Work From Home Vs Work From The Office

For most office-based workers the idea of working from home was an occasional treat. Something you’d be able to do when you had someone coming to fix the boiler. Or it was snowing. But 2020 changed that concept for good. I’d always loved the idea of working from home but previous roles had not been accommodating for it. And it felt like you were asking for something unreasonable by working from home. But now things have changed. So I wanted to think about work from home vs work from the office as the two are very different.

I changed jobs in April 2020 which was a scary time to start anything new. And other than about four days I’ve chosen to work in the office I’ve been at home for that whole time. Things are very different from the times when I’d be in the office 5 days a week. But is it all for the best?!

Work from home Vs Work from the office

As work from home is the norm for a lot of us now I thought I’d concentrate on the pros and cons of this way of working. As in a lot of cases, a pro of working from home is a con of working from the office, etc. If someone had asked me to do work from home vs work from the office list before doing it for 9 months I’d probably have assumed it was all good. But there’s a fine balance to be had.

A better work-life balance

There’s no doubt I have a better work-life balance working from home. Of course, the last 9 months hasn’t given us much of a life. But not having to commute has meant I get to see Luke more, and I’m here when he gets home from work for a quick chat.

When we can start going for meals again and seeing friends and family I know I’ll appreciate being at home even more as I’ll be able to catch up with people during the week as I don’t have to factor in an hour commute from the office with my laptop in tow.

Getting more sleep and more of a morning routine

For me, one of the biggest pros of work from home vs work from the office is how much sleep I am getting. When I was working in an office I struggled to get enough sleep because I still wanted to work out, eat breakfast, and get ready for work in the morning. And getting home an hour after commuting generally meant I went to bed later than I do now.

I rarely feel tired during a normal week now which just goes to show that just a little extra sleep a day can make a huge difference.

Not having to spend time (and money) commuting

In my old job commuting wasn’t too bad. It generally took 15-25 minutes depending on the route/ traffic which I can’t complain too much about. But where I live now vs my new office it’s an hour each way. And working from home means I don’t lose 2 hours a day on commuting which is incredible. But it also means I’m not filling up with fuel all the time driving miles and miles just for work each week.

For others, the work from home vs work from the office means they don’t have to brave trains and public transport. And I know many people travel even further than an hour away. Another pro of working from home.

Being able to do things around the house

This isn’t something I noticed as much until I moved into my new house this year. But being able to stick the washing on between meetings, do a quick hoover during lunch and other things around the house makes a big difference. I used to have long lists of things I needed to do after work when working from the office, but generally, I’d be too tired after work to do much. This also includes being at home for deliveries which when we first moved into the house and were doing work was a godsend.

Losing out on face-to-face social interactions

There are some cons though to work from home vs work from the office, and social interaction is one of them. I joined a brand new team at my job so 80% of us are new and started during the lockdown. So we’ve all been in the same situation and done a pretty great job at interacting. But little can beat that quick chat as you arrive in the office about what you did the night before. Or the conversation when you’re making a drink. I do miss the natural organic conversations you have with people just because you’re close to them.

The dreaded hangouts/ zoom fatigue

The biggest con for me on work from home vs work from the office is video call fatigue. Now meeting fatigue still happened in the office, but I find too many video calls can be draining. Having a few spread out over a day is fine, but some days having 4+ video calls can get a lot.

Do you work from home? Or from the office?

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