Unpopular Opinion: WFH isn't really great thing for people early in their careers. I know I will receive a lot of hate for saying this but hear me out. I use to think about remote work even before pandemic and knew someone who had an international remote job back in 2015. I used to think how cool is this as that guy used to make top dollars working for a US company from his hometown in India. I worked from home for a while even before it became a mainstream thing. I used to freelance, it wasn't a full time job but then I joined the workforce during the pandemic and while I enjoy the benefits of WFH, there are downsides to it as well. I've <2 YOE and I don't understand a few things about working at an office because I (and others who joined the workforce during the pandemic) never really worked there. I don't know how WFO feels like. I don't know how do you interact with your colleagues, is it same as talking to a college friend or you have to be professional and strictly not discuss anything outside work. I don't know how people work from the office. I mean do they take random breaks like how people in WFH do or they work for X hours straight. Are they allowed to work in 25 mins pomo and then walk away from their desk or walking away from desk every 25 mins is seen crazy by others at office?. Are they allowed to listen to the music while they code or they can't do this? There are a lot of things I don't know about because I never worked from the office. I really want to experience WFO.

I kinda second with this opinion. WFH during initial career days isnt bad but you will miss all the fun parts of office and also the learning opportunities one get during small pep talks. Coming to your questions, it depends on the kind of company. If its a services company, people might feel weird if you take short breaks every 25 min or you take random breaks but it really doesnt matter in a product based company. Strictly, my opinions! 😃

Summarized experience: I have ~4 YOE, and I CHOOSE to WFO. Reason behind doing so: There is vast difference between the two work environments. The kind of connections that you can make in ofc are second to none. You go out with your colleagues for a coffee/tea break, lunch, sometimes for fun activities, all of which help develop a connection on a personal level which is difficult to develop virtually. Of course, you can zoom call for X hrs., but the feel that you get while talking in-person can't be matched with virtual calls. Not only your colleagues, but you also get a chance to interact with other folks on your floor/cabin who may or may not be related to your job/dept. Another reason is personal. I come from a Tier 3 city where I have little to no opportunities to explore career-wise. Also schools, hospitals, entertainment facilities, etc., are available but from a family standpoint (to-be wife + someday kids) it is not enough. I don't want to be in a situation where I have to think about finding the best "facilities" possible for them. Therefore, I decided to WFO since this puts me in a Tier 1 city and helps me plan my future accordingly.

P.S. this situation might be different for married folks since they have a lot more responsibility than I have currently; therefore WFH might be a good option for them. Would love to hear their views 🙂

I’m quite happy with WFH life personally. But working from office does have its charms especially when more collaboration is needed. If only our tier-1 cities were actually liveable 🙂

It can be done. But extremely difficult to be done right. Not all companies have that kind of culture to nurture growth in remote environments. It takes purposeful effort to make remote work.

My reason for sticking to WFH is I am able to get more things done. The temptation of nodding a colleague to go to cafeteria and grab a coffee is too strong in the office. 😂 If you want to experience both, I would say go for it. Switch to WFO for a year. See how it is.

I've remote freelanced part-time since the beginning 2008-2015, full-time in office between 2015-2020. And remote part-time again since the pandemic. Both have their pros and cons. You should definitely experience both a good office and a good remote setup (not forced because of pandemic) in your life. Since you don't have one right now. Maybe we can share our experiences, early discoveries / adjustment: • YMMV based on culture and environment. For me it was kind of less aggressive, more helpful version of college. People are generally friendly but not overtly pushy. • Real time communication is intimidating. My mind was used to randomly typing things, then editing it (even this message) You can't do that real time. But once you start communicating f2f, it's another level of fidelity. • It is very easy to get distracted in office. Part of the work is to actively talk to other people, but they usually don't know when they've derailed you. • Location awareness is a thing. Example: I had no one next to me at home so I would cough sneeze down to the side of the wall. That's a big no no in office. • War stories teach you a lot more than blog posts. You can't ask questions to a blog the way you can to a person real time.

you are actually right about this especially when the person is in their first years at work. but trust me, once you have worked fully from the office, you would only like WFH given you have a proper setup along with a proper place to work.

@nutritious-fall-18055 First thing first, if you really want to experience WFO. Please do that. It’s a wonderful experiences if you are in the right company and culture. And even it’s not, it will teach a lot of things about office politics, to building meaningful connection or to avoid toxic people. IMO choosing WFO vs WFH really depends on the person nature and also depending on how do you want to live your life. I personally want a life where I can move anywhere at anytime. However, WFH and Remote work are two different things. You can work remotely from 1 km office far away from home and still can have half of the WFO experiences. I’ve ~7 YOE, Married and have a son. I’ve spend my initial 5 years in office, I loved that environment and build many meaningful connection, until I got married and started to have people around me who needed my attention on daily basis. Commute was one of my biggest reason for me to avoid WFO, because it drain my all energy and I could not spend pro active time much with my family. Also, I am lazy person and does not want to move much hence I choose remote over WFO. And about deep work in office, I used to wear a headphone and goes to single cabin office for deep work. It hard when you have people around who can tap you on shoulder whenever they want. I agree with you opinion and also suggest someone who starting their career to start with office. I don’t remember but someone said in this in RI channel before, that “living in the hostel is one of the most memorable experiences of your life, you make a lot of friends, but that does not mean you have to live in hostel all your life.”

How about co-working spaces? We can enjoy office without politics and restrictions. And also a better work environment. I visited many co-working spaces in Indore. The main issue I found is the cost of personal workspace customisations (like standing desk) are quite high and indoor air quality is poor. Office air quality is rarely talked about. And indoor air quality affects more than outdoor air quality for most people. Most plywood furniture used are not emission compliant for substances like VOCs and formaldehyde. Other air quality parameters like like CO2, humidity levels, PM2.5 etc are not monitored. Just installing air conditioner is not enough. My office experience in Bangalore was not good. Use of air conditioner made air dry and it caused dry eye syndrome. We have to regulate humidity and other AQ parameters too. If these two are fixed, there's no better place than co-working spaces. You can meet people from various backgrounds.

Tbh, I've been loving this WFH. These are pros and cons as per me: Pros: • Make anything I want to eat anytime. • Take some hours off and work later in night or weekend. • Save energy of daily up downs to office. • Use the time/energy to learn more. • Use the time/energy to work on hobbies. • Spend some time with loved ones. • Awesome workspace. • Gaming/Side hustles instead of commuting daily. • WFH = work from hills sometimes xD Cons: • Mental stress if living alone. • No development of people skills.