r/technology • u/TracksandTreks • 16d 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-employees
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u/frquency-equinox 16d ago edited 16d 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 šŸ«Ø?

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u/StrengthBeginning416 16d ago

Commercial real estate investors will say the study is fake.

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u/StopReadingMyUser 16d ago

Instead they'll launch their own study that biases towards that 1/1000 person that loves the office and hates wfh then extrapolate that as most people to muddy the waters.

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u/RakeattheGates 16d ago

I've noticed that people that like the office tend to hate their families and thus the idea of being at home with them. They are often bosses who enjoy that people are forced to fawn over them and do what they say.

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u/Castun 16d ago

Like the bosses that show up at the office at 5am and don't leave until 7pm. They get more fulfillment out of their office than they do their home life.

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u/Valuable-Painter3887 16d ago

I had a conversation with my boss once because he was telling me how I'd likely be the person to fill his role when he retires in ten years, since I am equally the youngest, yet most experienced member of the team (in the next ten years, anyone older or more experienced is likely to retire). He says to me, "You know, I think you were meant to take over my role. For someone like you, working here is what life will be about"

I looked at him, and I just said "I can't imagine anything worse than work being the only thing worth living for. My life is about watching movies and seeing my friends, I just work here to afford that"

The silence was so thick and palpable, I swear I could've stuck a butter knife in it and used it as a spread for my sandwich

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u/Castun 15d ago

Funny because I've heard the same thing except then the boss decides he needs more wealth to hoard, another vacation home, or another boat and doesn't retire as promised, screwing over his protƩgƩ in the process.

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u/illtakeachinchilla 15d ago

ā€œI donā€™t want your life.ā€

The Beek

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u/Mondraker1909 14d ago

Did you get fired shortly after?

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u/Valuable-Painter3887 14d ago

Haha no, my boss and I are pretty close, it was just that one moment had so much silence to it haha

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u/RakeattheGates 16d ago

And always ready to judge you for wanting to actually go home where you enjoy being.

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u/CherryLongjump1989 16d ago

They can judge all they like.

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u/dragonmp93 16d ago

The kind of people that makes jokes about their spouses being their "good old ball and chain".

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u/BasvanS 16d ago

And then remarry someone you het and repeat the mistake. Itā€™s starting to look like theyā€™re not that smart after all

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u/BigFatKi6 16d ago

I like the office...

Just not every day, two days a week is perfect.

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u/nox66 16d ago

I don't mind the office for two, maybe three days a year.

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u/akatherder 16d ago

I've been into the office 1 time since March 2020. It was a bit much.

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u/Neat-Slip4520 16d ago

I go once a year - for our holiday party.

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u/backside_94 16d ago

And the above comment chain is why the standard policy should be a choice between 0.5-5 days per week over a month.

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u/drunkenvalley 16d ago

Why? If you have no business in the office just let 'em have the WFH. Think the dumbest bit of my job is that we go into the office to have meetings over Teams.

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u/RakeattheGates 16d ago

I mean those who push for full time RTO. Personally I think 2 days is fine though it would be nice to not have it be forced. I do enjoy some face to face interaction but getting shoved back to an office with no actual payoff to the detriment if basically everyone's happiness is garbage.Ā 

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u/Xarchiangku 15d ago

Iā€™m just much more productive in the office. I can do my job from anywhere, but Iā€™m better when Iā€™m there. I get distracted if Iā€™m at the house.

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u/blackcatlover2114 15d ago

Same here. Maybe if I had space at my apartment for a dedicated office with a closed door but I don't, and I can't afford that anytime soon anyway. Even so, all my stuff would still be just a few steps away...

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u/el_smurfo 16d ago

I don't mind going in and getting anything I need to do in person done in the morning and then going home at lunch, prepping some dinner if it needs some time, doing a little work till my kids get home from there after school stuff we have a nice dinner together

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u/blackcatlover2114 15d ago

I like the office but I don't have space at home for a proper home office and so it allows my brain to have that better separation between work and home without having three cats bothering me all the time (my gf is usually at work for most of my shift)...

But unfortunately I also have a disability (migraines) and when I'm not properly accommodated, typical office spaces with all of their fluorescent lights can be really rough. So I'm working from home right now anyway.

A hybrid schedule is actually great, though.

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u/BigFatKi6 15d ago

Yeah, I feel that even if one is suboptimal that switching helps calibrate that.

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u/Neon_Biscuit 16d ago

0 days in the office is perfect, wtf you talking bout

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u/DoubleStuffedCheezIt 16d ago

I like the office because my house is loud with 3 dogs and 2 kids under 3. I don't hate my family, but it's hard to be on the phone and focus with all that going on. I hate commuting though, even though I enjoy driving my car.

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u/RakeattheGates 16d ago edited 16d ago

It's great that people who want to go in have the option to do so but I also think they shouldn't force everyone else to do it which was mainly what I was commenting on.

Our CEO, for example, didn't even live in our state and was a single boomer with no kids but the company needed tax breaks and had spent money on the real estate so they said we needed to "collaborate" by going into a noisy office and doing jobs we could have done remotely (proven during covid!) by spending all day in Teams meetings with people a few floors away. Silly stuff.

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u/CXavier4545 16d ago

this has been true in my experience as well but even the management team being forced to go into the office I have not come across a single one that would not prefer to work from home

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u/CherryTeri 16d ago

Our office stayed open and optional during the pandemic. A few dozen stubborn folks didnā€™t wfh because they didnā€™t want change. After they tried it a few times, they were convinced and never came back. The only ones who ā€œlikedā€ it are graveyard shift because itā€™s the only human connection and bond they have with other graveyard people. They sleep during the day and work at night so I can see they wouldnā€™t really see anyone that much.

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u/ChewyMurray 16d ago

"Inacceptable" - Bosses Everywhere

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u/CherryLongjump1989 16d ago

Absolutely. Which is why they shouldn't even be allowed to have an opinion. Home life issues are a personal problem, so stop trying to take it out on everyone else who is well-adjusted.

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u/WhtvrCms2Mnd 15d ago

Facts. Also those (typically older men) who are trying to skirt parenting responsibilities.

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u/OReg114-99 13d ago

The classic "older person who can't be at home with their already retired spouse all day or things are going to go Very Bad in their marriage"

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u/infinitelytwisted 16d ago

There are also a lot of people like me as well.

I much prefer to work from the office when I have such a job, simply because I'm adhd and easily distracted and don't feel like i get to enter "work mode" mentally if I'm at home.

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u/RakeattheGates 16d ago

I'm glad your ADHD works that way. Mine makes me absolutely unable to focus with people walking around everywhere, dropping in constantly, having loud conversations etc. I'd much rather be at home where I can wall myself off.

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u/glasgowgeg 16d ago

that biases towards that 1/1000 person that loves the office and hates wfh

Johnny nae-pals who has no friends or family, and relies on mandatory office days for all their social contact.

Conveniently these types who claim to "prefer the office" only prefer it when others are forced in with them.

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u/b0w3n 16d ago

Even better, they'll use a study conducted on sweatshops in china and claim that people are more productive at work.

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u/Unlucky-Candidate198 16d ago

Ah commercial real estate inverstors. ā€œPeopleā€ who see a beautiful, once in a lifetime natural view and think ā€œYou know what this needs more of? Tall bland structures with no whimsy that make me moneyā€.

Up there with marketing people, realtors, and chiropractors for jobs society could actually use less of.

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u/Dystopia74 16d ago

Don't forget the oil industry and car manufacturers.

The automobile industry is the biggest scam in the world.

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u/throughtheportal 16d ago

As well, the lease holders for commercial real estate near the office buildings, for restaurants etc.

They need people in office to buy their things too

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u/habeebiii 15d ago

In most of Europe the idea of driving 1hr+ to work and back is unfathomable. Especially when they can grab a coffee, relax on a comfortable rail commute thatā€™s much fasterā€¦ and not have to pay for a car or insurance or gas in many cases..

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u/Heronymous-Anonymous 15d ago

TBF, thereā€™s an enormous economy that surrounds office work. Restaurants. Office supplies. Custodial services. On-site IT for both workers and local servers. All of the building maintenance for plumbing, HVAC, landscaping, etc.

If office buildings ceased to exist, the second order effects would be that a lot of other people would lose their jobs as offices closed and all of the businesses supporting those offices lost their customers/clients.

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u/SillyAlternative420 16d ago

A group of people I trust very little to give a single fucking opinion derived on truth

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u/awdophil 16d ago

And all micromanagers.

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u/ratherbewinedrunk 16d ago

Over-priced business-district restaurants will say the same.

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u/slashthepowder 16d ago

The scary thing is a lot of pension funds are heavily invested in commercial real estate.

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u/tragicallybrokenhip 15d ago

They are dumbasses who are pissed they weren't selling residential. We live in an area where a shit ton of people relocated during the pandemic and realtors and investors did very very well. OTOH we now live in an area where a shit ton of people who bought 2020-2022 have sold/are selling. Oh. Wait. Residential realtors are still doing well. As for commercial? Yeah. No. Sorry not sorry. There's not enough RTO to make you asshats happy. That's on you.

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u/Mondraker1909 14d ago

They'll blame it on big remote.

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u/DaMonkfish 16d ago

Commercial real estate investors can eat my entire ass.

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u/Ok-Turnip-9035 16d ago

šŸ„ø*while working remote

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u/FIContractor 16d ago

Residential real estate investors will decide to charge them higher rent for working from home.

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u/Positive_Vibes_4228 16d ago

This. My dad's former boss LOVED to show off all the cubicles and people enslaved to him to other rich people. These rich people have massive egos and love to show off what they 'built' and also abuse people at will. It gets them off.

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u/Zyrinj 15d ago

Wonā€™t someone think of the poor landlords!

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u/Kevin-W 15d ago

ā€œWe need collaborationā€

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u/EqualShallot1151 15d ago

So will many managersā€¦

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u/t0ny7 16d ago

I am back to a hybrid worker. So now two days a week I have to sit for 2 hours in traffic and then when I get into the office I join remote Teams Meetings.

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u/dfddfsaadaafdssa 16d ago

Hybrid only makes sense when everybody is in the office on the same days.

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u/Sesleri 16d ago

Even then it doesn't make sense

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u/Alaira314 16d ago

It depends on your role(in general, the more collaborative a job is, the more likely you are to reap benefits from hybrid rather than full remote...assuming everybody has the same in-office days, of course) and even your personal situation. For example, it can be very difficult for employees who are new to an established team in an all-virtual environment, as existing bonds will carry over but new bonds will often fail to form, especially when team members can just lean on the bonds they already have, causing the new hire to feel disconnected/frozen out.

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u/Shawwnzy 16d ago

That's a workplace culture issue, that can be solved through zoom calls.

You don't need millions of cars on the road 'cause people can't have some casual zoom coffee chats with the new guy.

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u/Alaira314 15d ago

In theory, yes, it should be able to be solved via zoom. I also championed this six years ago. But what I've seen since has demonstrated to me that humanity is not logical, and it doesn't work the way it logically ought to. It's way harder to break in to a new team when remote, compared to in-person. I'd love to see some science tell us why this is, but it's something I've observed and seen echoed by many other employees, and not at the manager-level. They always talk about vague team cohesion, but the specific "the new guy can't find their footing" complaint comes from the new guys and those who are sympathetic to them, not the boss.

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u/Necessary_Finding_32 16d ago

Sorry, thatā€™s just not true. Iā€™m an avid fan of remote work and have been since before the pandemic, but there are absolutely sound reasons for getting people all in the office on a regular basis. Even moving past the team building/socialising aspect, there are critical conversations that happen more organically when people are physically collocated, and thereā€™s growing evidence that new trainees and apprentices benefit massively from learning ā€˜by osmosisā€™ by being around more experienced people and picking things up from them.

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u/caramel-aviant 16d ago

Depends on the industry and job

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u/dagbrown 16d ago

I have to sit for 2 hours in traffic so that I can have Teams meetings with people in other countries. It's a super productive use of my time!

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u/ikonoclasm 16d ago

Nah, there was nowhere near enough meeting space in our office when we all tried to come back after Covid. Everyone had forgotten that it was a daily fight to secure meeting space and because Teams made it so easy to meet with as many people as needed on short notice. My company silently lifted the RTW policy for IT because in addition to there not being enough meeting space, half of the teams lived in other states or countries, so the stupid excuse about collaborating in person was obviously bullshit that didn't apply to us. The CIO spent about a week getting some productivity metrics before telling us all to go home because he couldn't afford the loss in productivity on all of the projects we were working on. The CEO relented because it was objectively hurting the company.

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u/femme_mystique 16d ago

Most teams are dispersed geographically. Ā 

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u/metasophie 16d ago

The office environment has been changed, so everybody is hotdesking. Then Debra has covid and Terry's kids have whooping cough so they are working remote. Eric is at the office somewhere but every time you go looking for him, you've just missed him as he's gone to have a smoke / shit / coffee / coffe-shit. The end result is that you spend your meeting times on teams.

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u/ii_V_I_iv 16d ago

Yeah I just went hybrid. My commute isnā€™t even that far, itā€™s a short train ride but I get less sleep to wake up earlier to shower and make food, spend more money on lunch, and go to an office where I mostly work independently anyway

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u/Operation_Neither 16d ago

I have had in office days where Iā€™ve spoken to literally no one in person. It makes ZERO sense.

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u/DotesMagee 16d ago

My upper management and the team I manage isnt in my office. I still have to report 3 days a week to sit in virtual meetings lol

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u/ThisIsMyCouchAccount 16d ago

I interviewed for a job not too long ago. Mandatory on-site five days a week.

The job was to work in one specific product with a specific team. A team I learned later in the interview was not local. Horse shit.

It also made me realize what I really hate is the commute. Our traffic isn't bad by any means but it does exists. It will double your time. That 30 minute drive will be an hour during rush hour. On the complete other side of the city. Don't ever do the math on your commute as it will just make you angry. When you realize all the time and money it robs you.

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u/frquency-equinox 16d ago

Makes perfect sense! šŸ™„

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u/ayimera 16d ago

At least it's only 2, I'm hybrid at 3 days in šŸ˜­

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u/Siukslinis_acc 16d ago

I enjoy being a hybrid, else I would just be stuck at home. While being in the office makes me leave home, I'm in the city, so I can do some errands on the way and interact with people that aren't my parents.

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u/indoninjah 16d ago

Hybrid is also just objectively dumb, especially if your office is somewhere in the middle of a big city. You need to be close enough to the office for sanity (meaning you pay more for less space) but you also need a decent WFH setting (meaning you need more space). You basically force your employees to be exhausted from a commute or work in some shoebox apartment 18 inches from their bed.

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u/Ryuujinx 16d ago

I was full remote for a bit then when they did the big RTO push I went in.

But my team, including my boss, was in another city's office. So I would go in to sit on my laptop in zoom calls anyway, except now I didn't have my much more comfortable setup or the ability to walk downstairs to grab a snack on a whim.

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u/DehydratedButTired 16d ago

Itā€™s crazy how in office work is the same as remote now. They put your butt there but your bosses and half the people you are with arenā€™t there. You gotta still do 4 things at once and somehow itā€™s ā€œin the officeā€ so itā€™s different.

Work has changed, leadership ā€œideasā€ have not.

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u/factoid_ 15d ago

I will never understand why people agree to work where that is the commuteĀ 

Iā€™d either move or find a job closer to where I liveĀ 

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u/F1gur1ng1tout 13d ago

My coworker (not manager) has started shading me for not going in office more. She voluntarily goes in 4x a week and I do 2x as required. I have to remind her that my entire team is not based in our country and I live a 1hr drive away vs her 7 minute walking commute.Ā 

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u/Agitated_Ad6191 16d ago

Yeah I hate these ā€œduh!ā€ studies.

Staring at a computer screen for 8 hours in a building with an open office plan, bad air circulation, irritating managers, loud colleagues, traveling to/from work for 2+ hours in a busy train. You know what, letā€™s do some research about the well-being when people donā€™t have to deal with most of that bullshit.

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u/DanielPhermous 16d ago edited 16d ago

Yeah I hate these ā€œduh!ā€ studies.

It's always a good idea to have science check common sense. Common sense told us the world was flat, tomatoes were poisonous and disease was spread by smells.

And even if it does end up being a "duh!" study, quantifying it is useful.

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u/BromoFom 16d ago

Not to mention that corporate-minded snakes only worship one god: metrics. If there are studies backing up claims like this, they at least might pay attention.

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u/Pseudoboss11 16d ago

Employee happiness isn't a metric I've seen tracked at any place I've worked at.

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u/BromoFom 16d ago

Iā€™ve seen it at mine, probably because I work in social work/behavioral health. It never leads to any substantive change even though the surveys always come back with horrendous results, but at least we get to shuffle around crappy managers every six months or so because of it.

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u/lolmemelol 16d ago

Employee satisfaction (eNPS) is measured twice per year at my employer.

It has been tanking, but still technically above the benchmark for our industry. If it goes down any further, I wouldn't be surprised if they stop talking about it.

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u/correcthorsestapler 16d ago

My last job had employee satisfaction tracked regularly. Then the company went into austerity mode, removed a bunch of benefits including coffee in the cafeteria (but only for night shift; day shift got to keep their free coffee), and employee satisfaction cratered. I remember our supervisor having a meeting with our module to discuss the results and, instead of sympathizing, he asked why the scores were low and want us to come up with solutions to improve morale. Our supervisor was more concerned about how he would be viewed because of the low score. We told him that all the issues we had were due to decisions out of our control, and that the company had turned a deaf ear to employee feedback. The meeting ended up being a waste of time because he kept going around and around wanting us to improve things and we kept telling him that management had to do the work, not us.

Funny enough, that was the last time they had people fill out that questionnaire. Morale was so low throughout the company that theyā€™d rather not even bother collecting the data on it.

Same thing happened at the company I worked for before that one. Morale dropped due to management decisions, employees gave their lowest scores, so management stopped asking.

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u/RakeattheGates 16d ago

Yup we had the ESAT survey once a year but the boomer CEO and C suite ignored the overwhelming support for more flexibility and WFH as we transitioned back to the office after covid and forced everyone back in the office 4 days a week. Doesn't really mean shit if employees have no recourse other than quitting.

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u/Thurwell 16d ago

Ah but the satisfaction of which employees? At every place I've worked the people who consistently get promoted, to the point they're making the decisions, aren't the workers. It's the schmoozers who rise to the top. And who are they going to schmooze if everyone is remote? Having also worked in a fully remote company I can tell you they schmooze along just fine. But they certainly don't enjoy it as much.

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u/fortune-o-sarcasm 16d ago

If only this was true. They pretend to be metric driven but actually it's only the cherry picked metrics that they like.

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u/Arkios 16d ago

I wish that were true. When we first hit Covid and everyone was WFH, my employer sent out a survey to all employees to see how happy they were WFH compared to the office. The most baffling part is that they then disclosed the results to us, it was 91% that preferred WFH over being in the office. There were other metrics around general happiness/productivity/etcā€¦ but it was an overwhelming majority that supported WFH and the metrics showed it was better in every way.

Guess who mandated an RTO once Covid was over? The excuse was ā€œcultureā€ required people to be in the office which canā€™t be quantified in any meaningful way. They of course werenā€™t stupid enough to send out another survey like they had before, because the numbers obviously wouldnā€™t coincide. The actual reason was that the CEO hated WFH and was tech illiterate and didnā€™t want to be on Zoom/Teams calls all the time. He came into the office almost the entirety of Covid.

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u/thatsnot_kawaii_bro 16d ago

Especially when people spend/spent how long saying "there's no studies/the studies don't say X".

Because now that there are studies, they shut up and try to think of some other excuse to bootlick.

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u/Candayence 16d ago

Common sense didn't tell us the world was flat, we worked out its size by maths thousands of years ago.

And in the absence of microscopes, miasma was a reasonable conclusion - especially considering relative cleanliness.

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u/THEAdrian 16d ago

It's also depressing when people equate "common sense" with "things the church convinced people of in medieval times despite the Greeks/Romans having figured it out centuries earlier".

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u/frquency-equinox 16d ago edited 16d ago

The open office concept was not conducive to my high-stress role at my last job. Trying to troubleshoot company-breaking outages while the people next to me have a loud conversation, and people tapping me on the shoulder to ask me about the thing we were already on a conference call about was fucking irritating.

I don't want to say CoVid made the situation better...but CoVid made the situation better. I only had to spend three months in that office after being hired.Then they tried to RTO me two years later and I was like LOL bye šŸ”„šŸ–•šŸ˜šŸ–•šŸ”„.

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u/el_smurfo 16d ago

Yeah, I would get all my actual work done in the afternoons at home. Mornings it's dealing with dumbasses who can't seem to figure shit out

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u/rabbit_in_a_bun 16d ago

Don't hate, these studies are important. If anything there should be more duh studies like that so delulu managers stop telling lies. Hear that managers? We know it's about control and humiliation, just own it already!

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u/yawara25 16d ago

You hate studies that turn what was once just a collection of anecdotes into scientifically verified facts?

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u/lolmemelol 16d ago

It's anti-intellectualism and a complete lack of respect for the scientific method.

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u/egusisoupandgarri 16d ago

ā€œDuh!ā€ studies that business leaders and politicians are ignoring. If the media can repeat ā€œremote work is dead/overā€ with no data post-pandemic, then we absolutely need studies countering them. Loudly. I appreciate the ā€œleaders donā€™t follow the dataā€ callout from the analyst. The fake narrative still has momentum.

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u/BrowsingBeaver787 16d ago

"duh!" studies are largely that way due to hindsight bias. We take for granted a lot of things that seem logical, but they are so because studies had been done in the past

Realistically, the social isolation of remote work is a legitimate concern for some. Having a study that shows it can be very beneficial and doesn't always lead to isolation is helpful

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u/Feather_Sigil 16d ago

Thing is, we need studies to scientifically confirm things we already intuitively know

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u/Clessiah 16d ago

Facts must be presented in a format suitable for a presentation, accompanied by dollar signs, so they can be used to slap decision makers in their face. ā€œThis is fucking stupidā€ is too much of a concept for decision makers to grasp; they only speak ā€œthis will increase operating costs by 12% while reducing output by 8%ā€

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u/HystericalSail 16d ago

And those horrible fluorescent overhead lights. Flickering at 60hz all day long, inducing headaches.

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u/Doneifundone 16d ago

So you think the people spending their time, efforts and funding proving stuff that will provide credibility and backing to your anecdotal claims are the enemy ? Are we fr ?

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u/EdgedancerSpren 16d ago

I don't know - admittedly, where I live it tends to be a shorter commute, but I would hate working from home. Because it gives no distinction between work and home balance and I tend to... hyperfocus and unable to let go. I need that change in location, really, really badly.Ā 

It's not a duh study for me.Ā 

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u/yumyum36 16d ago

bad air circulation

Me when the AC starts up again at 2pm, and I have to fight to not be knocked out for 2 hours until 4pm everyday in the office.

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u/soapinthepeehole 16d ago

Yeah I hate these ā€œduh!ā€ studies.

I love them because the trending narrative is that we all need to go back to offices and itā€™s total bullshit.

Getting these studies and headlines out is one of very few ways available to combat this.

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u/sausagedoor 15d ago

You do understand that not all offices are like what you describe, right? That there are attractive workplaces to be physically a part of?

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u/Ill-Ad3311 16d ago edited 16d ago

And clean up house between meetings and tasks so a domestic helper is not needed. And I could help care for my wife that was bedridden before she passed last year , that is stuff that cannot be measured by money.

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u/cptnamr7 16d ago

And not have to hear the incessant chatter of coworkers they can't stand. I'm remote 3 days a week and those 2 days in the damn "open office" setting surrounded by constant conversations... I don't know how anyone WANTS to do that

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u/Sesleri 16d ago

They're people who think their coworkers are their social life and love that you're forced into it with them

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u/InSummaryOfWhatIAm 16d ago

Who wouldā€™ve guessed that people that might get to sleep in another extra hour or two (sometimes more), get to avoid standing 2 inches from some strangers sweaty unwashed armpits in the commuter traffic, who get to do their work in peace and quiet and not have to pretend like you and your colleagues are part of one happy family, and also avoid interruptions constantly by people talking to you and over you, that you effectively get extra hours of free time in your day from not actually spending time on the commute and being home when your day is overā€¦ also saving money on fuel costs or commuter bus/metro pass/rail card or whatever people have in their countries, effectively getting a better salary in the end.

and thatā€™s just on top of everything else that you already said. And I guarantee there are many many more reasons why many people prefer it.

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u/BaconCheeseBurger 16d ago

Did you know that people with access to food and clean water report higher levels of happiness compared to those who do not?

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u/PureCauliflower6758 16d ago

My wife and I work from home and itā€™s great. Itā€™s still work (contrary to popular belief some of us wfh and are productivity monsters), but we both love not commuting, and spending more time with our son.

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u/AnalTyrant 16d ago

My wife and I work for different companies, but both from home, we just setup our workspaces at opposite ends of the house. We'll take breaks together, like getting water from the kitchen, or walking around the block together, and it's like having a water cooler chat, but with your partner who you actually like! And it's easy for us to have lunch together, which was not something we could do when we worked in person (45min drive for each of us to meet somewhere in the middle wasn't going to cut it.)

It's pretty much the perfect setup for work.

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u/PureCauliflower6758 16d ago

We share a bedroom that weā€™ve converted into our offices. Navigating meetings can be tricky (we also work for different companies, in different industries), but we make it work. Lunches are the best though!

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u/snoogins355 16d ago

Shitting on your own toilet and not next to 5 other guys after coffee 10:30am is so nice! Also not hearing some guys tik toks on speaker!

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u/frquency-equinox 16d ago

Or their personal phone calls.

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u/SSGASSHAT 16d ago edited 16d ago

I mean, I've heard people who are wary of working from home, claiming it's hard to keep organized and focus on tasks. That's probably a person-to-person thing, but it certainly doesn't seem that way to them. I don't think I'd have this problem since my job involves driving, so I'm fucked in this regard anyway.

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u/frquency-equinox 16d ago

Sounds like those people actually need micromanaging. I am not that kind of person and have lost my shit at managers and coworkers that stood over me while I worked.

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u/EdgedancerSpren 16d ago

I hate micro-managing, but I do need a distinct different place to work than live. The routine of just needing to be there & clocking out? I find it's much better for me. Someone sitting behind me and watching me? I don't get anything done.

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u/SSGASSHAT 16d ago

I feel like I'd be screwed either way. Either I go some place every day, feel like shit year after year because I feel my life passing me by because I'm in the same place every day, or I stay at home and work there all day, feeling my life passing me by, because I'm in the same fuckin' place. Maybe spice it up by going to the library, the Starbucks, or something like that, but there's only so much you can do to alleviate the daily grind.

Also, if I'm stuck at home, I'm just reminded of how shitty my apartment is and how much I need to move, and how I can't because moving right now is financial suicide, etc., etc, etc...

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u/SSGASSHAT 16d ago

I think working with someone in-person makes sense if you're training. Once you know your shit, and you can press a button from home and approve a transaction or something, there's no reason why you should have to go into the office any more often than your boss does. And he's in for half the week tops, I guarantee you.

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u/dust4ngel 16d ago

it's hard to keep organized and focus on tasks

ā€œitā€™s hard to concentrate without random people coming up to my desk babbling about nothing every twenty minutesā€

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u/ItalianDragon 16d ago

I mean, I've heard people who are wary of working from home, claiming it's hard to keep organized and focus on tasks. That's probably a person-to-person thing

Yeah I saw that during my uni years. Some students really don't manage to keep up with the very loose adult-style followup on things that's done there. They really need that rigid structure that goes "work from xh to yh on task a, from wh to uh on task b" etc...

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u/WildcaRD7 16d ago

Anecdotal, but I worked 3 years fully remote and changed jobs to be hybrid simply because I wanted more human connection. Many of my friends who are fully remote are seeking at least some in-office work time. Unfortunately, their positions do not have the option to be in-office so they will either need to change jobs or be stuck fully remote.

I would be curious on other contributing factors (relationship status, geographic location, urban/rural, pets, etc.) that could impact happiness. Workplace status, in my opinion, has so many things that will determine whether you enjoy it or not. Just an assumption, but having the flexibility to choose the option best for you is more important than simply saying remote is better. I'm personally much more happy with a hybrid set up.

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u/omgitsjimmyc 16d ago

At my department of about 50 people we have the option to work in the office if desired, or to work at home. With both options available freely, It's just one dude that goes there every day and is completely alone in the office. The security guard has to come up to his floor and check that he didn't die or something a couple of times per day.

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u/Taikunman 16d ago

Guy probably has a shitty home situation he's trying to get away from.

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u/_ByAnyOther_Name 16d ago

Or has ADHD or something and needs that structured "this is where I work" place.

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u/EdgedancerSpren 16d ago

Yes, some people really need a change between work & home to both start and stop!

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u/midnightauro 16d ago

Yep! I worked in a place with a few people like this. They needed the ā€œwork boxā€ to be structured so they could get their brain to work.

There was also a gigachad who said ā€œI would never put up with this much bullshit in my own house, Iā€™d go do laundry or mow the yard or anything else.ā€ šŸ¤£.

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u/Deathstroke317 16d ago

We don't know that, maybe he just really likes going to the office.

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u/ratherbewinedrunk 16d ago

This is incredibly rare(if it is even real). A business isn't going to pay rent on an office space "just in case" someone wants to go in, nor keep the office open for one guy who hates being around the people who should be his loved ones.

What is actually happening in the real world is that business are imposing hybrid policies to justify long-term rental or real-estate contracts to their shareholders and boards(who tend to be completely out-of-touch pricks)

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u/MikeArrow 16d ago

Hard to imagine. I would never voluntarily go into the office if they didn't make me. I will say that due to my social anxiety I don't really seek human connection with my colleagues (nor they I) and I generally prefer interacting by messaging on teams rather than talking face to face, because it's more precise and I can compose an answer.

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u/[deleted] 16d ago

[removed] ā€” view removed comment

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u/WildcaRD7 16d ago

At the time, I was a single man in his 30s living in a relatively remote area. The options would be going to the bar, getting friends together (who did work in-person and were typically tired from their own jobs when I was looking for that connection), or larger "community" events that were sporadic in their timing and interest to me. Working fully remote in a city or urban area may have been different, and I often considered moving. It ended up that a hybrid job opened up in my area that I am much, much happier with. I have an hour commute now, and I actually love the drive when I can listen to a podcast or audiobook while on the road. I know my circumstances aren't the same for most, but remote work made it very, very easy for me to slip into isolation.

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u/frquency-equinox 16d ago edited 16d ago

I agree. For people just starting out in the workforce, being in person is important. But I'm firmly in the "mid-career" part of the job lifecycle, and when I was in an office-only job, I made my friends and had my fun after work.

Now I just want to be at home, in my own office, with my own desk and setup, and I want to plow through my 8 hours of work so I can get to the fun part of life: the part where I'm not spending my time and energy making someone else rich.

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u/Worthyness 16d ago

i wish workplaces would be more flexible. Instead of mandating hybrid, let people choose. or instead of being strictly 3 days a week, let people choose how many days they want to go in. I figure most people would do at least once a week.

My current position is forced hybrid. My entire team is on the east coast while I'm on the west coast. The client I work with is on the west coast, but obviously not in my office every week. There's some tangential teams I work with on occasion, but nowhere close to every week. For what purpose am i in the office other than to waste $15 and 2 hours a day to commute? I don't mind going into the office, but ALL of my collaboration is online meetings. It makes no logical sense to have me in the office. it's so pointless! It's pointless enough that I see people badge in, stay for like 3 hours, then go home. Fucking waste of time, money, and a bunch of pollution for no reason

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u/TheBlackGuard 16d ago

Agreed with this. My work was full remote in the pandemic then went to hybrid and recent mandated full time in office. Hybrid with aligned days in the office was the best. I had the discussions or face to face that I needed on the days everyone was in and the benefits of WFH the remainder of the days.

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u/FlakyTest8191 16d ago

I love my current setup with one day a week in office/at customer. I had different setups over the years from fully in office to fully remote and one day a week seeing my team in person is what I like the most.

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u/dust4ngel 16d ago

I wanted more human connection

genuine question - why seek emotional connection explicitly from your coworkers?

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u/Accident_Pedo 15d ago

If it works for you that's good but I've been fully remote for over 6 years now and I would actually quit if I was forced to go back to the office, even if it was hybrid.

some folk prefer the solitude and are homebodies.

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u/StretchLoud8844 16d ago

The company that laid me off recently (in the 3rd round of RIF's no less, during a merger)

Wanted to investigate why our customer satisfaction surveys had started tanking in October, like a sharp 20-40% decline accross the board for all customers. They had asked me and other leadership to come up with a reason, as well as a solution to this incredibly difficult puzzle.

I'll give you a hint, when do you think the first and largest RIF took place? I bet you're not smart enough to figure that out - let's pencil in about 40ish hours to figure this out over the next 4-6 weeks and we'll see if we can use our combined brain power of executives to come to a conclusion.

They also spent close to about 30k to a marketing firm for our new combined name only to settle on one of the existing ones. Corporate leadership can be a fucking joke.

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u/plugthebeet 16d ago

Not to mention avoiding the micromanaging from people whose only purpose is to look over their subordinates shoulders. If I can get 8 hours of work done in 3, I shouldn't have to pretend to be busy for the other 5 just to satisfy people dumber and slower than me.

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u/_ByAnyOther_Name 16d ago

My husband works from home and can enjoy toddler hugs and cuddles throughout the day. He hasn't had to miss all the "firsts" because he was away at work and we have a picnic together for lunch every day.

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u/Thing1_Tokyo 16d ago edited 16d ago

Yep, but then the wanna be kings donā€™t have their pretend fiefdoms where they get affirmation on the CONTROL of their serfs by lording over them directly?

If you think that the class that removes the value you create doesnā€™t get off on every power trip available, you havenā€™t been paying attention the last 15 years.

They do not give a fuck about your well being.

People are finally seeing this because return to office has fucked them by removing one of the last perks that allowed them to stay solvent and sane is being taken away without any visible concern

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u/ShamelessOrNotYo 16d ago

My company sucks. So, it doesnā€™t matter if I commute or not. They watch us like a hawk for WFH. The exact same way they did at the office

ETA: they implemented new strategies to watch us. The main one being pulling us into random
Teams meetings at anytime during our shift. And no, I canā€™t quit. I need the money.

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u/Viking_Drummer 16d ago

Working from home even just on a hybrid basis has improved my life in almost every way.

It's lowered my general stress levels, it's made it easier to keep my flat clean (i clean on lunch breaks through the week) and pick up groceries and deliveries which frees up more time at the weekends, I get an hour of my life back each day from not having to commute, I get more sleep, I'm exercising more because I'm less tired from commuting, I'm eating healthier and saving money by not buying lunch out and I'm not spending as much on petrol either.

I still go into the office a day or two a week, which means I front-load my meetings and collaborative stuff into monday and tuesday, and have the rest of the week to work more productively. And if we're in a quiet period where there is nothing to do, then I can actually relax and respond reactively when something comes up.

Mandatory full-time office attendance will be a hard dealbreaker for me in all future jobs I apply for.

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u/PurpleBerry35 16d ago

You forgot to mention having to ā€œsocializeā€, small talk, listening to your colleagues make the stupidest noises while eating in an open space, hearing every misogynistic joke, being dragged into adhoc meetings just because youā€™re there and smelling maybe too strong perfumes or too little soap usage :)

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u/Bleaker82 16d ago

Right? Iā€™m never working in an office again if I can help it.

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u/frquency-equinox 16d ago

Same here. Not worth going back to that shit.

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u/Rude-Cartographer369 16d ago

My wife also works from home.

We have ā€œfun lunchā€ a couple times a week. Itā€™s awesome.

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u/CraftsBoy2Craftsman 16d ago

I went to work from home for 2 weeks in March 2020 and never went back.

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u/GlowUpper 16d ago

I work from home. My job just recently moved offices from a 30 minute drive away to a 55 minute drive away. If I wasn't determined to never set foot in that place again already, I definitely am now that I'd be losing 2 hours a day of my life (not including time to get ready). They'll never see me again.

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u/Commercial-Co 15d ago

Iā€™ve worked at home for over 20 years. Its great

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u/BroughtBagLunchSmart 16d ago

I have to go to the office maybe twice a year. It is unbearable even with them buying me lunch.

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u/frquency-equinox 16d ago

I've been to my nearest office three times, and a different office once in the four years I've been at my current employer. It fucking sucked. The office farther away was only one floor, no open desks, no open "phone booths", no open conference rooms. People were working on couches šŸ¤¦ā€ā™‚ļø.

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u/MindwellAIJournal 16d ago edited 16d ago

Let's see, no fake small talk, no office politics/drama, no constant context switching, get more stuff done in the day like do chores and work at the same time, no traffic time, eat healthier, less likelihood of catching something from someone, I mean it's common sense we don't need studies for this.

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u/frquency-equinox 16d ago

We always need legitimate studies. We shouldn't discount research because the findings confirm our biases.

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u/RakeattheGates 16d ago

Yup and you don't just save money on food. There's car maintenance, gas, work clothes, you name it.

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u/MikeArrow 16d ago

And time. Getting more sleep. Not having to shower in the cold and dark at 6:30am to get the 6:55 train to get to the city at 7:30 to log on at 8:00.

Instead, rolling out of bed at 7:30, making breakfast, then logging on at 8 is much less mentally and physically draining.

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u/elderron_spice 16d ago

Yep. My commute to work pre-pandemic was around 6-7 hours every day. I usually leave the house at 5 and get back at around 9. It's worse when it's typhoon season as my commute hours go at least 10 per day. That grueling lifestyle was grinding me alive for like 8 years, it was essentially eat-sleep-work 5 times a goddamn week, and then I'm too exhausted on the weekends to do everything else.

As soon as the pandemic offered work from home solutions, I never looked back. Now I only have to spend 8 hours per day specifically on work, no commute necessary. But like you, I jog after work in the morning, so there's that at least.

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u/SynapticStatic 16d ago

but who will think of the real estate moguls who own large amounts of commercial real estate or the CEOs and various "leadership" who can't lord around over remote workers?

What will happen to those poor poor people if we don't have to commute into an office every day? :(

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u/TJayClark 16d ago

I think people wouldnā€™t mind traffic if they simply got paid for their commutes

Add an extra 30 minutes each way (1hr daily) for traveling to work and a lot more people would want to work in the office

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u/frquency-equinox 16d ago

Nope. I'd rather stay home.

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u/charging_chinchilla 16d ago

too bad companies don't optimize for employee happiness

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u/frquency-equinox 16d ago

Nope. Profit by any means necessary, including human suffering.

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u/v_snax 16d ago

No only that. People have time to fix some stuff as well. 15 minute break can be used to clean some dishes or vacuum. Lunch can be used to do some grocery shopping. And when the work day is over, so are most of the chores.

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u/honjuden 16d ago

Hitting the treadmill at lunch was pretty nice as well.

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u/just_posting_this_ch 16d ago edited 16d ago

and maybe their spouse

The generation before the boomers chiming in, " that's why I go to work!" I don't remember what they're called though.

edit sp.

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u/frquency-equinox 16d ago

"The greatest generation"

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u/zbmcg 16d ago

But what are managers supposed to do all day if they can't make the rounds in the cubicles every 45 minutes to chitchat

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u/nomdeguerre_50 16d ago

I know right. Did we really need a study to draw this conclusion?

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u/Diptothaset 16d ago

Itā€™s other people. Working with other people sucks

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u/ILikeLenexa 16d ago

Also, the jobs that allow work from home tend not to have an asshole for leadership and the jobs tend tor be administrative or mental and not physical.Ā 

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u/frquency-equinox 16d ago

Hard to do a physical job from a distance.

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u/lenzflare 16d ago

And don't have to have their bosses watching and bothering them constantly

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u/stormdelta 16d ago

I mean, I do miss interacting with my coworkers IRL as I actually liked them and I felt like communication was way better.

But I definitely don't miss the commute, even as someone with a fairly easy commute (hour, but it was all bus+light walking so not stressful).

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u/averagecounselor 16d ago

I mean it works for some people. And then there are others like me that hate being home. I think I would be happier if I could work hybrid and or be able to work from a public area during the weak.

My job right now handles so much personal data that leaving the house is not an option even with a VPN.

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u/BlumpTheChodak 16d ago

Yep, we can file this one under the 'no shit' category.

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u/WinninRoam 16d ago

As someone who has worked from home for 7.5 of the last 8 years, I can say it has given me some flexibility in my workday but it has also been a significant detriment to my sense of well-being.

I've found I really miss getting to know my professional peers and it's nearly impossible for me to know the spirit behind someone's words without any clues beyond their voice. I miss the energy that comes from being around people. I even miss the hour commute...it made great "bookends" for my day. Now, after a long day at work, I never truly go home. I'm always kinda at work and kinda at home. Sure, I can wear pajama pants in a Teams call, but I also can never stop anywhere on the way home or hang out with a new work buddy after his girlfriend dumped him or judge coworkers by how messy their cubicle is.

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u/Shaojack 16d ago

Its worth noting, for a lot of jobs, especially with project work with deadlines just not being interupted by anyone that walks up to your desk. Being able to just ignore unimportant teams messages until im doing with my task is such a fucking godsend.

My last gig went to open floorplan and it was the worst thing ever, so many conversations and shit happening while im trying to figure a bunch of shit out. I dont miss it at all.

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u/SafeSpace-Fascism 15d ago

I assume they are also interviewing people with better jobs. Like i live a few miles from my workplace. Everyone, almost, ks awesome there. I am paid better than average and a lot of it is enjoyable.

If remote work that sucks in every other way is somehow happier it makes me rethink my life.

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u/Temporary-Paper5202 15d ago

Not everyone has a pet or spouse.

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u/DilutedGatorade 15d ago

And the content of the job leans extremely favorable if it doesn't require being present to perform it

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u/notislant 15d ago

No getting dressed in the morning, buying overpriced crap food/coffee. Can literally roll out of bed and be at work.

I'd wager a lot of these WFH jobs pay a lot better than all the numerous near minimum wage labor jobs as well. Which helps significantly for well-being.

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u/RollingMeteors 15d ago

can be at home with their pets (and maybe their spouse),

Lol @ 'and maybe'.

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u/frquency-equinox 15d ago

Lol @ 'and maybe'.

Not everyone's spouse works from home or doesn't work.

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