There are a multitude of reason why I like it.

The most important is that I am not wasting an hour and change commuting. I don’t need to worry about train schedules. Commuting by car would have been worse: I’d spend hundreds of euros on gas and tolls, never mind parking. I also don’t have a bunch of dead time I cannot really take advantage of. Sure, some of it I could use to read in public transport, or listen to podcasts, but there is a limit. I am prone to motion sickness, so there are limits to when I can do it and for how long. And during peak hours? The experience of getting on a train is, sometimes, not great. Too many people, too hot. As much as I love public mass transport, the experience during peak hours is miserable.

The other thing about WFH, in my current setup, is that… I can just step away? I have gone to a friends house to give them and/or deliver something during work hours because I just have enough time. I have driven parents for appointments because it was quick enough, or I could just take my work laptop with me and work from the car. I have worked from another country entirely, and the biggest difference was the timezone. And if I really want to, I can visit a teammate and work from his house instead!

There are few other reasons why work from home is great, though they are not that important in the grand scheme of things. In the places I have worked, we have had open spaces. This means noise. Others might need to be on a call, or you might need to be on a call. It means that multiple people in the same call is now an exercise in mute discipline so you don’t distract others hearing themselves through your microphone. It also means I cannot just pace around while on a chat, which I sometimes do thanks to the wireless headphones I invested in. Actually, it means I need to use my headphones much more because if I want music, I need them on, whereas at home I can just use speakers instead?

We do get togethers once a month, though I don’t go to all of them. We also are relatively liberal with audio chats for not so serious subjects. I don’t feel lonely for two reasons: I just deal well with calls and other such ways of interacting with people; and I can use the extra time I don’t commute to actually go out with people I like after work.

Feb 16 2020 was the last day I stepped into an office. The first person to die of COVID in the USA was not far from my office and HR sent everyone home.

At the time, I had a 1 year old son and watched his first steps over a small phone screen. Listen to him say his first word though my headset at work. I fucking hated it.

After COVID, I watched my son grow up and experience everything. From the highs and lows. I love it.

The major downside is that WFH jobs are very few and I had to quit multiple jobs because of RTO policies. Today, I opened a business and just work as a contractor. Even though I don’t make as much, I wouldn’t change it for the world.

You know those times at the office where things are slow so you walk the hallway or bullshit with colleagues or make a coffee run or spin in your chair?

You know what I’m doing during those times? Petting my dog. Making a sandwich. Pooping on my own toilet with three ply TP.

Different people like different things, I suppose. I don’t miss the commute or the bullshit, but I do miss interacting with colleagues. And I’m pretty sure I haven’t been promoted because I don’t have enough face time with the bosses. All that to say I am mixed on it.

I am like her, but I hate the commute and that my dogs are lonely. Some workplaces do work-from-home well, and most don’t. So that may be part of her problem. Seems to work best at companies where they started and continue to be remote-only.

Yep - I always disliked having to figure out food for the day before heading into the office. I’m not ready to eat breakfast until closer to noon, but once I start eating, I want to snack every hour or two while working.

Yes. I had a hybrid position pre COVID that was 2/3 days a week home at alternating weeks, due to a lack of available desks in our office building. That was always nice when I worked from home. I enjoyed doing laundry during the day and being able to stop work and immediately get to switch off, as opposed to the days in office where I’d deal with driving home and traffic.

I switched to a fully in office job when Covid hit, and our office when fully remote. Other than training and onboarding, I haven’t been required in office since. I love remote work. I won’t go back unless I have absolutely no other choice

Depends if you’re an introvert or an extrovert. As an introvert I only see benefits; no commute, a close bathroom at all times, a kitchen with food, not needing to hear annoying coworkers except during meetings etc. If you’re an extrovert then you might enjoy hearing your coworkers all day I guess?

Or if you have a toxic household you need to escape from.

From home since epidemic started and I would want to hug covid if it was a person.

My productivity in office was always low. Too many distractions, too many inconveniences. Then there is an issue with getting to the office - it’s an additional hour of my life they are not paying extra for. And of course - at home I can work while doing simple chores. But the most important is that I can be with my daughters, instead of being just another father that spends half a day at work and the other half sleeping.

Nope, I am an IT guy, I live alone in my two room apartment, and I just can’t focus on work when I am working at home.

Sometimes I have to, but it sucks

I work remotely from a different country so I don’t really have a choice but I’d show up to work 1-2 times per week because they offer free food and see the people I’ve been working with the past 4 years.

That being said, I love the fact I don’t have to commute, chats and calls always have a main agenda but we also chat about games, movies etc. occasionally. I can work uninterrupted most of the day

Fully remote for years now and never want an on-site job again. I don’t mind going for a couple of events a year, though.

I can take my “smoke break” to change loads of laundry or do something else around the house. I have no commute time nor expenses. I am always here for deliveries. I regained so much of my time that I can use for study or entertainment. (Assuming a 1-hour commute, even if most of that is on a train, that’s 10 hours a week back from that alone).

For success, your company and you need to have good communication and planning. It’s also not for everyone, especially more social people.

WFH is awesome.

Can take breaks from work to drop off/pick up kid from school. Saving like 15% of my paycheque that would go to daycare otherwise.

Car insurance is cheaper, because no matter how much I drive I’m not commuting to work so the insurance company counts me as “occasional driver”.

I can loudly and violently swear at bullshit emails.

I can listen to my own music on speakers while working.

Minor cons though:

I’m getting weirder due to the lack of minor social interactions that otherwise I’d get on the bus, sidewalk, office, cafe, so on.

Some cabin fever from being in the same space all day. I live in an apartment so I don’t have a separate room for my work computer. Turn off work computer, turn on personal computer, and it’s the same screens while I sit in the same chair. On the other hand this does motivate me to get outside after work to exercise or do errands.

Yes. I have worked at both and I feel much more comfortable at home. It gives you a level of flexibility that is hard to describe. I can start my day early, take a break for an hour, and resume it when I feel I can give it the proper level of attention. When I was in office, there was a pressure to look like you’re working all the time. It felt hard to concentrate when the expectation was on dedicating the expected time to work rather than getting something done. With WFH, it’s more about getting your tasks done and generally no one cares when you do it. And I can slouch and prop my feet up and have videos/music/audiobooks playing and whatever else I want without anyone knowing, let alone caring. I don’t need to worry about a commute, and all my food and comforts are available when I want them. I can easily handle things like being at home for a package delivery or a technician repairing something or walking the dog or just doing laundry.

That being said, I will admit it is considerably harder to get help with a task in office. You can’t just have someone pop by to look at something for example. You can still do a call or message, but it’s a bigger barrier to overcome. With WFH, collusion for a group more often needs to be scheduled, and you don’t have an analogue for water cooler talk.

Many places that offer work from home also have an office somewhere, so I would recommend new employees go in while learning the ropes, then switch as they become more independent. And some people like having different locations to help switch between work and relaxation mentalities. And it can be nice to get out of the house too. But overall, WFH is much better for me.

Have done wfh full time for about 6 years now (since the rona), I would never go back to a full time or even hybrid role unless forced. I would sooner quit my job if they forced me into a hybrid position.

The freedom is so much greater and I get so much more done than when I do occasionally have to go into an office for meetups or workshops (maybe 5-6 times a year).

The style of working is different to that of being in office, you have to be self motivating, semi-solo problem solving and you need a reasonably quiet workspace. This can be hard to get in some situations so I feel very lucky to be able to do it.

The company also needs to be setup to promote and support remote working, so having regular check ins with people and making sure people have support in place should they need it. Plus policies that work for remote workers as opposed to in office workers.

13/10 would recommend.

Totally love WFH. I can hang out with my dog while working, get laundry done on breaks, and no commute leaves way more free time in my life. I would never go back to working in an office unless I was in dire straights.