My company is making us go back to the office and I’m not happy about it.

[CaseyLouLou]

I’m just venting but I am really unhappy about this. I have worked many years at this job and for the past 3 years have been remote due to the pandemic. It’s been great! My husband also works remotely. And now they want to force us to go back at least 3-4 days a week. My commute is about 40 mins each way. I am more productive working remotely. And happier. And less exhausted. My mental health is better. I enjoy my time with my husband and dog and it’s quiet at home with the kids gone. For him too it’s nice for me to be here for company.

I’m just really having a hard time with this. Maybe I will get used to it again but I doubt it. It sucked. I don’t need to be in the office to do my job. I wouldn’t mind going in sometimes for meetings but several days a week every week is to do a job I can do from home is going to be super annoying.

 

[YadaYadaYada]

Sorry you’re having to deal with this.

My husband is in the same boat, he could easily do his job from home and did during the pandemic. His boss feels it is more professional to be at the office. It’s just stupid, but he has a company vehicle so at least we don’t have to worry about the gas.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

Sorry you’re having to deal with this.

My husband is in the same boat, he could easily do his job from home and did during the pandemic. His boss feels it is more professional to be at the office. It’s just stupid, but he has a company vehicle so at least we don’t have to worry about the gas.

I know I’m just being whiney and I realize it’s a luxury to work remotely but it’s just so much better. Some people moved away and now they aren’t required to go into the office but since I didn’t move I have to go in. Other people were hired during the pandemic and don’t have to go in either. It’s just silly and unfair to make me do it. I know my boss is happy with my work but apparently it doesn’t matter.

I’m tempted to look for another job but I doubt it will pay as well.

 

[Mreader]

I can see why you are so upset. ESPECIALLY since others aren’t having to do the same.

I have heard similar stories such as yours - people are happier and more productive working from home. In fact, my friend’s office decided to go fully remote because productivity went up! It’s a shame that some employers are insisting that people go back to the office when most of the time it’s unnecessary.

 

[kenny]

I understand your angst.
My DH also goes through this.

 

[TooPatient]

A new friend's husband works at a company in WA that is making people go back to in person 3-4 days per week. I'm still not sure they will actually follow through with it. Pretty sure they will lose a lot of great employees if they do as many places are quite happy to hire fully remote. (If you happen to be in WA and think you are working at the same company I am thinking of, you should definitely look around. Some of those fully remote positions are paying very well. Clearly depends on your experience and what sort of work within the field, but never hurts to look around!)

 

[Avondale]

it’s a luxury to work remotely

It's really not. I get the hives when I hear all sorts of managers, upper management people, CEOs and what not whine about how their employees working from home is such a luxury and how they really should go back to the office. And then you get the news articles blasting the same stupid trope. It's not a luxury. But there are people who own a bunch of expensive office real estate who need to be able to rent it to make money, and if people are working from home, companies aren't renting.

Pretty sure they will lose a lot of great employees if they do

And that's the key to it. Employees have leverage and sometimes they don't realise. A friend's employer tried to tell him he has to go back because they're bringing everyone back to the office, no exceptions. He just replied, oh you can try, but if you do, I walk. Not another peep was heard about bringing him back.

 

[TooPatient]

It's really not. I get the hives when I hear all sorts of managers, upper management people, CEOs and what not whine about how their employees working from home is such a luxury and how they really should go back to the office. And then you get the news articles blasting the same stupid trope. It's not a luxury. But there are people who own a bunch of expensive office real estate who need to be able to rent it to make money, and if people are working from home, companies aren't renting.



And that's the key to it. Employees have leverage and sometimes they don't realise. A friend's employer tried to tell him he has to go back because they're bringing everyone back to the office, no exceptions. He just replied, oh you can try, but if you do, I walk. Not another peep was heard about bringing him back.

Exactly! I forget which local news had an article on "getting people back to work" but it was crazy. They actually said the city was working with the company to get people back in person because the small businesses in the area were suffering.

If what you do is sit at a desk all day working on a computer, you don't need to be in person. Many of these companies have teams spread around the world so all meetings are virtual and most (or all) of the interactions with coworkers are also by phone or message. DH is currently working on a project with people in Arizona, Minnesota, India, China, and wherever else I am forgetting. His previous team was scattered around Vermont, Colorado, Texas, Romania, and India. Previous teams for the last probably 10 years have been similar! Working from home has actually increased productivity and mood.

 

[dk168]

Thankfully, I have been working from home (WFH) since I returned to being an independent contractor/consultant back in 2019 before the pandemic hit.

I feel for those who have to return to their daily commute/grind.

Both my currently clients opted for hybrid working format for their office-based personnel, allowing them to spend more time WFH at their choosing.

DK

 

[missy]

I wish one good thing could have come from this pandemic. And that would have been to let people continue working from home. I think WFH is generally more productive depending on your career of course. It's a travesty that people are being made to go back to the office. I am sorry

Personally my DH is going to continue WFH or he will retire. If it comes down to that. His company has (so far) made him an exception and is allowing him to continue WFH. Should that change he would retire. He has been thinking about it anyway but as long as he can WFH he enjoys his career and is more than happy to continue. I feel for all those who do not have the option

 

[nala]

My school district has one school that us virtual and teachers are allowed to work from home. Of the 150 teachers in my school, no one opted for this option. They had a hard time recruiting teachers to fill their positions and the ones who eventually took the positions were teachers who were more concerned about their commute and saving time for their hobbies. I realize teaching is a different profession and it might he apples to oranges, but there is a lot to be said for the social aspect, the motivation to dress up and wear bling, have lunch with others, etc. I know many of them said wfh was depressing.

My DD chooses to go in daily to her corporate job, although she has a choice. Same reason. She says she finds working from home depressing. She is only 24, so she is full of life and energy.

 

[jaysonsmom]

To the OP, I can relate. I have a job that can be done fully remote. Our overall productivity went up during the pandemic, when we were all WFH. Since September of last year, we went back to the office 2 days a week and I was okay with that, since my company has many perks at the office, like subsidized cafeteria and state of the art gym. However, recently we have been asked to go back at least 3 days a week, and I am not okay with that. I also live 40 minutes away, and commuting into the office an back cuts out about 2 hours of my work time and productivity on the days we have to go in, so the more days we are in office, the less productive we are as a team.

 

[canuk-gal]

My school district has one school that us virtual and teachers are allowed to work from home. Of the 150 teachers in my school, no one opted for this option. They had a hard time recruiting teachers to fill their positions and the ones who eventually took the positions were teachers who were more concerned about their commute and saving time for their hobbies. I realize teaching is a different profession and it might he apples to oranges, but there is a lot to be said for the social aspect, the motivation to dress up and wear bling, have lunch with others, etc. I know many of them said wfh was depressing.

My DD chooses to go in daily to her corporate job, although she has a choice. Same reason. She says she finds working from home depressing. She is only 24, so she is full of life and energy.

I know young people who are fully remote and are not happy because part of work life is to have human face to face interaction and fun. Isolation can be lonely even if you are working. Getting out of the house good.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

Thanks everyone for your input. It’s nice to hear that I’m not alone and my view isn’t totally off base. I have considered refusing to do it more than 2x a week and maybe I will. My husband says I should tell them I will go in when it makes sense to go in but I have a feeling that they will create mandatory meetings just to get people to go. Perhaps I could leave early and work the rest of the day at home but that doesn’t save me the commute time and I have a feeling they will frown on that. The commute time of 1.5hrs each day could be used for more work or more hobbies so something has to give.

I will probably push back and I have already but it didn’t go over well. I’m not good at it and it stresses me out like crazy.

 

[Piper70]

I’m playing Devil’s advocate here. I don’t know what your field is but some companies function better with everyone in situ. My husband owns a construction company and everyone had to come back full time in the office. Too much time was wasted communicating ( bids due, emergency situations ) with the PM’s, estimators, construction manager and the other departments by email rather than in person.
And if you took this job knowing about the commute, I don’t think it’s fair to complain about it now.

 

[Avondale]

And if you took this job knowing about the commute, I don’t think it’s fair to complain about it now.

I disagree. Pre-pandemic WFH was an exception for almost everyone. Now the circumstances have changed - we've learned through experience remote work is not only fully possible, but is also in many cases highly beneficial, and it's natural for factors like commute to be taken into account.

My DD chooses to go in daily to her corporate job, although she has a choice. Same reason. She says she finds working from home depressing. She is only 24, so she is full of life and energy.

This reminds me of a WFH job I had taken years ago, when I was still in uni. I didn't enjoy it, I wanted to be in an office. I felt working at home made home feel unwelcoming, made it feel like I was at work all of the time, 24/7. Now I've made a complete U-turn on the subject and feel the exact opposite way.

I believe everyone should have a choice whether they want to work remotely or not. Some jobs would be perfect for it, some would need to be performed on site, no exceptions, some would allow flexibility, and different people would have different needs. I don't see a reason for everyone to be forced to fit into the same mould when such a simple accommodation to people's preferences results in higher productivity and better quality of life for everyone.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

I’m playing Devil’s advocate here. I don’t know what your field is but some companies function better with everyone in situ. My husband owns a construction company and everyone had to come back full time in the office. Too much time was wasted communicating ( bids due, emergency situations ) with the PM’s, estimators, construction manager and the other departments by email rather than in person.
And if you took this job knowing about the commute, I don’t think it’s fair to complain about it now.

It definitely depends on the job. Times have changed since I took the job 12 years ago. Also, I was working one day a week from home before the pandemic even started. My job is very independent. I can see going in person for certain things but not every day just to work alone at my computer.

 

[Piper70]

I should have also said that in our experience, we are having difficulty finding people who actually do what they are supposed to. So trusting that people wfh are getting it done is hard. I’m trying to pay service people to get stuff done and nada.

 

[Lookinagain]

I think that there are a lot of variables. When I was much, much younger, the camaraderie of in office working with a lot of other young people made the office a place that I wanted to be. We socialized together outside of work and had fun. As I got older, had a child that I was raising alone after divorce, WFH was still not an option. And honestly, I doubt I could have been fully engaged if I had a child at home and had foregone childcare, just because I was at home. And some folks with kids do forgo childcare if they WFH and I honestly don't think that is okay. Someone should have childcare during their working hours, no matter where they work. But WFH wasn't an option for me back then, so I drove about 3 hours a day round trip commuting for almost 40 years except for the once in a while that I needed to work from home (doing budgets and things that required a ton of concentration with no distractions). And I was the manager of 4 states so driving 3 hours a day to ONE of the offices, just to call other states, really made no sense. But it was how things were done. Then COVID hit and we all WFH. And then I realized that if I couldn't be in all 4 of my offices every day, why would I need to be in one of them every day. So I decided that I would never commute 1.5 hours a day each way every day again. BUT, and it's a big BUT, I had a very stable, professional team of employees who had been with me for as little as 11 or as much as 30 years. I knew them and knew they were not slackers. And I was ready to retire if told I had to be in the office every day. That never happened and hasn't happened with my company yet. They understand that, depending on the job, everyone doesn't need to be in the office everyday. But some do. I'm at the point of retiring so it's not an issue for me, but I do see the pros and cons of WFH vs. being in the office and a lot depends on your industry but also your staff and job function and how long you know them and their situation at home.

 

[momofive]

I am a teacher but I retired in 2019. But I loved going into school every day. I know of other people who feel the same way. They like meeting with colleagues and getting out of the house. I don't think, for most people, ( not everyone) it's healthy to work from home. We text now instead of talk to people and when you look at what's going on around the country with tempers flaring all the time, I think that's another by-product of this pandemic.
I think getting up and out of your PJ bottoms and meeting and socializing with work people, learning how to navigate personalities, etc. is an important skill that gets lost working from home. Even the idea that putting things in writing cannot always covey meanings and emotions can spell trouble if someone takes it wrong. In person you have discussions and debate much more easily.
But that's me (and it doesn't sound like it's most of you!! LOL)

 

[Jambalaya]

I have a WFH job now, and I've never been so depressed in my life. I find it completely isolating and it has had a terrible effect on my mental and physical health, and job performance. Most people from my company love WFH. I really don't understand how people are not feeling the isolation; I mean, human beings are social creatures. I live alone and my job is full of deadlines so I am very tied to my desk, which makes it hard to even get out for a walk. But even if I was still married, my husband would be gone all day. Plus, I don't think just one person all day every day would be enough, either. I loved my team at work; we all got on wonderfully and had a good laugh, and were very supportive to each other. And I valued being out in the world: Going to work, experiencing the sights and smells and sounds of being out...this cave-like existence is the pits. I have NO idea how everyone else is surviving so well!

 

[Jambalaya]

@momofive - I agree 100% with all of your post!

And nobody in my company wants to come back, either.

 

[Mreader]

I am a teacher but I retired in 2019. But I loved going into school every day. I know of other people who feel the same way. They like meeting with colleagues and getting out of the house. I don't think, for most people, ( not everyone) it's healthy to work from home. We text now instead of talk to people and when you look at what's going on around the country with tempers flaring all the time, I think that's another by-product of this pandemic.
I think getting up and out of your PJ bottoms and meeting and socializing with work people, learning how to navigate personalities, etc. is an important skill that gets lost working from home. Even the idea that putting things in writing cannot always covey meanings and emotions can spell trouble if someone takes it wrong. In person you have discussions and debate much more easily.
But that's me (and it doesn't sound like it's most of you!! LOL)

I teach too and I think that profession is very different and not conducive for remote working. I hated the online synchronous zoom courses during the height of the pandemic. A traditional office job though is a different animal.

 

[momofive]

I teach too and I think that profession is very different and not conducive for remote working. I hated the online synchronous zoom courses during the height of the pandemic. A traditional office job though is a different animal.

Not necessarily. My son CAN work from home, but he enjoys going into work and interacting with people. I used to work in an insurance agency and I enjoyed that as well. I guess it's like my mother-in -law always used to say, "That's why they have menus!"

 

[telephone89]

My company brought us back 2 days a week and I absolutely hate it. I’ve been doing my job perfectly fine for the past 3 years, there is zero benefit to me being in the office except showing up just to show up. My boss was trying sooo hard to sell it and I basically laughed in his face haha. ‘Oh it’s soo nice to see people again’ no not really. ‘I feel more productive with an actual office’ I have an actual office, in my house. ‘It’s so nice to get dressed up again’ ew no.
I find the micro-managers are the real keen ones to get people back in the office. If you haven’t had a problem with my productivity the past three years clearly it’s going just fine.
I do think if I lived alone I may feel differently. But personally I don’t get a lot of social satisfaction from my job. My job is just that, a job. That’s not where I get my friends, that’s not who I want to talk to on the weekends, that’s not how I fill my cup. Some people may not have a separate social circle and get more satisfaction of socializing with their co-workers, but that’s just not me.

 

[Bijouteried]

I’m just venting but I am really unhappy about this. I have worked many years at this job and for the past 3 years have been remote due to the pandemic. It’s been great! My husband also works remotely. And now they want to force us to go back at least 3-4 days a week. My commute is about 40 mins each way. I am more productive working remotely. And happier. And less exhausted. My mental health is better. I enjoy my time with my husband and dog and it’s quiet at home with the kids gone. For him too it’s nice for me to be here for company.

I’m just really having a hard time with this. Maybe I will get used to it again but I doubt it. It sucked. I don’t need to be in the office to do my job. I wouldn’t mind going in sometimes for meetings but several days a week every week is to do a job I can do from home is going to be super annoying.

I would be annoyed, as well. When employees have proven themselves to be trustworthy and productive, they don't need a sitter. It seems to me that this push is usually either "a bad apple spoiling it for the bunch" or a decision maker with an antiquated view of today's workforce.

Maybe after you've gone in and not interacted in-person with anyone in any meaningful way, you can negotiate more remote days for yourself. Making someone a seat-warmer is a backwards step!

Can you tell I'm already annoyed for you?

 

[CaseyLouLou]

I have a WFH job now, and I've never been so depressed in my life. I find it completely isolating and it has had a terrible effect on my mental and physical health, and job performance. Most people from my company love WFH. I really don't understand how people are not feeling the isolation; I mean, human beings are social creatures. I live alone and my job is full of deadlines so I am very tied to my desk, which makes it hard to even get out for a walk. But even if I was still married, my husband would be gone all day. Plus, I don't think just one person all day every day would be enough, either. I loved my team at work; we all got on wonderfully and had a good laugh, and were very supportive to each other. And I valued being out in the world: Going to work, experiencing the sights and smells and sounds of being out...this cave-like existence is the pits. I have NO idea how everyone else is surviving so well!

I would feel exactly the same way IF I was alone all day at home but I’m not. My husband also works remotely. If (when) I go back to the office, he will be the lonely one. He said he might go into the office sometimes just to not be alone even though none of his team is local. Our kids are in college so they aren’t here anymore.

So it really does depend on the situation but I just think the companies should be more flexible and understand individual circumstances.

 

[CaseyLouLou]

Not necessarily. My son CAN work from home, but he enjoys going into work and interacting with people. I used to work in an insurance agency and I enjoyed that as well. I guess it's like my mother-in -law always used to say, "That's why they have menus!"

I used to enjoy going into the office and I still would go in sometimes but for the most part my view has changed and my needs are different. I’m much older now (50) and I don’t need that social interaction as much anymore. I’m an introvert and I get drained of energy. I have insomnia and this new routine is helping with my ability to get through my day and handle all of what life entails. I’m more productive, sleep better and it just works for me. Going back is definitely going to be hard to get used to. I know I will not sleep well the night before I have to get up early and go into the office and combined with the commute time that means I will be less productive. I do look forward to seeing colleagues and friends but given the choice I would rather be remote.

 

[Lookinagain]

Maybe preference is an introvert/extrovert thing. combined with age. I would not have been happy WFH when I was in my 20's, 30's or even 40's. I enjoyed the human contact. I'm not really an extrovert. Probably kind of borderline between the two. Now that I'm older, I don't really feel the need for the human contact, chit chat at lunch, etc. that I used to enjoy in the office. I guess I just think personality and age has a lot to do with how one feels about WFH.

 

[missy]

My husband is an extrovert and very much enjoyed the company of his colleagues. In the latter half of 2019 he had to start WFH due to our ringworm adventures lol. And since then he really hasn't been back to the office with the exception of a few days in January 2020 right before his TKR. Then Covid hit. And well, the rest is history.

He found he very much enjoyed WFH and it allowed us to stay at our beach house which is a distance from his office. He is very efficient and still interacts with colleagues via zoom and conference calls and emails. We do not get our social life from work and we never did. We are older now so that probably affects how we both feel.

I am more than happy he is home with me 24/7 and it has been the one positive of the pandemic for us. I know other spouses worry about what happens when their partner retires but that was never my worry. I LOVE having my husband with me all the time. As does he. But for younger people I can see how WFH could be isolating.

As with everything there is no one size fits all. No one right way. And that is important to recognize.