1) WFH unexpectedly made for awkward at-home office arrangements (eg kitchen table) and meeting formats (eg. zoom) BUT over time people sorted these things out 2) WFH people worked much longer hours perhaps over compensating for not being in the office, and that takes its toll on health
That's it. So really nothing to see hear _except_ that this is a subtle attack on the WFH spun to favour those who need to see their workers in the office.
The funny thing is: WFH favours those who are productive but penalizes those who get ahead by 'networking' or 'schmoozing with the boss'. If you're in the latter group where promotion-by-popularity is what works for you then, yeah, WFH is a bummer.
I'm not sure how many people read Your Money or Your Life any more, but it really opens your eyes as to how expensive having a job is. One way or another, COVID really opened people's eyes to this whether they know it consciously or unconsciously.
What I'm reading is that it's a benefit all around
Nowadays I can spend the extra time working out or taking care of myself.
At home: Private office with a door (typically unused) and window with a lovely view. My coffee is better. Girlfriend to have lunch with, quiet cat who cuddles in my office. Ample opportunity for deep focus. No commute. Time to prep dinner during lunch break, relaxed and pleasant time to cook before dinner time. Interactions with co-workers are planned and work-related. Highly customized, ergonomic desk setup, great remote-meeting setup, great audio setup. Whiteboard collaboration is non-existent.
Almost every point about the office amounts to a daily pile-on of stress. I never knew how much that was impacting me until it was removed. Occasionally going in for whiteboarding is a nice opportunity to make and maintain peer relationships, but I'm never going back to full-time office work.
I do work about 8-10 hours per day, but the extra hours that I now put in used to be hours that I commuted. I've always been fit and loved exercising, but in my thirties due to WFH, I'm fitter than any point in my twenties.
I lost 35 kg, started walking about 8 km every day, i can switch my position in front of the computer (half the time i sit on a ball by my desktop, the other half i lie on my bed with laptop on it). So I don't have back pain anymore.
Please don't make me waste 1 hour commuting every day and sit in 1 place for 8 hours ever again.
I have never enjoyed office atmospheres and need life/noise around me to be able to concentrate. I'm also fairly restless and need that walking to be able to think / clear my head.
Bed at 6PM/7PM, up at 3AM
Being stuck at home also negatively impacted many of my hobbies, so my mental health took a hit from that as well. I feel like I'm starting to crawl out of a hole.
I do think my employer could have been supportive of working from home, pre - covid, but no way. Too much freedom and autonomy for the worker bees.
I guess can see that a switch to WFH for non-tech employees could be stressful, but honestly I'm way less stressed than when going into the office.
Also I have no idea how the researchers came up with the 10-15 years that working from home has aged our bodies. Maybe that is talking about people that were previously used to walking around more in the office?
My office is now about 100 yards away from the beach, in a sunny country. I go swimming early in the morning before the tourists arrive, and sit with my wife in an open air bar sipping a diet Coke at lunchtime after walking the dog.
Don't take me wrong, WFH has had an impact on my body, in that now I have a tan. I rarely drive, but I walk a lot. Often on sand.
Not surprising that a seller of ergonomics consulting services (https://www.khergowellness.com/) would make an unsubstantiated claim like that.
I don’t spend 2 hours in traffic.
I exercise every morning.
I can put my feet in the grass whenever I need a break.
Remote work is awesome!!!
