Office Work versus Working From Home

What are the things that you hate the most about working in an office? Is it the traffic? The daily grind? Let us know.

For me it was the time spent commuting. I feel there are so many other productive things you can do as opposed to spending all that ime in your car.

I also don't miss office politics.

Working at home gives me a lot more flexibility and more time to spend with my family.

Proof, I completely agree with you. I definitely don't miss those long commutes. Not to mention spending all that time in traffic. That 20-mile commute has been reduced to 20 feet.

Oh, and who here misses the office politics? I certainly don't.

Office Politics. The long commute and traffic I can handle, the office politics, nope!

I only work at home and I love every minute of it. You have to force yourself to work through and be responsible so it's not for everyone!

I have worked from home for many years, and similarly from an office. There is one thing to remember when you work from home, especially if you like to have people around you. It gets very lonely. So make a point of getting yourself socialised. Make sure to join some clubs, or associations, and attend them regularly. And though some people enjoy digital interaction over the internet, nothing beats a little face time.

Cheers!!

Well said! Like you, NetMecca, I have done both for many years. Even though I am a loner, one thing I really miss working at home is the constant face-t0-face interaction with other people. You have to get out of your home office as often as you can!

I HATE the office politics. Or if there's nepotism, that's not cool. Not unless I'm good w/the family member that is being favored. I also don't like the fact that your fate rests in someone else's hand whereas with working from home rests more on what you do. Getting up off your duff and gettin' it done. I'm mean, how much in conflict is a person gonna be with himself? (or herself). When the weather's bad the commute's not cool but truth be told, I like people so the commute is not really a problem when working outside of home. When I've worked in the city and had to take the train in, long distances, when I see all the problems the LIRR is having, whew!!! I'm thankful. So glad I work @ home and my little side hustles are close to home.

I prefer working at home as I am task oriented. I assign myself daily tasks. I complete them when I am able. I find that I am MUCH more productive than when I worked 9 to 5 in an office. I don't lose time on traffic, office banter, and stupid, pointless meetings where nothing is accomplished but making the director or whoever feel like something was.

The thing I hate the most about working in an office is not having the freedom to plan my day's schedule the way I want. If I want to work out at 10 a.m. from home, I can. If I need to run a quick errand or have a doctor's appointment in the afternoon, I can. In an office job, you routinely do not have that freedom, or worse yet, need someone else's permission.

I agree with ya'll. I can't stand gossip and politics in an office. The commute for me was kind of relaxing as I have five children so it was really my only alone time. The thing I really dislike about an office is the routine. I home school, and do my AVON business and enjoy that we can take field trips any time any day. When I worked we couldn't do that. We had to schedule and plan everything. I like the freedom to make instant decisions and do something.

The big minuses of an office job for me are: inflexible schedule, commute, useless meetings, office politics and dealing with unpleasant bosses/co-workers. But what I hate the most is being bound to a specific physical location (being forced to live where "the jobs are", not where I want). I had good, comfortable and well-paid office jobs, and I left them all without any regret (the only thing I ever missed about them was my fat pay check ). Even a "good" office job is nothing more but a prison, a thinly veiled modern-day slavery.

One major factor about working in an office setting is the inability to maximize your invested time. If you really think about, if one works a 9-5 job and lives about 20 miles (the typical commute), it is a long strenuous day. You have to wake up around 6:00 a.m. to prepare your day for in-office work. So technically, you are working between 11-12 hour days as opposed to a true 8 hour day. Working from home opens a can of tremendous benefits! Especially if you have your own business—your'e the boss, you set your own hours and in some cases determine how much you get paid. It gets no better than that.

I would agree with you there. Working in a office (what I've heard people call the "9-to-5 grind") is almost like being in prison. You have to conform to their rules, and you can only leave when they tell you. Most of the people who work in those places have no real values, because they've sold themselves for short-term security. But the truth is that while they may be getting that "fat paycheck" (please!) once their bosses get tired of them, they'll drop them like hot potatoes. I know, because it happened to me.

All true... My experience has been the same. Exactly, it's only short-term security, you never know when they'll kick your butt, and it can happen unexpectedly even in the most "secure" jobs. "9-to-5" grind, that's in the best case, it might be 8-to-6 0r 9-to-6..7..8.., or whatever, in many cases people spend a lot more than 8 hours in the office. Add a "normal" 2 hrs a day commute to this, and there you go, 11-12 hrs per day out of your life...
I said "fat paycheck" just because for a beach bum that I am now it does seem "fat", indeed , although it was nothing more than a decent white-collar salary. Even if I'd kept those jobs 20 years more they wouldn't have bought me the freedom I craved.

I'm outnumbered! I loved the office I worked at. I worked at an ad agency and it was my DREAM job. Great clients, great people, and fun work. My bosses were great at hiring quality people and thinking about office culture when doing the hiring. As a result I can say we truly had 0 office politics. Unfortunately, 90% of the company just got laid off when we lost our largest client (a 13 year relationship that paid us over $10 million a year ended in an 8 minute phone conversation!!). Those are the breaks I guess.

So now I work at home by necessity. Luckily I already had a side business online that I can live on for a few months until I get another job in a new agency, or back to the old one if conditions change. But I loved working in an environment that was so conducive to GOOD work. They ARE out there and it is worth looking for an office that is the right fit for you.

Worked at home for writeups and I love it! No traffic to welcome me earlier than my morning coffee, no more fight-for-your-life commuting during rush hours, and no boss to look behind my back at all times. However, working at home also requires lifetime supply of discipline to get the day's tasks done. XD

Working from home so much easier and comfortable. However the office seems to be more productive that is why some millionaires decide to rent an office nearby rather than to work from home.

Have to agree with this. Some outsourcers prefer the usual office setting. They know that people will be focused on their jobs instead of doing other jobs during their supposedly work hours.

Well I personally have never worked in an office setting and I don't plan to I work from home and love every second of it! I am my own boss and that's how I like it.

Self Employed and Loving it!!! <3