I know this will vary a lot, so hypothetically let’s say you currently WFH/work remotely at least 3 days a week. Your commute to work takes an hour max (door to door) each way. If you were given the choice of a 4 day week working onsite, or a 5 day week WFH (or as many days as you’d like) for the same pay, which would you choose?
The commute time is kinda worse than work time, so the 4 days in the office are equal to 5 days WFH timewise. And I would still be missing out on benefits like cheaper lunch at home and wearing comfortable clothes, and not being tired all the time. On the other hand, I would always have 3 day weekends.
Yeah, count time getting ready and you’re easily wasting 1.5-2 hrs a day going to an office.
When we started wfh, most people picked up overtime and still spent the same amount of time devoted to work with a significant pay increase.
It’s a lot of time and effort everyone was just used to giving up for free. Why go back to it?
Especially since it’s 2023 and we’re still getting new COVID waves.
The time spent getting ready would be a big factor for me.
I work full time from home. Fridays almost never have any big meetings or important deadlines, so if you need to knock off early and beat the vacation traffic, it’s not a problem. And all the little things you usually reserve for a day off, like doctor’s or dentist’s appointments or a haircut, any of that can happen during the week without missing a beat. You don’t always need a 3 day weekend, but when you want one, you take one.
It’s the same for my partner. I don’t think he’s worked past 3pm on Fridays in the 7 months he’s been there. There’s just nothing going on.
WFH for 5 days will still result in less time spent doing dumb shit I don’t want to do than RTO for 4. That doesn’t even count the pomodoro breaks I take where in the office I can’t do anything but walk in circles but at home I can start laundry or prep for dinner.
That was the best part of WFH for me. I could start a brisket in the morning and baby it all day long.
I legit have a pork shoulder dry brining rn for tomorrow. I know an electric smoker isn’t quite the same as a proper charcoal offset rig but my setup means I can do bbq any day I want to
I don’t hate on electric smokers. Nothing wrong with convenience.
I feel like we’re at the point where WFH workers can work from home for four days for more pay.
I mean workers feel like that, but employees and governments don’t seem to. And the propaganda against WFH is still going strong.
I’m just trying to do something small to change the cultural milieu so that folks don’t feel that work has to come with some sort of punishment attached to it. It’s nothing personal, I’m just being a pedant. Have a good one!
I’m sure the masses of work from home employees really love that dream and you’ll struggle to have anyone argue against this popular pipe dream. I’ll try to be devil’s advocate to challenge the Lemmy echo chamber.
I personally don’t deserve more pay because I get “more done” from home. I deserve more pay because I’ve improved over the last couple of years. My managers dont bug me any less because I’m WFH, in fact if anything I am able to slack off more because no one is constantly watching me which is great for my health but bad for my “maximum potential” (I don’t care about max potential because I’m paid to do a job and I can do that job on 60-80% effort).
Between tasks on a workday I can do my clothes washing, play a new quest in my game, go for a run or watch an episode of the lastest program I’m interested in. These are the things I would do on my “extra day off” anyway so why not do them while you’re working now?
I think you have it all wrong, if I went back into the office then I would demand more pay because it takes more of my time. If you want more pay and less time, put in less effort at home.
Maybe I’m an outlier because I’m one of the few people who are happy with their salary and not obsessed with earning more all the time.
I’ve been WFH full time since early covid, so WFH for sure. My commute wasn’t even bad, my office is less than 10 minutes away.
I’m not a social person so there is no upside to going into the office for me. Everything to do with my job must be communicated by email so it’s documented, so it’s just a waste of time if someone wants to chat in person or on the phone about it.
Plus I don’t have to wear pants.
The one downside is my dogs seem to have developed separation anxiety since I’m around all the time.
I feel really sad for all the doggos that were bought as lockdown puppies.
Not sure if you understood the question, you’d work just 4 says a week onsite (and in total). You’d have one extra day free.
…yes, and? I don’t want to work on site. My WFH schedule is flexible enough that I don’t need an “extra day free”. I don’t think it’s worth it. Working fewer days isn’t always better for everyone.
I will never commute again, ever. I’d rather work four days a week in my pajama pants and one day pantsless (Casual Friday) than waste my time schlepping my brain through meatspace.
Oohh I might have to implement that pantsless Casual Friday policy.
5 days WFH hands down.
I need to go into the office to be productive. I don’t begrudge anyone that wants to work from home, I wish it worked for me, but it doesn’t. During the pandemic I was 100% work-from-home and got very little done. I actually asked my boss how long it would be until we could go back to the office. Donkey-brains chose that time to upgrade the office furniture and shampoo the carpets. It was another month until the office was open. I went back, and it was heaven. There were very few people there. I could sit at my desk, listen to my music, and do whatever I needed. Don’t ask me what the difference was. Maybe I just have an affinity for flickering fluorescent tubes.
Same here. I don’t trust myself to work productively at home.
Like you, I was just more productive in an environment that’s not my home. There were a few times when they allowed us back in the office and only 3 of us showed up. Big empty office with the feeling that I can work at my own pace yet couldn’t get too comfortable because it’s still a professional workspace, it was perfect.
Not even a question for me: full remote or bust. The extra day off wouldn’t make up for all the time wasted just from the pageantry of going to and being at an office.
I am WFH full time now.
My commute was, at best, 30 minutes each way. Weather or traffic can easily drive up this time. So at least an hour a day. Being in the office 4 days/week = 4+ hours commuting and all the headaches of driving, parking expense, car expenses, etc. I was much less productive in the office so I think it actually hurts my work to be in the office.
I’d prefer to drop the commute and be more productive. My employer will get MORE than 8 hours of work with that arrangement.
Yeah I think it’s very easy to underestimate your commute if you only consider the journey time. Like you said, you also have to consider parking or getting to the bus/train, getting from the car/train/bus station to your actual office, any traffic or delays… and there’s the getting yourself ready time. It’s not uncommon for my partner to roll out of bed at 8.50 to start at 9am!
Front door of your place to desk in the office seems like a good measurement, right?
For a while my parking ramp was 3 blocks from my office. I appreciated the exercise but it took at least 10 minutes. So 30 minute drive plus 10 minute walk.
Significant expenses are also mostly ignored. Buying, powering and maintaining a vehicle is not cheap nor is parking in many places. Work clothes are not free.
I think it would be interesting to do a really detailed analysis of the differences between WFH and in office. There’s probably more we’re not covering.
In response to your question, I’d like to share my personal experience regarding remote work. I have been working entirely remotely for years, and given this background, I cannot imagine returning to an office setting, even if it was just for one day a month.
The primary reason is tied to time and quality of life. If my office were an hour away from my home - and in reality, it’s even further - I would be committing 8 hours a week just for commuting. This effectively means that in terms of hours, I’d still be tied to a five-day work commitment when considering the commute time.
But beyond the simple tally of hours, there are aspects of daily life and routine to consider. On the days I’d be expected to be in the office, I would have significantly less time to spend with my son. This would majorly impact our daily routine. We wouldn’t get the chance to have lunch together, and the management of daily commitments would become much more complex.
In conclusion, given my background and personal priorities, I would unquestionably choose to continue working from home five days a week rather than commuting to the office for four days. The flexibility and time saved from commuting hold invaluable worth to me.
I work in a job where working from an office doesn’t make sense. So I’ve always wfh. In my current role, I’d never work for any employer that required me to go to an office. It’s counter productive to the job.
In your scenario, if I had a job that made sense, I’d pick wfh because I won’t commute an hour. 15-30 is the tops I’ll commute.
I’ve seen a couple of people say they wouldn’t commute more than 20 mins - I wasn’t expecting that tbh. I’m from London and an hour commute, door to desk, is pretty standard. Even my journey to secondary school took 45mins at the very least!
30 is about as far as I’ll go. Maybe 45. I haven’t communted for work in years. I know people who commute hours and I’d never do it.
Time has value. If I’m spending hours commuting, that’s time lost.
For me. 100% remote.
But I work more for objectives rather than gross time/days. If the project is falling behind I work extra to gain some safeguard. If the project is going well I work more relaxed.
I don’t mind working extra hours if I’m already saving a lot of time avoiding travelling to the client or going to the office, living in another place away from a city. Etc.
WFH, no question.
WFH every time, I’m not going back
We WFH and have a “no meetings on Monday and Fridays” policy.
So people could hypothetically not work those days.
Doesn’t bother me as long as the tasks get done.
