Working From Home Megathread

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118545486#Comment_118545486

I don't know what you experience of March 2020 was.

But in my main company, as soon as we found a way to make the contact centre work thru VPN, we took laptops off lower priority staff gave them to the call takers and sent everyone home on an emergency basis within the space of a week.

Then we figured out to let the non-laptopped staff connect to our network using personal machines ( cos we couldn't find any laptops to buy).

Absolutely no time to devise polices or WFH agreements or think of anything but Covid safety.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118545424#Comment_118545424

Rather pointless when the current varient is so transmissible that none of the measures will stop the spread.

The BA2 omicron variant is 50% more transmissible than the BA1 variant and will infect the remainder of the population.

The vast majority of cases are via home & social activities, such that the workplace restrictions are useless.

You probably will not give or get it from a work colleague as it is highly possible that they have already been infected already, with or without them knowing.

Cluedo Monopoly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118545612#Comment_118545612

We were able to leverage disaster recovery and business continuity plans. They cover most scenarios. VPN access has been in place for 15+ years.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118545723#Comment_118545723

Same for us, the VPN changed overnight from being an occasional out of hours means of access to an everyday tool, fortunately with many applications in the cloud, the network didn't collapse as it could have done if all applications were hosted onsite.

Furze99

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118545486#Comment_118545486

Hard to keep up with ye - some of us work for a living :) But in the general scheme of things, out of sight is out of mind. Being seen to work is no bad thing.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118545723#Comment_118545723

Lucky you.

Our pre March 2020 business continuity plan involved a hotdesking site in Limerick.

That plan became obsolete overnight and has been replaced with a plan involving people homes. It's still short on solutions for recieving post, scanning documents and printing + posting legally required letters, though. No one has that equipment in their home.

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118545612#Comment_118545612

it was kinda similar it did take time for everyone to get the equipment and that was due to basically international delays with equipment. Definitely took time to catch up re VPN for everyone and upgrading everything we needed to. The move to MS teams is still going as we speak as a lot of drives etc are still to be moved. Personal machines were not an option for staff ever - but we have laptops available for loan anyway for staff and our students.

Not sure what you mean no time to develop polices or WFG agreements. That isnt an option. You say you work for a company - yeah thats their responsibility and they had 2 years to do it. It definitely took a while it wasnt immediate for the main priority for a long time but we got it done.

It wasnt an immediate big bang we sorted it. Took months. Absolutely no excuse to not have it done by now.

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118545723#Comment_118545723

excellent

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118546025#Comment_118546025

No idea what this means still - how are you not seen to work in remote working. Weird.

AndrewJRenko

So I'm not the only one concerned about ergonomics of WFH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118545366#Comment_118545366

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118546308#Comment_118546308

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118546555#Comment_118546555

Only if the ergonomics were not assessed already which they should have been. Some seem to think this is just an issue going forward.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118543971#Comment_118543971

You're right, Omicron is mild - for most people. For the others, it's Long Covid, and/or hospitalisation, an ICU stay, and/or death. It's a little more serious in those cases. 49 dead, in the last week.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118546634#Comment_118546634

It will certainly be more of an issue going forward than it has been, for obvious reasons.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118546468#Comment_118546468

posting legally required letters

Curious - what would the nature of those be? Email is absolutely recognised as the equivalent of a signed letter in 99.99% of all cases, isn't it? Yes, you're still going to have to sign for a mortgage or a marriage in person (essentially, legal contracts), but doesn't email cover everything else?

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118546840#Comment_118546840

Only other ones I can think of are notices related to accommodation and those which are a contractual requirement.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118546846#Comment_118546846

Certain aspects of law/inheritance, credit-management, social welfare, social work, health.

Security-wise, emailing to a private individual is the same as writing the content on a postcard and mailing it without an envelope.

Frank Bullitt

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118544835#Comment_118544835

I'm not saying it doesn't happen. What I am saying is that the issue you are talking about or almost hoping to happen are not nearly as common as you think. Most grown ups are well able to look after themselves, and my last employer (fully remote since its inception) had a clear guide and budget for home office set ups.

So AGAIN, it is not as hard as you preach that it is.

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118547007#Comment_118547007

I can’t speak for the others but in my own sector, health, email is now more commonly used to communicate with other health professionals and patients. We use encryption keys which only the intended recipient knows to view documents.

All communications with social welfare is through the welfarepartners portal which requires a browser certificate granted by Revenue to operators, so it is all online. Same with communications with the HSE, all online. I haven’t written a paper communication in years to either body.

Also, I don’t know what the policy is with other banks but for the last few years all my communications with AIB relating to credit/finance have been digital, including document signing. I’ve met my bank manager once in the last 10 years, and that was just because he was new and wanted to introduce himself.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118546789#Comment_118546789

It is far too early to say whether anyone suffering from omicron will get long covid, the virus only arrived here mid November. Considering the huge numbers getting infected, hospitalizations are extremely low, lower than those of a typical winter flu, same is also true of deaths, the vast majority who were elderly and had co-mobilities that could have also led to their deaths.

So yes, I'm not wrong.

While I am one who much prefers to WFH, I see no issues in anyone returning to the office should they so desire, the risks are lower than those encountered when walking in a crowded shopping centre or pub.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118547112#Comment_118547112

That's fine within your secure sector wide system.

How do you contact patients? Do you email them test results?

Dav010

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118548547#Comment_118548547

Where possible letters have been replaced by email. The patient is phoned first if they are unable or don’t need to attend, the results are discussed and they are then given an encryption key so that only they can view the email content. Many patients prefer the convenience of having instant access to their medical reports on their phone/laptop wherever they are. They of course will have consented/requested to receive email communications.

Just in case you are about to follow up with how impersonal this is, or how uncaring it is to deliver bad news via email, the use of email is only to provide a patient with a copy of their results, in person/telephone conversations relating to the results will have taken place first. The email has simply replaced the written letter.

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118547333#Comment_118547333

People who "only" had Omicron are reporting long covid symptoms and attending long-covid clinics. Or, at least, trying to make appointments to attend.

You may be willing to sacrifice the elderly and those with co-morbities (obesity, diabetes, asthma, those with cancer, immuno-compromised, etc) - thankfully wiser heads prevailed until recently, and we were spared in your cull. JFC.

50 people a week are still dying from this.

Mrs OBumble

50 people a week are still dying from this.

Dying with this. In some cases their deaths are hastened, likely only by a few weeks.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118549191#Comment_118549191

For crying out loud, which part of "omicron is unstoppable!" do you not understand.

The current variant BA2 is 50% more transmissible than the BA1 strain that hit around mid December, so will rip through the remainder of the population over the next month or so.

Say what you like, not you or anyone else can't stop it, shooting messengers don't stop the spread either.

So you'll still be just as safe in the office as at home and safer than in a public place.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118549497#Comment_118549497

That's always been the case for many of the deaths, right from day one. the Median age is around 80 years old, which is close to the average life expectancy of humans.

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118548547#Comment_118548547

why are you so angry with technology. We also phased out paper as much as we could a couple of years ago and continue to do so. Whenever I am in the office I dont print anything nor do I need to.

All files are online and shared online even if external - fully secure. Getting rid of landlines and moving to a cloud based phone system has been great. Email and now chat are the main way to communicate with people followed by online meetings - even if people are in the office. Digital signatures are the norm now - again so convenient.

And in respect of your query I have received test results via video call from my GP. Getting prescriptions online is great and very convenient - especially if just renewing them . Not having to take the day off work to go to the doctor is a huge bonus for most people.

There are plenty of good valid reasons people don’t want to return to the office, but honestly using “50 people a week are dying from this” is just desperate”. Every death is sad and I’m not downplaying that but 50 is a tiny number for our population, it’s not a reason to stay in your spare room forever.

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118550409#Comment_118550409

except there arent many other diseases you can spread and catch from working in an office or from any indoor space with a lot of people inside for a long time. Basically one of the worse things you can do with covid. Risk for employees and employers - both health wise and economic. You seem to suggest that even those who want to return to the office can - some people cant. Might be me but I have a good few colleagues who are in that situation. So yes it is a reason - which part of a safe workplace seems to have passed you by.

Hopefully we have moved past the idea of people attending work when sick but not everyone gets sick leave. Going forward I dont know how my employer will address that as at present you cant attend with even a sniffle so you have to work from home if possible or take sick leave.

People here have some odd ideas about remote working to be honest. If someone wishes to continue to work remotely from their spare room and work continues as normal it is a perfectly fine reason to stay working that way if they wish. Some people feel the need to go back to the office - thats ok too.

I couldn’t care less if people want to work at home, in the office, on the moon etc, it doesn’t impact on me in the slightest. However, if someone is using 50 people a week dying (almost exclusively older than the working age) as an excuse not to go to work then I fear for their mental health more than anything else. I assume these people also won’t go in a pub, restaurant, cinema etc as the risk is the same, essentially their work and personal life will be locked up at home.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118550214#Comment_118550214

Angry? More invention on your part.

I've a realistic understanding of technology limits. And also of continuing legal requirements for old fashioned mail in some sectors.

Did you hear about the HSE being hacked?

Or NUIGs internal system being hacked - students had no university provided WiFi on campus for weeks.