Working From Home Megathread

PokeHerKing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119742998#Comment_119742998

You're entitled to it as we all are. But you're presenting your opinion as fact and speaking for other peoples employment.

If you want to say that all senior people in YOUR company work better in office, fine. But don't speak for me.

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119743012#Comment_119743012

I'm not speaking for anyone but me and the people I work with,

That's the problem with this thread, the suggestion that wfh isn't amazing in all cases is met with militant opposition.

PokeHerKing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119743053#Comment_119743053

You may need a better grasp of written English then. Your OP quite clearly makes a statement of fact across all senior level management and then uses an anecdotal example from your own job to reinforce that statement.

Also has a sprinkle of contempt about career progression and wfh. Again all your opinion and one might even say quite militant in its delivery.

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119743082#Comment_119743082

If you see contempt in there it says more about you to be honest , some people are happy with what they are doing and don’t want to progress beyond it, I don’t have any quarrel with that.

SuperBowserWorld

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119738482#Comment_119738482

Yeah, I remember people wandering around the office in t shirts saying it's cold.

So, the heating was turned up.

Also, during summer, air con and stake air 'cause you can't open a window.

I'd say a lot of places scraping by see huge cost savings with smaller offices.

PokeHerKing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119743546#Comment_119743546

Yes because we all know you can't progress if you wfh or want to wfh... 😏

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119738424#Comment_119738424

I'm doing almost the same heating routine I did when I was working in the office.

My heating comes on for an hour / 90 minutes in the morning (Hive - temp controlled). I get up, have a hot shower, get dressed and start work. I will wear a jumper or layer up if its particularly cold. I find the house stays warm enough until around 4pm, when it starts to get a bit chilly. Heating is timed to come back on around 5pm-ish. So not really that much of a difference.

I certainly don't keep the heating on all day, if I did it I'd be asleep.

Backstreet Moyes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119743546#Comment_119743546

Have you some sort of evidence or study that shows people who wfh are less likely to progress in their career?

I have had more promotions in the past 2 years than in the 4 years before that while working fully remote.

I even got one of them recently while at home and many others are back in the office a few months.

Several of my colleagues have been promoted while full time remote.

Have you some proof or are you throwing out your opinion as a fact?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119747471#Comment_119747471

I have had more promotions in the past 2 years than in the 4 years before that while working fully remote.

Same, wfh has been amazing for my career

Mrs OBumble

The last two years are not a valid comparison time frame.

That should not even need to be said.

Dodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119747892#Comment_119747892

A lot of things in this thread don’t need to be said but here we are…

TaurenDruid

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119747892#Comment_119747892

Then why are the 'WFH is bad' people using it as a comparison? "You need to be working in the office to get promoted!" is what people are responding to.

Likewise, for me, my first promotion in ages came with WFH. Possibly, who knows, because I was getting more face time with the higher-ups on Zoom calls than I ever would have in the office, where contact with them would have been limited to a "Hey" in the corridors.

bokale

My current team are now spread out across Ireland. A team we have built up remotely. All senior engineers, all doing great career wise.

For some reason some people don't like the fact that this does work.

Cluedo Monopoly

Worth a read, especially those that like to micromanage.

Micromanaging Your Remote Workers? Act Now to Stop Yourself. (gartner.com)

As remote work becomes the norm for many employees, some leaders are falling into the trap of micromanaging employees, a practice which ultimately drives down engagement, motivation, productivity and trust. Don’t despair: You can still stop yourself with these actions.

“Whether they admit it or not, micromanagers usually feel that they can’t trust employees to perform their jobs away from the physical office environment,” says Daniel Sanchez Reina, Gartner VP Analyst. “Employees who don’t feel trusted lose self-confidence and contribute less. Micromanagers stifle creativity and growth, and need to take action and work on both their own behaviors and the norms they set for their teams.”

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119747471#Comment_119747471

I have an opinion , just because it differs from yours doesn’t mean I’m presenting it as fact,

your anecdotes don’t amount to proof contrary either.

you would have to concede any study concluding either would be pretty flimsy considering the time frame in question.

and I’m not sure what you do that has so many levels that you have had multiple promotions in the past 2 years ? Or do you mean you got one and didn’t get one before that ?

Naos

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119747892#Comment_119747892

Are not a valid comparison time frame to what and why not?

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119750020#Comment_119750020

I assume the last few years with lockdown have been extraordinary. Greater opportunities in some situations.

Wfh was successful despite more difficult environment than normal. It should work even better when supported by more normal conditions. Will it be supported though.

Backstreet Moyes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119748925#Comment_119748925

You didn't give an opinion you said some people are happy with what they are doing and don't want to progress beyond it.

That is not an opinion it's stating people working from home won't progress in their career.

Which is completely false.

In regards what I do that's none of your business.

gameoverdude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119748569#Comment_119748569

Agree with you.

I'd be happy once a month in the office for face to face meetings and then a bit of knees up after hours.

As you said, I chatted to senior management way more when wfh. So did my lads.

I suppose I was in a unique situation where I was quite techy, where they didn't have that knowledge before. I made sure to impart that to the lads, so our team got known as kind of a a-team...you got a problem and nobody can solve it...we Google.

Better reputation, pay, promotions in a short enough time. When in the office, colleagues come up to us directly. Prefer them not to, but it shows how well a rested and happy work team can be more efficient and confidence building.

The above was more conscious writing without in depth thought. Apologies.

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119751227#Comment_119751227

That’s my opinion that it’s more suitable for roles where the tasks are very defined and people aren’t as career focused. If you disagree that’s ok and if you don’t want to give any context as to your multiple promotions that’s fine but without context it means very little .

Flinty997

Its office politics 101.

You need facetime to get over unconscious bias by those who can't see past that.

Its why people network. Its also why critical people can be overlooked.

AdamD

Its all industry specific too, in Finance you'd want to be showing your face in the office. Tech? Not so much

Flinty997

People play politics in IT too.

Young_gunner

I work in finance and have no vested interests, other than wanting the best quality of life for me and my family.

Remote work is an amazing development - a real seismic change in quality of life. It probably need something like Covid to really accelerate it.

Remote work is hear to stay, because it makes sense - people can bury their heads in the sand if they want, it doesn't change the direction of travel.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119751953#Comment_119751953

I think you'll find that the brown nosers tend to want to be in the office more than most of their colleagues, so they actually stand out more than usual, thus office politics have changed as well.

The less popular people can sometimes be "accidentality" left off Webex calls etc, but a good manager will see through these problems and prevent exclusion.

After two years, most places should have a good handle on what works and what doesn't by now.

For me, the happy medium is, on-site when needed and WFH for the remainder, and this is how I have been working for the past two years and so far no end in sight(hopefully this will remain the case).

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119755122#Comment_119755122

yes its here to stay, and yes it will be better for your personal life, but it may not be best for your professional life, its down to how you balance the two and what makes most sense for you.

You work in finance, can you see yourself as CFO of a large organisation and working remotely for example?

Flinty997

If you have to travel you'll be working remotely. Same if you work across different locations.

Young_gunner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119755614#Comment_119755614

Absolutely yes. What would stop a CFO from working remotely?

Quin_Dub

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119755614#Comment_119755614

I think it's really variable from Industry to Industry and from Country to country, especially in very large organsations.

For example -

I've been 100% remote for well over a decade , but far more relevant is that I have not been in the same country as my leadership structure for almost twice that long.

For me , "going to the office" is of no real career value as despite there being ~1000 people in that building , none of them work for my organisation and are not involved in any of the work that I do. It's nice to go in once in a while and catch up etc. , but that's all it is.

The valuable office time for me, was flying to the US 6 or 8 times a year for a week at a time for workshops and planning sessions etc.

That travel has not come back yet and that is a potential gap for me and people like me. But there are ways to manage that.

Oddly enough I found that the enforced WFH during COVID was a great leveler with my peers in the US and elsewhere as instead of it being a situation of me on the phone and 6-8 of them in a conference room in the US , we were all on the phone/video and it was a much more level playing field in terms of the meeting dynamics etc.

And as for the CFO question, the CFO of my employer (Very large MNC with 150k+ employees etc.) lives half-way up a mountain in Montana or something about a thousand miles from the office and he does fine , although I'm sure he's flying to meetings all over the world as c-suite types tend to do anyway.

Flinty997

Seems like people are able (or willing) to work remotely or they are not.

You will skew your team, or organisation to which every bias you prefer.