I’ve done a fair bit of working from home recently, and from way before that, now I come to think of it. Most parents do, and for most people there is a lot of work to do at home even before you add in ‘working from home’. So, maybe we need to rephrase this issue as: ‘resting the workplace’.

There are plenty of angles to this debate, too many for a postcard, but here, as I see it, are some of the complications involved.

• One – there are plenty who do not have a comfortable, or perhaps quiet, place to work ‘at home’, and would love to be employed away from the domestic space.
• Two – there are many whose jobs mean that they cannot work from home.
• Three – for the ambitious it can be important to be seen and known in person by their employers and colleagues, and going into work may be the most meaningful way of achieving this.
• Four – the workplace can be socially important.
• Five – for those with families, caring responsibilities, or pets that make ‘throughout-the-day’ demands on their time, it is easier to be based at home, especially if there is an appropriate work space.
• Six – most commutes take time, cause stress, and cost money.
• Seven – ‘work’ is being taken over increasingly by technology that can be used remotely (if humans are required at all).
• Eight – ‘home’ often involves family and community, and for the lucky, green space, all of which, if time and the right effort are put into them, can benefit the well being of all of us.

To me it seems that the pros and cons of ‘working from home’ seem fairly balanced, so perhaps the time has come for ‘work’ to take ‘home’ more seriously – to allow ‘home’ more time, to show it more respect, and perhaps to borrow some of its ideas about green space and community.

Of course, nothing is as simple as a one person, postcard debate!

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023