Poll of the Day > Working from home

(+) Yeah! (+)

Past 3 and bit years.
It has pros and cons.

Yep, and it's great. Securing the right to work from home if we want was actually one of the major asks in the recent Canadian public service strike, after a new policy was implemented forcing us all back for two days a week for no reason, and we got it (at least, decisions now have to be made on an individual basis, refusing a telework request requires written justification from a manager, and the decision can be grieved if we aren't satisfied with the rationale, which is everything I'd expect from a reasonable policy).

Yep, it ruled. I didn't like the job, but the from home thing was lovely

other, I like hybrid and that's what I am

Judgmenl posted...

Past 3 and bit years.
It has pros and cons.

I can see that. Microsoft teams is a godsend for WFH though

Yep. I've been working from home for the last nine years.

Can't imagine ever going back to an office. Working from home has its drawbacks but, in my eye at least, they're far outweighed by the benefits to both employer and employee.

If I could do my job remotely, I would. Then again, if I could drop a certain number of customers--the worst of the worst--into a hell dimension, I would do that too. Both of these things can be attributed to the same issue.

I don't think I'd like it that much, the best part of work is getting out of the house

Worked from home for ~2 years then again for the last 3 years. I like working from the office if it's easy to get to plus reasonably priced lunch+coffee else it's work from home for me.

ie if the office is in the middle of bumfuck nowhere and i'm just going from one little box to another little box I don't like it but going to a really nice office in a nice central location is great.

Never worked from home but I don't think I would like it. I remember having trouble focusing on homework and studying while at home so I would do it in the school's library or the library close to home. I'd probably have the same issues with working from home

Every day since March 2020.

It's mostly great, although the longer it goes the more disconnected I feel (contributing to my existential crisis, most likely). :) It doesn't help that I have a one-man-band sort of position and there's rarely any specific reason to contact anyone.

I'd like it if we were all in the office one day per week so we know who we work with/etc.

I don't think I would like it.

I've been working at home since March 2020 and I would loathe to go back to an office.

I don't think I could trust myself TBH

Nope. My job technically cant be worked from, but I dont think I would like it, anyway Due to certain weather conditions, we have had to work from home before, like one specific weekend. But it was more like a free day to all of us. We didnt really have to do anything, nor could most people do their actual job Like maybe a few people could actually work

No, but I would prefer one to having to commute.

My current job can be done from home. I agreed to work a long shift on Sundays as long as it could be from home and honestly its the only day I dont mind working.

I cant believe there are people who actually complain about working from home. Like, yeah, poor you. You dont have to waste an hour of your day commuting, you save money on gas and car maintenance, you get to work in comfy clothes, you dont have to deal with loud people in the office.

B-but muh social interaction :c fuckin go out and visit your friends and family for that, or go out shopping or something. F***s sake.

With the exception of a handful of days for team lunches or team building activities, I have been working from home steadily since March 2020. Used to hate the idea but once I setup a proper home office it is great. Now I outright refuse to work any job that makes me go into the office with any regularity. No way are you interrupting my between meetings power naps!

No chance of that happening since my entire team is spread out across the country. Even my boss is a good 600 miles from the office and only travels here 3 times a year.

rexcrk posted...

I cant believe there are people who actually complain about working from home. Like, yeah, poor you. You dont have to waste an hour of your day commuting, you save money on gas and car maintenance, you get to work in comfy clothes, you dont have to deal with loud people in the office.

Eh, I can understand it for people who have young kids. Cant tell you how many times you see a naked kids running around in the background of zoom meetings, LOL.

Or for people who hate their families.

DirtBasedSoap posted...

I can see that. Microsoft teams is a godsend for WFH though

You cannot properly whiteboard with chat apps and it is very very difficult to get people to care about the actual work being done unless they are the ones responsible for doing it. Chat apps are a very poor excuse for actual in person collaboration. Also the other major con is I went from working a 40-45 hours a week to 60+ hours a week with no raise in pay (although I did get a raise in title).

That being said I feel completely disconnected from society. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing.

Dikitain posted...

Even my boss is a good 600 miles from the office and only travels here 3 times a year.

This is my experience. I don't believe any of the corporate LinkedIn BS about return to office because my boss lives several states away and his boss lives on the other side of the country (he used to live local or at least have a second home here), plus we already renewed our lease on the office and cut down on office space when doing so (the office is basically a closet now).

Never have, and I don't think I'd want to. Judging from online college courses I once enrolled in, I think I'd be much too distracted for my own good.

I work from home 3 days a week. The other 2 are in office. Its not too bad going in but I would prefer an extra hours sleep and no commute.

rexcrk posted...

B-but muh social interaction :c fuckin go out and visit your friends and family for that, or go out shopping or something. F***s sake.

Tbf, Idk how it is for others, but my co-workers are my friends in this area

Teaching online during the pandemic only worked for the students that actually wanted to learn. I'm glad that's over.

Hardware issues can be a hassle to fix but otherwise I fucking love it.

KJ_StErOiDs posted...

I think I'd be much too distracted for my own good.

Meanwhile, I'm the opposite--I'm easily distracted by office environments so having a more controlled space to work is great for my focus.

a question for all the work at home employees
does your employer require your computer to have one of those programs that tracks your keystrokes to ensure your at the keyboard working

DirtBasedSoap posted...

I can see that. Microsoft teams is a godsend for WFH though

Our phone system is through Teams, so I don't even have to use my "assigned" computer, I can take a call on any computer I'm logged into, no matter where I am. I've got an older model laptop that I leave at home so I can work there anytime I want, even if I didn't bring "my" laptop with me.

potdnewb posted...

a question for all the work at home employees
does your employer require your computer to have one of those programs that tracks your keystrokes to ensure your at the keyboard working

No, because performance metrics render that nonsense completely unnecessary. Tracking software is just unnecessary micromanagement from managers who would be completely obsolete if they trusted their employees enough to not peer over their shoulders at all times. If people are getting their work done satisfactorily and not interfering with others doing the same, any other restrictions you place on what they can do during work time are unnecessary.

grimhilde00 posted...

other, I like hybrid and that's what I am

This is actually a more accurate description of my situation: There's an office I can go into if I want/need to, but I have the option of working from home and take that option more often than not because there's no point in spending an extra hour or two commuting. I agree that the flexibility is ideal, as opposed to strictly adhering to one paradigm or the other.

Judgmenl posted...

Also the other major con is I went from working a 40-45 hours a week to 60+ hours a week with no raise in pay (although I did get a raise in title).

That's not a WFH issue so much as it's a terrible boss issue. If it's not in your employment contract that you have to work that many hours, start charging overtime. If it is, start job hunting.

hybrid, 1 day per week-ish. like the office enough but it's far, it's too much to deal with traffic every day and not worth it if my team is all at home

zoom, any kind of video chat I just hate it. everybody still treats it as a temp situation, almost nobody has bothered to upgrade video or audio quality yet so they just cut off or barely visible or we can't understand them.

I mean there is more to life than work, senior engs have family sometimes young children, OK I get that, but during core hours should I really only be able to reach my seniors about half the time? other things like this

I voted fourth option, but it'd be more accurate to say I don't think I'd get much done.

I had to during Covid and I hated it. I need the feeling of being in an office to be productive. At home it feels like a chore.

It might help if I had a dedicated home office with separate PC and high quality desk and chair, etc. but I don't have that.

adjl posted...

No, because performance metrics render that nonsense completely unnecessary. Tracking software is just unnecessary micromanagement from managers who would be completely obsolete if they trusted their employees enough to not peer over their shoulders at all times. If people are getting their work done satisfactorily and not interfering with others doing the same, any other restrictions you place on what they can do during work time are unnecessary

i agree with your premise but are you speaking for all people who work at home

rexcrk posted...

My current job can be done from home. I agreed to work a long shift on Sundays as long as it could be from home and honestly its the only day I dont mind working.

I cant believe there are people who actually complain about working from home. Like, yeah, poor you. You dont have to waste an hour of your day commuting, you save money on gas and car maintenance, you get to work in comfy clothes, you dont have to deal with loud people in the office.

B-but muh social interaction :c fuckin go out and visit your friends and family for that, or go out shopping or something. F***s sake.

Sahuagin posted...

I had to during Covid and I hated it. I need the feeling of being in an office to be productive. At home it feels like a chore.

It might help if I had a dedicated home office with separate PC and high quality desk and chair, etc. but I don't have that.

rex thinks they're is something wrong with sahuagin

potdnewb posted...

a question for all the work at home employees
does your employer require your computer to have one of those programs that tracks your keystrokes to ensure your at the keyboard working

No. That sounds like a huge waste of time and resources. I've managed project teams before and I certainly don't have time to be micromanaging everyone to that level.

Rule of thumb at my office is "If everything gets done on time and on budget, your time cards all look OK, and people can get a hold of you for discussions/meetings, we don't really care."

rexcrk posted...

My current job can be done from home. I agreed to work a long shift on Sundays as long as it could be from home and honestly its the only day I dont mind working.

I cant believe there are people who actually complain about working from home. Like, yeah, poor you. You dont have to waste an hour of your day commuting, you save money on gas and car maintenance, you get to work in comfy clothes, you dont have to deal with loud people in the office.

B-but muh social interaction :c fuckin go out and visit your friends and family for that, or go out shopping or something. F***s sake.

I mean, having worked from home for nearly a decade, I will freely admit it isn't for everyone. I'm pretty focused, I live alone in a quiet area with good internet, I make enough money to set up a great home office, and I am quite content being by myself. If that describes you, working from home is a pretty sweet gig. But if you have young kids in the family that make a lot of noise and/or are constantly bugging you with stuff while you're trying to work, if you're easily distracted, if you live somewhere with crappy internet or a lot of background noise or something else that can distract from working (even bad temperature controls can do the trick), or if you really need to be around people to feel motivated during the day, working from home sucks. You really do need to have the right personality type to pull it off and be effective at it.

darkknight109 posted...

time cards

fuck that nonsense too though

acesxhigh posted...

fuck that nonsense too though

I work for an engineering contracting company, so timecards are kind of necessary.

adjl posted...

That's not a WFH issue so much as it's a terrible boss issue. If it's not in your employment contract that you have to work that many hours, start charging overtime. If it is, start job hunting.

Canadians are weird.

Hybrid position here, it's pretty sweet.

potdnewb posted...

i agree with your premise but are you speaking for all people who work at home

Rare exceptions may exist, but otherwise yeah. Whatever the job, there are almost always ways to tell whether or not the work is getting done that don't involve staring at employees 24/7 to ensure they're working (which is what monitoring software effectively does), all of which are more effective for tracking progress because they involve actually engaging with the work to find out what is and is not being accomplished instead of just ticking a box that they were at their keyboard for an arbitrary length of time.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


Indeed. Specifically, there are policies that lay out how things like overtime is handled: If overtime is compensated, start billing for those extra 20 hours/week. If it isn't, start looking for a job where you aren't expected to spend a third of your time working for free.