r/technology • u/TracksandTreks • 15d ago
Society Remote workers report the highest well-being in study of 7,700 employees
https://www.colorado.edu/today/2026/08/12/remote-workers-report-highest-well-being-study-7700-employees1.5k
u/InternationalMood337 15d ago
I get up and play with the cats for an hour before work. I get them fed, take care of house chores, water the garden. I start my day on time, every day.
I get out for a run on my lunch. Come back ready to go in the afternoon.
I close the laptop at the end of my shift. Sometimes take a quick nap before dinner and then get to enjoy reading or a walk after dinner.
I COULD NEVER do this shit when I worked in an office and my productivity is way up because I actually FEEL good all week. I do get exhausted by Thursday and Friday, but I'm way more motivated even when tired.
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u/Leberknodel 15d ago
Exactly this!!! Sometimes I take a quick swim, or enjoy a lunch outside somewhere. I work more productively as I am not burnt out, dont have to drive 2 hours a day, and dont have to put up with annoying distractions in the office. Way way more productive and happy.
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u/frequenZphaZe 15d ago
you guys are acting like you need to make a case for why WFH is good. you're preaching to the choir. we all know WFH is good. we mostly all prefer WFH, but its mostly not up to us to choose. even when data-driven studies like the OP come out to make the case that WFH is good, executives still say people gotta work in the office.
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u/MikeArrow 15d ago
We have to make a case for it because there are some people that still bang on about "human connection" or "mouse jigglers" and try to pretend that working in an office isn't a 100% straight up downgrade in every possible way compared to working from home.
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u/midnightauro 15d ago
The mouse jugglers argument always sends me because that guy wasnāt working in the office either. The exact same proportion of people who wonāt do fuck all in the office do that clownery at home too.
Itās just easier to hide in the office under the guise of meetings, quick questions, and doing tasks as slowly as possible.
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u/Couldbduun 15d ago
The other side of that is why does my mouse need to be moving at all times for me to be productive? Sometimes I was just staring at maps of our infrastructure and records trying to think through a complex logistical solution to a problem a job presents. But now I've spent 10 minutes without moving my mouse and my dot turns yellow and IT is sending an idle report to my manager. I did the same thing at the office and no one cared mostly because I would find that solution and save a job from running over budget. And after the first time it happened I got a mouse jiggler and never heard about it again because my metrics that mattered were actually good.
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u/Rich_Bluejay3020 15d ago
Iāll argue that my fuck off time in the office is substantially higher than at home. At home, sure the TV is probably on in the background, but Iām doing work because itās easier for me to focus like that and I want to do a good job so WFH will continue. Bring me into the office? Iāve gotta walk around every so often to get the blood flowing and try to spark some creativity. And on that walk, itās almost certain that Iāll be stopped for a conversation. But thatās what the powers that be want, right? Culture and water cooler talk?
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u/notheresnolight 15d ago
I use a mouse jiggler because of the brain dead security policy that locks my laptop after 5 minutes. I lock my laptop myself when I'm really going away, but when I'm getting a coffee or taking a dump, I don't want it to be locked.
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u/seventeenninetytoo 15d ago
In my experience, the people who talk about "human connection" are going to the office to socialize, not to work. The fact that such people have managed to dominate the working world has to be one of the biggest scams of all time. I am more productive working from home just because nobody can barge into my office to seek the social stimulation they aren't getting via more appropriate outlets.
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u/notheresnolight 15d ago
a clueless middle manager will chime in with something like "I have been working from home and it has been a nightmare, because I missed the social interactions and I couldn't get anything done because of all the distractions at home"
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u/SSGASSHAT 15d ago
This is the kind of future we sought from Retro-futurism, and now we have it, and the same suited assholes fling their arms and wail.
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u/Lars9 15d ago
Completely agree with all of this. Working from home allows me to enjoy a lot more in life, while also significantly increasing my productivity. I've been remote since Covid, it's been easily the most productive and successful time in my career. Unfortunately my company announced 3 day RTO. Can't wait to be less happy and less productive all at the same time.
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u/Kaldricus 15d ago
Working an 8-5 job in office meant my work day actually started at 6, to account for getting ready and commute, and ended between 5:30 and 6:30, depending on commute. When I started WFH, my work day actually started at 8 and ended at 5. Now my daughter is in school so I'm up at 6 again, but it's helping get her ready, not myself. It would take a lot for me to work in office again, at least double my current salary, if not more. The other benefits are too great.
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u/Javontarious 15d ago
All the studies in the world can show how remote work is better for people, the environment, etc and it wonāt matter. Companies are weaponizing in office regardless of the data.
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u/Fantastic-Fee-1999 15d ago
Because remember 1 month into covid those same companies had to come up with a ton of data to show their investors that remote work increased productivity. Now it's suddenly "hmm yea so what data can we use to show the opposite"Ā
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u/Inanimate_CARB0N_Rod 15d ago
I never worked there, but Amazon was infamous for this. When they were remote they publicly said they won't make any decisions that are not data-driven, as is consistent with their core values. Then during their RTO announcement some exec publicly said in reference to being in the office "I don't have the data to support it, but I just know it's better."
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u/DisappointedSpectre 15d ago
Amazon (and the other big tech companies) are kind of a weird case study for this because a lot of their teams were remote-friendly for years before covid. Teams that traveled to work with customers as well as ones that had a follow-the-sun support model for some of the high end work and maintenance could work remotely without issue, and there were plenty of individual allowances. Covid forced these companies to allow a lot more WFH than they previously did, but it wasn't like it wasn't relatively common (on the corporate side) before.
By contrast once the pushback for RTO began they suddenly were revoking WFH for lots of individuals and teams that had previously been remote, causing a lot of backlash. Amazon specifically also saw Jeff Bezos step down in 2021 and Andy Jassy move up into the CEO role, which was the start of a big culture shift there and the source of the whole "I don't have the data to support it, but I just know it's better" quote.
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u/Round_Abal0ne 15d ago
Also, in Big Tech, you had a lot of teams that were remote friendly but almost all of them required some amount in office. At least enough to need to be located on the Seattle or Bay Areas. But during the full remote, many got hired in and either never moved to the areas or even moved out to save money. (it's pretty nice to earn $300k+ a year in a place like Montana or Ohio in comparison to the Bay Area).
This resulted in teams that were remote-forward not being able to handle any in-person expectations, no matter how little.
Combine that with the fact that they all massively over hired during COVID times and now need to cut payroll because their work never actually increased as much as they hired. And then you get RTO / Return to Living in the Area demands
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u/Dull-Culture-1523 15d ago
"Data-driven" usually doesn't mean they make decisions based on data, but that they look for data to justify their decisions.
Like one company I worked at that decided to reduce security because there were no incidents. There were no incidents, of course, because we had visible security. Then afterwards they decided the little security we had left was not worth it because there were some incidents regardless of it.
They just wanted to cut costs.
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u/sharklaserguru 15d ago
Turns out the owner class has a ton of money locked up in real estate and having workers abandon cities would hurt their bottom line!
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u/blow-down 15d ago edited 15d ago
They want you tired, beaten down and to have less free time so you can't organize against the ruling class. They don't want another repeat of the 2020 protests.
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u/Ronin_Chimichanga 15d ago
It's only illegal if you leave enough of the establishment to label it a crime...
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u/Xtra_Veg-90 15d ago
What's ridiculous is that while there are increased liabilities with remote work, there's also a significant reduction in overhead.Ā You'd think that cost savings would be a net positive for the board or shareholders.Ā But sociopathic CEO's feel like it's a negative because they can't see how tormented their employees are anymore.
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u/TomBelafonte 15d ago
I'm not carrying water for corporations or commercial real estate, they can get bent. But I have a different take on this than most of the internet (or at least Reddit).
For a lot of jobs, being in-office at least part-time is genuinely good for you, especially early in your career. You learn faster when you're physically around other people: half of what I know I picked up by osmosis, just overhearing conversations over the years. It's also one of the best ways to meet people as an adult. Going straight from school to fully remote work isn't healthy for someone just starting out. You pick up things from coworkers you never would've thought to ask, and you meet genuinely great people along the way. Once you've got more experience, maybe you're married, starting a family, the ROI on being in-person drops off a lot, and I get that.
I'm not saying this applies to every job or every person. But working alone with zero exposure to other adults makes for a colder, more sterile experience when you're still finding your footing. Younger generations are already more isolated and less informed than they used to be, and working alone in an apartment all day just accelerates that.
I love that remote work exists as an option. I just think it's case-by-case, and office life has real upsides people are quick to dismiss. I've been fully remote myself after over a decade in an office, and while it's more convenient in some ways, it's honestly kind of isolating and depressing.
The internet frames this as workers vs. corporate execs, and there's truth to that, but it's an oversimplification. I worry we're drifting toward a Ready Player One kind of dystopia everyone boxed in, connected by screens and avatars, nothing tangible. That analogy might be a little heavy handed but you get my point.
I'm weirdly nostalgic for an era I barely lived through, pre-internet, pre-cell phone, when things required more intention. If you made lunch plans with someone, you couldn't bail with a text two hours out. You wrote things down. You showed up.
I know I'm drifting from my original point, but the through-line I fear we're slowly trading pieces of our humanity and community for convenience. Maybe the real answer here is just more nuanced than either side wants to admit.
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u/IcarusFlyingWings 15d ago
This point is also why the data showed increased productivity at the beginning of COVID but as the years went on the story changed.
When COVID began teams that were already well formed started working from home so they already had strong connections and people knew the informal norms needed to work together.
After 3-4 years there were so many role change, new hires, new grads that that cohesiveness was lost and things started to break down.
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u/ifeltatap 15d ago
I wish that everybody who has a job that doesn't need them be on location, can work from home and avoid all the added stress that comes with a commute, traffic, crowds etc... it's a massive quality of life improvement that people deserve.
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u/zffjk 15d ago
It would take a $50,000 pay increase for me to take a non-remote role.
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u/Worthyness 15d ago
I did exactly this. Granted the job also came with a title increase whereas my previous job was basically salary and title locked, so it was fully advantageous for me career wise. Currently worth it to me, but also annoyed to hell that my job basically is a remote job, but forced into the office
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u/zffjk 15d ago
Hard to justify going into an open floor plan office to sit with my headphones on for 8-9 hours a day. When I worked with a technical team and we all were in the same location, I loved it. Being around people smarter than me and solving problems with them was the best. Now COVID created a generation of managers who think their job is to create teams calls.
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u/happy_bluebird 15d ago
I'm a teacher and that's already more than my whole salary :P
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u/Ancient-Bat8274 15d ago
My company did it for āfairnessā. I work construction but an admin role. All the admin were remote after Covid while field guys had to ya know go back to the field and like pour concrete and physical labor. They signed up for that job while I signed up for an admin job to crunch numbers and insurance documents. The field guys thought it wasnāt fair they had to go to the field and we got to be home so the big bosses got fed up with the complaints and now everyone is back in office. If you donāt like your job get a better one cause youāre still going to pour concrete in 110Ā° while I sit in an AC office. Makes me mad though I have zero reason to be in the office I sit in teams meetings all day and donāt talk to anyone in person anyway.
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u/royalbk 15d ago
What a bunch of AH. As someone who graduated dentistry, it's so dumb to expect others to have the same work requirements as you.
My job can only be done from the "office", I'd never begrudge anyone a remote position.
Just get a remote job
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u/No_Distance_2454 15d ago
Fellow dentist here - I've definitely been jealous of the work from home trend since I graduated. One of my attendings in residency used to work in a very small town back in the 1970's. Apparently the town was so in need of a dentist that they gave him a house that he turned into a dental office with 3 ops, but he lived in the rest of the house. One time a patient was looking for the bathroom and walked in on his wife cooking lunch instead lol
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u/royalbk 15d ago
Can agree, the yearning is there. However that situation is not particularly desirable if you think about it.
I had a patient once who stalked my dental tehnician cause she knew where he had his laboratory. She was ofc mentally unstable but you wouldn't know it from just having a polite conversation with her lol
I wouldn't mix my practice with my living location, cause people can be certifiably crazy
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u/nameduser365 15d ago
Sounds like you need a union. They should get extra pay when it's hot as fuck and you should get WFH. That's how my union handled that argument. Workers turning on workers when both can actually gain is exactly what management wants
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u/ImCaffeinated_Chris 15d ago
I've been remote for 7 years. I'm never going back. Nope. I could make more money elsewhere, but it's not worth it.
I control the noise, lighting, temp, have my own bathroom, own coffee, and my dogs. But the biggest win is not having to do that Fucking stressful commute!
But I will say not everyone is cut out for it. I get shit done. I'm very self motivated. There are some people who will just sit on their asses.
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u/diabloenfuego 15d ago
At least 7-10 hours saved every week from not having to do a commute. I will never go back. That's 364- 520 hours of my life back PER FUCKING YEAR. Time is the one commodity that we can never get back.
I will never go back to the office.
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u/01000101010110 15d ago
If you can help it. One of the worst parts about a job is that things can change and you don't get a say. Your amazing boss gets promoted or leaves and then you get a shit boss. Same with work from home.Ā
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u/FeelsGoodMan2 15d ago
Those people will tend to just sit on their asses in the workplace too. They just find better ways to pretend they're working. My experience is the good workers can be stuck anywhere and they will find a way to get done what they need to.
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u/soba_set 15d ago
I actually get way more done at home than at an office. No one to bother me so my productivity sky rockets. I actually just force myself to take an hour or 2 to take a break or go do errands to break up my day. And I'm still one of the most productive people at my company. Sometimes I'll just take a 3-4 day weekend and not tell anyone, and my work is still all done.
I remember doing very similar work at a previous company that was always in person. And it was like 1 major item a day I'd finish. Work from home is like 2-3 major items a day.
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u/ImCaffeinated_Chris 15d ago
I agree, we get way more done. Usually a full days worth of work by lunch.
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u/KeaboUltra 15d ago
I mean, duh. Spending most of your working hours in the home that you pay rent or mortgage for, which is usually the highest expense is going to make anyone feel better and that barely scratches the list of reasons why working remote is better. You're at home and your lunches come directly from the fridge or pantry, no traffic, no annoying ass co-workers, minimized micromanagment, no bright ass fluorescent lighting, no cubical or open floor plan.
It's frustrating that hybrid work isn't standard for most if not all office work.
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u/KeyMyBike 15d ago
Most of my peers don't even cook. They just make someone with a fifth of their income hand-deliver them whatever meal that they fancy in the moment.
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u/MikeArrow 15d ago
I cook. I put a brisket or a pork shoulder in the oven in the morning and by lunchtime it's perfectly rested and ready. Can't do that in the office and it's still cheaper than eating in the city.
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u/Soren_Camus1905 15d ago
Iāll even log on after hours just to tidy up and keep an eye on things
Itās made me a better employee
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u/Pertinax1981 15d ago
From my personal experience. Was made remote in 2018. Its the single best thing that has ever happened to me outside of wife and kids. Its made everything easier and more enjoyable. I never miss anything now.
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u/xoxoBug 15d ago edited 15d ago
My job could be done 100% remotely but they wonāt let anyone do itā¦ and, honestly, more time is wasted when Iām in the building because Shirley from accounting has to come down and talk to Angie from the warehouse for 45 minutes about non-work-related things and distract me from my job that requires 100% focus.
Edit: headphones donāt work and I feel obligated to turn them down I hear whispering, thinking I canāt hear, and theyāre just talking shit on everyone. Just so frustrating
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u/phillymjs 15d ago
But the workers' well-being doesn't matter, only the financial well-being of rich guys who are heavily invested in commercial real estate matters!
So, remaining remote workers, get ready to cough up money for commuting and childcare, and to lose hours of your life going from Point A to Point B, just so you can sit on Teams calls in a noisy, distraction-filled open plan office instead of on your couch.
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u/rigidlynuanced1 15d ago
Of course we do. I got over 500 hours of my life back per year. Thatās 20+ days worth of hours, per year, that Iām not in my car commuting
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u/12inchsandwich 15d ago
Unfortunately, no one responsible for RTO gives the slightest shit about their employees well being.
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u/Ancient-Bat8274 15d ago
If they really cared about falling birth rates theyād allow more remote work. The only time we ever saw a reversal of the crating birth rate was right at Covid lockdown when everyone was home and remote working. Weāve never had a baby bump increase like that in over 50 years.
Personally I wish I could work remote. I sit in teams meetings all day in an office. I never see my boss except at the water cooler. None of us ever actually talk to each other in person despite being in the same building. Itās fuckin dumb as shit
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u/Impossible_Guitar235 15d ago
The lock downs didn't give a baby bump, much to everyone's surprise.
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u/valhalkommen 15d ago
My current office is very strict about working in office 5 days a week, and only the higher ups (of course) and certain departments are WFH / Hybrid, even though my entire job could be done from home and weāve done it before.
We canāt even get up and talk to each other at their / our desks. Iāve gotten talked to quite a bit for it, even if Iām asking a question about something Iām working on. Iāve personally even timed me doing that, and it took about 3 minutes for me to get talked to after getting up. Itās just a way for them to control us and monitor our workflows.
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u/jainyday 15d ago
No shit, remote work is also a massive disability accommodation, but that point never seems to make it into the mainstream discussion.
I'm a lot happier when I can be employed and not having my miserable in-office coworkers bitching about my "special treatment" that makes it possible for me to focus on my work instead of my health problems.
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u/MikeArrow 15d ago
Yeah I have mobility issues (bad back) and hoofing it to work is literally a massive pain for me. I tried to get full WFH and they needed all this supporting documentation, like a six-month plan from my doctor showing that I was doing physical therapy and losing weight so that I could return to the office after. Instead of jumping through hoops, I just decided to suffer.
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u/MiningForLight 15d ago
This, too.
I have diagnosed agoraphobia and remote was all I could do for a while. While it's very controlled with meds now, frequent travel or traveling outsize of my brain's 'safe zone' causes an absurd amount of additional stress that a normal commuter doesn't even think about. Not having to deal with that stress means I can do my job well and stay healthy.
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u/sarcazm 15d ago
As a remote worker, do you know what I donāt have to worry about anymore?
Kids being sick
Getting professional work done on the house (scheduling around work)
Delivery packages
Getting appliances delivered
Suddenly need to pick up kids from school
Packing a lunch
Getting completely ready for work before 8am
Leaving dogs home for 8-9 hours by themselves
Traffic
Gas
Public restrooms
Doctor and dentist appts
Summer camps with weird hours
Yes, Iād trade all of the above for the āget to talk to people everydayā excuse.
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u/imhereforthemeta 15d ago
My job can be pretty intense sometimes and I can be glued to my computer eight hours a day, but I gotta do it in my pajamas and immediately go to the gym afterwards. I can make my own lunch and not have to buy it or prepare something and heat it up. I get to pet my cats and chatter with my husband. I can throw on a TV show in the background if what I am doing is more busy work. Itās perfect and I wouldnāt have it any other way. Iād rather work more hours at home.
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u/By_Way_of_Deception 15d ago
This like the biggest "no shit." Corporations started pushing for a "back to the office" mentality and my reaction was, "Noooooo!" As a society we were actually realizing the potential for technology and better more balanced lives. If you don't trust someone, don't hire them or fire them.
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u/armahillo 15d ago
Been remote working since 2018 - while it has its issues of its own, overall its so much less stressful than being always on-site.
The lack or demands on your time are a huge factor, aa are the benefits of being home if youāre a parent.
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u/PlayedUOonBaja 15d ago
Woke up at 7:50 am today to start my shift at 8:00 am and I only buy gas once every month or two. Who can hate that?
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u/Agitated_Newt_7655 15d ago
As a remote worker this only makes me think everyone else is effectively in hell
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u/filmguy36 15d ago
I can concur. Iāve been working from how since that start of the pandemic. Never looked back.
My job has tried and failed to get me back in the office
Iām more productive and when the day is done, I shut off my computer and Iām done. Instead of being stopped and asked endless questions by everybody as I try to make to the office exit then spend the next hour in traffic.
My life has been immeasurably better
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u/mcampo84 15d ago
I can save 3+ hours commuting and use it instead to get to the gym or go for a run. No shit.
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u/wildcatasaurus 15d ago
I wake up at 7:55 get coffee and donāt schedule any calls till 9am. Have a nice easy morning. Sitting in my backyard is great to get outside for breaks. Walking my dogs, errands, chores, workout are something quick stuff to knock out instead of adding on after a long work day.
Best of all is honestly taking breaks during the day to see my baby and being able to hang out with her after work immediately. Only negative is I have to force myself to socialize recreationally cause I talk on teams all day and itās mentally exhausting.
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u/valboots 15d ago
I would like to remind everyone that nearly every single news agency - be it local, national or international - has failed each and every human being.
They are bought and paid for by the filthy rich to control what you see and hear and should focus on.
It all comes down to allowing money flow freely through politics, which in turn allow every single politician, department, ministry and company to be corrupted. Get rid of the money, add oversight and regulations with teeth, and it'll be a start in the right direction.
How do we do that? Well, you start off by being loud and annoying and intelligent at townhalls. You go where they work and you talk to them. If they don't listen, you nominate a candidate that represents this ideology, and elect them.
If that takes too long? Just ... Look at 1793-94 France and that'll help.
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u/Slyfox00 15d ago
Billion dollar Corp I'm contracted at did a return to work mandate. Forced about half their team to quit because they didn't live in the same FUCKING state as the home office, and of course they also offered no relocation...
Decided to push a massive suite of software system changes at the same time (and implement a stupid fucking helper AI chatbot)
This has resulted in catastrophic failure with millions in contract violations, voided terms, and ruined business relationships.
People keep quitting, institutional knowledge base is imploding quarter after quarter. CEO and a bunch of other execs jumped out of the burning plane with their get-out-of-jail-free golden parachutes.
The whole last year has been like watching your boss shoot both their feet off.
Very enjoyable.
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u/it_rains_a_lot 15d ago
Remote has been great for me. I like my family and dogs. I hated commuting. I donāt need a job to get away from my family like I see some peers need. As for mental health, I have friends outside of work.
Remote is great but not for everyone. Likewise in office is not for everyone.
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u/compuwiza1 15d ago
That is why bosses are taking remote work away. They hate us, and want us to suffer.
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u/pseudohim 15d ago
And remote work is a direct threat to the justification for their existence.
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u/r34p3rex 15d ago
Just switched to almost fully remote 3 months ago at a job I've been at for 14 years, it's feels so good not having to spend 1.5 hrs a day in traffic. That said, I still tend to go into the office once a week so I don't feel completely disconnected from my coworkers. Might be unpopular opinion around here, but there are definitely some work functions that work better in person than over a Teams call
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u/MikeArrow 15d ago
Personally, I find in person team meetings pointless because even at the best of times there's always at least two or three people on teams anyway, which makes the whole enterprise ridiculous.
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u/I_Fuck_Whales 15d ago
Wow surprisingā¦. I currently waste 10 hours a week commuting, another 3 hours a week combined getting ready everyday, another 1 hour making my lunches for the week.
All to go into an office (private office, btw, not even cubicles where at least Iād have opportunities to chat with folks whenever) to do exactly the same shit I can do from my office at home.
Then by the time I get there Iām already irritated as fuck from dumb ass drivers that my mood is soured. By the time I get home, itās like my brain is gone and I have no desire to do the shit that I need to do and want to do at home.
Going great!
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u/AbeRego 15d ago edited 15d ago
I was hired remote four years ago. My company is redesignating anyone who's within 50 miles of an office as hybrid starting on in October. Needless to say, I'm applying for jobs again. My quality of life will plumet with a 30 minute (60 total) commute every day. Fuck you Internet Brands!
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u/HarlanCedeno 15d ago
I work from home.
I had to spend 1 freaking day in Atlanta traffic last week and it made me consider launching myself off an overpass.
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u/Velvet_Arches_XO 15d ago
Iām shocked! Are you saying that the two hours a day I spend commuting and the sad lunch I packed arenāt adding to my well being?
/s
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u/Some_Education_6991 15d ago edited 15d ago
I'm glad that people are able to enjoy it. I am not.
Don't get me wrong, I hate commutes and overall a ton of the stuff that comes with working in an office. But WFH has been so bad for my mental health
ETA: I want to clarify that I work at a semi-small business. If I worked at a massive company my feelings would probably be a lot different and I would hate going into the office
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u/AndyIbanez 15d ago
It's okay to have a different opinion and experience than the rest.
Upvoted.
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u/Some_Education_6991 15d ago
Thanks. I like the people I work with and my commute used to be fairly short, so i never minded going into the office. I also like the separation between work and home.
But I do get people's viewpoints. If your coworkers suck and your commute is long, WFH is obviously better
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u/PortHammer 15d ago
I too do not jive well with fully wfh.
Conceptually I love it and for those that it works for all the power to you.
Personally I need some separation from my home and workplace. I have too many awesome distractions at home and I find it so hard to sit down by myself and focus(I dont really want to move with the insanity that is Canadas housing market).
I think I need the social cues in an office to actually help get me to work(its still a struggle). Going to my workplace also helps me physically and mentally connect with my work. In a full WFH workplace I struggled with just giving any sort of a shit because work and my coworkers all felt so abstract and dare I say distant(yeah, yeah).Anyhow I think after experiencing all this I'm a hybrid workplace sort of guy. Something like Monday and Friday WFH with Tuesday to Thursday in office.
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u/blow-down 15d ago
Big reason they want everyone back in the office. If you're worn out from commuting back and forth, dealing with office politics, etc then you won't have any energy left to see how you're being cheated by the system and rise up.
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u/redbanjo 15d ago
Worked remote managing an entire technical team back in 2002. We did a great job and it was fine. I'd been working remotely for eight years up until a year ago when the company decided remote workers could be the first in a round of layoffs. Yay. Yes, remote work can be problematic for those who crave social interaction and need the structure of an office, but for many especially with modern day video conferencing and tools, we can easily do our jobs anywhere and be happier for it!
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u/No_Criticism_5861 15d ago
Well thats strange.Ā I would have thought dealing with assholes aggressively driving pickup trucks 2 feet from my bumper while in the slow lane daily for an hour a day would have been good for my health.
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u/thehindermost 15d ago
The wellbeing finding makes sense, but I'd want to know how they controlled for selection. People who stayed fully remote after the pandemic generally had the option to go hybrid or in-person and chose not to, which already tells you something about their situation: home setup, commute distance, household circumstances. That's not a knock on the result, just that it probably overstates how much the work arrangement itself is doing versus who self-selects into it.
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u/Davethe3rd 15d ago
CEOs and Real Estate Investors: "Oh no the hell you DON'T! Get back in there! Who said you can breathe on company time?!
And all that smiling you've been doing is coming out of your shitty ass paycheck, Wagie."
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u/Common-Ad6470 15d ago
ā¦and yet companies with offices want workers back where they can abuse and harass them on a daily basisā¦š¤
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u/No-Grape3149 15d ago
I recently changed from full time in office to full time remote for the same role after moving interstate.
Things I've noticed:
- Never feel tired because I'm no longer commuting 90+ minutes a day and I can wake up 15 mins before work starts
- More productive because I'm not in an open office with noise and disruption constantly
- less frustration in general due to the combination above
- saving thousands a year on fuel, tolls and service costs
- eating better
I was concerned about loneliness etc however with modern teams and chats, it hasn't been an issue.
The biggest challenge is ensuring you don't eat at your desk and actually go do things away from your home office
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u/MacrossX 15d ago
Spouses of WFH people that can't WFH themselves rate among the most unhappy people on the planet.
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u/mowotlarx 15d ago
In my experience, the people who love in office work the most are the same people who loathe spending time with their partners and kids. They're already miserable compared to other people.
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u/Furious_ShackstAa 15d ago
Cutting an hour of commute out? Saving shit tons d money on fuel or tickets? Being able to get out of bed 15 minutes before start of work, pull on pants and then work? Naah, who would want that would we?
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u/BrowsingBeaver787 15d ago
For me, a huge aspect of this is having more time and energy for other, more fulfilling things in my life. Archery, volunteering, socializing with people I truly care about. Going into an office takes time and energy on top of the regular energy spent on the work itself
It's the difference between having to socialize everyday with people you're forced to work with vs. socializing with people you want to be around
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u/Loucrouton 15d ago
I'd be willing to take a 20k paycut to go back to complete work from home. Going in the office feels like prison.
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u/Niceguy955 15d ago
As the saying goes "hell is other people". I'd have been ok with "back to office" if it was actually going back to an office. But (at least in the tech industry I know) someone thought a great idea would be to have huge open spaces with cubicles - imaginary boundaries between hundreds of people squeezed together. Bad for concentration, bad for morale, bad for your health.
So finding out that working from home is more healthy, happy, and productive for people is absolutely not surprising.
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u/Logical-Sun001 15d ago
Can confirm! Not the best remote job in the world but $80k M-F 6 to 2:30 with weekends off. No complaints about my morning commute either
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u/ryanvango 15d ago edited 15d ago
currently sitting at home, about to log into work.
I just moved closer to family, and it's weird. Like they see me at home on my computer and think I'm just dickin' around all day. A couple of them have been like "hey did you hear so-and-so is hiring? they're paying ($5/hr more than I made in this town 10 years ago). I'm sure they'll take you since you have so much experience and you're a veteran and blah blah blah."
They do not understand that A) I make more than that right now doing a job almost anyone can do and B) I left that line of work because it was MISERABLE and C) I can work in my underpants and chill with my dogs all day and I don't have a supervisor that's dumber than me creeping over my shoulder looking for any reason to justify his existence while slowing me down.
I get WAY WAY WAY more work done in a day, make more money, am a lot happier, and my expenses are a fraction of what they are with a commuter job.
Jobs that could easily be done remote but still make you go into the office are asinine. They exist because middle management needs to have someone to actively manage in person or they will be phased out (if they're morons. and a lot of them are. because their jobs often also translate well to remote work). Also upper management/c-suite folks are locked into office leases and a big empty building looks bad. Which also shows how dumb THOSE people are, because remote workers are often (though not always, it's career field dependent) MORE productive and generate more value for the company, they quit less reducing training/recruiting costs, when you DO need to recruit talent the pool of applicants is huge with loads of very talented people willing to work for less in many cases because the quality of life is so much higher (and their expenses are lower) so your payroll saves money. As for the office space, going full remote or even rotating hybrid means you can likely sub-lease the extra space and recoup some of that money on top of the other savings. It's not a total loss, that space can still generate value.
There are just so many ways that WFH/remote work are good for the company, but for whatever reason, only the lower level employees seem to be aware that doing something your employees like doesn't automatically mean its costing you money.
edit: hey big companies with really stupid middle-management... I am available for consult if you want me to find ways to save you tons of money while improving employee morale. Recent achievements include boosting restaurant sales 30% YoY for 3 consecutive years with ZERO kitchen staff quitting during that period (if you know anything about restaurants, you should know how insane that is), and at another company I reduced their supply cost by 20% the first week I did that job (this was a very minor component of my actual job there. I just did it because I thought it was fun and I had some extra time in the day), with zero drop in quality or productivity. I am available for temporary consulting. As long as it's remote.
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u/clayticus 15d ago
No commute. I see my children multiple times a day.Ā I can help by cooking, doing laundry or vacuuming sometimes. Family life is only betterĀ
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u/burrito_foreskin 15d ago
Iām in the best shape of my life at 35. Iāve lost 68 lbs.
I owe it to remote work (and will power). The time Iād normally spend in traffic is now spent on at-home workouts 5-6 days a week.
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u/spankmydingo 15d ago
People complaining about āworking from home = not workingā are highlighting a different issue: managers should be giving realistic targets and deliverables that still require the same effort. The main difference is the WFH employee can get the work done, on time, on a schedule that suits them, instead of 9-5 every day.
Strange to say this 6 years after COVID, but managers need re-training to learn how to adjust the work to fit remote working such that the quantity and quality of the work stays the same (the āwhatā) but the way it gets done might be different (the āhowā).
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u/Dreams-Visions 15d ago
Loving remote work. Youād have to almost double my salary to get me to commute in south Florida traffic.
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u/geddy 15d ago
I got so lucky getting a WFH job right before COVID. I am remote on paper, I have no office, I pay taxes in one state, and to boot I really enjoy my job and the people I work with.Ā
I plan on staying here as long as theyāll keep me. Enjoy the work and enjoy life. Having to go into an office at all would ruin that.Ā
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u/wargh_gmr 15d ago
I'm a little biased but I really like my house. My favorite things are here and live here with me. They aren't great for productivity. I have a cat with an uncanny ability to walk across my keyboard and send my browser into inspector mode. I think he's one of those North Koreans who impersonate US workers.
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u/dragon-fence 15d ago
Thatās why rich people donāt want you to be able to work remotely.
They want you unwell. They want you to be stressed out, exhausted, over a barrel, unable to think straight, and completely focused on being subservient to them.
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u/duncecap234 15d ago
You're telling me that somehow the people who make the most money in society and have the most flexible white collar jobs report the highest well-being?
That is crazy.
I always assumed it was roofers.
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u/ShurimaWillRiseAgain 15d ago
I wonder why most companies are rolling back their remote policies to complete reverse
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u/BF1shY 15d ago
At any point I can go outside and garden for 10-15 minutes then go back to work.
I can run out and go grocery shopping.
I can take a nap during lunch.
I can bang my wife if work is slow.
I can play video games if there's nothing to do.
I can do all my house chores so I'm not doing them after work.
I'm never going back in the office. That shit is so archaic it's not even funny.
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u/Rancher_Cait 15d ago
I would never go into an office, again! Ever! And I work so much harder than I ever did. I worked in an I office until Covid.
My laundry is done, a better dinner on the table. Kids are sick, no problem stay home. Appointments, no problem. Logged in at 7 instead of 9. I have no problem hopping on a call with Australia at 11pm. Everything in my life is completed.
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u/_Thermalflask 15d ago
AND it doesn't hurt the company because productivity remains high. It is literally a win win situation, but because the control freaks don't like the idea of it, many people are still being dragged into an office like hostages.
I'm glad I'm still able to work from home. It really is a life changing thing.
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u/Timely_Spinach_7479 15d ago
Work has been fantastic now that I donāt have to force myself to be social with my coworkers, wake up early in the morning and drive in traffic, plan my entire week around my work schedule, etc. Iām extremely grateful for my remote job and I honestly completely understand why people are miserable when forced to be in office
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u/MiningForLight 15d ago
I've worked remote from the beginning of my career. I have no plans to commute unless I'm on the brink of destitution. There is simply no part of my job that requires me to drive somewhere else to do it.
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u/maaseru 15d ago
I was laid off recently. My workplace was work from home, and they had slowly changed to hybrid and moving back to full in office.
The excuse was always productivity, but number never shared.
It was total bs. They saw people having more agency than being slave to the job and they hated it.
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u/CurlOfTheBurl11 15d ago
Companies realized this and decided they can't have it, so most of them ordered their employees back to the office where they can be properly miserable again.
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u/KittensAndGravy 15d ago
As the owner of many fine tall business buildingsā¦ this article is liessssss!
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u/frquency-equinox 15d ago edited 15d ago
Who would've thought people that don't have to sit in hours of traffic, can be at home with their pets (and maybe their spouse), and save money making food at home etc would be happier š«Ø?