Well, it was fun while it lasted. After working from home for a year and a half, I'm finally back in the office. Currently I'm alternating at-home weeks with weeks in the office, but I'm sure full time at the office is only a few months away. It wasn't until I started working in the office again that I really started to realize how superior it was to work from home.
I think my biggest complaint is their reasons for wanting us back in the office. We were doing just fine at home. There's very little that needs to be done in person. But it came down to two things. Some customers mentioned that they could hear noises in the background when they called us, such as television, children, and dogs. The other issue is they just "wanted to see more faces in the office" which sounds like a sweet "we miss you", but actually means they want to be able to watch us and make sure we're really working.
Here's some of the advantages I enjoyed working from home:
Saves gas and time. I lose almost an hour a day driving to and from work. That's more than 300 hours a year that would be better spent watching TV. And now I have to start budgeting for gas again, in a year when the price of almost everything went up.
Fewer distractions. YMMV on this one, but I personally work more efficiently at home. I know some coworkers probably get caught up on Facebook and who-knows-what-else when they aren't being supervised, but that hasn't been a problem for me. I don't even keep the TV on in the room I work in. I'm not saying I've never glanced at the internet while working from home, but the point is, I can schedule those distractions for when work is slow. But when I'm in the office, I'm constantly overhearing other people's conversations and phone calls, making it difficult to concentrate on my own work. I sit near one of the doors to my area, and just the sound of the door opening and closing every few minutes drives me crazy.
Dress code/Decorum. To be fair, my work doesn't have a very strict dress code. But I still work faster when I'm comfortable, and I'm more comfortable when I can dress the way I want. At home, I could even wear a skirt if I wanted. Plus I save money by putting off haircuts longer. I can also belch if I want, and I save money on deodorant.
Better equipment. My work mouse and keyboard suck. But they are functional, so I can't really put in an IT ticket just because I don't like the style. I suppose I could bring in a mouse/keyboard from home, but I don't want to carry them back and forth, and I don't want to spend my own money on office equipment. Also, there's an issue with the phone where they can't have my phone software installed on both computers at the same time. I actually to have to forward phone calls to my cell phone while I'm in the office, because the software is currently tied to my home computer.
Safety. There is still a pandemic going on. Sure, I'm vaccinated, and our office has taken a lot of safety precautions. But given that there's no pressing need for us to be in the office, it sure would be safer to just keep us home until there's fewer daily COVID deaths.
But that's not to say working from home is 100% perfect. Here's some of the advantages of working in the office:
Physical duties. 99% of my duties can be done from home easily. But there's still a couple of things that can only be done in person. We're talking less than 10 minutes of my average workday, but I still feel guilty that someone else has been having to do these duties.
Smells better. My desk at home is right next to a litter box. I try to keep it clean, but the office still smells much better.
Easier training. I'm not currently in training, nor am I currently training anyone else. But our office loves cross training, so sooner or later I will have to train with someone. This is very difficult when you're not in person.
No connection problems. In the past 18 months, there were maybe three days when my internet went down for a couple of hours. At least one day the power went out. There were also a couple of days where the internet was just plain slow. We almost never have these problems at work.
Using company resources. As long as I'm in the office, I'm spending less on pens, water, toilet paper, electricity, and so on. But it probably doesn't offset spending more on gas.
Health/Exercise/Hygiene. I haven't left the house much in the past year, and I wouldn't be surprised if I put on a couple of pounds. It couldn't hurt to get a bit of sun now and then too.
Vehicle health. I didn't drive much in the past year, and atrophy can be bad for a car. The money I saved on gas could very well get spent on repairs if I'm not careful.
Better equipment. I know I complained about my work mouse and keyboard, but I do like my monitor setup better at work. I don't strictly need two monitors for what I do, but it does make certain tasks easier.
Errands. I pass right by Walgreens on the way to work, so I'm already in the area if I need to pick up a prescription. We're also less likely to waste money having fast food or groceries delivered if I'm already out.
Bottom line: I know I listed more individual things as advantages of working at the office, but the few advantages of working from home outweigh them. The fact is, working from home is cheaper, more efficient, safer, more comfortable, and better for the world as a whole.
