WFH full time?

[djc315]

My office is moving to a different location (one that will now require additional taxes + $$ parking - two things I don't currently have to pay).

My manager/team is in a different city.  At my midyear review, I was told that my boss and his boss discussed the move and I was told I could work from home full time instead of move.  I currently WFH approx 4-5 days per month with no issue.

I'm trying to look at all pros and cons.  

Relevant information: I don't really interact with anyone in my building in regards to my work.  There are no other people in my group in a 3 hour radius.  Any advancement would likely be with my current group.  We don't have an official work from home policy (in regards to equipment/setup/etc).  My work is pretty cyclical, I know when my super busy times are based on quarter ends.  N will be in F/T preschool, M-F

[mrslisa]

I WFH full time. It is pretty amazing. I work in my office upstairs while my mom watches DD3 downstairs. It is nice to be able to see DD3 during the day. I shower and get stuff done on my lunch. I make sure to keep up my friendships at work in chat and by meeting up occasionally. It would be lonely if I didn't have anyone to talk with. I go to lots of web meetings and with chat it is similar to being in the office. Do it!

[gibbinator]

Hahaha yes, snacking too much is my main downfall at home! I'm practically a hermit by nature so I love the isolation.
On a nice day I sit out on the deck with my laptop in a shaded reclining chair and work. Love it! Sounds like you basically work from home most days anyway so it wouldn't be much of a change.
Eta : misread your WFH days, but yeah, unless you miss adult conversation there isn't much for downsides.

[oregonpachey]

I did WFH full time but recently I have started going into the client's office once per week.

I personally love it. I get a lot more done during the day than if I was in an office. I also love that I can go make my lunch without having to pack it. Plus the whole wardrobe thing. I can wear jeans and a tshirt rather than business clothes.

[djc315]

@pnkybrwstr & @natariru re: separating work from home - do you both do jobs that would be traditional 8-5 hours if you were in an office? do you feel like the separation is more difficult because clients/coworkers reach out to you "after hours"?

I will have to remote onto our server to work (requires like 3 sign ons), and don't get work emails to my phone, so I'm hoping those will make for an easier separation.

[Deleted]

WFH for life!!!! I work 10 hour days so I have Friday's off. I love working from home so much! I don't know what I would do if I ever have to go back to office life. For me there are no cons

[luckyno7]

I would do it in a heartbeat. I am pushing to WFH 3 days a week. I get my adult time through my conversations on the phone. I shut my computer phone off at 5 so I am available for my kids.

[Deleted]

I WFH the vast majority of the time. It's a little different since I can go into the office, but I generally only do so once every few weeks.

Pros for me:
I can workout at lunch
Don't have to get dressed for work. I often work in my pjs until after I workout
Easy to do a load of laundry here or there or run an errand

Cons:
Reduced social interaction. Although, so many people are now wfh that my office is pretty dead anyways.
Sometimes I feel like a slob because I don't have to get dressed for work.

Overall, I much prefer it though!

[Deleted]

I need the social interaction, but if I didn't, it would be the best. I currently WFH one day/week and want to do 2. That's my max.

[felicity]

I love working from home.

Not having to see many people is actually a pro for me. No irritating coworkers to deal with My team (who I really like) has daily status meetings so I do at least speak with people every day, and we usually chit chat on the phone a bit which helps with feeling so isolated.

I work out at lunch, can throw in laundry, can do other chores when I have downtime instead of just browsing online like I would have in the office. I can wear comfy clothes every day. The food situation is infinitely better because I am not limited to what I can bring in a bag and heat in a microwave. I don't have a problem shutting down at the end of the day, either. I close up my computer and that's the end of the work day for me, just like if I left the office. I am still pumping, so that is a lot more comfortable at home too since I would have to schlep back and forth to the pumping room otherwise.

[boiler717]

I WFH full time and love it. The rest of my team is together which is hard, especially in a leadership role. My work is project based so it's much easier to have a flexible schedule WFH than being chained to a desk 8 hours a day. If you are on your computer the whole work day it will still be flexible though, and easier to disengage at the end of the day.
I do like being able to work from other locations, constantly being at home would be tough.
I actually eat better because I don't have to go out to lunch with coworkers or have birthday cake very other week.
Definitely have a dedicated spot and "office hours." It helps getting dressed every day too.

[Deleted]

I'll be the dissenter.

I WFH full time, and I don't love it. I just feel isolated, especially being in a new town. I could really use the office environment to help me be more social/meet people. I also dick around A LOT. I'm just not very good at managing myself, to keeping myself on track. However, I started this job WFH full time, so I also never had that in office experience, to really learn my job and get into a day to day rhythm. I think that would've actually helped me a lot.

I love how convenient it is, and I don't have a specific start/stop time. If DD wants to sleep in a bit, I don't feel guilty letting her and starting work a little later. I occasionally do laundry throughout the day, but I don't do chores. I also snack too much. I have a separate office space, so that actually does help me "shut down" for the night. I leave that space and don't go back in there until the next morning.

Obviously, this is all individual dependent. I am lucky that my boss is actually in the same town as me, so we meet up twice a week, but its still not the same.

[drloretta]

I started WFH last December. I really like it. DD is at camp or school FT so childcare isn't an issue. I couldn't have done this 5 or 10 years ago, but my work is virtually paperless, which makes it so easy to WFH. There was another employee who set the precedent last year, I rode in on his coattails

Pros:
Yoga pants!
You can do some random stuff throughout the day that you couldn't do in an office. To me, throwing in a load of laundry = chatting in the break room
No commute, and all the pros that go along with it
I find myself to be quite productive even at home. As long as there's a deadline I'm good

Cons:
People may sometimes forget about you, so unless you make your presence known, your slow days may pile up. It's good that you're already there FT, this should be less of an issue
It can be a bit isolating. I'm an extrovert, so poor DH gets a chatterbox once he's home
Dealing with sick child or weird vacation days can be a challenge. We have a couple of weeks next month where DH and I are really going to have to juggle.
I feel like I'm always on, that I have to be available 24/7. This is partly due to the last job I had that really messed with my head. It's becoming less of an issue as time goes on. Especially since I have a great boss who doesn't assume I'm dicking around if I don't answer the phone right away

[Deleted]

sounds similar to my situation. I was an every day office Employee for XX years, and we recently moved to a new space 40+ miles from where I live. I worked out a deal with my Manager (who is remote to me) to go to the office 1x per week - and as needed if he was in town. This gives me the social aspect I need, without the total chaos of going there daily.

There are other WFH Employees, and I chat with them throughout the day either on IM or the phone just to have connections to the outside world.

But having the flexibility to get stuff done at home, start dinner, etc. has been such a huge benefit!

[redpenmama]

I think it depends in large part on your personality. Some crave the face-to-face interaction of an office, lunches out, etc.; others work better independently. Since you are WFH some now, you will probably transition well.

I WFH full time for 2 years before DD was born. It felt isolating, but more of that was because we had just moved to a new state and I knew no one. I loved not having to sit in on useless meetings and deal with annoying coworkers. The flexibility of the schedule was great too -- I would go to the gym on my lunch break and often log-in each morning still in PJs.

I WFH part time now, with my own business. For me, the pros far, far outweigh the cons, but I'm more of an independent worker who'd rather engage with clients over email than I would in a f2f meeting.