Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The benefits of work from home would vastly offset the marginal differences in stress for me. It'd allow me to better take care of myself, because instead of a 30+ minute commute to and from the office, I could spend that time going for a bike ride, lifting weights, going for a walk, or going on a run.
I'm not in a highly social or interactive role as it is. Being in the office is completely pointless for me 90% of the time. I have my noise cancelling AirPods in most of the time, completely disengaged with what's going on around me. Virtual meeting technology has also vastly improved to the point where a simple call and screen share is no different from being in a meeting room. The key is that you must have discipline and focus to thrive in that setting. People who complain that they can't focus without someone standing in front of them and flailing their arms around will struggle with it regardless. I also don't require the constant socialization as some people do, though I do appreciate it at times. 1-2 days a week in office would be totally fine with me.
- Job 1: Low-stress, well-paying, but requires you to report to the office every day
- Job 1: Marginally higher pay and stress than Job 1, but allows you to work from home as you please
If 'marginally' higher stress and pay, then probably Option 2.
But it really comes down to stress AND workload. And again ... vague descriptions are useless.
My job workload is basically this...
I'm not an auto mechanic, but I have 6-7 brake jobs to do every day. Doesn't matter if I have a bad day, doesn't matter if I don't feel well, doesn't matter if one of those brake jobs takes twice the time to do because it's an old car.
I have 6-7 to do every day. And that takes over 40 hours. Every week... and a lot of jobs are like that.
So, for a significantly lesser workload, yes I would commute.
Need to know actual numbers and other benefits/PTO/make my own schedule/possible travel/etc. Also, define low stress. When I see that, I immediately think boring and not needing much of a brain. That would be death for me.
I hate working from home. Money and using my brain is very important.
Going to the office is stressful as it is. It involves eating an extra 2 hours out of my day on the commute alone, to say nothing of additional laundry and meal planning. I can work during what would be my commute, and actually step away for my lunch to cook. When I have to go into the office, I'm often too busy to take a lunch. Frankly, most of my time in the office is spent on Zoom anyway.
I generally have to work in the office two days a week, but this week I didn't bother because I had so much work to get done. My in-the-office-days each had a grand total of half an hour between 9-5 where I wasn't in a Zoom meeting. Instead of ending the day with a Zoom induced migraine and then driving home for an hour, I was able to lay down and rest my eyes so i could do things that night. That's worth its weight in gold.
So I'd pick option 2. If it was between a higher salary where I had to go into the office, I would have to crunch the numbers.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,610 posts, read 81,316,164 times
Reputation: 57871
Distance is key. For me the advantage to working from home the last two years is avoiding the commute expense of gas, wear and tear on my vehicle, and mostly the wasted time which can be over 90 minutes-2 hours a day. Higher pay and work from home would be ideal, stress doesn't bother me. That additional time at home and not in traffic makes a big difference in the quality of life.
Distance is key. For me the advantage to working from home the last two years is avoiding the commute expense of gas, wear and tear on my vehicle, and mostly the wasted time which can be over 90 minutes-2 hours a day. Higher pay and work from home would be ideal, stress doesn't bother me. That additional time at home and not in traffic makes a big difference in the quality of life.
I agree. The time and travel costs eat at your free time. Traffic and weather conditions for travel can be stressful too. I don't have to prepare a lunch to take with me, nor be subjected to what is available at the company. Overall it increases my free time, because I can do chores at home during my lunch hour I wouldn't be able to do if I were working in the office.
The other thing I really like about WFH, is that our recruitment efforts aren't limited to only local people or getting approval for a relocation package.
As for stress in general, it depends on the time of work and position you have. Because that can be changed where 90 minutes can't be without relocating to a place you might not be able to afford or live.
I know there are people who like to toss the word "collaboration" around to justify coming into the office, but we've been doing that before the pandemic with people in different states and countries using Microsoft Teams and Zoom. Upper management at some companies are pushing people to come back into the office sound like they are all working in a chem lab where you must be physically there to do the work properly.
I've worked from home the last 20 years of my career, with travel probably 5 days out of the month for most of that time. With Covid, I haven't had to travel hardly at all, and it seems when(if?) things ever go back to normal, a lot of companies would rather stick with virtual meetings to save on airfare, hotel expenses, etc.
I don't think I could go back to working a 8-5 in an office. I love the flexibility and freedom of working from home and always have.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
