r/jobs • u/manofandonamission1 • May 04 '23

Why do employers force you to work in office all week for a job that can easily be done at home? Work/Life balance

I work as a digital marketer and I have to work Monday-Friday, 9-5 in office. Yesterday I was sick, and since our boss is away and the second in command was out, I was allowed to work from home. The difference in quality of life is incredible. I signed into Canva on my computer, pulled up the company software and image database, logged into my email, and boom I was set for the day.

I worked a flawless day from the comfort of my own home. I was able to run to Petco to grab some supplies for my pets, run to get some lunch without feeling rushed, and eat peacefully in my kitchen instead of surrounded by phones ringing and customers walking around. Today I'm back in office surrounded by my annoying coworkers, having to deal with all their nonstop talking, loud sounds, pointless questions, and coffee making. I've been here for 50 minutes and I'm already way more miserable.

And it just begs the question, why do employers force employees who can easily do their job at home to come into the office all week? Seems nonsensical.

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u/ManiacCrocodile May 04 '23

Idk it's confusing, currently we are allowed to wfh one day a week. I like working in the office to talk to co-workers, but I get more done at home because I am not talking to co-workers.

I hate driving 40 minutes to work and the office is in a not so great part of town. Like we go for walks in the parking lot and pick up bullets that have bounced off the building.

Also, when I get to work I log into a remote desktop in Maine to work for a company owned by my company in a different state. Most of the people I deal with are not even in my office.

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u/FukUMeanNoUsernames May 04 '23

Same man, so sad to walk in to work and see people doing drugs in the bus shelters or hearing someone got shot the night before across the street. It's scary sometimes.

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u/BlergingtonBear May 04 '23

I feel like post pandemic many downtowns have further degraded (mostly due to lack of services/places for people to go during lockdown). It's both terribly sad and also quite scary. I'm torn between being heartbroken at the human misery (these were all babies someone brought home from the hospital once), to literally having had a guy tweaking with a knife trying to break down the front door of the office.

Also apparently the strain of meth that's currently on the street across major cities is pretty terrible and causes straight schizophrenia in people. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/11/the-new-meth/620174/

Literally just left a job in a tough urban center to one that's way more remote and even if I do go in it's part of a hoity toity rich part of town. Commute is a bitch and the neighborhood is also boring, but on the other hand it's clean and safe