Hybrid/Remote working... all it's cracked up to be?

Where do I start? So for the past 3 years, I have been working in a purpose-built office which happens to be right next to my dining room table. I have a great view of the house, and some nice natural light from the back garden, bursting through the double doors leading out into my green garden. Where I can watch the wildlife treating themselves to our bird feeders. Sounds like a great place to work.

Well at first it was... My employer told me due to the pandemic we would be working remotely for a while till things settled down and restrictions were lifted. Then the company realised there was not enough space in the office to house our whole team, so we hot desk on a Thursday with meetings and get-togethers in the board room.

After two years the novelty of working around the family schedule, being able to get the kids from school and work a little later, start a little later, and work past the kid's bedtime. Well, the novelty was starting to wear off. My employer now simply didn't have any plans to return back to the office at all. So the reality of the home office becomes a certainty not a temporary setup. I can see the major benefits to hybrid or remote work, not only from an employer's perspective for cost and overhead capacity, and also from an employee benefit aspect of the flexibility it holds for meeting deadlines and finding that work-life balance that works best for the individual. But it's a big but, at what cost does this all have? Mental health is something that is sometimes overlooked and can be seen to be quite trivial at times. But recently it has been quite a big focus of mine, motivation, aspiration, and well-being have played a big part in my day-to-day. How do you manage hybrid working?

I have found a few tools which have helped me, the biggest of which is that my wife works from home 3 days a week, and having her around in the background, spending lunch together chatting and debating what music we play to keep us motivated, helps a bunch. Keeping lists and deadlines is also super important when you find yourself losing that little bit of interest and becoming distracted it helps to get you back on track and not totally lose your chain of thought. Work WhatsApp groups with your colleagues are also a winner and great for keeping you in touch and giving you your meme fix and random laugh from your boss who is a comedian. Although getting a sense of that dry humour through text can sometimes be a challenge! So in conclusion, I would have to say hybrid working has its place in the working environment. i know of late employers have been demanding employees return to the office and there has been some upset about it, Id have to say it has its merits, but can also have some deep pitfalls if you don't take control and manage your own work/life balance and mental commitment to your job.