Quote Originally Posted by Eric Cartman View Post
The mental health thing is going to affect different people in different ways. I am a single guy living on my own 10 minutes walk from work. It probably puts me firmly in the category of 'lose lots, gains little' when it comes to WFH but I still prefer it.

I can't imagine somebody who was commuting 2 hours through London twice a day, leaving the house at 6.15 and getting in at 7.45 at night, seeing their kids for a few minutes before bed and thoroughly nackered the rest of the time they are home, would see WFH as 'damaging to their mental health'.
I agree, it does affect different people in different ways, though I think it is the already vulnerable or those in less suitable home surroundings who are more at risk. There is a lot of bad stuff that goes on behind closed doors and for many, work is an escape from that.

I just think people need to be very cautious on all this and whilst 100% office working isn't usually necessary, 100% home working can cause grave issues professionally and personally. I think it's been a total nightmare for both and things are generally much harder - simple tasks take much longer, understanding of issues is far less and generally people don't know what eachother are doing.

Commuting is of course the biggest issue. Personally I enjoy a modest commute and choose to live where I live because of the train and bus links and I enjoy a walk home, with time to think and process the day and seperating home and work is important. I know a lot of people who have just entered a general malaise about it all, some who have embraced it positively and some who really have seen significant mental health declines.

Personally I'm just a firm believer in the democratic nature of offices and of humans interacting and mixing more as opposed to less and thats the big issue for me; I think it is creating conditions where many negative things can flourish that previously were less likely to occur.