I worked at home for 9 years and then I had kids. (They are great kids but they make working at home hard.) That was enough for me to not want to work at home anymore. I then got a new job, and then covid-19 hit and I am working at home again. Argh!
Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll
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Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll
#22I was working from home before the virus. The difference for me now is that my other colleagues work from home too. The quality of our meetings has improved, and I feel that I'm on a more even playing field now (in term of evaluation for instance). It's great. I'm also collaborating more closely with some colleagues with whom I had little interaction before.
That being said, working from home is not for everyone. Not everybody has a good working environment. Some people get distracted, feel lonely, or are unable to maintain good work/life balance.
It really has pros and cons. What I hope at least is that it will be less taboo in the future and more employers will be open to that option.
Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll
#23Sadly many tech workers can barely afford more than shared accommodation or tiny apartments. Wondering that is the half that would rather waste away in crammed offices, long commute hours and lack of privacy from flatmates.
Because they're living in expensive places. If you don't need to live where you work you can find cheaper places to live.
They are - but what is the benefit of being poor in an expensive place?
Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll
#24Don’t people miss social interaction? I don’t understand how these articles are written. As a single man living on my own, this lockdown has made it pretty lonely.
Outside the lockdown when I want to have a social interaction, I call a friend and go to a bar, or I organise a boardgame or roleplay session. I can choose my friend but I cant choose my coworker.
Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll
#25I'm anticipating that most HNers prompted to comment here will be those thinking this unlikely or wrong or whatever. Every time something positive about remote working is on HN, only those opposing it seem to comment...
So, anyway, here's my vote in favour of remote working!
I've worked from home for the last 10 years straight, and two years in the decade before that. Working from home has always been best for me.
Historically, colleagues have always been amazed I get anything done, and wondered about how teams can possibly function etc etc. Lots of people have been skeptical.
And now so many of my colleagues are working from home, and all the awful destruction hasn't happened, and in fact many people are saying they've never been more productive...
Yay to remote working, long may it continue!
Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll
#26The 25-34 age range had the most “Yes” I want to work from home. I wonder if experience made the later years want to not work from home, or what caused that.
Children probably. Don't get me wrong, I love being home and spending time with the family more, it's really the best part of this experience for me. But there's no way I'd be able to be as productive as expected under normal circumstances. I'm lucky if I get 4 hours in.
The current situation isn't ideal. Everyone at my employer has working from home since the beginning (20 years ago, I'm at year 4 here) and it's been great, but my coworkers who all-of-a-sudden have kids at home during their workday who would normally be at school have seen a drop in their productivity.
Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll
#27The 25-34 age range had the most “Yes” I want to work from home. I wonder if experience made the later years want to not work from home, or what caused that.
My anecdotal experience: fewer of them have children. When you have small kids, it is harder to work from home and be productive. I’ve had coworkers who only came to our shared office to get away from the distraction of working at home.
Some stats on % of women without children by age range: https://www.statista.com/statistics/241535/percentage-of-chi...
Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll
#28Who are these people? I've been working from home and I've noticed a steep dip in my productivity.
People who stretch their budget to live in the best school district they can afford, which usually comes at the cost of spending their life in a car (or train or bus) commuting as far as possible.
Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll
#29I wonder if this is related to the long commutes Americans have gotten used to. I'm not in the US, and while I would say I definitely appreciate the flexibility of being able to work from home (or from "not the office") every now and then, and I do like the present drop in meetings, I cannot fathom how people stay sane without a variety of other people around.
My productivity has definitely dropped, and it feels like my brain never really fully turns "on". It feels a lot like those times in university I decided to study for exams from home instead of going to campus. I can't explain it, but 9 out of 10 times it just feels bad, like the way your brain feels if you've spent the day watching TV or something (when, in fact, I haven't). This doesn't even begin to consider the social punctuations of work that are essential to my psychological well-being.
Does anyone feel the same? I'm a little bit worried that I just have a personality type that isn't well-suited for the remote work culture that is likely to become more prevalent after this crisis is over. I'm in my early thirties, but I've felt this way for as long as I can remember, independently of whether I was in a relationship, whether I was working or studying, etc.
Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll
#30Don’t people miss social interaction? I don’t understand how these articles are written. As a single man living on my own, this lockdown has made it pretty lonely.
I've been WFH for 4 years and my social interaction is going to lunch with friends most days and mountain biking with groups when I can. Unfortunately, that's been halted with the restrictions in my state. You can still have social interaction while working from home, it just takes more effort than being in an office everyday.