Working From Home Versus On Site

[Pstmstr]

We had this discussion about a year ago or so and I was just curious what the general thought is now since some people are being required to go back to work at their place of business.
Are people more or less productive working from home? I realize some jobs can’t be performed remotely. I do often wonder how many post on OSA are being made by people “working” from home. I’m sure people at the worksite waste some time as well. Anyone here done both and what is your opinion?

 

[Buddhaman]

I work from home on Fridays. It’s only administrative working most Fridays though so my work load is lower and I get documentation done. I’d say WFH depends on position. I’m needed for production purposes when manufacturing is running so I have to be there to troubleshoot as needed. We do spend time doing other duties but some of those could be done remotely. The company lets departments determine their needs but most are at least 3 days in office.

 

[harley128]

I worked from home for a company out of Atlanta-- until retiring a few years back. It was great! Much more productive, although it became tougher and tougher to "get away from work"........... You have to set your disclipines and stick to it ! I thought it was a great experience.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

Yes. The real question is depending on the job how much does it interfere with productivity. WFH is bad for me. A simple question I could have asked someone in an office 20 steps away now goes through chat or e-mail which are easily ignored. Home internet can effect more people when there are outages in different areas. Then there are the dreaded intrusions of wife, kids, doorbell and home phone. Psychological effects are feelings of isolation and impatience. Been doing this since 2020. I envy those that go to work in an actual office with people, or have jobs that take them outside to make visits. Yes, it does save gasoline and miles on my car, but I enjoy the drive in and drive home, it separates one's work and home life. My home has now become a prison, just walking by my study causes feelings of dread and the inability to escape work. I really enjoyed my home study as well before all of this, it was a nice place to go to in order to pay bills, look at my accounts, do taxes or surf the internet. I truly miss "the office."

 

[OneMoreEvan]

I actually enjoy the "Work from Home" concept. I do security and the less office workers in the building, the easier my job is. Less people coming by my desk bothering me with nonsense and all that. I personally have to be here, but I'm not upset if people can do their job from home, and I actually enjoy the peace and quiet in the building. Plus I get the employee gym all to myself after my shift

 

[donner]

I think many people realized they could actually do their job from home during lockdown, despite what companies might have told them previously. I'm sure it didn't work well for the people who need to 'show' that they are managing their employees, though. Hard to micromanage from afar.

That said, it probably isn't for everyone. I've been doing it for almost 15 years and you have to figure out how to avoid distractions and manage your time. But, my job also gives me the ability to do things like pick my kid up from school and go to the park each day. The trade off is that some nights i have to get back to work after he goes to bed. So long as the work is done, and deadlines are met, my boss doesn't mind. But not all bosses can handle that kind of approach.

I'm in fact 'working' and posting at the same time right now. There isn't a whole lot my system can do while i'm transferring 180+ gb of data to backup drives, but i have to do it in order to make room for the next job. Not every second of every minute that i'm being paid needs to be entirely focused on work (at least to me). I actually think that these mental breaks help since i'm more focused when i am able to get back to work, but maybe that is just me.

Oddly, when my wife started teaching from home during lockdown, she finally understood why she used to come home and none of the housework had been done. She thought that being home meant that i'd have time to empty the dishwasher or other things like that during the day. She came to learn that, though still being inside the house, working from home often really did mean pushing aside the daily household chores to stay focused on the job.

 

[trekrok]

Like always, it depends on the person and the job. Some remote folks get all the rope they need for a noose. Some thrive. To do it long term requires a very deliberate plan, imo.

 

[donner]

i'll also add that i'm not convinced that being 'in' the office immediately means better productivity. While i try to work hard, i have had a few bosses to reward hard work with more work (and let those who work slowly slide). I don't mind helping, but the nice thing about WFH is that i know that i am done when i complete a project. I don't have an incentive to drag it out until 5pm when i can leave. If i can be done by 4:15 and have that extra time with my family then i will.

 

[Chief Sapulpa]

Of my 50 year working career about half was home office / traveling. I was very productive working from home; no coworker interruptions with BS. If you don't have a good work ethic "fuggedaboutit". It can be a double-edged sword, huning/fishing/effing-off on really nice days; working on weekends when the weather's crappy outside. It's also a lot easier if you don't have young children at home who cannot understand that just because Daddy's home it's not play time.

 

[WoodsCraft]

I have worked from home 100% since 2020 , other than missing lunches with a few of my co workers . Not much has changed , still lots of meetings in fact more meetings now than before since all collaboration is being carried out via teams . Work is still getting done , in many respects I am more efficient because people aren't randomly dropping by my office for impromptu meetings or BS sessions while trying to avoid their own work.