As a part of returning back to the office, my employer hired an external firm to design a survey regarding working from home vs working at the office. The survey was, sadly, very disappointing. All questions were written in a suggestive way so that you almost couldn't give a negative answer when questioned about #work in the office. On the other hand the answers to questions related to working from home always had a negative tone, even the ones describing advantages.
1/7
While there was an ENTIRE section, 12 questions, about problems that *could* arise when working from home. *could*. We were instructed to answer these questions even if we never worked from home, based on how we *felt* it *could* be. This was the only section where we were asked to do so.
3/7
This whole survey seemed to be designed only to justify cutting down on "work from home time", obtaining data seemingly legitimate through questioning the workers. This way they can point to the results and justify having us come in 5 times a week so that more control can be exercised over us. They fear we work less from home than in the office.
4/7
If I can complete all my tasks more efficiently from home than in the office, if I can complete them faster, then maybe there's something fundamentally wrong with how our employment works. I complete 8 hours of 'office' work in 5 hours at home. At the end of the day, I never missed deadlines etc., everything was done as it should have been. So do I get paid for my work or for my time?
5/7
The answer is that I get paid for my time, and my employer would rather make my life miserable (commute, feeling like wasting my life away, depressing offices, and more) than letting me have a life that is actually focused on living. Why?
6/7
It seems like all this is taken away from us just so that we carry on with the status quo. Them telling us we are needed at the office, the survey suggesting working from home is bad, all this serves only to reinforce the misbelief that this is just how life is, that this is how it has to be and that there is no other way. But there is another way, and the last two years have shown us a glimpse of it. I refuse to believe that there isn't another way than wasting away 70%+ of our lives.
7/7
@irritatingknitter it's the surplus value... just as good old Karl explained. As long as you can complete your tasks in 5h, they could assign you more for a day
One part of the survey explicitly discussed disadvantages in general, or so it seemed. The promised section about working in the office was limited to about 4 answers similar to these:
"I have more time to myself if I don't have to go to the office."
"I don't need to be at the office for some of my tasks."
2/7