Board 8 > 3-4 months later, for those who newly work from home...status check?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I've been working from home since early-mid March. As of now, I can solidly say I'd rather be back at the office with everyone. If there was an easier way to achieve that without adding back the drive (10-15 min) that would be ideal, but...in terms of my overall satisfaction I think the pro of being back would quickly outweigh the con of the drive. Hm, I need to just rent the closest apartment to my office. Maybe that's the trick. But I love my current location :(

Though, I wonder how much that might change once I'm in a spot where I can still actually go out and socialize like one would normally (post-pandemic). The general life isolation might be creeping into my perspective of wanting to be back at the office, just for the sake of being more social in general.

What are your all's takeaways?

I love it and I never want to to go back into the office a day in my life

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They're opening the office back up on June 22, but at 25% capacity and you need to reserve a desk ahead of time.
It's also optional to be in the office, until September 30.

So I'm not looking forward to October, to be honest.

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I have to go in twice a week starting Monday. I feel basically the same as you, I'd probably prefer working from home if I could socialize like normal, or if there was anyone living with me, but the isolation is kind of getting to me. Twice a week might be a good balance!

I definitely don't miss being packed into a crowded train for two hours a day, though

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They're targeting July to start reopening my office. Though one guy I guess got special permission and has been working there alone for this whole time. Lol.

Idk if I'll want to go back that quickly mainly because I don't have a great reason to feel confident everyone in power knows what they're doing in terms of reopening properly and being safe

MZero posted...

Twice a week might be a good balance!

I like the idea

I've been abusing the work at home order to take residence in a place that I much prefer living at that would normally be a 90 minute commute to my job, with no notable drop in productivity, so no I don't really want to go back to work.

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Yeah, one guy I work with rented an airbnb on the beach for like 6 months lol

Idk exactly where he went but the closest beach is a 7.5 hour drive without stopping

I'm still working exclusively from home and it's likely to stay that way for a while (my boss is very considerate, she's like "I don't want you taking the train"). Overall, I love it because of schedule flexibility and no long commute. I don't miss anything about the actual office. I do miss incidental stuff like walking around downtown during lunch break.
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Im set to go back to the office on Monday. Im genuinely happy about it. Im part of the first group going back.

Definitely used to working from home at this point. Although it'll get a lot better when the desk I ordered over a month ago finally arrives (estimated shipping date still 3-4 weeks away). I definitely miss the social aspect of being in the office, but that's about it. I certainly don't miss my 50-minute subway commute.

My office is officially closed until September 1st, but I found out two days ago that my role is being changed to WFH permanently. I think the company is realizing that WFH is going well-enough that they can start consolidating office space to save $$$. Fine by me I'm still allowed to go into the office if I reserve a desk for the day, it's just expected I'll do so at most twice a month.

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I normally spend a solid 2.5 - 3 hours of my day commuting. Back in March when I first started working from home I missed being in the office but now that I'm used to it I can't imagine having to deal with that commute again.

I do miss the people still though, but there's no chance everyone will be back in the office at the same time again anytime soon so it doesn't really matter.

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Yeah I can't imagine anything over about 20 or at maximum 30 minutes of travel each way

For me the 15 minutes each way is hardly even noticeable because I spend about that much time regardless just mentally preparing for the day in the morning / unwinding from the day in the evening. So I'm not really "getting time back" by not commuting, per se. It's just the physical effort and energy cost of moving myself there, which let's be honest, is hardly noticeable for such a short trip.

_stingers_ posted...

I love it and I never want to to go back into the office a day in my life

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Drakeryn posted...

I don't miss anything about the actual office. I do miss incidental stuff like walking around downtown during lunch break.

yeah this also

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turbopuns3 posted...

Yeah I can't imagine anything over about 20 or at maximum 30 minutes of travel each way

Haha I'm not gonna lie when I was reading your post I was like "ah yea the commute su- wait, 10 - 15 minutes?". Would kill for such a short commute.

TBH I generally prefer working in the office than not. If my commute was like that I think it would be a no brainer for me.

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Until last week I had to work from office just one day a week, which was reasonable enough.

Starting this week though I have to go there on three days - Monday through Wednesday. And I really don't like it because how more complicated and longer it takes to commute nowadays...

If I can choose I'll definitely definitely take working from home any day. My living condition is pretty good.

The one snag I have is that both my working hours and salary are cut by half.
Oh and the health insurance is halted WTF.

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I'm still working from home but go into the office occaisonally for training/meetings.

My office never closed down and about 60% of the employees never worked from home. It seems like we're trying to return to normal but my state just had a huge upswing in cases.

No one in my office wears a mask except for me which is one reason I don't want to go back.

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My company declined to renew their lease with the current office so I'm not going back any time soon.

It's been a little annoying working entirely from home (I was already doing it for part of the week) because I've had to train two new hires on my team and that would be easier in person. I also hate being on so many video meetings. But my commute was super long so I don't miss that part.

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To be completely honest I'm not loving it as much as I thought I would. Before this I was definitely one of those "there's no reason for an office to exist" people and I do love not having a commute but honestly it's starting to become a bit depressing.

Really not sure if I should attribute that to the unending WFH itself or to the lack of social interaction that's also come with this quarantine... or to the fact that at home I don't really have the space to separate my work/play spaces which is supposedly the key to mental health in this sort of situation.

I will say that for the first month my productivity was UNREAL and I was definitely of the mind that I never wanted to go back. But now that we're set to head back (supposedly) in July I kind of can't wait because my mental health is very clearly slipping as a result of the current situation.

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Considering my commute was upwards to an hour, I miss absolutely nothing about going to the office. I'd happily never return.

I do want the world to open up but I think I've concluded that I could do my job perfectly fine remotely. I do miss everything else pre-lockdown.

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Xiahou Shake posted...

I will say that for the first month my productivity was UNREAL

Jealous that you were able to manage this. I basically spent my first month constantly refreshing news sources for COVID news.

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tyder21 posted...

Jealous that you were able to manage this. I basically spent my first month constantly refreshing news sources for COVID news.

I'm on GameFAQs instead of focusing on my work.

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Been working from home since late March. Two weeks later my boss got COVID, and then spent 3 weeks in the hospital. Also got cut from full-time to 1 day a week for 7 weeks. My office reopened full-time on June 1st, though I got permission to stay home for June because I take public transportation. Have to go back in July.

I prefer working from the office. Have a better work space and its easier to get things done. Its also easier to communicate with my coworkers in person. No commute and an extra hour of sleep are nice, but otherwise I'd rather go in. I guess I wouldn't mind a couple of days a week at home, but I have no interest in permanent full time at home.