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I Miss Working from the Office

roguelazer.com

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Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#181

Post by donatj »

toyg wrote: post #172
donatj wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t follow. Why should where I spend the majority of my waking hours, the majority of my life in practical terms, not also be my primary source of socialization? I genuinely feel the opposite. Relying on your few off hours to satisfy your innate human need for socialization places an unhealthy demand on your off hours, not to mention an unfair demand on your friends and family. I am now forced to spend 8 hours a…

> Humans were never intended to spend so much time alone Humans were also never intended to be forced to somehow "produce money" with other humans. "Being a social animal" for millennia meant finding your role in a relatively small group of people who shared your basic values about survival and mores , and that you could observe and befriend (or fight) over a literal lifetime, while carrying out tasks that were direc…

Then and now it all comes down to just “people near you”. You didn’t choose your village mates, you were born into it. You have more flexibility now, but you’re still just working with people you didn’t choose.

Finding your role in a relatively small group of people describes most of my experience working in offices. You share the time and experiences doing some thing you have to do, not something you want to do. Locating sustenance or making copies, it’s same same. It’s an activity you do because you have to, not because you chose to.

Additionally, you have things in common by socializing, not the reverse.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#182

Post by smichel17 »

donatj wrote: post #133
Jugurtha wrote: post #65

Yes. Some people on the internet were also advocating for a return to the office because people could not stand the loneliness anymore and need to interact socially. I had to point out that this was symptomatic of a poor social/family life [outside of work]. If someone is lonely working remotely and they miss humans, it is a sign the only humans they interacted with were colleagues. It's also a sign of what the perso…

I don’t follow. Why should where I spend the majority of my waking hours, the majority of my life in practical terms, not also be my primary source of socialization? I genuinely feel the opposite. Relying on your few off hours to satisfy your innate human need for socialization places an unhealthy demand on your off hours, not to mention an unfair demand on your friends and family. I am now forced to spend 8 hours a…

Why do you assume that GP thinks people should spend the majority of their waking hours in the office?

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#183

Post by Shivetya »

paul_f wrote: post #92
Jugurtha wrote: post #65

Yes. Some people on the internet were also advocating for a return to the office because people could not stand the loneliness anymore and need to interact socially. I had to point out that this was symptomatic of a poor social/family life [outside of work]. If someone is lonely working remotely and they miss humans, it is a sign the only humans they interacted with were colleagues. It's also a sign of what the perso…

This is a bit unfair. Many people socialized with the bowling team, through their church, at school, as part of a volunteer organization, etc, that may have also all shut down because of COVID.

However many people also are incapable of going this route and work is their own socialization. Never underestimate the number of introverts who only have "friends" through work.

Thirty years later I still have friends from school who I swear have no other friends other than those from school days or their current job. Some don't even know their neighbors!

The difficult part is they look just like the rest of us and the cues are different for determining who is who though usually avoidance of after work get together and even lunch are clear sign. The key is to know when to back off as some are very comfortable in their personal world

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#184

Post by kevsim »

bamboozled wrote: post #10

Thing I miss are: * Having someone clean my works space. My house gets dirtier now and I’m forever cleaning it, doing dishes. * The distinction between the beginning and end of my work day. * Having free space in my house. * Off the cuff dinner and drinks with colleagues. * No lag meetings and whiteboard sessions. * Having intervals apart from my family actually felt healthy, although we have adapted to being around…

> No lag meetings and whiteboard sessions.

I really miss whiteboard sessions. I've gotten used to zoom meetings, I'm not overloaded with them, and with a proper structured agenda I've found they can be tolerable.

But nothing beats scribbling on a whiteboard with colleagues. We've tried Miro and other tools, but nothing quite has the same feel as those scribbled boxes and arrows on a whiteboard.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#185

Post by Symbiote »

I was fine over the summer, but at 55.6° north in Copenhagen, sunset is now 15:53. That makes it more difficult to find daylight-time outside on a working day, and the city is in winter mood (fewer people wandering outside in the evening) so it feels more lonely.

I changed the light in my office from a normal (for home), "warm" bulb to a 1500lm 6300K "daylight" one, which helps. It no longer feels like I ought to be relaxing at 15:45.

I'm also going to make more effort to just cycle or walk around outside over lunchtime. Both things were easier when working at the office -- it felt like a "work" place with bright lights and big windows, and I couldn't avoid the outside-time to get there.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#187

Post by benbristow »

dandellion wrote: post #117
st1x7 wrote: post #48

I think that what isn't discussed enough is the variance in quality of your office environment and of your home office and how that quality affects your preferences about working from home. It sounds quite obvious but in these arguments people often just state what they personally like and leave it at that. Your office can be place where you still have the option to work uninterrupted but also get the benefits of fac…

That's a very good point, I'm really enjoying working from home and I attributed it mostly to not having to do the one hour commute each way, but there's so many more things that add up: - At home I have the most comfortable chair I could find on the market that fits me perfectly. At work there are very basic adjustable chairs and they use some slippery fabric. - At home I have an ergonomic mechanical keyboard vs. a…

> Working in silence

Nice if you have a detached house in a quiet neighbourhood. Try an apartment in a busy area, you'll be wearing noise cancelling headphones too!

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#188

Post by saos »

I do miss the free food, ping pong and banter. But, I’m a developer working with marketers and it’s hell being remotely next to them. Can be very draining and for that reason I prefer WFH. That way I can respond to them the next day, close Slack or just not reply at all.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#189

Post by bluedino »

benhurmarcel wrote: post #164
diarrhea wrote: post #154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your work just sounds very subpar. Crippling developers with that sort of equipment and environment is a poor move and also an awful trade-off, business-wise.

It seems pretty standard to me. Typical open-office setup, with one 24" screen and $5 keyboard and mouse that come with the PC, and a basic 10-years-old office chair. I've seen quite a few mid to large size industrial/engineering companies and it's a standard setup. Actually the ones having a 24" screen are lucky, most people get a 20". That's why people commonly bring their personal headphones, keyboard and mouse. A…

I’ve brought my own SSD and RAM to jobs that give you a bog-standard issue PC. Shhh.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#190

Post by neya »

I have a different opinion. I absolutely fucking hate working from the office. Any office.

I have worked for companies big and small, so, I sometimes don't get most of the perks the author talks about.

I absolutely value my privacy and don't want to feel like a criminal for browsing social media during office hours for brief periods of time while people stare into my screen.

I absolutely fucking hate sitting across a transparent windowed room from where my boss can see how long I'm out for lunch and not and bring it up casually during chit chat.

I absolutely hate that wall hanging TV (55") connected to Spotify at all times, playing stupid music I don't like.

I absolutely hate namesake team lunches which again force me to give up my already short lunch break to discuss about work which stresses me out.

I absolutely hate people in open desks sitting across me, talking so loudly that I simply cannot get through my day without an expensive noise cancellation headphone. (Recommendation: Sony 1000XM3 or XM4 works wonders).

I hate forced "team outings" from office for "team bonding" activities which I cannot opt out of.

I hate being dragged into whiteboard "brainstorming sessions" I cannot opt out of, while I could be working on something else important.

Right now:

I'm at home, doing my own thing, with 100% privacy to do whatever I like whenever I like.

Nobody can walk upto me and yell "Hey, got 2 mins?" and expect me to attend to them or take offense if I don't.

Nobody can drag me anywhere. People need to now send me calendar invitations which I can accept or reject along with a reason/description in the invite itself.

I have full control over my time and I how I want to spend it.

Team meetings are now shorter, more efficient.

I can finally have some family time, save much more on transit costs and don't need to be tired by the time I reach home.

Perhaps, the most important thing about NOT being in the office is that I'm not judged by the number of hours I'm glued to my desk, but rather the tasks that I complete on time and the quality of output I produce...which is how work should be judged.

THIS is the value of remote work for me. I simply cannot see myself going back to office.

I value my productivity and so should every company hiring me.

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