The Pros and Cons of WFH

Since starting my new role for the neonatal network, I have worked from home completely (excluding 2 hospital visits so far). It’s a whole new world (sings Aladdin song in head) and a whole new way of working. It’s a world I’m already particularly familiar with, but I’m not sure if that is necessarily a good thing. I’m going to run through the pros and cons that I have experienced so far, and perhaps make up my mind. Or not. It doesn’t really matter.

Pro: No commute

Ah, the time saved! I can get straight to my office and start work as soon as I’ve done the school run. No traffic, no lost time sitting at the wheel, and lots of cash saved on petrol. Winner.

Con: No commute

Oh how I miss that 30 minute drive to and from work. 1 whole hour a day when I am alone and child-free. I could actually think. Not to mention listen to music other than the Frozen 2 soundtrack. Although, actually, I do occasionally (often) listen to Frozen 2 on my own, so I can sing along to the Elsa songs without being told off by my dictator, I mean daughter. And I love to listen to audiobooks; almost the only chance I get to ‘read’ nowadays. I could have them on in the car with the children in tow, but there is always the risk of swearing or inappropriate content. Also, the story might have something in it I don’t want the children to hear. And finally, I would sometimes stop on route at a shop or he-hm, McDonald’s. Without small people in tow, these are almost out-of-body experiences. You cannot know the joy of just getting out of your car and going into a shop until you have wrestled a toddler and a screaming 5 year old from one to the other.

Conclusion:

I think I’ll just start driving around when I don’t have the kids, just to revel in the child-free journey time. I’ll probably need to have a work trip to Scotland at some point.

Pro: I am in my own space

I love that I can be comfy. I can get a cup of tea, a party ring biscuit, a banana or a unicorn ice cream cone. Whatever I fancy, without going further than the next room. I can prepare a lovely lunch of avocado and prawn salad (today’s delicious ensemble) and eat it in the garden/in front of the telly. I can do my own thing, no-one to judge. I’ve got painted fingernails (this is a wondrous thing for a nurse, normally reserved exclusively for annual leave of 7 days or more) and listen to Radio 2 while I work. So happy.

Con: I am in my own space

I am surrounded by mess. This is a constant in my life, I am unable to escape it. My house, as I have described in a previous post, is a permanent omnishambles. And it drives me mad. And quite often, really sad, actually. So sometimes I just need to get out, get away, just close the door behind me and forget about how the house looks. So working from home, I have no escape. And it is so hard to concentrate on writing that report on the network education audit, when you are surrounded by a floor covered in a mixture of toys, dirty crockery, socks and, for some reason, a bottle of shower gel. What is that doing there? Being amongst this disarray, when I am trying to be a proper grown-up with serious, big, important things to do, does nothing to help my significant imposter syndrome. How on Earth can I organise an education programme that spans 5 counties, when I cannot organise my lounge?

Conclusion:

Enjoy the food. Ignore the mess. #philosophyforlife

Pro: I can do things I wouldn’t normally be able to do whilst at work

Similarly to above, I love that I am able to eat lovely food and watch Netflix on my lunch break. But on top of this, while I wait for the kettle to boil, I can stick a load of washing on. Or empty the dishwasher. In my past life, while I was at work for the whole day, these things went undone. A whole host of little jobs, that ended up waiting, quite frankly, indefinitely. Now, I am a little more on top of things. Just a little mind, I can’t pretend I’m suddenly Marie Kondo. I will never be organised enough to have time to fold my pants and socks. Or want to.

Con: I can do things I wouldn’t normally be able to do whilst at work

Ooh, how tempting it is, to do just one more thing. I’ll just walk the dog quickly. I’ll just make the bed. I’ll just phone the bank. I have to set myself a timer, so I don’t spend too long doing jobs that aren’t my actual job. Luckily, I can do my day job at any time, so can keep up with my work at other times too. Just another ball to juggle, no problem!

Conclusion:

It’s all swings and roundabouts. Whatever that means. And I am glad that I live in a very slightly tidier house.

Con: there’s no-one to talk to

How I miss the days when I could walk down the corridor, and chat to 3, 4, 10 people on the journey to the toilet/staff room/stationary cupboard. Yes, most of these people were barely acquaintances and the conversations consisted of little more than a passing “Hi, how are you?” But they were people. Nice people. Now, I get to talk to the dog. And he is a rubbish conversationalist, choosing to spend the majority of his time sleeping on the sofa with all 4 of his legs in the air, and farting.

Pro: there is no-one to talk to

I think if I calculated the amount of time I previously spent at work; chatting to people who came to ask me a question, or were looking for someone else, or who just happened to pass by; it would add up to some considerable man hours. Sometimes I would come home feeling I hadn’t achieved anything, as I’d been talking to people all day. Work related talk, yes, but I had nothing tangible to show for it. And I know that if I was working on something, and got interrupted, getting back that train of thought and focus on the project at hand took more time still. Now it’s just me and my laptop (and lashings of tea), I can hyper-focus the hell out of whatever I’m working on.

Conclusion: I miss the people. I’m sure the mailman/school mums/supermarket checkout person feel my desperation for human connection. But it does do wonders for my productivity; it could be described as ‘on fleek’, except I could never use this descriptor because I am absolutely not cool enough.

In Summary: I love WFH. yes, it has its downsides, but doesn’t everything? Ever the eternal optimist, I will revel in the pros and ignore the cons at my peril. Big up the new way of working.