Why? Just let people work wherever the fuck they want to, no reason to divide society. If anything, division is just a tool for companies to manipulate us into doing what they want us to
I think a lot of it is crappy control-freak managers, used to “managing by walking around”, who feel lost when all the peons are out and working remote.
The companies that let workers act on their own recognizance are most likely far more pleasant to work for, while the companies that have a million little rules and do things like forced RTO tend to be the ones with asshole bosses that are miserable workplaces.
I’ve got small kids, so while I generally like WFH, there have been times where I absolutely just wanted to GTFO and go into the office. Our company did full WFH for awhile, then gradually phased us back in to the office, but for me the best schedule we had was where we were one week in-office, one week WFH, that was the absolute best and gave me the best of both worlds. Without kids though, I would probably prefer WFH a good portion of the time, just so I could have some freedom during lulls in the workload to catch up on home stuff.
I’m sort of like that - I LOOOOVE WFH, and do it all the time, but at the same time, I work for a brewery that is probably one of the few genuinely good and decent workplaces, and going to the office at the brewery is genuinely fun. Helps when you have cool coworkers, and can drink beer while you work (though that’s rough on productivity…)
Nobody hates optional WFH with no strings for doing so.
Personally, I love WFH. I love being home and by myself. Additionally, I may end up not leaving my house until the weekend and I love it since I despise driving. But I understand that would drive people insane. However, for me, I needed to recharge my introvert batteries over the weekend instead of seeing friends. Now I’m a social butterfly in my off time ☺️
Is it possible for me to love WFH but also avoid it most of the time because my productivity is shit at home?
Having a nearby office with the option to work from home is the best of both worlds for me. I guess for those of you who do better working from home, you could take or leave the nearby office part!
Key difference is that you realize that different people work differently.
My workplace is full of talking heads in upper management who constantly repeat what boils down to, “I’m more productive in the office than at home, therefore everyone must be more productive at the office than at home, therefore we need to bring everyone back.”
Which is obviously horse shit.
I live alone, and working from home not only means no commute, no parking costs, comfy clothes, and all the conveniences of home…it also means having all my notes and documents at hand, not having to function from a random empty cubicle, no distraction from constant non-work-related chatter, no interruptions from coworkers walking by and deciding to talk, and when we’re in crunch time, it also means I’ll consider working OT to help speed things along! Working in the office means “don’t even bother asking me to work OT”.
I work harder, get distracted less, and somehow have better technology uptime from home, so it benefits my employer and I prefer it. All my meetings still have to be online because there’s rarely ever a time where all parties are in the office at the same time.
The only reason for me to come into the office is because someone 3+ grades above me said so.
Yeah, looking for a one size fits all solution to something with so many effects on people’s daily activities is asking for trouble.
It’s great that now the wfh option exists much more substantially than a few years ago, but it sucks that so many seem to want to stuff that cat back in the bag. It seems counterintuitive if your goals are maximizing profits and talent retention. It makes me wonder how much of it is driven by the order class trying to protect real estate investments.
I don’t hate it as a concept, but I recognize that it contributed to my burnout during the pandemic. I would personally prefer a hybrid schedule over pure WFH.
A lot of people hate working from home. People with kids, who want to spend some time of the day in peace. People living in house shares with bad neighbours. People living with abusive partners or parents. People with mental issues who feel more comfortable with people around them. Don’t be an ignorant dick.