Am I alone in loving WFH? It's awesome!

Kinda missing the bullpen shit talk over here

There is a bit of a drop off in productivity but most people I have talked to have been very happy to be at home, especially those with family (including myself).

Glad to hear you're out of the hospital earthwalker7 . Compared to that, it makes sense that working for home is bliss. :)

After 7 weeks of working from home, I do miss the office a bit. Not the dressing up obviously, but working with my team, visiting companies, meeting management/analysts face to face. I can see though how, if your work is more independent even in the office, working for home can be better.

I dislike work from home

Loving it.

Don't think I'll go back to the office.

WFH, Kodi and youtube

I adore work from home.

It will be a big part of my future as a result of this crisis.

Loving it too

I do miss the office, but wfh isn't terrible, will definitely consider doing it more often than before during light work load times. I'm a lot more productive in the office though.

WFH 4 Lyfe

It’s awesome and maybe this is crude, but from the looks of it this outbreak isn’t going anywhere...might be in for a while

What I really hate is the open office layout. I can't stand the distractions, constant chatter, and fishbowl effect. Zero privacy.

WFH is definitely better than that, but ideally I'd be at work but with a private office. Best of both worlds. You can get into deep focus/flow while you're working on something complicated, but also have the water cooler talk, quick powwows, etc.

I saw a Youtube clip from the movie Office Space recently. The 1990s cubicle layout is supposed to be soul-sucking and depressing, but I thought "damn, that would actually be better than what people have today".

Yes, except I hate zoom calls. How much of a control freak do you need to be to have to see everyone on their screen. Just let them be on the phone and not make it awkward if they have to grab coffee, deal with their kid/dog, etc.

not gonna lie have been pretty comfortable in my airbnb in mexico city, ordering everything by delivery

Glad to hear you are better! I always enjoy reading your posts/comments.

It's great for the points you've made.

I work from home most days anyways so not having the option of visiting clients/taking in person meetings can make me go stir crazy every once in a while.

Just got word I am supposed to be going back to the office May 11, not looking forward to it.

This will likely continue for sometime and by the time companies and society feels safe about returning to the office. we'll all be much better at and quite used to WFH. For many, this may be the new norm permanently, at least for a lot of their non client facing time.

I feel bad for the kids who are just starting out as office politics, BSing, are all part of building a work identity. It's almost a social thing. Strange to go from college to WFH. How do you have those ultra important casual conversations with team mates and bosses that ultimately guide your career. They'll find a way but a lot less natural.

On the other side of it, I like not having to go to meetings and drive across town, But 30 yr in is quite dofferent than just starting out.

Doesnt make a whole lot of sense to commute an hour each way for many for work. Initially I was not very productive working from home but I think after 4 weeks I got that laziness out of my system. I then created a routine for exercise and even work your standard office hours just from home and now I realized I am actually more productive. Less time getting dressed, going out for lunch, focusing on BS, etc. Many I talked to said the same where they were extremely lazy, sleeping in, playing call of duty, but now everyone is being productive.

My commute door to door is roughly two hours (I take the train into Boston). This has been a godsend. No commute, getting more sleep, casual clothes - life is good.

So sorry to hear you were sick, glad you are better. Oh my gosh - just realized you are the HK hospital prisoner! Was so long, I'd forgotten it was you! Glad you'll be home for the baby's birthday!

Always loved WFH - even just a day or two here or there (in normal times) is totally restorative and if anything, I am at my computer longer and even more efficient. Usually start 6:30 am, might work until 11 pm, just working flexibly. Take a break when needed, cook, family buzzing around me. Less distracting, more comfortable, less stressed, more rested. Deliverables are deliverables - I mean, when you have attorneys working on documentation, you're not in the room with them. Ever. They might be X-country. Do they not get things done, timely, because you're not in the office with them? The "face time" notion was old decades ago. Time to let it go.

I think ideally, some combination - without guilt - would be great. Let people be HUMAN. Sometimes the commute, short or long, just needs a breather - it's mentally exhausting.

Let's hope the next phase of professional life shows the successful results of working from home, and some measure of as-needed/desired WFH becomes more integrated into the norm.

Work from home is great, there's no doubt about the benefits, where they be comfier clothes, less time/money commuting, avoiding shitty office politics etc. I really don't think this is the issue. What we aren't loving is doing everything else from home; being stuck inside all day, every day. Not going to the pub after work on a Friday, nipping in and out of town for meaningless chores, or just going out and seeing friends. WFH is one thing, Quarantine is another.

Due to the fact that I currently detest 90% of my colleagues, yes - I love WFH.

I was already remote 2-3 days and now it’s fucking heaven. If I never go into the office again it will be too soon.

Absolutely love WFH. Only thing I dread more than getting laid off in this crisis is having to go back to office every day

Honestly, WFH is the best, especially if you have a home office. I was working from home since last August, and Covid just gave a reason to convert the extra bed into a "home office". Put a few shelves and books and a few monitors and a docking station and you have your own office. Heck, if your bedroom has extra space, that itself would suffice - heck, maybe even a chaise would suffice!

100% enjoying WFH. I've become a lot more productive then when I was in the office (I think this may be due to being able to take my breaks properly) and i'm really loving the extra time I have as a result of no commuting. One thing i've definitely noticed is that I feel a lot less drained in the evenings, not sure if anyone else is feeling like this too?

Worth pointing out that average people "worked from home" for all of human history until the 19th or 20th century.

Teleworking would be tolerable if I could go out afterward. This is not tolerable long-term.

Think after this blows over that I'll be working from the office five days a week given lack of seniority and desire to network/learn and talk to people, but I definitely think it'll be a lot easier to argue productivity from home. Won't get any of the "lack of commute" benefits but would definitely look at leaving at 6-7pm once a week, cooking dinner at home and WFH for the night. I just don't see why that isn't possible/would look bad given we've done this for months now.

There just needs to be a balance. Things are light? No meetings? Employees should be able to work from home. I think 1-2 days per week from home on average is ideal. Still need to have some face to face interactions to maintain relationships though.

The problem is, everyone loves WFM except old dudes who don't like their family that much and prefer to be at the office. These guys are often the old rich dudes running the show. They come and go as they please and can work from home whenever anyways. Sucks.

to all of you that love WFH. how depressed are you going to be once your office reopens and you have to drag yourself back to your cubicle?

Attitudes are more forgiving and lenient?

Complete opposite where I am. Expectations have only gone up, work is increasingly intense. Managers and counterparts have less visibility, and thus demand more alignment and certainty.

I've talked about this with some other junior folks in IB and PE. The loss in efficiency a lot of us are feeling could be mitigated. The easy stuff has already been taken care of:buying printers and nice chairs for associates, but, if WFH is going to be a big part of the future, the next issue is not having enough space to both work and live. I live in a 1200 sq. ft apartment, and it's barely enough for three people.

I love WFH, will not go back to the office unless required. Our HR/facilities teams are struggling to be covid19 compliant anyway. lifts too small, staircase not wide enough, not enough hot desks, ..

The overall sentiment on my team is that anyone over 40 with kids wants desperately for life to return to normal since they're not used to babysitting 24/7 and being constantly around their significant others, but the rest of us LOVE IT. Work has gone up in quantity, but people are more understanding of time, seemingly more lenient, and we seem to be working just as efficiently, minus an occasional tech hiccup that might've happened anyway.

NY Times today: What if You Don’t Want to Go Back to the Office?

> In wanting to work alone, Mr. Anderson is not alone. People other than introverts view a return to the office with sadness and anxiety, and not just because they still risk getting infected. A Gallup poll found a majority of American adults working from home would prefer to continue doing so “as much as possible” after the pandemic.

> These fans of online work worry that they — and the country itself — will lose important benefits discovered during this unprecedented experiment in mass remote work. People who have never liked schmoozing with colleagues have found new heights of productivity away from meetings and office chitchat. People worried about climate change are eager to reduce their carbon footprints by avoiding commutes by car. And while many parents are desperate for schools and day care centers to reopen, some working parents are appreciating more time with their children.

> If set up properly, experts and advocates say, remote work has many benefits:

> * Less time on the road. Commuting by car has been linked to increased stress, more pollution and respiratory problems. The average American who drives to work spends 54 hours per year stuck in traffic, according to an analysis by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. > > * Greater productivity. One well-known study from 2014 led by the Stanford professor Nicholas Bloom examined remote workers at a Chinese travel agency and found that they were 13 percent more efficient than their office-based peers. > > * A cleaner environment (maybe). According to estimates from Global Workplace Analytics, a research and consulting firm, if everyone in the United States worked remotely half of the time, it could reduce greenhouse gas emissions from vehicle travel by more than 51 million metric tons a year. Graphics showing the reduction in air pollution and pictures of clearer skies over cities like Los Angeles have been among the silver linings of the pandemic. Of course, when people return to work, the roads may fill up again, especially if people fear getting the virus on public transit. And even if more people start working remotely, they might use their cars more for errands closer to home, said Bill Eisele, a senior research engineer at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Office commuters make up only about 18 percent of all traffic, he said. > > * Money saved. Global Workplace Analytics estimated that people could save, on average, $2,000 to $6,500 every year by not spending on things like gasoline and day care. Companies could spend less on real estate. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office estimated it saved more than $38 million in 2015 by not using as much office space, according to a Harvard Business School working paper from November. > > * More job satisfaction. A 2005 study found that job satisfaction increased with each additional hour people spent working remotely. But it stopped increasing beyond 15 hours worked remotely. > > * Less sickness. Even as companies consider reconfiguring workplaces with plexiglass barriers on desks and special air filters, letting employees work from home can help keep them safe from communicable diseases (and not just Covid-19). > > * More time for fitness. You may be able to squeeze in more workouts. “Having a little more time, if you’re using it wisely, can be very beneficial,” said Marilyn Skarbek, an assistant professor of exercise science at North Central College in Naperville, Ill. “There are a lot of other things you can do around the house to keep you moving: laundry, cleaning — all of that keeps you active. My house is definitely cleaner than normal.” But there is a risk you could be more sedentary, she warned.

> Many people who had never considered this kind of working life have now had a taste of it, and they love it.

> At least one poll from early in the pandemic suggests a strong preference for remote work. Gallup found that almost 60 percent of Americans working from home would prefer to work remotely “as much as possible” after restrictions are lifted, with 40 percent saying they preferred to return to the workplace. The online survey of 2,276 randomly selected adults was conducted from March 14 through April 2. It had a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

Similar to most others’ experiences, it’s been great. Unfortunately, I can’t separate the pandemic and worsening financial conditions from our ability to work from home, which is unfortunate.

I already work remotely so it's pretty much the same, but my staff are happier WFH (even though most do 1-2 days pre-covid)

One thing not many are talking about: it's a pretty short step from "work from home" to "work from Philippines". Once this reality sets in, it could lead to a massive offshoring of white collar jobs.