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I Miss Working from the Office

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Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#221

Post by draw_down »

ryanbrunner wrote: post #155

I think an important thing to keep in mind is that the past 8 months aren't really a good indicator of what working remotely is really like. I've worked remotely for the past 4 years, and this year has easily been the most difficult and most unlike typical remote work: - Normally, I'd try to mix up my day and get some socialization in by going to a co-working space 1-2 times a week. - I had a lot of freedom to catch…

It’s true, but doesn’t change the fact that a ton of people are going to associate this period with working from home because it’s the first time they’ve experienced it.

For some it may have opened their eyes to working from home and shown them that it could be a better way to organize their day. For others it will only underscore their preference for the office. I think that’s what you would find even in a more desirable experiment than the one we’re living through.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#222

Post by 1986 »

donatj wrote: post #199
Nursie wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you're there to work. Because you'll change employer, maybe frequently, and most of your relationships with colleagues will fall away when you do, where relationships with friends are lifelong. WFH allows me to see more of my partner and my real friends in my local area, removing wasted commuting time into the bargain.

> Because you're there to work. That’s such a weird accusation. No I’m not. I get paid to work, and I do good work, but I am not there to work . My goal in life is not “to work”. That sounds absolutely miserable.

Don't take it as a personal accusation - it's great, and lucky for you, that you get that kind of energy from your work and from your relationship with your colleagues. I've had jobs and colleagues like that too.

But fundamentally, your employer - the other party in your most basic work relationship (between you and the company that employs you) - does see you as being "there to work".

And the moment you switch jobs, or get moved into another business unit, or get laid off, those social relationships with your (now-former) coworkers aren't automatically there during the work day. If you want to preserve them, guess what? You're looking at using those off hours.

I understand your argument a bit better if you're treating socialization like caffeine or something - a purely functional hit of dopamine that gets you through the day. But I think that's maybe a fundamental disagreement on the premise of social life.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#223

Post by fennecfoxen »

donatj wrote: post #199
Nursie wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you're there to work. Because you'll change employer, maybe frequently, and most of your relationships with colleagues will fall away when you do, where relationships with friends are lifelong. WFH allows me to see more of my partner and my real friends in my local area, removing wasted commuting time into the bargain.

> Because you're there to work. That’s such a weird accusation. No I’m not. I get paid to work, and I do good work, but I am not there to work . My goal in life is not “to work”. That sounds absolutely miserable.

If you weren’t paid and wouldn’t work, would you still go to the same office, and would they allow you there?

If not, you are probably there to work.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#225

Post by xchip »

tingol wrote: post #38
villgax wrote: post #20

I miss being able to leave office-work at the office at 5PM. No calls no BS after 5 is what I miss the most.

I've been working remotely for years and no one calls me after 5pm. Maybe you should change jobs because it has nothing to do with remote work.

Same here, most of the people who miss the office is because they cant organize themselves or set decent limits.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#226

Post by silly-silly »

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…

> Humans were never intended to spend so much time alone, we’re social animals.

I am not a social animal, I think you'll find the 'non social humans' to be a larger group than you imagine. Just because we have 'do' doesn't mean we all are.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#227

Post by dagw »

josefrichter wrote: post #24

Interestingly, I don't know anybody who misses the office. We're all techies and designers and nobody complained. We do miss having a beer after work every now and then, but we don't miss the office itself at all.

I miss getting out of the house and having a 'clean' space where I can focus on work without any not-work people or not-work distractions around me.

I miss the separation between having a work desk with a work computer and a hobby desk with a hobby computer and being physically unable to interact with one while at the other due to them literally being several miles apart.

I miss the clear demarcation between Working and Not Working that the daily commute signified.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#228

Post by GreenWatermelon »

Shacklz wrote: post #136
Philip-J-Fry wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The distinction between the beginning and end of my work day. Just log off at 5pm or 4pm or whenever you have done your contracted working hours. I rarely end up in a meeting which goes over my usual working hours. But otherwise I just log off. I don't understand how someone can work longer hours unwillingly when it's entirely in your control. I guess it depends on how your remote working is implemented. For me I re…

> I don't understand how someone can work longer hours unwillingly when it's entirely in your control. I have that situation, but without the 'unwilling' part. In the office, I have often the situation "Gosh, I'd love to finish this, but if I don't catch the next train I have to wait another half hour for the next one", which automatically makes me stop work at fixed times. Sure, I could also just stop at the same ti…

Unfortunately, will power means nothing.

What you need, as I learned, is discipline, which is really hard to train. you basically have Work hard on small things one at a time until you build the habits you want.

On that topic, this is pretty interesting:

https://www.wisdomination.com/screw-motivation-what-you-need...

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#229

Post by noirbot »

donatj wrote: post #199
Nursie wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you're there to work. Because you'll change employer, maybe frequently, and most of your relationships with colleagues will fall away when you do, where relationships with friends are lifelong. WFH allows me to see more of my partner and my real friends in my local area, removing wasted commuting time into the bargain.

> Because you're there to work. That’s such a weird accusation. No I’m not. I get paid to work, and I do good work, but I am not there to work . My goal in life is not “to work”. That sounds absolutely miserable.

But it is somewhat true. The point of being in the office is to get work done. You're being paid to do work, and in the past, part of that was a requirement you be in the office some portion of the time. You were in the office _to work_. It's not to say you may not have other things you like about the office, but the reason the company bought an office and requires you to be there is to work.

Which leads to the other side of this. I want my time in the office to be about work. I don't mind socializing some, and I like my coworkers well enough, but we hired them because they were good at their jobs and didn't seem like bad people to be around. Not because I thought they'd be good friends, or have similar hobbies to me. Because of that, given the choice, I'd rather spend social time with the group of friends I have cultivated myself, instead of having my coworkers try to force a connection just because we sit near each other at the office.

I don't go to work to support someone's else's lack of a social life outside of work, and just because I was required by my job to be in the same room as you doesn't mean you can/should expect me to like you as more than someone I work with. There's plenty of coworkers I like and some I'm actually friends with, but also plenty of people who try to use the conditions of our mutual employment to fill in for friendships they didn't develop outside of work.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#230

Post by fennecfoxen »

ricardo81 wrote: post #113
matthewmacleod wrote: post #70

I'd like to think that after the n th discussion of this topic we could all generally agree: - Some people prefer working in an office environment. There are valid reasons for this, and it's totally fine. - Other people prefer working at home, and this is also completely fine and understandable. - People other than yourself who experience challenges with either one of these arrangements are not idiots and the things…

I agree with the sentiment of your creative approach. I think a good middle ground is having offices in neighbourhoods, within walking/cycling distance where people from different companies come to work. They get the benefit of social interaction, "getting out of the house", and avoid a car journey. Living in the UK, I think that would also help restore the feeling of community, as a gathering point for people within…

Offices are in office districts in places like London for a reason: many people will join the job not living near the office, those people will be all over town, and of course the housing prices nearby might not be to their liking (or the neighborhood amenities, for that matter).

An office district allows people to get to the office expediently from homes all over town, or even in the next town over, because all the trains and buses are routes to take people there.

(Other cities in the UK may vary, but how many of them are tech hubs?)

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