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Covid19 working from home arrangements.

patrafter7

Hi,

How are people coping in general with working from home during the pandemic?

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dennyk

I'd been working from home for over a year before the pandemic started anyway, and a few months ago I changed to a new job that's also 100% remote even post-COVID, so it's been no different for me. I love working from home myself; no commute to take up time, just roll out of bed, hit the shower, and boot up the laptop. I live alone, so there's no distractions or anything to worry about. I've always been quite the hermit as it is, though, even before the pandemic, so not leaving the house or interacting with anyone else in person for days at a time is kinda my thing anyway. Guess folks who miss the social aspects of work are probably having a difficult time of it, and those with different living situations at home (roommates, tiny studios/bedsits, etc.) might find it hard as well, though. I'm very fortunate that I've the temperament for full-time WFH and a suitable living situation to support it.

LegacyUser

Absoulety awful. I have started a new job as a graduate and I moved out of home as I felt like I was annoying my parents by living at home so have moved into a house share.

Feel like I'm not part of the company at all and I am completely isolated. Can't wait to be back in the office and at least get to know my co-workers.

ednwireland

patrafter7 wrote: »

Hi,

How are people coping in general with working from home during the pandemic?

been back in the office since june !

theres 2 of us in on either ends of the floor

my broadbands terrible at home so thats left to the OH (works ok for one person)

the company havent provided anything but most people robbed monitors and chairs from the office

John Hutton

Initially I loved it because my 70 plus mins commute each way is gone.

However, I have found some difficulties in managing staff and maintaining motivation (including my own).

I also feel like I never leave the house.

All in all though I still prefer it.

I think I would like 1 or 2 days a week in the office, I am worried (long term) that I am missing out on networking and other opportunities (I work in a massive office).

California Dreamer

No commute - great
Roll out of bed 5 mins before first meeting - great
Extended smoke/lunch/tipping point breaks - great

At home all day/night - not great
No break from family - not great
More irritable - not great
Overall more angry - not great

Have gone back to counseling that I was doing a few years ago to get me over the hump.

[Deleted User]

2 hour commute saved.
1 car declared off the road.
roll out of bed and into work.
See more of my family.
can get more done at home.
will be home till at least next summer.

whats not to love looking at the beach from my home office.

qwerty13

Agree so much re 2 hours and more knocked off my commute, a better standard of life in general, and life just being so much more flexible in terms of even simple things, like washing clothes during the day. Batch cooking at lunchtime. I actually get a lot of household jobs done in 10 minute bursts, and have so much more free time. Don’t have to take a half day for deliveries or workmen for the house. I now have entire weekends free. And not because I doss during the week - because I genuinely have the opportunity to get personal stuff done.

I personally don’t miss the office chit chat at all. I have a bit of an extra chat before a few Skype calls.

However, there’s noises being made by I’d say by far less than 10% or so that they feel so isolated / want a return to office set up. The rest of my colleagues are just willing them to shut up, before they ruin our far better quality of life.

My fear is that the the ‘I need thousands spent to set me up at home’ small % of my workplace are going to scare my employer in case they get sued, and the rest of us have to give up the best workplace change that we could ever have imagined. There would have been some (reluctant) wfh before COVID, but it is working so well for most of us, and we’d have had to fight for this for years on end without the virus. Long may it continue (the wfh, not the virus!)

I’m more than happy to have a little portable radiator beside me, and use my kitchen table. My life is so much better since wfh

_Brian

Haven’t been in our office since Feb and absolutely don’t miss it. While there are a few friends in there I share an office side with allot of toxic individuals and being away from them is a joy. I think I was there once in Jan and Feb each. So two visits for the whole year is a win

I’m at home I’m very low workload which is very odd, majority of my job is out on sites.

I actually get on better with work when herself isn’t wfh as well. Loving doing all the school drop and pick ups.

Have a good sized house and we farm also so there’s plenty to be doing when I’m off with such low workload. The covid work situation has been good for me.

mojesius

I'm on maternity leave currently but was wfh since March. I absolutely loved it. Saving 12 hours a week commute, saving money on clothes, petrol, make up etc.

My work involves collaborating with people in Asia and US so I have no problem now starting early or joining for a late meeting, whereas before you'd be staying in the office late or trying to catch first and last trains.

Mostly, it gives me back so much time to do the things I love, spend time with family, cooking, getting outdoors. My dog seems to prefer it as well

The perfect arrangement for me would be 1 day in the office, max 2 per week. Still waiting for the long term plans for wfh for our company, but they've hinted it will be 2-3 days in office once vaccine is widely available.

I can't see myself ever going back to a job with 5 days in the office.

patrafter7

Im working from home while my wife minds our 3 kids all of whom are under 5. It can be challenging at times. The organisation l work for are extremely busy and l often have to work additional hours without extra pay or time off in lieu. Guess those of us who have jobs are lucky in the current circumstances.

beauf

That's sounds very challenging. Even without the lockdown.

It's much easier when the kids are older, though you run into needing more desks and computers as do the kids are using them for school and then games etc. So you need a dedicated space away from them.

I effectively hot desk around the house depending on who is at at home and what they are doing.

patrafter7

Can certainly be a challenge at times. I'm wondering do many employers give time off in lieu to staff working remotely for additional hours that need to be worked to meet targets? I'm finding I'm working an extra 4-5 hours extra every week on average.

Sunny Dayz

I’m a mixed bag with WFH. I didn’t have a commute to work before, it’s 5 mins away. I liked not having to get ready for work, so I’d go for a walk or a run before work, home quick shower and eat breakfast while logging in. My own workload was handy to do from home, less interruptions. But other things my job entails - managing junior staff, work review, file completion - that’s all much quicker in the office.

ELM327

patrafter7 wrote: »

Can certainly be a challenge at times. I'm wondering do many employers give time off in lieu to staff working remotely for additional hours that need to be worked to meet targets? I'm finding I'm working an extra 4-5 hours extra every week on average.

That's on you IMO.

whippet

Myself and the wife have been working from home for years now - but I always had the option to pop in to the office, customer or out for lunch with colleagues .. which I dearly miss

Pre-COVID my work-life balance was superb .. but now I’d love to be able to pop in to town for a day - have lunch with some customers or workmates etc

ELM327

I was working from home prior to covid 1-2 days a week.
My team of 6 is global, we have heads in Singapore, US, and here, so it doesnt matter where I am, the work is the same.

In that vein, my role is almost unaffected.

Antares35

Love it..was WFH for the last ten weeks of pregnancy and convinced that avoiding the five day a week rat race into the city contributed to quick recovery and zero complications. (In fact, some early studies into a drastic decrease in the number of premature births suggest a correlation between women WFH and better pregnancy outcomes). OH also WFH so has been here for us the whole time. Saved a load on parking, petrol, pet sitter etc.

Can't ever see myself going back to Monday-Friday 9-5 to be honest, throwing the child into a creche for ten hours a day and sitting in traffic for three. Ideally, I'd like to to one day at the office and four at home, loading all the meetings into that one day.

Work life balance has never been better and productivity hasn't suffered at all. I get that isolation is a factor for some people, but I think it's a strange trade off to want to go back to that because you're lonely, and sacrifice family time.

Edit, I should add I've been lucky. I've an amazing boss who more or less said they don't mind when the work.is done so long as it gets done, so I've had huge flexibility in that regard.

[Deleted User]

WFH almost exclusively since March and although initially I didn't love it as much as I thought I would an investment in a nice desk and chair has made all the difference. The downside I would say is I find I work more hours (salaried so no overtime) and as other colleagues aren't keeping regular hours due to family commitments there's a blurring of when I should/shouldn't be working to get team projects done. I think a day or two in the office and the rest at home would suit me....let's see what my Company thinks :P

jmlad2020

Feel sorry for those poor extroverts on this thread who just can't handle the lack of human interaction associated with WFH. Before the pandemic I could not go on much longer working in a bull**** office environment.. awkward water cooler chat, pretending to work and the counting down the hours.

I much prefer it, but of course the office has its place when needed, for myself that would potentially be 1-2 days per week when required, but I suspect a lot of my weeks could be entirely WFH. Good riddance to being a full time office-bot.

patrafter7

Does anyone get to take flexi leave for additional hours worked from home?

bluestrattos

I love WFH, no commuting, no crowded trains/luas, it's just awesome.

At home, it's just me and my wife, and we have a dedicated home office, good/fast broadband, quiet neighbors, so overall, I can't complain.

If I had kids, I would definitively prefer to be away from home as long as possible, that is: work in a office and take a long commute.

I'm much more productive at home, no distractions, no "visits" to my desk.

I will detest the day I'll have to return to the office

Antares35

jmlad2020 wrote: »

Feel sorry for those poor extroverts on this thread who just can't handle the lack of human interaction associated with WFH. Before the pandemic I could not go on much longer working in a bull**** office environment.. awkward water cooler chat, pretending to work and the counting down the hours.

I much prefer it, but of course the office has its place when needed, for myself that would potentially be 1-2 days per week when required, but I suspect a lot of my weeks could be entirely WFH. Good riddance to being a full time office-bot.

Yup, I know someone who is in an at risk group and really should know better, who insisted on coming into the office even against public health and company advice. This person lives with just her husband and they have a dedicated office at home, but she couldn't bear staying at home because there was nobody to listen to her there. I'm much more productive WFH because I don't have to spend all day being interrupted by her. Sad really to have to go to work just for company. Wonder how her husband feels about that.

beauf

patrafter7 wrote: »

Hi,
How are people coping in general with working from home during the pandemic?

Work is fine, but I share spaces with the rest of the family. So I'm pretty much hot desking around the house. Which is a little convoluted. So I have to unplug and replug monitor, and peripherals every time I move.

I suspect many in my office can't wait to back in the office. They like doing everything unstructured and unplanned and WFH requires discipline especially managing things.

It has cut down on the brain fart ad hoc requests you get. Since people can't charge their mind every five minutes.

beauf

patrafter7 wrote: »

Can certainly be a challenge at times. I'm wondering do many employers give time off in lieu to staff working remotely for additional hours that need to be worked to meet targets? I'm finding I'm working an extra 4-5 hours extra every week on average.

You've a load of different issues there.
Extra hours are extra hours. It's working for free unless it's rewarded in some way.

.

patrafter7

beauf wrote: »

You've a load of different issues there.
Extra hours are extra hours. It's working for free unless it's rewarded in some way.

.

Yes you're right, it is working for free under such circumstances.

[Deleted User]

beauf wrote: »

Extra hours are extra hours. It's working for free unless it's rewarded in some way.

.

Not if he is paid a salary.

beauf

salonfire wrote: »

Not if he is paid a salary.

Once extra hours becomes normal, and is not rewarded. You've effectively agreed to degrade your terms and conditions. You probably get better terms somewhere else. Rarely have I seen working more for less be beneficial in the long run.

qwerty13

I think doing some extra hours, when really needed in order to push something over the line, demonstrates flexibility / commitment and does tend to be appreciated. If not directly in terms of a salary review, it puts you slightly ahead in terms of promotion and increases.

The problem lies in when the extra hours become habitual. That suggests to me either poor planning/communication by upper management, or perhaps poor planning/prioritisation/work patterns/communication on the part of the employee. Or a combination of the two.

Habitual extra hours do not tend (in my experience) to get rewarded or even recognised all that much.

TheSheriff

Really don't like WFH......not suited to it.

Hoping to get back to the office asap

FlubberJones

WFH is repetitive and boring, the lockdown simply enhances that with not being able to break the monotony with a trip to the shops.
As a manager I would prefer to be in the office half the week, I could do with catching up with the team, not that I have to as I have said to them if they wish to be full time at home they can. Thankfully the majority wish t attend to some degree also.