Oh for a lazy day at the office

Imust say, I was rather amused when I found out today is celebrated as Work From Home Day in the United States. The whole idea of rewarding workers with the opportunity to work from home for one day in the year just seems so outdated.

I, for one, have been working from home for more than two years now. In fact, since the first hard lockdown, I have been summoned to “the office” only once. That was to clear out my desk as the “the office” was no longer going to be rented.

As a horseracing journalist, I do go to the Vaal and Turffontein for most race meetings and I often go to the Randjesfontein training centre. But for the rest, my office at home is where I work.

It’s only with 20-20 hindsight that I now realise how crazy the idea of working in an office really was.

All those hours wasted on the daily commute, the frustrations caused by the traffic, the fuel expenses – and for what? So that the bosses could watch me and the rest of our team work?

Quite a number of my friends have also been working from home for the past two years – to great effect and to massive savings for the various companies they work for.

Of course, not everybody can work from home. Surgeons, chefs, assembly line workers and a host of other occupations demand the physical presence of those practicing these careers.

While working from home does have its obvious advantages, there is, however, also the small problem that one is always at work. Permanently – 24/7.

Since starting to work from home, getting out of the house has become an absolute necessity for me. Going to the kitchen doesn’t count.

I’m talking getting out – like going to a movie or just having a drive through the countryside.

I’m beginning to wonder if we shouldn’t have one annual Work In The Office Day.

I’d love to have just one day a year when someone else makes me tea, vacuums my office, and tidies my desk, while most of the team sit in the smoking area most of the day not working.

I miss those lazy office days.