5 ms·

You know what WFH is way WAY more for efficient and good for? A employees health, wellbeing and happiness! which imho is more important than profits or the comp

You know what WFH is way WAY more for efficient and good for? A employees health, wellbeing and happiness! which imho is more important than profits or the company.

throwaway3699 5y ago
Please speak for yourself. This is not true for everyone.
bootlooped 5y ago
That's not a universal opinion. All of the people on my team would prefer to be in the office 2 or 3 days a week. Some people find it's positive for their mental health to see and interact with other people, in person, regularly.
- agent008t 5y ago
  It is possible they are not telling you the truth.
  - oblio 5y ago
    That's A) super arrogant, B) completely ignoring the fact that we're social animals and introverts are a minority in the overall population.
    - agent008t 5y ago
      "All of the people on my team would prefer to be in the office 2 or 3 days a week" - I am just pointing out that if people feel like they are expected to be in the office at all, they are unlikely to say anything less than "2 or 3 days a week" regardless of how they feel.
- kalleboo 5y ago
  With non-pandemic WFH you can see and interact with other people, in person, regularly, outside of work. Hobbies, cafés, bars, etc.
  - oblio 5y ago
    What if you also want to interact with colleagues?
    - agent008t 5y ago
      One can arrange to interact with them outside of work hours. If anything, it would be more honest then to, say, arrange to work solid 3 hours in the morning, then have 2 hours off (where you can socialize with whoever you want), and then work solid 3 hours in the afternoon. For all the talk about the difficulty of separating 'work' and 'normal' life when WFH, some people seem perfectly happy to mix 'work' and 'socializing' in the office. I get that as is, some people miss being in the office. It just seems like the pandemic presents a unique opportunity for moving to a better structure, whatever it may be, than simply go back to the old one. So I think it is interesting to speculate what that new structure could be for knowledge workers.
      - oblio 5y ago
        > If anything, it would be more honest then to, say, arrange to work solid 3 hours in the morning, then have 2 hours off (where you can socialize with whoever you want), and then work solid 3 hours in the afternoon. I don't decide these things, just operate within the given framework. Which doesn't support your setup in general.
- katbyte 5y ago
  Before the pandemic WFH means I saw my friends and family far far more often - work with them during the day, more time to hang out, travel with them. And even co workers we’d arrange to work at a cafe or park. I socialized far more then at any office
newusr429 5y ago
I was the biggest advocate for WFH in the last year but recently I feel pretty down. Life feels so repetitive. Part of it is possibly lockdown, but a bigger part I think is that I have way more free time to think about things. All the shitty things about open office and commuting seemed to serve as a distraction that kept me more occupied. It's weird. I'm not saying WFH is bad, but there are definitely some effects that I hadn't anticipated.
- fidesomnes 5y ago
  then go drown your tears in triple distilled vodka you big baby.
  - dang 5y ago
    We've banned this account for breaking the site guidelines. Not cool. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- iancmceachern 5y ago
  Me to, exactly this and going into the office a few days a week has really helped me in the last few weeks.
- pillefitz 5y ago
  For me it's slacking of at the office without feeling guilty. Taking 10 minute coffee breaks, walking 5 minutes to the next toilet. At home I have far less interruptions and feel the need to be constantly available in Teams.
  - pferde 5y ago
    That's just your own private imaginary wall that you built up in your mind. Nobody else had a hand in putting it there. Just tear it down and resist the urge to be always available. It gets much easier over time, I promise.
- throwawayboise 5y ago
ThrowawayR2 5y ago
WFH has been good for neither my health, well-being, nor productivity.
f6v 5y ago
I thought so myself. But after having spent > 1 year at home I don’t think it’s sustainable. Separating work and home becomes increasingly difficult.
- throwawayboise 5y ago
  I agree. I'm working about 5 productive hours a week now. Nobody is supervising me, nobody is tasking me with any work. But I'm still getting paid so not making waves.
  - jjav 5y ago
    But that's entirely your choice. If you like it, fine. While WFH you could also seek out things to work on and go at it. Both are true working from the office as well.

You know what WFH is way WAY more for efficient and good for? A employees health, wellbeing and happiness! which imho is more important than profits or the company.

throwaway3699 5y ago

Please speak for yourself. This is not true for everyone.

bootlooped 5y ago

That's not a universal opinion. All of the people on my team would prefer to be in the office 2 or 3 days a week. Some people find it's positive for their mental health to see and interact with other people, in person, regularly.

agent008t 5y ago
It is possible they are not telling you the truth.
- oblio 5y ago
  That's A) super arrogant, B) completely ignoring the fact that we're social animals and introverts are a minority in the overall population.
  - agent008t 5y ago
    "All of the people on my team would prefer to be in the office 2 or 3 days a week" - I am just pointing out that if people feel like they are expected to be in the office at all, they are unlikely to say anything less than "2 or 3 days a week" regardless of how they feel.
kalleboo 5y ago
With non-pandemic WFH you can see and interact with other people, in person, regularly, outside of work. Hobbies, cafés, bars, etc.
- oblio 5y ago
  What if you also want to interact with colleagues?
  - agent008t 5y ago
    One can arrange to interact with them outside of work hours. If anything, it would be more honest then to, say, arrange to work solid 3 hours in the morning, then have 2 hours off (where you can socialize with whoever you want), and then work solid 3 hours in the afternoon. For all the talk about the difficulty of separating 'work' and 'normal' life when WFH, some people seem perfectly happy to mix 'work' and 'socializing' in the office. I get that as is, some people miss being in the office. It just seems like the pandemic presents a unique opportunity for moving to a better structure, whatever it may be, than simply go back to the old one. So I think it is interesting to speculate what that new structure could be for knowledge workers.
    - oblio 5y ago
      > If anything, it would be more honest then to, say, arrange to work solid 3 hours in the morning, then have 2 hours off (where you can socialize with whoever you want), and then work solid 3 hours in the afternoon. I don't decide these things, just operate within the given framework. Which doesn't support your setup in general.
katbyte 5y ago
Before the pandemic WFH means I saw my friends and family far far more often - work with them during the day, more time to hang out, travel with them. And even co workers we’d arrange to work at a cafe or park. I socialized far more then at any office

newusr429 5y ago

I was the biggest advocate for WFH in the last year but recently I feel pretty down. Life feels so repetitive. Part of it is possibly lockdown, but a bigger part I think is that I have way more free time to think about things. All the shitty things about open office and commuting seemed to serve as a distraction that kept me more occupied. It's weird. I'm not saying WFH is bad, but there are definitely some effects that I hadn't anticipated.

fidesomnes 5y ago
then go drown your tears in triple distilled vodka you big baby.
- dang 5y ago
  We've banned this account for breaking the site guidelines. Not cool. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
iancmceachern 5y ago
Me to, exactly this and going into the office a few days a week has really helped me in the last few weeks.
pillefitz 5y ago
For me it's slacking of at the office without feeling guilty. Taking 10 minute coffee breaks, walking 5 minutes to the next toilet. At home I have far less interruptions and feel the need to be constantly available in Teams.
- pferde 5y ago
  That's just your own private imaginary wall that you built up in your mind. Nobody else had a hand in putting it there. Just tear it down and resist the urge to be always available. It gets much easier over time, I promise.
throwawayboise 5y ago

ThrowawayR2 5y ago

WFH has been good for neither my health, well-being, nor productivity.

f6v 5y ago

I thought so myself. But after having spent > 1 year at home I don’t think it’s sustainable. Separating work and home becomes increasingly difficult.

throwawayboise 5y ago
I agree. I'm working about 5 productive hours a week now. Nobody is supervising me, nobody is tasking me with any work. But I'm still getting paid so not making waves.
- jjav 5y ago
  But that's entirely your choice. If you like it, fine. While WFH you could also seek out things to work on and go at it. Both are true working from the office as well.