WFH in a small flat and a child is much harder than the office. The commute provides time for podcasts, music and gradual transfer from work to family.
Ask HN: Who doesn’t want to go back to the office?
51–60 of 153 posts
Re: Ask HN: Who doesn’t want to go back to the office?
#52I don't want to go back. I feel more productive being a digital nomad, staying in a different city every month, meeting different people, eating different food, in different climates.
I stay in the best neighbourhoods around the world, walk to coworking spaces, eat out almost every meal and still spend considerably less than what I did in Sydney.
Re: Ask HN: Who doesn’t want to go back to the office?
#53My company is rumored to bring us back soon. I've got my 2 weeks notice written and am actively interviewing for 100% remote positions. This pandemic has made me realize how much of my life I have thrown away to commuting over the past 10 years. I have no plans to return to an office.
Re: Ask HN: Who doesn’t want to go back to the office?
#54I wanted to go back to the office up until a few months ago, but then I escaped from lockdown countries and have now actually re-established a proper social life.
The interesting effect of this has been that said social life, which in pre-lockdown days involved many people from work, is now 100% happening with friends from other contexts.
This has made my work relatively less relevant in my life than it used to be: It's no longer a part of my identity, it's no longer a driver for socialisation, it's just a thing I do for some hours during the day. A change in environment has also meant that instead of spending my evenings at tech meetups or pubs I'm instead out scuba diving, working out and so on.
Overall I don't feel like returning to what used to be normal and have pointed this out at work. One response I got was "maybe that feeling is why they want you to come back", but the threshold for where that would've worked on me was crossed months ago.
Re: Ask HN: Who doesn’t want to go back to the office?
#55I don't want to go back, I can get my day job done in Do your tasks in as little time as it takes leaving more room for leisure, this is the first time I'm feeling the benefits of that 'increased productivity per hour'[1] economists talk about. [1] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/exports/labor-productivit...
I feel like I can do my daily work in 2-3 hours, but I end up spending all day procastinating between tasks.
I try and stick to 25 min focused work, 5 min of whatever, repeat.
Re: Ask HN: Who doesn’t want to go back to the office?
#56I have more focussed time; more control of my own life; more time with my kids; less time wasted in meetings and drive-by chats from project managers; no-one glances at the clock if I need to leave early - nor do I feel the need for theater when I have to work until late; I enjoy cooking much more (and can put a stew or the oven on, then get back to work); I've saved incredible amounts of money that were otherwise apparently spent on my day-to-day life in the city-center; I no longer waste an hour each day getting to and from the office; and I've lost lots of weight getting up early in the morning and taking a brisk walk outwards in the forest, listening to birdsong and being aware of the changing seasons, instead of inwards with car exhausts and scooters riding the pavements.
REALLY hoping we're not forced back to the office at my company - along with 75% of the other developers at my place (we did a Slack poll).
Re: Ask HN: Who doesn’t want to go back to the office?
#57I'm 100% remote these days and would 200% prefer to stay that way. Maybe commute once a week to an office, but generally I do not want to do so every day, ever again.
That said, I do have the huge advantage of having an entire room for my home office.
Re: Ask HN: Who doesn’t want to go back to the office?
#58Surprised to see so many people in this thread who don't want to go back to the office at all, but I do understand. I've been given the flexibility to define my own schedule with regards to when I'm in the office and when I'm working from home. I can't WAIT to go back: it's great having a dedicated work space, I like hallway conversations and in-person meetings, and it'll be AWESOME to be able to snag a hot meal at o…
Seems strange to comment that you can't wait to go back in a discussion about people who don't want to go back to the office. Surely you meant to post in one of the other dozens of WFH threads?
Given the OP is asking for opinions on said issue, this seems incredibly normal?
What would be the point of a thread where only people with an opinion/preference on one side post they all feel the same way? The point is to get a discussion and understand where everyone stands and why, at least it seems to me.
Re: Ask HN: Who doesn’t want to go back to the office?
#59It’s human nature to exert the least effort possible to obtain resources. Over time, employees will find more ways to slack from home while looking productive.
Corporations will make decisions based on what maximizes productivity.
I don’t think remote work will persist to the extent people believe.
There are exceptions to the first rule - when an employee is especially motivated. Even then, they’re one bad managerial decision away from checking out.
I’m aware of studies that support boost in productivity over covid, but I believe this is bc there are fewer distracting things to do during covid than normal.
Re: Ask HN: Who doesn’t want to go back to the office?
#60I don't want to go back, I can get my day job done in Do your tasks in as little time as it takes leaving more room for leisure, this is the first time I'm feeling the benefits of that 'increased productivity per hour'[1] economists talk about. [1] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/exports/labor-productivit...
> I intend to start a couple of for profit side businesses Not saying this applies to you, but a thing a lot of people are going to find out is how little they actually accomplish with the extra time. It's so much easier (and fun!) to dream about going to the gym, having a garden, and starting a business while stuck in traffic than to actually follow through and do those things.
I don’t know about that.
Start small work up from there.
I started with just a small walk each day, fast forward a few months and I’ve taking up ruck marches and lost all sorts of weight.
I’m exceedingly undisciplined.
I would encourage anyone to take a bit of that free time and take a step in the right direction.