27 minutes ago, dave2013 said:

If you really care about resources and sustainability, then you should live a lot closer to your workplace.

I lived 3km from where I worked.

Dave

I do actually (since 3 months), but I would still not want to be in the office everyday. 
 

Again, I am fortunate enough to be productive working remotely and actually be able to choose where I work. I know this is not an option everyone can/may have. 

Edited September 11, 20223 yr by GCBraun

2 hours ago, micstatic said:

20 years ago I wore a suit and tie in the office 5 days a week.  We were atleast partially judged by hours worked.  These days it's not uncommon to wear jeans and an untucked polo every day to work if we are not seeing a client.  

I know I’m most likely in the minority on that one but I actually loved how is was back in the 90’s when everyone in the office was dressed up. I actually love to wear nice suits to work and arrive in a professional setting. I’d actually be kind of excited the night before work figuring out which suit, tie, etc., I’d be wearing the next day.

I remember the ladies in my office almost had a unwritten competition with each other to see who could out dress each other. In hind sight it’s really strange how we went from those days where people would put a lot of effort into making a well groomed, professional appearance to now, where lots of workers don’t care how they look at all.

During the late 90’s some offices/businesses starting to going to casual Fridays which I wasn’t particularly fond of. But then, casual Friday turned into casual everyday and we’ve gone downhill from there imho.

If you ever watched the movie “The Intern” with Robert De Niro where he was the only one in the officer in a suit, that would be me, albeit younger. 😂😂

I'm very sympathetic to the views of Scott Galloway on WFH - I've enjoyed WFH for years, and recently have shifted to a role where I don't even have an office.

The results have been... galling. There's no office culture I'm getting snippets of, there's no drive to achieve the goals except pure desire for money, there's virtually no coaching and there's 0 supervision. Quiet quitting? I'm finding it tough to be quietly employed.

Young people, and especially young men, need boundaries, structure, and an environment where they can meet people, learn, and collaborate. And whether or not you actually go in to the office, having a strong office culture enforces those guidelines and boundaries. I've found without them, 8 AM becomes 9:30 AM, 5 PM becomes 3 PM, and it's easy to put something off as "low priority" for 6 weeks. 

3 hours ago, micstatic said:

I like to go in the office once a week to catch up with everybody.  But prefer working at home.  Also I travel quite a bit.  It's incredible how things have changed.  20 years ago I wore a suit and tie in the office 5 days a week.  We were atleast partially judged by hours worked.  These days it's not uncommon to wear jeans and an untucked polo every day to work if we are not seeing a client.  

My company loves suits, we go to all of our work meetings with a jacket. In the field? Incredibly rare you see me in anything other than a golf polo and jeans. The work environment has gotten less formal - we've thankfully gone away from the door to door people in the $150 suits.

Maybe it's just from being in tech. If I show up to a client meeting or a lunch in a suit, they're probably going to leave or think they're being indicted.

1 hour ago, cmpbellsjc said:

I know I’m most likely in the minority on that one but I actually loved how is was back in the 90’s when everyone in the office was dressed up. I actually love to wear nice suits to work and arrive in a professional setting. I’d actually be kind of excited the night before work figuring out which suit, tie, etc., I’d be wearing the next day.

 

I'd say I felt that way at first.  But then having to buy suits so often, deal with going back and forth (and paying) a dry cleaner so often I really lost interest.  I still enjoy putting on a good suit to go to certain meetings.  But ties are largely not worn anymore in my business.  Which I'm totally fine with.  Never enjoyed a tie.  

Our business is staffed with only senior people.  So we don't really have any entry level people who need training.  We see each other as needed and communicate electronically often throughout the day.  We don't have to worry about supervision.  Because quite simply I manage my people via metrics.  No need to worry about one of them who may sleep an hour later than most.  I judge them on their performance.  As I'm judged also.  It's not for everybody.  But with the right team it's fantastic.  

I started this conversation in an e-mail exchange before I brought it to the forum here.  I got this reply from a friend on my e-mail list.

 I was a freelance writer for about 12 years and worked at home. This was before the internet and cellphones. In fact, I wrote on a typewriter and edited by cutting and pasting with scissors and rubber cement.

I HATED working at home. I would have meetings periodically with publishers and always envied all the people working there who were around other people all day. Collaborating, chance meetings in hallways with important people, visiting at lunch or on breaks. I missed out on all that. Sure I didn't have to commute, but that was the only "perk". It was an enormous effort to stay motivated with so many distractions around the house...things I needed to fix, lawn to mow, laundry to do. When I got stuck on a project, it was easy to just do a quick chore to clear my head. Hours later, I would have to return to the project that had not solved itself.

And your work is always there with nagging deadlines. You don't "go home" at the end of the day or on weekends. You are ALWAYS at home and ALWAYS at work. It's impossible to keep them separated. You really have to be singleminded and disciplined to make it work. I did it for 12 years and made good money, but it was not what people think it is.

Noel

I've worked full-time from home as a software developer since 1996.  In fact, my current employer (celebrating 16 years this week) doesn't have an office--we all work from our homes.  There's nothing in my day-to-day activities that can't be done via remote networking or teleconferencing software, and I'm ten times more productive than I'd be in an office environment with all its distractions.

It does take discipline, and I'd say the discipline required to hang it up and call it a day is often more challenging than having the discipline to drag myself into my office in the morning.  It's also the key to not burning out, though, so I've become accustomed to working on a fixed schedule.  I can certainly understand how it's not for everyone, but it works for me.  I wouldn't have it any other way.

I am in my late 40s and 6 years ago achieved my dream of escaping work for the rest of my life. Did the office slog.

Paid off my house, rented it. Live in a tiny studio home I built myself that I own. Live off the rental and travel the world and goof off the rest of the time. I never intend to work again. Being at home is fantastic, dont miss the office at all.

..which leads me into this thread. If I DID have a choice I would not work from home. However I would make sure my place of work was a walk away. My old office job was 20 min walk from home. Along the beach! Was very nice. That was also by design, I had sworn to myself no commute by car/bus/train.

I was offered the chance to WFH at my old job but declined immediately.

The primary reason is that for me I would like to "leave work behind" mentally and physically in the office. As soon as 1700hr came I turned it all off and left. Home is for leisure, relaxing, gaming, having the gf over all that jazz. I dont want to "contaminate" it with work.

Friends who work from home often tell me they get calls from bosses at odd hours who know that since employee is at home they have access to their work area 24/7. There are rules that companies must follow of course to allow work-life balance but lets just say some bosses overlook this or dont care and their workers dont want to rock the boat.

 

There's an old song some of you might remember.  There's a line in it..,"People who need people are the luckiest people in the world."

I firmly believe that.  I could never be a work from home hermit.

I've been working from home since the day I retired.  And at my age friends and co-workers are leaving.  I lost three in the past 11 months plus my brother.  That leaves a hole in my life.  But AVSIM somewhat fills it.

This forum has become my job.  And the people in it my friends.  It fulfills my need for people...like the song says.  E-mail and the telephone also keep me connected.  But I can log on to Hangar Chat and I am at work again.  Talking to my friends and acquaintances for all over the world.  

Noel

On 9/11/2022 at 12:22 PM, dave2013 said:

If you really care about resources and sustainability, then you should live a lot closer to your workplace.

I lived 3km from where I worked.

Dave

I don't know if you know this, but working from home 3,000 miles from your office is still more sustainable than working at an office 3km away.

Nevermind the fact that living 3km from your office is not exactly tenable for most people, especially in the U.S.

I'm on a hybrid schedule, 1-2 days a week in the office and the rest at home or out and about. I think for most people it's the best of both worlds - you have your time and place to collaborate when needed, but only when needed. I also have the ability to set my schedule and respect my coworkers schedules - if I need to run an errand during the day it's no problem, don't need to worry about taking time off for a doctor appointment, and can even have a weekday brunch or cocktail with friends/family.

I'm lucky to have a job where this is possible, but when it is possible I wouldn't have it any other way.

Edited September 12, 20223 yr by StAgre