Sunday, January 3, 2021

To WFH or not to WFH

 I have been toying with the decision whether to resume working from the PhD office at uni or continue WFH. As a consummate overthinker, I listed all pros and cons, and even threw in some game theory. If my officemates chose to stay away, then it would be perfectly safe to work from uni. But, if they came in thinking they would be the only ones in, not so much. If I chose to WFH, the thought of an possibly empty office would trouble me. I am not asking  the others what they plan to do on the PhD whatsapp group, because I don't want to put any ideas into their head. I was toying with whether to request a mask-on-at-all-times rule or take turns to use the office. But, my PhD colleagues are quite fickle, so I am sure they would not stick to their agreed days. There is also a nagging sense of guilt that I would be a bit of a free-rider if I went in while everybody else kept away. But, if they don't want people to come in they should just close the campus. In any case, this might be a moot dilemma because we are likely to be in full lockdown soon. Maybe the lesson from this pandemic is not be more decisive, but to realize that many of the choices that we agonize over are not that important, so we shouldn't sweat so much over them. 

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