Honest Views From The Other Side - WFH As a Young Adult
I’m saying it…
…I am really gonna say it…
…I am not afraid to, that’s for sure…
…Ok…
…Here it goes…
I LIKE WORKING IN THE OFFICE, AND I THINK THAT GIVING PEOPLE IN THEIR EARLY 20S AND LATE TEENS THE OPTION TO BE FULLY REMOTE IS A BAD IDEA.
…right, put your torches and pitchforks away - I offer some thoughts below to support the claim.
I’ll break my thoughts down into two parts:
Personally, I have almost 2.5 years’ experience within my industry, and I am still learning every day.?Most of the learning, for me, comes from watching others, asking questions (some of which I subconsciously already know the answers to, but just needed to say out loud to get there), listening, and absorbing the good habits of those around me.
I also love socialising and have gained a lot of fantastic friends by going into the office every day (whether they like it or not). By meeting these people and building these friendships, I have also grown in confidence. I can’t even count the number of valuable and positive social interactions I have had by just being present, being able to make eye contact, going to grab a coffee, playing a game of pool at lunch, and generally just interacting with people in person.?
Though people like to say otherwise… this cannot be organically, and realistically, replicated over Teams.
I appreciate that some people aren’t interested in all the things I mentioned above. If so, fair enough. But whether you are interested in them or not, exposing yourself to social situations that make you uncomfortable is the fastest way to get comfortable in them.
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I am sure that a fully remote company would not be an ideal environment for extroverts or ambiverts, such as myself, that rely on real human interaction so heavily.
That’s it for thoughts and feelings on the ‘personally’ piece…
What about generally?
Well generally…I also think it’s a bad idea to give young folks the option to WFH five days a week.
** INSERT BOOS & JEERS**
Yep, I think working exclusively from home, in your early adult life, is a bad idea.
For me, the issues lie in both long- and short- terms effects. Working from home feels like a good idea during your first full-time role, fresh-faced out of Uni or School - you get that extra time in bed, no stressful commute, your time is your own, you don’t have to deal with any stressful social interactions. You can kind of just do what you want when you want (as long as you do your job, of course!). Plus, you don’t have to deal with any of both the big and scary world that’s out there.
Though, within that, I find most of the issues…
In our early working life, we learn so much. We learn so much about how to interact and behave from a professional and social perspective. We learn when to stand our ground and when not to. Because if you put yourself in more social situations, you will generally end up just putting yourself in situations that *at first*, are uncomfortable – and that’s great! You will learn how to deal with these situations in ways you simply could not do from home.
Mental health is at an all-time low…granted, there is of course more than enough stuff going on outside of work to cause the phenomenally high rates of anxiety, depression, and general social isolation, ESPECIALLY in young people that we are seeing at the moment. But how can anybody think that young people working from home five days a week with no physical interaction, no situations for them to learn from and build self-esteem within, all being home, alone, all day and week, is going to help?
How can we even measure the potential long-term negative effects of people having fewer opportunities for face to face interactions?
For the older generations, there is less of an issue for me. They have found and know themselves. They don’t still have that exploration and understanding phase of their life to go through.
The worry for me lies within a large portion of the younger generation doing those years of exploration remotely, most days from our sofa, staring at a screen all day, to then finish work, so we can go watch TV on our slightly bigger screen, whilst actually just scrolling social media on our tiny screen.
Digital & Database Marketing Lead
2 年Interesting and thought provoking article Oscar Brown. It’s certainly a hot topic at the moment, with the government ’encouraging’ civil servants back to their desks, and Silicon Valley tech firms continuing to promote fully remote working. I think you are absolutely right that this is disproportionately affecting the younger generation in all the ways that you mention. I would also add career progression to the list though. It’s hard to put a value on simply being seen in the office, and those unplanned (not scheduled on Teams) interactions that results from just being around the office and interacting socially with your colleagues. I was always advised to put my hand up and volunteer for anything when I was starting out. You meet more colleagues, and gain more experience and are seen as keen and eager to progress. It’s not impossible, but surely much harder to see how that can happen when we are all wfh. I think the answer, as with a lot of things is about balance, and that gradually we will find the right level. I also really hope that we are not storing up longer term issues for the younger generation for years to come.
BI & Data Science Lead at GL Assessment
2 年I understand your point of view, but it is an "option" and we live in a free world. I will read the link later, but forcing a lifestyle is not a good idea either. Most adults in their early twenties are still students where they spend most of their time "locked" in lecture rooms/libraries/bedrooms, studying in an environment that they feel comfortable in. Some people prefer silence whereas others are all right to work amongst the noise. So I'm not really sure what would be a "good" idea
Game Dev Student | Programmer & Designer
2 年I think people should have the option to choose what works best for them. I absolutely thrived working fully remote. Everyone is different, has different needs, and thrives in different environments that suit their working style. Not to mention the environmental impact of cutting out unnecessary commuting. I got my social interaction in my personal time, used the extra time not spent wasted on commuting to start weightlifting, ate healthily, and didn’t have to spend extra money unnecessarily. My mental health was at a high. I think forcing people into a box that they don’t fit in does more harm than good. Just let people flourish in an environment that works for them.
The Customer Data Analytics Recruiter – helping companies find their next hire in Digital, Marketing and Customer Analytics??
2 年That closing paragraph was my whole niggle with being forced to work from home 5 days a week during the lockdowns - you go from screen to bigger screen to tiny screen and your whole life is lived through a keyboard. I'm glad that I get to go into the office and be around people every day now (although I am excited to be able to do a mix of the two in the next couple of months).
Totally agree Oscar Brown when I started out I would never have learned so much had I been at home. I would never have grown because I wouldn't have been exposed to situations that pushed me outside of my comfort zone. Hearing and watching how others deal with situations is part of the learning process. Hybrid all the way however is my view.