Before I move along, I hope this post would not taken as me being all whiny and ungrateful about the fact that I’m working from home. If for anything, I’m so thankful to be able to work remotely and still get my usual compensation, when most of my colleagues weren’t as lucky to be given a slot.
Of course, when it comes to choosing between No Work vs. WFH, anyone who isn’t pea-brained would tell you that they’d rather be working from home during this lockdown because at least they get paid. On the other hand, if you’ll ask me to choose between WFH and working in an office, I would choose the latter in a heartbeat.
YES. I would rather wake-up at 3:45 AM every weekday and go through all my morning routine and bear the commute to the office than getting up at 6:00 AM for the same shift like I do these days.
I was one of the many corporate people who thought that working from home is the best thing since sliced bread. What’s not to like? We won’t need to wake up early, take a shower, dress appropriately and sit through the hellish Metro Manila traffic. We’ll just be in the comfort of our homes (or bedrooms) the entire day where we can also sneak in to watch TV or raid the fridge anytime. Best of all, we can be with our family and loved-ones all day. It’s a dream come true, right? Wrong.
You know what I realized? All of these are just a mere romanticization of WFH. Working from home is exhausting.
The truth is WFH takes away the value of “personal space”. Home for me is where I shouldn’t have to worry about professional obligations. It is where I feel I’m most safe. It’s easy to say we had to have boundaries now but there’s this part of me that thinks that telecommuting is somewhat invasive. Work and Home life should be separate, methinks.
Now that I’m doing this, I feel so pressured to deliver the same output as I would have when working in the office. This is particularly tough when we have limited resources such as an internet connection that would fail every once a while, more than a decade-old laptop that I only use before to write my blogs, remote systems and applications that would refresh or crash every so often, and many other things that could slow me down. The tasks that I usually do for an hour, now I do in two or more.
I also feel that I’m in constant surveillance. I may be physically away from the boss but there is no autonomy at all. While it’s only expected for my employer to check on me (after all, I’m being paid), it’s not like I’m only chillin’ on the couch or sleeping. I still follow my breaks religiously. Even the people here at home are watching me like a hawk. Whatever freedoms people think they’d have while working from home is a mere illusion.
The distraction is another thing. I wanted to work in dim-light/natural light conditions but my mom doesn’t like a house that’s “dark”. It’s hard to concentrate when you can hear the TV and my bickering nephews behind me. It’s hard to ignore the dishes in the sink, or the dirty laundry piling up the hamper and the urge to sweep the floor. I can’t tell people here to quiet down or make adjustments for my benefit because that wouldn’t be fair.
WFH because of the quarantine is even harder. On a regular work-from-home arrangement, you can go out once you’re done for the day. Now, after I unplugged the laptop and call it a day, the only thing left me for me to do is still — stay home.
I remember how it was during my 60-day Magna Carta leave after my laparotomy. The minute I got restless at home doing nothing, when I felt that my surgical wound is drying up and I can already walk straight, I went out. Too bad, I don’t have that liberty now.
Of course, when it comes to choosing between No Work vs. WFH, anyone who isn’t pea-brained would tell you that they’d rather be working from home during this lockdown because at least they get paid. On the other hand, if you’ll ask me to choose between WFH and working in an office, I would choose the latter in a heartbeat.
YES. I would rather wake-up at 3:45 AM every weekday and go through all my morning routine and bear the commute to the office than getting up at 6:00 AM for the same shift like I do these days.
I was one of the many corporate people who thought that working from home is the best thing since sliced bread. What’s not to like? We won’t need to wake up early, take a shower, dress appropriately and sit through the hellish Metro Manila traffic. We’ll just be in the comfort of our homes (or bedrooms) the entire day where we can also sneak in to watch TV or raid the fridge anytime. Best of all, we can be with our family and loved-ones all day. It’s a dream come true, right? Wrong.
You know what I realized? All of these are just a mere romanticization of WFH. Working from home is exhausting.
The truth is WFH takes away the value of “personal space”. Home for me is where I shouldn’t have to worry about professional obligations. It is where I feel I’m most safe. It’s easy to say we had to have boundaries now but there’s this part of me that thinks that telecommuting is somewhat invasive. Work and Home life should be separate, methinks.
Now that I’m doing this, I feel so pressured to deliver the same output as I would have when working in the office. This is particularly tough when we have limited resources such as an internet connection that would fail every once a while, more than a decade-old laptop that I only use before to write my blogs, remote systems and applications that would refresh or crash every so often, and many other things that could slow me down. The tasks that I usually do for an hour, now I do in two or more.
I also feel that I’m in constant surveillance. I may be physically away from the boss but there is no autonomy at all. While it’s only expected for my employer to check on me (after all, I’m being paid), it’s not like I’m only chillin’ on the couch or sleeping. I still follow my breaks religiously. Even the people here at home are watching me like a hawk. Whatever freedoms people think they’d have while working from home is a mere illusion.
The distraction is another thing. I wanted to work in dim-light/natural light conditions but my mom doesn’t like a house that’s “dark”. It’s hard to concentrate when you can hear the TV and my bickering nephews behind me. It’s hard to ignore the dishes in the sink, or the dirty laundry piling up the hamper and the urge to sweep the floor. I can’t tell people here to quiet down or make adjustments for my benefit because that wouldn’t be fair.
WFH because of the quarantine is even harder. On a regular work-from-home arrangement, you can go out once you’re done for the day. Now, after I unplugged the laptop and call it a day, the only thing left me for me to do is still — stay home.
I remember how it was during my 60-day Magna Carta leave after my laparotomy. The minute I got restless at home doing nothing, when I felt that my surgical wound is drying up and I can already walk straight, I went out. Too bad, I don’t have that liberty now.
Walking is my main form of physical and mental exercise. It not only stretches every muscle in my body, but walking also clears my head. When I clocked-out after a busy day at the office, I try to hit the 10,000 steps per day sauntering from our office building to the mall. I can’t do that now which is why by the end of the day, I feel so worn-out and drained.
I always say that I’m more of a solitary creature but I miss my teammates and my colleagues. Even if we are in constant communication through group chat these days, nothing beats face-to-face interaction and conversations. It keeps you relaxed when you can actually see people doing the same thing you’re doing while having a good laugh at it. I didn’t think working from home can be lonely at times.
I guess I still want to have some structure and professional/social interaction. Working from home is not for me; it’s definitely something I can only do temporarily.
When this lockdown is lifted and we’re told that it’s already safe to resume, I would strut back to the office in a true John-Travolta-Saturday-Night-Fever-opening-fashion, I kid you not.
I always say that I’m more of a solitary creature but I miss my teammates and my colleagues. Even if we are in constant communication through group chat these days, nothing beats face-to-face interaction and conversations. It keeps you relaxed when you can actually see people doing the same thing you’re doing while having a good laugh at it. I didn’t think working from home can be lonely at times.
I guess I still want to have some structure and professional/social interaction. Working from home is not for me; it’s definitely something I can only do temporarily.
When this lockdown is lifted and we’re told that it’s already safe to resume, I would strut back to the office in a true John-Travolta-Saturday-Night-Fever-opening-fashion, I kid you not.
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