Quote:
Originally Posted by trueviking
More than a bit insulting to suggest people who believe there are advantages to working in an office are somehow old privileged curmudgeons opposed to change....like somehow they just don’t get it.
It’s true that some types of jobs can work from home sometimes. But I don’t believe as a whole working alone will make people better, more creative and productive professionals. I believe the advantages of learning from others makes you better. Even the example of the casework, if relationships hadn’t already been established it would not be the same. How do you train an intern or a new hire? How do you collaborate as effectively? How do you learn a new computer program? How do you seek a quick opinion or advice? How do you see what your coworkers are working on and have input into making it better? How do you learn from other people? How do you grow as a professional? I don’t think any of that can be done as effectively alone or in a video chat.
I find my engagement in the world has dropped to zero. My feeling of self worth has even declined, wearing sweat pants every day and never engaging in stimulating discussion with my peers. I don’t buy that working in isolation will make me a better professional in the long run. As a boss, I don’t think the productivity and creativity would be the same over time. Personally I feel like my work life balance has declined because a huge part of the intellectual stimulation I get from others is gone. There is no balance anymore. Spending as much time as possible at home is not a balance. Not to me anyways. Being away from home is as important to the balance as being at home is.
I could see when there might be times I could do some tasks from home, or if I was sick but not enough to stop working, I could do it from home. But as a blanket policy, I think it would make me less good at my job.
Why is the alternative to working from home, driving to work? One of the biggest things I miss is riding my bike or walking to work.
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There's a lot to break down here, and I do thank you for providing a real response with content from the heart - pretty rare around here these days.
Your response has been heavily influenced by your current job and your current situation, however I haft to believe that you're not in the most common of positions. While I cant pretend to know all the inner workings of an Architect, I haft to imagine it includes A LOT of collaboration and interaction.
The "How do you" questions are another reflection on your workplace IMO. I've been working technology for my whole career and the shift to working from home was painless. I'm in constant communication with my coworkers, training is simple and painless, everything can be done through video conference or chat programs. The younger people in my department have transitioned so easily its like they were always working from home. I've found communication to be much easier these days as everyone is just a chat message away - no more getting up and finding them at their desks. On a personal level I'm actually finding that I'm getting closer to people at my job over the last couple of months. While there is obviously still a place for in person interactions, the idea that getting your job done is now much more difficult because you're not all in one place is false for most jobs.
As for all of your personal feelings and situation currently, I feel for you I really do... The transition has not been flawless for everyone, and while most people I know have found it enjoyable there are a couple who miss the in-person social interactions. However there is much more going on then just them working from home, society itself has been shut down for months, going out with friends for dinner has not really been an option for a while, movie theaters are closed, parks are closed. The work/life balance has been impacted for every person on the planet (in a country taking this seriously...). If the ONLY change was working 9-5 from your home and everything else was normal that transition would have been much easier for some.
One thing I've been stressing to my team is to treat work like work, even though were all at home. I wake up and get ready for work every day (make breakfast, have a shower, put on real clothes). Letting yourself be a mess is not healthy for your mental state. Get up at lunch and move around, go outside for a walk, grab your morning coffee and chat online with your coworkers like you would have at in the breakroom. And honestly, based on what you've said I would really encourage this - waking up just before work still in your pj's/sweats and then staying at your desk after work until its time to sleep is not healthy for your mental (or physical) state. I'll fully admit when this first started I was doing just that... My mental and physical health started to decline really quick so I started treating work and life as separate things, even though they're in the same location now.
2 final things (this has been a really long winded response, I am sorry...) I also find it insulting that some have the attitude of "Lol, lets see what production is like now that its warm" - suggesting that working from home will collapse because people can go outside is a little... well, insulting...
And you know as well as I do that going back to work means going back to your car. I doubt public transport, with its crammed boxes that easily spread disease, will see a major boost from Covid. And not everyone can afford a bike, lives close enough to their job to justify it, or wants to cycle to work when its -40. You know this as well as I...
TL : DR - put some damn pants on, it will benefit your mental health!
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