[Misc] Working from home

[Chicken Run]

All of that fun stuff, and (if you commuted from Brighton to London) the Brucie Bonus of not wasting 4 hours of your life a day on the commute while paying £5k per annum for the privilege. Bit of a no-brainer shirley

Especially if you’re able to fit all that fun stuff in before 9 and after 5pm eh

 

[Weststander]

I much prefer working in the office, it's about 10 minutes from my house, so it's not a massive chore, gyms by the office as well so I've got a nice routine, plus 12 hour shifts at home can be long.

I've got my furlough paid office in the garden, so I've got a decent work area, just prefer being around people.

But there is some truth in this from some

There was a recent mental health phone-in where a caller’s daughter WFH job involved zero human contact literally every day. She was made to change to that from the March 2020 lockdown, then the bosses saw the opportunity to close the office for good. The literal solitude caused a breakdown.

But it works for me as my ‘kids’ are around a lot, plus I’ve various chats with clients throughout the week.

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

Great when you’re on boring zoom calls though

Would also make sure you get as close as you can to a good ‘office’ set up. I was lucky in that we had a dedicated room where I could shut the door and I had a full desktop/two screen setup with handsfree phone and Bluetooth headset etc plus a large corner desk. We had staff who were in very small flats with family buzzing around trying to work with just a laptop perched on their laps on the sofa and suchlike which didn’t really work for them.

Would echo the comments about having a proper break - without other people around and no commute it’s very easy to get up, start work immediately and stay cocooned in front of your screen without a break all day. I used to go for a run in the middle of the day sometime and try to have a ‘forced stop’ at a reasonable time in the evening.

Slightly alarming though when the call that I've barely been listening to goes silent for a few seconds and then somebody says "you're on mute by the way".

No way to work out who they're waiting to say something, so just have to sit tight until either a) somebody else works out how to unmute themself, or b) they give up and the conversation moves on.

During covid I'd often find the only way I could impose a "forced stop" was to drink four cans of kronenburg so I literally wasn't allowed to do any work. That wasn't helped by living in an attic in a houseshare, which had to simultaneously function as bedroom/study/dining room/living room. Also, being a loft conversion, any day where the sun was out and the outdoor temperature went above the mid 20s C, the room would get so unfeasibly warm that I would spend most of the afternoon in my pants eating ice cream.

I do a mix of two or three days a week either way now. I like to think I have a slightly more healthy relationship with it. And an actual study.

 

[sussex_guy2k2]

I currently work in an office and did throughout COVID at a very well run, but rather old school company (we sign in and out, we have set breaks, we get bollocked if we’re late etc). I’m currently trying to convince them to let me WFH for a few reasons:

1) there are so many distractions in the office that it’s actually more difficult to concentrate than it would be at home,

2) they struggle with communication at the best of times, even when I’m right next to the people that need to communicate with me, so WFH shouldn’t affect this,

3) I’ve worked out that I’m using a full 40 hours a month of unpaid time to ensure I’m there on time, plus the commute each way, so essentially I’m working an extra week a month,

4) things like going to the dentist require time to be made up. This wouldn’t be a problem if it was close by, but a 20 minute dentist appointment often becomes nearly 2 hours owed because of the additional commute to get there and back, and they round time up, which illustrates a ludicrous lack of trust in their employees.

And this last point is the key. We’re at a stage where employees should be trusted to get their work done (especially those that aren’t new employees, or those that require training), no matter their location, as long as the job doesn’t require them to be there ie in manufacturing. I appreciate employers want to fill the buildings they pay for, but not at the expense of my time that they’re not willing to pay for.

 

[portlock seagull]

Starting to work from home soon first time in my career. Only 3 months but very big change for me as Im a game developer and we had a 6 week crunch in February and March when I only slept at home twice and spending the rest of the time travelling between offices hotels or often sleeping in the office. The last two weeks Ive been off work but already bored as nasty word. But not really looking forward to just sit at home coding and counting feels like it could be lonely and boring. Anyone with experience from suddenly going from office living workaholic to couch potato pretending to work ?

Why are you pretending to work? Either you’re working or you’re not surely?

Regardless, it’s sounds like you had until very recently a rather unhealthy imbalance between work and leisure. And that’s what you’re struggling with now, unsurprisingly.

Being a workaholic is somewhat kidding yourself. Nobody is productive without rest. It’s like multi tasking, which is another word for inefficiency.

Wfh is all about routines in my experience. Working from Costa on a Friday morning, ensuring I get out and walk lunchtimes etc. Otherwise you’ll become disconnected from the world. I know lots more people in my neighbourhood as a consequence and wouldn’t swap it for the world now. It’s a way of life, and all those years spent sacrificing self at the corporate alter are a distant memory. Thank god!

 

[ozzygull]

Genesis? Genesis without Gabriel? Really?

My first exposure to Genesis was Invisable touch when I was 15, so don’t be too harsh I was one when “Selling England by the Pound” was released and three when Peter Gabriel left. I do listen to the albums from the 70s but l do have small preference to Phil Collins Genesis.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

My first exposure to Genesis was Invisable touch when I was 15, so don’t be too harsh I was one when “Selling England by the Pound” was released and three when Peter Gabriel left. I do listen to the albums from the 70s but l do have small preference to Phil Collins Genesis.

Being young is not an excuse.

You'll tell me next that you have no view on the ending of rationing.

The kids of today.

Cah!

 

[dazzer6666]

I currently work in an office and did throughout COVID at a very well run, but rather old school company (we sign in and out, we have set breaks, we get bollocked if we’re late etc). I’m currently trying to convince them to let me WFH for a few reasons:

1) there are so many distractions in the office that it’s actually more difficult to concentrate than it would be at home,

2) they struggle with communication at the best of times, even when I’m right next to the people that need to communicate with me, so WFH shouldn’t affect this,

3) I’ve worked out that I’m using a full 40 hours a month of unpaid time to ensure I’m there on time, plus the commute each way, so essentially I’m working an extra week a month,

4) things like going to the dentist require time to be made up. This wouldn’t be a problem if it was close by, but a 20 minute dentist appointment often becomes nearly 2 hours owed because of the additional commute to get there and back, and they round time up, which illustrates a ludicrous lack of trust in their employees.

And this last point is the key. We’re at a stage where employees should be trusted to get their work done (especially those that aren’t new employees, or those that require training), no matter their location, as long as the job doesn’t require them to be there ie in manufacturing. I appreciate employers want to fill the buildings they pay for, but not at the expense of my time that they’re not willing to pay for.

Wow. Sounds like an Edwardian workhouse. Your point re trusting people to do their job is absolutely key - without that they’re doomed (or should be).

 

[Weststander]

Wow. Sounds like an Edwardian workhouse. Your point re trusting people to do their job is absolutely key - without that they’re doomed (or should be).

My general experience is that most can be trusted and respond to carrot. But there’ll always be lazy or deceptive staff. I realise it was largely pre pandemic so my question might not be relevant, but in your last job what did the employer do if they worked out someone WFH was taking the p? Not you of course!

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

There was a recent mental health phone-in where a caller’s daughter WFH job involved zero human contact literally every day. She was made to change to that from the March 2020 lockdown, then the bosses saw the opportunity to close the office for good. The literal solitude caused a breakdown.

But it works for me as my ‘kids’ are around a lot, plus I’ve various chats with clients throughout the week.

Being made to go in at 9 every day would be what would trigger a breakdown in me

 

[Machiavelli]

I did far more work at home and for longer hours than I ever did in the office. Most office time seemed to be spent chatting, sitting in pointless meetings or going for coffee (and I worked for most of the 3 hours I would have been commuting too)

I'm the same. No need to travel, getting tea etc takes far less time, no distractions. If you want to speak to someone, there's always Teams, Zoom, etc.

 

[Weststander]

Being made to go in at 9 every day would be what would trigger a breakdown in me

I couldn’t have commuted to London at any age, even at 25, despite bigger pay opportunities. I really, really hate travel …. except for leisure. Plus early mornings destroy me, I’m a night owl.

Did you ever have to leave early from Faversham 5 days a week?

 

[dazzer6666]

My general experience is that most can be trusted and respond to carrot. But there’ll always be lazy or deceptive staff. I realise it was largely pre pandemic so my question might not be relevant, but in your last job what did the employer do if they worked out someone WFH was taking the p? Not you of course!

‘The employer’ would have been me, or one of my directors……..closer monitoring of output, more regular 1-1 check in calls, more regular checking of output (‘glad to hear you’re getting on with that report, ping me the latest draft‘ etc). Really very simple.

 

[LamieRobertson]

I don’t have a TV in my office, but I do have a turntable, I sometimes use it when I am doing firmware updates, as there can be a lot of waiting for things to finish.

View attachment 179648

Very similar layout to my office

 

[Weststander]

Very similar layout to my office

View attachment 179667

Tidier than mine, you can see the floor.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Tidier than mine, you can see the floor.

lol was round the compound this afternoon my neighbour but one couldn’t see the ceiling of hers as well as the floor

 

[Machiavelli]

I don’t have a TV in my office, but I do have a turntable, I sometimes use it when I am doing firmware updates, as there can be a lot of waiting for things to finish.

View attachment 179648

Animal-tastic!

 

[Weststander]

lol was round the compound this afternoon my neighbour but one couldn’t see the ceiling of hers as well as the floor

Ours is a very long garage, it could take two cars, I did tidy up the front half which serves as a gym for my son.

I see you favour Stilh, I got some of their kit, recommended by woodsmen we know.

 

[ozzygull]

My general experience is that most can be trusted and respond to carrot. But there’ll always be lazy or deceptive staff. I realise it was largely pre pandemic so my question might not be relevant, but in your last job what did the employer do if they worked out someone WFH was taking the p? Not you of course!

I know you were not asking me but, I am lucky as I am very much trusted by my employer, but that is earned. When I was asked to work from home (pre-covid) I felt because of the stigma associated with WFH I had to make sure I was always available, where as people in the official offices were harder to get hold of, maybe chatting grabbing a coffee or going for a smoke. We have a ticket system where employees log issues and network issues get moved to the ”network teams” queue. My colleagues are in Canada, it would be very obvious if I was ignoring the tickets, in fact I pick up 70% of them because my day starts earlier. People will also contact me directly with questions. I have meeting almost every day about various projects. I will always ask if I need to finish early (evening matches) and it‘s never an issue as my boss knows that I will work late whenever required. I like my teammates and boss, I want to make their lives as easy as possible and they will always help me when I need it.

Piss takers are easy to detect, they don’t last long.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Ours is a very long garage, it could take two cars, I did tidy up the front half which serves as a gym for my son.

I see you favour Stilh, I got some of their kit, recommended by woodsmen we know.

Yeah the Sthil battery stuff works for me ….use Husqvarna and Grin for the three petrol mowers