Image Capture: I captured this crescent moon hanging above a strip of amber light yesterday evening, as if the sky itself clocked out early and refused one last meeting.
There was a time when going to the office was treated like a moral achievement.
Wake up at an hour that insults the body. Sit in traffic with half a sandwich and rising irritation. Arrive already tired. Smile like this was normal. For years, that routine was called discipline. Meanwhile, many of us were simply spending money, patience, and good eyelashes to prove we could answer emails in another building.
Then lockdown arrived and removed the performance.
Suddenly the meeting was on Zoom, Meets, Teams and WhatsApp. The commute was six steps. The dress code became respectable from the waist up and deeply uncommitted below it - pajama pants, shorts… anyone? People discovered their colleagues had children, dogs, kettles, load shedding, weak Wi Fi, and one good corner in the house with decent light. It was chaotic. It was messy. But it also revealed something important. A lot of work could, in fact, be done from home.
And yes, I do prefer it.
I prefer my own tea and coffee. I prefer not having to pretend fluorescent lighting and aircon wars are good for anyone’s spirit. I prefer starting work without first surviving traffic like I am being tested for character development. Working from home gave many of us flexibility, quiet, and time we did not realise the office had been stealing in small daily instalments.
But let us be honest about it.
Not everyone got that choice.
While some of us were adjusting webcam angles and mastering the art of looking attentive on mute, others were still out there doing the work that keeps society standing. Retail workers. Nurses. Drivers. Cleaners. Security guards. Factory teams. Hospitality staff. Many industries do not allow the luxury of remote work, no matter how beautifully one phrases the benefits of balance.
So yes, I prefer working from home.
But I try not to speak about it like I discovered enlightenment.
For me, it works. It gives me peace, comfort, and better snacks. But it is lonely if you are not connecting with humans in a meaningful way - not the “smile drops when the camera does” - and I know it is still a privilege shaped by the kind of work I do. That truth matters.
Because working from home may improve work life balance.
It just never improved it equally.
