There is no way I can get used to working from home. It is absolutely harder for me to work. Regardless of the fact that I have my own workspace at home, no matter how hard I try, it is difficult for me to be as productive as in the office. On the other hand, a friend who does a similar job tells me that he would rather never go back to the office.
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I worked from home by choice for years before the pandemic. Would NEVER go back to an office if I have my way. WFH is an introvert's paradise. Especially if your job is in Technology, there is no need to sit in a cubicle (or worse, a full-on open office) and have to wear headphones to block out other people's phone calls and webexes. And if you are a manager, it's a pain to have to find a private place to have a sensitive talk with an employee.
oops, my buddy who used to be down the hall got canned as well - make that 47,998
Yes, collaboration coaches. Do you think our company is actually good at collaborating? I'd say we aren't even mediocre. I can't tell you how many hours I wasted in meetings with 30 other application teams waiting for out turn to give an update on a status. It would probably be handled by existing employees or training project managers but the expense would pale in comparison to the savings.
Although, much of the collaboration wouldn't even be needed if we used the tools available to convey information.
And we hired 2 people in India to replace your colleague so we're back up to 47,999.
@9esw+19c5Btkn ... "collaboration coaches"? You serious? Another bunch of overpaid consultants.
47,998 employees? My colleague just got let go. Make that 47,997.
TA Knuckledragger, WFH certainly works better for some functions than others. I bet you're suffering a lot from the companies total lack of vision on collaboration. Meetings, emails and IM are how people collaborated in 1999. They certainly are a piece of the puzzle, but we waste way too much time with them. We should have collaboration coaches to show us how and when to use one note, Confluence, IM, message forums, phone calls, screen sharing etc. And you should have processes in place to measure employee performance.
Our "leaders" keep pushing face to face co-locating but when you collaborate like that, 47,998 other employees miss out on it. And the regional aspect of that is also terrible for diversity which our leaders claim to care so much about. When I need to fix my dishwasher, I don't email a repair man or set up a meeting, I go to YouTube or search for instructions on one of the parts stores. If I need to install a new dishwasher I go to YouTube and if I have specific questions I go to forums on terrylove.com.
Actual job is so much more problematic WFH. I can't see who is slacking or who is taking on too much. I can't draw up a chair and work through issues with a notepad and pen and colleagues chipping in. I get bombarded with Skype messages and meeting requests for things that could have been resolved by any member of my team, email volumes massively increased. I'm a mailbox more than a manager now. Different divisions different issues I guess
I prefer to never go back. I get a lot more accomplished at home and don’t have to listen to id–ts printing non stop next to my desk and don’t have to listen to the loud mouths who have no inside voice and yell or cackle across the floor . Saving in gas is an added bonus as well as not having to risk my life driving in c-ap weather
Sounds like a regulatory issue if people aren't returning phone calls and emails. Going up the chain is probably the right thing to do either way. And how did you handle it for the tens of thousands of employees who didn't work at your location?
As some one in regulatory, it is harder to do my job.
Usually if someone is ignoring my emails/phone calls, I could drop by their office or intercept them at meetings. Can't do that now, so instead I have to escalate and go to their superiors when that happens.
I don't mind the savings from no longer needing a monthly pass, no more expensive lunches in lower Manhattan, etc. Considering many of the people I had a good working relationship have been let go due to force rankings, there is no camaraderie for me to miss being in the office anymore.
I telecommuted for years before the pandemic. Longer days, working with global staff. But flexible, so I got more done. Not sure what your problem is, but the pandemic with family home with might be tough. Maybe too many distractions?
$400.00 a month 4+ hours a day commute, sitting around self centered loud mouths yakking on the phone, disgusting bathrooms, expensive cafeteria and on and on. Many more distractions at office than home. What’s there to miss???
I enjoy it - it has been a great way to catch up with my tv and movie watching
For the last 4 years I had been had only been working from the office a few days a week before the pandemic so it wasn't much of a change for me. I found it much more productive and flexible but it was hard to know when to log off or take a break.
I thought I would gain wait being close to the refrigerator but I actually ate a lighter lunch because I knew I could easily get something besides chips and candy if I got hungry in the afternoon.
I ignored Charlie when he tried to make us all come back to the office. What an id–t that guy was! Kinda hypocritical of him to take a job at wfc where he's working remotely.
I think I'm as productive at home most days, but when something happens in the news (sports trade deadlines and free agency, election day, capitol riots, inauguration, monitoring my btc/stonks during high volatility days) I get distracted. Overall I don't want to go back and will actively look for remote work elsewhere when they drag me back.
Who the F wants to sit in a drab cubicle, get sneezed on, be watched like a child, and have to listen to all these people laugh and BS with each other at high decibels?
Not having to get up at 4:30am to avoid traffic is a huge plus. Leaving the house at 5am meant getting to the office at 5:45am. Leaving the house at 6am, you might get there by 7:30am. Leave at 7am and you'd be lucky to make it in by 9am. I don't miss that.
I find it so much easier to work from home. No stressful commute, wasting two to four hours a day stuck in traffic. No noisy office workers discussing last night's TV programs at full volume. No more freezing my a– off in summer when it's 90 degrees outside and 50 inside.
As for actual work, I find it easier and faster to share screens and discuss things over Skype than try to peer over someone's shoulder at the office. I definitely get way more done at home without all the distractions of the office environment. I hope I never go back.