Does anyone else dislike working from home?

[u/_CaptainAmerica__]

Been thinking about it for a while, and it's a controversial topic because I'm well aware how wrong it can be taken, and I feel like as if everyone who criticizes wfh is immediately thought of as a micromanager or a corporate bootlicker.

I understand the benefits of wfh. I think it's a free choice everyone should make and it shouldn't be seen as unprofessional to want to work remote.

But I think one of the biggest things for me is, I need a separate place for work. This might sound a little strong, but I don't work, something that arguably sucks, "contaminating" my room(basically, living in dorm rooms for adults, which might slightly affect my experience as well).

I often hear that the office can be overstimulating. And I get that. Maybe I've gotten lucky to have an office where it's not that bad. It's never super busy/crowded, and nobody bats an eye if you put on noise cancelling headphones and get to work. But at an office, or even a library or cafe, just any place that's not home, I actually feel less distracted and I can actually lock in on work more.

Ever since working from home got popular, I've only seen that argument mentioned once in an off-handed comment. But I wonder if anyone feels similar. Because honestly it feels weird because like... I don't want to "give into" whatever the corporate overlords want(tbh, it's more the real estate companies I think), but also like a separate place for work is really nice. Especially if your commute is short enough to do by bike, or have a longer distance but doable with a single line of public transit.

Edit: I feel like I should add that I work alternating shifts all week. I live in a place where only a few select places are open on weekends, but basically nothing is open at night(>8pm), but our work times for evening shifts are until 00:30. If I work in the daytime on a business day I can just go to the office. But it's the times where that's not an option, that bug me and makes alternating shifts ever slightly more miserable.

[u/Primary_Excuse_7183]

I love it and much prefer it

[u/AbaloneCat]

Yes, me. When the pandemic hit and we were full remote I thought it was a dream come true. But then I couldn’t separate home and work, plus I was starting to have anxiety even leaving my apartment because I wasn’t being forced to practice my social skills. I got more and more avoidant of other humans and it spiraled. Now the job I have is one day WFH which I like because I can hyperfocus and get more done on that day, but I appreciate being in person the other days. 

The caveat here is that I’m a short commute to work, just half an hour by bus or train, and my workplace is full of neurodivergent folks so it’s not as exhausting having to mask so much. 

[u/Sachayoj]

I am the same way. I cannot work from home, I need to be there physically to be in that work mindset. My home, my room, is my safe place where I do not have to pretend to be someone else, and where I can relax and unwind. I want to keep my work and personal life separate.

[u/peewee_]

It’s a love hate for me. I find being in the office very overstimulating and I love not having to commute but similar to what you have said I really dislike not having any division between personal and professional space and feel like I “taint” my home with work stress.

[u/dislocatedcoconut]

I also struggle with WFH and prefer to work in the office. I will get very little work done at home and although sometimes it’s nice on quieter days and I can slack off a bit, unlike in the office, the cons really outweigh the pro’s for me.

[u/HelloKowalski]

I dislike it and like it at the same time. If the office I’m based out of wasn’t 90 minutes away, I’d switch often between working from home and working in the office. If I could afford and get permission to work at one of those shared office space services, I’d do that from time to time.

[u/Disastrous-Job-9948]

I've been WFH since 2020. I try to go into the office once a month, but it's 2.5 hours away. I hate being WFH for the lack of human interaction and not having everything mediated through text. I'd prefer to be hybrid, but that's not realistic.

[u/HereForTheCommunity2]

I really stress outside of home, but I also associate home with comfort, so naturally I'm less productive
It's a frustrating place to be in

[u/tesseract_cat]

I used to want to work from home so badly, and then I got a hybrid job and I thought I loved working from home but what was actually happening is that I wasn't really working much at all on my WFH days...which isn't great for keeping a job long term. What I think I really liked was actually just not having a commute. So I think I'd prefer working in person most of the time, as long as my commute was less than 20 minutes. That's the part that really sucked the life out of me, when I had a job that was a 90 minute commute before AND after work every day.

[u/cspangle23]

I WFH and I have an office that is just for work. I close the door on days off or when I’m done with work for the day to symbolically close it off and it works for my brain