6 ms·
Am I alone here in actually wanting a place of work with a desk and co-workers. I worked from home for a year and found it very stressful. There was a lack of
by GedByrne 10y ago
Am I alone here in actually wanting a place of work with a desk and co-workers.
I worked from home for a year and found it very stressful. There was a lack of human interaction and no clear line between home and work.
My current employer gives me a good balance. I usually spend 3 days in the office and 2 days at home. This is mostly because of the 2 hour commute into London. I'd love to work close to home and visit the office every day.
Looking at some of the comments here (for example: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12311632 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12311632) it seems that the new work culture is being based around the approach adopted by a proportion of the population whose need's are different. These people thrive in this environment.
There is an assumption that the way that this group works is the future, and that it is just a matter of time before everybody else follows (See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12311689 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12311689).
There are others, like myself, who find this way of working to be unpleasant. We would like to continue working the old way, but that doesn't seem to be an option anymore.
I used to enjoy having my own desk. I had a shelf of reference books and my personal belongings were locked away in the draw.
This is no longer allowed. Every job I've had for the last decade has been 'hot desking' and I have to carry everything with me every day.
Is a desk of my own where I can do a little nesting really too much to ask for?
- derefr 10y agoI would like both of those things, but I would also like to stay living in a country that is not the US, while being employed by a US company. If, instead of remote work, they had a branch-office in my city, that'd be just as well.
- 6stringmerc 10y agoPlease allow me to affirm you're not alone in craving structure and a sense of professionalism in the modern workplace. Personally I genuinely dislike the "casual-ification" of work, if that made-up phrase makes any sense. At a prior job, I genuinely enjoyed wearing nice slacks, a nice button down, and a nice tie...which was the standard for back-office employees. Reason being if a client ever came in, they should see consistency and the effort (very relationship oriented firm). I have poor personal discipline at times so working from home is distasteful to me. My wants and desires for fun / chores / etc don't mesh well with "being by computer or phone waiting for contact" - I get edgy. Then how can I unwind, I'm already home?! I'm aiming to one day be self-employed, preferably in screenwriting. Should the financial compensation reach the point of the luxury of quitting my full-time employment with benefits, my first order of business will be to sign a lease at some type of office. I want to work 8-12 and then, as my brain shuts off, go home and spend time on personal things, chores, amusements, cooking, etc. I crave structure and therefore feel empowered by recognizing this characteristic in myself.
- mark_edward 10y agoCasualization or proletarianization are the word you're looking for, when formerly/currently professional jobs are turned more and more and more into the precarious and interchangeable position of, say, a day laborer at the factories of yore. Adjuncts at universities are a good example. It's a natural part of the development of market economies. This is how you notice when your being prepared for automation. See Taylorism, scientific management, etc.
- 6stringmerc 10y agoInteresting! Thanks for the context. I agree with the Adjuncts example very much.
- st3v3r 10y ago"Is a desk of my own where I can do a little nesting really too much to ask for?" If we give you that, then you might start to think you're an individual, instead of a replaceable cog.