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Folk working at home will still want to get out of the house during the day for a leg-stretch, some fresh air, a coffee.
I've swapped my walk (from work) to the local coop to buy a sandwich to a walk (from home) to a different local coop to buy stuff to make sandwiches at home. If anything I'm probably spending slightly more making my own sandwiches...
I miss the exercise of the commute.
+1
Very much this!
Can’t really talk about work with random other home workers! Most people have confidentiality issues.
LOL. Why would you want to talk about work?
I miss the exercise of the commute.
So, go for a run or ride wherever else takes your fancy. Why be constrained?
Maybe it's just a personality-type thing that some folk can't imagine a different level of freedom and perhaps need a more defined lifestyle?
So, go for a run or ride wherever else takes your fancy. Why be constrained?
Maybe it’s just a personality-type thing that some folk can’t imagine a different level of freedom and perhaps need a more defined lifestyle?
It does seem crazy how much some people like the lack of freedom. I suppose you could get up at the same time, ride half way to work then ride home and start work. You will still get your commute in. Or you can do whatever exercise you fancy, whenever you fancy it (currently this is a little restricted, but it won't be forever).
I'd consider all my colleagues to be my friends (not my best friends, and we may have disagreements).
Thats fine for now, and pre furlough, we could still get on and have virtual social interactions on teams, whatsapp etc.
If this is forever though, eventually there will be new colleagues, who we wont know from Adam. they wont be able to join the banter, and they'll be second class citizens.
Eventually everyone will move jobs or retire so 40 years of being sat in your spare bedroom with no socialization will be the norm.
I've got my hobbies, close friends, family near by. (none of these under current lockdown, obviously). Some colleagues with kids have said that work is their only adult interaction most weeks. They would suffer hugely from this.
I miss the exercise of the commute.
So, go for a run or ride wherever else takes your fancy. Why be constrained?
Maybe it’s just a personality-type thing that some folk can’t imagine a different level of freedom and perhaps need a more defined lifestyle?
Everyone's situation is different, I know when I was self-employed before I had kids I still 'commuted' I left my house, jumped on my bike and rode a 60 mins loop, I especially liked crossing the bridge over the busy road full of near static traffic.
I've been doing it for 8.5 years now. 3 days at home, 2 in the office. Absolutely love the WFH bit. The office bit sucks donkey balls.
The biggest problem is trying to schedule all the necessary face-face stuff for the limited office time, in combination with everyone else's diaries and the screwed up train pricing system which very much limits when I can afford to travel.
I'm an antisocial sod at the best of times (social distancing is an awesome concept IMO), so I'm quite happy being sat at home on my own. Missing out on the office scuttlebutt can occasionally catch me out, but I'm very happy to exchange that for the ability to focus on what's in front of me, without countless trivial interruptions. The big benefit is time efficiency. Its not so much about "skiving off for a ride" as being able to get all the daft domestic chores done (shopping, washing, cleaning) during the natural breaks in the working day or while waiting for info on tasks, that then mean your evenings are completely free. Equally, as it takes most of my lot a long time to get going in the morning (in at a very loose 9.00ish, coffee, chat, catch up with emails etc), nothing is usually happening to bother me before 10.00, so leave the house before 8.00, get 20-25 miles in on the roadie, swing past the coffee shop and the bakery for beans and bread on the way home, at my desk for 10.00, work until its all done.
We bought our house based on us both home working, so have an office each. I built my desk myself; using my grandfathers old mahogany office chair; plenty of room for a twin screen set up. I'm very reliant on having good IT support, as if that falls down, I can't do anything productive. Over the last few years there's been more of a move for all our project managers to be fully functional on the move, so they can be productive from coffee bars in between meetings, or at home out-of-hours, so we were all in a good place once the lockdown hit. The only problem being that the events industry is currently non-existent!
Again, I'm not sure anyone is saying working from home or in the office has to be a permanent every day of the week fixture? Why do we polarise every discussion on here to the extreme positions?
Some days I want to be in the office for meetings or general interaction, some days I want to work at home, some days it may suit me to do a bit of both.
And anyone who wants to go into the office for the exercise commute - that shows a lack of imagination - ride half way there and back before logging on at home?
Eventually everyone will move jobs or retire so 40 years of being sat in your spare bedroom with no socialization will be the norm.
Only if you choose to sit in your bedroom for 40 years
I myself will choose the rowing/running/cycling/open water swimming groups. Which I mostly used to miss pre coronavirus, that is until I started WFH.
I’ll also choose to go for lunch at the local cafe/pub. Catch up with all the other people carrying dog faeces in bags in the local parks. Grab a up of tea with the neighbour whilst he welds together his truck....again! Maybe even do a spot of gardening on my lunch break!
I‘ll also take the opportunity to do almost all of my food shopping on the local high street, particularly the greengrocers, but the fishmongers and butchers are there for you too. They need the business as much as any place near work!
The office bit sucks donkey balls.
😂
LOL. Why would you want to talk about work?
Why would I talk to some other random home workers full stop? I have actual real friends to talk about non-work stuff with 🙂 Speaking with colleagues over lunch/coffee is a key thing that is missing form the WFH environment for me. And of course we talk about work with colleagues, there is generally something interesting going on (obvs we like our work or we wouldn't do it!).
So, go for a run or ride wherever else takes your fancy. Why be constrained?
Maybe it’s just a personality-type thing that some folk can’t imagine a different level of freedom and perhaps need a more defined lifestyle?
I am getting actual exercise sessions in every day, but in normal life I've fast-walked for a minimum of 40 mins a day as part of my commute to/from the tube station, or biked for 40-50 mins a day to/from the office - before I've even done my 'real' exercise sessions. Plus all the walking around the office, to/from meetings and up and down the stairs in a 14 floor block - it all adds up you don't have to think about it or plan for it, and you're being obtuse to not recognise that. I've really noticed how rubbish it is being so sedentary in a small house and only going out once a day for exercise.
I guess this sedentary WFH lifestyle is maybe more similar to many office workers 'norm', especially if people drive to work then just plonk at their desk every day?
Also its not like I've gained any extra time WFH - any savings in commute time has been more than eaten up by additional workload - see my earlier post about more projects, process taking longer, and missmatch in colleagues working hours sapping my own free time.
If this is forever though, eventually there will be new colleagues, who we wont know from Adam. they wont be able to join the banter, and they’ll be second class citizens.
I also think this is an important point.
It is easy enough now to have a friday social on Teanms, or to catch up with a coffee with a colleague virtually now - because we have pre-existing relationships forged though natural social interaction.
I am unsure how it would work with new people if most were to habitually WFH.
Obviously some people don't give a shiny fig about social interaction with their team - but actually quite a lot of people seem to really care about team interaction and feeling like part of a community.
Again, I’m not sure anyone is saying working from home or in the office has to be a permanent every day of the week fixture? Why do we polarise every discussion on here to the extreme positions?
This is a key point. My organisation (one of the big IT consultancies) has a formal policy of “work where you [i]need[/i] to work”[1].
We’re either at home, in one of our offices, on a client site, or anywhere in between and nobody cares as long as the work is delivered and the client is happy with it. As a result, 270,000 people upped sticks and moved home a few weeks ago, and when this finishes they’ll all go back to where they need to be in order to deliver their best work. For some this will be home, for others on-site, for others the office and it’ll vary from day to day. There is rightly no one-size-fits-all.
[1] And “wear what you [i]need[/i] to wear” as well, which is nice.
Surely the point is that hopefully many more people will be able to work from home a few days a week if it suits them. Those who have to commute will then benefit from reduced commuting traffic / less crammed trains.
I've worked from home for 7 years, 2.5 as an employee, 2 as a one man band, and 4 as a 2 man band. Prior to that my commute was 1hr each, and prior to that I could walk or ride into the city centre office. Each has their advantage that suited me a different times of my life.
After 4 years of meeting in person a few times a month a using Google hangouts as a virtual of by business partner and I finally decided we needed to get a shared office if we were to progress the business. In a case of epically bad timing we moved in to the office 2 weeks before lockdown!
Obviously some people don’t give a shiny fig about social interaction with their team
*Puts hand up*
I couldn't give a stuff about interacting with my colleagues. The vast majority of them are shallow attention seeking idiots or corporate clones who continually use phrases such as 'reaching out', 'resonating' and 'engaging'. WFH allows me to avoid all these people and the inane banter (I really don't care what you did at the weekend!) and just get the bloody work done in the least possible time. I also save £20-30 a day which I would have spent on train fares, coffees, lunches, snacks etc. It's like getting a £500 a month pay rise for not having to be surrounded by idiots all day.
LOL. Why would you want to talk about work?
Must be me then, but I spend a lot of my non work time thinking about work, working through problems. In fact, most problems get solved when I'm not at work; I find mulling ideas over is far more productive than actively thinking about them...
Surely the point is that hopefully many more people will be able to work from home a few days a week if it suits them. Those who have to commute will then benefit from reduced commuting traffic / less crammed trains.
This, I suspect work will become more flexible rather than everyone just staying WFH.
I know from my own experience of the last 2 months, the committed consumers in my life (my Wife and Mum mostly) have found whole new ways to exchange money for crap.
This made me laugh although my spender seems to have calmed down for the moment.
WFH is extremely difficult for single parents, especially without any available childcare. I wonder if this shift in working practices will mean that less women work in positions and industries where WFH will become the norm.
WFH is extremely difficult for single parents, especially without any available childcare.
How did they manage when they were told to be at an office?
WFH is extremely difficult for single parents, especially without any available childcare.
How did they manage when they were told to be at an office?
Agreed.
I lot of us are moaning about trying to work with kids at home, but it's doable, it's certainly more doable than taking sub school age kids to a normal workplace.
Obviously some people don’t give a shiny fig about social interaction with their team
Me
Nor do I think about work outside of work. Work is work, home is home and I never mix the two
corporate clones who continually use phrases such as ‘reaching out’, ‘resonating’ and ‘engaging’.
I find this harder to deal with at home.
In the office I can switch on my glazed look, remembering to nod gently every 20 seconds or so while looking out the window and thinking about more interesting things as that sort of "we are pivoting to engaging in that space" BS is in it's natural environment.
At home it's jarring, hearing assholes coming out with that sort of guff in my house.
When people were required to attend their place of work grandparents helped out, schools were open, and wrap around care was available, it's not now unless you are a key worker. This leaves the primary carer (mainly women) at a disadvantage as they are trying to balance work with the additional responsibilities of care and education.
I think people are taking a longer view than just during the current pandemic.
All those support mechanisms will return.
In the office I can switch on my glazed look
Switch Teams microphone to mute
Ensure sufficient tilt on laptop screen, and therefore camera
Grab iPad
Browse internet
Nor do I think about work outside of work. Work is work, home is home and I never mix the two
Your posting history begs to differ...