Why marketing professional feels ‘guilt attached to working from home’ — LinkedIn post sparks debate
A Delhi-based marketing and branding expert sparked a debate online after sharing his thoughts on how working from home has led to increased working hours and pressure amidst the desire to be ‘seen’ and prove productive.
In a long and thoughtful post on professional networking platform LinkedIn, Nishtha Khanduja said she had been “noting something strange between working from home and working from the office” for a while before she could pinpoint why.
‘Working from home feels contradictory, I got more work done…’
He stated that there was time to do other things while working from the office and explained: “While working from the office, I somehow found time to do other things. Short breaks. Small personal tasks. Mental pauses. But I couldn’t do this while working from home. This seemed contradictory because the only reason I chose to work from home was freedom.”
“Instead, my working hours got longer. I did more work and rarely went away,” he added.
‘Presence in the office itself is evidence…’
Khanduja added that he eventually understood why: “There was the guilt that came with working from home. There was the constant need to prove that I was working even if I wasn’t physically in the office. So I overdelivered.”
He added that guilt caused him to stay online longer and avoid “invisible” tasks such as work, adding: “Presence in the office itself felt like evidence. At home, productivity had to be demonstrated.”
‘Systemic problem, needs to be forgotten…’
Khanduja noted that this was probably not something unique to him, but rather a systemic way of thinking. “We’re taught that being seen means working. And when you’re not seen, you feel the need to compensate. Maybe true flexibility isn’t about position. Maybe it’s about unlearning guilt,” he feels.
Netizens chimed in: ‘It resonates! Don’t miss your commute… Common feeling…’
The post received a flurry of responses, with one user simply stating: “True! It resonates so well!” and another adds: “100% Nishtha, this is a very common sentiment among hybrid and remote workers, we have been hearing comments like this since we first started our research on this topic 13 years ago.”
Another felt that despite the pressures, the payoff from working from home was better overall: “I understand where you’re coming from, but frankly I feel the opposite. The time and energy wasted by commuting and traffic is something I don’t miss at all. I’ve found that if you’re stressing about ‘proving’ that you’re working, it’s often to do with the culture of the employer. I think the real sweet spot is having a coworking membership. If home feels unproductive or distracting. If you have a light day or just want to focus, stay home.”
There were also some solutions, with one user sharing his method: “I had a few errands working from home. To relieve the guilt, I set up a room with a door. I opened the office door every morning and closed the door every break. It worked.”
Another agreed: “So some people see part of work-life balance as very clear boundaries between work and home. Home can and should be a sanctuary to relax and enjoy family.”
