Examples of the Real Dangers of Working From Home

With WFH now becoming a normal part of how we work, we’ve searched out some real life examples of how it can go horribly wrong…

Jason chairs the weekly online meeting with his team. His team speak only when they have something relevant to say and the Zoom meeting concludes within the allocated time. This has become a standard occurrence and Jason, for the first time in his career, finds himself with more free time. This has allowed him to reflect on his personal life. He realises his marriage is a sham and that it is likely that he will soon become divorced. Jason cries silent tears…

Jessica hasn’t been to her office in months and has been working from the compact, single-bed room she rents. Clutter has steadily built up in her room and she hadn’t noticed a family of pine-martens taking up permanent residence under an untidy pile of notes. They grow hungry. Jessica remains unaware how dangerous her work-life situation has become…

Working from Home has transformed John from an instant coffee drinker into a pretentious coffee connoisseur. He habitually invests in new coffee-making equipment he can scarcely pronounce and certainly can’t afford. His mortgage repayments fall into arrears as a result and his house is repossessed by the vulture fund that bought up bank loans. John now lives with his parents…

Christine finds procrastinating while working from home difficult without work colleagues to annoy. She has cleaned her kitchen wall so frequently that she has slowly created a hole through it and into the sitting room. She likes the open plan feel she has created. Unfortunately the wall is a supporting wall and the hole compromises the house’s stability and the house collapses. The insurance refuses to cover the damages…

Eliot enjoyed Stephen, his neighbour for 15 years, popping over unannounced at the start of lockdown. However, after Steve's 298th consecutive day visiting for a quick chat on neoliberalism and the Achaemenid Empire, Eliot decided faking his own death was the only viable option. Eliot, now going by Jose and sporting an unattractive moustache, now lives on a Colombian Coffee plantation.. .

Edith would like to cycle from her home into the nearby village for a morning coffee. Unfortunately, the proposed cycleway around her house has been delayed due to the legal protestations from a minority of residences concerned about the lack of parking for their large range rovers and a councillor. Edith wonders why certain councillors hadn’t objected to the many questionable developments in the Celtic Tiger era and instead obstruct the building of a proposed cycle route that would have positive environmental, safety and social impacts. Edith decides to egg the people involved, is charged, convicted and loses her job. The system is broken…

Paul is meeting his work colleague for the first time in 14 months. He leaves early to catch a quieter bus before his wife and teenage children wake up. Unfortunately, Paul forgets to change out of the SpongeBob SquarePants pyjamas he’s worn most days since lockdown began. He realises his mistake only when he gets off the bus. To hide his error, there is only one possible solution. He gets a last-minute edgy haircut, buys dock martens, discards his shirt and picks up an elaborate men’s fur jacket from a second-hand shop. He tells his workmates this is his new look. They all mentally note it as being a mid-life crisis. He returns home to a mortified wife and kids…

Claire started her new role during lockdown and has only met her team on Microsoft Teams. To seem interesting, Claire tries to make coffee using an AeroPress during their online social meetings on Friday. She accidentally scalds herself and screams F*ck b*stard. It’s burnt my f*cking hand, you pr**k. Claire was not on mute. Claire’s new colleagues now call her ‘Sweary Claire’. She begins looking for a new job…

Michael has struggled with working from home while his three young kids are on holidays from creche. His work space has been infiltrated and covered in poorly-drawn pictures and crayons. Michael, as project lead on an aviation venture, must today present his predictions and plans for the next ten years. Regrettabbly, his children have discarded his notes down the toilet and accidentally wiped his presentation slides by leaving a juice box on his laptop’s delete all key when Michael was making himself his 6th filter coffee before noon. A panicked realisation dawns on Michael as the online meeting starts. But being the pro that he is, Michael confidently lifts one of his children’s pictures of a blue dragon blowing purple love hearts from its nose mid-flight to his screen and declares boldly, “Ladies and Gentlement. This is the future of the airline industry… ”

Margaret has started ordering specialty coffee online. She finds a coffee brand she loves so much that she repeatedly orders it. The owners - idealist wanting to make the world a better place - become very rich from Margaret and like-minded customers. The success ruins their morals and ideals with healthy profits influencing them towards a more capitalist driven agenda. They become so big that they either buy out or squeeze out any competition. Years later, old and alone on their death bed, they will whisper three final words - Traversa Triple Blend…