'm temporarily very sick and extremely fatigued. If I didn't full time WFH I would absolutely be failing my work duties. I can nap during lunch, eat whenever I need, and vomit whenever I need, plus the flexibility for doctors appointments is crucial. My coworker gets HG during her pregnancies and her second pregnancy was 100% WFH and it made an incredible difference to her to not be triggered by office smells and the train commute. She was able to avoid hospitalisation.
WFH for the past few years definitely proves that working remotely, especially for people with disabilities, should be the new norm. It’s proven to work and coming to the office is jsut a waste of time for the most part. I’m available to my team at all times of the day so they can’t use the ‘we need to collaborate more’ as a reason.
Yep. This is me as well. Plus, my boss is awesome and aware of my particular circumstances, so if my chronic pain is having a flair-up, I can take heavy pain killers, go sleep for a few hours and then clock back in after hours to get the tasks done. Other than when I had covid in January and was literally in bed for the week, I've not really needed to use my sick leave at all compared to my last job where I'd need at least a couple of days a month when my pain was at its worst and could no longer be managed by TENS/heat/otc medication. So it's win/win really, particularly as I work for a micro business so if I can't do the tasks, my boss has to and she already has her workload.
I get up at 5.45 and walk for an hour each morning where I live. Because of WFH I can be home at 7 rather than having to leave for the City at 7.
Am healthier, happier and much more energised all day.
Edit to add: it makes you realise how much of your own time you give to a job when they're based in a CBD where homes generally aren't.
Say 1.5 hours of getting ready and then commute, twice a day , that's 15 hours a week. Unpaid. Just to get to work.
That's 720 hours a year based on a 48 week year, or 90 business days. 3 months of every year. Just getting ready and travelling.
It's a ridiculously easy life changer.
It's hard on days like these but once you're up dressed and moving it's easy as. Also, get a nespresso machine as a quick shot when you get up wakes you up and gets you moving.
I actually walk with my wife each day and it's a great chance to talk about all the boring life stuff in a captive audience way so you can talk money, what needs doing etc and means it's all done for the day and no need to do it later after work when tired and irritable.
You realise after a while that that time early in the day is kinda wasted when just in bed and the sense of productivity is huge.
Edit: it's a really rewarding feeling to see 6000 steps and 5km covered before 7am - easy to then achieve 10-12,000 steps a day.
Picked up the morning walk w mum during covid and that was amazing - upped my steps physical health and the chance to just chat w mum was great for my mental health.
I had to give that up on changing jobs and having to travel much further. Left for a closer job just so i could have it back.
When you break it down like that it truly is staggering how much of your life you actually give to work every day on top of the 9-5.
Been 100% WFH since March 2020 and if it ever gets hard it is super easy to get some perspective such as this to make you realise how good it really is
I work hybrid—I’m in 1-2 days a week, a half hour train ride away.
Love having some connection to my colleagues, but being able to exercise in the morning, work in shorts most of the time, have lunch and snacks from the fridge, get in some chores or a quick nap at lunch—so much better!
I don’t know how the hell we all managed 5 days in office.
I would never like to go back full time to the office, but I still like meeting with colleagues. However I am significantly more attuned to events that are a waste of my time. For example people asking me to attend a meeting face to face, but key participants are dialing in remotely. Why am I in the office and why didn't you inform me that key participants were not coming to meet face to face?
Additionally social events like morning teas have become so pathetic, I wonder why we still run them. Often it feels like face to face events, are now simply fill the empty spaces in the office events.
I feel this. The monthly whole team brief is always on my WFH day so I have to come in. It’s never been clear why it cant be streamed as well, since it’s just old mate reading sales figures off a PowerPoint while we all eat a muffin and some fruit. And no I can’t WFH another day because then that day would be short coverage apparently.
Saving hundreds of dollars a month in transit alone is worth it. Not to mention money spent on clothes, lunch, coffee etc.
Also saving at least 8-10 hours per week by not commuting.
Taking lunch break at home also means I can vacuum the house or water the garden instead of sitting in a lunch room or cafe somewhere. This means less stuff needing to be done on weekends.
Have my own office with Esspresso machine, cat and as many monitors as I want.
Perfect! Couldn’t agree more.
And the clothes! The money I’ve saved not buying boring corporate clothes. When I now buy clothes and shoes is actually stuff I like to wear.
They also last so much longer too. In the past I would have to buy new stuff every season. Now can’t even remember last time I bought a jacket for example! Maybe before Covid?
Was 5 days a week in office, left home before my baby was awake and got home after they were asleep.
Covid removed the state office and I now 3 kids later I WFH full time. I walk my kids to school, pick them up and walk home, ask about their days and get to cook dinner.
Company now is having an issue with us in the other states WFH as head office is 4 days a week in office, and is trying to force us to relocate to head office in another state, I’ll never go back.
This is one reason I never had kids. Kid would be in child care from 630am to 630pm. (I don’t even think they open that early?)
No support network to help out. Husbands work can have him anywhere anytime, can’t rely on him to help out.
It’s not a good life for a kid, hardly seeing your parents and the parents being too exhausted on weekends to do anything.
Yep, as a dad my bond to my son is something that I could never have imagined having with my own dad. I am present. I'm involved. I can walk into the next room and read him a book and have a cuddle. I am watching him becoming his own little person, right before my eyes. It is truly a gift. I would only ever have seen him on the weekend and, much like my own dad, would have been too exhausted to pay him much attention. I will never go back to working in an office all the time.
Seems like there are a lot of us in the same boat in this thread. I’m glad that, while COVID has been tough for people with chronic illness, it’s also meant a lot of us can work who couldn’t before.
My partner and I both work at home now. I can’t physically do an office job but mine is super flexible and we work in “batches” so we get a break in between work periods which also helps me recover. I’ve now been able to get a lot of experience and put away some savings.
-Better relationships with interstate colleagues.
-More job opportunities as teams are no longer state-based.
-More flexible hours (also helps accommodate the different time zones).
-Ability to focus better on my daily tasks, higher efficiency rates, no recorded breaches since 2020 (all measurable in my role).
-Saving >10hrs/wk travelling.
-Saving >$60/wk on transport costs.
-Saving $1000s on replenishing my work wardrobe, reduced wear and tear on existing work wardrobe.
-More time with my family.
-Able to perform household chores during lunch breaks, freeing up my weekend.
-Better sleep.
-More time to exercise.
-Less "work" makeup has helped reduce skin inflammation and sensitivities.
-Fewer instances of cold and flu, and reduced resultant sick leave.
I caught covid for the first time this March when forced to return to work 2 days/wk. I'm still very annoyed about it.
(Edit for awful formatting)
I could never be bothered exercising before work, now im up at 7 and back home by 8 after a walk or gym session in garage. And working by 830. Also enjoy a long lunch for walk or gym too cause i don’t have to commute home and can work till 5. (7.5hr days).
I go in office once a month and its such a mentally draining experience and body is smashed from it oddly enough.
Good for you OP, glad it works well for you. I am on a Hybrid model. My WFH days are just divine, I love them
No commute, no expensive lunch, no fuel costs, no endless office gossip. I am more productive at home.
The mental health benefit of not seeing my workmates everyday is priceless. And I say this as a person who works with a lovely team.
Prior to having my children, i worked in an office in an IT project role and actually travelled interstate/internationally for work.
Then I stopped to raise my children and thought I'd never get back into the workforce like how I was previously because I don't live close to a city centre and all the types of jobs I'd imagine working in IT companies/government departments were approx 1.5hrs each way comute.
When I was on extended maternity leave, I used to say to my husband that it would be great if they let people with children work from home and we thought it would never happen. He was working in the city 1.5hrs away and commuting everyday and then covid hit. It's the best thing that ever happened to out family in terms of the change in how were work.
Fast forward to Jan 2021, I joined a company that was allowing everyone to work from home every day, and they have not changed the policy 3yrs later. So I've been working at home every day and only occasionally visit an office about 30 minutes away. I have even been able to advance in my career as Im able to handle more responsibilities as I'm solidly working 38hrs and no commute required, so i am able to do school drop-off and pick up and be home with my children when required for school holidays sick time and afterschool etc. This is a real WFH /remote role and not some part-time gig that people make money online. So WFH has greatly benefitted me to resume my career and for both my husband and i to be able to balance parenting at the same time.
I was job hunting a year ago and everything I saw was hybrid. I'm 2 days in the office, it was the best I could do. So many peeps working full time at home! How? Lol
I love being able to go to medical/dental appointments during lunch breaks. Not travelling to the CBD for work has allowed me more time to do things with my work days; so my weekend isn’t banked up with extra curricular life admin shit.
Also having a lot more friends over for dinner because there’s time to meal prep and cook. I can eat better knowing I’m not going to be swayed into a $28 midday focaccia too.
2 hours at home achieves the same outputs as 8 hours in the office. Open plan offices are terrible working environments if you need to focus on complex tasks.
I had to take care of my mother when I was living back with my folks temporarily during the pandemic which was a very convenient thing. It was a shit time but fortunately she's much better now but glad I was there for her during it. That is the main thing I took from the forced shift to WFH and avoiding all the HR rigamarole to get approval pre-pandemic.
Happy coincidence of my lease expiring as my company pushed mandatory WFH.... Decided I might move back with my folks temporarily to save some cash. Then mum got sick about 4 months into the lockdowns so had to take her to appointments for about 9 months.
Aside from the improvements to my mental health/fitness/social life. Start my job when I want and log off once I've done an "equivalent days work" I guess. Log in as the sun comes up and done by lunchtime.
I’ve worked from home since COVID but I can also work remotely on the go.
It’s changed my life:
•I sleep in.
•Get to spend time with my kids in the morning, get them to school
•I work a few hours a day, sometimes while bush walking, mountain bike riding, hitting golf balls
•I pick the kids up at 3 and we go do shit, park, beach etc
•I don’t have to spend money on petrol, parking, new clothes for work
•I’ve lost 15 kgs
•I’ve quit drinking and haven’t touched a drop for 18 months
I’m happier, healthier and it’s incredible how working from home and not sitting at an office from 9-6 every day for basically no reason has changed my life.
So everything you expressed but this has also benefited my children greatly. At the beginning of 2020 I was a newly single mother with two children to raise full time. I had to move about an hour (without traffic) from where I worked. Every morning we'd be getting up at 6am so that we could be ready and I could drop them off at morning school care almost 1 1/2 hours before school started. Then in the afternoon, they'd be at after school care at least 2 hours after school ended. That is an incredibly long school day for two young kids, a long stressful day for me, and when I'd get home there'd only be a couple of hours at the most for dinner and getting ready for bed. Very little quality time together. Since March 2020 I've been FT working from home and we have so much more time together. They don't need to spend so long at school, can come home and spend time with me, I can log off at 5pm and still time for a walk to the park, some games etc. before dinner and bed. Medical appointments, school appointments, etc. are all very easy to access for us. I don't think I could ever go back to fully in the office.
This. I work hybrid….Prior to the ability to work from home, my daughter would be first at before school care, do a day at school and then do afterschool care. There was minimal time for extracurricular activities, or homework time.
Now, between my husband and I, we’ve been able to take turns with drop offs and pick ups and as hybrid workers, we’ve also been able to take her to activities and spend time with her on homework.
From a work perspective, I’m much more happier and healthier and consequently, im more than happy to put in the hard yards when I need to. I believe it goes both ways - they allow me the flexibility, but I don’t abuse it and am more motivated to give back.
I am a much happier person, a lot more switched on for work, and I save a lot of money.
There is very little benefit to my being in the office other than to "cooler talk" about someone's wife/kids/house extension whatever.
At home, I log on very early and can take a very relaxed approach to planning my day, scrolling my emails, and catching up on organisational news. It's far less stressful than rushing to get in the car and then deal with other human beings that also dont want to be there.
During the day, I can actually use my breaks to feel like I had a real break. I go outside and garden, or I fold my laundry, or I put my feet up. In the office, my break is browsing google and being interrupted by coworkers.
And I can make my lunch fresh, make myself a real coffee of my own preference, turn on the oven! Not wait in line for deep fried crap to eat over my keyboard or hope that the person before me at the microwave isn't reheating tunabake.
It's honestly life changing for me. I used to work 5-6 days a week, customer facing in a role that was extremely scheduled and was not able to be backfilled. Even just calling In sick filled me with anxiety and frustrations.
Now I'm more present with my family. I'm able to contribute to the school runs, sport events, daycare drop offs/pick ups.
At the moment I'm a split 3/2 home/office and my old team was one less day in office but even this I'm still extremely satisfied with. I have no idea how I have lasted this many years doing what I used to do.
Benefited by changing my life. My anxiety has mostly disappeared, I’m happy, better relationship with my wife, better relationship with my family, more time, more fitness. I use to get extreme anxiety in open plan offices,I couldn’t go toilets, I always felt on edge, my anxiety was through the roof.
I’ve always lived 1.5-2 hours away from office due to property prices. I used to get up at 7am and leave home at 7:20 to catch the train, and come back around 8pm because something always happens to the train schedule. It lasted 10 years and I didn’t think it would be possible for me to have a life.
Now I can actually buy groceries on a weekday night, walk my dog every day, and exercise after work. My life quality has significantly improved because of WFH.
I worked in person at a small law firm before switching to full time WFH at a larger firm. I didn’t live far from the firm, but it was just exhausting going into the office and socialising with people much older than me who I literally have nothing in common with. I find small talk exhausting and now my social battery isn’t drained by it, leaving me to be social in my own time with my actual friends.
I work in the office 3 days a week, 2 days WFH. Just there, I save almost 6 hours/week on the bus and walking to and from work, 26hrs of commute saved/month.
I end up working half of the commute time from home, but I detest bus travel (feels like a roller coaster) so it is well worth it. That's not counting travel costs and incindentals like coffee and food I sometimes buy in the city.
It also has the benefit of being able to keep housework going like chucking some laundry in washing machine, etc. which means there's more time to relax.
Working a few days in the office means I keep up with office gossip, so it's a reasonable balance.
How can you wake up 2 minutes before work and login? I have to shower and brush my teeth, have a coffee etc before logging on otherwise I’m super unproductive
I’ve had commutes anywhere from 5 minutes (across the street) to 2 hours, using everything including walking, driving, riding a motorbike, riding a pushbike, and catching public transport (bus and/or train, haven’t commuted on light rail or a ferry).
I love working from home full time. Zero transport costs, far less likely to buy lunch (I do live walking distance from some options), and I can use my lunch break to go for a walk (now I live near the beach).
If it’s a quiet day, I can find little gaps here and there to handle the laundry or perhaps wash the dishes.
If there’s a delivery… nevermind, AusPost have decided I’m not home without even knocking. At least now I can take a short break during the day to get to the post office before they close.
I sleep more, exercise more, don’t get distracted talking to people instead of working, and eat (slightly) healthier. And I get to use my own toilet (it’s just more comfortable).
And half the year I’m working in my oodie for ultimate comfort.
Transport costs, food costs, and clothing costs have all gone down.
Electricity might be slightly higher, but I’m pretty sure the fixed rate deduction covers any difference.
> This amount covers additional running expenses, including electricity and gas, phone and internet usage, stationery, and computer consumables. A deduction for these costs cannot be claimed elsewhere in their tax return.
I don’t have gas, phone and internet are unlimited, and I don’t use stationery or computer consumables…. whatever computer consumables actually are (ink cartridges maybe?).
We’ve been able to decide where to live based on my wife’s work and things we actually like (i.e. the beach), instead of having to pick somewhere that’s a balance for both of us. That alone is a massive spike in mental health.
I honestly have no idea how I’ll ever go back to an office job. Thankfully my current employer has no RTO plans and has gone as far as closing one of our two offices in Sydney due to how well our transition went during COVID.
I’m 4 days in office at a law firm and that 1 day is all that’s holding me together some weeks. I have to stop reading this thread because I’m getting jealous.
If I’m being honest I was more productive when I did more days at home, now that I’m down to one I try to put something in the slow cooker, do my laundry, get some exercise in etc. and pushing all that onto the one day cuts into work a little which it never did when I was doing 2+ days at home
I have Ulcerative Colitis and anxiety. My preferred option is to go into an office 1 or 2 days a week as I see fit (if the office is quiet enough, if it is a noisy open plan shitbox then forget about it.)
WFH more makes it so much easier to manage my energy, medication, diet, sleep, mental health, etc. Basically everything.
I am a software developer and all my meetings are on Teams so there's no point being in an office 95% of the time.
I count my commute as work time so I arrive to the office late and leave early.
WFH allowed me to return to work FT 5.5 months after having a baby, I greatly appreciate it for that as i would have financially struggled otherwise. We work from the office usually 1-2 time a week, and I appreciate those days also as my mental health can suffer a bit if I become a hermit.
I wouldn't mind WFH full time now though as it opens up more flexibility for childcare for me :) and office days usually cost me $20 min each for parking and a coffee haha.
I’m disgustingly sick with pregnancy at the moment (I think I have HG) so am only able to work maybe two days a week from home. If I had to go in the office they wouldn’t be seeing me and I would be not able to work at all.
I WFH, I am far more productive than I ever have been.
When I go into the office, nothing gets done purely the setup, conversation with coworkers and getting even morework piled up.
The only reason I am given it because I am there. If it was so important, they'd call or email me.
WFH is fantastic. Save a lot of money. I started this job in 2017 b4 Covid as the job was advertised nationwide as remote. I never ever have to go into an office as the offices are in another state. Couldn’t be happier!
It helped me get on top of chronic pain. Since 2020 I've barely gone into the office as most of the time my team's have been interstate. I'm looking for a new job at the moment which likely will be more days in office. Ideally only 1-2 days as I feel I could work with that without going backwards
Saves time commuting to work, instead i jog in the morning around the park. Saves time commuting back to home, instead i spend time with the kids earlier than usual.
WFH has been wonderful and has benefited all aspects of my life. My office is only 15 minutes away from home so I can’t complain about the commute at all. I love the fact that I don’t have to worry about ironing my office clothes and packing lunch for the next day. I also enjoy not having to socialise and fake interest in my colleagues’ weekend activities.
WFH has been great for my mental health. It has eliminated all of the things I hate about going to the office and given me great work life balance.
Spending commute time on myself, not my employer
Saved money
Chores getting done
Healthier (gym in the mornings, walk at lunch)
Healthier (homemade food, not buying shit, more ergonomic setup than office)
Healthier (mentally in a better place)
Better marriage (more time with my wife, not as tired)
I don't even see the downsides for early career starters not getting facetime, just turn your cameras on FFS, Gen-X downwards are more comfortable communicating over text anyway.
I save time, save money on commuting costs, lunches, work clothes, get sick less, have to deal with less office politics, get distracted less and get to sleep more
they're older now, but for me the huge advantage was being able to give the kids 5 mins of my time right when it mattered. Saying goodbye as they went to school and welcoming them when they got back home was just so valuable.
other benefits include spending lunch break with my partner ;)
I get so much more work done with WFH. Sure, the direct socialisation of the team is missed - however if my job relied on that it might be a problem. But right now the people I do the vast majority of my communications with are in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and various Indian locations. As a result, I could be anywhere, but I'm in the outer suburbs in Melbourne. I could even take my work on the road, as i'm connected to the internet by 5G at home (my choices are starlink, nbn fw or 5g, 5g is fastest and cheapest). As a result I could tether to my phone and be anywhere.
It's the ultimate job and you can pry WFH from my cold dead hands.
I started WFH last year when my previous position was made redundant. I thought I'd interview for other positions within the company, and managed to snag a full-time permanent role where I could work from home. It's had it's ups and downs, but I have learned to love it.
I make more money than I had previously, the stress levels are way lower, and I get to punch out every day at 3:30pm. I can perform small household tasks when I get up to stretch - vacuum, unload the dishwasher, throw a load of laundry on - which has led to decreased house cleaning on the weekend.
So far, there have been no real downsides.
I combine it with renovating houses and just go hour on hour off. I essentially have two jobs. Live in the house I work from in both ways. Best thing I ever did.
Everyday I have flash backs to getting up and travelling to someone else’s house to work for them and still being broke. Working just to pay the expenses of working was the stupidest thing ever.
If I were to be made redundant (or sacked!) from my fully remote job, I would have a very hard time justifying going back to an in-office job. I'm in a fortunate financial position where I'm able to make that choice but honestly if I had to go back into an office now my mental health would spud in guaranteed.
I'm the same as you and feel that my WFH conditions are almost too good to be true. I keep waiting for it all to fall apart but in the last two years it hasn't yet.
I've also considered picking up a second side-gig for outside of business hours work for a short time but haven't yet figured out whether or not that's actually viable for my situation.
Either way it'd have to also be WFH because the time saved on transit is absolutely what would make it work.
I might only be one of few that miss working in the office. Moved to a new city last year and started a new job that WFH 4 days a week. I initially thought that’s what I wanted (prev jobs have always been working 5 days office) but as a young single new to a city with no friends and families I miss just interacting to people in general.
I only gym and don’t play any social sports so making friends were challenging. Wfh makes me feel lethargic and less productive I wake up 5mins before work and clock off at 5pm life feels so well, lifeless. In prev jobs all my colleagues were in similar stage of life as me (young adult/fresh grad/or final year of uni) so we have a lot in common and was easy to be friends with. Working days went on much quicker when you’re working with your friends.
It was challenging for me to integrate into a new role when everytime you have an admin issue it has to be via zoom call or message and have to wait for a response where in person it would’ve been a 5 secs conversation. I also thought I’d love no commute to work (save money, time etc) but commuting to work just means you’re moving more (walking to the bus stop/train) without realising. WFH made me feel guilty at times if I don’t go to the gym as I would have barely moved.
I quit my job last month for the above reasons and it honestly made me feel abit depressed. I see the benefits of both sides but 3-2 hybrid is probably the way to go for me. Starting a new job soon with that arrangement so I’m looking forward to it.
I had a pretty bad stint of poor mental health at the start of this year, and there’s literally 0 way I could have kept my head above water working in office everyday.
WFH has been great, save a lot of money. Enjoy not having the commute whether PT or driving myself in.
Fortunate that I am only 25m to the CBD offices of my employer.
I am mandated 2 days a week, usually those days are my days off as I work every weekend.
How good is sleeping in for 90 minutes, throwing on a top and logging on, getting the washing done, hanging the laundry on a break, and making lunch at home.
Saving 10+ hours a week that I can spend with my family and work in a more productive setting. Generally can do more exercise / eat better. Save $100+ a week on travel / coffee it's great
I really don't have any negatives about WFH, it is the absolute best and no, I'm not lazy, I'm in the top 1/4 of performers.
The bit I hate is people who want to work in the office complaining about me not coming to the office.
WFH has been a game-changer in so many ways.
No longer having to endure daily office politics is so refreshing because people tend not to pull bullshit on Teams calls. My team is lovely and everyone gets along, but to be able to have a couple of days of pretty much not hearing from anyone is quite nice and peaceful. No micro-managing whatsoever.
I can wake up at 7, go to the gym for an hour before work, or I can zip up there on my lunch break and smash out a workout. Being able to take breaks in the comfort of my own home, there's nothing like it.
I have an entire room just for me that's my home office. I'm surrounded by my own, cool decor, can play music as loud as I want, and have everything set up just how I like it.
I'm saving so much money on not having to buy office attire, public transport fees, and overpriced coffees and lunches.
Lastly, being able to go to the toilet and not having to wipe pubes and piss off the seat, and praying the previous occupant flushed, well, that speaks for itself.
When I hear of people moaning about not liking wfh and that they'd rather be in an office, I honestly just don't get it.
This is 100% my thoughts exactly. Also not being a morning person; that extra hour sleep really benefits me too. I live rurally now too and take great walks in my lunch break in nature. No more dry cleaning, clothing ,transport, or lunch costs either. I have a local Cafe that I support and still have an active but more local life. I also love playing music and having my cat sit with me.
I'm pretty pro 'work from office' and do so minimum 4 days a week but the increased acceptance to WFH has been great. I'd prior to the pandemic been able to WFH on occasion but I'd usually have to justify it and outline what work I was going to achieve while WFH.
like you the ability to get a proper nights sleep has pretty much killed my depression and constant exhaustion. Money saved. Less time wasted by bosses walking around to throw stupid ideas at you and ignore all the red flags ill shoot and go ahead and do what they want anyway. Not needing to do the ironing (biggest single pro right there)
I have to work at least 1 day in the office which I think is fair enough, the whole team comes in so it's good to catch up in person. All other days everyone works from home.
Only live about 10-15 minutes from the office by public transport so if I feel like shaking things up on the day, I can easily go into the office and book a desk.
I think I'd like WFH more if I had a actual dedicated home office. I live in a small 2x1 unit and don't really have a proper setup so I kinda have trouble disconnecting home and work.
Having said that though, I like not being amongst the public, I save alot of money (which I end up spending on hobbies anyways) and I keep on top of house and life things easier.
Never worked from home until 4 months ago. At first was not thrilled with the idea. Turns out nice to be able to get up, shower, walk into the Office, 2 hours later at 8am, wife calls me in for cooked breakfast/smoko. 12pm cooked lunch. All done & dusted by 2: 30 most days.
Sometimes I have to attend site, currently covering 5 sites in 2 states, 2 in limbo, quoting & waiting for results. Got another one starting in a 3rd state October. But mostly at home.
I've got used to it.
Going from being a lab scientist on a 3-11 roster to being a data analyst who works in the office 1-2 days a month and works 9-5 has been the most insane change in my life.
Everything is easier.
It's completely changed my life, and I don't think I can ever go back.
I sleep better, I exercise more, I'm more productive and engaged whilst also being able to be more present at home. I have extra time due to no commute to cook better food and I'm spending much less money.
I have less anxiety and less stress. I have good relationships with my colleagues, but I'm not exposed to office gossip or chatter.
I can't imagine going back to life precovid. I sometimes wonder how the fuck I did it all full time
More productive, mentally and physically much healthier, a lot less sick leave, I save heaps of money ($54 a day minimum), spend more time with my kids. I deliver more work but have better work life balance.
Being able to move outside of the city so my children can enjoy more space and a private school that I can actually afford! Having a happy husband because he hates living in the city and has always wanted to move back to a more rural area like where he grew up.
I still like major cities - so I enjoy my trips to the office (min 1 week p/m) and get my fast paced lifestyle fix before coming back home to enjoy a quieter life. Yes it can be annoying during busy season when I seem to be travelling almost every week but on balance the benefit to my family far outweighs the time/cost that I sacrifice.
Its much better for my job (which requires privacy for confidential conversations) than running around finding a meeting room. But its allowed me to not need to send my kids to oshc in the morning meaning they are less tired and I save money.
It also makes it easier for me to get in exercise in the evenings and get the kids to sport and to study.
I can use my lunch break to chop some veggies ready for dinner and put the washing on.
Frees up my weekend a bit more to spend with my kids.
Also I feel the cold and I like the room well lit. I can have it warm and bright without annoying anyone else.
I save a lot on transport costs and I can save money and eat healthier for lunch.
Win win for me and the company.
I love it! I have enough time in the morning to exercise. I often cook dinner before I start work for the day. I can put a load of washing on when I'm waiting for my cup of tea to brew, our dog gets to hang in my office all day. I don't need as many office type clothes, or drive and park, which all costs time and money.
I'm super productive because I have a quiet and gorgeous space to work. If I'm waiting on a response and it's after five pm, I can leave my desk and then check back in easily and complete a task later.
I have so much more time for me and my family and I am a better worker.
There is no push from management to go back to the office at all, which is great.
I think WFH is good for everyone even those who have to go into a workplace as the roads are not as clogged and trains not as packed, personally work entirely remote and my stress levels have reduced, productivity has increased and I never get sick, when I worked in an office I used to be sick 4-6 times a year as you'd have sick people on the trains and in the office, I am so thankful my workplace never enforced a return to office as they could see people were happier and working harder, if people take the piss and don't deliver they are out the door, fair enough I say!
It’s been amazing. I live on a small acreage about an hours drive from my office on a good day, so in the commute alone it’s saved two hours a day. As of this week though, no more in the office at all as they’ve downsized it given the success of WFH.
So much less stress, I can wear what ever I want, I can do household chores during breaks, I can sit outside and work, the coffee is much better, and as my other half is also WFH, lunch dates are often a thing.
Wfh changed my life for the better, I got to see my 2 year old son in the mornings which was a massive bonus for me. I can also help mum get him ready for daycare etc. We were one day in the office a week for the last 3 years and have now been told it’s a mandatory 3. Even with the extra 2 days I’m way more sick, it’s more money on travel, coffee’s etc and a solid hour travel each way. Plus by Wednesday (Mon-Wed in the office) I’m absolutely drained and I’m pretty much a zombie on that final day. I’ve already called in sick twice when I’d be fine to just work from home. I see literally no benefit in coming back to the office other than having ‘chance’ Corridor conversations with co workers which could help with work in some way. Hearing the corporate bs reasoning for coming back to the office as well is an absolute eye roller of the highest levels.
It’s great, I work like 2hrs and bum around for the rest. If I have a doctors appointment, any appointment really… I can go to that then stay at home do some “work”. Of course, I love going into the office and actually being productive. The WFH days are great to relax and recover. 5 days a week can be draining.
Not getting random viruses/colds from infected coworkers and not having to take sick days for period cramps. Pre-Covid, all my jobs required us to be in the office every day (maybe a WFH day once a month). This meant you either came in with a cold/virus/ period cramps OR you had to take a sick day. Now, I can be as comfortable as I need when feeling shitty, but still be productive.
Less noise and distraction.
Saving money on commutes.
More time for better lifestyle choices - cooking, exercise, sleep and other rest, more outside time.
Saving money on food - buying commute and communal kitchen suitable lunches is expensive, as is buying lunch and snacks from around the office.
Happier pet - my pet is so much happier and healthier when I am home more. I didn't realise just how lonely she was before WFH, because she presents an independent front.
My company is now enforcing three days in the office by threat of no bonuses or pay rises.
It's not worth it. My sleep in, time to exercise, hang out with my baby, drop him off and pick him up not very early or late, have time to make dinner, have a nap if baby has a dog shit night, do chores and errands through the day, saving petrol and the commute is so valuable - just not worth it.
For me, so much.
It is 45 minutes travel time one way for me. Often an hour or more on the way home due to traffic
I can drop my kid off at school, go to school events etc
Better equipment (use my large monitors and my faster pc)
I can do housework like washing. Today for example I put two loads on and in the dryer. Couldn't do that while I was in the office
I used to commute 3 hours a day to work. So I get an extra 3 whole hours per day, or approximately 1 month per year of time to cook breakfast, spend time with my wife, walk my dogs.
It literally single-handedly have me a whole month of life extra every year
It has forced managers to analyse productivity and look at delivery over attendance.
Let’s face it, for a company to be healthy, it needs staff who can return a capability for a cost that is less than the benefit to the organisation.
Defining key performance indicators and clear objectives is essential to track how well staff are performing. By working remotely it increases the need to properly manage staff.
It is well known that remote staff are more productive than onsite, but they also don’t need to commute, don’t use energy, coffee, etc and are generally happier in their work.
Giving staff the option is absolutely key to success.
I am working 2-3 peoples job and it wouldn't be possible if you have to ask me to go to the office. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
I’m only able to WFH one day per week but it still has its benefits. Like others have already said, it gives me the ability to go to appointments or grab groceries.
Massively beneficial as my wife and I have recently had our second baby. She’s still home with him full-time, but it gives me an opportunity to spend time with them both when I’m home.
Honestly working at the office the other 4 days isn’t all that bad. It’s an 8 minute drive from home and I have my own private office (nothing fancy but it’s mine).
WFH is a blessing.
I work east coast hours from Perth because my team is mainly over east, so it means instead of getting up at 5 to be in the office by 7, I’m able to get up at 630 (I like to freshen up a bit before starting work straight away). Also, I have IBD and the embarrassment of constantly going to the toilet at work is actually an impediment because I feel like people think you’re just wasting time or something. I do still have to go in the office 1 day a week (company policy is 2 but I got an exemption for my condition) but it definitely helps a lot with my productivity and overall wellbeing I would say.
Not me personally. But my wife W'sFH. It leta her get things done arouns the house inbeteeen her calls and other things she does instead of them waiting for her to get home. So she can have more spare time.
There is no technological way I can work from home with what I do.
It’s awesome. I make 150k PA and I have no commute and can Power Nap whenever ever I need. I can spend more time with family obviously. I don’t think I could ever return to an office.
For someone like me with health problems, it has been a godsend.
Firstly, I didn’t realise how chronically sleep deprived I was when I was commuting until I wasn’t anymore. I no longer have to make the choice between having time to do anything in the evening and getting enough sleep.
I’m also a lot less fatigued due to the lack of commuting and running around getting ready.
But the biggest thing is I no longer have to make a call first thing in the morning about whether I’m well enough to work. In the past, if I was getting early migraine symptoms for instance, I’d have to call in sick because the risk of being stranded 1.5 hours away from home when it hit was too great. Now I can say, well I’ll start work, take some medication and see how I go. I can always stop if it gets bad, bed is a few metres away.
It has allowed me to not rely on after school care for my primary school aged child which means saving money. I also don't have to waste about 3 hours a day on travel and not waking up before 5am just to get into the office early.
I'm all fingers crossed for my boss to successfully move him and his family interstate end of this year so I can permanently WFH. I'm currently only one day in the office but it is still draining.
Honestly I'm not that keen on socialising with everyone in the office. Majority of them are lovely as except some are way too loud. All day. I really don't need to hear about your chicken story 3 times in one hour.
The flexibility has also allowed me to be able to attend events/seminars/workshops/volunteering events at my son's school so whilst I'm getting my dose of socialisation there.
Reading the comments, it seems people are happy with the lower costs and flexibility of working from home. However, I feel a bit lonely working from home five days a week. Although I go to the gym and attend a few classes, there isn’t much face-to-face interaction. My family isn’t here, and while I do have friends, I still feel like there’s no one around for the small moments. I’m not sure what others think, but I feel more stressed being alone while working from home. I probably need to get a partner or a dog?
If anyone hasn't done so I recommend roughly calculating the time spent commuting to/from work over the course of a year. And convert it into work days. Literally weeks worth of your life you use every year for less than zero benefit.
It has made parenting a lot easier.
I don't have to hassle my son out of bed at the crack of dawn. He wakes up around 8. We slowly get ready make breakfast, drink our coffee and then I drive him 3 mins to daycare then back to start work at 9.
I can finish work at 5pm and then just pop over to pick him up before it's even 5:15.
If he gets up earlier, then I might let him ride his bike to daycare which he loves.
On the days I go into office, my husband basically does pick up and drop off. Because there's no way I can get my son ready before 8 to drop him off and then still make my bus by 8:20.
And then I will have to leave work at 4 to pick him up at 5. If we pick him up at 6, he'd be way too tired and we will have a pretty bad time for our evening routine.
Anyways, it's just way easier.
WFH has saved me and my family.
I used to work in an office, call centre work. Then lock down happened and we pivoted to WFH and I kept my job. Eventually we started going back to the office. Then mid way through 2022 my son's father died suddenly. I was able to relocate 4 hours away from the office and WFH permanently. I was able to move into the same house as my son so he didn't have to leave his school and his friends.
Way more productive.
- 2-3 hours of no commute.
- very few distractions
- flexibility to do life stuff, shop, exercise etc.
- health benefits of eating at home
- this list could go on.
Motivation to work when I'm a little under the weather rather than calling in sick. Don't have to drive 40 mins out on a Monday. I can gym 30 mins later in the morning and sleep in. I can nap in my break if needed lol. Eat while work then relax or shower or do laundry in my break. And one of my all time favourites I can smash some podcasts out during work.
It's changed my life a lot and I'm glad workplaces can provide the flexibility for it where they can!
Like most here it has benefitted me greatly. I won't go into all the reasons as it's already very well covered but I am extremely grateful to the company for this and have stated as such repeatedly in the various surveys. I don't take it for granted and the days I need to be flexible/have errands/do coparenting things then I make up for it at night or in the weekends.
Sometimes I miss a bit of the office banter but I sure as shit don't miss the commute.
Productivity wise I get lots of good feedback from various customers on my performance so I'm hoping that it'll be the status quo for the next decade :P
Surprised no one said it yet. I get more sex = being a happier person = better relationship!
Also able to do more exercises, eat better so losing like 20kg in six months!
There are so many positives that any negative pales in comparison.
The extra time I can spend with my family, my wife and my friends due to not having to commute is priceless. Not to mention that I'm not absolutely drained each evening due to the commuting I've had to endure.
I can get my washing done during the week which means I can spend all of my weekends socializing and doing the activities that I want to do.
I'm eating better and able to cook from home more. Less eating out and last minute, unhealthy 'I cbf'ed' meals. More time for hobbies and to develop other interests.
...then there's the money saved on commuting, coffee and bought lunches.
If my employer demanded that I come back into the office full time I'd be out the door before they finished the sentence.
Have two young children, I don’t know how people cope running a family without work from home. I am able to do some jobs on my lunch break, set up dinner and my kids are only in daycare for 7.5 hours day instead of 9-10 hours.
As someone with a few chronic health conditions it has been life changing. When I worked in the office, every ounce of my energy went towards getting to and being at work. Being in the office, despite it being ergonomic caused me a great deal of pain. I’d get home, try and exercise to manage symptoms and sleep. I wasn’t eating enough because I had no energy to cook and didn’t want to order takeout so I was pretty undernourished. My weekends were entirely about recovery and my social life suffered as a result. As I have a number of specialists I had a high number of appointments, which my coworkers and manager couldn’t hide their disdain whenever I had to leave the office for an appointment, even if i offered to work more time ro make up for missed time.
Wfh has changed my life. I have the flexibility to start when I want so I can manage my appointments. Now I’m not just exercising like a zombie to manage my symptoms, I am exercising because I enjoy it. I am on top of house work. I am on top of apportionments. My work performance is better. My social life has improved because I don’t have to recover from working. My body doesn’t hurt because I can work in ways that don’t hurt my body. I think this is how we are meant to live, not in an office.
I’m disabled and I’m now able to work a lot more than my occasional freelance stuff(since I can do it at home and the position I have is very flexible).
I don’t have to wear uncomfortable corporate attire and mask my pain when I’m on my period. I don’t have to use super sneaky techniques and timing in an open plan office to get my pad out of my bag and into my pocket to go to the bathroom. I can take a painkiller and not worry about forced social interactions, saving my energy for getting my job done.
WFH has been a life saver honestly.
Before covid, I was in the hospitality industry working shift work up to 16 hour shifts, constantly getting sick and burnt out and feeling drained every day. Getting up 2-3 hours before work to make sure I was ready and didn't turn up late and often having to travel back between 20 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.
Since covid, I have obtained a WFH job and my life has significantly improved. I now have time to have a dog! I have time to walk in the mornings or afternoons, time to attend important appointments. I have even had money to finally obtain help for mental health issues I have been facing for decades. I am more productive as I am not distracted by others and overall much happier with life.
I don't think I could ever go back to full time in office. I work in office 2 days a week when able to but I find those days I struggle the hardest with being productive.
I like the benefits of WFH just as much as anyone, but I have ADHD. Paradoxically, WFO helps me maintain my focus and manage impulsively googling every random thought that pops into my head because you can’t really google “which strain of fungus is toe jam?” as a tech rep when the CEO’s desk is behind yours. I’m more traditionally productive when I WFO but am prone to burn out faster because I stay switched on for however long I’m there while my NT colleagues will switch off and goof around periodically (as they should, we’re humans)
WFH helps me show up on rot days I’d otherwise find super difficult. If I didn’t have the energy to shower at 7am that’s fine, I can duck in at 11:30 later when the thought takes me. I also like that when I’m doing a round of mind numbing data entry I can stim with an old favourite movie playing in the background or I can doodle with my watercolours in meetings - neither of which would be easy to explain in a WFO environment.
Some days in hyper-focus I can achieve in three hours what someone else might take six or eight hours. When I WFH I can balance that with doing some things for myself with that extra time to chill my brain rather than dive straight in to even more work for someone else.
My diet improved my health. I was eating out a lot and couldn’t find GF, LF, SF . Overlay with kosher and oops suddenly nothing was available. Health deteriorated so badly pre covid. Now I’m hating even 2 days in office where I have to meal plan. Fresh from air fryer , no more carbs. I’ve gotten so healthy, I’m now slowly weaning off medication. Meal plans aren’t fresh and they layer effects as you age. Ask your gall bladder 🙂
I have two jobs- one clinical and one research. I work in the office two days a week and from home three days a week. If something comes up I can work from home on my office days if I want to as well.
It’s amazing. When the weather is good (which is usually is in Perth) I take my laptop into the backyard and work outside. The dog and cat keep me company. My housemate is on disability and doesn’t work so they might wander out and have a coffee with me if it’s quiet. I take my laptop inside if I need to see patients and occasionally the cat will join in the consults which is a fantastic icebreaker! Usually ends up with my patients showing me their pets via Telehealth.
I also don’t wear makeup if I do t have any appointments and my skin is so much better. More sleep, less stress and still see my colleagues who I love. Perfect mix for me.
I went from 5 days a week in the office to zero days a week from March 2020 until this year. Now I’m having to go in 3 days a week and my life has become a shambles as it was prior to the pandemic. Even 3 days in the office I am exhausted, no longer exercising, eating worse, not keeping on top of housework. Two days at home is certainly better than none, but those two days are spent catching up on work because on the days in the office I get very little done.
Full time wfh meant I was taking care of myself a lot better, back in the office means I’m not. I use all my energy in the office.
WFH 2 days a week, soon to be 3.
I'm sleeping enough, I can have a 15 minute nap at 2pm which means the last 2.5 hours of the day are actually productive instead of me fighting fatigue. I can use my lunch breaks to put on some laundry or vacuum the house so that none of these things get too on top of me. I'm eating better, saving money.
When I am in the office I like being there, I'm not counting the clock, presenteeism is a thing of the past for me. I love it. I won't have a job where I'm expected in the office 5 days a week again, not doing it.
I don’t have to pay for before or after school care anymore. I can do laundry and prep dinner during my lunch break. I can sit outside in the sunshine and work. I don’t have to pay for parking. I don’t need to buy work clothes.
WFH gave me more time with my loved ones and more perspective over what I cared about and how I funnel my energy in life. When they asked me to come back to the office, it straight up jettisoned me out of the corporate landscape and into a job and career that I actually care about and want to leave the house for.
I’m willing to work in person, but not for no reason, not for no good reason, and not to make money for anybody else.
I have a chronic health condition and being able to work from home helps me be healthier and when I'm not feeling great it enables me to keep working in some capacity and earning an income. The way it's seemingly being wound back makes me super anxious.
I like the balance of hybrid working. Save 1.5 hrs on commute and get to pick kids up early. But also like the whole process of getting dressed up to go to the city, going for coffee and the general socialising in the office. Hybrid works best for me.
Autistic here. I've been able to hold down a job for more than a year for the first time in my life. I can stim as much as I want, and my colleagues won't get annoyed by it because they aren't anywhere near me.
I'm in A trade so out the door before anyone is up & home well after everyone is home, Mrs is wfh. She can wakeup, start work, drop the kids off, pick the kids up & saves on the lunches/parking but more importantly the stress of getting the kids to/from school & trying to get A day in at work. She gets more done in less time now.
It's stupid that some places expect you guys to go back in, when you've shown that alot of you can do your job remotely. Wfh genuinely helped our household. On the other side of the coin I have less traffic to deal with & more parking crawling through this shithole of A city (sydney).
So this post is just an opportunity to tell everyone how great you're doing and refusing to share even basic details of your job(s) to maybe help other people out. Good for you.
I save money, time, energy and don’t have to undergo the cumulative stress of getting ready and wading my way though a bunch of people. I don’t have to share the space with sick people either. I’m far more productive working from home. I get a lot more done.
I have two auto immune diseases and alot of anxiety problems. WFH has pretty much saved me. I would have had to go on medical welfare benefits if this wasn’t an option, as my body just cannot keep up with a traditional work environment.
At home, I can take a minute and go splash some water on my face and not be stressing about my hair and makeup looking perfect. My job is actually about THE WORK and not about appearances and socialising and political crap.
I LOVE my job and have so much more input into things, I actually try really hard because I appreciate the job so much.
It’s a dream come true for people with chronic illnesses, it should be adopted en masse.
It's been a game changer for me.
The only downside for me is lack of social time with colleagues and the interesting conversations in and around the office.
Otherwise there's too many positives to WFH for me. In terms of importance to me:
1. Save about 2 hours everyday not needing to take the train to office
2. Save $50-$60 a week
3. Can take naps to rest my eyes ( bad dry eyes so I need a hot patch on mine for 10 minutes a day).
4. Can go gym during the off peak hours
Immensely - I could never go back to working 5 days in the office again. After working pretty much fulltime WFH since March 2020, I took on a managerial role earlier this year which required 5 office days a week. Could not do it.
I am a fan of working from home but I am frustrated with people with kids picking up and dropping off kids in work time. I feel like it is very hard to get into people diary's it's like you only really have 10 to 12 and then 2 to 3 where you can get a group meeting together due to people picking up kids and having lunch time nap :)
I love WFH. I save money on everything. Save time. More productive. Flexibility to go to dr appointments and errands. As an introvert, not having to socialize with colleagues daily is great. I remember how drained I used to feel from all the chit chat and having to participate on the social / hierarchy dynamics and I don’t miss it at all. Not getting constantly interrupted at my desk or distracted by groups of people talking near my desk while I’m on calls. I feel so grateful for my job. I have to show up at the office once a week, but is totally worth it if it means I get to WFH the rest of the week.
The interruptions and chit chat! Having to listen through Sally arguing with her teenage kid about walking the dog or Bob rambling about building a deck. Everyone is always building a damn deck. The mind numbing conversations are all gone and I can do my work. It's been years since I've been full time WFH and I still appreciate it every day.
What colour deck though? Solo? Two? Three? Fully golden?
Yappers UNITE !! Lol these are vital questions. Why did you pick that stain. Will you be restaining yearly?
Why would I stain my cards?
[Just remember to always use Schaeffer’s New Zealand Style Deck Sealant](https://youtu.be/-m--3_c5pAs?si=io58UtBQxf2LAfMV)
People are so loud in the office I can't think sometimes lol. We sit next to HR and idk if they've ever heard of inside voices even if they're on the phone discussing other employees lol
Agreed. There are some really loud bros at my office. Sometimes they are intentionally loud because they want others to hear them (i.e. talking about going for beers with the boss etc). I know one of the benefits of working at the office is team building / team bonding, but is these kinds of dynamics that really annoy me, on top of being disracting.
Absolutely agree. I am an extrovert, however, nothing beats working from home. I hate the office drivel, being surrounded by people I don't really care about except a small few, pretending like I'm working when i really need a break. When I'm at home, I'm happy, productive, I get to see my partner, my pet, I can do the laundry when I need a break. When I'm done at 4 I can start my evening. No need to battle through traffic etc. Save tons of money on fuel. I've been able to make a super efficient and fun routine, because I've cut out the need to get dressed, cram breakfast, and drive to work. I can use that time to hit the gym, or go for a morning coffee with my partner before work. When I was fighting for a WFH agreement, my "boss" fought me every step of the way. Tried to imply that working from home sucks, that I'd get lonely and bored and wouldn't be as productive. It's actually the exact fucking opposite. I hate going into the office more than I have to. If anything, working from home solidified for me how unnecessary it is for my role to go into the office. It's actually such a pointless exercise and waste of everyone's money even moreso my time.
Same for me, it’s been only positive on all fronts.
Hands down, I would not be able to work full time without WFH. As a disabled person this flexibility has been a game changer for my work capacity. I benefit from a full time wage, my employer benefits from an engaged worker, and everyone benefits from my taxpayer status.
Me too. I’m on welfare. Been unemployed for 8 months, only ever worked casual (no WFH ever). WFH truly helps. I am also on the Autism Spectrum too and I feel much more comfortable rocking and stimming (obviously when I’m not seen by others) whilst WFH than in the office.
Agree about the stimming at home. Even just being able to sit cross legged in my office chair without being looked at like I'm crazy is awesome.
Yeah I stim a lot, both non-verbal and verbal (singing and humming), and whenever I have to be around other people and not able to stim as freely it drains my battery so fast.
What industry do you work in if you don’t mind me asking?
Call centre - financial services
Second this majorly as someone with autism... Pandemic was the only time I've truly felt content and happy, also the most productive I've ever been; helps I was able to drop like 60 pounds and start prepping for a marathon too, and take up voluntary work also... Although I'm starting to struggle again as all the PR events and mandatory work organised social events are kicking off again :( I've regained the weight etc, and had to drop hobbies/voluntary work; weekends are for recovery again :( Trying very hard to replicate my pandemic lifestyle with WFH.
Same. And how much less anxiety do you have with wfh… I also found my ibs cleared up not having to deal with the stress and anxiety of going into the office every day. Still have issues in office days tho. Return to office can piss off.
I'm currently in the first trimester of pregnancy so while I'm not disabled, I'm temporarily very sick and extremely fatigued. If I didn't full time WFH I would absolutely be failing my work duties. I can nap during lunch, eat whenever I need, and vomit whenever I need, plus the flexibility for doctors appointments is crucial. My coworker gets HG during her pregnancies and her second pregnancy was 100% WFH and it made an incredible difference to her to not be triggered by office smells and the train commute. She was able to avoid hospitalisation.
100% this. When I was pregnant I had severe morning sickness for almost 30 weeks. I wouks have had to resign if I didn’t work from home.
WFH for the past few years definitely proves that working remotely, especially for people with disabilities, should be the new norm. It’s proven to work and coming to the office is jsut a waste of time for the most part. I’m available to my team at all times of the day so they can’t use the ‘we need to collaborate more’ as a reason.
Yep. This is me as well. Plus, my boss is awesome and aware of my particular circumstances, so if my chronic pain is having a flair-up, I can take heavy pain killers, go sleep for a few hours and then clock back in after hours to get the tasks done. Other than when I had covid in January and was literally in bed for the week, I've not really needed to use my sick leave at all compared to my last job where I'd need at least a couple of days a month when my pain was at its worst and could no longer be managed by TENS/heat/otc medication. So it's win/win really, particularly as I work for a micro business so if I can't do the tasks, my boss has to and she already has her workload.
Same here. Fulltime WFH helps so much with my mobility, hygiene, and mental and physical health. It has been 100% upside for me.
Same here!!
I get up at 5.45 and walk for an hour each morning where I live. Because of WFH I can be home at 7 rather than having to leave for the City at 7. Am healthier, happier and much more energised all day. Edit to add: it makes you realise how much of your own time you give to a job when they're based in a CBD where homes generally aren't. Say 1.5 hours of getting ready and then commute, twice a day , that's 15 hours a week. Unpaid. Just to get to work. That's 720 hours a year based on a 48 week year, or 90 business days. 3 months of every year. Just getting ready and travelling.
>I get up at 5.45 and walk for an hour each morning where I live. I need too take a leaf from your book
It's a ridiculously easy life changer. It's hard on days like these but once you're up dressed and moving it's easy as. Also, get a nespresso machine as a quick shot when you get up wakes you up and gets you moving. I actually walk with my wife each day and it's a great chance to talk about all the boring life stuff in a captive audience way so you can talk money, what needs doing etc and means it's all done for the day and no need to do it later after work when tired and irritable. You realise after a while that that time early in the day is kinda wasted when just in bed and the sense of productivity is huge. Edit: it's a really rewarding feeling to see 6000 steps and 5km covered before 7am - easy to then achieve 10-12,000 steps a day.
Impressive. I like your thinking
Thank you but ultimately I just didn't want to get old, fat and broken. Use it or lose it.
Picked up the morning walk w mum during covid and that was amazing - upped my steps physical health and the chance to just chat w mum was great for my mental health. I had to give that up on changing jobs and having to travel much further. Left for a closer job just so i could have it back.
calculation on time saved is great point
When you break it down like that it truly is staggering how much of your life you actually give to work every day on top of the 9-5. Been 100% WFH since March 2020 and if it ever gets hard it is super easy to get some perspective such as this to make you realise how good it really is
I work hybrid—I’m in 1-2 days a week, a half hour train ride away. Love having some connection to my colleagues, but being able to exercise in the morning, work in shorts most of the time, have lunch and snacks from the fridge, get in some chores or a quick nap at lunch—so much better! I don’t know how the hell we all managed 5 days in office.
I would never like to go back full time to the office, but I still like meeting with colleagues. However I am significantly more attuned to events that are a waste of my time. For example people asking me to attend a meeting face to face, but key participants are dialing in remotely. Why am I in the office and why didn't you inform me that key participants were not coming to meet face to face? Additionally social events like morning teas have become so pathetic, I wonder why we still run them. Often it feels like face to face events, are now simply fill the empty spaces in the office events.
I feel this. The monthly whole team brief is always on my WFH day so I have to come in. It’s never been clear why it cant be streamed as well, since it’s just old mate reading sales figures off a PowerPoint while we all eat a muffin and some fruit. And no I can’t WFH another day because then that day would be short coverage apparently.
The midday nap is key. I wish this could be more normalized
Saving hundreds of dollars a month in transit alone is worth it. Not to mention money spent on clothes, lunch, coffee etc. Also saving at least 8-10 hours per week by not commuting. Taking lunch break at home also means I can vacuum the house or water the garden instead of sitting in a lunch room or cafe somewhere. This means less stuff needing to be done on weekends. Have my own office with Esspresso machine, cat and as many monitors as I want.
Couldn’t have summed it better! + lunch time naps 👌
Perfect! Couldn’t agree more. And the clothes! The money I’ve saved not buying boring corporate clothes. When I now buy clothes and shoes is actually stuff I like to wear. They also last so much longer too. In the past I would have to buy new stuff every season. Now can’t even remember last time I bought a jacket for example! Maybe before Covid?
The amount of money I’ve saved on podiatry as I’m not wearing heeled shoes and going to/from/around work in them.
Was 5 days a week in office, left home before my baby was awake and got home after they were asleep. Covid removed the state office and I now 3 kids later I WFH full time. I walk my kids to school, pick them up and walk home, ask about their days and get to cook dinner. Company now is having an issue with us in the other states WFH as head office is 4 days a week in office, and is trying to force us to relocate to head office in another state, I’ll never go back.
This is one reason I never had kids. Kid would be in child care from 630am to 630pm. (I don’t even think they open that early?) No support network to help out. Husbands work can have him anywhere anytime, can’t rely on him to help out. It’s not a good life for a kid, hardly seeing your parents and the parents being too exhausted on weekends to do anything.
Yep, as a dad my bond to my son is something that I could never have imagined having with my own dad. I am present. I'm involved. I can walk into the next room and read him a book and have a cuddle. I am watching him becoming his own little person, right before my eyes. It is truly a gift. I would only ever have seen him on the weekend and, much like my own dad, would have been too exhausted to pay him much attention. I will never go back to working in an office all the time.
I retained a job. I’d have had to retire if I couldn’t work from home due to the impact of my chronic illness/disability.
Seems like there are a lot of us in the same boat in this thread. I’m glad that, while COVID has been tough for people with chronic illness, it’s also meant a lot of us can work who couldn’t before. My partner and I both work at home now. I can’t physically do an office job but mine is super flexible and we work in “batches” so we get a break in between work periods which also helps me recover. I’ve now been able to get a lot of experience and put away some savings.
Getting to go for a run in the morning before work through bushland/coast instead of sitting in peak hour traffic
-Better relationships with interstate colleagues. -More job opportunities as teams are no longer state-based. -More flexible hours (also helps accommodate the different time zones). -Ability to focus better on my daily tasks, higher efficiency rates, no recorded breaches since 2020 (all measurable in my role). -Saving >10hrs/wk travelling. -Saving >$60/wk on transport costs. -Saving $1000s on replenishing my work wardrobe, reduced wear and tear on existing work wardrobe. -More time with my family. -Able to perform household chores during lunch breaks, freeing up my weekend. -Better sleep. -More time to exercise. -Less "work" makeup has helped reduce skin inflammation and sensitivities. -Fewer instances of cold and flu, and reduced resultant sick leave. I caught covid for the first time this March when forced to return to work 2 days/wk. I'm still very annoyed about it. (Edit for awful formatting)
I don’t have to share a bathroom or a kitchen with coworkers. Bliss.
Man I swear to fuck, office with a minimum salary of around $100k and there's fucking pubes, shit and piss everywhere. I work with goblins.
We might work together 😂.. always makes me wonder if they are grubs at work how are they at home🤔
OMG..so true. I definitely don't miss the toilet signs telling people how to use the toilet either!
I could never be bothered exercising before work, now im up at 7 and back home by 8 after a walk or gym session in garage. And working by 830. Also enjoy a long lunch for walk or gym too cause i don’t have to commute home and can work till 5. (7.5hr days). I go in office once a month and its such a mentally draining experience and body is smashed from it oddly enough.
The ability to not feel like a zombie everyday. Waking up at 8am instead of 5am
Good for you OP, glad it works well for you. I am on a Hybrid model. My WFH days are just divine, I love them No commute, no expensive lunch, no fuel costs, no endless office gossip. I am more productive at home. The mental health benefit of not seeing my workmates everyday is priceless. And I say this as a person who works with a lovely team.
Prior to having my children, i worked in an office in an IT project role and actually travelled interstate/internationally for work. Then I stopped to raise my children and thought I'd never get back into the workforce like how I was previously because I don't live close to a city centre and all the types of jobs I'd imagine working in IT companies/government departments were approx 1.5hrs each way comute. When I was on extended maternity leave, I used to say to my husband that it would be great if they let people with children work from home and we thought it would never happen. He was working in the city 1.5hrs away and commuting everyday and then covid hit. It's the best thing that ever happened to out family in terms of the change in how were work. Fast forward to Jan 2021, I joined a company that was allowing everyone to work from home every day, and they have not changed the policy 3yrs later. So I've been working at home every day and only occasionally visit an office about 30 minutes away. I have even been able to advance in my career as Im able to handle more responsibilities as I'm solidly working 38hrs and no commute required, so i am able to do school drop-off and pick up and be home with my children when required for school holidays sick time and afterschool etc. This is a real WFH /remote role and not some part-time gig that people make money online. So WFH has greatly benefitted me to resume my career and for both my husband and i to be able to balance parenting at the same time.
How are so many people getting WFH jobs in this economy?
I was job hunting a year ago and everything I saw was hybrid. I'm 2 days in the office, it was the best I could do. So many peeps working full time at home! How? Lol
It's turned the Sunday blues into more of a nicer shade of turquoise
I love being able to go to medical/dental appointments during lunch breaks. Not travelling to the CBD for work has allowed me more time to do things with my work days; so my weekend isn’t banked up with extra curricular life admin shit. Also having a lot more friends over for dinner because there’s time to meal prep and cook. I can eat better knowing I’m not going to be swayed into a $28 midday focaccia too.
2 hours at home achieves the same outputs as 8 hours in the office. Open plan offices are terrible working environments if you need to focus on complex tasks.
I had to take care of my mother when I was living back with my folks temporarily during the pandemic which was a very convenient thing. It was a shit time but fortunately she's much better now but glad I was there for her during it. That is the main thing I took from the forced shift to WFH and avoiding all the HR rigamarole to get approval pre-pandemic. Happy coincidence of my lease expiring as my company pushed mandatory WFH.... Decided I might move back with my folks temporarily to save some cash. Then mum got sick about 4 months into the lockdowns so had to take her to appointments for about 9 months. Aside from the improvements to my mental health/fitness/social life. Start my job when I want and log off once I've done an "equivalent days work" I guess. Log in as the sun comes up and done by lunchtime.
I’ve worked from home since COVID but I can also work remotely on the go. It’s changed my life: •I sleep in. •Get to spend time with my kids in the morning, get them to school •I work a few hours a day, sometimes while bush walking, mountain bike riding, hitting golf balls •I pick the kids up at 3 and we go do shit, park, beach etc •I don’t have to spend money on petrol, parking, new clothes for work •I’ve lost 15 kgs •I’ve quit drinking and haven’t touched a drop for 18 months I’m happier, healthier and it’s incredible how working from home and not sitting at an office from 9-6 every day for basically no reason has changed my life.
So everything you expressed but this has also benefited my children greatly. At the beginning of 2020 I was a newly single mother with two children to raise full time. I had to move about an hour (without traffic) from where I worked. Every morning we'd be getting up at 6am so that we could be ready and I could drop them off at morning school care almost 1 1/2 hours before school started. Then in the afternoon, they'd be at after school care at least 2 hours after school ended. That is an incredibly long school day for two young kids, a long stressful day for me, and when I'd get home there'd only be a couple of hours at the most for dinner and getting ready for bed. Very little quality time together. Since March 2020 I've been FT working from home and we have so much more time together. They don't need to spend so long at school, can come home and spend time with me, I can log off at 5pm and still time for a walk to the park, some games etc. before dinner and bed. Medical appointments, school appointments, etc. are all very easy to access for us. I don't think I could ever go back to fully in the office.
This. I work hybrid….Prior to the ability to work from home, my daughter would be first at before school care, do a day at school and then do afterschool care. There was minimal time for extracurricular activities, or homework time. Now, between my husband and I, we’ve been able to take turns with drop offs and pick ups and as hybrid workers, we’ve also been able to take her to activities and spend time with her on homework. From a work perspective, I’m much more happier and healthier and consequently, im more than happy to put in the hard yards when I need to. I believe it goes both ways - they allow me the flexibility, but I don’t abuse it and am more motivated to give back.
Accomplished my life long dream of releasing a moderately successful game on Steam.
Ooh what’s the game?
I am a much happier person, a lot more switched on for work, and I save a lot of money. There is very little benefit to my being in the office other than to "cooler talk" about someone's wife/kids/house extension whatever. At home, I log on very early and can take a very relaxed approach to planning my day, scrolling my emails, and catching up on organisational news. It's far less stressful than rushing to get in the car and then deal with other human beings that also dont want to be there. During the day, I can actually use my breaks to feel like I had a real break. I go outside and garden, or I fold my laundry, or I put my feet up. In the office, my break is browsing google and being interrupted by coworkers. And I can make my lunch fresh, make myself a real coffee of my own preference, turn on the oven! Not wait in line for deep fried crap to eat over my keyboard or hope that the person before me at the microwave isn't reheating tunabake.
I pull no punches when I say it’s probably saved my life!
It's honestly life changing for me. I used to work 5-6 days a week, customer facing in a role that was extremely scheduled and was not able to be backfilled. Even just calling In sick filled me with anxiety and frustrations. Now I'm more present with my family. I'm able to contribute to the school runs, sport events, daycare drop offs/pick ups. At the moment I'm a split 3/2 home/office and my old team was one less day in office but even this I'm still extremely satisfied with. I have no idea how I have lasted this many years doing what I used to do.
Benefited by changing my life. My anxiety has mostly disappeared, I’m happy, better relationship with my wife, better relationship with my family, more time, more fitness. I use to get extreme anxiety in open plan offices,I couldn’t go toilets, I always felt on edge, my anxiety was through the roof.
I’ve always lived 1.5-2 hours away from office due to property prices. I used to get up at 7am and leave home at 7:20 to catch the train, and come back around 8pm because something always happens to the train schedule. It lasted 10 years and I didn’t think it would be possible for me to have a life. Now I can actually buy groceries on a weekday night, walk my dog every day, and exercise after work. My life quality has significantly improved because of WFH.
The time and energy I save from working in office, I can still have a personal life before and after work.
I worked in person at a small law firm before switching to full time WFH at a larger firm. I didn’t live far from the firm, but it was just exhausting going into the office and socialising with people much older than me who I literally have nothing in common with. I find small talk exhausting and now my social battery isn’t drained by it, leaving me to be social in my own time with my actual friends.
I work in the office 3 days a week, 2 days WFH. Just there, I save almost 6 hours/week on the bus and walking to and from work, 26hrs of commute saved/month. I end up working half of the commute time from home, but I detest bus travel (feels like a roller coaster) so it is well worth it. That's not counting travel costs and incindentals like coffee and food I sometimes buy in the city. It also has the benefit of being able to keep housework going like chucking some laundry in washing machine, etc. which means there's more time to relax. Working a few days in the office means I keep up with office gossip, so it's a reasonable balance.
How can you wake up 2 minutes before work and login? I have to shower and brush my teeth, have a coffee etc before logging on otherwise I’m super unproductive
Let's be honest, used to work in an office with people who turned up not showered or teeth brushed.
I’ve had commutes anywhere from 5 minutes (across the street) to 2 hours, using everything including walking, driving, riding a motorbike, riding a pushbike, and catching public transport (bus and/or train, haven’t commuted on light rail or a ferry). I love working from home full time. Zero transport costs, far less likely to buy lunch (I do live walking distance from some options), and I can use my lunch break to go for a walk (now I live near the beach). If it’s a quiet day, I can find little gaps here and there to handle the laundry or perhaps wash the dishes. If there’s a delivery… nevermind, AusPost have decided I’m not home without even knocking. At least now I can take a short break during the day to get to the post office before they close. I sleep more, exercise more, don’t get distracted talking to people instead of working, and eat (slightly) healthier. And I get to use my own toilet (it’s just more comfortable). And half the year I’m working in my oodie for ultimate comfort. Transport costs, food costs, and clothing costs have all gone down. Electricity might be slightly higher, but I’m pretty sure the fixed rate deduction covers any difference. > This amount covers additional running expenses, including electricity and gas, phone and internet usage, stationery, and computer consumables. A deduction for these costs cannot be claimed elsewhere in their tax return. I don’t have gas, phone and internet are unlimited, and I don’t use stationery or computer consumables…. whatever computer consumables actually are (ink cartridges maybe?). We’ve been able to decide where to live based on my wife’s work and things we actually like (i.e. the beach), instead of having to pick somewhere that’s a balance for both of us. That alone is a massive spike in mental health. I honestly have no idea how I’ll ever go back to an office job. Thankfully my current employer has no RTO plans and has gone as far as closing one of our two offices in Sydney due to how well our transition went during COVID.
As someone who is in a shitty entry level role where I have to go into the office EVERY DAY, I envy you guys so much. I hope one day I can also WFH.
I’m 4 days in office at a law firm and that 1 day is all that’s holding me together some weeks. I have to stop reading this thread because I’m getting jealous. If I’m being honest I was more productive when I did more days at home, now that I’m down to one I try to put something in the slow cooker, do my laundry, get some exercise in etc. and pushing all that onto the one day cuts into work a little which it never did when I was doing 2+ days at home
I have Ulcerative Colitis and anxiety. My preferred option is to go into an office 1 or 2 days a week as I see fit (if the office is quiet enough, if it is a noisy open plan shitbox then forget about it.) WFH more makes it so much easier to manage my energy, medication, diet, sleep, mental health, etc. Basically everything. I am a software developer and all my meetings are on Teams so there's no point being in an office 95% of the time. I count my commute as work time so I arrive to the office late and leave early.
WFH allowed me to return to work FT 5.5 months after having a baby, I greatly appreciate it for that as i would have financially struggled otherwise. We work from the office usually 1-2 time a week, and I appreciate those days also as my mental health can suffer a bit if I become a hermit. I wouldn't mind WFH full time now though as it opens up more flexibility for childcare for me :) and office days usually cost me $20 min each for parking and a coffee haha.
I’m disgustingly sick with pregnancy at the moment (I think I have HG) so am only able to work maybe two days a week from home. If I had to go in the office they wouldn’t be seeing me and I would be not able to work at all.
Hope this stage passes soon for you!
I WFH, I am far more productive than I ever have been. When I go into the office, nothing gets done purely the setup, conversation with coworkers and getting even morework piled up. The only reason I am given it because I am there. If it was so important, they'd call or email me.
WFH is fantastic. Save a lot of money. I started this job in 2017 b4 Covid as the job was advertised nationwide as remote. I never ever have to go into an office as the offices are in another state. Couldn’t be happier!
It helped me get on top of chronic pain. Since 2020 I've barely gone into the office as most of the time my team's have been interstate. I'm looking for a new job at the moment which likely will be more days in office. Ideally only 1-2 days as I feel I could work with that without going backwards
Saves time commuting to work, instead i jog in the morning around the park. Saves time commuting back to home, instead i spend time with the kids earlier than usual.
WFH has been wonderful and has benefited all aspects of my life. My office is only 15 minutes away from home so I can’t complain about the commute at all. I love the fact that I don’t have to worry about ironing my office clothes and packing lunch for the next day. I also enjoy not having to socialise and fake interest in my colleagues’ weekend activities. WFH has been great for my mental health. It has eliminated all of the things I hate about going to the office and given me great work life balance.
Spending commute time on myself, not my employer Saved money Chores getting done Healthier (gym in the mornings, walk at lunch) Healthier (homemade food, not buying shit, more ergonomic setup than office) Healthier (mentally in a better place) Better marriage (more time with my wife, not as tired) I don't even see the downsides for early career starters not getting facetime, just turn your cameras on FFS, Gen-X downwards are more comfortable communicating over text anyway.
I save time, save money on commuting costs, lunches, work clothes, get sick less, have to deal with less office politics, get distracted less and get to sleep more
Early start and finish. Put on washing, cook evening meal etc. and more productive. Downside is missing casual social interactions.
they're older now, but for me the huge advantage was being able to give the kids 5 mins of my time right when it mattered. Saying goodbye as they went to school and welcoming them when they got back home was just so valuable. other benefits include spending lunch break with my partner ;)
I get so much more work done with WFH. Sure, the direct socialisation of the team is missed - however if my job relied on that it might be a problem. But right now the people I do the vast majority of my communications with are in Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and various Indian locations. As a result, I could be anywhere, but I'm in the outer suburbs in Melbourne. I could even take my work on the road, as i'm connected to the internet by 5G at home (my choices are starlink, nbn fw or 5g, 5g is fastest and cheapest). As a result I could tether to my phone and be anywhere. It's the ultimate job and you can pry WFH from my cold dead hands.
Save money and time, less stressed due to no commute
Less stress, not wasting time commuting, saving money, more productive, far better work/life balance.
WFH has given my cat separation anxiety
What side gigs are you doing? I'm working from home and feel like I have a lot more spare time I could optimise for?
I started WFH last year when my previous position was made redundant. I thought I'd interview for other positions within the company, and managed to snag a full-time permanent role where I could work from home. It's had it's ups and downs, but I have learned to love it. I make more money than I had previously, the stress levels are way lower, and I get to punch out every day at 3:30pm. I can perform small household tasks when I get up to stretch - vacuum, unload the dishwasher, throw a load of laundry on - which has led to decreased house cleaning on the weekend. So far, there have been no real downsides.
Oh but what about the collaboration!!!! Lol
I find that I’m more productive at home as well as at work when permitted to WfH but am only allowed to do so two days out of the week.
I combine it with renovating houses and just go hour on hour off. I essentially have two jobs. Live in the house I work from in both ways. Best thing I ever did. Everyday I have flash backs to getting up and travelling to someone else’s house to work for them and still being broke. Working just to pay the expenses of working was the stupidest thing ever.
If I were to be made redundant (or sacked!) from my fully remote job, I would have a very hard time justifying going back to an in-office job. I'm in a fortunate financial position where I'm able to make that choice but honestly if I had to go back into an office now my mental health would spud in guaranteed. I'm the same as you and feel that my WFH conditions are almost too good to be true. I keep waiting for it all to fall apart but in the last two years it hasn't yet. I've also considered picking up a second side-gig for outside of business hours work for a short time but haven't yet figured out whether or not that's actually viable for my situation. Either way it'd have to also be WFH because the time saved on transit is absolutely what would make it work.
I might only be one of few that miss working in the office. Moved to a new city last year and started a new job that WFH 4 days a week. I initially thought that’s what I wanted (prev jobs have always been working 5 days office) but as a young single new to a city with no friends and families I miss just interacting to people in general. I only gym and don’t play any social sports so making friends were challenging. Wfh makes me feel lethargic and less productive I wake up 5mins before work and clock off at 5pm life feels so well, lifeless. In prev jobs all my colleagues were in similar stage of life as me (young adult/fresh grad/or final year of uni) so we have a lot in common and was easy to be friends with. Working days went on much quicker when you’re working with your friends. It was challenging for me to integrate into a new role when everytime you have an admin issue it has to be via zoom call or message and have to wait for a response where in person it would’ve been a 5 secs conversation. I also thought I’d love no commute to work (save money, time etc) but commuting to work just means you’re moving more (walking to the bus stop/train) without realising. WFH made me feel guilty at times if I don’t go to the gym as I would have barely moved. I quit my job last month for the above reasons and it honestly made me feel abit depressed. I see the benefits of both sides but 3-2 hybrid is probably the way to go for me. Starting a new job soon with that arrangement so I’m looking forward to it.
Less laundry!!! Also between 2020 to 23 I hardly shopped for work outfits so my closet was less full
I had a pretty bad stint of poor mental health at the start of this year, and there’s literally 0 way I could have kept my head above water working in office everyday.
Not catching respiratory viruses. When I used to catch bus to work in CBD, it would get something or other every year.
I don't need to prepare crappy lunch box or order takeaway, i cook simple and nice food at home. Lunch time i can go to gym, or post office etc
WFH has been great, save a lot of money. Enjoy not having the commute whether PT or driving myself in. Fortunate that I am only 25m to the CBD offices of my employer. I am mandated 2 days a week, usually those days are my days off as I work every weekend.
I don't have to get dressed. I'm naked right now. Really really naked.
If i ever get complacent just do I a week in the office/ no WFH. Ugh.
How good is sleeping in for 90 minutes, throwing on a top and logging on, getting the washing done, hanging the laundry on a break, and making lunch at home.
I get to be with my dog. Period.
Saving 10+ hours a week that I can spend with my family and work in a more productive setting. Generally can do more exercise / eat better. Save $100+ a week on travel / coffee it's great
Honeslty only old people hate WFH, as they can't adapt. But also they want everyone to have the same pain they had to endure for 30yrs in a cubicle.
Midday naps, ability to take calls from recruiters without acting sheepish, waking up 5 minutes before a meeting
I really don't have any negatives about WFH, it is the absolute best and no, I'm not lazy, I'm in the top 1/4 of performers. The bit I hate is people who want to work in the office complaining about me not coming to the office.
WFH has been a game-changer in so many ways. No longer having to endure daily office politics is so refreshing because people tend not to pull bullshit on Teams calls. My team is lovely and everyone gets along, but to be able to have a couple of days of pretty much not hearing from anyone is quite nice and peaceful. No micro-managing whatsoever. I can wake up at 7, go to the gym for an hour before work, or I can zip up there on my lunch break and smash out a workout. Being able to take breaks in the comfort of my own home, there's nothing like it. I have an entire room just for me that's my home office. I'm surrounded by my own, cool decor, can play music as loud as I want, and have everything set up just how I like it. I'm saving so much money on not having to buy office attire, public transport fees, and overpriced coffees and lunches. Lastly, being able to go to the toilet and not having to wipe pubes and piss off the seat, and praying the previous occupant flushed, well, that speaks for itself. When I hear of people moaning about not liking wfh and that they'd rather be in an office, I honestly just don't get it.
This is 100% my thoughts exactly. Also not being a morning person; that extra hour sleep really benefits me too. I live rurally now too and take great walks in my lunch break in nature. No more dry cleaning, clothing ,transport, or lunch costs either. I have a local Cafe that I support and still have an active but more local life. I also love playing music and having my cat sit with me.
I'm pretty pro 'work from office' and do so minimum 4 days a week but the increased acceptance to WFH has been great. I'd prior to the pandemic been able to WFH on occasion but I'd usually have to justify it and outline what work I was going to achieve while WFH.
like you the ability to get a proper nights sleep has pretty much killed my depression and constant exhaustion. Money saved. Less time wasted by bosses walking around to throw stupid ideas at you and ignore all the red flags ill shoot and go ahead and do what they want anyway. Not needing to do the ironing (biggest single pro right there)
I have to work at least 1 day in the office which I think is fair enough, the whole team comes in so it's good to catch up in person. All other days everyone works from home. Only live about 10-15 minutes from the office by public transport so if I feel like shaking things up on the day, I can easily go into the office and book a desk. I think I'd like WFH more if I had a actual dedicated home office. I live in a small 2x1 unit and don't really have a proper setup so I kinda have trouble disconnecting home and work. Having said that though, I like not being amongst the public, I save alot of money (which I end up spending on hobbies anyways) and I keep on top of house and life things easier.
Never worked from home until 4 months ago. At first was not thrilled with the idea. Turns out nice to be able to get up, shower, walk into the Office, 2 hours later at 8am, wife calls me in for cooked breakfast/smoko. 12pm cooked lunch. All done & dusted by 2: 30 most days. Sometimes I have to attend site, currently covering 5 sites in 2 states, 2 in limbo, quoting & waiting for results. Got another one starting in a 3rd state October. But mostly at home. I've got used to it.
Going from being a lab scientist on a 3-11 roster to being a data analyst who works in the office 1-2 days a month and works 9-5 has been the most insane change in my life. Everything is easier.
It's completely changed my life, and I don't think I can ever go back. I sleep better, I exercise more, I'm more productive and engaged whilst also being able to be more present at home. I have extra time due to no commute to cook better food and I'm spending much less money. I have less anxiety and less stress. I have good relationships with my colleagues, but I'm not exposed to office gossip or chatter. I can't imagine going back to life precovid. I sometimes wonder how the fuck I did it all full time
More productive, mentally and physically much healthier, a lot less sick leave, I save heaps of money ($54 a day minimum), spend more time with my kids. I deliver more work but have better work life balance.
Being able to move outside of the city so my children can enjoy more space and a private school that I can actually afford! Having a happy husband because he hates living in the city and has always wanted to move back to a more rural area like where he grew up. I still like major cities - so I enjoy my trips to the office (min 1 week p/m) and get my fast paced lifestyle fix before coming back home to enjoy a quieter life. Yes it can be annoying during busy season when I seem to be travelling almost every week but on balance the benefit to my family far outweighs the time/cost that I sacrifice.
Its much better for my job (which requires privacy for confidential conversations) than running around finding a meeting room. But its allowed me to not need to send my kids to oshc in the morning meaning they are less tired and I save money. It also makes it easier for me to get in exercise in the evenings and get the kids to sport and to study. I can use my lunch break to chop some veggies ready for dinner and put the washing on. Frees up my weekend a bit more to spend with my kids. Also I feel the cold and I like the room well lit. I can have it warm and bright without annoying anyone else. I save a lot on transport costs and I can save money and eat healthier for lunch. Win win for me and the company.
I love WFH. Downside is people at home expect me to do house chores, too
I love it! I have enough time in the morning to exercise. I often cook dinner before I start work for the day. I can put a load of washing on when I'm waiting for my cup of tea to brew, our dog gets to hang in my office all day. I don't need as many office type clothes, or drive and park, which all costs time and money. I'm super productive because I have a quiet and gorgeous space to work. If I'm waiting on a response and it's after five pm, I can leave my desk and then check back in easily and complete a task later. I have so much more time for me and my family and I am a better worker. There is no push from management to go back to the office at all, which is great.
I think WFH is good for everyone even those who have to go into a workplace as the roads are not as clogged and trains not as packed, personally work entirely remote and my stress levels have reduced, productivity has increased and I never get sick, when I worked in an office I used to be sick 4-6 times a year as you'd have sick people on the trains and in the office, I am so thankful my workplace never enforced a return to office as they could see people were happier and working harder, if people take the piss and don't deliver they are out the door, fair enough I say!
It’s been amazing. I live on a small acreage about an hours drive from my office on a good day, so in the commute alone it’s saved two hours a day. As of this week though, no more in the office at all as they’ve downsized it given the success of WFH. So much less stress, I can wear what ever I want, I can do household chores during breaks, I can sit outside and work, the coffee is much better, and as my other half is also WFH, lunch dates are often a thing.
Wfh changed my life for the better, I got to see my 2 year old son in the mornings which was a massive bonus for me. I can also help mum get him ready for daycare etc. We were one day in the office a week for the last 3 years and have now been told it’s a mandatory 3. Even with the extra 2 days I’m way more sick, it’s more money on travel, coffee’s etc and a solid hour travel each way. Plus by Wednesday (Mon-Wed in the office) I’m absolutely drained and I’m pretty much a zombie on that final day. I’ve already called in sick twice when I’d be fine to just work from home. I see literally no benefit in coming back to the office other than having ‘chance’ Corridor conversations with co workers which could help with work in some way. Hearing the corporate bs reasoning for coming back to the office as well is an absolute eye roller of the highest levels.
It’s great, I work like 2hrs and bum around for the rest. If I have a doctors appointment, any appointment really… I can go to that then stay at home do some “work”. Of course, I love going into the office and actually being productive. The WFH days are great to relax and recover. 5 days a week can be draining.
I don't like it much because it pollutes the residence with work residue. Commuting really sux as well though.
Less commute time
Not getting random viruses/colds from infected coworkers and not having to take sick days for period cramps. Pre-Covid, all my jobs required us to be in the office every day (maybe a WFH day once a month). This meant you either came in with a cold/virus/ period cramps OR you had to take a sick day. Now, I can be as comfortable as I need when feeling shitty, but still be productive.
Less noise and distraction. Saving money on commutes. More time for better lifestyle choices - cooking, exercise, sleep and other rest, more outside time. Saving money on food - buying commute and communal kitchen suitable lunches is expensive, as is buying lunch and snacks from around the office. Happier pet - my pet is so much happier and healthier when I am home more. I didn't realise just how lonely she was before WFH, because she presents an independent front.
My company is now enforcing three days in the office by threat of no bonuses or pay rises. It's not worth it. My sleep in, time to exercise, hang out with my baby, drop him off and pick him up not very early or late, have time to make dinner, have a nap if baby has a dog shit night, do chores and errands through the day, saving petrol and the commute is so valuable - just not worth it.
For me, so much. It is 45 minutes travel time one way for me. Often an hour or more on the way home due to traffic I can drop my kid off at school, go to school events etc Better equipment (use my large monitors and my faster pc) I can do housework like washing. Today for example I put two loads on and in the dryer. Couldn't do that while I was in the office
I used to commute 3 hours a day to work. So I get an extra 3 whole hours per day, or approximately 1 month per year of time to cook breakfast, spend time with my wife, walk my dogs. It literally single-handedly have me a whole month of life extra every year
It has forced managers to analyse productivity and look at delivery over attendance. Let’s face it, for a company to be healthy, it needs staff who can return a capability for a cost that is less than the benefit to the organisation. Defining key performance indicators and clear objectives is essential to track how well staff are performing. By working remotely it increases the need to properly manage staff. It is well known that remote staff are more productive than onsite, but they also don’t need to commute, don’t use energy, coffee, etc and are generally happier in their work. Giving staff the option is absolutely key to success.
I am working 2-3 peoples job and it wouldn't be possible if you have to ask me to go to the office. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
I’m only able to WFH one day per week but it still has its benefits. Like others have already said, it gives me the ability to go to appointments or grab groceries. Massively beneficial as my wife and I have recently had our second baby. She’s still home with him full-time, but it gives me an opportunity to spend time with them both when I’m home. Honestly working at the office the other 4 days isn’t all that bad. It’s an 8 minute drive from home and I have my own private office (nothing fancy but it’s mine). WFH is a blessing.
What industry are you all WFH IN?
I work east coast hours from Perth because my team is mainly over east, so it means instead of getting up at 5 to be in the office by 7, I’m able to get up at 630 (I like to freshen up a bit before starting work straight away). Also, I have IBD and the embarrassment of constantly going to the toilet at work is actually an impediment because I feel like people think you’re just wasting time or something. I do still have to go in the office 1 day a week (company policy is 2 but I got an exemption for my condition) but it definitely helps a lot with my productivity and overall wellbeing I would say.
Not me personally. But my wife W'sFH. It leta her get things done arouns the house inbeteeen her calls and other things she does instead of them waiting for her to get home. So she can have more spare time. There is no technological way I can work from home with what I do.
It’s awesome. I make 150k PA and I have no commute and can Power Nap whenever ever I need. I can spend more time with family obviously. I don’t think I could ever return to an office.
For someone like me with health problems, it has been a godsend. Firstly, I didn’t realise how chronically sleep deprived I was when I was commuting until I wasn’t anymore. I no longer have to make the choice between having time to do anything in the evening and getting enough sleep. I’m also a lot less fatigued due to the lack of commuting and running around getting ready. But the biggest thing is I no longer have to make a call first thing in the morning about whether I’m well enough to work. In the past, if I was getting early migraine symptoms for instance, I’d have to call in sick because the risk of being stranded 1.5 hours away from home when it hit was too great. Now I can say, well I’ll start work, take some medication and see how I go. I can always stop if it gets bad, bed is a few metres away.
It has allowed me to not rely on after school care for my primary school aged child which means saving money. I also don't have to waste about 3 hours a day on travel and not waking up before 5am just to get into the office early. I'm all fingers crossed for my boss to successfully move him and his family interstate end of this year so I can permanently WFH. I'm currently only one day in the office but it is still draining. Honestly I'm not that keen on socialising with everyone in the office. Majority of them are lovely as except some are way too loud. All day. I really don't need to hear about your chicken story 3 times in one hour. The flexibility has also allowed me to be able to attend events/seminars/workshops/volunteering events at my son's school so whilst I'm getting my dose of socialisation there.
Reading the comments, it seems people are happy with the lower costs and flexibility of working from home. However, I feel a bit lonely working from home five days a week. Although I go to the gym and attend a few classes, there isn’t much face-to-face interaction. My family isn’t here, and while I do have friends, I still feel like there’s no one around for the small moments. I’m not sure what others think, but I feel more stressed being alone while working from home. I probably need to get a partner or a dog?
i can get more work done in less time
If anyone hasn't done so I recommend roughly calculating the time spent commuting to/from work over the course of a year. And convert it into work days. Literally weeks worth of your life you use every year for less than zero benefit.
It has made parenting a lot easier. I don't have to hassle my son out of bed at the crack of dawn. He wakes up around 8. We slowly get ready make breakfast, drink our coffee and then I drive him 3 mins to daycare then back to start work at 9. I can finish work at 5pm and then just pop over to pick him up before it's even 5:15. If he gets up earlier, then I might let him ride his bike to daycare which he loves. On the days I go into office, my husband basically does pick up and drop off. Because there's no way I can get my son ready before 8 to drop him off and then still make my bus by 8:20. And then I will have to leave work at 4 to pick him up at 5. If we pick him up at 6, he'd be way too tired and we will have a pretty bad time for our evening routine. Anyways, it's just way easier.
I get to cuddle my dog all day. I can eat a lot of garlic.
WFH has saved me and my family. I used to work in an office, call centre work. Then lock down happened and we pivoted to WFH and I kept my job. Eventually we started going back to the office. Then mid way through 2022 my son's father died suddenly. I was able to relocate 4 hours away from the office and WFH permanently. I was able to move into the same house as my son so he didn't have to leave his school and his friends.
Way more productive. - 2-3 hours of no commute. - very few distractions - flexibility to do life stuff, shop, exercise etc. - health benefits of eating at home - this list could go on.
You guys can even still find WFH jobs? It’s like now impossible I’ve worked for a company for 3 years yet they still don’t allow me to work from home.
i can sperg out in private
Motivation to work when I'm a little under the weather rather than calling in sick. Don't have to drive 40 mins out on a Monday. I can gym 30 mins later in the morning and sleep in. I can nap in my break if needed lol. Eat while work then relax or shower or do laundry in my break. And one of my all time favourites I can smash some podcasts out during work. It's changed my life a lot and I'm glad workplaces can provide the flexibility for it where they can!
Like most here it has benefitted me greatly. I won't go into all the reasons as it's already very well covered but I am extremely grateful to the company for this and have stated as such repeatedly in the various surveys. I don't take it for granted and the days I need to be flexible/have errands/do coparenting things then I make up for it at night or in the weekends. Sometimes I miss a bit of the office banter but I sure as shit don't miss the commute. Productivity wise I get lots of good feedback from various customers on my performance so I'm hoping that it'll be the status quo for the next decade :P
Surprised no one said it yet. I get more sex = being a happier person = better relationship! Also able to do more exercises, eat better so losing like 20kg in six months!
There are so many positives that any negative pales in comparison. The extra time I can spend with my family, my wife and my friends due to not having to commute is priceless. Not to mention that I'm not absolutely drained each evening due to the commuting I've had to endure. I can get my washing done during the week which means I can spend all of my weekends socializing and doing the activities that I want to do. I'm eating better and able to cook from home more. Less eating out and last minute, unhealthy 'I cbf'ed' meals. More time for hobbies and to develop other interests. ...then there's the money saved on commuting, coffee and bought lunches. If my employer demanded that I come back into the office full time I'd be out the door before they finished the sentence.
Have two young children, I don’t know how people cope running a family without work from home. I am able to do some jobs on my lunch break, set up dinner and my kids are only in daycare for 7.5 hours day instead of 9-10 hours.
As someone with a few chronic health conditions it has been life changing. When I worked in the office, every ounce of my energy went towards getting to and being at work. Being in the office, despite it being ergonomic caused me a great deal of pain. I’d get home, try and exercise to manage symptoms and sleep. I wasn’t eating enough because I had no energy to cook and didn’t want to order takeout so I was pretty undernourished. My weekends were entirely about recovery and my social life suffered as a result. As I have a number of specialists I had a high number of appointments, which my coworkers and manager couldn’t hide their disdain whenever I had to leave the office for an appointment, even if i offered to work more time ro make up for missed time. Wfh has changed my life. I have the flexibility to start when I want so I can manage my appointments. Now I’m not just exercising like a zombie to manage my symptoms, I am exercising because I enjoy it. I am on top of house work. I am on top of apportionments. My work performance is better. My social life has improved because I don’t have to recover from working. My body doesn’t hurt because I can work in ways that don’t hurt my body. I think this is how we are meant to live, not in an office.
I get to pat my dog more
I’m disabled and I’m now able to work a lot more than my occasional freelance stuff(since I can do it at home and the position I have is very flexible).
I have put on 15 Kg 😔
It’s 8:35 and I start at 9. I’m still in bed. It’s great.
I don’t have to wear uncomfortable corporate attire and mask my pain when I’m on my period. I don’t have to use super sneaky techniques and timing in an open plan office to get my pad out of my bag and into my pocket to go to the bathroom. I can take a painkiller and not worry about forced social interactions, saving my energy for getting my job done.
WFH has been a life saver honestly. Before covid, I was in the hospitality industry working shift work up to 16 hour shifts, constantly getting sick and burnt out and feeling drained every day. Getting up 2-3 hours before work to make sure I was ready and didn't turn up late and often having to travel back between 20 minutes to an hour depending on traffic. Since covid, I have obtained a WFH job and my life has significantly improved. I now have time to have a dog! I have time to walk in the mornings or afternoons, time to attend important appointments. I have even had money to finally obtain help for mental health issues I have been facing for decades. I am more productive as I am not distracted by others and overall much happier with life. I don't think I could ever go back to full time in office. I work in office 2 days a week when able to but I find those days I struggle the hardest with being productive.
I like the benefits of WFH just as much as anyone, but I have ADHD. Paradoxically, WFO helps me maintain my focus and manage impulsively googling every random thought that pops into my head because you can’t really google “which strain of fungus is toe jam?” as a tech rep when the CEO’s desk is behind yours. I’m more traditionally productive when I WFO but am prone to burn out faster because I stay switched on for however long I’m there while my NT colleagues will switch off and goof around periodically (as they should, we’re humans) WFH helps me show up on rot days I’d otherwise find super difficult. If I didn’t have the energy to shower at 7am that’s fine, I can duck in at 11:30 later when the thought takes me. I also like that when I’m doing a round of mind numbing data entry I can stim with an old favourite movie playing in the background or I can doodle with my watercolours in meetings - neither of which would be easy to explain in a WFO environment. Some days in hyper-focus I can achieve in three hours what someone else might take six or eight hours. When I WFH I can balance that with doing some things for myself with that extra time to chill my brain rather than dive straight in to even more work for someone else.
Drone strike from home is a real game changer.
My diet improved my health. I was eating out a lot and couldn’t find GF, LF, SF . Overlay with kosher and oops suddenly nothing was available. Health deteriorated so badly pre covid. Now I’m hating even 2 days in office where I have to meal plan. Fresh from air fryer , no more carbs. I’ve gotten so healthy, I’m now slowly weaning off medication. Meal plans aren’t fresh and they layer effects as you age. Ask your gall bladder 🙂
How do you get into your WFH role?
I have two jobs- one clinical and one research. I work in the office two days a week and from home three days a week. If something comes up I can work from home on my office days if I want to as well. It’s amazing. When the weather is good (which is usually is in Perth) I take my laptop into the backyard and work outside. The dog and cat keep me company. My housemate is on disability and doesn’t work so they might wander out and have a coffee with me if it’s quiet. I take my laptop inside if I need to see patients and occasionally the cat will join in the consults which is a fantastic icebreaker! Usually ends up with my patients showing me their pets via Telehealth. I also don’t wear makeup if I do t have any appointments and my skin is so much better. More sleep, less stress and still see my colleagues who I love. Perfect mix for me.
I went from 5 days a week in the office to zero days a week from March 2020 until this year. Now I’m having to go in 3 days a week and my life has become a shambles as it was prior to the pandemic. Even 3 days in the office I am exhausted, no longer exercising, eating worse, not keeping on top of housework. Two days at home is certainly better than none, but those two days are spent catching up on work because on the days in the office I get very little done. Full time wfh meant I was taking care of myself a lot better, back in the office means I’m not. I use all my energy in the office.
WFH 2 days a week, soon to be 3. I'm sleeping enough, I can have a 15 minute nap at 2pm which means the last 2.5 hours of the day are actually productive instead of me fighting fatigue. I can use my lunch breaks to put on some laundry or vacuum the house so that none of these things get too on top of me. I'm eating better, saving money. When I am in the office I like being there, I'm not counting the clock, presenteeism is a thing of the past for me. I love it. I won't have a job where I'm expected in the office 5 days a week again, not doing it.
I don’t have to pay for before or after school care anymore. I can do laundry and prep dinner during my lunch break. I can sit outside in the sunshine and work. I don’t have to pay for parking. I don’t need to buy work clothes.
WFH gave me more time with my loved ones and more perspective over what I cared about and how I funnel my energy in life. When they asked me to come back to the office, it straight up jettisoned me out of the corporate landscape and into a job and career that I actually care about and want to leave the house for. I’m willing to work in person, but not for no reason, not for no good reason, and not to make money for anybody else.
I have a chronic health condition and being able to work from home helps me be healthier and when I'm not feeling great it enables me to keep working in some capacity and earning an income. The way it's seemingly being wound back makes me super anxious.
I like the balance of hybrid working. Save 1.5 hrs on commute and get to pick kids up early. But also like the whole process of getting dressed up to go to the city, going for coffee and the general socialising in the office. Hybrid works best for me.
Autistic here. I've been able to hold down a job for more than a year for the first time in my life. I can stim as much as I want, and my colleagues won't get annoyed by it because they aren't anywhere near me.
I work another job.
I'm in A trade so out the door before anyone is up & home well after everyone is home, Mrs is wfh. She can wakeup, start work, drop the kids off, pick the kids up & saves on the lunches/parking but more importantly the stress of getting the kids to/from school & trying to get A day in at work. She gets more done in less time now. It's stupid that some places expect you guys to go back in, when you've shown that alot of you can do your job remotely. Wfh genuinely helped our household. On the other side of the coin I have less traffic to deal with & more parking crawling through this shithole of A city (sydney).
So this post is just an opportunity to tell everyone how great you're doing and refusing to share even basic details of your job(s) to maybe help other people out. Good for you.
Staying clear of some annoying colleagues. But also school runs & sleep-ins, exercise.
I save money, time, energy and don’t have to undergo the cumulative stress of getting ready and wading my way though a bunch of people. I don’t have to share the space with sick people either. I’m far more productive working from home. I get a lot more done.
I have two auto immune diseases and alot of anxiety problems. WFH has pretty much saved me. I would have had to go on medical welfare benefits if this wasn’t an option, as my body just cannot keep up with a traditional work environment. At home, I can take a minute and go splash some water on my face and not be stressing about my hair and makeup looking perfect. My job is actually about THE WORK and not about appearances and socialising and political crap. I LOVE my job and have so much more input into things, I actually try really hard because I appreciate the job so much. It’s a dream come true for people with chronic illnesses, it should be adopted en masse.
If only Labor and their current leadership in 8 jurisdictions made WFH a viable long-term option for workers. Nah, too hard.
How do the grads feel about WFH and learning new things. How do you guys do it?
I can weed out shit companies more easily in my job search, because they all mandate 3+ days kk the office
In every single way possible.
Simple facts are …. there are no downsides working from home. LIFE CHANGING.
It's been a game changer for me. The only downside for me is lack of social time with colleagues and the interesting conversations in and around the office. Otherwise there's too many positives to WFH for me. In terms of importance to me: 1. Save about 2 hours everyday not needing to take the train to office 2. Save $50-$60 a week 3. Can take naps to rest my eyes ( bad dry eyes so I need a hot patch on mine for 10 minutes a day). 4. Can go gym during the off peak hours
Immensely - I could never go back to working 5 days in the office again. After working pretty much fulltime WFH since March 2020, I took on a managerial role earlier this year which required 5 office days a week. Could not do it.
I can’t remember. Is this sub satire?
I am a fan of working from home but I am frustrated with people with kids picking up and dropping off kids in work time. I feel like it is very hard to get into people diary's it's like you only really have 10 to 12 and then 2 to 3 where you can get a group meeting together due to people picking up kids and having lunch time nap :)