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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

#161

Post by dec0dedab0de »

Many people are blaming the commute, but I've been working from home for almost 6 years, and I actually miss the commute. Especially the bus, but the train was nice too when I had to switch. It was a nice buffer of being able to read or think quietly to myself. The start and end of my day were absolute. Whatever I didn't get done would have to wait, and I wouldn't start until I got there. Along with the social interactions, and having more choices for lunch in my immediate area, the commute is in my top 3 things I miss about working in an office.

What I don't miss is waking up early and getting ready, picking out clothes, combing my hair, and all that nonsense every single morning. I even had 8 of the same exact outfit when I worked in an office, and it was still such a drain.

Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll

#163

Post by gspr »

Lambdanaut wrote: post #153
danielrpa wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think that you are just generalizing something that can't be easily generalized. I'm not happy with what's happening in the world - as I hope most aren't - but the work from home situation isn't a problem for me. I'm loving it. I have an older kid and both him and my wife, who's a stay-at-home mom, are doing a great job maintaining a quiet environment in the house. One thing that makes a huge difference is having a…

I'll chime in there. Same experience. I've got a nice office upstairs away from everyone. I do two things every single day, all day, in that room by myself, and it feels amazing. I do my work for a few hours, and then I hack on a personal project the rest of the day. Then before bed I catch up with my wife for a couple hours and we watch something. I'm in heaven. Introvert heaven. Communal offices drain my life.

When all of this is over, I hope that work cultures will have more space and acceptance for both our personality types.

(Although the pessimist in me just sees those of us who need the social interactions forced to WFH as managers notice the cost saving potential, while those who like the peace and quiet of WFH are forced to go to the office as managers notice the overall drop of productivity… but this is why you shouldn't listen to me for too long ;-))

Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll

#164

Post by thrownaway954 »

THE BIGGEST thing i HATE about office work is the shoulder surfing. i go insane with rage when some idiot is standing behind me while i'm trying to figure something out, i feel under the gun and i start to make mistakes. i have huge anxiety issues and that doesn't make it an easier. not to mention the fact that if i wanted your damn input, i would ask for it.

since working from home, my anger and anxiety level are at a lifetime low. i don't have bleeding ulcers and i actually get a 4 mile walk in in the morning since i'm not rushed to fight traffic. my life is so serene now.

I hope this lasts forever.

Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll

#165

Post by suls »

gspr wrote: post #29

I 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…

I came across this video message [1] from a previous submarine captain which I think is relevant in the WFH context as well. He mentions having a routine, clean environment, enough downtime, de-escalate conflict early and communication as key ingredients to coping with self-isolation.

Start by figuring out a routine for you and try to stick to it.

[1] https://www.bbc.com/reel/playlist/coronavirus-covid19?vpid=p...

Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll

#167

Post by UnpossibleJim »

gspr wrote: post #29

I 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…

Oddly, I'm in the exact opposite camp. The constant drop in's and busywork meetings at the office were taking up an hour a day, at least.

Now, I do have an office to work in and my mom comes out to help with our son and my in laws live a few blocks away (we're luckier than most). So our set up makes it so I have a foundation to succeed with work from home, but if things were "normal" and school were in session I'd love to do this 3 or 4 days a week and go into the office for weekly meetings. Even though, we're doing those over ZOOM right now.

EDIT: formatting

Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll

#168

Post by karmelapple »

gspr wrote: post #29

I 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…

Just note that you’re not just working from home; you’re at home in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, attempting to get some work done. (That idea came from a tweet I read that I can’t find right now)

Everyone’s productivity is down when we’re preoccupied with if loved ones or ourselves might get into a dangerous health situation.

I’ve worked from home for nearly a decade, and I also feel my productivity is down. I’m choosing not to beat myself up over it, and trying to check in mentally with myself throughout the day to see if I’m spending my time the best way possible, even more than I usually do.

So if you feel your productivity is unacceptably down now, consider waiting until the pandemic is over - which could be a very long time - and then try again. For now, stay safe and healthy.

Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll

#169

Post by gspr »

dbingham wrote: post #160
gspr wrote: post #29

I 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…

Extrovert / introvert. You're clearly more towards the extrovert part of the spectrum. Please try to have empathy for people on the introverted part of the spectrum who cannot fathom being forced into an office with tons of people distracting them all day every day. Heretofore they (save for a lucky few like me) have been forced to not just fathom it, but live it. The "half" of Americans mentioned in the article prob…

> Extrovert / introvert. You're clearly more towards the extrovert part of the spectrum.

That's the thing: I don't consider myself very extroverted! Probably on the extrovert side of the scale, but very moderately so!

> Please try to have empathy for people on the introverted part of the spectrum who cannot fathom being forced into an office with tons of people distracting them all day every day. Heretofore they (save for a lucky few like me) have been forced to not just fathom it, but live it.

Oh I do, I really do. I guess I'm just a bit (selfishly) scared of what awaits people like me in the future.

If we allow ourselves a lot of optimism, workplaces will see the need to accommodate both kinds of people to a great extent :-)

> Honestly, your post reads pretty heavily to me of "status quo privilege bias". You fit the current status quo very well, and are expressing worry that a change to that status quo would hurt you, with out extending empathy to those the current status quo hurts badly.

You may be right, but to defend myself on this point I think it is in part fueled by the overwhelmingly positive press WFH seems to be getting in this crisis. Nobody is writing articles exhalting the virtues of regular offices (rightly so), and I guess I have all this praising of WFH a bit stuck in my throat at this point - it leaves me thinking "is it me there's something wrong with?"

> The world is not going to flip to fully remote work. It's likely going to inch towards remote work being more prevalent or available.

I guess I'm just afraid it'll be a reinforcing cycle driven by potential real-estate savings on the part of both employers and employees, and infrastructure savings on the part of society.

Re: Half of American workers would rather work from home forever: poll

#170

Post by papito »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #149
drewg123 wrote: post #54

I've worked from home since 2001, except for a brief 2 year stint at Google. I think I'm far more productive at home because I have: - An office, with a door I can close This was going to be a big list, but I actually think that just about sums it up. The cube environment at Google was utterly intolerable, and made it hard to concentrate. It didn't help that the guys in another group next to us had a game where they…

I also worked at Google after almost 20 years of working at home. I didn’t mind the cube environment because I worked from about 6am to 3pm, giving me a few hours of quiet heads down time every day. My last job before retiring at Capital One was the same, I started work early in the morning for heads down work time, was available for brainstorming, etc., then knocked off work mid afternoon. I really recommend time sh…

YES. Early morning time is the most productive time for many people. It's all downhill after lunch.

The problem is, many companies are more hip about WFH than hour shifting. It's not a thing. If you start coming into work early to get more done, you will get the looks if you don't stay in the office until 6:00PM, just like everyone. That is not sustainable.

However, if you are a European or Indian offshore, then hour shifting is built in. Onshore, night owls are hard-working, and early birds are slackers - because no one can see them work.

What I am saying is, a lot of office work is optics. Being there and within line of sight of everyone counts more than being productive and in the zone. It's dumb as fuck.

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