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3 years WFH - I could never go back. Flexible core hours make handling daily life chores a breeze (normal life stuff, doctors appointments, etc) and so long as

3 years WFH - I could never go back. Flexible core hours make handling daily life chores a breeze (normal life stuff, doctors appointments, etc) and so long as you get your work done, the company doesn't bat an eye. If I need to I split up the day and in many cases this ends up working out for the company, as I'll have done more work than I needed to even sometimes working the weekends (which most people say to avoid for obvious reasons, but it doesnt bother me). It also helps when you love what you do - software is passion and career for me. The ability to work remotely allows me to explore things like programming in creative capacity , wfh provides distraction free environment which in the end leads to more creative well rounded employees.

feedjoelpie 11y ago
I've noticed our employees who often work from home seem to work more hours in the end. For better or for worse. On the one hand, yay for me. On the other, I imagine it has serious implications for work/life balance when that dividing line isn't there.
- lfender6445 11y ago
  Yep - not always the case for me, and it changes quite frequently. Sometimes i'll have a heavy week sometimes not its also worth considering that wfh also provides low pressure environment - slow and steady wins the race.
- duck 11y ago
  I know I factor in the commute time saved, so the actual net balance might be the same for a lot of people (i.e. saved one hour of commute / work an extra hour).
- benihana 11y ago
  When I regularly work from home, I work more from lack of friction than poor work life balance. Commuting to the office causes friction. Getting up, walking to the bathroom, the kitchen (all of which are a lot farther away in my office) all cause friction. Dealing with noise, making sure I lock my computer, mute my music and generally act like a considerate coworker all cause friction. All of those things go away when I work from home. I crank up my stereo and pace around my home without worrying about bothering anyone. I work more hours and am less tired (I my mind, that's the key - I'm less fatigued at home) because I'm not constantly dealing with interruptions, context switches, and noise.
- DanTheManPR 11y ago
  I certainly worked more total hours when I was working from home. I think part of that was that I no longer got any of that "just showing up" credit - I actually had to make progress on projects to demonstrate that I was working. Despite that, the lack of a commute and the ease of doing errands (banks and grocery stores are often empty at 9am on a Wednesday) made up for that.
zippergz 11y ago
This depends on the company, though. I worked from home for a while for a company that didn't have a culture of allowing it. I talked my way into it due to some unique circumstances. I found that I was actually chained to my desk more there than I've ever been for an office job, because I felt like I constantly had to "prove" that I was actually working and present. Any time I didn't answer an IM or phone call quickly could be spun into a discussion about me not being "available" because I was remote. And worse, they were in a different time zone, and expected me to be around from the time the work day started in their location, until the end of the work day in MY location. So it made for a long day. None of these things were outright stated, but certainly little comments or behaviors reinforced them. A healthy company wouldn't operate like that, but my point is just that you have to know what you're getting into if you're going to work from home.
- diminoten 11y ago
  > I felt like I constantly had to "prove" that I was actually working and present But that's arguably your fault, not the company's. > and expected me to be around from the time the work day started in their location, until the end of the work day in MY location As you said, that wasn't a stated expectation. > None of these things were outright stated, but certainly little comments or behaviors reinforced them. Perceived behaviors. Sounds like your own insecurities/paranoia made WFH a problem for you, not the company itself.
  - zippergz 11y ago
    I'm not sure why you feel compelled to defend a company you don't know anything about, but suffice it to say that I've been in the workforce long enough to have plenty of perspective on this, and it was not paranoia.
    - diminoten 11y ago
      How would you even know if it were paranoia or not? The fact that you're not even willing to admit it could have possibly been on your end and not theirs is evidence to your inability to introspect...

feedjoelpie 11y ago

I've noticed our employees who often work from home seem to work more hours in the end. For better or for worse. On the one hand, yay for me. On the other, I imagine it has serious implications for work/life balance when that dividing line isn't there.

lfender6445 11y ago
Yep - not always the case for me, and it changes quite frequently. Sometimes i'll have a heavy week sometimes not its also worth considering that wfh also provides low pressure environment - slow and steady wins the race.
duck 11y ago
I know I factor in the commute time saved, so the actual net balance might be the same for a lot of people (i.e. saved one hour of commute / work an extra hour).
benihana 11y ago
When I regularly work from home, I work more from lack of friction than poor work life balance. Commuting to the office causes friction. Getting up, walking to the bathroom, the kitchen (all of which are a lot farther away in my office) all cause friction. Dealing with noise, making sure I lock my computer, mute my music and generally act like a considerate coworker all cause friction. All of those things go away when I work from home. I crank up my stereo and pace around my home without worrying about bothering anyone. I work more hours and am less tired (I my mind, that's the key - I'm less fatigued at home) because I'm not constantly dealing with interruptions, context switches, and noise.
DanTheManPR 11y ago
I certainly worked more total hours when I was working from home. I think part of that was that I no longer got any of that "just showing up" credit - I actually had to make progress on projects to demonstrate that I was working. Despite that, the lack of a commute and the ease of doing errands (banks and grocery stores are often empty at 9am on a Wednesday) made up for that.

zippergz 11y ago

This depends on the company, though. I worked from home for a while for a company that didn't have a culture of allowing it. I talked my way into it due to some unique circumstances. I found that I was actually chained to my desk more there than I've ever been for an office job, because I felt like I constantly had to "prove" that I was actually working and present. Any time I didn't answer an IM or phone call quickly could be spun into a discussion about me not being "available" because I was remote. And worse, they were in a different time zone, and expected me to be around from the time the work day started in their location, until the end of the work day in MY location. So it made for a long day. None of these things were outright stated, but certainly little comments or behaviors reinforced them. A healthy company wouldn't operate like that, but my point is just that you have to know what you're getting into if you're going to work from home.

diminoten 11y ago
> I felt like I constantly had to "prove" that I was actually working and present But that's arguably your fault, not the company's. > and expected me to be around from the time the work day started in their location, until the end of the work day in MY location As you said, that wasn't a stated expectation. > None of these things were outright stated, but certainly little comments or behaviors reinforced them. Perceived behaviors. Sounds like your own insecurities/paranoia made WFH a problem for you, not the company itself.
- zippergz 11y ago
  I'm not sure why you feel compelled to defend a company you don't know anything about, but suffice it to say that I've been in the workforce long enough to have plenty of perspective on this, and it was not paranoia.
  - diminoten 11y ago
    How would you even know if it were paranoia or not? The fact that you're not even willing to admit it could have possibly been on your end and not theirs is evidence to your inability to introspect...