As much as WFH can be seen as a luxury, it is easily a mental stressor for predominately wealthier families who have nothing else to complain about and a real financial burden for a majority of Americans.
When the pandemic hit, my mother and I were fortunate enough to not be affected, besides transforming our kitchen table into an office and our bedrooms into workout studios.
We simply transitioned to online learning and work and saved up to thousands per month on our biggest expenses: Sweetgreen and commuting to and from the city, New York City to be exact. We were out of our natural habitat on the train, classroom, office, and not seeing each other as much so of course, we had a natural tendency to complain.
It matters.
As a maximizer and someone who budgets, it was fascinating to find how COVID had an impact this time around.
After 5 months of WFH finishing up my freshman year at NYU I’ve saved:
-400 hours + $3500 transportation w/ 5:30 am/8:30pm train+subway rides 3x weekly
Implement student rate+walk from GC to NYU to slash 1/3rd.
-97% lowered my anxiety, sweat, tears+fear of being late
More comfortable with public transportation now, the better equipped I will be out of college+understand I’m doing it to save money instead of leasing $1500+NYC apt.
-$900 food
Going forward will pack my lunch+order occasional deliveries b/c I eat out 1-2x a month anyway.
-Generated $600 monthly passive income+opened ROTH
-Found a wonderful teammate, investors+execs, pitched, and started my life long dream that was buried in my journal waiting to be forgotten
-225 extra hours of sleep
Rest>excess work+reduce amount of exercise so I don’t wake up 3 hours before Squawk box
-$2000 gym membership, yes I know. My health is everything.
Purchased at-home equipment; no more monthly recurring charges
Okay, I’m not a billionaire that has raised my net worth by an extra $30 billion during this recession but how you deal with circumstances is also your frame of mind.
People are truly struggling and as much as I’m fortunate to be in these circumstances of joy, my mental health got the best of me.
Pre-WFH
This had been something I’ve been dreaming about. Having a 2-minute commute to school. Since I live in Westchester and didn’t want to waste money renting an apartment in NYC, I had to remember dreading planning out my days as a desperate student to the minute so I could catch the Metro-North and subway taking up to 2 hours one way.
And if I forgot an umbrella, forget it. My feet would be squishy in wet New York city street water all day.
But it was worth the savings on renting, still.
Quarantine has been a blessing in disguise.
But as much as we wish for something we don’t have, eventually, we always want more and never appreciate end up looking at what we really need or lived with all our lives.
Now I’m burnout from working nonstop on various tasks, moving from kitchen to bedroom, cooking 3 meals a day for 9 months, Zoom fatigued, unhappy about my body, and frankly, want to waste my time again commuting, dealing with crowded subways and paying for things that will keep me sane.
I never knew I would say that.
I really want to waste my time commuting, buying overpriced salad, embarrassing myself, getting less sleep, and meeting strangers in NYC again.
These are some of the reasons why WFH cannot work for most:
-Workday never stops
-Barely any interaction
-Zoom fatigue
-Distractions
-Longer hours, more work
And of course, the pros:
-Big-time savings
-Family time
-More sleep
-Eating healthier meals, more exercise
-No commuting
-More productivity
-Less spontaneous meetings
According to CNBC and the WSJ:
60% of people feel more stressed about working from home.
55% of employees feel punished for taking a mental health day.
Now companies such as Deutsche are proposing a 5% salary tax on employees who choose to stay at home.
Burnout is real.
I face this daily as a student.
Although I’m getting 10x more done, founded a startup and blog, and started to write on this incredible platform, is it really worth it?
Of course, you all are but is the accumulation of all projects scrammed into quarantine necessary?
Whether Google plans on keeping the WFH environment past July 2021 or not, there is one thing for sure.
We work better together.
Of course, last-minute meetings, awkward get-togethers with the professor for $5 unnecessary coffee, and breaking a sweat because I’m late to a class aren’t things we particularly look forward to but to produce anything, you can never do it solo.
Not even writing.
The fact that you are intending to write for someone shows means you want to add value to someone’s life, hence working with or for them.
Readers are writer’s bosses.
More diverse ideas means better, innovative results.
Effort > Hard Work.
Over Zoom, we work hard with distractions, mute buttons and time restraints.
Physically together we pitch in the effort and think with no concept of time.
The right way to work.
My solution while stuck at home and waiting until this luxury vanishes?
-Dedicate 2 hours for exercise a day
-Vitamin D is a must every day-even on rainy days
-It’s okay to say no
-Understanding that taking a break is not being lazy
-Longer doesn’t mean better
-Standing Desk
We will always have problems to bring up because we all love feeling sorry for ourselves.
It is up to you to determine if they are worth your time or not to push aside or grapple with.
Your frame of mind will make or break you.
Then in the office, you can waste all the time you want talking about your miserable WFH experience in your second vacation home with mild depression because everyone felt that way too.
We work together and feel each other.
Don’t worry, savor this moment because it probably won’t come back soon…