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I got my job during the pandemic; it's my first actual tech-related job. So I've never seen my coworkers in person. But I can get my work done for the day withi

I got my job during the pandemic; it's my first actual tech-related job. So I've never seen my coworkers in person. But I can get my work done for the day within 3 to 4 hours, and my manager is happy with how much work I'm doing, and the pace at which it happens. That means that for the rest of the day around those 4 hours, I can do whatever I want. I can't do that in the office. If I were to go into the office, I'd need to either (a) spend longer over the same tasks to stretch them to fill out the day because I'm constantly being observed, or (b) finish my work at the same rate and ask for more work. Both of those options are obviously not ideal from my perspective as someone who wants to expend the minimal amount of time to get work done. Why would I want to wake up earlier, commute, set up at work, not eat what I want (or what I can at home) - just to sit at a computer, something I could do at home. At least at home I can 'finish early' (save for meetings). Going physically into the office is not in any way to my benefit. It's a lose/lose/lose/lose/... situation for me. I'm seriously considering getting another job that's almost entirely remote-only.

BlargMcLarg 6y ago
Seconding this. For individuals who can't separate work and play without physically separating them, yeah, I get you. I just don't have that problem, and there are almost no benefits to meeting in person for me. Additionally, WFH (especially remote-only) gives me a chance to move to a bigger place outside the big city without having to balance the choices of between a small, cramped space for a shorter commute, or a bigger place with a longer commute. I like living in a place where the air is a little cleaner, there is more space and I don't have to commute for 1-2 hours back and forth on public transport or drive a car (at least not most days in the week). A bigger place in turn solves the issue with penny-pinching or bureaucracy-heavy companies making it difficult to create a work environment which suits me. Yes, money is still a thing, but when tech is something you love anyway, spending a few hundred / thousand bucks on a work environment which will last 10 years is not that big of an issue. At least right now, its a cycle which reinforces itself very nicely for its benefactors.
- mylons 6y ago
  Going skiing for 2 hours a day is 1000x better than going to the office. I get to meet _real_ people who don’t _have_ to tolerate me because we work together. Yes this is super cynical and real relationships form at work, but for the most part, work relationships are transactional and ephemeral.
antihero 6y ago
Yep, as someone who works sporadically but intensely, I much prefer getting everything done in half a day and then leaving early and enjoying the sunshine. If I was managed in such a way that I needed to find something to do to fill the rest of the time, I would be unhappy and have poor output because of the nature of ADHD.
bopbeepboop 6y ago
> But I can get my work done for the day within 3 to 4 hours, and my manager is happy with how much work I'm doing, and the pace at which it happens. That means that for the rest of the day around those 4 hours, I can do whatever I want. This is on purpose: as a senior dev, I estimate 1 point to 4 hours of coding work. (Roughly.) Of the other 4 hours in your day, I expect roughly 1 hour CR stuff/editing wikis/answering emails, 1-2 hours meetings, 0-1 hour learning, and 1 hour walking in circles between things/bathroom/coffee. Welcome to a “work day”. The part of the office that’s a benefit is those two hours of coffee + learning can be with other people — and those 1-2 hours of meetings tend to be more productive.
BruiseLee 6y ago
In addition (for me at least), working from home means that I can open the window and get some fresh air. I've never worked in professional offices with windows that open and there was never enough ventilation. My nightmare is a long meeting in a cramped conference room - hours of breathing in a mix of carbon dioxide, sweaty feet odors and respiratory droplets.
- jakub_g 6y ago
  100% this. Ever since wfh started, I never had a single "brain melt" that regularly happened in the office due to 1h+ meeting in 4 sqm room and co2 levels going through the roof.
GrumpyYoungMan 6y ago
> "If I were to go into the office, I'd need to either (a) spend longer over the same tasks to stretch them to fill out the day because I'm constantly being observed, or (b) finish my work at the same rate and ask for more work." You might also consider trying c) Spend that extra time learning a new career skill that both benefits you in the long run and your employer in the short run. That's been my principle and it has served me well over a lengthy career.

BlargMcLarg 6y ago

Seconding this. For individuals who can't separate work and play without physically separating them, yeah, I get you. I just don't have that problem, and there are almost no benefits to meeting in person for me. Additionally, WFH (especially remote-only) gives me a chance to move to a bigger place outside the big city without having to balance the choices of between a small, cramped space for a shorter commute, or a bigger place with a longer commute. I like living in a place where the air is a little cleaner, there is more space and I don't have to commute for 1-2 hours back and forth on public transport or drive a car (at least not most days in the week). A bigger place in turn solves the issue with penny-pinching or bureaucracy-heavy companies making it difficult to create a work environment which suits me. Yes, money is still a thing, but when tech is something you love anyway, spending a few hundred / thousand bucks on a work environment which will last 10 years is not that big of an issue. At least right now, its a cycle which reinforces itself very nicely for its benefactors.

mylons 6y ago
Going skiing for 2 hours a day is 1000x better than going to the office. I get to meet _real_ people who don’t _have_ to tolerate me because we work together. Yes this is super cynical and real relationships form at work, but for the most part, work relationships are transactional and ephemeral.

antihero 6y ago

Yep, as someone who works sporadically but intensely, I much prefer getting everything done in half a day and then leaving early and enjoying the sunshine. If I was managed in such a way that I needed to find something to do to fill the rest of the time, I would be unhappy and have poor output because of the nature of ADHD.

bopbeepboop 6y ago

> But I can get my work done for the day within 3 to 4 hours, and my manager is happy with how much work I'm doing, and the pace at which it happens. That means that for the rest of the day around those 4 hours, I can do whatever I want. This is on purpose: as a senior dev, I estimate 1 point to 4 hours of coding work. (Roughly.) Of the other 4 hours in your day, I expect roughly 1 hour CR stuff/editing wikis/answering emails, 1-2 hours meetings, 0-1 hour learning, and 1 hour walking in circles between things/bathroom/coffee. Welcome to a “work day”. The part of the office that’s a benefit is those two hours of coffee + learning can be with other people — and those 1-2 hours of meetings tend to be more productive.

BruiseLee 6y ago

In addition (for me at least), working from home means that I can open the window and get some fresh air. I've never worked in professional offices with windows that open and there was never enough ventilation. My nightmare is a long meeting in a cramped conference room - hours of breathing in a mix of carbon dioxide, sweaty feet odors and respiratory droplets.

jakub_g 6y ago
100% this. Ever since wfh started, I never had a single "brain melt" that regularly happened in the office due to 1h+ meeting in 4 sqm room and co2 levels going through the roof.

GrumpyYoungMan 6y ago

> "If I were to go into the office, I'd need to either (a) spend longer over the same tasks to stretch them to fill out the day because I'm constantly being observed, or (b) finish my work at the same rate and ask for more work." You might also consider trying c) Spend that extra time learning a new career skill that both benefits you in the long run and your employer in the short run. That's been my principle and it has served me well over a lengthy career.