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Comment by lykr0n | Hacker News Reader

I hope to god WFH doesn't become the new hotness. A big part of going into an office is the mental context switch for me. I have work time & place, and I have not work time.

WFH has made it really hard to keep the boundaries separate. I've had coworkers message me at 6/7pm at night expecting me to be there because they know I'm in front of my computer.

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> A big part of going into an office is the mental context switch for me.

Perhaps homes should start including a personal office as a standard feature just like the kitchen and bathroom (which didn't always use to be a part of houses.)

This could eventually let us reclaim the space currently taken up by all the office towers, eliminating the upkeep of maintaining them, reduce daily traffic and the associated noise, pollution, stress, improving overall public health and leisure time, which in turn would improve the economy.

WFH becoming the norm is a win/win scenario, at the cost of a mere "mental context switch" for a while before civilization adapts, just like it did when the majority of humans started working inside buildings instead of farms and fields and so on. :)

A nice idea, but living space is limited and expensive in most major cities.

Wouldn't WFH give you some flexibility on location where you live?

With WFH (and even schooling from home if implemented well), you wouldn't have to live in expensive major cities.

But what if I live in a major city not only for work reasons?

Then you chose to live in an expensive city.

If WFH becomes the norm for the majority, companies may not want to maintain expensive physical offices for people who can’t (or don’t want to) work from home.

I assume even limited living spaces in major cities include a bed, desk or couch, at least.

WFH doesn’t mean “only from home” anyway; you could work from any space you have access to. Parks, restaurants, if they allow it, which I expect they will, along with many other facilities popping up for remote work. It could actually create an interesting new industry of third-party office providers.

Orthogonal problems. Fixing your policy on when your coworkers message you (and when you can respond) can be done independent of your company's WFH policy.

As for creating a physical distinction between work and home: making WFH optional will solve that too. Go to the office on days you want to, WFH on days you need to stay home.

I dont mind if it does. There are plenty of people who prefer to work from home and are more productive in doing so. I'm certainly not one of them. Just like you, I prefer the mental divide.

As for you coworkers, I would simply set fixed working hours, like in the office, and put that into calendar, skype, teams, what have you and close everything else. Thats when you stop work and are not reachable anymore.

I had the same issue as you. Got called at 8pm about a project on my private number (massive mistake handing that out to someone work related). Told them I'm not working right now, reach me under my work phone from 9-5 and call back then. Don't even allow for discussion.

WFH may not work for everyone but what this situation has taught me as an employer, is to actively encourage WFH more. I have some staff who commute an hour each way. We are an IT services firm, so don't all have to be in the office all the time.

Most companies set the limit on the working hours and its not such a big issue to adopt to. Post covid-19 this trend of WFH is going to be the norm

Even the software service companies are realizing the benefits of WFH. https://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/post-coronavi...

I'm exactly the same but I find myself hoping WFH does become the new norm, because I relish the idea of working in a relatively empty and/or small office.

That’s on you. Seasoned WFH people will tell you that when you clock off you clock off. Tomorrow is another day. You owe it yourself and others to enforce your own boundaries.

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