Yesterday I was listening to this interesting podcast, Topic was whether Work from home can be the new normal. As a lot of big companies are planning to go completely remote soon few still prefer offices. Commutes more than 45-60 min sucks but shorter commutes help to keep that work-life balance in place, that was their argument.
What's your take on this? If Given the chance what will your choose. Shorter Commutes to Office or Work from Home or Combination of both, and why?
Top comments (21)
Right now I'm a combination of both. I am in the office two times a week and working from home the other days. I also have a very short commute of only about ten minutes to the office.
I myself love working from home and if I was full time working from home I would have no issues. I'm more productive and I have all the tools I need to effectively work with people. While I understand the office setting, I myself feel like I stay more productive at home, because I feel like it has less "context switching" and distractions.
So while the combination works right now, I myself would choose work from home fully if I could.
So when you go to office, what generally happens that day? I mean is that a brainstorming day or sprint planning day or you just go to meet colleagues.
It pretty much is just a normal work day. One of the days I go in does happen to be for sprint planning, but it's pretty much just to be in the office.
My work is a big time believer in an open office and face-to-face interactions so they just pretty much would like to make sure there is always someone in the office.
Oh cool 👍🏼
I'd definitely go with the combo. I've been working from home since March but the office is only 10 minutes away. Sometimes being home would be nice, but sometimes having the office setting would be better. A short commute is definitely a major key though. Life's much better with a 10 minute commute compared to the 40 I used to have.
Completely agree woth you.
I feel like I have both... It's only a 15 minute drive to the office for me XD
I'd actually prefer it to be slightly longer! There's something relaxing about the drive home after a super busy day. It's a time to reflect and unwind.
I've been WFH since March and whilst I love spending more time with my family, I do miss the banter from the office... A combination of WFH/WFO would be ideal for me! You create those human connections whilst you're in the office, which are a lot harder to cultivate when you're just talking over Slack/Zoom/Teams.
Exactly, Finally someone. 😅
Oh trust me - I get it! The number of times I've had to dictate a solution into my phone because I've solved something is insane XD
Hahaha, True. Also, a ride to the office in those Beautiful mornings with heart-pumping music is also Awesome.
I've been trying to score a WFH gig when Covid happened and forced us all to WFH. I am one of those poeple that hates going into the office. I can see the value in high touch industries where you are meeting with clients and whatnot, but for me I was sitting in traffic every day, all so I can come to the office, be distracted, and get the same things done that I would at home.
But I will concede that my home office is one of the reasons the decision is very easy for me, my setup at home rivals anything I would have in the office, ergonomic chair, standing desk, 4k screen, etc. Furthermore I'm single and with my roommate being at work all day, I have the place to myself. I can see someone with a smaller office and maybe a screaming kids at home would love to return to work right about now.
True 😅
haha, I used to like going into the office.
But since covid and being forced to always work from home....I've grown to love it!
Clearly both of these options have their pros and cons. Working from home saves time and money both for employee and employer it's a win win but it has a risk of increased isolation and more distractions if you don't have a proper workspace at your house. If I had an option to choose I'll go with a combo where I go to the office one day a week
The combo thing is getting popular 😂
I am a lucky one my commute is 20min to the office without getting on the freeway/motorway/periférico and I still prefer work from home. We have citrix for logging in to the company's network and do our work. Really the only time I need to come in is when I have to physically work on servers.
Combination would be awesome perhaps, but honestly there's almost no one at the office that being alone in the building just feels wrong.
Problem for our company is that we have an 12 floor building. So if everyone is working from home I don't know what will happen to the building would have to be rented at some point. So combination wouldn't be an option.
Yeah, empty office buildings sucks.
If I was presented with "20 minute commute or 100% remote" I would go with 100% remote, and make it clear what my working hours are. 0 minutes of having to sit in a mode of transport to my destination is better than a daily total of 40.
Unfortunately where I live there is no such thing as a 20 minute commute to almost any job. If given the choice between two offers that have equal benefits, but one is significantly closer I will almost always go with the one that is closer.
It's obviously not a very cut and dry thing, especially in most cases the compensation will vary and that makes the decision of commute or not commute much more difficult.
And in regards to offices: I dislike them; most use the open office layout and I dislike being able to hear everything going on tables and tables away.
I'm really the type of person who is used to go to an office. But when the pandemic started, I think I'll prefer a mix of both. Go to the office on some days then work remotely once or twice a week.
Only perks of Pandemic
Yeah, haha. I forgot to mention that I'm only about 15-20 min. ride away from our office though. 😅 I also miss the office chitchat from time to time so I would really prefer to meet my teammates every once in a while.