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I’m very skeptical that 60% of all people prefer to work from home. In my experience, it’s a small but vocal minority who don’t value the social component of an

I’m very skeptical that 60% of all people prefer to work from home. In my experience, it’s a small but vocal minority who don’t value the social component of an office. I think work from home should totally be optional, but why do work-from-homers assume that everyone else likes to work that way? I do not.

sdoering 6y ago
During the soft lockdown in Germany we had an internal questionnaire. The results are surely skewed because of the conditions (parents needing to act as teachers, because of closed schools; people having no real office equipment at home like a desk and stuff like that). None the less around 30% answered that they would prefer full time work from home for the future. About one third wanted to return to the office as fast as possible. And the rest stated that they would prefer some days in the office, some remote.
asutekku 6y ago
We had a questionnaire at my company and the numbers are pretty similar. It’s not just a loud minority.
SpicyLemonZest 6y ago
I think the factor you're missing is the large chunk of people who just... aren't particularly fulfilled by their job. A lot of the people in that 60% are perfectly fine with it if working from home means they're less productive or achieve less of a personal connection with their coworkers - I know more than a few people who'd be happier watching Youtube alone for 8 hours than working.
- randycupertino 6y ago
  Ha! On my worst days, I'll admit I'm in the group who would binge watch youtube over filling out a spreadsheet. I've struggled keeping a good routine during wfh, there are some days where I'm not as productive as in the office.
- wandereronhn 6y ago
  I mean, I'd also prefer watching 8 hours of youtube without disruptions than having to commute for 2 hours each day and only getting to watch 6 hours at work with constant disruptions.
ponker 6y ago
I think that the average willingness to work from home decreases with increasing time scale. Almost anyone would love to get a chance to “work from home” a day here and a day there when logistics requires — many fewer people would be happy working from home for 30 years.
balfirevic 6y ago
>> 60% of people who prefer to work from home > but why do work-from-homers assume that everyone else likes to work that way? How did you get from 60% to "everyone else"?
dx87 6y ago
It might be something to do with the age of employees. I work at a company where the average age is probably early 30s, and maybe a handful of people would come into the office back when it was still optional, everyone else wanted to stay home to spend time with their families. For me at least, the only people I've talked to that prefer working from the office are young people who live alone and depend on work for socialization, and parents who use the office as a way to get a break from their young children for a few hours.
theduder99 6y ago
in Tech why would you think the minority doesn't value the social component of an office? I would expect the opposite to be true.
WWLink 6y ago
I loved it until it got really hot. No air conditioning sucks. It does drain my desire to do anything, including work lol. I feel like just sitting in front of a fan with my mind totally blank. Or maybe going to the beach or something. Other than that? No fucking contest! At home, I have a more comfortable desk and chair, and everything is setup exactly how I want it. I can play my favorite music on my speakers, meaning I don't have to wear headphones, and I don't have to hear all the chatter from people who work on crap I don't give 2 fucks about. I suppose that last part is relevant only if you work at a company that does a lot more than just produce software. I work in an office with ~300 people, and only about 20 of us are programmers. It's 2 giant rooms, and we don't have enough meeting rooms, so I'm constantly hearing about shipping things, billing things, stuff that other people in the other engineering departments are concerned about, and so on. At home? None of that. Oh that's so nice. Plus I can live wherever, I don't have to deal with commuting, and the office isn't really in a particularly alluring location anyway. I suppose it'd be different if I was a <15 minute walk away from a quiet office in a building with a sweet view, where awesome cheap food places are a short walk away from that. That'd be legit. As it is, when I take a phone call I have to walk outside and usually my call is interrupted by someone driving by with no exhaust on their civic or something. Grr.

sdoering 6y ago

During the soft lockdown in Germany we had an internal questionnaire. The results are surely skewed because of the conditions (parents needing to act as teachers, because of closed schools; people having no real office equipment at home like a desk and stuff like that). None the less around 30% answered that they would prefer full time work from home for the future. About one third wanted to return to the office as fast as possible. And the rest stated that they would prefer some days in the office, some remote.

asutekku 6y ago

We had a questionnaire at my company and the numbers are pretty similar. It’s not just a loud minority.

SpicyLemonZest 6y ago

I think the factor you're missing is the large chunk of people who just... aren't particularly fulfilled by their job. A lot of the people in that 60% are perfectly fine with it if working from home means they're less productive or achieve less of a personal connection with their coworkers - I know more than a few people who'd be happier watching Youtube alone for 8 hours than working.

randycupertino 6y ago
Ha! On my worst days, I'll admit I'm in the group who would binge watch youtube over filling out a spreadsheet. I've struggled keeping a good routine during wfh, there are some days where I'm not as productive as in the office.
wandereronhn 6y ago
I mean, I'd also prefer watching 8 hours of youtube without disruptions than having to commute for 2 hours each day and only getting to watch 6 hours at work with constant disruptions.

ponker 6y ago

I think that the average willingness to work from home decreases with increasing time scale. Almost anyone would love to get a chance to “work from home” a day here and a day there when logistics requires — many fewer people would be happy working from home for 30 years.

balfirevic 6y ago

>> 60% of people who prefer to work from home > but why do work-from-homers assume that everyone else likes to work that way? How did you get from 60% to "everyone else"?

dx87 6y ago

It might be something to do with the age of employees. I work at a company where the average age is probably early 30s, and maybe a handful of people would come into the office back when it was still optional, everyone else wanted to stay home to spend time with their families. For me at least, the only people I've talked to that prefer working from the office are young people who live alone and depend on work for socialization, and parents who use the office as a way to get a break from their young children for a few hours.

theduder99 6y ago

in Tech why would you think the minority doesn't value the social component of an office? I would expect the opposite to be true.

WWLink 6y ago

I loved it until it got really hot. No air conditioning sucks. It does drain my desire to do anything, including work lol. I feel like just sitting in front of a fan with my mind totally blank. Or maybe going to the beach or something. Other than that? No fucking contest! At home, I have a more comfortable desk and chair, and everything is setup exactly how I want it. I can play my favorite music on my speakers, meaning I don't have to wear headphones, and I don't have to hear all the chatter from people who work on crap I don't give 2 fucks about. I suppose that last part is relevant only if you work at a company that does a lot more than just produce software. I work in an office with ~300 people, and only about 20 of us are programmers. It's 2 giant rooms, and we don't have enough meeting rooms, so I'm constantly hearing about shipping things, billing things, stuff that other people in the other engineering departments are concerned about, and so on. At home? None of that. Oh that's so nice. Plus I can live wherever, I don't have to deal with commuting, and the office isn't really in a particularly alluring location anyway. I suppose it'd be different if I was a <15 minute walk away from a quiet office in a building with a sweet view, where awesome cheap food places are a short walk away from that. That'd be legit. As it is, when I take a phone call I have to walk outside and usually my call is interrupted by someone driving by with no exhaust on their civic or something. Grr.