It would be an understatement to say that the Covid-19 pandemic changed the job market and how companies operate. The changes were sudden, drastic, and shook the foundations of the traditional way most people looked at work. Suddenly, a large portion of the developed world found themselves working from home, maybe even for the first time in their lives.
It’s exciting. It’s efficient. And it’s here to stay. At least, according to Chris Herd, the founder and CEO of FirstbaseHQ. In a viral Twitter thread, Herd collated what he learned about the future of remote work and working from home from thousands of companies. Have a read through his intriguing posts, so let’s dive head-first into the fascinating topic of how the job industry is being modernized. The future looks bright and far more flexible than anyone dared to dream. Herd’s company FirstbaseHQ helps businesses set up, manage, maintain, and retrieve the physical equipment their remote workers need to do their jobs remotely. So you know for a fact that Herd believes what he’s preaching—he’s even built a business around this idea.
Eddy Ng, the James and Elizabeth Freeman Professor of Management at Bucknell University, went in-depth about remote work in an interview with Bored Panda. According to him, telework is definitely here to stay. However, “not all employees will be working from home permanently.” Read on for his full insights and, if you’re curious to learn more, have a look through his report on telework during the Covid-19 pandemic right over here.
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Chris Herd listed how lots of companies are looking at remote work and what the benefits, as well as the issues with it are
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Managers have adapted to the changes since the start of the pandemic
According to Professor Ng, some academics are already talking about a remote work economy. “Some employees will continue to work from home post-pandemic, venturing into the office occasionally, while others will definitely see some form of telework arrangements in their work lives,” he explained to Bored Panda.
The changes were a real challenge for some managers, however, they’re getting better with practice. “Initially, managers encounter challenges with coordinating and supervising employees remotely. However, they are adapting and getting better at managing remotely. Complaints about control and coordination, e.g., employees working on wrong tasks, not completing tasks on time, or not responding are low.”
Professor Ng, from Bucknell University, said that there is a definite blurring of work and home life and activities. This had led to work hours getting extended. “Historically, employees work set hours (e.g., 9 to 5) but they are now engaged with some form of work during their ‘waking hours.’ This can lead to slow burnout and a lack of social support (isolation, mentoring) that normally comes from working in person at the office. Employers and managers will need to set boundaries around remote work, and having employees come into the office 1-2 times a week (post-pandemic) to alleviate some of these concerns.”
Telework doesn’t mean competing against the entire world
Bored Panda was also curious to find out whether remote work means that potential employees would have to compete for job positions against candidates from all over the world. The professor pointed out that pretty much anyone with access to a computer and an internet connection can telework from anywhere in the world. However, not everyone is “eligible or suited” for every position. What’s more, not all remote work can be performed from anywhere in the world.
“Some roles do require specific and tacit knowledge or relationship building. This may be difficult or challenging for someone working in a different time zone, or do not have the ability to meet in person on short notice,” the professor said, adding that trust is hard to establish online. “Nonetheless, telework will be here to stay post-pandemic, and the remote (work) economy will create a global labor market.”
Lots of us already know the benefits of remote work. Among them is protecting our loved ones from the coronavirus by having contact with fewer people every day. What’s more, we’re saving time by not having to commute to the office, so we have more time for rest, leisure activities, and our families. However, remote work isn’t the panacea that many thought it would be. It still has its flaws, especially while companies and managers cling to their old philosophies.
There’s lots of potential for burnout because employees are working harder and longer
Some employees are remarking that they’re working far longer hours when working remotely or that their workloads have increased dramatically.
Others have reported that it’s difficult to separate work from leisure now (which is why it’s important to have a dedicated space at home where you only work so you’re physically leaving it once you clock out). Naturally, we’re seeing lots of cases of burnout. Think about your coworkers and you’ll see what I mean.
For some, remote work is only a temporary pleasure, however. Even though the pandemic is nowhere near controlled yet, spring and summer are approaching and it’s likely that lockdown restrictions will be lifted. A cause for celebration, yes? Not exactly.
This means that some businesses will be rushing to herd their employees back into their cubicles and open offices with their water coolers, beanbags, and foosball tables. Only to send them packing again once autumn comes around again. Others, however, have learned from the past year and will have adapted. For them, the semi-annual mass exodus doesn’t make sense and they’ll want to move to a more permanent system that maximizes flexibility and employee choice.
Flexibility, choice, and finding balance are the name of the game
After all, employees can be very different in how they approach work. Some thrive in the office while others are most efficient at home. Some need to be constantly surrounded by their coworkers while others want to limit their interactions during working hours. Some have large families and work from their kitchens without any privacy while others have dedicated offices at home.
But choosing between the office and home isn’t about making binary choices. They’re a spectrum. And many will opt for balance: mixing work from home with work from the office and getting the best from both worlds. This way, you stay emotionally invested in your colleagues and the company while also being treated like a responsible adult who knows what’s best for them.
That’s why offering employees the choice of how they approach things is best. After all, if we’re completely honest with ourselves, we know where and under what conditions we work best. And if your work results corroborate your view of your performance, well, more power to you.
Remote work—a question of trust?
There are, however, practical limitations to remote work. You can’t suddenly jet off to Barcelona and work from a beachside cafe while taking in the waves and the stunning architecture. There are lots of complicated tax reasons for this, as well as some managers’ suspicions that you might be relaxing during work hours.
In other words, it’s all a question of trust. It means having a record of getting the job done under any circumstances. If you’re trusted, you then get rewarded with flexibility and being able to live a high-quality life while also raking in the dough and climbing up the career ladder like Winnie the Pooh going after a beehive.
Here’s what people are saying after reading through Herd’s tweets
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So, dear Pandas, what do you think of remote work? Is it here to stay? Is it going away (temporarily) the moment the weather warms up and the lockdown restrictions ease up? Is Herd looking at this too optimistically? What have your own experiences with remote work been like? Are you working more? How do you deal with burnout? We can’t wait to hear what you think, so drop us a comment or two below!
Generalization is also here to stay. Many claims he makes are reasonable, but the absoluteness with which he proposes these is questionable. Also, the numbers he shows have a bit of boasting in them.
Exactly. Also, he skipped the topic of information security, which is the main reason our company was reluctant to start this method in the first place.
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Before the pandemic i worked from home 2-3 days a week, and I loved it. Since the pandemic I have been working from home every day of the week, for almost a year now, and while there are definitly positive aspects about working from home, more and more negative ones are starting to pop up: withered down relationships with coworkers, low moral, lesser "loyalty" to the company, etc. While productivity remains the same, the social benefits of working (socializing with coworkers for ex.) are gone.
I would love to switch to a mostly work from home schedule after this. I do miss seeing my coworkers in person. I think going in once a week or every other week would be fine to keep us more personally engaged. Most days at work, I spent at my desk, not having much interaction with other people anyway. And to do that, I had to spend 2-3 hours in a car every day.
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Just like outsourcing your IT to India. It looks great in theory, but in practice... Our workforce is at home fulltime or at the lab fulltime. The troubles we have had the last year are stupendous. The amount of work relating questions people at home are sending in is debilitating. The 'could you check' 'please provide' 'you'll have to make this for me'. There is no time for this s##t, that's work they used to do themselves. We can't (and won't) cover their work while we're understaffed due to a certain pandemic.
Remote is first and foremost about reducing overhead. Business loves the idea of shifting the cost of office spaces and utilities consumed to their workers.
My worry is that the unique human interactions that occur at the workplace will be lost (as if we aren’t already too remote from one another). Well, what do I know about the complexities of working in an office, I am a surgeon, no remote work for me, AND I LIKE IT THAT WAY! 😁
I get more done, professionally and personally, working remotely. Sure the line gets blured sometimes, but no more "keeping up appearances" (Asia). So despite getting more work done, I spent less time on "work" and more on me. Striking a balance was the key.
Prior to lockdown, I worked remotely, both as a freelancer and on a team. I now work in office, by choice. It takes a certain type of person to be efficient and productive (and happy) at remote work. I was/am not that person. So you'll see a hybrid for at least the coming years, despite many working remotely during the lockdown.
I hope the hybrid stays, really. Also, if they don't want to separate sick leave days from days off, I hope we will be able to call in sick in the sense of "I can't come, I'll work from home", so we don't need to waste our limited and precious days on lesser sicknesses, and plan them for improving our quality of life, or use them for more serious illnesses.
Load More Replies... Fly the whole team out somewhere for a week? That may be fine for the young with no responsibilities, but what about staff who have pets, anxiety, children, or responsibilities at home? They can't just drop everything for a week.
I'd quit my job if my boss made me do the hot desk crap, where you don't have a fixed work space.
And thus splitting the two tier society even more - people who have been refered to as "key workers" during the pandemic are almost entirely poorer people. Not just health workers and carers, but production, delivery, retail, etc. People who cannot work remotely. So now they will not only be split by pay and benefit packages, but now that they have two entirely different work environments.
Today brought good news though: "UK's Supreme Court ruled that a group of Uber drivers were entitled to worker rights, in a blow that has ramifications for millions of others in the gig economy." The decision means that Uber drivers are going to be entitled to minimum wage and holiday pay. Just the start hopefully.
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Nope, sorry, this won't happen. Maybe CEOs are thinking about it but they're 'thinking' about it and this is for 'now' The people who can really stop this are management, and they will. Managers HATE employees being off site, out of SIGHT. There is a complete lack of trust, an inability to micromanage and they will feel there is no role for them - partly this will be correct but mostly their role will change. ANY change that does take place will be at professional level, not for ordinary office workers. Remember, we're STILL waiting on the 'paperless office' to take effect! Give it maybe 20 years..
Thank you for saying this! When I ended up working at home, I noticed a huge uptick in phone calls and emails from management—-multiple managers all asking the same damn questions, and all wanting a detailed reply almost instantaneously. They were already way too email happy before the pandemic; it seemed like everybody had the habit of sending their emails and replies to everybody else, instead of just those involved. So you had to take time to weed out what was pertinent to you and what else was bullshit trash. Once we started working at home, management insisted on us sending them morning emails with plans for the day, noontime progress reports, and end of day results—-all also very detailed. Don’t they understand it takes a while to compose that crap? And I will wager good money they didn’t even read them. I ended up spending at least 75% of my day just keeping up with emails and not being able to get much work done until after hours when the managers finally shut the f**k up.
Load More Replies... The experience of remote working really depends on your generation and social class. If you're already 10 years in your company or field, that you have all experience or training required, that you can afford a large house where your home office fits, it's fine, but for younger people that are just getting to know the company, their peers, their field, who often are crammed into small, shared flats, home office is a nightmare.
It’s an antiquated and wrong assumption to think that someone 10 years into working for someone else would be on the level of owning a large house.
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I've been working from home for almost a year now and there are good sides to it, like I don't have to commute 1-1.5 hours one way but I feel like I don't talk to people as much as I used to. I don't exercise as much as I used to. Once world starts going back to normal I would be happy to work 2-3 days from home but I feel like I need human interaction sometimes
Office politics will take a hit as well. Suddenly the quality of your work is more important than schmoozing to the higher ups. Or dragging in your entire team when an executive is there, just to score some points. Of course some simply can't work from home, they can't separate work time from home time. Or their social life is their work life (not a good thing if you ask me). So the offices will still be there, just at reduced capacity.
Wouldn't an ideal compromise be communal offices? Everyone can work from home (whose job can be remote), and when you just need other humans around your company can foot the rent for a week or so in a cubicle office used by everyone in the town/city. Like a hotel for workspace. If you make it a regular thing, once a week, twice a month, etc, you get to know people. Sure it isn't people from the same company, but it still takes care of the social itch. All together, still cheaper than maintaining a boat load of offices everyone loathes. Then people can still live wherever they want, regardless of where headquarters is located. Apartment complexes can offer it as a service like their gyms, subdivisions can offer it like they would a pool. Ideally there would be a communal spot to work from within 15 minutes of everyones home. Smaller foot prints for offices, rotating cast of characters and you are still productive.
This seems like a really great idea. Probably won't happen, but its still really great.
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I'm a pet sitter/dog walker. This trend has destroyed a successful business I've worked 15 years to build. And, of course, I'm not the only one. Why does capitalism always have to be a zero sum game?
For me personally I don’t like it, because I’m not an employee and I just work wherever I need to be. Therefore the only time I ever interact with WFH people is when I’m making a “customer service” call to some place. 100%, those interactions have gotten worse and more difficult. Interacting as a customer with someone working from home, you can always tell. I don’t like it. Any employee of mine makes commission and they’re builders so they literally can’t work from home (unless by home you mean someone else’s home that they’re fixing). I’m really not a fan of the total WFH idea. When I was an employee I did have a job where I worked from home like once a week, and that was really nice. A mix seems good.
Definitely needs to be an option for people but there is still a need for office space for some workers for various reasons. When the company I worked for moved offices just over a year ago we had a discussion about whether or not to have an office and settled on having one because for some of us we need that space. And not all companies can afford to fly their employees to a fancy place for a face to face gathering.
Been doing the remote thing for a year. It's good and bad. There are days when I long for the office(can't even visit the office without special approval now). You can end up working more, that's for sure.
It's clear pandemic made a boost on this topic on every company. Now, how to manage it depends on both: companies and workers.
I am happy WFH because I have the right setup. I'm also not opposed to going back to a main office. What I do hope that is killed by the shift to a new normal is the Open Office. THAT was the failed office experiment that needs to die. It will also help with dealing with the fact that covid viruses never go away. Even prepandmemic colds and flu were higher in open-plan offices.
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We as IT empyees, ask our managmenet WHEN willl we be able to return??? Information sharing in person is invaluable.
Bitter irony time - I brought this up to the company I worked for over 10 years ago - they gave all the excuses, despite the fact that I provided over half of the "pros" listed above. I went for an interview - asked about remote work - they treated me like I was a moron. I have been saying since the internet/digital data-storage became a stable necessity "If the job does not **require** your physical presence (like specialized equipment - or your job IS a hands-on job), it is just smarter to work from home" But I'm just a stupid, unattractive female - so why would they care?
Although working from home is efficient, there’s a lot to be said for going into the office.We are primarily social beings, and if our social contact becomes limited, we wither as a result. Also, the boundary between home and work becomes blurred, which also isn’t good.
we never did remote until Corona, then we all were in quarantine mandated by our area and had to figure it out fast. when we came back after quarantine, we went to a hybrid system- 3 days in the office, 2 days remote, with everyone in our dept have 2 different days at home so there would always be people in the office. now we are remote only again, and i liked the hybrid style the most. the change of scenery between home and the office never made me feel burnt out. if i'm working from home, i can do some chores during my lunch, which helps with my overall life workload. and getting out and going to the office and seeing my coworkers was the perfect amount of social interaction for an introvert like me. i can't wait until we're all vaccinated and we can go back to the hybrid system (i hope we do!).
I'm considerably less productive and completely lack motivation most days and my ADHD is much worse. I'm not built for solitude and my brain just isn't working well anymore. I miss the connection of providing in-person services to clients and BSing with coworkers. I also know I'll be miserable as soon as I return to the office. I'm worried that this has ruined me for a long time.
The thread we've been waiting for to summarize what to consider when going full remote. Before the pandemic, I slowly shifted preferences towards WFH yet most companies did not have full support. It's like one big confirmation that: 'yes, it is possible and feasible' and also 'why on Earth wasn't it more common among people rely on tech for work'. Another thing: I often have flow periods when I can produce much more output than expected while sometimes it doesn't go all too well. I find it easier to balance these 2 extremes allowing myself a long walk instead of forcing myself into my chair "until lunchtime" while if it goes well, I might stay up till late and do some extra. Doesn't matter when and how until it gets done :)
I think I would have a lot of difficulty with remote work. I generally need work and home life separated by time and distance to really be effective and happy with either. If working at home, I would need to have an outbuilding of some sort where I could minimize ambient noise and really concentrate.
I miss my students so much! To develop a fashion project together is so much richer than on screen! Ok, to talk about the sketches in home office. But when it comes to choose the fabrics , how to drape it, the choice of the grain line what will influence the silhouette of the model: You have to live life!!! I want my Fabric dust back!
In theory this sounds pretty: more flexibility for office workers. Sure, some companies treat people well, but the bottom line of this for most of them will be an opportunity for cutting costs. Which is understandable for a free market, but the "corporateeze" in which they package it is most disingenuous. You see it when some management finds a way to lower the expense budget and announces it in pure 1984 style with "We are excited to introduce this new policy for the benefit of our employers and to promote a culture of care!" This article reads too happy go lucky, selling a trend someone wants to impose. I'm all for letting people have a flexible schedule/environment. But I can see this becoming: "Hey, so you'll work remotely from home? Well, now you won't need day care benefits for your kids. Surely you can watch them AND work on that Excel spreadsheet...
I agree that this is really going to be hard on mothers. Just the assumption that "you're already at home, so you can manage all the home stuff and the work too" especially if you previously had childcare for your work,
How will this effect compensation and benefits if at all? My boss is already asking us to keep track of our weekly productivity on a week to week basis. Work day activity tracking is already becoming a necessity.
Rather like being in an elementary classroom....this is hardly revelutionary
I've worked in IT for 20+yrs, full-time remote for almost 2. Pros: no commute, no lunch expense, I can wear whatever I want, listen to tunes without headphones, pet my dogs, take 5 to empty my dishwasher, etc. Cons: I miss the socializing. Office scuttlebutt isn't just gossip...it's informal updates about project I don't know about, staffing changes that fly under the radar, the well-being of the peers I rarely work with. We collaborate on video calls, Jabber, Slack, etc. and are far more productive than we used to be. But we all miss the REAL interaction.
NONE OF THIS MATTERS if wages don’t go up. You people who are employees shouldn’t be placated or satisfied with being “allowed” to slave from your hole. You’re only being allowed because your overlords want to save money. Will they pass the savings along to you? Probably not.
So many people like you don't understand how to negotiate their compensation. They go to the interview, the person doing the interview tells them the position pays $50k/year, and they go, "Duh, Okay." Tbe position has a pay RANGE and what the interviewer just told you was the LOWEST part of that range. If you accept that, it's your own damn fault.
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as always there has to be something inbetween. workspace at home is an issue for many workers and not everyone has the room for a permanent work setup or a comfortable one. many companies do not even provide incentives or goods to create a setup (monitors, chairs, keyboards and so on) so it's either bent hours on a 13inch laptop or a monitor at the worker's expense. internal cooperation and team building becomes more difficult and risks to be limited to specific periodic happenings. i agree that a partial remote work can help balance work and personal life but office interactions, no matter how quick and apparently pointless, help build up team spirit and sense of belonging and cannot be forgotten: social contact also helps managers to keep track of their personnel's morale and overall behaviour and see where corrections, incentives or praises are due. us workers do not only operate as working machines but also as part of a "population" which has significant limits in being scattered.
My fiance works from home and he loves it. Less miles on his car = less wear and tear and less frequent fill ups with gas sky rocketing again. Me on the other hand, I work LE so I am still driving for the next 4 years and 10 months. He loves that he doesn't have to get ready every day, he's there to take care of the house and animals. His lunch break consists of a commute to the kitchen and playing video games. He LOVES it, and frankly I can't wait to retire with my pension and go work where he works. His company gave him a brand new computer, laptop, two monitors, a desk that turns into a stand desk, a Tempurpedic chair (he has a disability) AND pays a portion of our internet every month, so they treat their people amazingly.
Whether it's good or not: After every pandemic, life returned to normal within two years at the latest.
Actually, no... After every pandemic society changed dramatically. For example, the 1901 Cape Town pandemic resulted in segregation policies that eventually became known as Apartheid... After the Spanish Flu... The 1832 Paris epidemic was blamed on the king and resulted in the French Revolution... The Spanish Flu pandemic was a major contributor to the Nazi Party gaining power in Germany, and you know how well that went. Seriously, people have actually written books on how pandemics have resulted in major changes in societies across the globe.
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My company gave me nothing, just said work from home. So I took my lap top home. Bought a desk, monitor, chair, keyboard etc. had to improve my internet speed to manage video calls at my own cost. I have to pay increased bills to heat/cool/power my house. My only saving is fuel from not driving to and from work. Which amounts to less than the cost of upgrading my internet speed.
There's also a major cost factor in the hiring process. Companies with more specific or uncommon needs can hire someone from anywhere in the world and not have to pay tens of thousands in the costs of relocating them. After the hire, even more money can be saved by paying the person a salary based on where they choose to live, rather than bringing them into the city where companies typically are, which almost universally comes with a higher cost of living and therefore salary.
On the contrary. People now can accept jobs abroad with even leaving the country. Employers have a bigger pond to fish in, but employees also have more choice in what bait they are going to take. No jobs in IT in Alabama available? Never mind, I can apply for a job in Washington, Berlin or Paris without having to move. It could also mean that American companies will have to come up with much better arrangements for their employees. Because if people can choose between a company that has a pension plan, 28 days paid vacation, health insurance, unlimited sick days and no expectations that an employee is available 24/7/365 and an American company, while the wages are the same, it's quite clear which company they will choose.
Load More Replies... Generalization is also here to stay. Many claims he makes are reasonable, but the absoluteness with which he proposes these is questionable. Also, the numbers he shows have a bit of boasting in them.
Exactly. Also, he skipped the topic of information security, which is the main reason our company was reluctant to start this method in the first place.
Load More Replies... Before the pandemic i worked from home 2-3 days a week, and I loved it. Since the pandemic I have been working from home every day of the week, for almost a year now, and while there are definitly positive aspects about working from home, more and more negative ones are starting to pop up: withered down relationships with coworkers, low moral, lesser "loyalty" to the company, etc. While productivity remains the same, the social benefits of working (socializing with coworkers for ex.) are gone.
I would love to switch to a mostly work from home schedule after this. I do miss seeing my coworkers in person. I think going in once a week or every other week would be fine to keep us more personally engaged. Most days at work, I spent at my desk, not having much interaction with other people anyway. And to do that, I had to spend 2-3 hours in a car every day.
Load More Replies... Just like outsourcing your IT to India. It looks great in theory, but in practice... Our workforce is at home fulltime or at the lab fulltime. The troubles we have had the last year are stupendous. The amount of work relating questions people at home are sending in is debilitating. The 'could you check' 'please provide' 'you'll have to make this for me'. There is no time for this s##t, that's work they used to do themselves. We can't (and won't) cover their work while we're understaffed due to a certain pandemic.
Remote is first and foremost about reducing overhead. Business loves the idea of shifting the cost of office spaces and utilities consumed to their workers.
My worry is that the unique human interactions that occur at the workplace will be lost (as if we aren’t already too remote from one another). Well, what do I know about the complexities of working in an office, I am a surgeon, no remote work for me, AND I LIKE IT THAT WAY! 😁
I get more done, professionally and personally, working remotely. Sure the line gets blured sometimes, but no more "keeping up appearances" (Asia). So despite getting more work done, I spent less time on "work" and more on me. Striking a balance was the key.
Prior to lockdown, I worked remotely, both as a freelancer and on a team. I now work in office, by choice. It takes a certain type of person to be efficient and productive (and happy) at remote work. I was/am not that person. So you'll see a hybrid for at least the coming years, despite many working remotely during the lockdown.
I hope the hybrid stays, really. Also, if they don't want to separate sick leave days from days off, I hope we will be able to call in sick in the sense of "I can't come, I'll work from home", so we don't need to waste our limited and precious days on lesser sicknesses, and plan them for improving our quality of life, or use them for more serious illnesses.
Load More Replies... Fly the whole team out somewhere for a week? That may be fine for the young with no responsibilities, but what about staff who have pets, anxiety, children, or responsibilities at home? They can't just drop everything for a week.
I'd quit my job if my boss made me do the hot desk crap, where you don't have a fixed work space.
And thus splitting the two tier society even more - people who have been refered to as "key workers" during the pandemic are almost entirely poorer people. Not just health workers and carers, but production, delivery, retail, etc. People who cannot work remotely. So now they will not only be split by pay and benefit packages, but now that they have two entirely different work environments.
Today brought good news though: "UK's Supreme Court ruled that a group of Uber drivers were entitled to worker rights, in a blow that has ramifications for millions of others in the gig economy." The decision means that Uber drivers are going to be entitled to minimum wage and holiday pay. Just the start hopefully.
Load More Replies... Nope, sorry, this won't happen. Maybe CEOs are thinking about it but they're 'thinking' about it and this is for 'now' The people who can really stop this are management, and they will. Managers HATE employees being off site, out of SIGHT. There is a complete lack of trust, an inability to micromanage and they will feel there is no role for them - partly this will be correct but mostly their role will change. ANY change that does take place will be at professional level, not for ordinary office workers. Remember, we're STILL waiting on the 'paperless office' to take effect! Give it maybe 20 years..
Thank you for saying this! When I ended up working at home, I noticed a huge uptick in phone calls and emails from management—-multiple managers all asking the same damn questions, and all wanting a detailed reply almost instantaneously. They were already way too email happy before the pandemic; it seemed like everybody had the habit of sending their emails and replies to everybody else, instead of just those involved. So you had to take time to weed out what was pertinent to you and what else was bullshit trash. Once we started working at home, management insisted on us sending them morning emails with plans for the day, noontime progress reports, and end of day results—-all also very detailed. Don’t they understand it takes a while to compose that crap? And I will wager good money they didn’t even read them. I ended up spending at least 75% of my day just keeping up with emails and not being able to get much work done until after hours when the managers finally shut the f**k up.
Load More Replies... The experience of remote working really depends on your generation and social class. If you're already 10 years in your company or field, that you have all experience or training required, that you can afford a large house where your home office fits, it's fine, but for younger people that are just getting to know the company, their peers, their field, who often are crammed into small, shared flats, home office is a nightmare.
It’s an antiquated and wrong assumption to think that someone 10 years into working for someone else would be on the level of owning a large house.
Load More Replies... I've been working from home for almost a year now and there are good sides to it, like I don't have to commute 1-1.5 hours one way but I feel like I don't talk to people as much as I used to. I don't exercise as much as I used to. Once world starts going back to normal I would be happy to work 2-3 days from home but I feel like I need human interaction sometimes
Office politics will take a hit as well. Suddenly the quality of your work is more important than schmoozing to the higher ups. Or dragging in your entire team when an executive is there, just to score some points. Of course some simply can't work from home, they can't separate work time from home time. Or their social life is their work life (not a good thing if you ask me). So the offices will still be there, just at reduced capacity.
Wouldn't an ideal compromise be communal offices? Everyone can work from home (whose job can be remote), and when you just need other humans around your company can foot the rent for a week or so in a cubicle office used by everyone in the town/city. Like a hotel for workspace. If you make it a regular thing, once a week, twice a month, etc, you get to know people. Sure it isn't people from the same company, but it still takes care of the social itch. All together, still cheaper than maintaining a boat load of offices everyone loathes. Then people can still live wherever they want, regardless of where headquarters is located. Apartment complexes can offer it as a service like their gyms, subdivisions can offer it like they would a pool. Ideally there would be a communal spot to work from within 15 minutes of everyones home. Smaller foot prints for offices, rotating cast of characters and you are still productive.
This seems like a really great idea. Probably won't happen, but its still really great.
Load More Replies... I'm a pet sitter/dog walker. This trend has destroyed a successful business I've worked 15 years to build. And, of course, I'm not the only one. Why does capitalism always have to be a zero sum game?
For me personally I don’t like it, because I’m not an employee and I just work wherever I need to be. Therefore the only time I ever interact with WFH people is when I’m making a “customer service” call to some place. 100%, those interactions have gotten worse and more difficult. Interacting as a customer with someone working from home, you can always tell. I don’t like it. Any employee of mine makes commission and they’re builders so they literally can’t work from home (unless by home you mean someone else’s home that they’re fixing). I’m really not a fan of the total WFH idea. When I was an employee I did have a job where I worked from home like once a week, and that was really nice. A mix seems good.
Definitely needs to be an option for people but there is still a need for office space for some workers for various reasons. When the company I worked for moved offices just over a year ago we had a discussion about whether or not to have an office and settled on having one because for some of us we need that space. And not all companies can afford to fly their employees to a fancy place for a face to face gathering.
Been doing the remote thing for a year. It's good and bad. There are days when I long for the office(can't even visit the office without special approval now). You can end up working more, that's for sure.
It's clear pandemic made a boost on this topic on every company. Now, how to manage it depends on both: companies and workers.
I am happy WFH because I have the right setup. I'm also not opposed to going back to a main office. What I do hope that is killed by the shift to a new normal is the Open Office. THAT was the failed office experiment that needs to die. It will also help with dealing with the fact that covid viruses never go away. Even prepandmemic colds and flu were higher in open-plan offices.
Load More Replies... We as IT empyees, ask our managmenet WHEN willl we be able to return??? Information sharing in person is invaluable.
Bitter irony time - I brought this up to the company I worked for over 10 years ago - they gave all the excuses, despite the fact that I provided over half of the "pros" listed above. I went for an interview - asked about remote work - they treated me like I was a moron. I have been saying since the internet/digital data-storage became a stable necessity "If the job does not **require** your physical presence (like specialized equipment - or your job IS a hands-on job), it is just smarter to work from home" But I'm just a stupid, unattractive female - so why would they care?
Although working from home is efficient, there’s a lot to be said for going into the office.We are primarily social beings, and if our social contact becomes limited, we wither as a result. Also, the boundary between home and work becomes blurred, which also isn’t good.
we never did remote until Corona, then we all were in quarantine mandated by our area and had to figure it out fast. when we came back after quarantine, we went to a hybrid system- 3 days in the office, 2 days remote, with everyone in our dept have 2 different days at home so there would always be people in the office. now we are remote only again, and i liked the hybrid style the most. the change of scenery between home and the office never made me feel burnt out. if i'm working from home, i can do some chores during my lunch, which helps with my overall life workload. and getting out and going to the office and seeing my coworkers was the perfect amount of social interaction for an introvert like me. i can't wait until we're all vaccinated and we can go back to the hybrid system (i hope we do!).
I'm considerably less productive and completely lack motivation most days and my ADHD is much worse. I'm not built for solitude and my brain just isn't working well anymore. I miss the connection of providing in-person services to clients and BSing with coworkers. I also know I'll be miserable as soon as I return to the office. I'm worried that this has ruined me for a long time.
The thread we've been waiting for to summarize what to consider when going full remote. Before the pandemic, I slowly shifted preferences towards WFH yet most companies did not have full support. It's like one big confirmation that: 'yes, it is possible and feasible' and also 'why on Earth wasn't it more common among people rely on tech for work'. Another thing: I often have flow periods when I can produce much more output than expected while sometimes it doesn't go all too well. I find it easier to balance these 2 extremes allowing myself a long walk instead of forcing myself into my chair "until lunchtime" while if it goes well, I might stay up till late and do some extra. Doesn't matter when and how until it gets done :)
I think I would have a lot of difficulty with remote work. I generally need work and home life separated by time and distance to really be effective and happy with either. If working at home, I would need to have an outbuilding of some sort where I could minimize ambient noise and really concentrate.
I miss my students so much! To develop a fashion project together is so much richer than on screen! Ok, to talk about the sketches in home office. But when it comes to choose the fabrics , how to drape it, the choice of the grain line what will influence the silhouette of the model: You have to live life!!! I want my Fabric dust back!
In theory this sounds pretty: more flexibility for office workers. Sure, some companies treat people well, but the bottom line of this for most of them will be an opportunity for cutting costs. Which is understandable for a free market, but the "corporateeze" in which they package it is most disingenuous. You see it when some management finds a way to lower the expense budget and announces it in pure 1984 style with "We are excited to introduce this new policy for the benefit of our employers and to promote a culture of care!" This article reads too happy go lucky, selling a trend someone wants to impose. I'm all for letting people have a flexible schedule/environment. But I can see this becoming: "Hey, so you'll work remotely from home? Well, now you won't need day care benefits for your kids. Surely you can watch them AND work on that Excel spreadsheet...
I agree that this is really going to be hard on mothers. Just the assumption that "you're already at home, so you can manage all the home stuff and the work too" especially if you previously had childcare for your work,
How will this effect compensation and benefits if at all? My boss is already asking us to keep track of our weekly productivity on a week to week basis. Work day activity tracking is already becoming a necessity.
Rather like being in an elementary classroom....this is hardly revelutionary
I've worked in IT for 20+yrs, full-time remote for almost 2. Pros: no commute, no lunch expense, I can wear whatever I want, listen to tunes without headphones, pet my dogs, take 5 to empty my dishwasher, etc. Cons: I miss the socializing. Office scuttlebutt isn't just gossip...it's informal updates about project I don't know about, staffing changes that fly under the radar, the well-being of the peers I rarely work with. We collaborate on video calls, Jabber, Slack, etc. and are far more productive than we used to be. But we all miss the REAL interaction.
NONE OF THIS MATTERS if wages don’t go up. You people who are employees shouldn’t be placated or satisfied with being “allowed” to slave from your hole. You’re only being allowed because your overlords want to save money. Will they pass the savings along to you? Probably not.
So many people like you don't understand how to negotiate their compensation. They go to the interview, the person doing the interview tells them the position pays $50k/year, and they go, "Duh, Okay." Tbe position has a pay RANGE and what the interviewer just told you was the LOWEST part of that range. If you accept that, it's your own damn fault.
Load More Replies... as always there has to be something inbetween. workspace at home is an issue for many workers and not everyone has the room for a permanent work setup or a comfortable one. many companies do not even provide incentives or goods to create a setup (monitors, chairs, keyboards and so on) so it's either bent hours on a 13inch laptop or a monitor at the worker's expense. internal cooperation and team building becomes more difficult and risks to be limited to specific periodic happenings. i agree that a partial remote work can help balance work and personal life but office interactions, no matter how quick and apparently pointless, help build up team spirit and sense of belonging and cannot be forgotten: social contact also helps managers to keep track of their personnel's morale and overall behaviour and see where corrections, incentives or praises are due. us workers do not only operate as working machines but also as part of a "population" which has significant limits in being scattered.
My fiance works from home and he loves it. Less miles on his car = less wear and tear and less frequent fill ups with gas sky rocketing again. Me on the other hand, I work LE so I am still driving for the next 4 years and 10 months. He loves that he doesn't have to get ready every day, he's there to take care of the house and animals. His lunch break consists of a commute to the kitchen and playing video games. He LOVES it, and frankly I can't wait to retire with my pension and go work where he works. His company gave him a brand new computer, laptop, two monitors, a desk that turns into a stand desk, a Tempurpedic chair (he has a disability) AND pays a portion of our internet every month, so they treat their people amazingly.
Whether it's good or not: After every pandemic, life returned to normal within two years at the latest.
Actually, no... After every pandemic society changed dramatically. For example, the 1901 Cape Town pandemic resulted in segregation policies that eventually became known as Apartheid... After the Spanish Flu... The 1832 Paris epidemic was blamed on the king and resulted in the French Revolution... The Spanish Flu pandemic was a major contributor to the Nazi Party gaining power in Germany, and you know how well that went. Seriously, people have actually written books on how pandemics have resulted in major changes in societies across the globe.
Load More Replies... My company gave me nothing, just said work from home. So I took my lap top home. Bought a desk, monitor, chair, keyboard etc. had to improve my internet speed to manage video calls at my own cost. I have to pay increased bills to heat/cool/power my house. My only saving is fuel from not driving to and from work. Which amounts to less than the cost of upgrading my internet speed.
There's also a major cost factor in the hiring process. Companies with more specific or uncommon needs can hire someone from anywhere in the world and not have to pay tens of thousands in the costs of relocating them. After the hire, even more money can be saved by paying the person a salary based on where they choose to live, rather than bringing them into the city where companies typically are, which almost universally comes with a higher cost of living and therefore salary.
On the contrary. People now can accept jobs abroad with even leaving the country. Employers have a bigger pond to fish in, but employees also have more choice in what bait they are going to take. No jobs in IT in Alabama available? Never mind, I can apply for a job in Washington, Berlin or Paris without having to move. It could also mean that American companies will have to come up with much better arrangements for their employees. Because if people can choose between a company that has a pension plan, 28 days paid vacation, health insurance, unlimited sick days and no expectations that an employee is available 24/7/365 and an American company, while the wages are the same, it's quite clear which company they will choose.
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