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When working from home is toxic

morgan.zoemp.be

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Re: When working from home is toxic

#31

Post by sillysaurusx »

nubb wrote: post #26

These articles are so low quality. Some ppl WFH better, some ppl prefer an office. This isn't ground breaking philosophy and the endless articles repeating the same basic idea is just boring now. /rant

Haha. I feel you. But on the other hand, it's an endless article cycle either way, right? It's just philosophizing about WFH instead of Google now.

I imagine it'll dry up in a year or so. Till then, it's probably important to let people express what's on their mind. If people hate WFH, addressing the concerns is the only way forward.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#32

Post by treespace8 »

I just don't understand these articles. The office isn't going anywhere. Don't worry, if you want to work in an office that option is not going away.

Working in the same physical space as management will aways have an edge on remote workers. That's why it won't be going anywhere.

I can only speak for myself, but I feel that for many of us this is a once in a lifetime chance to establish working for home as a completely viable, respected choice. I don't want to move up, I just want to do my job in peace.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#34

Post by princetman »

xwdv wrote: post #2

You know what we need? Something that is the equivalent of a blue check mark for remote workers. The check mark would mean that this worker has a home office setup that meets or exceeds standards for remote work. The certification process can be handled by a neutral third party. The standards would be stringent, a laptop on on some corner desk wouldn’t quality. You must have a room with a door that can be closed IMO.…

Right, you must have room with a door to WFH otherwise back to the open plan office.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#35

Post by Hamuko »

xwdv wrote: post #2

You know what we need? Something that is the equivalent of a blue check mark for remote workers. The check mark would mean that this worker has a home office setup that meets or exceeds standards for remote work. The certification process can be handled by a neutral third party. The standards would be stringent, a laptop on on some corner desk wouldn’t quality. You must have a room with a door that can be closed IMO.…

>You must have a room with a door that can be closed IMO.

I have a bathroom door. Does that count for the blue checkmark?

Re: When working from home is toxic

#36

Post by 0des »

cortesoft wrote: post #30
sillysaurusx wrote: post #24

As someone with narcolepsy, the pandemic is the single most wonderful-terrible thing that could have happened. When the black plague struck Europe, the survivors found themselves inheriting immense wealth. I feel sort of similarly, because for the first time I can participate normally in a traditional office environment -- because the tradition is now to use Zoom and not to have your ass in a seat from 9 to 5. I wake…

It is really hard to enforce office boundaries on two year olds. He doesn't seem to care no matter how many times I sit him down to tell him I need to work.

Try a different facial expression and tone. You're dealing with a small mind that doesn't have the capability of reason, but from an early age, babies/kids know when other babies/kids are sad/angry because they put on a pout face - an obvious outward visual cue that things aren't right.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#37

Post by defaultname »

The sedentary thing is orthogonal. I have worked from home for years and remain far more active than I could be in an office without being weird. Having an Apple Watch -- or any similar fitness tracker for that matter -- can definitely help towards this.

I love working from home. However it is a constant battle to ensure that others understand that it really is working. That I don't have flex time to do anything at any time. I might have the agency to be able to, but I also have goals and inertia and focus that I want to feed and that are very important to me.

As to interruptions, that really is case by case. I completely shut out peers when I want to (to be frank, fuck your noisy, useless, attention sucking slack chat/discord/IRC and anything else where anyone has expectations of synchronous responses), and have been lucky to be in a position to do so. I also just shut my phone off when I don't want calls. If I couldn't do that, work interruptions would be a disaster. However it's a bit more tough on the family front where my wife, for instance, feels pretty slighted if I can't engage in a conversation whenever something comes to her. However many calm explanations have occurred, if you're in the same house it's tough for people to perceive you as unavailable.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#38

Post by sillysaurusx »

cortesoft wrote: post #30
sillysaurusx wrote: post #24

As someone with narcolepsy, the pandemic is the single most wonderful-terrible thing that could have happened. When the black plague struck Europe, the survivors found themselves inheriting immense wealth. I feel sort of similarly, because for the first time I can participate normally in a traditional office environment -- because the tradition is now to use Zoom and not to have your ass in a seat from 9 to 5. I wake…

It is really hard to enforce office boundaries on two year olds. He doesn't seem to care no matter how many times I sit him down to tell him I need to work.

The moment I posted the comment, I was like, "Crap, forgot about kids."

Yeah.

Our solution was to install a lock. Are you in a situation where you can do the same thing?

The lock happened to be to our basement, which isn't exactly a nice place to work in. But it was effective. A lockable side room might make all the difference.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#39

Post by barbazoo »

I think we've established now that WFH is either the best thing that ever happened to you or complete misery. It 100% depends on your home, your mental health, your social life, your own needs, etc.

Whatever your preference, it's ok and you don't have to justify that preference.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#40

Post by fartcannon »

stank345 wrote: post #19

Getting back to working from the office last week has done wonders for my mental health. I went from being locked up for a year WFH with my wife and kids in a small row home working out of my goddamn basement to actually being able to concentrate in a beautiful, still-mostly-dead office with a view. There's an exercise room on my floor that no one uses so it's basically my private gym. I can chat a bit with the few c…

My experience with offices is literally the exact opposite. They're like high school full of corporate nonsense, cheerleading and other childish behaviours.

My work from home life, with my beautiful wife and child at arms reach, is a miracle.

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