UQ Diaries

Age: 36
Degree: Bachelor of Journalism
Occupation: Graphic designer
City / Town: Brisbane

I prefer to work from home so I can whip up deluxe lunches like bruschetta with halloumi. Can’t do that so easily in the office.

Age: 33
Degree: Bachelor of Behavioural Science
Occupation: Training coordinator
City / Town: London

I have additional needs and being in my own space/not having to commute makes that much easier to manage. I work better and more effectively without the commute and the bustle of an office. I can do all my admin and deliver training now virtually. Meaning my work still gets done to a high standard, and my needs/health are better managed. Win win!

Age: 25
Degree: Bachelor of Psychology
Occupation: Admin
City / Town: Brisbane

I honestly prefer to work from home for the majority of the week. I get so much done without having to deal with the 45-minute to one-hour long commute, which is short compared to some people!

I do appreciate spending one or 2 days in office, but as a whole, I wish I was allowed more work-from-home days, not less.

Age: 54
Degree: Bachelor of Science
Occupation: Senior waterways officer
City / Town: Fortitude Valley

Definitely working from home. My commute is 90 minutes from the Lockyer Valley to Fortitude Valley, so 3 hours a day. This equates to 9 hours a week sitting in traffic due to lack of public transport where I live. This time gets split between office work and work-from-home days, so both win. There are fewer distractions at home, and the ability to take decent breaks away from the desk.

Age: 66
Degree: N/A
Occupation: Researcher
City / Town: Brisbane

Yes absolutely prefer to work from home because:

• I save 2-3 hrs per day in my commute – sitting in traffic is not productive.
• Better for the planet with fewer commutes.
• Others don't disturb my day at whim and I am far more productive.
• There's a need for confidentiality in research (e.g. interviews and phone conversations that cannot be done in the office).
• As a researcher, I am not always in the office. Rather, I am out engaging with partners or doing fieldwork. There is a huge need for the peace and quiet of home to have time to reflect, do analyses and write.
• Home also provides a sanctuary from the stress of the office environment.

Age: 39
Degree: Master of Business Administration
Occupation: Administrator
City / Town: Brisbane

Working from home works well for individuals who have a good work ethic and wish to work to their own schedule. It allows you to also keep an active lifestyle by moving at various times throughout the day. Completion of home domestic chores can be done in work breaks and additionally you can work at the times that suit your body clock.

It's a quiet space with no distractions, which is good for employees who work in sensitive information roles. I feel it should be at the employee’s discretion when they attend the office.

Age: 55
Degree: UQ Staff
Occupation: Admin officer
City / Town: Brisbane

Definitely the office! My office has air-conditioning that I don't have to pay for, a coffee machine (or I can walk to a very nice coffee shop) and a sit-stand desk. I like to separate home from work and that is much easier to do when I come to work every day. I also find it much easier to communicate in-person – chatting via Zoom is not the same thing. I also walk to work, so I get my daily exercise without having to make an effort. It's win-win all around.

Age: 56
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Occupation: Museum worker
City / Town: Brisbane

Definitely prefer to work from the office, I am a social person and need the human interaction to bounce ideas around and feel like I am part of something. Working from home is too isolating.

Age: 40
Degree: N/A
Occupation: Editor
City / Town: Brisbane

During the COVID-19 lockdown period, I learnt that working from home was not for me. There is nothing more depressing than work encroaching on your home environment.

I am all for flexible work arrangements, but they should only be used when necessary – such as medical appointments, childcare emergencies or urgent life-admin tasks. Being anti-social, choosing to live far from the office, or having children is not an excuse to work from home.

People who work from home argue that they are more productive. There is a difference between individual productivity and team productivity/cohesion. Having to check if someone is available or online to ask a simple question or to have a chat – or typing out an email – is so time consuming and inefficient. If people must work from home one or 2 days a week, all team members must be in the office on the same days for the rest of the week to ensure there is adequate team collaboration and bonding. The work-from-home trend has created a culture of people getting annoyed about receiving a phone call or being contacted in any way. Sorry, that's part of having a job!

Age: 64
Degree: N/A
Occupation: Administration officer
City / Town: Brisbane

I definitely prefer to work in the office because this segregates home and work. When you are at home you can feel isolated with no one to talk to and it's difficult to get assistance when needed. Home is a place for activities outside work hours and should not be mixed with work. So much is missed when you work from home, such as the friendships you make in the office with other staff.

The art of communication changes because you are at home and don't communicate as easily as you would in the office. Staff should be back in the office, which helps the overall wellbeing of everyone. Coffee shops thrive, food outlets thrive but if people are working from home, this suffers. Bring back the office workers.

Age: 57
Degree: Bachelor of Arts
Occupation: Communications officer
City / Town: Brisbane

I always work in the office 5 days a week but don't expect the same of others. I can see the benefits of working from home for parents a few days a week. I work in the office for:

• ICT support and to be part of the office culture. I do not have a good internet and phone connectivity at home. I am surrounded by a bay (natural water), so phone and internet connectivity can be patchy, possibly due to being near the ocean (and resulting lack of internet / phone infrastructure in the ocean rather than the inner-city, where connectivity is a certainty.
• Team support and work culture. I usually work in a job for 12 months and benefit from ICT fast connectivity in an office for Teams meetings. I also am extroverted and motivated by being around people.
• Lifestyle routine, tax and home layout. For simplicity of tax returns, it's easier to work at the office. Also, I have a small home with a bedroom which could be an office but would not inspire me to work without a major re-fit. I have had several bad neighbours and look forward to being away from them. The routine of commuting and logging off to separate home from work also agrees with me.

Age: 52
Degree: PhD
Occupation: UQ staff
City / Town: Brisbane

The office. Good coffee at the café, great air-conditioning and my students are at the 'office'. Also it's hard to do science experiments at home.

Age: 26
Degree: Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws
Occupation: Public servant
City / Town: Brisbane

I prefer working from home but know the time I spend and relationships built in the office are invaluable – mainly for my mental health.

I'm more productive working from home, and I am better able to meet my competing work and home priorities without a commute.

I value the social aspect of work, which is only able to be realised in person, but endeavour to create positive virtual working relationships with my interstate colleagues.

I think a full-time return to the office would serve no one – our ways of working have changed so substantially to make it meaningless.

Age: 45
Degree: Bachelor of Science
Occupation: Research assistant
City / Town: Brisbane

As I'm working part time and every hour counts, it's handy to be able to work from home. There's no commuting time and you can wear what you like (and just dress up your top half for Zoom meetings!). It's also more environmentally friendly to have no fuel emissions associated with work.

However, I really believe you need to be maintaining a connection with your colleagues and leaders on site at least once a fortnight, as communication can be misinterpreted over emails and you can achieve a lot of planning and other key phases with a meeting than in a stream of emails back and forth. It's also good for [most] working relationships to meet face-to-face occasionally.

Therefore, I think a balance of both (whatever that looks like for each workplace/individual) achieves the best of both worlds.

Age: 25
Degree: Bachelor of Business
Occupation: Business analyst
City / Town: Brisbane

I actually prefer hybrid. I love being able to cut down on my commute because it takes me one hour to get to work, but I also like going in and socialising with my colleagues. Two days in the office and 3 days working from home is perfect for me.

Age: 56
Degree: Bachelor of Music / Bachelor of Education
Occupation: Systems administrator and trainer
City / Town: Brisbane

I work 3 days in the office and 2 days at home, which is a good balance for me. The social interaction and easy access to other colleagues to bounce ideas around is really handy, plus to have any necessary meetings. My team is fantastic and we all enjoy working with one another, but having that couple of days at home provides the chance to do work that needs long periods of focus with minimal interruption.

Age: 33
Degree: N/A
Occupation: Executive assistant
City / Town: Brisbane

I love a hybrid working environment – a few days a week in the office and a couple from home. Having the freedom to work in a flexible way means I have more time to help my family, get my chores done in the evenings without running myself ragged and having a better work-life balance. I don't think I could ever go back to working full time from the office. No job is worth my mental health and exhaustion.

Age: 52
Degree: Bachelor of Pharmacy
Occupation: Researcher
City / Town: Adelaide

I prefer a mix of both. I like working from home as I can focus easier, and my productivity is high. I also like working in the office to interact with my colleagues and share ideas face-to-face.