Returning to Work (after Extended Covid-19 Work from Home)

Ace26 on 11/10/2020 - 22:07
Last edited 19/10/2020 - 14:50

If you were asked to work remotely due to covid and now been asked to pick a choice, what would you choose? (vote) and why (in comments).

Personally, I would rather work remotely until further notice. This is due to me wanting to limit my exposure until there is a vaccine.

PS: My friend who has been working remotely has been asked to return to work abruptly recently and I thought I would run this poll to see how everyone else is feeling.

Update 20/10
Thank you all for your valuable input and discussion.

Poll Options expired

  • 392
    I prefer working from home (full time)
  • 580
    I prefer working from 3-4 days a week
  • 169
    I prefer working from home 1-2 days a week
  • 22
    I prefer working from home on needs basis
  • 35
    I don't prefer working from home
  • 76
    I don't have a choice to work from home
Education & Work

Comments

  • Arcticsoldier on 11/10/2020 - 22:17
    +25

    Tbh I prefer being at the work site. You spend enough time at home and being in the work place is where things can get interesting. Was offered working from home, tried it then decided to be at the workpkace

    • Hybroid on 12/10/2020 - 00:13
      +15

      I can relate to this, especially if you work within a large colocated team. We're slowly starting to go back to office 2 days a week and you realise how much you've missed it after months of staying home.

      2 days office/3 days home is a good balance right now.

    • AustriaBargain on 13/10/2020 - 02:50
      +15

      "things get interesting" means ugly politics and general pettiness, if the forum topics on OZB about work are to be believed. Stress, loss of individuality, inescapable boredom, stifles your creativity when someone could always be looking over your shoulder and you can't take messy test risks or Google solutions on your private internet connection. You save a lot of time commuting as well, you get sick less often from now traveling to and being in a workplace full of other commuters. That means less colds, less flues, fewer nights spent hurling into a toilet with a pounding headache. Working from home also will inevitably support local restaurants, as you start relying on delivery for something new to eat for lunch each day. You can finally accept all your parcels during business hours.

      Some people hate being in an office and being stuck at home, and would prefer digging ditches with some guys than being stuck indoors at all. So everyone's needs are different. Most people would be fine working from home. If people started renting houses that has one extra spare room for the work at home office, or two spare rooms if both partners work from home, then you'd have a dedicated space. Over time house builders would start soundproofing these offices to protect zoom calls from crazy kids.

  • Muffinman01 on 11/10/2020 - 22:24
    +14

    I’ve also recently been abruptly asked to return to the office. I found a massive drop in productivity from all the incidental conversations you have around the place. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but in an industry where COVID has really caused a spike in workload, it certainly makes it more challenging to get work done in a timely manner. On top of this, there’s the commute each way, and a lack of general flexibility during the day. Working the same hours, but then having to commute means at the end of the day cooking dinner and doing washing/house chores etc. all take place later than they would working from home, reducing time to myself. I think ideally I’d have a mix of 2-3 days at home, the rest in the office.

  • pharkurnell on 11/10/2020 - 22:25
    +21

    friend has not been to the office since Feb… he is really struggling…

    I also prefer the office.

  • TheBooleanOne on 11/10/2020 - 22:31
    +9

    Prefer the office as well. Much less productive at home without a dedicated study area and a young kid, and difficult to have conference calls as well.

    At least at work I can focus more, and the free lunches and coffee are better than what I can make at home.

    • conan2000 on 11/10/2020 - 22:57
      +3

      Definitely depends on home circumstances as well. Ordinarily I'm significantly more productive at home, but I do have a dedicated office room, and it's better set-up than any office I have worked in. The last few months have been a bit different though, as we've had both our pre-school age children at home for 7 months with both of us working from home. A lot less productive than normal,

      My partner and I co-ordinate calendars so that if either of us have important conference calls that the other one is free to deal with the kids, I don't mind with most calls though if they interrupt.

      Free lunches sounds like a good perk though! I prefer my own coffee to most cafes though, so happy with access to that every day.

    • AustriaBargain on 13/10/2020 - 03:05
      +1

      Yes sounds like even if you worked from home most people would still need daycare anyway. I've dealt with phone operators who were working from home suddenly after calling a business and some of them have their child screaming and pounding on walls, and wailing for attention as loud as they can. Surreal really.

      If your partner doesn't work then they may prefer taking care of kids themselves in the home during the day. But if it really is just about saving money on daycare, then you've turned your own home into a daycare center. How much would you pay to not have that happen to your beautiful home. And if your kid is just thrashing against the walls and screaming during the day anyway, then maybe they would benefit from structured daycare around new people.

      • conan2000 on 15/10/2020 - 11:15

        Yeah, we haven't had much of an option until a couple of weeks ago, and we put them in part-time. We got pretty good at managing them while working, but a couple of days in childcare does them good from a structure and learning perspective, as well as our sanity ;)

  • DannyC on 11/10/2020 - 22:42
    +18

    A few days in the office and a few days Working from home I think is a good balance. Some things I just can't get done at home compared to the Office. Also it is nice to get away from the house once in a while and being productive in another environment for sure.

    • silverrat23 on 11/10/2020 - 22:44
      +3

      Agree. Separating work and life is key, even better if it's physically.

  • p1 ama on 11/10/2020 - 22:45
    +92

    I prefer working from home, even for reasons unrelated to COVID-19. In many ways, I've been feeling much, much better this year than past years. These are my reasons:

    (1) No more commuting - I don't like commuting, whether it's sitting in the morning traffic, standing onboard a packed train or whatever the case is. I personally don't see any point in wasting 2 hours of my day on commuting and wasting all of the resources it takes to shuttle around millions of people on a daily basis like this. Not to mention the money saved on not having to commute.

    (2) Less money spent on random things (particularly food) - I will now just regularly heat up a last night's dinner or just cook some quick food for lunch as opposed to eating out. Not buying a coffee, or evening snack on the way home, no Friday drinks with colleagues…etc. all add up to significant savings for me.

    (3) More productivity - I actually find I'm much more productive at home because I'm less likely to be sitting in meetings, standing around gossiping with colleagues, helping out other people with whatever Microsoft Excel issues they have. I do think that the work environment has become less collegial, and it's hard to say what the effects of that would be, however, I generally prefer working alone and only talking to people when necessary.

    (4) More healthy sleep routine - I usually now take an evening nap, which makes me much more productive. I'll regularly wake up at around 9am, and begin my morning work routine at around 9.30am, replying to emails whilst eating breakfast. I'll have a pretty standard working day, but I'll finish up at around 7pm. I'll usually have a nap around this time and wake up around 10pm feeling pretty refreshed. I'll now have dinner and I can usually have a pretty solid session working on my personal projects until around 3 - 4am, then going to sleep. I've found this helps me feel much better and be much more productive than a standard working day where I'd just get home and waste time watching TV, not actually spending time on things I find fun like watching new educational content, leaning a new (programming) language, editing my photos (I'm a casual photographer) or just watching politics/news.

    (5) I don't know how to categorise this, but I just feel more free. I've always felt like there's a certain pressure to act in a certain way to conform to standards in an office setting that I've never liked. I felt that if I took lunch breaks that were too long, came in too late (even if I stayed late), took a break because I had a headache…etc. that others would just view me as lazy. However, since WFH, I've broke free of that "9-5" mentality. If I have a headache in the morning, I'll just sleep in for a few hours and work in the evening instead. Sometimes if I feel less creative and productive than usual, I'll just finish up for a few hours and start working again at night. It just makes me use my time much better. I'm working when I'm most productive and resting and doing other stuff when I'm not feeling productive, unlike in the office where it's just "9-5" even if I'm feeling like crap.

    Lastly, not to mention, I have a far better working environment at home than in the office. I can set up my desk, computer, monitors, room…etc. exactly how I like and that helps a tonne with productivity.

    Basically I feel like I'm working for myself whilst being a salaried employee, it's the best of both worlds!!

    • cloudy on 11/10/2020 - 22:53
      +4

      helping out other people with whatever Microsoft Excel issues they have

      i like how you describe your increase in productivity by reducing the productivity of others.
      Chances are if you know the answer you can save your colleague 2-5x his time finding the answer on the net.

      i think the essence of a work environment is the ability to help each other out, even casual chatting the hallways can discover new problems/solutions to something one can't think of themselves.

      • conan2000 on 11/10/2020 - 23:03
        +5

        I seem to spend a lot of the time helping my partner with her excel issues these days. It has turned up random benefits though, my partner and I work in quite different fields, she was telling me about some issue they had run into. I was able to suggest some changes to what they were doing, she now looks pretty good to her bosses as "she" just saved her company $100-200k per year.

      • p1 ama on 12/10/2020 - 01:04
        +28

        i like how you describe your increase in productivity by reducing the productivity of others.

        I'm not reducing the productivity of others, in many situations, others are reducing my productivity to increase their own perceived productivity to upper management. I'm not against helping people, if it's just a quick question, that's fine, but when I have to spend time over a series of days to help other people do their tasks or sometimes have to take over their task completely, it impinges on my own ability to get my work done.

        Chances are if you know the answer you can save your colleague 2-5x his time finding the answer on the net.

        I agree with you, however, what I've noticed is that there's just a lot of piggybacking. In many teams I've been a part of, the smartest, hardest working, most capable members end up doing the bulk of the work either directly or indirectly whilst everyone else is along for the ride. In an office environment, because everyone's more collegial, this isn't as obvious, but in this WFH environment, it's become really clear who can do the work and who can't.

        • amsaini15 on 12/10/2020 - 17:06

          Very true.

        • cloudy on 12/10/2020 - 21:10
          -3

          I'm not reducing the productivity of others, in many situations, others are reducing my productivity to increase their own perceived productivity to upper management. I'm not against helping people, if it's just a quick question, that's fine, but when I have to spend time over a series of days to help other people do their tasks or sometimes have to take over their task completely, it impinges on my own ability to get my work done.

          That was not how you characterised it all in your initial post.

          I agree with you, however, what I've noticed is that there's just a lot of piggybacking. In many teams I've been a part of, the smartest, hardest working, most capable members end up doing the bulk of the work either directly or indirectly whilst everyone else is along for the ride. In an office environment, because everyone's more collegial, this isn't as obvious, but in this WFH environment, it's become really clear who can do the work and who can't.

          Whilst it might be more obvious who can do the work now and who can’t, it can’t be obvious as to why. Many people working from home now have other challenges, kids in particular are a major challenge that may impede productivity.

          Additionally, once it, WFH, becomes norm, it may well be the case we find out who the real workhorses are in a team, and becomes obvious who we can and can’t promote. And, I might add, the people whom you can promote is not as obvious as it may seem. (Yes, I am suggesting those who get the work done don’t get promoted*)

          *just a prediction from me

          • p1 ama on 12/10/2020 - 21:37
            +8

            @cloudy:

            That was not how you characterised it all in your initial post.

            You extrapolated from a few words I said in my original post, which I then clarified. FWIW, I disagree with your premise because you say that I'm reducing the productivity of others, which implies that I am responsible for the productivity of others in the first place, which I proceeded to explain why I'm not.

            • cloudy on 12/10/2020 - 22:07
              -6

              @p1 ama:

              You extrapolated from a few words I said in my original post

              I did that coz if I grabbed the whole lot it’ll be hard to see where I’m pointing out the point I’m trying to make. You literally wrote like 300 words or something lol.

              implies that I am responsible for the productivity of others in the first place

              You are not, but You are employed to help the organisation, if you can spend 10 mins to help save a colleague 60 mins, I see that as every employees duty. Assuming all time is equal, I guess you could be a head honcho, hence someone should bring you coffee, etc.

              • p1 ama on 12/10/2020 - 23:08
                +4

                @cloudy:

                You are not, but You are employed to help the organisation, if you can spend 10 mins to help save a colleague 60 mins, I see that as every employees duty. Assuming all time is equal, I guess you could be a head honcho, hence someone should bring you coffee, etc.

                As I said before, it's not spending 10 mins to save a colleague 60 mins. I enjoy helping people and if I can help them get their work done faster, that's fantastic. The problem here is that when the help becomes systemic.

                • gromit on 13/10/2020 - 15:57
                  +4

                  @p1 ama: myself and another tech had a similar problem. It got to the point other techs often wouldn't even bother trying to solve their issue and would just come to us (especially for security dev issues) and it got so systemic it was deeply impacting our ability to do what we were paid for. We came up with the solution that anyone that came to us had to first demonstrate they had done their own due diligence and research in trying to resolve the issue before we would assist and we would expect them to have evidence of their effort.

              • smartazz104 on 13/10/2020 - 08:50

                @cloudy:

                You are not, but You are employed to help the organisation, if you can spend 10 mins to help save a colleague 60 mins, I see that as every employees duty. Assuming all time is equal, I guess you could be a head honcho, hence someone should bring you coffee, etc.

                You've described a scenario that doesn't exist. If someone can't be bothered to look up their own problem online why should someone else do it? Especially something as trivial as using Excel.

                • cloudy on 13/10/2020 - 09:44

                  @smartazz104: Wow, excel is trivial?

                  I worked in a professional industry with plenty of technical but older people. They have extensive tech knowledge which would take me decades to accumulate, but I happen to be young and generally faster in everything windows based than them.

                  If they need the most basic outlook or excel help, I can generally save them 10x their effort. But same goes for their tech knowledge which would save me years of learning.

                  That is in essence collaboration. To call something trivial demonstrates a real lack of understanding. Usain bolt would call running 100m in 20s trivial, many would not;)

                  • p1 ama on 13/10/2020 - 14:06
                    +2

                    @cloudy:

                    If they need the most basic outlook or excel help, I can generally save them 10x their effort. But same goes for their tech knowledge which would save me years of learning.

                    Where do you draw the line between relying on people around you and learning things for yourself?

                    • cloudy on 13/10/2020 - 15:17
                      +2

                      @p1 ama: Who says when one asks a question they are relying and not learning?

                      I will say though, if someone asks me the same question twice, I’d be less accomodating.

                      • p1 ama on 13/10/2020 - 16:03

                        @cloudy:

                        Who says when one asks a question they are relying and not learning?

                        I'm not talking about other people, I'm talking about you and when you face a problem you can't solve. When would you choose to ask others, when would you choose to try and work it out yourself and resolve gaps in your knowledge?

                        • cloudy on 13/10/2020 - 16:21

                          @p1 ama: Personally, it depends on the knowledge of others. If I knew a excel wiz and I have a excel question, I know someone whom I can count on to help, they know the favour will be returned in kind if the shoe was on the other foot. When I receive help, I always ask lots of questions, to learn as much as I can so
                          A. I can be smarter for next time, and
                          B. See if that solution can rings a bell for problems gone by where I can also apply this new found knowledge.

                          Sharing can truely be caring

                          • p1 ama on 13/10/2020 - 18:06
                            +3

                            @cloudy: Well that's exactly what I'm referring to - you're asking questions and reaching out for help not to "outsource" your work because you're lazy but because you actually want to learn. I have no issue with helping people learn because when people around me are more efficient, everyone works less. I'm an economist, I understand that.

                            The issue I was referring to is the fact that there are a lot of people who don't ask questions to learn (like you do), but rather, they simply ask for help from others because they're lazy and just want to get things over and done with. As you say, once is okay but when it becomes time and time again, it is a genuine issue.

    • Donaldhump on 11/10/2020 - 23:48
      +1

      You can avoid 2 you know.

      • p1 ama on 12/10/2020 - 01:06
        +8

        Yes and no. I could save some money on a coffee, but I've no doubt that grabbing a coffee with my manager every morning helps with "climbing the ladder" so to speak. Same with getting drinks or grabbing lunch. Most of these things have now translated to just chatting over Zoom which is obviously much cheaper.

    • ozbjunkie on 12/10/2020 - 10:50
      +6

      Number 5 is essentially "autonomy" which is one of the strongest predictors of work satisfaction, according to my understanding.

    • whyisave on 14/10/2020 - 04:05

      Good write up !

      Productivity is just that… "PRODUCING".

      We are producing more for the company,
      and we are producing the most, when it's optimum for us to do so.

      It just depends on your management that trusts us, to 'produce' from home,
      because our work is independent and autonomous.

      If it's team-based, there are some challenges that helps with physical attendance,
      and that's a case-by-case basis (dependent on management, workers and deliverables).

      Other than that, if management force workers who are doing good (and great) work at home,
      then it boils down to management not trusting their workers, and also the manager wanting to feel 'big'
      (having an ego) and it's a power-play of reminding his workers who is the boss.

      ( The manager just want his/her agency back and because maybe he/she does not have that control / power at home, due to their spouse )

  • conan2000 on 11/10/2020 - 22:48
    +2

    I definitely prefer working from home. I was working from home 2 days per week pre-covid. I think once there is a vaccine I'll move to 3-4 days remote. The saved commute time/work life balance is much better. I do in some ways miss the commute though, I usually just watch an episode of a TV show on my laptop/tablet/phone each way, and it's good relaxing time, I seem to have lost that as it is now, get the kids sorted, immediately start work, work, get kids sorted for dinner, bed with no breaks. I purposefully try and get to my computer about 30 minutes before I start work, and just read news/ozbargain etc so that I still have a small amount of downtime.

    I'd still like 1-2 days in the office per week, as I miss the random office chat that doesn't happen any more. But the office is way less productive (partially because of the office chat)!

    There is no end in site for us returning to the office. We were told months ago it would not be this year, and likely not until there is a vaccine.

  • cloudy on 11/10/2020 - 22:54
    +1

    One of the things i'm interested in, is how working from home creates teams/organisations/values/trust. Or if indeed those things are needed in a workplace. Can we all just be little hermits in our own homes and build a good work culture. I guess time will tell

  • Muzeeb on 11/10/2020 - 23:24

    Never got to work from home. Always had to he at the workplace with a mask and social distancing.

  • Clear on 11/10/2020 - 23:25
    +3

    No current risk of getting COVID as there are no cases but I found that after a week of working from home I was eager to get back to the office. Especially when certain components of my job are much harder from home.

  • Donaldhump on 11/10/2020 - 23:46
    +5

    Depends on your commute. I live 5 mins from work so going in is better, if I lived 30 mins plus or need to get public transport I’d work from home.

    You need time out of your house and away from family

    • Ghost47 on 12/10/2020 - 00:54

      Agree that commute plays a huge factor.

      I’m a short drive from the office so I don’t mind going in, but if my commute was 1 hr then of course I’d want to WFH most of the time.

  • miwahni on 11/10/2020 - 23:56
    +6

    I was working one day per week pre-Covid; now we're doing one day per fortnight in the office and the rest from home. What I love most about being home is the ability to deal with things like housework or a quick trip to the shop during lunch breaks, but also to get the big things done - in the last couple of months I've had a possum removed from my ceiling, I've had my driveway painted and my solar inverter fixed, all things that would necessitate a work-from-home day to deal with anyway.
    Also saving $75pf on bus fare, and getting to know my neighbourhood better via my daily walks.

  • scrimshaw on 12/10/2020 - 00:12
    +5

    I'm also interested in hearing from parents — raise your hands if you are one those with kids and dislike working from home? I wonder if the only ones who enjoy working from home are singles / couples with no kids.

    • jacross on 12/10/2020 - 07:52

      Two kids, love it. Makes things easier. Kids are pretty well behaved before and after school while Im still working.

      Have a colleague with children who hated it.

      Have a colleague without kids who loves it. Have a colleague without kids who hates it.

    • onetwothreefour on 12/10/2020 - 08:51
      +1

      4 kids and prefer to be at home, school holidays can be challenging with the noise but other than that I now get to spend time with my kids during the week (after 5pm and before they leave for school), what's not to like about that?

    • admira on 12/10/2020 - 09:40

      Parent here with 2 young children in primary school. Holidays can be challenging but I quite like the flexibility to check my calendar and be able to pick them up from school if I'm free. Overall I chose I'd like maybe 1 or 2 days back in the office - for those incidental conversations which can be quite valuable. I do feel less of a "team" feeling with everyone WFH.

    • MrKnowItAll on 13/10/2020 - 11:42
      +1

      Parent here with six children (3 under 3 for context on level of chaos in the house), meetings can be tricky at times because they seem to have a sixth sense for when dad's on a call but otherwise it's fun watching them develop their personality and do all those first things in life that I've always missed.

      The ability to go and pick them up from school is certainly a nice distraction from work, especially watching all the parents there fight for a spot closer to the school gate - amazing how territorial people get over a small piece of road.

      I also enjoy being able to shift my day around slightly by doing something during the day and then making up for that time in the evening.

    • CheeryCheapskate on 14/10/2020 - 09:02

      My coworker has twins and hates working from home since his kids play up a lot. He's not the most reliable parent though and kept wanting to get back into the office to avoid parental duties and distractions.

      I on the other hand have one child but prefer working from home (but my child is quiet and happily plays by herself).

      I suppose it also depends partly on how well behaved the children/child are.

  • Unorthodox on 12/10/2020 - 00:20

    I would prefer a mix but with Summer and no vaccine - definitely prefer working from home.

    Being in Melbourne, a lot of the things I enjoy and would have more freedom to do whilst WFH is lost during these restrictions. When it comes to commuting into work and out of work during summer….definitely a no-brainer to avoid.

  • Ghost47 on 12/10/2020 - 01:04
    +5

    My company is also requesting people go back into the office now. I don’t want to go back into the office but it’s mainly because who knows what the heck could happen with this virus, it seems to come out of nowhere, people can be infected and asymptomatic, it’s highly contagious…

    I know people whose workplaces (global MNCs) are very cautious and are telling them to keep WFH for the time being. My company is Australian and I feel it has the “she’ll be right mate” mentality, a basic “everyone can only be productive in the office so let’s get everyone back in quick” mentality.

    • DigDigger on 12/10/2020 - 18:34
      -4

      I notice the down votes because of opinion, and I suspect they work for the tax payer…
      WHO organisation as bad as they are now admit lockdown is bad… supporting my comment above - go back to work the public servants are just wrong.

      • smartazz104 on 13/10/2020 - 08:52
        +2

        Nah.

      • sir-screwball on 13/10/2020 - 15:20

        Where has the focus on the public service come from?

    • Miss B on 13/10/2020 - 18:04

      Sounds like you're one of those people who doesn't do any work unless you have management breathing down your neck. Most people just get on with their work.

  • 87percent on 12/10/2020 - 07:35
    +10

    I haven’t worked full time in an office for about 2 years. Only reason I go into the office, is to either print something in colour, attend a meeting, or get lunch with some buddies

  • tjswinno on 12/10/2020 - 07:59
    +3

    I've just gone back after 7 months at home, and I thought I was going to struggle with the change back to the office a bit and losing some of the freedom I had working at home but it's been really good having co-workers around to talk to again, MS Teams meetings were just not the same. I'd be happy with a mix, have the choice to work from home one week a month and 3 in the office which is something we're now looking in to since WFH went quite smoothly for us.

  • ElderyMan on 12/10/2020 - 08:30
    +2

    Bear in mind that you will have to wear the mask all the day in the office. So, prefer wfh until mandatory masks are lifted.

  • onetwothreefour on 12/10/2020 - 08:43
    +10

    I've been working one day in the office for the past few months and I just don't see the point in it as you go in and there's about 10 people there when there used to be about 80. It should either be everyone in the office on the same day (which isn't going to happen in the foreseeable future) or everyone working from home.

    I have loved working from home, no commute and can spend more time with my family. When working in the office I get home late and then spend a short time with the kids eating dinner and then they go to bed not long after. When working from home I take them to the park every day at 5 and kick a ball, push them on the swings etc. I eat lunch with my wife and youngest child, help prepare breakfasts and lunches and wave them goodbye etc. This is so much better than working in the office.

    • conan2000 on 12/10/2020 - 09:59
      +3

      Agree with this. It will be interesting to see the mix going forward. If the office will still be a thing going forward for me it needs to be practical. So if everyone decides to work remote 80% of the time, there's no point in being in 20% of the time if your own team isn't there (may be more relevant for large businesses than small ones).

      There are huge potential real estate savings to be had for all companies moving to a more remote working culture.

      • onetwothreefour on 12/10/2020 - 10:13

        There are huge potential real estate savings to be had for all companies moving to a more remote working culture.

        This is true but not until there is a vaccine. The issue we have at the moment is that we are not allowed to hotdesk so when I go to the office I have to sit at my assigned desk and no one else is allowed to sit there so that means they still need to have enough desks for one per person so as long as we cannot hotdesk they will need to have office space big enough to seat everyone. At least this is the way my work is doing it.

        • conan2000 on 12/10/2020 - 12:52

          Perhaps in the minority of office based workplaces? I work at a consultancy so am dealing with a lot of different organisations on a daily basis (across VIC/NSW/QLD/ACT/SA), almost exclusively they are all working from home at the moment with no one in their offices. We actually closed two of our smaller office locations as we have already been told we would not be allowed back in our offices until next calendar year.

          I was quite surprised on Friday when I had a video call and the client was actually in their office in NSW. It was a Fintech/start-up.

  • mapax on 12/10/2020 - 09:01
    +1

    This is due to me wanting to limit my exposure until there is a vaccine

    What if there is never a vaccine?

  • Brian McGee on 12/10/2020 - 09:10
    +2

    I have been working from home full time since March. I prefer WFH but we have been asked to transition back to the office if possible by the end of the year.
    I am worried about going back to a office with recirculated air full of 200ish people and the usual suspects who don't wash their hands after #1s.
    Then there's the people that don't clean up after themselves after lunch. No thanks.

    • Ozpit on 12/10/2020 - 10:52
      +1

      Not to mention those who don’t even wipe their botties. I don’t know how many times I‘ve rushed into a stall only to find a bunch of submarines and no paper in the bowl. Yes, there are always usual suspects who you do your best to stay clear of all day, in fact for 365 days of the year.

      • Brian McGee on 12/10/2020 - 11:37
        +2

        I don’t know what is worse, someone who does a dump’n’run without wiping, or someone that does a #1 in a stall and flushes (touching the brown button) and then walks out the triple door (stall,privacy and external) to the kitchen and grabs a biscuit from the communal jar of assorted creams.

        • Ozpit on 12/10/2020 - 15:27

          Been there. Still there. Welcome to my nightmare. I remember (how could I forget?) reading about some health research body taking swabs of various places around a number of large, heavily staffed offices, eg, keyboards, meeting room, communal print room, door handles, bathroom wash basins, etc. to check for nasty bacteria. And guess which site across all offices came up with broadest range and largest concentrations of nasties, including E. Coli? Yep, that’s right, the communal kitchen.

          • Brian McGee on 12/10/2020 - 15:57

            @Ozpit: we have some people that appear to eat straight off the tabletop after heating their meals, smooshed food all over the place. no wonder sicknesses spread around.
            The dirty shared areas is one reason i bring and wash my own mug, bowl, cutlery as i dont even trust the dishwasher. some bright sparks interrupt a cycle to put their dirty plates in after the soap cycle and the cleaner unload whatever is there. not much fun to butter your toast with someone elses burrito leftovers.

      • Ghost47 on 14/10/2020 - 01:49

        Funnily enough the Chinese actually did a study on “toilet plumes” and said Coronavirus could spread through them.

  • redpump on 12/10/2020 - 09:16
    +12

    I love WFH as:

    • I have a dedicated office room, and my husband works next to me (+ no kids).
    • Can cook my lunch and more flexibility with what I can eat, also can set dinner cooking during work hours (like boiling or slow cooking something).
    • Save 10 hours a week on commuting.
    • Don't have the urge to eat out due to proximity (city has a lot of temptations!).
    • Office temperature is suitable for me (cold body, office temperature too cold for me).
    • Wearing PJs while working.
    • Less involved in office gossip/politics.
    • Suits my introverted energy levels

    Only downside is that WFH is less social and you start to lose connections to outside people.

    • Ghost47 on 14/10/2020 - 01:50
      +3

      Sometimes my partner works next to me but we end up getting no work done if you know what I mean.

  • slow on 12/10/2020 - 09:20

    Prefer working from home, but beneficial for my job to be in the office 1-2 days a week to see colleagues face to face to discuss stuff. So that would be my ideal mix, of course assuming my colleagues are in on the same days. I am fortunate though to have a good office setup at home away from the kids

    I find I probably get more done working from home with less disruptions and like the flexibility to be able to go the shop, take the kids to the park, or for a run during the day if I feel like it.

  • Quantumcat on 12/10/2020 - 09:20
    +3

    I worked full time from home for about two months. At the beginning I liked it but after a few weeks it started to drag a little - each day blended into the next. Then we changed to work from the office at least 3 days a week and work from home when you want to. This is good because it has nice to see colleagues regularly but I would probably prefer 3 days at home. It is great being able to have tradesmen to the house whenever and be able to put on a load of washing or do the dishes etc while having a break from work. Means there are less of these tasks to do after work, plus the lack of commute

  • Ryanek on 12/10/2020 - 09:40
    +7

    I haven't used an iron in months.

    • Ghost47 on 14/10/2020 - 01:50

      Same here. I just reuse the shirts I’ve worn previously. Haven’t had any weird “wtf your bo is bad” looks just yet….

  • OzHunterNSW on 12/10/2020 - 09:44
    +1

    Working from home distills in the employer's mind that maybe, just maybe, we don't really need them.

  • randombrick on 12/10/2020 - 10:21
    +5

    I didn't think I would like WFH but now I love it.

    Pros

    • more flexibility means I am productive when I need to be.
    • power naps ftw
    • no more commuting in crowded trains
    • saved commute time gets spent with the kids
    • as someone said above I am feeling much better this year. Partly because I haven't caught any colds this year from commuting.

    Cons

    • Haven't read any books in a long while. I usually do my reading during commute
    • Kids can get annoying as hell sometimes
    • hopper on 12/10/2020 - 11:06

      I haven't caught any colds this year from commuting.

      does this mean we are decreasing immunity?

  • nedski on 12/10/2020 - 10:59
    +6

    I was on extended leave when COVID hit and going back to work didnt seem like a big deal because I was straight into working from home. I am a Public Servant but thankfully no longer in the APS where Scummo wants his little public servants back in the city buying lunches and coffees, despite public servants being more efficient and happier at home. Sure lets make them all commute again and take away that nice family time they had. It just pisses me off so much that we are seen as little cash registers.

    I am still buying my morning coffee but from my local shops who said every day was pretty much like Sunday trading now. While I feel sympathy for cafes in the city has had a massive downturn in business, this is just another example of evolving markets.

    But back to the topic at hand, I love working from home because I get to see my 1 year old son more. On the one day of the week where I go to the office, im gone by 8.30 and home by 5.30. I get about an hour with him but he is having dinner then a bath instead of playing with him. Society has to embrace this WFH change and get back that work / life balance that has been slowly eroding over the past decade or so.

  • hopper on 12/10/2020 - 11:08
    +1

    Twice a week working from Office makes it better, commute will be easy as no of people travelling will be reduced (unless govt thinks same and reduces frequency)

  • nubzy on 12/10/2020 - 11:26
    +8

    They want you back in the office so they can control you and watch over your shoulder. If you don't like it, find another role which allows remote work or get an ABN and do your own thing. I am self employed and worked from home for years and love it. It doesn't have to be isolating, as long as you make a point of getting out each day for lunch,walk around the block, do grocery shopping etc.

  • mroarsome on 12/10/2020 - 11:39
    +12

    Been made to work in the office during the entire Covid-19 situation and it sucked. Lots of friends/workmates going on how great it is to spend more time with family working from the beach meanwhile I am still stuck in the dreary office. Can't complain too much as at least I have a job.

    However, I was really hoping covid-19 would be the start of a new era of remote working and flexible working arrangements, but the fact there is so many sad/desperate people wanting to come back into the office means nothing will change. It's like people like commuting, petty office shenanigan's, being controlled and watched over.

    People need to learn to have interesting lives outside of work - work isn't everything.

      • Zachary on 12/10/2020 - 15:58
        +1

        Jealous he has a job and you don't?

        • jv on 12/10/2020 - 17:11
          -1

          I don't work for others if that's what you mean…

          • Zachary on 17/10/2020 - 18:08

            @jv: Ok, so …you work for free for yourself then….?

    • hashtagbargain on 13/10/2020 - 15:29
      +2

      being controlled and watched over.

      In my experience, there’s been more micromanagement when working from home. I find a lot more autonomy when I’m physically at work.

      Or it could simply mean my manager is not cut out for remote management.

  • Godric on 12/10/2020 - 11:48
    +13

    The eye candy at the office makes it worth going

    • chriskq on 12/10/2020 - 14:07

      Dont let HR catch wind of that :p

      • [Deactivated] on 14/10/2020 - 09:14
        +1

        HR can be the Sexual Harassment Panda

  • kancha on 12/10/2020 - 12:20
    +1

    I'd prefer 2-3 days a week at work. Positive is I get extra time with the kids, sleep a little longer and can Netflix/Prime longer in the night.

    WFH and remote to work PC can be slow sometimes and have accidently closed wrong windows few times. Having 2 toddlers at home is a bit distracting as well

    I prefer talking to someone in person than on the phone or video chat to discuss issues.
    In office, you see colleague and talk to them if they can spare time and most of the time its short anyway. But WFH, you have that bit of waiting time as you don't know whether they are in a meeting, gone out for walk or make lunch or just not at their home office or even making sure you are looking at the same window/screen.

  • fairyflossgrapes on 12/10/2020 - 12:47
    +5

    I hated WFH. I live by myself and WFH combined with stage 4 restrictions it got lonely and depressing, even with great family, friends and colleagues. Personally I need the face to face interaction.

    There definitely is something to be said about rolling out of bed at 8:59, though…

    • conan2000 on 12/10/2020 - 12:57

      It's definitely good to not have to set an alarm every day any more! The kids are my alarm generally, luckily they are fairly late risers 7:30-8 most days.

      I was late for work one day when both of them slept past 9. Not bad for 7 months at home, I probably made it into the office once before 9am in the year before that!

  • Homr on 12/10/2020 - 13:11

    If i were to choose, i would work from home on Monday and Friday so I can have a long weekend every week and get paid for it

  • Handsoff on 12/10/2020 - 13:38
    +1

    I prefer a mix of working from home and on site. Home is much more productive, you get time to concentrate, and in the office you get time to discuss ideas that come up on the spot.

    Unfortunately this has become 5 days in the office and 2 days working at home haha :(

  • aligind4h0us3 on 12/10/2020 - 14:24

    Prefer working from home. Saving huge amounts of time and money.

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