I know this has already been the norm for those who are luckily still employed during this global pandemic. So for anyone here working for a company (a.k.a. making someone else richer), my question is, do you still want to go back to the office, or do you want to continue working from home? I think people seem to be divided on this topic despite the many obvious benefits of working from home. Social butterflies prefer to go back to working in the office because they miss their dear coworkers so badly. And all those lovely small talks, pointless meetings, and coffee break chitchats.
A couple of months ago I remember writing about wanting to go back to work to open myself up to opportunities for meaningful human connection. It turned out, this didn't happen, not that I didn't try though. It is simply because I deem the corporate workplace as not the right place to find "my people". I look back and realized how I didn't really make any long-term friends from my previous jobs anyway. I probably only have one person who still communicates with me to this day and I now consider him a friend and not just a previous colleague. As soon as I'm gone, my coworkers would stop communicating with me. That so-called family ends inside the confines of the corporate workplace. When you leave, most often than not, you are dead to your coworkers. I know this sounds pretty much like the MLM culture.
These past few weeks I’ve been trying to negotiate with the management about being able to work from home and so far, nothing has been done. Just when I’ve already made up my mind, they now can’t seem to make up theirs. There's still a lot of deliberation amongst them and whatnot. This issue has become annoying to be honest.
Anyway, I am just going to explain here the benefits of working from home and why it would be the best for me.
First, for the obvious reason, I’m a misanthrope that’s why. Pretty basic. I know most companies were founded by extroverts who thrive being in the office with other human beings. Skilled introverts don’t get as much credit as they deserve while those who can display the ability to shout around about targets and deliverables get easily promoted. Just look and act Alpha that’s it. Then of course, do a substantial amount of ass-kissing to make things even easier. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not bitter, I am just stating the reality in the corporate world, or at least where I am. There could still be many ways for us anti-socials to get ahead in this life (maybe by totally eradicating humanity and killing all this cutthroat competition.) I think I lost faith in this idea of being rewarded for competence. We all know that’s not how it works in this world.
For the remaining of us that don’t gel well with others and find more meaning in what we actually do, working from home should be the norm. Especially for those who are task-oriented, those who don’t like to be interrupted while “in the zone” of workflow, those who don’t like small talks in between breaks, those who don’t like to be micromanaged, those who don’t like cubicle farms, seating arrangements, the smell of coworkers, the ugly design of the office space, and the nasty food at the pantry. I can actually write a long post about all the things that I don’t like inside the office besides people.
I guess the only thing that I like about going to work is being able to dress up. I like to feel I'm still human. And that I am more than my tank tops and short shorts and flip-flops. I like going to work looking proper and larger than life. I feel like my existence makes sense. Apart from dressing up, there’s nothing that I like about working in the office. The commute/drive to work sucks - I should give that time to petting my cat instead. I founded my own little business from home so I trust myself to have the same discipline to stick with the schedule and get things done.
When I go to the office, I still have to think about the securities doing covid checks, the same ugly faces, the constant judgment, and other day-to-day hellish encounters. Being able to work from home removes the anxiety of being surrounded by humans. I do think that they should be the least of my concerns and not be mentally taxed for their presence. Without thinking about them, I can focus more on my tasks and other things that matter in life.
Here's the real reason why I want to switch to working from home instead of quitting my job altogether, I just want to be filthy rich. (ha ha ha based on some old wise geezer's advice!). I am super efficient and I can do super focused work in less than 3 hours, so can you imagine the remaining 5 hours of pretending that I am busy? So, when I'm at home, those times won't be wasted anymore. I can pet Diablo (my cat), eat whatever I can prepare, walk around outside, and of course post more stuff on Hive! (this is the whole point). I can do so many things with all that extra time whether for leisure or making more money.
If can make this work long-term and not go back to the office anymore, then I could probably be location-independent. Wouldn't this be cool too? I can still keep the job and travel around, with Diablo of course. Anyway, these are just still in my head but let's hope that I can make things happen soon.
