31–40 of 273 posts
I like to go into the office for the social interaction, but I also like working from home one day a week. From the article, the con about being interrupted while working in the office applies equally to WFH. Your train of thought can be just as much derailed by a Slack/Teams message as by a colleague wandering by your cubicle.
I understand why these get posted. But not everyone is in the same situation as the author. I can bike to work, I'm extroverted, and I like free coffee. So I go into the office 2-3 days a week by choice. I have no on-site requirement. I also get quite depressed in winter working in my cold basement office with a space heater :( But that's just me. And I don't feel like I should force my WFH opinion on anyone else.
There isn't some objective right answer here. Different people value different things, and that's ok. Companies can set their RTO policies as they see fit, and that's ok. People should try to find companies that match their preferences. Let's not turn this into yet another tribal schism...
I did contracting for Deere & Co, because of how close they are to my home, they requested I be on site. Wanting to be a team player I agreed, it was only a 3 hour round trip, they even agreed to pay me for the commute. My time started the second I left my house and didn't stop until I got home. But here's the thing. The days I was on site, I sat in my own cubicle and didn't converse with any of my colleagues except…
If you are sick (proper sick not just slightly under the weather) then take those sick days. That is what generations of workers before you fought for, so that you wouldn't need to.
On the subject of wfh I do 1 day a week at the office when feeling like it and my productivity usually goes right down to zero on those days. But I like that little bit of social exposure.
I feel these discussions always go the same way. Working at an office sucks because of some combination of {long commute, open office plan, team not being there}. I quite like going to the office myself because my situation is the opposite: I bike to work, where I have my own office, and my team likes to come in too. Hating the office is totally justifiable given that my setup isn't common; most people are forced to…
"Nope, those offices are for managers".
"But... they're empty now".
"We're putting together the budget for next year to hire more managers".
"So... those will sit empty for the next 6-9 months and I have to work in an open cube environment, being distracted by the growing number of people around me".
"Looks that way, but don't be so negative about it. I think we're done here. Close my door on your way out please".
I left a few weeks after that exchange.
I feel these discussions always go the same way. Working at an office sucks because of some combination of {long commute, open office plan, team not being there}. I quite like going to the office myself because my situation is the opposite: I bike to work, where I have my own office, and my team likes to come in too. Hating the office is totally justifiable given that my setup isn't common; most people are forced to…
I know a few retired guys who pay their own money to rent office space away from the house. They don't even have kids living at home any more. If you have a nice office, it's...well...nice.
I like to go into the office for the social interaction, but I also like working from home one day a week. From the article, the con about being interrupted while working in the office applies equally to WFH. Your train of thought can be just as much derailed by a Slack/Teams message as by a colleague wandering by your cubicle.
Under-appreciated: not wearing shoes all day. Anytime I need to spend a day in an office now, when I finally get home and pull off my shoes and sweat soaked shoes I'm so glad I don't have to do this on a regular basis anymore.