1st day back in office, this is truly horrible

[Anonymous]

I agree. It sucks to bust your butt just to be virtual.

But it is your job.

I shut up and am grateful I have work when I travel in to do the same I would do at home.

[Anonymous]

Chat GPT will be taking over your job shortly. It works from home but is free and doesn’t whine.

[Anonymous]

Remember, if you're forced to work back in the office, only work at the office. Do not check emails before or after work. Do not answer work calls after COB. Do not address any weekend emergencies until Monday morning.

If they want that flexible, accommodating worker who happily put in 10-hour days a few months ago then they have to make that worker happy again by allowing them to WFH. End of story.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were you this incapable of functioning pre-pandemic, or is it a long Covid thing?

Were you not employed before 2020? Suck it up buttercup. It’s call real life.

But pre-pandemic there were very few people who knew how beneficial working from home could be for their health, wellness, family life, etc. Most people who had a WAH grumbled about not having face time or being disconnected since WAH infrastructure wasn't as robust as it is now. Or they said they felt isolated or went house crazy if they didn't have a system in place for getting out of the house daily.
With COVID people had to adjust to being in the house more often, WAH, etc. They got new routines, new priorities, more time/less time, some marriages fell apart, some got stronger, and some families readjusted their priorities after realizing how LITTLE time they get with their kids. Companies invested in WAH capabilities and many of us were WAH- even when we would have transitioned back to the office at any earlier time- for 1-2.5 years. Of course I wanted to go into the office when I had a toddler at home part-time and my job was always taking a back seat to my DH's fed job, which always seems to somehow be in emergency mode.

Now people are being asked to revert back to the office but all the benefits of the office no longer feel like benefits. I get to control my house temp, I have a fantastic setup at home that I personally paid for, all my meetings are virtual, I save money on gas, I can work outside on a pretty day, I walk on my treadmill 2-3x day for 10-15 minutes, etc. Managers act like they want people to work but all I hear about are companies paying out the wazoo for return-to-office parties and office "culture" events, which are not working.

Progress was never made by going backwards and that's what many companies are asking people to do. There are some jobs that will never be able to, and were never able to, work from home. That is not the point of WAH vs WOH discussions. Those jobs are nothingburgers because they never had to transition to/from WAH and WOH. But I can assure you that the WOH people would rather have the WAH at home. All of my teacher friends complain about how much earlier they have to leave because of traffic. WAH people are also more likely to make mid-day appointments, thereby, reducing the amount of people who require early morning and late afternoon appointments.

Nope, this is where you're wrong. It's not going backwards. WFH during Covid, for 99% of people, was a stopgap measure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Remember, if you're forced to work back in the office, only work at the office. Do not check emails before or after work. Do not answer work calls after COB. Do not address any weekend emergencies until Monday morning.

If they want that flexible, accommodating worker who happily put in 10-hour days a few months ago then they have to make that worker happy again by allowing them to WFH. End of story.

+1000

If office work is required to be productive, then employers should expect no work will be done outside of the office. Can't have it both ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Remember, if you're forced to work back in the office, only work at the office. Do not check emails before or after work. Do not answer work calls after COB. Do not address any weekend emergencies until Monday morning.

If they want that flexible, accommodating worker who happily put in 10-hour days a few months ago then they have to make that worker happy again by allowing them to WFH. End of story.

+1000

If office work is required to be productive, then employers should expect no work will be done outside of the office. Can't have it both ways.

Sure, if you want to be Amy at the Front Desk for your entire career.

[Anonymous]

A lot of people abused productivity from home. They take long kitchen breaks. They go on multiple dog walks. It’s not pure productivity at home.

[Anonymous]

Go find a new job. One with a small commute, or totally remote.

I cannot stand it when people whine about their commute. You knew where the office was when you took the job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many of us have been going back to work since 2021 and enduring wearing masks for a period of time and getting Covid checks at work. This is 2023. It’s time to get back to normalcy. Good luck, off, finding your next job. I hope they don’t give you a writing test.

Sorry you chose the wrong career.

Some of us never EVER worked from home throughout the entire pandemic - and still have to wear masks at work.

You arent comparable. Stop doing apples to oranges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were you this incapable of functioning pre-pandemic, or is it a long Covid thing?

Were you not employed before 2020? Suck it up buttercup. It’s call real life.

But pre-pandemic there were very few people who knew how beneficial working from home could be for their health, wellness, family life, etc. Most people who had a WAH grumbled about not having face time or being disconnected since WAH infrastructure wasn't as robust as it is now. Or they said they felt isolated or went house crazy if they didn't have a system in place for getting out of the house daily.
With COVID people had to adjust to being in the house more often, WAH, etc. They got new routines, new priorities, more time/less time, some marriages fell apart, some got stronger, and some families readjusted their priorities after realizing how LITTLE time they get with their kids. Companies invested in WAH capabilities and many of us were WAH- even when we would have transitioned back to the office at any earlier time- for 1-2.5 years. Of course I wanted to go into the office when I had a toddler at home part-time and my job was always taking a back seat to my DH's fed job, which always seems to somehow be in emergency mode.

Now people are being asked to revert back to the office but all the benefits of the office no longer feel like benefits. I get to control my house temp, I have a fantastic setup at home that I personally paid for, all my meetings are virtual, I save money on gas, I can work outside on a pretty day, I walk on my treadmill 2-3x day for 10-15 minutes, etc. Managers act like they want people to work but all I hear about are companies paying out the wazoo for return-to-office parties and office "culture" events, which are not working.

Progress was never made by going backwards and that's what many companies are asking people to do. There are some jobs that will never be able to, and were never able to, work from home. That is not the point of WAH vs WOH discussions. Those jobs are nothingburgers because they never had to transition to/from WAH and WOH. But I can assure you that the WOH people would rather have the WAH at home. All of my teacher friends complain about how much earlier they have to leave because of traffic. WAH people are also more likely to make mid-day appointments, thereby, reducing the amount of people who require early morning and late afternoon appointments.

Nope, this is where you're wrong. It's not going backwards. WFH during Covid, for 99% of people, was a stopgap measure.

A stop gap measure that lasted for years and was incredibly successful. Many, many companies had record breaking years of profit. So management may have meant for this to be temporary but life has moved on and WFH is now a normal way of white, collar professional life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Were you this incapable of functioning pre-pandemic, or is it a long Covid thing?

Were you not employed before 2020? Suck it up buttercup. It’s call real life.

But pre-pandemic there were very few people who knew how beneficial working from home could be for their health, wellness, family life, etc. Most people who had a WAH grumbled about not having face time or being disconnected since WAH infrastructure wasn't as robust as it is now. Or they said they felt isolated or went house crazy if they didn't have a system in place for getting out of the house daily.
With COVID people had to adjust to being in the house more often, WAH, etc. They got new routines, new priorities, more time/less time, some marriages fell apart, some got stronger, and some families readjusted their priorities after realizing how LITTLE time they get with their kids. Companies invested in WAH capabilities and many of us were WAH- even when we would have transitioned back to the office at any earlier time- for 1-2.5 years. Of course I wanted to go into the office when I had a toddler at home part-time and my job was always taking a back seat to my DH's fed job, which always seems to somehow be in emergency mode.

Now people are being asked to revert back to the office but all the benefits of the office no longer feel like benefits. I get to control my house temp, I have a fantastic setup at home that I personally paid for, all my meetings are virtual, I save money on gas, I can work outside on a pretty day, I walk on my treadmill 2-3x day for 10-15 minutes, etc. Managers act like they want people to work but all I hear about are companies paying out the wazoo for return-to-office parties and office "culture" events, which are not working.

Progress was never made by going backwards and that's what many companies are asking people to do. There are some jobs that will never be able to, and were never able to, work from home. That is not the point of WAH vs WOH discussions. Those jobs are nothingburgers because they never had to transition to/from WAH and WOH. But I can assure you that the WOH people would rather have the WAH at home. All of my teacher friends complain about how much earlier they have to leave because of traffic. WAH people are also more likely to make mid-day appointments, thereby, reducing the amount of people who require early morning and late afternoon appointments.

Nope, this is where you're wrong. It's not going backwards. WFH during Covid, for 99% of people, was a stopgap measure.

It worked. It was progress. Jobs got done, work got completed, deliverables got met. Thats what matters. A stopgap for 2 years? 6 weeks sure. 2 years- nope. Thats the new normal.

[Anonymous]

OP I agree with you 100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of people abused productivity from home. They take long kitchen breaks. They go on multiple dog walks. It’s not pure productivity at home.

If a manager couldn't see that and address it, then that's on the manager.

[Anonymous]

Op, often things come full circle in life. Just quit your belly-aching and do your job. You are wasting time on your first day back by rambling on an anonymous internet site.

[Anonymous]

I for one am sick of hearing people complain about returning the office. Not because I think going to the office is so great, but because complaining helps not at all. And it’s not a novel or interesting complaint at this point. If you don’t want to go to the office get a new job that doesn’t have that requirement or start your own business.