4 ms·

For most people home office makes sense for practical reasons - long commute, spending more time with the family, living in a nicer / cheaper location but havin

by blub 6y ago

For most people home office makes sense for practical reasons - long commute, spending more time with the family, living in a nicer / cheaper location but having a well paying job. On the other hand, extreme introverts that don't tolerate working in an office are a tiny minority and should dictate the working conditions even less than the extroverts. Personally I tend toward introvert (it's not black and white) and have experience with working from home before the pandemic. For someone who's starting working from home it's easy to fall into a pattern of self-isolation which will have a negative psychological effect on them. I'm convinced that most people need at least a couple of days per week of social office time for their own sanity.

izacus 6y ago
Is long commute something that's normal for "most people"? Most people around here have commutes shorter than 30 minutes one way.
- disgruntledphd2 6y ago
  This is the thing, right. The problem isn't remote or office per se, it's the commute to and from the office that's the issue. I can definitely focus more at home, but I really miss my 30 minute bike commute.
  - eertami 6y ago
    >I really miss my 30 minute bike commute. I've seen this argument before, and I don't understand how working from home changes this honestly. Why not just start your day with a bike ride for leisure? Unbound by the location of your office you can now cycle to any arbitrary location. If you struggle to do it without a reason, perhaps cycle to a bakery or store and pickup some fresh food for the day.
    - doix 6y ago
      > Why not just start your day with a bike ride for leisure? Unbound by the location of your office you can now cycle to any arbitrary location. If you struggle to do it without a reason, perhaps cycle to a bakery or store and pickup some fresh food for the day. For me, it's a motivation issue. I had to go to work and had to cycle/walk there. Now, going out in the morning is optional. If I stayed up too late or if the weather is bad (it's almost always bad in Scotland) I'll make an excuse and not go out. After doing it a few times, I broke my morning habit and it's extremely difficult to force myself to go out. I know it doesn't really make sense but that just adds to frustration. I hate that I cannot force myself to do daily exercise and it makes me feel like shit, creating a sort of feedback loop. I don't go out and do exercise because I feel like shit and I feel more shit because I don't exercise.
      - tlear 6y ago
        Once the pandemic is over and if still WFH, get a spot at a coworking space. This is what I been doing for years. Alternatively find a coffee shop, ride there for your morning fix of caffeine.
    - TeMPOraL 6y ago
      It's much easier to do something when you have no choice but to do it. If you have to commute to office, you have to do it, period. If you want to do "virtual commute time" when working from home, you have to somehow justify it to yourself (and your spouse), against the ongoing pressure of thoughts and words like, "I can skip my 'commute' this time to do just this one errand / complete this one task / read this HN article...".
    - andrewzah 6y ago
      If it's not a necessity, it's hard for people to maintain habits, particularly physical ones. The reality is many people are just not very disciplined if there's not an outside factor forcing them into it. There are many comments here about missing their commutes as they could meditate/reflect on things, etc. One can quite easily do this with meditation or walking/running/biking for ~30 mins. However it takes discipline to carve out that 30 mins and leave it specifically for meditation or whatever.
- danans 6y ago
  Commute length and comfort is often inversely proportional to income. Sometimes you end up in a job with no good transit routes from where you can afford to live, so you have to drive hours a day. Search the web for stories about "supercommuters". Compared to any of that, a 30 min bike ride is downright lovely.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago
> I'm convinced that most people need at least a couple of days per week of social office time for their own sanity. "A couple" can mean anything from two to full week. I can assure you that at least for some people one day is enough.
ornornor 6y ago
All these issues around “I like it my way and everyone should do it that way” issues have a very simple solution: let the adult people you hired decide for themselves! Make presence in the office entirely optional and see what happens. Those who can’t live without being in the office can come in every single day, those that hate it can never come, and those who want 1/2/3/4 days a week can also do it.
gfxgirl 6y ago
I agree it's true for "some" people. Not for "most" "spending time with family" - no, I'm single and alone and so are most of my co-workers "living in a nicer / cheaper location" - no, my office is nicer than my home and same for most of my co-workers. Your situation and needs are different than mine apparently.
- caskstrength 6y ago
  >"spending time with family" - no, I'm single and alone and so are most of my co-workers >"living in a nicer / cheaper location" - no, my office is nicer than my home and same for most of my co-workers. Nickname checks out.

by blub 6y ago

izacus 6y ago

Is long commute something that's normal for "most people"? Most people around here have commutes shorter than 30 minutes one way.

disgruntledphd2 6y ago
This is the thing, right. The problem isn't remote or office per se, it's the commute to and from the office that's the issue. I can definitely focus more at home, but I really miss my 30 minute bike commute.
- eertami 6y ago
  >I really miss my 30 minute bike commute. I've seen this argument before, and I don't understand how working from home changes this honestly. Why not just start your day with a bike ride for leisure? Unbound by the location of your office you can now cycle to any arbitrary location. If you struggle to do it without a reason, perhaps cycle to a bakery or store and pickup some fresh food for the day.
  - doix 6y ago
    > Why not just start your day with a bike ride for leisure? Unbound by the location of your office you can now cycle to any arbitrary location. If you struggle to do it without a reason, perhaps cycle to a bakery or store and pickup some fresh food for the day. For me, it's a motivation issue. I had to go to work and had to cycle/walk there. Now, going out in the morning is optional. If I stayed up too late or if the weather is bad (it's almost always bad in Scotland) I'll make an excuse and not go out. After doing it a few times, I broke my morning habit and it's extremely difficult to force myself to go out. I know it doesn't really make sense but that just adds to frustration. I hate that I cannot force myself to do daily exercise and it makes me feel like shit, creating a sort of feedback loop. I don't go out and do exercise because I feel like shit and I feel more shit because I don't exercise.
    - tlear 6y ago
      Once the pandemic is over and if still WFH, get a spot at a coworking space. This is what I been doing for years. Alternatively find a coffee shop, ride there for your morning fix of caffeine.
  - TeMPOraL 6y ago
    It's much easier to do something when you have no choice but to do it. If you have to commute to office, you have to do it, period. If you want to do "virtual commute time" when working from home, you have to somehow justify it to yourself (and your spouse), against the ongoing pressure of thoughts and words like, "I can skip my 'commute' this time to do just this one errand / complete this one task / read this HN article...".
  - andrewzah 6y ago
    If it's not a necessity, it's hard for people to maintain habits, particularly physical ones. The reality is many people are just not very disciplined if there's not an outside factor forcing them into it. There are many comments here about missing their commutes as they could meditate/reflect on things, etc. One can quite easily do this with meditation or walking/running/biking for ~30 mins. However it takes discipline to carve out that 30 mins and leave it specifically for meditation or whatever.
danans 6y ago
Commute length and comfort is often inversely proportional to income. Sometimes you end up in a job with no good transit routes from where you can afford to live, so you have to drive hours a day. Search the web for stories about "supercommuters". Compared to any of that, a 30 min bike ride is downright lovely.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

dvfjsdhgfv 6y ago

> I'm convinced that most people need at least a couple of days per week of social office time for their own sanity. "A couple" can mean anything from two to full week. I can assure you that at least for some people one day is enough.

ornornor 6y ago

All these issues around “I like it my way and everyone should do it that way” issues have a very simple solution: let the adult people you hired decide for themselves! Make presence in the office entirely optional and see what happens. Those who can’t live without being in the office can come in every single day, those that hate it can never come, and those who want 1/2/3/4 days a week can also do it.

gfxgirl 6y ago

I agree it's true for "some" people. Not for "most" "spending time with family" - no, I'm single and alone and so are most of my co-workers "living in a nicer / cheaper location" - no, my office is nicer than my home and same for most of my co-workers. Your situation and needs are different than mine apparently.

caskstrength 6y ago
>"spending time with family" - no, I'm single and alone and so are most of my co-workers >"living in a nicer / cheaper location" - no, my office is nicer than my home and same for most of my co-workers. Nickname checks out.