Does The Corona Virus Scare The Shit Out Of You?

[st1fler]

I'm late to the party and this will sound weird to some, but as an introvert/homebody this pandemic was great for me. I got to work from home since March of 2020 which I absolutely LOVE and I never want to go back into the office again lol The only inconvenience (other than a mask) is having to book a time slot to go into the gym and they are only 1 hour long.

BC is going to slowly start opening in July and hopefuly be fully open by September. My office where I work has said we are supposed to start coming back in July part time but I really hope our IT department doesn't have to. I will quote one of their messages in the email and I can guarantee you if they actually put a poll out the majority of people would rather work at home then go back lol

we heard from many team members that we’ve really missed the increased efficiency and collaboration that happens when we are face to face

[stickyvicky]

Most companies here have found that productivity is increased from people working at home. Many are reducing their office space and saving money on rent, AC,cleaning etc.... keeping the meeting rooms for once a week face to face meetings and letting them work from home.

[lance_s]

Most companies here have found that productivity is increased from people working at home. Many are reducing their office space and saving money on rent, AC,cleaning etc.... keeping the meeting rooms for once a week face to face meetings and letting them work from home.

Since I mostly worked from home anyway, the pandemic didn't really affect my work habits too much. It just meant that I no longer had to go in to client sites to "show my face". Plus money saved in driving and parking costs. I wonder if office space can be converted to low cost housing??

There are times when I feel issues would be better resolved with a face to face meeting instead of a telecon. Zoom and Teammate and Webex don't really cut it. I can see coffee shops getting a lot busier for these impromptu meetings as pandemic restrictions lift. I wonder if some of them will build privacy booths?

[Davest]

My boss told me out of the blue that I could work from home as much as I wanted in the summer of 2019, so I was working from home for about 8 months before it became mandatory. It's not for everyone but it worked great for me because I have no family or kids at home so no distractions. I loved it. But then I retired in the summer last year and love that even more.

[st1fler]

Most companies here have found that productivity is increased from people working at home. Many are reducing their office space and saving money on rent, AC,cleaning etc.... keeping the meeting rooms for once a week face to face meetings and letting them work from home.

Yea I think it's just their old school mentality, the company is over 100 years old so I can see why lol. I haven't talked to a single person that actually wants to go back full time into the office but for sure there are some, I just think it's the minority. I talk with some of our business users and one of them said "They would be stupid to make me go back to the office because I work longer now that I don't have to commute and hour to then from work." I really hope they get their heads out of their arses!!!

[lance_s]

Most companies here have found that productivity is increased from people working at home. Many are reducing their office space and saving money on rent, AC,cleaning etc.... keeping the meeting rooms for once a week face to face meetings and letting them work from home.

Yea I think it's just their old school mentality, the company is over 100 years old so I can see why lol. I haven't talked to a single person that actually wants to go back full time into the office but for sure there are some, I just think it's the minority. I talk with some of our business users and one of them said "They would be stupid to make me go back to the office because I work longer now that I don't have to commute and hour to then from work." I really hope they get their heads out of their arses!!!

Work from home will obviously not be appealing for micromanagers. I did have a contract where I was told I was expected to be online every day from 9 - 5. I was told I have to log time for every activity - each email sent, each phone call, everything. I respectfully declined the opportunity.

[stickyvicky]

Oh my God I could never do that!

[st1fler]

Where I work is super laid back, like I can technically start any time I want (within reason) assuming I didn't have morning meetings that I didn't need to go to and nobody is "looking over my shoulder" virtually in a sense. Coincidentally where I sat at work I had like 5 managers that all had offices behind me and I hated it lol I feel so much more relaxed at home.

[stickyvicky]

What do you do Stiffy? You don't have to say what company of course just in general?

[lance_s]

Imagine trying to work in a place like this. I would not last 15 minutes!

And speaking of work, since its late Friday afternoon (my time), have a good weekend, everyone.

[WalterB]

Not sure I could handle work from home. I really enjoyed the last job I had. It was a great group of people I worked with. Then, there were a lot of times we had to get/work together on an issue, I'm just not sure that WAH would have worked.

[st1fler]

What do you do Stiffy? You don't have to say what company of course just in general?

programmer/dev

[stickyvicky]

Really? How hot is that! I loveyou more now Stiffy! I love nerds! Especially bodybuilding nerds! lol.... What do you program in? You have a specialty? A favorite? C'mon! Talk nerdy to me!

[Glenn2164]

I'm glad, I'm retired, because there's no way I would like to work at home. I would miss working with people which gives me more incentive to work. My working time was in a clerical, office environment and felt like a family environment. To work at home, there would be too many distractions and would always be on my own. Majority of my friends, I got to know, was from the workplace.

[WalterB]

Been hearing about people screwing off like crazy while working at home. A very relaxed atmosphere. You can go watch TV for awhile, you can go do your laundry, you can go take a bath, You can go outside and mow the grass, whatever. All while 'on the clock.' This is exactly what I expected.

NOW do you wonder why no one wants to go back to work?

[stickyvicky]

That makes no sense because if you did that your productivity would be way down and then you eventually get fired… That wouldn't last very long? Unless the company you work for is really stupid?

We have people that work for us, and we check up on them, they all work from home, and they all have tasks (video & photo editing, website updates, etc) to complete by a certain time....

They have lots of flexibility, if they want to sleep until noon and then go to the gym they can but that means they will be working at 9:00 or 10 at night… As long as the work gets done we don't care.....

[lance_s]

Been hearing about people screwing off like crazy while working at home. A very relaxed atmosphere. You can go watch TV for awhile, you can go do your laundry, you can go take a bath, You can go outside and mow the grass, whatever. All while 'on the clock.' This is exactly what I expected.

NOW do you wonder why no one wants to go back to work?

That's not how WFH works. Vicky's comments were right on. WFH gives workers the flexibility to optimize their work/life balance. Use low effort activities such as putting in a load of laundry as work break while making making coffee. Do out of house errands when its most convenient and catch up on work in the morning/evening. Depending on work deadlines, this means workers can plan their week around the weather - do outside activities with the family on days when the weather is good, and sit in front of a computer when the weather is bad.

[stickyvicky]

It actually takes a lot more character and strength for an employee to get his work done, because it's true there are so many more distractions and it would be easy to goof off. We have fired a few people in the past!

[WalterB]

I have talked to people personally who have had to deal with this. I was not just rambling. It is an issue. That's why companies have to have checks and balances in place. And many smaller companies either just don't have such things in place or can't afford them.

Thanks, but I know what I'm talking about.

[stickyvicky]

Oh I totally believe you that it's an issue! Irresponsible employees should be fired!! Whether they work from home or in the office! If you can't do the job get out. Was just saying that when it does work it's a beautiful thing!