For background on this topic without getting too specific, I’m an engineer and I typically work in an office. I’m younger and haven’t been in the work force for long but working in office spaces is driving me insane.
Now I understand that work isn’t supposed to be super fun, but I’d like to at least be able to tolerate it. So far I’ve spent a couple years in offices and it’s been miserable. I enjoy what I do as far as engineering. I like the topics, I like the productive parts of what I do. But I cannot stand office spaces. They’re uncomfortable and depressing environments for me.
I feel like spending time working from home would be ideal, but I’d like to hear people’s thoughts and if anyone else has had this experience. Is it something you just get used to?
Retire. I know flippant. Seriously though anything you do over 40 hours a week outside of sleeping is not going to be fun. Also 90% are the same in the sense that you spend 50% or more of your time not doing the particular stuff you like but instead going to meetings, doing required training, fitting your stuff into required methodology. Tracking and documenting things. WFH does help a lot. I take a one hour lunch pretty much every day and walk my dog along with prep and eat a nice meal. I find when I have a block of time its much easier to completely focus on my work compared to in office. Then of course you also don’t have the annoying commute. That really makes a difference in quality of life while working.
Not sure how this came across in the post but I’m not talking about being lazy. I’ve actually enjoyed many parts of my job even with the mundane meetings and documentation. I don’t enjoy the massive time wasting involved in most offices.
I prefer to be busy. What I don’t enjoy is the discomfort, poor lighting, bad layout, etc. Its like modern managers think that handing out standing desks like candy is going to make offices preferable to literally anything else.
And yes, I can manage some of this by bringing my own keyboard and getting a better chair. But realistically, every office culture I’ve encountered so far just sucks the soul out of me. A few months in and I’ll just be watching the time begging for lunch to come. I’ll go home and have two hours of daylight left to myself.
It seems like WFH is the option. I just don’t get how anyone does this without being absolutely miserable.
Im not talking about being lazy either but I will tell you that wfh does not prevent the massive time wasting. unfortunately. still I rather eat what I have at home and walk my dog on lunch than run out to a fast food place and love not having the commute. then add using your own bathroom and petting my dog whenever I want and it is a whole lot better to be wfh.