[toomuchtodo]

> Working from home is a lot less efficient than an ideal office. It's harder to debug things or pair program when needed, it's harder to grab someone's attention, it's easier to miscommunicate, and communication is a lot slower. You also don't get the same camaraderie as you would face to face, but the upside is that you also don't get distracted by attractive coworkers.

YMMV. Your home can be your ideal office, and is for many of us working remote (myself included). There are technology companies with hundreds of employees with billion dollar+ valuations who are fully remote. There is no proof they would be more efficient if you colocated all of those folks in person.

[edogg]

I’ve been WFH for 10 of the past 15 years.

It is much harder to create a new billion dollar company if everyone is WFH, especially if there is a physical product as opposed to something that only manifests on screens.

It is much harder to on board and mentor new co-workers.

It is much harder to make a transition to the next position in your career, like a promotion or move within the company.

It is much harder to develop and maintain relationships that result in respect and trust for coworkers.

All of the above especially if most people are in the office.

I’ve become a bit like a contractor grinding through a series of similar projects, my career growth has stalled, and my only interactions with my coworkers who used to be friends now always boil down to ‘when will X be done?’

I would avoid WFH for anyone not in the sunset years of their career.

[BjoernKW]

Well, those might be dismissed as anecdotal examples but Automattic, Zapier, Basecamp and GitLab clearly show that remote-first or remote-only companies can be highly successful and efficient businesses with friendly, conducive work environments.

[rapjr9]

I worked from home for 15 years and found it to be much more efficient than going into my office. The slower communication is a great benefit because people are forced to think before replying rather than just reacting. Tutoring students worked much better because they have your thoughts in writing rather than having to quickly takes notes or remember what you said. You now have a timestamped record of activities that you can refer back to. You can record a Zoom conference for those who were not able to attend or to create a video for disseminating new information.

I think that one of the main reasons some people, and some professions (like banking), prefer working in person is because it is less accountable without the written/recorded history.