When reading on all these work-from-home discussions, it seems pretty clear that the commute is the main factor. If I had to commute to my office by car or (crowded) public transport for an hour or more, I would hate going there.
I am lucky to have a 25 minutes commute by bicycle, so I don't mind that, and prefer the office amenities: a work space provided for me, clear separation from working and living space etc.
Of course, there are other advantages in working from home such as more flexibility in terms of working and break hours. However, my impression remains that commute times and conditions outweigh all other (subjective) preferences for most people when arguing for or against working from home.
It seems to me that the pandemic and the practice of massively working at home has mostly raised this question: how had we accepted for such a long time that so many people go through a commute nightmare every single day of their work life?
How can we establish working standards that require neither turning homes into offices nor going back to the commuting nightmare from "old normal"?
I work literally 10 minutes from my house. I would rather work from home. It's 5 traffic lights to the office. I can drive, waste fuel, clothes, time, insurance, tires, etc. Or I can work from home and do exactly the same shit I do in a box only from the comfort from my own home. And if I need to come in I'm 10 minutes away. Yet here I am, back in the office, and flex time is going away soon.
This is the other differentiator - quality of the office. Some people seem to not have an office that is anything other than a bunch of desks put near each other.
Even if you had a nice office, you might get looked at funny if you showed up every single day in your pajamas or some stained gym shorts (like I do now from home). Another big benefit is I can double time stuff. If someone is hosting a meeting and I'm merely in attendance rather than have to present something myself, I usually eat food, do laundry, garden, showering, or workout with the zoom meeting open. I'm still listening, I'm just actually doing something productive and useful to my life instead of sitting silently watching a power point in a dark room fighting the urge to fall asleep.
That also makes me wonder if Europe also has a ton of the workforce wanting to stay remote too? They have density and public transportation, while most of America is an abject disaster in that regard.
It seems to me that the pandemic and the practice of massively working at home has mostly raised this question: how had we accepted for such a long time that so many people go through a commute nightmare every single day of their work life? How can we establish working standards that require neither turning homes into offices nor going back to the commuting nightmare from "old normal"?