Working from home. Is this a desirable lifestyle?

Both my AC work from home . My son almost permanently and my daughter intermittently. They both have an office in their home - in fact my son and wife have separate offices - but their home is big enough to allow this.

I used to frequently work from home before retirement 20 years ago.

You certainly achieve much more at home and more efficiently because there are zero interruptions. That together with no time wasted travelling or in carbon footprint, is, to my mind the way forward.

My son very successfully WFH during the pandemic. He is now back in the office which means a long journey each end of the day. He now WFH when it suits his schedule eg if he had to go to a meeting somewhere else in the morning he doesn’t go into the office for half a day. He often WFH on a Friday and is very flexible with that time, especially if, like last week he was away on business for four days and nights.

When I was working, after a day in school I would go home and start again each evening, preparing lessons, marking etc. In the summer holidays I would probably spend a couple of weeks at home preparing work as well as a week in school. One or two people seemed to manage to avoid WFH but I don’t know how. It is the norm for teachers to need to do so.

DS works from home a couple of days a week and is in the office the rest of the time. When I had just had my hip replaced, he came down to look after me for a couple of weeks and was able to work from here, though he complained about my prehistoric broadband speed! DD, who doesn’t work from home, similarly moved in for the first week and was allowed to work from here during that time. She hates working from home.

Mixed thought on this. My son in law works from home, office room, with visits into work twice a month. Used to it, but missed social interaction. Daughter really dislikes it on the odd time she's done it, prefers being at work, and worked in office, public service, all through covid. May save you money, but really does nothing for the economy.

My daughter works from home two days a week and goes into the office two days a week, so she gets the best of both. I think she prefers working from home as she has a lengthy commute. At least wfh means she can hang out a washing or take one in if rains

One daughter and at least 3 of my adult GC work from home it seems to suit them all. My daughter does admin for 2 estate agent office and loves the freedom it offers from not driving in rush hour traffic and allowing her to organise her day as she pleases with breaks away from her computer to take a walk just sit in the garden with lunch etc. They are all less stressed and have a better balance between work and leisure time and my daughter now lives out of London in peaceful surroundings. A lot of people are enjoying the freedom it gives I can’t see things going back to how things were.

I worked from home in the 90’s particularly as I worked across time zones, so I’d be working with colleagues in the USA in our evenings.
I changed jobs in 2000 and by 2008 was working from home again as and when it seemed sensible as my house is equidistant from the office and the major development site I was responsible for. I enjoyed it, the flexibility, being trusted, I had meetings in my kitchen/diner and rarely had to change for an office meeting. Good broadband and a separate mobile phone were essential.

I've worked from home since the pandemic. My choice I sold my house and moved far from the office to be nearer my daughter and grandsons.

Many of the positives are listed above.

But I hate the loneliness, lose of office banter, feeling excluded from all the social side of office life and interaction with the youngsters.

If the company moved the office closer I go back to full time working in the office like a shot.

Three of my ACs work from home very successfully. They all say they can get more done without the busy commute every day and taking more cars off the road is surely a good thing.
I remember being interrupted at work by colleagues who wanted a chat or the endless collections for birthdays etc. I would have got more done at home.

I worked from home for several years before retirement in a dedicated room next to the front door. Plenty of space, laid out to suit me, a comfortable working environment which allowed for 1:1 meetings with no intrusion into the home environment. It was so easy and non stressful. Distractions were minimal, friends and family knew if I was working I’d not answer door or phone. There was a split phone line with two ringing sounds, one for personal calls the other for my work calls. We had plenty of parking available for work callers so no aggravation for neighbours. It’s necessary to be disciplined and not let work intrude on family time, to take breaks. I tried to have a short walk at lunch time. I loved it but am less sure I would have without the luxury of dedicated space and by then a child free home. Whether it works well for people does I think depend on personality.

My son and girlfriend worked from home during lockdown, their spare bedroom had to be turned into an office. In their sphere, publishing, productivity increased everyone was buying books. They enjoyed it initially it gave them the opportunity to acquire a puppy. Eventually they returned to the office two to three days a week, my son likes the split he enjoys interaction with colleagues. They have had to acquire a dog walker for their pooch, but were glad to support a young woman acquaintance in her new venture in that respect.

My neighbour works from home. This seems to include washing his and DDs cars, gardening, decorating, shopping, walking the dog, etc.

Need I go on? I don't see how he has time to do his job.

Various family members have to work from home , none of them will appear out of the “office” until finishing time!
Sometimes my daughter next door will pop in for coffee at 11 , but with one eye on the clock , she leaves after 10 mins , or if summoned by her phone
Another daughter does the long commute to the office one day a week ,
One son asked to go back into the office , he missed interacting and bouncing ideas around ,
It does seem to be good but with the odd blip , but that’s life

My son works from home a couple of days and in office the other quite a good balance says he gets more done at home. And yes he does put his washing out!

I only work 2 days a week both from Home.
I run a Hospital clinic from home as all the information I need is on line, via the Hospital IT system. All secure as I have to go through a set process also have a secure app to communicate to team on site. If I need to speak to a patient I just ring them, the biggest problem with that is getting people to answer the phone!
I'm part of a team that works this way . We get through far more work doing this , on site you get constant interruptions. This will be the normal in quiet a clinics in the future.

I worked from home for several organisations, with time at my work bases varying between once a week to once a month, almost continuously from the early 1990s. Much of my work was out and about on other sites and locations (the one thing I miss about work is the extensive travel) but I still wanted a separation between home life and work, so I always had a separate office in my home, with a firm rule that I was not to be disturbed if the door was closed.

I also rarely in that thirty years had fixed hours, just a number of hours I was contracted to work, so within reason I could work to suit the needs of clients and partner organisation stations, and myself, which was an additional flexibility that I valued.

I only had one job in that time that didn’t fit those parameters, and I didn’t stay very long, as it didn’t offer me enough other professional benefits to offset the loss of autonomy.

I was highly productive, efficient and effective, as were the vast majority of my colleagues working in the same way. I do understand that it doesn’t suit every organisation, or every individual, but it was great for me and my employers, and not by any means a way to skive.

FindingNemo15

My neighbour works from home. This seems to include washing his and DDs cars, gardening, decorating, shopping, walking the dog, etc.

Need I go on? I don't see how he has time to do his job.

you have no idea of his actual working hours

As a teacher I never had the option, although I did plenty of work (marking, planning) in the evenings at home.
What I think I would find difficult would be the lack of cut off between work and home. I used to lev a 40 minute drive from school and although the drive was tedious it cleared my mind preparing for or leaving work behind during the journey.
Living close by, as I did for 24 years, I was never free of it.

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FindingNemo15

My neighbour works from home. This seems to include washing his and DDs cars, gardening, decorating, shopping, walking the dog, etc.

Need I go on? I don't see how he has time to do his job.

If he doesn't manage his time properly and isn't fulfilling his duties then it's between him and his firm.

It does enable people to work differently; without the daily, sometimes very long, commute, some may start work at 6 am then have a break (perhaps take the dog for a quick walk) while others are still stuck in traffic jams.
People I know combine some days WFH with days in the office.
For others, who work internationally, it is now an accepted way of life.

Most people can't, though, those in public-facing jobs such as the medical world, shops, hospitality, schools etc.

My son during Covid had to work from home, then when people could go back his company decided to continue WFH.
He lives in a flat on his own and apart from having to kit out his second bedroom as an office it had a massive impact on his mental health. His line manager who he did speak to every day recognised his problem and did arrange some counselling through the company.
In the end he had to leave, unfortunately he panicked and took a job that really didn’t suit him in a small family company who micromanaged him and treated him unbelievably and eventually he was forced to resign ( they told him they would sack him if he didn’t).
He is now 6 months into a job he loves and is doing really well, he manages his own time and can choose to work occasionally at home but he mostly enjoys being in the office,

I worked from home intermittently on and off for about a year for health reasons before I retired and absolutely hated it!! I liked my stress to be kept in the office where it belonged and not imported to my home . My husband and dog treated me as if I was at home and my office, naturally treated me as if I were at the office , which technically speaking of course, I was .Telephone calls that had been made to the Office had to be returned so not that much changed.
Reduced wear and tear on myself through reduced travelling and reduced cost of travelling didn't really , for me, compensate.
Just a personal point of view.

I worked from home for many years and my daughter is doing the same - both of us as free-lancers. WFH is very good for parents because children can be taken to and picked up from school and a poorly child (not seriously ill) can be looked after at home, no need to ask for special leave. A designated office or office area is an absolute must and friends and family have to understand that work hours are sacrosanct unless in an emergency.

lsummer that is a problem, it could be very isolating, particularly for someone living alone during lockdowns.

I'm glad he has a job he enjoys now.