The Things We’ll Miss About Working From Home

Remember that moment, what honestly feels like four years ago at this stage, where we were leaving our workplaces with pretty much everything left on our desks (a stray banana or two, a stash of hair clips and bobbins, along with countless notebooks and those ‘just in case’ items that don’t fit in your handbag) to go home for what we thought was a two week period.

Laughing while saying our goodbyes, “see you in two weeks haha” has never been said so often in such a small amount of time. Look at us now, eh? The majority of us have worked from home for over a year, whether you’ve been lucky enough to have a room that you can close the door to the outside world on, or have been perched up at your kitchen table, brushing away breakfast crumbs from your now work desk. Basically, we’re pros at this WFH business. Zoom has been mastered (well, just about), we’re well accustomed to looking oh so presentable from the waist up and we now know that we were all right about those meetings that could have been emails.

Despite the fears and anxiety around coronavirus and lockdown, in hindsight, I’ve had a pretty good time working from home – and I can’t be the only one. The first few weeks in particular were absolute bliss. Rolling out of bed to the coffee machine, staying cosy in pyjamas and not having to endure public transport was a heavenly work environment.

Granted, during the first and second lockdown, I lived with my boyfriend and had no kids to worry about homeschooling, so it’s no surprise to say I was in my element. Cut to some time later, you could almost hear the WFH freelancers laughing at the rest of us office workers, finally knowing what it’s like to work from home while juggling team meetings, sticking to working hours, copious amounts of distractions and not having your work bestie there to go grab a coffee and rant with.

Of course, there’s been many, many days where I’ve hated working from home, days where it’s been the exact opposite of what I thought it would be. Before WFH became a constant reality for many people, I visioned the cosiest of days, where everything felt easy-going and downright wonderful. Exactly what I would have wanted as I walked to the office on the first day of my period, cursing everything and everyone around me (you know the feeling).

But the opposite quickly became a reality, days full of frustration, loneliness and feeling as if I was losing my mind just a little thanks to being stuck in the same four walls while on the clock and while I’m trying to relax after logging off.

That’s not to say that I’m not extremely grateful for being able to work from home. How lucky I am to first of all still have my job, secondly to have a job that I adore and thirdly to be able to effectively do that job while sitting in my bedroom, wearing my Bugs Bunny dressing gown and nursing an extremely large cup of coffee (or tea if it’s post-lunch, in case you’re wondering).

While a part of me can’t wait to get back to the office for the lols, the general company and just being back to normal life, there’s a part of me that will miss slow and easy mornings with no commute, the cosiest of clothes and lunchtime spent with my mam and my dog, catching up on Eastenders. So if you’re in the same boat, awaiting a return date to the office, here are just a few of the things we’ll inevitably miss once we wave goodbye to working from home five days a week.

Longer lie-ins and slower mornings will be a thing of the past. For those of us with no kids, missing out on the morning commute has welcomed either more divine time to snooze the alarm and roll over, grab our running shoes and get out or sit back and relax with a coffee. I can’t speak for the mothers and fathers out there, but I’m guessing not having to rush around to get both you and your mini-me out the door each morning has been another welcomed advantage.

No more traffic, having to sit beside people on the bus, being squashed into the Luas or commuting in general. This has to be at the top of the list for many people, taking back the couple hours a day spent making your way to and from work. Making my way from my bed to my WFH desk will always win over sitting on a train and rushing to my destination.

Enjoying the best of lunches that just aren’t the same if you’d have to bring them into the office. Leftover shakshuka? Stunning. Tuna pasta bake? Let me at it. So long, cosy lunches on the couch while catching up on Netflix.

Another obvious reason that I, and many others, will miss working from home is the amount of money it saves. So you’re either watching your savings grow, or you’ve more cash money to treat yourself to what you want. Of course, if I had the willpower to constantly turn down eating lunch out, after-work drinks and grabbing a coffee here and there, I’d save money while in the office too. But sure look, that’s neither here nor there right now.

We’ll no longer be able to throw a wash on in the middle of the day. Realistically, there are few things worse than remembering that there’s a whole load of washing ready and waiting for you as you’re on the way home from the office. Being able to throw it on in the morning while sending an email? Next level adulting.

Dressing gowns, fluffy socks, not wearing a bra and basically living in the cosiest of clothes. Need I say any more?

Never miss another delivery and being best mates with the postman. Not having to scramble around the house to see where your latest ASOS order is hidden or thinking of checking in with the neighbours to see if it was left with them, nope, your postman knows you’re ready and waiting.

Signing off for the day of a Friday evening and being able to head straight to the fridge for a stunning, crispy glass of wine. With no queuing, no sticky tables, and no having to get a taxi home afterwards. Although, to be fair, right now I would gladly deal with a sticky table or two if it meant I could enjoy those post-work drinks again.

Now that I’m typing this, I can see how great working from home has been, despite the mini tantrums, missing normal life and everything that goes with it. Working from home certainly has benefits that we’d now miss once normal life resumes, but you can feel the excitement that comes with being one day closer and closer to normality, where having to work from home is a distant memory. Although now that we’re WFH experts, a day or two at home in the future certainly won’t do us any harm.

Images via Twenty20

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