Working From Home Megathread

larva

Man Vs ManUre wrote: »

It is much easier to work while intoxicated when doing WFH. Supermarkets have been selling way more booze than normal since March. Every evening is a Friday and there is no longer the Sunday night fear.

Spoken like a true alcoholic, dont think id bring that up with da boss though, unless...

beauf

Jim Root wrote: »

Went into the office today; town is noticeably busier and I tell you one thing, and maybe it’s just my place, but I’d much rather be visible a few days a week in person, particularly when conversations around cutbacks are on the horizon.

if your job measures productivity by if your sitting in the office not what your actually doing. Those things might not be unconnected.

AdamD

Jim Root wrote: »

Went into the office today; town is noticeably busier and I tell you one thing, and maybe it’s just my place, but I’d much rather be visible a few days a week in person, particularly when conversations around cutbacks are on the horizon.

Some people may not like it but there's some truth to this. In the last 12 months I was allowed to go on extended leave for travelling and got a promotion, I believe neither of those things would have happened had I been working from home the entire time. It was due to relationships which had been built up. Rightly or wrongly, it matters.

I also think the opinions of WFH vastly depend on your circumstances. The people gleefully saying we should all do it forever clearly don't work from their rooms in a houseshare. Also some people just enjoy the social nature of being around people in the office, having the chats. Others clearly hate it - a mix of WFH and offices is clearly the future

larva

The Google decision is not only sensible on their part but clearly shows the shift to working remotely, I dont know if anyone is considering what to do with what is potentially a lot of prime empty buildings and what their usage could be post Covid? Offices are essentially empty half the time as people only work 9-5, will they be left derelict or put to some other use?

beauf

larva wrote: »

The Google decision is not only sensible on their part but clearly shows the shift to working remotely, I dont know if anyone is considering what to do with what is potentially a lot of prime empty buildings and what their usage could be post Covid? Offices are essentially empty half the time as people only work 9-5, will they be left derelict or put to some other use?

if they need to social distance they'll need twice as much space for the smaller number of people.

antimatterx

Ninthlife wrote: »

The 3.20 allowance is the max an employer can pay you per day for wfh. That figure is agreed between you and the employer and then incl in payroll.

Otherwise its a Form12 return in the new year. Take your ESB bill add it up for the year divide by 365 then multiply by the number of days worked from home and you can claim that as relief against taxes paid for the year.

You may be asked for your calculation and supporting documentation

How does this work when you don't have bills in your name. Ie people working in their parents homes? I assume nothing.

hetuzozaho

AdamD wrote: »

Some people may not like it but there's some truth to this. In the last 12 months I was allowed to go on extended leave for travelling and got a promotion, I believe neither of those things would have happened had I been working from home the entire time. It was due to relationships which had been built up. Rightly or wrongly, it matters.

I also think the opinions of WFH vastly depend on your circumstances. The people gleefully saying we should all do it forever clearly don't work from their rooms in a houseshare. Also some people just enjoy the social nature of being around people in the office, having the chats. Others clearly hate it - a mix of WFH and offices is clearly the future

I think local hubs would be cool. Us all trying to live around the river liffey became a nuisance imo. Oh let's add another lane to the m50!! Progress! A good opportunity to spread things out a bit.


Like what is it, three lanes of traffic going one way and three lanes of traffic going the other. All crawling. Surely we can work smarter than that.

Offices turned into apartments / hubs where you can log in and work for any company! But it's a short walk. Pie in the sky stuff I spose.

Ninthlife

Quin_Dub wrote: »

Not quite..

They only allow you to claim 10% of your Heating/Electricity bill (Section 2.4 here)

The 1st part of your calculation is correct , but you then need to divide that figure by 10 :-(

I knew there was a % apportionmemt involved. Its been a while since ive looked at PAYE stuff and that particular relief wasnt very common either.

But youre right it will amount to very little but id urge those who can to claim it

Noo

Has anyone started a new job working from home? I've just accepted a new job offer after 8 years in my current job (similar role but still very different work). I'd be interested to hear how people have adjusted? A new job can be overwhelming at the best of times but a least theres usually someone right next to you to ask questions.

Quin_Dub

Ninthlife wrote: »

I knew there was a % apportionmemt involved. Its been a while since ive looked at PAYE stuff and that particular relief wasnt very common either.

But youre right it will amount to very little but id urge those who can to claim it

Oh for sure , claim everything you are entitled to , but it's a pretty paltry amount in the grand scheme of things.

Assetbacked

Noo wrote: »

Has anyone started a new job working from home? I've just accepted a new job offer after 8 years in my current job (similar role but still very different work). I'd be interested to hear how people have adjusted? A new job can be overwhelming at the best of times but a least theres usually someone right next to you to ask questions.

I started on 1 April, went in and picked up the laptop, did an induction and then went home for two months. 7 years in my old job. Yeah, it was a bit tricky getting familiar with the systems and folders as well as figuring out who does what but that was offset to an extent by me not getting that much work initially due to the WFH set up plus I knew a couple on the team from before I started so could get them on whatsapp and ask them the little questions.

Man Vs ManUre

With WFH my tv recorder box is no longer getting to the 90% full and higher, because I am able to watch tv during work.

beauf

Man Vs ManUre wrote: »

With WFH my tv recorder box is no longer getting to the 90% full and higher, because I am able to watch tv during work.

I don't have a TV box.

But a lot of work related courses and meetups have switched to online. So I've been able to do them. I'd never been able to make them when they were in a physical location across the other side of the city.

sonyvision

My company has offered WFH for a few years now with CORE 10:00-15:00 to be available but flexable outside of this.

With COVID we all had been issued great tech, second screens, surface pros, wireless keyboard etc. Have only used WFH ones or twice I am was not a massive fan. I now work more productive, and manage my day better while WFH. A choice I should have taken years ago!.

It was a releif to hear no matter what happens with COVID each person can make their own decision on when and where to work from in future. The office is there if it' required or needed but WFH will be my new normal for me anyway (untill I change roles).

Saving 7.5 hours a week my commuting by private car, 100 a month in tolls and the stress of dealing with M50 traffic won't be missed

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

AdamD wrote: »

Some people may not like it but there's some truth to this. In the last 12 months I was allowed to go on extended leave for travelling and got a promotion, I believe neither of those things would have happened had I been working from home the entire time. It was due to relationships which had been built up. Rightly or wrongly, it matters.

I also think the opinions of WFH vastly depend on your circumstances. The people gleefully saying we should all do it forever clearly don't work from their rooms in a houseshare. Also some people just enjoy the social nature of being around people in the office, having the chats. Others clearly hate it - a mix of WFH and offices is clearly the future

YES. People forget that many and maybe most twentysomethings are in houseshares or living at home. Many of those houseshares will be more than two housemates in total so getting to use the common area for work would be only every few weeks if trying to divide that area up fairly between housemates. Not a particularly nice work environment, being confined to your bedroom all day. No delineation between your work space and your sleeping quarters.

And I agree on the second point too - when I had to abruptly quit my job for health reasons, I really missed the social aspect; hearing different opinions and funny stories. Just human interaction. And in the job I had before I had to quit, it was work from home at first, then I worked in the office. I much preferred the latter. I am definitely more productive in an office environment. My brain switches to work mode. I liked my home being just my home. And there is nothing like walking in the door after a work day and just decompressing. WFH is definitely not for everyone.

J Mysterio

I'm starting a new job in Dublin city centre. I will be going to the office, at least untill IT have fully set me up, which I think might take a few days. I'll be very interested to hear whats proposed, but it seems they will want me to be 'available to be in the office at least two days a week'.

I like working from home. In my last job, I wanted to work from home at least one or two days a week. This was fine for some time, but eventually a new boss came in and made a big deal about it. Suddenly WFH had to have 'a good reason', had to be pre-booked and was generally frowned upon and made difficult. I have to laugh now that they all work from home, all the time. I don't believe it effects productivity for most people.

While I think things are not that bad now, we are heading into winter, and people will start getting cold and whatnot in addition to Covid. I think things will get significantly worse in the coming months, not better.

I think it's a good time for working arrangements to be completely reconsidered. A day in the office a week where needed should do the job for most companies. I like how some of the big tech multinationals took the lead and told employees its WFH untill mid 2021 at the earliest. Giving clarity like that takes a lot of stress off people at such an extraordinary time.

What will happen to all these huge offices and supporting businesses? I don't know really, but I think it's good for Ireland as a whole to take the pressure off Dublin (having to be there/ stress of commute/ hectic lifestyle) and lift the rest of the country a bit, and those businesses.

Many offices could and should be renovated to allow for social distancing and pod like working arrangements. Other offices could potentially be renovated to provide more cheaper accommodation, though the attractiveness of being in the centre of Dublin without necessarily having the amenities of 'the old world' is debatable.

andrew1977

Staff announcement in our place this morning , full office returns on 21st September.
WFH ends for all , office based in Dublin.

I assume that could/will change based on government advice next Tuesday , let’s see .

beauf

Only a matter of time before increased restrictions in Dublin.

https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/covid-19-in-ireland-latest-county-by-county-incidence-rates-1016466.html

I can't see them stopping business'es reopening offices.

antimatterx

andrew1977 wrote: »

Staff announcement in our place this morning , full office returns on 21st September.
WFH ends for all , office based in Dublin.

I assume that could/will change based on government advice next Tuesday , let’s see .

Thats going to be reversed.

Dyr

andrew1977 wrote: »

Staff announcement in our place this morning , full office returns on 21st September.
WFH ends for all , office based in Dublin.

I assume that could/will change based on government advice next Tuesday , let’s see .

Reality is the health service goes to **** around Oct-Nov until Feb-Mar every year, this year will be worse. You will see restrictions ramping up in a month or two.

Quin_Dub

Bambi wrote: »

Reality is the health service goes to **** around Oct-Nov until Feb-Mar every year, this year will be worse. You will see restrictions ramping up in a month or two.

I'm not convinced that that will necessarily be the case.

I have a suspicion that a lot of the usual "winter illness" will be a lot lower this year.

Social Distancing , hand-washing and mask wearing are going to have a significant suppressive impact on the typical Colds/Flu's etc.

That's not to say that Covid won't make a significant return over the winter , but I'm not sure that we're going to see the same level of Hospitalisations etc. from the regular Winter bugs.

andrew1977

antimatterx wrote: »

Thats going to be reversed.

As in the government will keep telling people to work from home (especially in Dublin) ? Thanks

antimatterx

andrew1977 wrote: »

As in the government will keep telling people to work from home (especially in Dublin) ? Thanks

I think so. I don't see any reason why people who can WFH, won't still WFH. The government should really enforce it, and any company forcing employees to come in, when they don't need to should be punished.

andrew1977

antimatterx wrote: »

I think so. I don't see any reason why people who can WFH, won't still WFH. The government should really enforce it, and any company forcing employees to come in, when they don't need to should be punished.

Thank you , let’s see what the government say on Tuesday , I commute into Dublin from another county and the thoughts of sitting in an office with 30 or so “strangers/ work colleagues” with a high infection rate in that area ain’t very appealing .

inthenip

Workplace were planning on bringing us in one day a week when the restriction date was up but now have scrapped it altogether.

Was talking to my boss and he said probably March is a realistic date.

I'll be pushing to work from home permanently now as well as we don't need to be in the office.

antimatterx

andrew1977 wrote: »

Thank you , let’s see what the government say on Tuesday , I commute into Dublin from another county and the thoughts of sitting in an office with 30 or so “strangers/ work colleagues” with a high infection rate in that area ain’t very appealing .

Two managers have asked me to come into the office this week, and I just flat out told them "No, I'm not coming into the office as I have to take public transport".

OU812

andrew1977 wrote: »

Staff announcement in our place this morning , full office returns on 21st September.
WFH ends for all , office based in Dublin.

I assume that could/will change based on government advice next Tuesday , let’s see .

Goldman Sachs?

andrew1977

OU812 wrote: »

Goldman Sachs?

Nope, not there .

Our place is run old school mentality, bums on seats in office is the attitude. However each time they have tried to haul us back into the office , the government advice over ruled them and they obeyed it . Let’s see what next week brings when the new roadmap is laid out .

hetuzozaho

andrew1977 wrote: »

Nope, not there .

Our place is run old school mentality, bums on seats in office is the attitude. However each time they have tried to haul us back into the office , the government advice over ruled them and they obeyed it . Let’s see what next week brings when the new roadmap is laid out .

Ah the 21st was the end of WFH per government advice was it?

You'd imagine the 9 month guideline they speak of will advise WFH again. Although I say this as very bias for WFH so maybe more hope than facts!

Interesting with Boris and trump coming out to get people back to the office. Seems like it's not essential for the work but they need our money and for us to be doing awful commutes to keep their cities going. Sigh. Seems short sighted.

andrew1977

Mr.S wrote: »

That's tough. Going into an office 5 days a week with all current precautions and rules will be a pain.

Out of interest, how did you all fare over the last six months? I would have thought it shows that employees can still be productive and "get the job done".

We all done superb with our workload at home , our management have acknowledged this too . We were a critical product supply during the past 6 months and we have never been as busy ,( our business gained from covid ),all carried out superbly by all employees at their own kitchen tables .
However they want bums on seats back in the office , and the end of today’s briefing was “ please remember the office location is your place of employment “.
I did speak to a manager off the record later today and he said .. let’s see what next weeks bring .

Staggered lunch breaks , traffic light systems to use the small bathroom facilities , disposable gloves to be used in kitchen / canteen area/ one way system in and out of office . No gathering at desks/ newly laid out office with social distance/ meeting rooms closed / no using of another persons telephone/ no couriers / delivery drivers allowed direct access into office / Hand sanitizers in each area / face masks available and PPE gear available upon request/ no team meetings allowed.
I have 4 to 5 hours of calls during an 8 hour working day on a Monday , 100% I know I will conduct them better at my kitchen table than in the new office environment.
Not to mention the benefit I have had of saving around 60 euro a week on fuel costs and + 10 hours driving per week driving to office and home again .