You Shouldn’t Return to the Office if You Don’t Want To
Office do-gooders should know that work is for working
The office is dead.
No, not the show that made me fall in love with Netflix. I’m talking about the old-school workspace with the cubicles. They’re empty, and many of them should stay that way. Why do I feel this way? It’s just my opinion, after all.
I’m not against office spaces. I’ve made some great friends by working in person. The social aspect of going to a water cooler three times a day and chatting up the receptionist doesn’t outweigh the office space's doldrums.
I just prefer working at home 80% or more of the time. Judge me all you want. I’ve done it both, and I know what I want for my life. You’re more than welcome to think differently, but below I’ll list reasons you don’t need to work in an office, especially now (remember we’re still in a pandemic).
If you’re new here, welcome! I recently transferred my newsletter over to Substack, and this feels like my first real post. You’ll find some of my work here already, but you can find that on my Medium account. Here, on Substack, my goal is to provide exclusive content about making it as a freelancer in the creator economy era.
Anyway, this is a pretty straightforward email. Let’s just say it like it is. Below is the full article about working from home, which I entered in Medium’s writing competition. Whether the judges like it or not remains to be seen, but let me know in the comments what you think. See you next week!
You Shouldn’t Return to the Office if You Don’t Want To
Office do-gooders should know that work is for working
The idea of going back to the office ties my stomach into knots.
Working in person during Pandemic 2.0 (or is it 3.0 now? I’ve lost track) doesn’t just sound irresponsible but like a massive waste of time. I don’t have room for non-work-related stress in my work life anymore.
I’m talking about everything that surrounds an office workday.
Ironing wrinkled clothes on the weekend
Rush hour Los Angeles traffic
The Sunday Scaries
You get the idea. Actual work isn’t the problem; it’s everything that revolves it. Working from home solves these issues.
Pro-office supporters are short-sighted
I’m only 26-years-old. I recognize that I’m not a seasoned veteran of the workforce.
Heck, I’ve been working for less than ten years. I don’t qualify for half the entry-level positions on Indeed!
All jokes aside, I have experience working in an office and remotely. I realized I want 90% of my working hours to happen at home. It’s a personal preference, so whatever I say is going to be slightly biased.
However, many reasons to return to the office just aren’t profound. I can’t justify less productive days, less time with my family and friends, and the longer the mundaneness of windowless office spaces.
Let’s address the office do-gooders.
“Work isn’t about productivity”
Respectfully, yes, it is.
Work isn’t a social gathering. Work is about results, whether it’s done in an office or at home.
“Research also shows that organizations that put an emphasis on productivity, are 40 percent more productive than others. Obviously, that’s great for sales, profit margins, and growth.” — John Rampton
If a business doesn’t make money, it can’t pay its employees. If employees aren’t paid to work, then nothing gets done. Guess what happens when a business’ productivity goes down. The company goes with it.
Poor productivity doesn’t just mean poor sales, either. Low productivity leads to employee stress, harms long-term performance, and a domino effect of distractions.
So is work about productivity? You tell me.
Working from home is mentally draining
This is true, but so is going to the same office for 40 hours every week.
Routines are boring as hell if you don’t find ways to mix it up. It doesn’t matter whether you work in an office or at home; there will be days that feel like nails on a chalkboard.
To me, rushing to pack a lunch, comb my hair, and drive in Los Angeles traffic is far worse than sleeping in an extra 30 minutes and sitting at my computer at my leisure.
Darius Foroux said it perfectly:
“Yes, it’s difficult to start a side gig and work towards self-employment. But working for someone else is difficult, too.”
I may work on similar projects in the same space, but at least I get to work on my terms. I can do my work at home, at a coffee shop, or even while I travel.
Lack of social life
“The office provides you with a safe place where you can socialize with your coworkers. I know you can do that virtually, but it is a lot harder to be vulnerable when you haven’t met people face to face.” — Luay Rahil
Yet another great point. However…
Are we unable to meet up with co-workers after hours? If you want to socialize so bad, couldn’t you send an invite? Unless there are geographical barriers, choosing to be social is your choice.
When I’m at work, I’m working. I had the best bosses in the world at my old tutoring job. Yes, we talked and had a good laugh here and there, but even they wouldn't call socializing at work a good thing.
Keep your work and social life separate. You’ll be happier for it.
In-person work is better for the economy
Again, look at productivity.
A Stanford study of 16,000 workers showed an increase in production over 13% compared to working in an office.
A list of statistics from Apollo Technical
agrees:
“Several studies over the past few months show productivity while working remotely from home is better than working in an office setting. On average, those who work from home spend 10 minutes less a day being unproductive, work one more day a week, and are 47% more productive.”
Working from home is more accessible these days, thanks to technological advancements in communication. Saying that in-person work is better for the U.S. economy is an outdated argument.
Employers Can’t Reward What They Can’t See
This simply isn’t true.
If your job is meaningful, you’ll get out what you put in. Your boss will see the result of your effort, not the effort itself.
I edit videos for an eLearning company. If I didn’t do my job, there wouldn't be any videos. Nothing I do matters to the employer until I deliver. As long as the work gets done promptly, it doesn’t usually matter how I do the job.
Besides, it’s not the employer's responsibility to go out of their way to reward employees for doing their job.
4 reasons why you should work from home
Everyone’s different.
I love working from home, but my dad can’t stand it. During the pandemic, he made a nice little set up for himself in the dining room. Even though he complains about office drama every day, he still prefers his windowless office.
Frankly, I don't understand why, but to each their own. If you’re set in your ways, that’s fine. However, there are legitimate reasons why you should consider making the switch.
Less commute stress
I live in Los Angeles. Enough said.
I forgot what driving in hell was like during the pandemic. Now you can look in either direction on the 105, and you see all sorts of faces and expressions.
The Prius driver nervously sips their coffee. The suit-wearing Mercedes driver, who needs to tint their windows, talks on the phone with disdain.
We do this every day to keep the world spinning, right?
Commute stress isn’t all about the drive, though. It’s about getting to the office on time, finding a place to park, packing your lunch for the day, drinking coffee that will make you crash by 1 PM, dreading your kid’s baseball game later, thinking about what’s for dinner later, and trying to remember if you fed the dog or not.
Then you get to the office, and another stress bomb lands right on your desk: it’s time to work.
Working is hard enough without all the distractions. Working at home doesn't magically make them disappear, but it does make them more manageable.
Financial incentives
Your boss probably won’t pay you more to work at home, even though they should.
If your business didn't need to pay for an office, then there’d be thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars left on the table to spread amongst employees every month.
Most of us don’t make those decisions, but you can save elsewhere:
Food is cheaper when you make lunch at home instead of paying for $12 acai bowls.
Gas recently reached $5 in LA. I fill up once a month working from home, and that’s only becasue my car is a 20-year old gas guzzler. Drive less = less money spent on gas.
You don’t just save money on gas but car maintenance as well.
Money saved on work attire. You can wear comfier clothes and put your hair up without regrets. The office shouldn't have been a fashion show in the first place.
Time is money, and working from home gives you more of both.
Better work-life balance
I’m happier at home.
Once I complete my work, I just log off my computer and see what else is on my agenda. My only commute is to the kitchen to make dinner.
Extra time is a work-at-home currency that doesn’t show up on the paycheck.
I can use my extra time coins to “pay” for a midday workout at the gym. I’m paid to take calls while I walk the dog. I’m paid to make snacks, so I’m fueled for the rest of the day’s work.
There’s more time for family. There’s more time for dinner with friends because commutes are things of the past.
Working from home gives your life back to you. You might miss out on Becky’s birthday cake, but honestly, who cares? You have more time to buy a cake from the store if you want to.
Side hustles are more attainable
My dad questioned my motives to move to a different state.
“But what about your health insurance benefits?”
The thing is, I’d rather do work I love, even if it costs me $150 a month. The work I love has far more potential than an elementary teaching position.
A side hustle turned into a full-time gig is the ticket to financial freedom. I realized this one year ago and haven’t let the goal out of my sight.
I could work a 9–5 for the rest of my life, not knowing my potential other than to fulfill my work quota or my boss’s dreams.
The solution: if you have talents, invest in them. Don’t say you're going to do something. Show that you can. Make an impact. Grow an audience of superfans who don’t just love your work but love you.
Final thought
To work in an office or not to work in an office? That’s a question that you can only answer, an able-bodied individual capable of making their own decisions. If productivity is better at home, what else matters?
But the thing is: work is work. If you want to build relationships with your colleagues, go ahead and reach out to them. Ask to get drinks on the weekend and talk about anything other than work.
I work at home for a client and have meetings every week with the marketing team. Guess what we did? We met up on a Friday evening, had dinner, and got to know each other in person. Our Zoom meetings go on as they used to, and the only difference is I know how tall everyone is now.
In the end, do what’s right for you. You may not have a choice, honestly, but if you really want to work from home there are other jobs out there.
Last resort, you keep the office and build your side hustle after hours. Bite the bullet for as long as you can. Remember, work doesn’t have to be the dream.
It’s the life you build around it that matters.