How Work From Home Has Changed And Became Less Desirable In last 18 Months
I used to love WFH, but not anymore.
Work from home was something we all wanted before the pandemic changed everything. It saved us time, no need to commute to work, and more time with the family. Or at least we used to think that way.
I must say, I used to love working from home occasionally in the pre-pandemic era. Traveling to work was a pain and I used to spend a lot of time on the road. Not to forget the interrupts, tea breaks, and meetings you need to attend at work. I used to feel these activities take up a lot of time.
The pandemic changed it all. In the beginning, it felt like I could work from home all my life. But a few months later I want to go to work at least 2–3 times a week.
‘Work From Home’ is now ‘Work For Home’
Quite a few times I have realized that I am working for home more than work from home. Well, when you are home you are required at least expected to do more household chores.
I used the office as an excuse to run away from household chores, but now I can not.
Too many meetings
I used to hate unnecessary meetings from the time I started my career. I used to avoid unwanted meetings at work. People tend to invite a lot of people to a meeting even if the discussion can be done between 2.
Post pandemic, the number of meetings went off the roof. Status calls, discussions with teammates, design discussions all day on phone or Google meet.
I have tried my best to reduce the number of meetings and their duration. But this is something that is making us less productive.
Sometimes I take a day off just to stay away from the meetings and calls.
Managing Study from Home (for kids) along with WFH
It's not only us who are stuck at home, kids are also attending their classes from home. Due to the lack of space, I sit in the same room where my daughter attends her classes.
Kids create a lot of noise and I must say it's hard to concentrate on work in this environment.
I have started using noise-canceling headphones.
Stuck at home
This is my biggest reason to not like WFH. I am stuck at home and not able to interact with the team face to face. Work has become too monotonous at home.
I liked walking to someone’s desk and quickly discuss the task at hand and get back to work. It's not the same on phone.
Work-Life Balance is lost
We used to have 2 places ‘Office’ and ‘Home’. Now we only have one. This is the biggest reason I hate WFH. You had a place to go when you wanted to go out of home and vice-versa.
Now you have only one place that is ‘home office’. You are close to your family but working, taking calls, etc.
Wrapping Up
I am not saying WFH is bad. In my opinion, a hybrid approach is the best where you go to work 2–3 days a week and do WFH the rest of the week.
I started going to a nearby cafe to get some time alone. I have written this article in a cafe :)
