Anyone have tips for making remote work more tolerable when you hate working remotely? I worked full time remote years ago after my former company ditched its office post Covid. I hated it and got an office job, but layoffs are threatening to eliminate a good chunk of positions including mine. I feel I lined up a role I’m a great match for, but it’s full time remote. I’m considering taking it and working from coffee shops, but wondering if anyone else who doesn’t like wfh made it work for them.

Go to a coworking office. Build community there. Bonus points for whatever office perks you like - socials, coffee, industries you want to network with.
You might be able to expense the coworking membership.

I hated working from home until I actually built a solid home office to my specific needs. When I was just trying to be productive on my laptop at the dining table, it was awful. But when I made an ergonomic setup with the monitors and aesthetics that worked for me, I really started loving WFH.

I get it. My first remote job years ago was chaotic and made me think I hated WFH. Later, I went back to the office and quickly realized how draining it was. Now I’m in a fully remote role with a great team and challenging work, and I’ll never take it for granted again. The right company and setup make all the difference.

Another way to look at this is to address the things you disliked about work from home. Example if you're lonely get a pet or plants.

If you haven't considered working out or naps to break up your day do. Example my lunch break is sometimes a nap break on days I work from home.

Pick up video games.

Socialize more outside work.

Also that 10 hour a work day sounds lame. Work 8 hours and make friends or start an activity in the other 2. Balance your work life balance.

My position was remote long before Covid, but some of my team worked from an office. Now the entire team is classified as remote, though one still enjoys going to the office at least a couple days a week. My team is spread out across the US. I set up a recurring optional Teams meeting for an hour every Wednesday late morning that we use just to talk to each other. Work discussion is not required - it's just a chance to get together and talk nonsense or whatever. Cameras are optional, but a few of them like to use them. This was warmly welcomed by the team, and most members attend regularly. All have said they find value in being able to converse and visit casually. Some of our structured meetings during the week run long if they just want to visit.
I don't require them to be working every hour of every day. Shifts are flexible to accommodate things they need to do during the day. As long as the work gets done, all is good. This work environment works well for the entire team.

I would love to be able to work from home. I have been in the customer service industry for over 30 years. People used to be nice...and relaxed. After covid the general public has become bitter and very needy. The grass is not always greener. Just sayin

I recently have gone back to working remote and wouldn’t go back to an office for anything. What I do is change up the places in my house that I work and then go to the beach or other vacation locations and work from there. I also do random fun things like watch a movie in the middle of the day, meet friends for lunch, and play pickleball. My goal with working remote is to live retired without bringing retired!

Go to work for Amazon. They are stopping wfh, you'd fit right in.

This has to be a troll post

Find another job that is not work from home. Or ask the company if working in an office is an option. I’m sure they would be thrilled to have people working in person if they could.

Aside from the coworking space suggestion, if your home office is not designed for productivity you will struggle. I did this for a long time after a house fire and I had to move my family into a trailer until we could get a new house, working from a dining table really sucked. Once we got into the new house and I'd set my office back up properly though, with all the monitors and KVM switch to switch from my computer to the company laptop, things fell back into a comfortable place.

Sadly you can't take a multi-monitor setup to a coffee shop very comfortably, so you have to choose one or the other.

It sounds like the main issue is not being around others. I think coworking space is a great idea. Maybe look for networking groups in your area? Its similar to the general job chit-chat you have with co-workers and gets you out and about. And maybe it'll help you find another in-person oppertunity that will be a better fit.

I've been working from home since Covid. Sometimes I love it, other times I miss the social interaction. Here's some things I have tried with varying success:

1) Join a Meetup group or user group of other Software Engineers, use this as a way to have happy hours. You'll be networking, collaborating, and meet people with similar interests in your area while getting to explore different bars and entertainment. We do pickleball at least once per year.

2) If you want more interaction with co-workers, setup a virtual conference room via zoom, slack, teams, etc.... Have it be open to anyone who wants to join and y'all just sit quietly and work, then when you have a question or just want to BS, you're already there. This requires others involvement, it worked great in 2020 (and with different co-workers).

3) Go for a drive. I love doing this just as a means to get out the house, clear my mind, and I like driving.

4) As others have stated, make sure your home workspace is setup for you to be productive. If you're not productive, you might feel guilty stepping away for other activities. Don't let that be the case.

Find a company where the folks want to work in an office, leave the remote working roles to people who want them.

I highly value working from home, non-commutes and I work longer hours but feel lile I've worked less due to my home office being relaxing. Please don't ruin company cultures for people like us who appreciate working from home

I'm surprised there are still places out there that are fully remote and at the very least not hybrid.

I like some of the recommendations with setting up office space and such. I think posting up in a coffee shop or the like, all day, could be an issue for the employees there at some point.

The thing I'd focus on is, every hour, work permitting of course, take a 10 min walk down the road (5 mins out, 5 mins back). Get some fresh air and natural vitamin D.

14 years remote. The trick is to travel. With starlink, you can be nearly anywhere and still get your work done while exploring the world.

First, identify what is is you hate about working remote. Distractions at home have one solution. Lack of human interaction is a completely different thing to solve. Many companies will offer a WFH one-time allowance for getting set up and monthly stipend for internet, coffee, whatever. Either way, start with what makes you hate WFH and work outward from that.

It really depends on WHY you hate it.. I’ve been remote for a decade or more.. at first, it was like Groundhog Day, always in my home Mon-Fri.. I learned that while I hated commuting, I need to break up my morning.. now, I get up and dressed as I would if I were going into an office ( albeit likely more casual) then I drive my child to school and grab coffee and a muffin etc.. it replaced my daily commute with a 30 min routine outside of the home.. I also find it necessary to break up my “space”; I have a dedicated office that I go in and close my door work through end of day then when done, I close the door behind me as I leave.

I’ll never go into an office again if I can help it, I don’t miss the gossip, constant interruptions, forced interactions, and sitting next to people while I’m on the phone for 8+ hrs per day just to say I’m there..

Go drive a bus then. I don't see how this is a real post, does indeed make these comments up?

I got used to it, but it took like 6 months. It was definitely depressing. I second the 'get primo shit' comments of others - if you have a nice office chair, desk, monitors, etc. it makes a big difference. Otherwise getting used to it takes some time, but you'll get there. Make sure you get out of the house if you're feeling stir crazy. Once you get used to it, you realize how much time you waste going into the office and it becomes very awesome.

A good chair?

Coffee shops are ok. But I would also look at other oddball places just to switch things up. I know this might sound weird, but sometimes even a cafe inside a hospital, or other non-conventional places like that. Always scout places out.