Here are 15 about working from home from my perspective:
- It eliminates the need for spending time commuting, which becomes free time.
- It eliminates most of the need for spending money on a car that sits still most of the time. To the degree that I don't even own a car right now and just Uber/taxi/bus everywhere and rent when I actually need one.
- I get to spend more time with my partner and pets.
- I get to live wherever the hell I want so long as I have decent Internet available.
- I will always be able to use a beefy desktop computer instead of a slow laptop and a lesser set-up.
- I am able to tend to home duties that require people at home (such as receiving packages or maintenance workers).
- I can exert vastly more control over distractions and end up more productive.
- Lunch time is far less of a concern (not restricted to tupperware-compatible foods) and cheaper (since there's more home-cooked options available, I order less food overall).
- I get to have specialty coffee whenever I want, however I want, real proper espresso included.
- If I'm not feeling it after lunch, I can be available on Slack on-demand during the day in order not to block anyone and then do focus-demanding tasks late at night.
- I like listening to somewhat loud music and I don't like wearing headphones all day.
- I don't have to worry about being "office presentable" every day for a long streak of hours. Meaning less effort, more time, and for some people, more money.
- I don't feel as much pressure to attend after-office events when I'm not feeling up to it.
- Even when an office is equipped for powernapping, it can't compare to my own bed in the privacy of my home.
- And speaking of: If you don't have the luxury of living in a neighborhood where opportunist burglars aren't a thing, your presence will dissuade most of them from going into your home.
I am not part of the crew that absolutely rules out going back to an office ever in their lives. But there is a big number attached to it during negotiation that matches the huge life improvement that WFH is for me.
Not the OP. I understand my situation might be a bit specific, but I'm a single guy living in a small apartment in his very early 30s with not a lot of friends and family (important point that my commute to the office is a 15 minute walk). We basically have an unlimited WFH policy, but I still like to spend at least 2-3 days in the office as I've noticed it has some strong benefits. There might not be exactly 10 of them, but for me it's definitely enough.
- It's something that makes me leave the house
- I've found that being around people has a positive effect on my mental health and general wellbeing
- As I live in a small apartment, I don't have the desk space for a multi monitor setup I would prefer
- The coffee is just way better than the one I am able to make at home
- It's an occasion when I have to look presentable, so I'm taking better care of myself
So going forward, we need to realize people are in different situations, situations can change and if the employers care about their employees the WFH option needs to stay.
It eliminates the need for spending time commuting, which becomes free time.
Expanding on this:
Not commuting means one is also not contributing to traffic congestion, not emitting CO2, reducing fuel consumption, extending the life of the vehicle, not being at risk of traffic collision.
That last bit seems to be a big one that insurance companies should favor. Reduction of time on the road is a reduction of risk of injury. In my opinion WFH should also be a reason to reduce automotive insurance costs.
Here are 15 about working from home from my perspective:
- It eliminates the need for spending time commuting, which becomes free time.
- It eliminates most of the need for spending money on a car that sits still most of the time. To the degree that I don't even own a car right now and just Uber/taxi/bus everywhere and rent when I actually need one.
- I get to spend more time with my partner and pets.
- I get to live wherever the hell I want so long as I have decent Internet available.
- I will always be able to use a beefy desktop computer instead of a slow laptop and a lesser set-up.
- I am able to tend to home duties that require people at home (such as receiving packages or maintenance workers).
- I can exert vastly more control over distractions and end up more productive.
- Lunch time is far less of a concern (not restricted to tupperware-compatible foods) and cheaper (since there's more home-cooked options available, I order less food overall).
- I get to have specialty coffee whenever I want, however I want, real proper espresso included.
- If I'm not feeling it after lunch, I can be available on Slack on-demand during the day in order not to block anyone and then do focus-demanding tasks late at night.
- I like listening to somewhat loud music and I don't like wearing headphones all day.
- I don't have to worry about being "office presentable" every day for a long streak of hours. Meaning less effort, more time, and for some people, more money.
- I don't feel as much pressure to attend after-office events when I'm not feeling up to it.
- Even when an office is equipped for powernapping, it can't compare to my own bed in the privacy of my home.
- And speaking of: If you don't have the luxury of living in a neighborhood where opportunist burglars aren't a thing, your presence will dissuade most of them from going into your home.
I am not part of the crew that absolutely rules out going back to an office ever in their lives. But there is a big number attached to it during negotiation that matches the huge life improvement that WFH is for me.