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“Work From Home Can Easily Become Live At Work”: 30 People Share The Biggest Downsides Of Working From Home That Aren’t Talked About Enough
Over the recent years, working from home has become the new norm for millions of people around the world. It has some upsides; for some people, it allowed them to save precious time on commuting back and forth and minimized certain expenses, such as money spent on gas or lunch-break outings. Not to mention the additional hour of sleep in the mornings or the comfort of working in your sweatpants. However, every coin has two sides and working from home (also referred to as WFH) is in no way an exception.
Some of the drawbacks of such an arrangement were discussed by the ‘Ask Reddit’ community members. The user TheBruceDickenson asked them what is an unfortunate reality with WFH nobody talks about, and the redditors poured their hearts out. Their answers cover everything from a disturbed work-life balance, to missing wearing pencil skirts, so scroll down to find the disadvantages of working from home and see if you can relate to any of them.
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Why do I feel like this is some "WFH bad!" propaganda?
A lot of people saying they feel like they're jailed. What? Really? Just f*****g go outside and do something. Go to the gym. Play with your kids. You feel more jailed at home than you do in a s****y cubicle at work with your boss breathing down your neck? The f**k is wrong with you people?
UPVOTE THIS :) Hell yes. I only go into the office about once every 2 months now for just a day. And when I do, with the 45 minute commute one way, I think...I was an idiot for doing this everyday. WTH kind of system do we have here?
When you work from home people assume you have the day off. "Can you do...."
No, I'm working. Just because I'm here working on the computer doesn't mean I can do your thing. Pay no attention to the fact that I'm browsing reddit, it's part of my process.
I was extremely disappointed to find that when I worked from home, stealing office supplies just didn't give the same thrill.
Really? I stole my office chair and a screen from the office to work from home. It was THE biggest thrill!
I'm missing out on a lot of "accidental" exercise.
I used to walk to the train station, then from the station at the far end to the office. Have a wander around at lunch.
Now, I walk from my bed to the shower, and from the shower to my office/man cave. If I had a Fitbit, it may get as high as 50 steps by lunch.
Work From Home can easily become Live at Work.
Only if you don't "turn off" work like you'd do at the office. When I work from home, I shut down the business laptop with the same discipline as I do in the office.
WFH is freaking awesome, the only downside for me is less physical activity since I'm not walking around the office but that's easily remedied by increasing my workouts. No dealing with blabbermouth coworkers, not being forced to pretend I'm busy just to appease the boss, saving tons of money and time on commuting, I'll never go back to the office. The less connection I have to my company the happier I am and WFH is perfect for that. I can get my stuff done and disappear, that's how it should be.
I have to buy all my own toilet paper
Worked from home since last year, I find less reasons to go out and gained some weight too (realized early, already lost it thankfully). Lead me to barely take care of myself, since no reason to go out as I mentionned, and as someone who's already depressed, I was just "drowning" in my loneliness, no one to share a coffee during breaks, no one to chat with, no one to directly you ask you for something with a sense of actual purpose, etc...
The good part is you get up at 7 and you’re in the office at 705. The bad news is you are still in the office at 705pm.
My work hours are 07.45 - 15.15 so 15.15.01 I just turn my computer off.
It's lonely. While I may occasionally be irked by a colleague here or there, I have a good group of supportive colleagues that I'm close friends with, and who help me get through the days that just seem to drag on. WFH you miss out on that socialisation and support.
This is the absolute BEST part of working from home. I save my social energy to spend with my friends and family instead of being socially exhausted from having to be social at work with meaningless chit chat and having no energy left for the relationships that really matter!
I just had to fire my MIL from watching my Toddler while I was working from home.
MIL would be in the living room watching my toddler and would make snide comments about me saying I do nothing ALL day but sit infront of the computer, not cleaning the toddlers mess, even though I clean the house every morning. She would compare herself when on how she was a hard worker when she was young as a managing the fruit Isle. She would say I don't know how you can sit there when it's so nice outside. She called me LAZY. She would go up to be during important meetings asking me this and that and get angry and call me rude of If shuush her because I am in a meeting. Fired her and never looked back. Some people think sitting Infront of the computer is not really working.
I am a finance manager so it's a very high stress job.
Those that don't use computers regularly really don't understand that the computer does not do all the work. I develop software for a living, and whilst I may be sat at a computer all day, my brain will be working overtime trying to solve some complex problem, probably more so as I work alone, so don't have anyone to bounce ideas off. The annoying part is when it is still wrestling with it and comes up with a solution at 3am.
Using your own heating and electricity.
Sitting all day has absolutely destroyed my core. Without needing to constantly get up and walk over to talk to someone or any of the other million little things I walked around at the office for, my body has slowly wasted away without my notice
That if you're someone who has a different "head space" at home vs at work, it can be xtremely difficult working from home. Some people can literally work from home and "dial in" if you will to the same level of attention or better than in an office setting. Others (like myself) have difficulty focusing on work at home. Even when I know I have work to do, when I'm at home, that part of my brain just shuts off and I have a very hard time staying focused.
My fiancé would often mock me, but I would dress as if I were going to the office even when at home. Something about the routine of it, putting myself in the position as if I were physically "at work", put me in the right head space to focus better on my work.
When you and your partner both work from home, you miss that natural separation of your lives. Suddenly you have much less to talk about, because you're living your lives together more than previously, and then takes more active effort to maintain individuality and not regress into the singular relationship entity in all aspects of life which isn't healthy for anyone.
Meh... did this for nine months during lockdown. She (56) is a history teacher to kids on the autismspectrum between 13 and 16 and I (56m) work in international shipping. Couldn't be much further apart career-wise. Still feel we grew even closer, even after 25 years of marriage, in these nine months.
I miss wearing my nice work outfits. The only reason I leave home is to pick up groceries, go to the gym, or go to church, so 80% of my wardrobe is going unworn.
But I do NOT miss my 2+ hour round-trip commute, so I would never wear a pencil skirt again if it meant I had to go back to that traffic hell.
Why not wear decent clothes to run errands? In fact, at least here in the States, I've always been disappointed with how most people go around in public like they just got out of bed or about to go muck out the stables. Have some self respect and respect for others when you are out in public.
Probably not very healthy to have even LESS physical activity throughout the day.
You feel jailed, like you work in your house, you clean the house, you cook for the family in the house and when everybody gets home from school/work you are the only one who did not get to go outside. nobdy want's to come outside with you because they were outside all day.
The crippling loneliness.
I rarely speak with anyone during my work day. My wife works two jobs, and my daughter is in a school sport as well as having a job. Most days of the week I am home, alone, and only see my family for about 30 minutes if that. At least when I worked at the office I would see other people for eight hours a day.
Omg yes. When I started WFH due to pregnancy struggles, I noticed that we would have a lot of people knocking on the door. I take calls so I’m not just lounging around. I would let the door go unanswered and then I would see my MIL calling me and sending me messages that so and so will be stopping by for x thing. I told her I’m busy working and cannot leave my desk. Another thing that would happen would be her aunt who was living with us at the time would come to the living room to watch TV and videos on her phone. The fact that I had to tell her more than once that I am WORKING so she needs to watch TV in another room baffled me. I also had to explain that I have access to people’s medical information and how would she feel if she called her doctor’s office and the person she was having a conversation with was discussing her private information in front of others.
It’s veeeerrry easy to start drinking too early in the day. 3:00 is ALMOST quitting time, might as well have a drink.
Theres something to be said for the drive home. It separates work life from home life and gives you time to transition. Working from home there's a blurred line that makes it hard to separate work and home.
Yeah, it gives you a nice bout of roadrage to separate the two. When I worked in an office only a couple of miles away down country roads, it was a pleasant change. When the office moved into the city centre it was a right royal pain in the jacksie. As I said above, if you can create an area for work, separate from the rest of your home life, you can more easily say to yourself "I am working/I am not working".
My wife works from home and it seems like a very sedentary lifestyle. Sometimes, she doesn't even have to get dressed.
I don't know, it just seems like if you're already anxious or depressed, you can accidentally become a shut-in.
I love working from home but it can give you an everybody is just a stranger vibes. Loss of connection to the outside world is real.
No one seems to understand that you're really properly working. People will come into your room and ask you unimportant questions and you seem rude telling them you're working and sending them away.
When hubby was working from home, he took over my crafting table for his office area. All my materials were in that room. But it wasn't really that hard to get things together and take them to our bedroom. I could craft, watch TV, talk on the phone, etc. When he was working, he got that room. He was still working, regardless of where he was doing it.
Overall, I love WFH. Don't have to dress up, don't have to commute, and I'm so much more productive without all the normal office interruptions that I'm working fewer hours and accomplishing more. My car insurance is a lot cheaper (because I changed to one of those pay by the mile plans), and I'm not spending money on gas. I cook for myself now, so I'm not paying for daily lunch.
The only issue that I've really noticed is that leaving the house has become an Event. I don't just go hop in the car and go somewhere anymore. I left my house once (?) last week, and it took actual planning to do. I don't FEEL lonely, but I'm sure the many, many hours I spend at home by myself is taking some kind of mental toll.
Loud neighbours.
Every discussion needs to be intentional. Forget about chance meetings in the hallway. Forget about casual lunches where you build relationships. Forget about contact with anyone outside of your immediate team. None of that will happen without you making an effort to set up time. If you don't take the time to manage things, long term WFH kills networking, culture and comraderie.
Depends upon how your work is organised. I used to work closely with a colleague (and friend) and we would regularly fire up an online meeting just to bounce ideas off one another and talk about non-work stuff. It was quite funny that his family got to thinking of me being there, and would say hi. I could also tell when the kids got home as I could hear the fridge door open. LOL
Don't know about work from home but I have grown to absolutely despise online schooling like classes through Zoom. There is little to no social interaction with your peers and your ability to learn and retain information is significantly hindered. Also, in cases of students who have little to no social life outside of school, it can lead to a great increase in anxiety and depression.
Numerous studies from 2019 on have shown that for all ages, comprehension is definitely better when reading from print vs. computer screen. I personally feel student's use of computers 100% in schools is detrimental to learning.
•Depending on your company, you may need to pay for your own office setup if you want to work efficiently
•Less reason to go out
•Decreased social interaction
•Decreased work life balance. Some people may have a harder time shutting the computer and logging off for the day
With all that said, I would easily take the downs mentioned above if it meant not coming into the office
We got a $600 stipend from our company to set up our home office. Mine paid for mesh wifi, a webcam, a ring light, a better chair, and small stuff. GTRacing-6...8c2183.jpg 
Note: this post originally had 71 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
The fact that so many people want to go to the office to socialize is the reason I want to keep working from home.
I agree with this one. The fact that I meet them only during zoom meetings is liberating. I do not need outside-of-work-related-matter socialization. I am totally fine of not speaking to anyone from the office for the whole day.
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Yeah... the only downside I find for wfh is the decrease in physical activity. The rest of these seem to be from those who didn't figure out the basics of wfh and suffered for it. Basics like, you set your boundaries the same as you would an office job - workday ends, you don't log onto that workplace VPN again (or even better, you use a workplace-provided computer/laptop - that thing is turned OFF and set aside until the next day) and from the get-go, you treat people "popping in because you're just working from home" the same way you'd treat someone strolling into your office at work. "I'm at work, is there an emergency? No? Okay, that's good. I'm at work, bye now." I've found more than anything people aren't liking that they're learning more about their 'housemates' (kids/partners) than they want to (the stories... the stories...)
I agree, the posts in this article are pretty pitiful reasons not to work from home
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A lot of the comments above seem like people need to set boundaries. When I started WFM my habit was wake up, make coffee, turn on computer. Then I'd sit there, set up all my systems and chat via Zoom with co workers, grab more coffee and back to chatting. Next thing I know I start my actual work in 5 minutes aaaaand I haven't eaten, showered ect.... DO NOT DO THIS! Wake up, enjoy your coffee AWAY from your work set up. Definitely try to set up your "office" away from your bed or places you tend to hang out. If not possible get a cheap blanket or something to throw over the work station when you turn your computer off (that's right, you're off, computer is off). Maybe outta sight, outta mind will help. Get dressed.... or at least change clothes. Even if it's from PJs A to PJs B...
The fact that so many people want to go to the office to socialize is the reason I want to keep working from home.
I agree with this one. The fact that I meet them only during zoom meetings is liberating. I do not need outside-of-work-related-matter socialization. I am totally fine of not speaking to anyone from the office for the whole day.
Load More Replies... Yeah... the only downside I find for wfh is the decrease in physical activity. The rest of these seem to be from those who didn't figure out the basics of wfh and suffered for it. Basics like, you set your boundaries the same as you would an office job - workday ends, you don't log onto that workplace VPN again (or even better, you use a workplace-provided computer/laptop - that thing is turned OFF and set aside until the next day) and from the get-go, you treat people "popping in because you're just working from home" the same way you'd treat someone strolling into your office at work. "I'm at work, is there an emergency? No? Okay, that's good. I'm at work, bye now." I've found more than anything people aren't liking that they're learning more about their 'housemates' (kids/partners) than they want to (the stories... the stories...)
I agree, the posts in this article are pretty pitiful reasons not to work from home
Load More Replies... A lot of the comments above seem like people need to set boundaries. When I started WFM my habit was wake up, make coffee, turn on computer. Then I'd sit there, set up all my systems and chat via Zoom with co workers, grab more coffee and back to chatting. Next thing I know I start my actual work in 5 minutes aaaaand I haven't eaten, showered ect.... DO NOT DO THIS! Wake up, enjoy your coffee AWAY from your work set up. Definitely try to set up your "office" away from your bed or places you tend to hang out. If not possible get a cheap blanket or something to throw over the work station when you turn your computer off (that's right, you're off, computer is off). Maybe outta sight, outta mind will help. Get dressed.... or at least change clothes. Even if it's from PJs A to PJs B...
