Live data from Hacker News

I will always prefer to work from home

shavingtheyak.com

191–200 of 273 posts

Re: I will always prefer to work from home

#191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why office sucks can be for any number of reasons, I think it's more of a long tail phenomenon with a myriad of distincts personal preferences and special needs. For instance office drinks can suck, and someone drinking 3 to 5 cups of warm drinks a day, being able to prepare delicious beverages with specialized equipement is a godsend. Or people who work sitting on their bed. Or want their pet around. Or don't want t…

FWIW, my dog and I do makeupless squats on my bed after work. I appreciate a hard division between work hours and personal hours, and WFH (for me) makes an already tenuous line even more leaky.

> I appreciate a hard division between work hours and personal hours

Agreed--this is why I've got an office at home, and it's bigger and better-appointed than any company would ever allocate to me, with a better desk and a better chair (when I use it, because that better desk lets me stand).

I'll spot them the rent for not having to make the commute, but I need the firm separation.

Re: I will always prefer to work from home

#192

I agree with almost everything there except the point about powering through and working when sick. 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 da…

I suspect the author was talking more about being just under the weather with this point. There have been plenty of days where I would have called in sick to an office job, but was fine working from home where I could sit in bed with hot drinks, tissues, and access to my own bathroom.

Re: I will always prefer to work from home

#193
post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel you on the winter thing. I added an electric heater to my office so I can keep the temperatures a bit higher than the rest of the house (mostly I do this for my fingers, honestly). And through the magic of LEDs I have a fairly ridiculous amount of light I can turn on. Makes winter more bearable when I can make it as bright as high noon in July. I totally get wanting to go into the office. I would go in a few d…

My fingers get SO cold. Literally to the point I'm about to wear gloves. Every couple hours I'll thaw them out against the space heater.. Any other hacks for this are welcome. Exercises?

Heated desk pads are great, cheap and low-profile.

Re: I will always prefer to work from home

#194
post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everyone has a spare room for that purpose.

Right. I joke that my corner in my bedroom is my home office, workbench, rec room, music room, data center combo. The use of vertical space is real. Family of four, 2bdrm 1100 sq ft divided across three floors. I'd love another room. Do they sell those at Costco? Can I put it on the lawn? I work from home full time, and while it was harder in the beginning, the click of the KVM button and putting my work phone on the…

> I'd love another room. Do they sell those at Costco? Can I put it on the lawn?

Unironically they do - https://www.costco.com/medano-10%27x12%27-studio-shed--%E2%8...

Re: I will always prefer to work from home

#195

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Working at an office sucks because of some combination of {long commute, open office plan, team not being there} Working at an office sucks because it is a massive constraint on where you can live, even if you can tolerate a long commute. If you live with a partner who also has a career your options are even more constrained. I find it miraculous such a situation works out for anyone.

And yet for millions of people and many years, it has worked out. There are tradeoffs, sure. But there are a lot of jobs in a lot of fields in a lot of places. The venn overlap is not tiny.

In the context of the modern American nuclear family, the concept of both adults working is relatively new. The traditional arrangement was one breadwinner, one homemaker, and ~2.5 kids.

Which is still common these days, but not to the point of exclusivity: I work remotely, but my partner works hybrid.

Re: I will always prefer to work from home

#196

Agree on all points in the article. One of the most underrated features of WFH is my own private bathroom. This is something I would never have at the office.

Especially considering that many people tend to get their BMs around the same time, after coffee or a meal.

Re: I will always prefer to work from home

#197

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And yet for millions of people and many years, it has worked out. There are tradeoffs, sure. But there are a lot of jobs in a lot of fields in a lot of places. The venn overlap is not tiny.

>it has worked out. Hardly. This is actually kind of insanely tone-deaf statement to make. People have uprooted their lives, spent lots of their wealth in expensive real-estate markets due to artificial demand, given up time with their families, etc etc. Saying it's "worked out" is a really bland dismissal of the entire conversation.

What alternative do you have even for many highly-paid professional jobs like doctors?

Re: I will always prefer to work from home

#198
post #47

Some of these issues would go away if the author used headphones and the office used an open floor plan instead of cubicles.

Open floor plans are super loud and distracting… what issues would this solve exactly? I think it only creates more issues.

>what issues would this solve exactly?

Other people not knowing that he is in deep focus.

Re: I will always prefer to work from home

#199

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 worked at a place years back that was expanding; bought a second building - 2 stories. Downstairs had semi-open cubicles, and a wall of private office spaces (8 IIRC). All empty. Cubes were full. I was in the other building, told we were needing to move over the next couple months. I asked for one of the private spaces. They weren't really that big, and had no natural light, but... they did have a door. I'd been wr…

“Sure, here’s your office - cell #510J”

https://www.theregister.com/AMP/2023/11/13/aws_prison_office...

Re: I will always prefer to work from home

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. I joke that my corner in my bedroom is my home office, workbench, rec room, music room, data center combo. The use of vertical space is real. Family of four, 2bdrm 1100 sq ft divided across three floors. I'd love another room. Do they sell those at Costco? Can I put it on the lawn? I work from home full time, and while it was harder in the beginning, the click of the KVM button and putting my work phone on the…

> I'd love another room. Do they sell those at Costco? Can I put it on the lawn? Unironically they do - https://www.costco.com/medano-10%27x12%27-studio-shed--%E2%8...

That's actually amazing.

Bad news. The front lawn is only 9 feet across. There is no back yard. Sorry for not being clear and up front in the requirements.

Post reply on HN