Working From Home. Torture
Discussion
Woodrow Wilson said:
Looking ahead to a time when things are not so limited and the economy picks up again, I'm wondering what reasonably remunerated and stimulating (and not requiring years of study)alternative employment there could be that won't require sitting at home staring a screen all day with frequent brews to relieve the tedium?
Once the economy picks up, more jobs will offer the opportunity to go back into an office to stare at a screen all day instead of doing the same from home. I'm guess that if the underlying job is tedious, it will remain that way anyway.anonymous said:
[redacted]
I really am not sure between hands on/creative. I still don't know myself. I am fortunate to have a job and wfh and would 'appear great' but I don't know how anyone enjoys sitting at a desk - obviously some are lucky in that they have found something they love, somehow.I do feel like my attention span isn't great - some of the elements of the ADHD stick out but then wonder if its simply my personal discipline that is the issue or something else
Dog Star said:
It's not an especially long commute at 35 miles each way,
Lord, you know you’re in the U.K. when that is not an “especially long commute”. My commutes:
- Sydney: 5 minutes on foot
- HK: 7 mins by cab (5 if they’re a bit nutty)
- London: 9 mins on foot
- SG: 15 mins walk / MRT
klan8456 said:
Dog Star said:
It's not an especially long commute at 35 miles each way,
Lord, you know you’re in the U.K. when that is not an “especially long commute”. My commutes:
- Sydney: 5 minutes on foot
- HK: 7 mins by cab (5 if they’re a bit nutty)
- London: 9 mins on foot
- SG: 15 mins walk / MRT
I think where WFH is possible there is a fine balance to strike. I think those that want to go into the office should be able to do so (work better at home, escape from the kids / wife etc) and those that don’t, don’t. For me and my hour each way commute it’s been a revelation!
georgefreeman918 said:
klan8456 said:
Dog Star said:
It's not an especially long commute at 35 miles each way,
Lord, you know you’re in the U.K. when that is not an “especially long commute”. My commutes:
- Sydney: 5 minutes on foot
- HK: 7 mins by cab (5 if they’re a bit nutty)
- London: 9 mins on foot
- SG: 15 mins walk / MRT
I think where WFH is possible there is a fine balance to strike. I think those that want to go into the office should be able to do so (work better at home, escape from the kids / wife etc) and those that don’t, don’t. For me and my hour each way commute it’s been a revelation!
When/if I return, I'll be happy to go in couple of days a week. But the rest WFH.
klan8456 said:
Lord, you know you’re in the U.K. when that is not an “especially long commute”.
My commutes:
I don't want to live in or close to a town or city centre. I've got nothing but open moorland out of my back gate.My commutes:
- Sydney: 5 minutes on foot
- HK: 7 mins by cab (5 if they’re a bit nutty)
- London: 9 mins on foot
- SG: 15 mins walk / MRT
When I say 35 miles isn't far - if the motorway is flowing it's 40 to 45 minutes - no walking in the pouring rain, no getting buses or trains and having to sit in damp piss. The main motorway section in such cases is 20 to 25 minutes.
I'd rather do that when it's decent than have a 25 minute drive that's constantly sat in queues at lights.
klan8456 said:
Lord, you know you’re in the U.K. when that is not an “especially long commute”.
My commutes:
Lovely places to live and work, I'm not jealous at all My commutes:
- Sydney: 5 minutes on foot
- HK: 7 mins by cab (5 if they’re a bit nutty)
- London: 9 mins on foot
- SG: 15 mins walk / MRT
Shame I struggle to find decent package abroad, I don't mind short commutes where I can walk/cycle when weather permits.
Dog Star said:
I love it. Previously I would get up at 5.45 still exhausted. I would leave home at 6.15 on the dot and drive to Leeds and get there at around 7am. I would tip my seat back and go to sleep til about 5 to 8 then go into the office. I would grab another hours sleep at lunch. Leaving work would be a few minutes before 4 (there's a BAD set of lights and the 3 or 4 minutes makes all the difference) and be home for 5. I would then go and have a nap. While at work I would communicate with Slack, Bluejeans and Teams as my team are all overseas - I'm the only one in the UK. Going to the office - what the hell for?
All this regime was to avoid the horrendous jams on the M62. It's not an especially long commute at 35 miles each way, but it's a dreadful road. Leaving after 7am was a complete non-starter as by then there would have been a crash and traffic would be backed up for 20 miles or more. Public transport would be 2 hours plus each way at least. In my experience of doing this commute for most of my working life since 1992 is that lorries cause a lot of the aggro - they're either elephant racing and causing huge bottlenecks or tailgating. I had a big crash (aquaplaned) in 2016 and closed the motorway and wrote off a brand new E class.
The stress of this, the elephant racing lorries, the jams etc was really starting to get to me and I was just so tired (hence my sleep regime) and I was questioning just how much longer I could carry on doing this. I was starting to WFH more and more anyway.
Covid, while being the s
ttest thing ever, has been brilliant. My employer has closed my office permanently - and when this is over WFH is order of the day for those that want it (the new office is not even close to big enough). I get up at about 8, I'm online 8,30, got my cat with me on his own office chair, have a lie down, nip to the shop, go in garage and fiddle with car or whatever at lunch, generally knock off sometime after 4 or so.
The difference in my stress levels due to not having to drive is absolutely unbelievable. Getting up 2 hours later is a bonus. I now have a bloody great E class estate in the garage - I've done just under 2000 miles in it this year
I’m glad it’s all worked out for you but are you seriously saying you’ve followed that routine for nearly thirty years!? All this regime was to avoid the horrendous jams on the M62. It's not an especially long commute at 35 miles each way, but it's a dreadful road. Leaving after 7am was a complete non-starter as by then there would have been a crash and traffic would be backed up for 20 miles or more. Public transport would be 2 hours plus each way at least. In my experience of doing this commute for most of my working life since 1992 is that lorries cause a lot of the aggro - they're either elephant racing and causing huge bottlenecks or tailgating. I had a big crash (aquaplaned) in 2016 and closed the motorway and wrote off a brand new E class.
The stress of this, the elephant racing lorries, the jams etc was really starting to get to me and I was just so tired (hence my sleep regime) and I was questioning just how much longer I could carry on doing this. I was starting to WFH more and more anyway.
Covid, while being the s
ttest thing ever, has been brilliant. My employer has closed my office permanently - and when this is over WFH is order of the day for those that want it (the new office is not even close to big enough). I get up at about 8, I'm online 8,30, got my cat with me on his own office chair, have a lie down, nip to the shop, go in garage and fiddle with car or whatever at lunch, generally knock off sometime after 4 or so.The difference in my stress levels due to not having to drive is absolutely unbelievable. Getting up 2 hours later is a bonus. I now have a bloody great E class estate in the garage - I've done just under 2000 miles in it this year
Why not just move closer to where you work, or rent a room to stay overnight? You didn’t seem to have much midweek quality of life under that regime as everything was geared around getting enough sleep to support an early start because of a horrendous commute. Don’t understand it.
PurpleTurtle said:
Why not just move closer to where you work, or rent a room to stay overnight? You didn’t seem to have much midweek quality of life under that regime as everything was geared around getting enough sleep to support an early start because of a horrendous commute. Don’t understand it.
Only the last few years - all I've really done is take my hour in bed in the morning and move it to when I get to work in the car park - if I left an hour later I would spend an hour extra in a jam and then leave work later. I like a snooze in the car at lunchtime, especially if its raining as it's very restful. In summer I go for a walk. I used to go to the pub at lunch but don't bother now.It's just a question of moving your time allocation around - time having a nap isn't time wasted. I'm home by 5 which does leave me a good weekday evening - which is precisely my point.
I live in a nice place - I'm not moving for a job!
Time for a revisit of this.
How many of you are still working from home?
Just over 3 years down the line from COVID and our office has still not fully returned. The official company line is 3 days a week in the office. That seems to change depending on which department you work for though, some have been told 2 days, and some are just flagrantly taking the piss, I saw somebody the other day for the first time since COVID, I forgot they even worked for us!
Then we get on to how much work are people doing. I am online at just before 8:30 start time and I am there until 16:30 finish time, and get slightly paranoid about the teams status, other people seem a little... err... less bothered.
How many of you are still working from home?
Just over 3 years down the line from COVID and our office has still not fully returned. The official company line is 3 days a week in the office. That seems to change depending on which department you work for though, some have been told 2 days, and some are just flagrantly taking the piss, I saw somebody the other day for the first time since COVID, I forgot they even worked for us!
Then we get on to how much work are people doing. I am online at just before 8:30 start time and I am there until 16:30 finish time, and get slightly paranoid about the teams status, other people seem a little... err... less bothered.
Yep.
Office in London gone. New official place of work is my house. Been 4 years now - 2 other companies in that time but also both remote.
Wouldn’t mind a day here or there but fk 3 days a week. Couldn’t care less what my slack status says but then I do t work on a production line at a factory or in IT support so it doesn’t matter.
Office in London gone. New official place of work is my house. Been 4 years now - 2 other companies in that time but also both remote.
Wouldn’t mind a day here or there but f
k 3 days a week. Couldn’t care less what my slack status says but then I do t work on a production line at a factory or in IT support so it doesn’t matter. Well….I no longer hold a daily job, so no issues for me…
….but our offspring, 25 & 27, both work for major corporations….now both living and working in London.
Both appear to have a fair degree of flexibility in their office time, and appear to spend perhaps 3 or more days each week in their offices. Both enjoying that interaction: IMHO, it is very important for younger staff to get that sense of working with others.
They also very much enjoy the ability to WfH: one just given around £850 (before tax…) from his company to kit out his room - getting a sitting-standing electric desk and a fancy s/h Aeron chair.
The world is changing….but working from home has huge value to many, especially as part of a flexible package.
….but our offspring, 25 & 27, both work for major corporations….now both living and working in London.
Both appear to have a fair degree of flexibility in their office time, and appear to spend perhaps 3 or more days each week in their offices. Both enjoying that interaction: IMHO, it is very important for younger staff to get that sense of working with others.
They also very much enjoy the ability to WfH: one just given around £850 (before tax…) from his company to kit out his room - getting a sitting-standing electric desk and a fancy s/h Aeron chair.
The world is changing….but working from home has huge value to many, especially as part of a flexible package.
Megaflow said:
Time for a revisit of this.
How many of you are still working from home?
Just over 3 years down the line from COVID and our office has still not fully returned. The official company line is 3 days a week in the office. That seems to change depending on which department you work for though, some have been told 2 days, and some are just flagrantly taking the piss, I saw somebody the other day for the first time since COVID, I forgot they even worked for us!
Then we get on to how much work are people doing. I am online at just before 8:30 start time and I am there until 16:30 finish time, and get slightly paranoid about the teams status, other people seem a little... err... less bothered.
This really does smack of the presenteeism attitude.How many of you are still working from home?
Just over 3 years down the line from COVID and our office has still not fully returned. The official company line is 3 days a week in the office. That seems to change depending on which department you work for though, some have been told 2 days, and some are just flagrantly taking the piss, I saw somebody the other day for the first time since COVID, I forgot they even worked for us!
Then we get on to how much work are people doing. I am online at just before 8:30 start time and I am there until 16:30 finish time, and get slightly paranoid about the teams status, other people seem a little... err... less bothered.
I have for the last ten years had a WFH element in my role with going into the office twice, maybe three times a week.
It was fairly normal once you'd reached a certain seniority in what you did was was commonplace across the company with the more junior staff still doing the 5 day a week routine.
Now, everyone works as I do, we no longer issue full time office based contracts (bar building critical personnel ) and only issue hybrid or home based contracts from the bottom up .... everyone seems happy and most departments have an 'office day' tehn beyond that its up to the employee, I now come in once a week.
A lot of my industry which used to have a Thames Valley presence and a London one has scaled back one or the other, and a few both, TVP & Green Park in Reading are perfect examples of whats happening with lots of empty floor plates that weren't empty pre-covid.
It was fairly normal once you'd reached a certain seniority in what you did was was commonplace across the company with the more junior staff still doing the 5 day a week routine.
Now, everyone works as I do, we no longer issue full time office based contracts (bar building critical personnel ) and only issue hybrid or home based contracts from the bottom up .... everyone seems happy and most departments have an 'office day' tehn beyond that its up to the employee, I now come in once a week.
A lot of my industry which used to have a Thames Valley presence and a London one has scaled back one or the other, and a few both, TVP & Green Park in Reading are perfect examples of whats happening with lots of empty floor plates that weren't empty pre-covid.
dibblecorse said:
I have for the last ten years had a WFH element in my role with going into the office twice, maybe three times a week.
It was fairly normal once you'd reached a certain seniority in what you did was was commonplace across the company with the more junior staff still doing the 5 day a week routine.
Now, everyone works as I do, we no longer issue full time office based contracts (bar building critical personnel ) and only issue hybrid or home based contracts from the bottom up .... everyone seems happy and most departments have an 'office day' tehn beyond that its up to the employee, I now come in once a week.
A lot of my industry which used to have a Thames Valley presence and a London one has scaled back one or the other, and a few both, TVP & Green Park in Reading are perfect examples of whats happening with lots of empty floor plates that weren't empty pre-covid.
I live just a few miles from TVP and Reading, a lot of empty office buildings - yet they're building a lot more. Not sure if that's promising or just a recipe for failure. It was fairly normal once you'd reached a certain seniority in what you did was was commonplace across the company with the more junior staff still doing the 5 day a week routine.
Now, everyone works as I do, we no longer issue full time office based contracts (bar building critical personnel ) and only issue hybrid or home based contracts from the bottom up .... everyone seems happy and most departments have an 'office day' tehn beyond that its up to the employee, I now come in once a week.
A lot of my industry which used to have a Thames Valley presence and a London one has scaled back one or the other, and a few both, TVP & Green Park in Reading are perfect examples of whats happening with lots of empty floor plates that weren't empty pre-covid.
I went from a public sector job where I was pretty much in an office everyday (until Covid when it went more hybridy), to one which is now entirely, 100% work from home. All my colleagues from my team are non-Europe based. I have colleagues in the UK but rarely speak as they are in totally different teams.
It's been 6 months nearly. I really enjoy working from home in general but do sometimes find it difficult when I'm lacking energy or really stressed and struggling. The times which have been worse are when I need help but no one is online, or I'm trying to type over Teams, or talk on a call. It's not the same as sitting oppositte a few colleagues -sometimes it's just nice to vent or whinge about something.
I do think the company makes a big difference. My own company aren't the best from my initial experience. There is a lack of real team ethic I think.
What I love about WFH is the flexibility (obviously), but things like:
- I can schedule out time just to chill out, or go shopping, meet a friend, watch Cricket or something
- I can start work really early or late
- Can work on a Sunday if bored and the advantage means it really makes for an easy Monday/Tuesday
- Good to be left alone without people hassling you too much
- Can work in comfort, e.g. I'm sat watching Homes Under the Hammer now, but sometimes I have radio on, YouTube or just silence
- Can do all the house jobs between tasks
Things I don't like:
- I feel isolated SOME of the time but again I think that's down to the company culture and structure, as an example:
- - - - I have no idea what most of my team even look like - they're based in Asia, America or Australia
- - - - I don't have any idea what my colleagues are doing - I don't [u]NEED[/u] to know but it's good to have an awareness
- - - - I speak to my team probably for an hour a week on a Monday afternoon call (I am close to suggesting to my Director that we increase this to twice per week as a trial)
- Sometimes I have a feeling of "wtf am I even doing with my life" as I get up at 8:30am and stroll to the computer to once again sit in the same spot for the day whilst the big world is going on outside the house
- - - Similarly, sometimes I will look at clothes online and think "What's the point, no one ever sees me like they would in an office" - stupid but depends on my mindset and mood
Overall, I would say it's 70% good for me but 30% not so good.
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