Working from home is ruining our workers lives.

Question

Allowing people to work from home may seem like a luxury, when in reality, it is making a heading to the office harder than ever. Working from home may have some positives: less pay for commute, casual clothes, and less stress from office situations, but the positives certainly do not outweigh the negatives. Headlines today highlight that working from home boosts happiness and productivity, but this information is contradictory to real surveys (BBC). Workers have reported that they thought a home office would be a dream, allowing them to fulfill their hobbies and take care of the duties of the home, but this was not the case.

Working from home has been shown to lead employees to get burnt out faster than normal. Isolation and a lack of motivation in an office environment have led to an increase in stress levels and the need to work longer hours to get the same tasks done. Doctors are seeing an increase in depression, while business owners are seeing a lack of retention of employees, all linked back to working from home. Workers in an office are gaining helpful insight and encouragement that home workers do not receive, leading to a sense of hopelessness and pessimism. With workers from home feeling unappreciated, disconnected, and overworked, they should turn back to the office (CBS News).

Answer 1

There are definitely advantages and disadvantages to working from home vs. going into the office. Starting with advantages, working from home eliminates the need to commute. This can be helpful for people who don't have a car or are saving up to buy one. This is also a better option than paying for public transportation. People also gain more independence and learn to manage their time. It's also been reported that working from home improves technical and communication skills, not to mention reduced absences and distractions. Some disadvantages of working at home include increased isolation, home office costs, and home distractions. Not to mention, there is a complete disconnect from the workplace community and workplace life (https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/the-pros-and-cons-of-working-from-home). Many people, after the pandemic, chose to continue working from home because it was more beneficial than going into the office. It's also been reported that people who work from home are less stressed (https://www.uschamber.com/co/run/human-resources/working-from-home-pros-and-cons). Saying that working from home is "ruining" people's lives is false.