Coming from a fully on-site role before, I kinda get why a lot of older people think WFH isn’t productive.
A lot of on-site work is optics. Long pointless meetings where you are not even needed. And if we’re being real, there’s always been downtime too. Focus isn’t some straight 8-hour line.
Work can be a marathon sometimes, we have to brave through the day. It definitely takes effort to show up physically. But with how things are now, it doesn’t really make sense that getting all your work has to be tied to being in a specific place.
I do miss the face-to-face office stuff sometimes. That part’s real. But what I don’t miss at all is how much on-site work quietly took time away from family, from taking care of myself, from just having space to exist outside of work.
WFH kinda forced me to notice that.
Work already takes up a huge part of life, but for the longest time we optimized for how it looked instead of how it actually felt day to day.
Now it’s quieter. I focus more and have a stronger sense of ownership with what I do. Way less random interruptions and long meetings that could’ve just been a message.
And yeah, I’ve seen people take better care of themselves too after quitting their onsite role. Not saying WFH magically fixes everything. You can still burn out at home especially if you don't go and touch some grass every now and then, but at least it’s not actively working against you.
At the end of the day, I know it probably looks like I’m not doing much.
But trust me, I’ve never felt more locked in on work, on my health, on my family. I feel more present in all aspects.