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I Miss Working from the Office

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Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#361

Post by sfteus »

joefife wrote: post #99
paul_f wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Exactly. Before covid my life revolved around a cycling group, hiking groups, two running clubs. Now it's all be taken away.

Surely you can still be involved in outdoor groups without issue? I participate in an advanced dog training/sport group, and we still meet and just take the necessary precautions (work outdoors, social distance, wear masks).

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#362

Post by Nursie »

ck425 wrote: post #244
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.

It's not an either or. You can have a great social life outside of work and still want and enjoy great relationships with colleagues. Yeah maybe they don't last once you leave, that doesn't mean they're not valuable!

I agree, and it's not wrong to find social value in your workplace.

But I think it's probably not healthy if it's all you have, or even relied upon as "primary" when it can change out from under you in a matter of hours.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#363

Post by m463 »

Swizec wrote: post #285
dandellion wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

> - At home I have an ergonomic mechanical keyboard vs. a cheap rubber dome keyboard that kept running out of batteries at work. > - An ergonomic mouse, vs. a tiny mouse that doesn't even have a back button. This might be surprising, but you can bring your own keyboard and mouse to the office. Perhaps even get your employer to pay for them. I've done this with every office I ever worked at. Dear employer I love you b…

At one place I worked at years ago, I think ergonomics was the magic keyword to unlock a nice work environment.

I know this because one of my coworkers went from a shitty pc104 keyboard to a dedicated keyboard tray an expensive kinesis keyboard and a trackball mouse.

I suspect there must have been RSI problems they had to pay out on.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#364

Post by adrianmonk »

chrisan wrote: post #209

> I miss productivity! I don't understand the productivity unless you just have bad employees playing games or browsing reddit. My productivity has never been higher. I get more done and have more free time to work on unplanned projects/spikes exploring new tech or rethinking old problems that could be solved better. > I miss having my employer pay for electricity and heat and fast symmetric multi-gigabit Internet ac…

> you can deduct these on your taxes as a portion of your home

You can (and I have), but there are some caveats:

(1) It needs to be "regular and exclusive use" (see https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employe...). Put your desk and computer in a separate room, and it's pretty clear that qualifies. If you live in a small apartment and have your desk in your bedroom, then I'm not sure.

(2) It's only a deduction. Having someone else pay all the costs is much better than paying them yourself but getting back your marginal tax rate times the cost.

(3) As you mentioned, it's only for self-employed people.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#366

Post by mavelikara »

gamesbrainiac wrote: post #162
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 very much agree. If you like working in the office, then work in the office, and if you prefer working at home, then work at home. We need to be inclusive of people, and let them work the way _they_ best feel productive. It is unfortunate that people think that it has to be either one or the other.

> If you like working in the office, then work in the office

The thing many people like about the office is that other people are there. This is not just for socializing reasons - for example, junior employees might like more senior ones around to have casual conversations and learn from. So the ones among us that like the office do not just want to be there - they want others to be also there.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#367

Post by Geezus_42 »

kuzimoto wrote: post #258
tartoran wrote: post #198

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I completely share the sentiment. But I don’t see a world where companies keep on paying for their office spaces only to have their employees go there once or twice a week.

I was thinking about this, and I could see it working if they downgrade to a smaller office without permanent seating. Try to figure out roughly what percent of total employees would come in on average.

This is what my company is planning. They plan on having a website where we can schedule office time with an open desk if and when we want or need to go in.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#368

Post by monkeydust »

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…

Very True. I've seen a huge spread in quality from my colleagues which definatley impacts opinions on WFH.

For me we built an office in our garden around 5 years ago. Good size, ethernet connected from the house. Kids came along around 3 years ago and I was hardly using it (wife wouldn't let me escape so easy!) now it's been a lifesaver since March, by far one of the best investments I have made.

Having said all this I do miss the office, I just don't need to be there 5 days a week.

Re: I Miss Working from the Office

#370

Post by matwood »

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…

This is a great point. For parents, kids wouldn't be home during a 'normal' wfh scenario.

I've done wfh for years and really miss going to my local coffee shop, and other various activities I used to do throughout the day because of the freedom offered with wfh.

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