View Full Version : ? For Those Who Can Work Remotely?
gimmethesimplelife
10-7-21, 4:47pm
What is your take on working remotely? Is this something you wish to continue? Or do favor a hybrid model or in office full time as before the pandemic?
I am a front end supervisor in a grocery store - my job cannot realistically go remote. So I find this topic intriguing - workers placing themselves first for once. Which leads me to ask - what are your reasons for your stance? Rob
ApatheticNoMore
10-7-21, 5:11pm
I prefer to work remotely or to go in only a 1-2 days a week.
Reasons, it's a 10 mile commute each way which is really a short commute in the scheme of things, but which of course in reality means it's a 40 minute commute each way much of the time (although traffic is still not back to pre-pandemic, so there are times it's 25 minutes and bam, but it was never that way pre-pandemic). All that driving drains me of energy, makes me extremely tired. No, public transportation would definitely not be faster, I don't know about less exhausting, but it would be 2 hours commuting 10 miles each way at least.
I work better remotely. I can concentrate better. I've never liked offices. Always found them profoundly alienating. But I'd prefer if I even got a cubicle at the office for a little privacy, I don't though, just a desk. It makes it hard not to be distracted A LOT.
It's not a social job, all that work socializing, yea that was sometimes very little. I don't think work is by and large the place to make friends, at all. But also my job itself isn't enhanced by socializing. A couple days a week would be enough for small talk, 5 days a week to ask "how was your weekend" and commute 40 minutes each way, and ask the boss a question in person instead of remotely, hmm ....
I save gas, I save wear and tear on the car, I'm able to fit in small errands, I save the world (well not really, but it feels good to use less gas).
I’ve been working remote for 2 1/2 years. So much less wasted time. I miss some of the things that came with working in an office like the LGBTQ ERG. They, and a few of the other ERGs did lots of interesting and fun events. But it had nothing to do with my actual work so I’m fine with not having one anymore. I’m hoping to work remote for the next nine years until I retire.
I've worked remotely since 2008. I love it. it's not right for every job function, but for those who can do it, why not? I find the time spent getting ready for work, driving to work, acclimating to work to be a true time suck. I get up in my robe and get right to work. When I'm ready for a break, I get dressed and grab a quick breakfast. Then back to work.
I was talking to one of my neighbors/friends up here who works for a Vermont industry and she originally didn't like the idea of remote working and now she is resisting the 3 days she'll have to go into the office in 2022. A big factor is the gas! She probably spends 250 in gas to commute to work, so there's a "raise" right there!
With the increased comfort with Zoom/Teams/Webex calls, there is no reason many jobs can't stay remote after COVID. Maybe in-person touch-bases every couple of weeks or every month would be right for some companies, but in general, I'm all for working from home.
I retired before covid, but I worked full time from home for the 3 years prior to retiring, and in the office 2 days a week for the 2 years before that. I loved not spending 2 hours a day in the car, and having to do all the ironing on Sunday, and plan lunches and dinners on one of the two days I had off each week. The one factor I had been concerned about is that if you aren't in the office, people can forget about you, but I worked in a place where it was normal to work from home at least a few days a week. We had the technology set up for this, and I managed teams that were spread over many time zones (so we would never all be in one space regardless). It was more about results, than face time, so I prospered.
I have been doing most of my consulting/contracting work from-home for 20+ years now.
It is my preferred method of operating - I am more efficient, I can stay in-the-zone more, I don't waste time commuting, and so on. Plus I don't particularly like offices, or people in offices. Or enjoy wearing pants.
ToomuchStuff
10-8-21, 12:37am
Or enjoy wearing pants.
A kilt then......:laff:
My business isn't one that can be remotely done. However my sibling that works for one of the most hated government groups, went from managing an office, to a more specialized function. In his function, the people doing it are all over the country.
A friend's husband was hired by a company whose employees work entirely from home. They may have a home office, but he's never been there, and it's been at least a year. If I were younger, I would only take a job without an office environment.
frugal-one
10-8-21, 2:19pm
I also worked from home and only went out on assignment or to the office as needed. It worked very well.
I have to admit now though that not all work from home businesses do well. I HATE being on the phone waiting for a remote person to answer and then if they do not know the answer to wait for them to find someone else remote... that can help them. Anything that has to be done by phone these days seems to take 4x as long. I'm afraid things won't go back after the pandemic and we will be stuck with this.... Calling a financial institution routes you to the main branch which then routes you to a local branch.... all wait time. There are many instances like this.
I also worked from home and only went out on assignment or to the office as needed. It worked very well.
I have to admit now though that not all work from home businesses do well. I HATE being on the phone waiting for a remote person to answer and then if they do not know the answer to wait for them to find someone else remote... that can help them. Anything that has to be done by phone these days seems to take 4x as long. I'm afraid things won't go back after the pandemic and we will be stuck with this.... Calling a financial institution routes you to the main branch which then routes you to a local branch.... all wait time. There are many instances like this.
There are surely systems that automate that by having queues for the different levels/types of support which then automatically send the call to someone who is available that has the ability to handle that type of situation instead of the employee having to find someone who happens to be available and capable. Over time I expect that companies who went full, or at least majority, remote on such short notice 18 months ago will purchase these systems and that problem will become a lot less frequent.
iris lilies
10-8-21, 3:13pm
Work? What is that…?
frugal-one
10-8-21, 4:07pm
There are surely systems that automate that by having queues for the different levels/types of support which then automatically send the call to someone who is available that has the ability to handle that type of situation instead of the employee having to find someone who happens to be available and capable. Over time I expect that companies who went full, or at least majority, remote on such short notice 18 months ago will purchase these systems and that problem will become a lot less frequent.
It was so much easier when you just called your local office and talked to a real person instead of being in a queue.
It was so much easier when you just called your local office and talked to a real person instead of being in a queue.
Like it or not, just as we outsourced much of our manufacturing because it was/is cheaper, so too are we going to continue to outsource support of all sorts, if not to a cheaper country, at least to a cheaper part of the US. My previous megacorp employer got rid of all the expensive underwriting assistants located in expensive cities around the US and replaced them with a service center full of people in Kuala Lumpur. Their work quality was fine. They worked US hours and only took US holidays so they were always able to turn around tasks at the SLA dictated time frame. However, they were simply not as good as having a good local UA because a good local UA who had been on the job awhile was able to expand the job duties above and beyond what was officially their job and be a bigger help to the people they supported. There was no way for the service center to go beyond doing whatever task showed up in the queue.
It seems odd to me that a person could work full or most of the time with just a computer and a telephone, at home or otherwise. I can't imagine any of my career type jobs that would fit into that profile, and the lack of real life workplace diversity might bother me. I never had much of a commute and only traveled occasionally, but those could be deal breakers. Maybe I've been out of the work force for too long (if that's possible).
As an on-line course editor, I could and did work from home with no trouble at all. But having employees out of the office apparently made my boss nervous, even though we rarely saw him, so we didn't get to work remotely full time. My immediate supervisor was from China by way of Israel, so diversity was definitely happening. We have video-conferencing now, so I really don't get the point of going to an office if it isn't absolutely necessary. The life energy lost in preparation, commuting, office gossip, clock watching and thumb-twiddling, not to mention various associated costs, is not a minor consideration.
It seems odd to me that a person could work full or most of the time with just a computer and a telephone, at home or otherwise. I can't imagine any of my career type jobs that would fit into that profile, and the lack of real life workplace diversity might bother me. I never had much of a commute and only traveled occasionally, but those could be deal breakers. Maybe I've been out of the work force for too long (if that's possible).
I’m curious what you did for a living? My experience has been the opposite. Every job I’ve had since college is probably now done with just a computer and phone.
ApatheticNoMore
10-10-21, 1:11pm
Hardly even use the phone, work is doing stuff on a computer, stuff can be done on a computer at home too.
I’m curious what you did for a living? My experience has been the opposite. Every job I’ve had since college is probably now done with just a computer and phone.
I did field and laboratory work in fisheries and aquaculture and also process and quality control in the food and beverage industry. Many of my friends were or are in the natural sciences and involved in lab or did field work at least some of the time, although later in their careers they tended to be stuck at a desk more often. My brother and a relative are/were in social work and my father and an uncle were funeral directors. I really don't know of many people where the computer/phone type of realm is the bulk or exclusive nature of their jobs.
ApatheticNoMore
10-10-21, 4:16pm
Well if one doesn't even know any office workers, it's office work that lends itself to working at home.
And offices are stultifying, it's visceral for me. People used to mock cubicals. Then much of the world went to open offices, and I'm so so sorry we ever said anything bad about cubicals, they were just scapegoats for the overall stultifying nature of offices and office work, they were GOOD actually ....
But working at home is better still.
I’m curious what you did for a living? My experience has been the opposite. Every job I’ve had since college is probably now done with just a computer and phone.
Good for you! Luckily you've never worked in Hospitality, Maintenance, Construction, Law Enforcement, Medical Care, IT Systems, Warehousing, Delivery, Retail Sales, Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, Research & Development, Firefighting, Quality Assurance, Transportation, Child Care, Entertainment, Military, etc., although everyone who does is still available to support you in one way or another, but seldom from the privileged luxury of their own homes.
And roger presented a good example. Although to be fair most IT systems people can also work remote now since most systems are in the cloud now. When I get helped by the help desk at work they are also in the comfort of their home staring at my screen remotely.
I was thinking of the millions of office jobs that people had back in the 90’s that were absolutely chained to an office that no longer need to be today.
Personally, I'm just happy for anyone who can escape office work.
It’s all behind me now, but I found it easier to work at an office rather than at home, with it’s various temptations and distractions. As I advanced in my career, I found it easier to train, encourage and threaten my subordinate symbol manipulators in person. I also found it more convenient to be in person when making excuses, begging for resources or managing the expectations of my superiors. Plus, I enjoyed going out for lunch with people who aren’t named on my 1040.
When the hotel SO works at shut down last summer he briefly tried working from home. He brought home a table, a couple of monitors and a desk chair. And for three days he attempted to get work done. It became apparent that this just wasn't working for him. On the fourth day, and every day after that, he drove to the hotel and worked in a massive building that had approximately 20 other people (mostly engineers and security to make sure the building didn't suffer harm) in it at any given time. Apparently some part of his temperament just wasn't suited for working remotely.
iris lilies
10-11-21, 11:38am
I need people “above” me and “below” me to keep me working on track.
In retirement I do work for various organizations, those people are my peers for the most part and it works ok, but I do like a stern talking to now and then.;)
I find a certain degree of comfort in the National Garden Club’s military-like procedures and hierarchy. There is less flailing around to get work done than in my hobby groups and neighborhood organization that has flatter hierarchy, requiring much negotiation.
frugal-one
10-11-21, 4:23pm
It’s all behind me now, but I found it easier to work at an office rather than at home, with it’s various temptations and distractions. As I advanced in my career, I found it easier to train, encourage and threaten my subordinate symbol manipulators in person. I also found it more convenient to be in person when making excuses, begging for resources or managing the expectations of my superiors. Plus, I enjoyed going out for lunch with people who aren’t named on my 1040.
I was the exact opposite. I loved being forgotten and invisible at home. I could crank out my work in WAY less time at home. There were no interruptions or chitchat to distract me from the task at hand. It was easy to check if the work was being completed because cases were turned in. There was concrete documentation. I know a few people in my position who also could not maintain the dicipline needed to work from home. I only went into the office when absolutely necessary. As they say... different strokes...
ApatheticNoMore
10-11-21, 4:32pm
I find offices to have distractions, my own apartment, nope not really, the leaf blowers that come around once a week maybe? I brought my own lunch most days, so no I didn't waste money or calories going out to lunch except maybe once a month or so. It was another day, another salad that I had to force myself to make the night before, tired after a day of work and grumbling about: "so sick of making salad". Yea well, beats sitting at the desk and having no lunch though.
It was easy to check if the work was being completed because cases were turned in. There was concrete documentation.
This is how it is with my job too. Boss (or anyone on our team) can pull a report that shows how many insurance submissions we've each received, how many we've quoted, how many deals we've closed, how much premium was booked and what was the average rate increase/decrease for renewal accounts. Metrics like those are what most of my annual goals are based on.
One of my coworkers loves working from home because she can stop at 3:00 to go pick up her kids from school and make dinner for the family. Then after her husband gets home and they've eaten dinner she logs back in and works a couple more hours while he helps the kids with homework, gets them ready for bed, etc.
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