After successfully doing my job from home for over a year, I find driving into the office to be soul-crushing. My goal is to find a more progressive-thinking company. The truck will be paid off two years from now, and I hope to have most of what is left on my mortgage paid off. Once that is complete, I will be willing to take a pay cut to enjoy a little more flexibility.
The older I get, the less patience I have for things that
don’t make sense. Fighting traffic and sitting in a cubicle because someone
thinks I am more productive is ridiculous. My boss is trying to engage with people. He is
trying to make it appear as if we can collaborate better in the office. There are forty people in our office. I will
discuss work with anyone I need to discuss things with, but I only engage
regularly with two people.
Today is Friday, one of the last official work from home days I am taking, although you can bet there will be many unofficial ones. You won't find me driving through winter snowstorms to get to a cubicle. Yes, I know the truck can climb Mt. Everest, but why should I battle the other people on the road. I have done my part to raise this issue with management. I don't think anyone disagrees. A few are afraid to speak up.
I think it is all about timing. When they start major road construction in front of our office. I will again be questioning the sense of coming in every day.
I agree that if one can work from Home, it's redundant to go into an Office. I suppose Management with nobody to actually Manage feels rather Lost and in fear of their positions being eliminated perhaps? So long as the Work is getting done and the quality and quantity of it is up to par and no Customer Service is required, the overhead of the Cubicle Space and Office Space doesn't make sense either to the Parent Company? I lack Patience as I age too, nor tolerance for the intolerable... the Granddaughter says I'm meaner about things, she could be right, I just want to cut thru any and all bullshit and cut to the chase quickly and effectively...if that seems mean-spirited, too bad. I am at that Age where running out of precious time makes me not up to this shit, that shit, their shit, whatever... *winks*
ReplyDeleteYes I don't want to get bitter, but sometimes I think some things are making me that way.
DeleteI do believe you are entering the stage of 'I don't give a shit.'
ReplyDeleteI few more years and yes I will be at that stage.
DeleteIt really doesn't make any sense to have everyone come back to the office when they can do the same job from home and do it as good.
ReplyDeleteNo it does not. We will see if things change. There will be a lot of pressure on the owner if our customers or not going back the same way. They will not get people to sign on to the job.
DeleteI do believe some people used working from home as an excuse to slack off and do as little as possible, but for me, I got more done working from home. I had less distractions, less noise, and most important, I was much happier and relaxed. I can't stand the drive to and from work either. It makes me dread the work day. I am trying to make the best of it, because I work for a state office that doesn't care what I think about it all, but like you, I am definitely open to a different job if I can work from home.
ReplyDeleteYou can use "working from home as an excuse to slack off'" but it is clear when your work results are reviewed that you didn't do anything. So you would not be kept. Most people who work from home feel the pressure to perform, that you discuss.
DeleteWorking from home should be the new normal for so many more reasons than returning to an office could produce.
Like you, I worked for the State and loved it when I worked from home in the 1990s.
Good luck to you. Hang in there because it is a great job with great benefits compared to a lot of your contemporaries.
It is a good, job the benefits are okay. I am not in a hurry, just keeping my eyes open.
DeleteI've been working from home for 5 years now, and I really cannot picture going back to office life. While I wasn't planning on leaving my company anytime soon, I'm really starting to hate my direct manager, so I'm going to start looking, but I won't even bother applying for anything that doesn't involve a virtual work environment. I've made the investment in a nice standing desk, good work chair, and other little perks (bluetooth keyboard/mouse/speakers, LED back lights, footrest, ergonomic back pillow) to make my workspace exactly how I want it. I'm not gonna go to some shitty office with generic equipment.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds nice. I won't be moving to another company unless they offer some flexible work enviroment.
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