WFH

I have been working from home (WFH) for about eight months now and here’s my list of what is good, bad and ugly about it.

The Good

• My commute has been reduced from just over one hour to 30 seconds
• I get 90 minutes more sleep per night
• I can finish my shift, go for a run and be home before I’d normally complete my post-work commute (this still works in winter, the running is just done on the treadmill instead)
• Breaks allow me to do or start chores that would otherwise be impossible until I was off work, including:
  • Starting/folding laundry
  • Starting/unloading the dishwasher
  • Baking bread. The office never smells like fresh-baked bread and this is a tragedy.
  • Sweep, mop
  • Run down the garbage or organics
  • Check the mail (the physical kind that comes in envelopes)
• I can listen to music while I work (I don’t do it often, but I do it occasionally)
• I never have to wait to use the bathroom
• I never have to worry about someone else making the bathroom a giant stink bomb
• Snacking is easy and convenient
• Co-workers and other people cannot walk up to your cubicle and trap you in long, painful conversations

I will point out that the first three items listed are huge quality of life improvements. Almost life-changing, really.

The Bad

• Some tools that must be relied on are not great. To be fair, this would be true at the office as well, it’s just that when WFH you can’t just go to someone’s office to have a look because the remote support tool refuses to elevate privileges.
• Online meetings. These are often even more soul-draining than in-person meetings. To the person that asks, “Can you hear me?” at the start of every meeting: Yes, we can hear you. If you don’t suddenly start putting your mic between your feet or attaching it to your cat, we will hear you every time! Also, even when people are on video, it can be challenging picking up on body language and other visual cues.
• Let’s just say some people are not exactly timely in answering messages
• Can feel isolating at times, given the lack of face to face interaction

The Ugly

• Knowing that this will eventually end and most people will just automatically go back to doing everything the old way, taking no lessons from what we learned. Or in other words, people will be people.

Overall, I love WFH. I don’t miss the office at all. The air in the office is bad, the commute is long, there are numerous distractions, I am forced into contact with others and this inevitably leads to a series of colds and other bugs through the year.