Working From Home Megathread

rostalof

[Deleted User] wrote: »

My Department allowed us all to take our office chairs and monitors home, and also provided laptops to those who asked for them.

They are currently rolling out new laptops to every staff member - mine is being delivered this week. Desktops are being made obsolete - when we return to office based work we will be using laptops and docking stations in the office.

I think the laptop/docking station plan has been on the go for a while for some departments/organisations. Revenue started moving that direction about 2 years back for anybody issued with a laptop, generally HEO upwards. All desktops were removed and they were provided with docking stations for their office desk. My department has made a similar statement about supplying laptops and using docking stations for those who have laptops when they return to work. We have asked repeatedly about getting laptops and finally a week ago, one team member, who has been asking since June, got one.

Just to clarify, when I referred to funding or allowances for equipment in my last post, I meant office furniture etc.

rostalof

rostalof wrote: »

I think the laptop/docking station plan has been on the go for a while for some departments/organisations. Revenue started moving that direction about 2 years back for anybody issued with a laptop, generally HEO upwards. All desktops were removed and they were provided with docking stations for their office desk. My department has made a similar statement about supplying laptops and using docking stations for those who have laptops when they return to work. We have asked repeatedly about getting laptops and finally a week ago, one team member, who has been asking since June, got one.

Just to clarify, when I referred to funding or allowances for equipment in my last post, I meant office furniture etc.

Yeah, the plan to replace desktops with laptops has been in the works for a while too, but its being applied to every grade.

They did supply laptops for anyone who asked for them, (work mobiles too) and I know they paid out on some claims for furniture (desks and chairs) early on, but like you say, I don't think they can do that now.

Mrs OBumble

Shawn Sparse Sunstroke wrote: »

We need to look at different ways of working, ones that don't involve tens of thousands of people travelling in and out of work at the same time, clogging up the roads and causing massive stress and inconvenience to each other.

Ah, Dev's dream of a largely rural Ireland, unsullied by the ravages of the industrial revolution.

Antares35

[Deleted User] wrote: »

My Department allowed us all to take our office chairs and monitors home, and also provided laptops to those who asked for them.

They are currently rolling out new laptops to every staff member - mine is being delivered this week. Desktops are being made obsolete - when we return to office based work we will be using laptops and docking stations in the office.

It's funny isn't it. I remember going to a business a few years ago some place that was full of hip new marketing heads and it was all hot desking and we thought they were so trendy and cool

AndrewJRenko

H8GHOTI wrote: »

Are your tasks possible from home? Are able to do your job without going to the office? That’s what they mean by possible. I’m guessing you know that though.

Government restriction isn’t work at home if you like it & have a suitable space.

That's one of many possible interpretations of 'where possible'. There is a fundamental question about whether the employee has a safe environment to work in, as is required by law. I don't have a safe environment to work in.

namloc1980 wrote: »

You've spent a large amount of this thread complaining about being "forced" to work from home. If you're not happy why don't you look for new employment somewhere that will have you in the office every day of the week?

For the vast majority of people WFH has been a positive out of this whole Covid experience. We get you're not happy about it, no need to keep telling us all.

I'm not looking for another job because I quite like my current job, and because at my age, changing job is extremely difficult.

I'll keep telling people about it as long as people keep posting the 'WFH suits me so you should stop moaning' nonsense.

Shawn Sparse Sunstroke wrote: »

If you're working for the public service it would be highly unusual that you haven't been offered a suitable chair and desk by now. Why don't you contact Fórsa.

No chair, no desk - some talk about doing a remote ergonomic assessment sometime soon, but no commitment as to what will come down the line after that.

There is also the complication that a desk to suit my body size won't suit the other people in the house who also need to use the room/desk when I finish work. I've always had my desk raised in work on ergonomist advice, anywhere I worked for the last 20 years. A raised desk to suit me won't suit the other, much smaller people who need a desk. So at present, I'm squashed into a cramped desk where I can't fit my legs or feet comfortably underneath.

Even if I were offed a desk to suit me, that still wouldn't solve the problem.

Antares35 wrote: »

Has your company not provided you with an allowance to buy office equipment? I managed to bring laptop and desktop home, already have desk and got my office chair couriered home too But OH for example his company gave them an allowance they could spend on ergonomic stuff needed and they could claim it back. Pretty bad on your employer if they aren't doing that as a minimum at this late stage.

Nope - public service, so no equipment, no allowance. Just my spare room being taken over without my permission and without any compensation.

H8GHOTI wrote: »

Seems so pointless now in retrospect. Why did we ever do it?

It’s the number one benefit for me I think. With light traffic I could get to my office in about 10 minutes but often sat in the car for an hour.

Shawn Sparse Sunstroke wrote: »

We need to look at different ways of working, ones that don't involve tens of thousands of people travelling in and out of work at the same time, clogging up the roads and causing massive stress and inconvenience to each other.

Or we need to look at different ways of travelling. When everyone wants to drive around with four empty seats all day, it doesn't work very well.

Shawn Sparse Sunstroke wrote: »

Exactly. Wfh full time is obviously not for everyone. Some people don't have an appropriate environment at home, others would lead very isolated lives without the companionship of colleagues and some are at an age and stage of their career where they might need a lot of steering and mentorship as they adapt to the world of work.

At the moment we're in crisis mode and everyone just has to suck it up. Once the crisis is over all of the above needs to be taken into account when formulating new policies around how we work. It might be local hubs, or a hybrid model or all kinds of other options.

What shouldn't happen, however, is a return to a rigid working model that belongs to a time when traffic volumes were low, telephones were the only means of instant communication and stay at home mothers were the norm. A huge amount of water has flowed under the bridge since then, and that model is now compromising family life, ruining communities and damaging the environment.

We're not in crisis mode now. We were in crisis mode last March and April. We've now had the best part of a year for employers to get their act together, and to provide a safe working environment as required by law. We were all willing to pull together for the sudden crisis, but that ship has long sailed. Worst case scenario could have us working in the way for years to come.

Deleted User wrote: »

Need?

If you needed to be in the office, Andrew, you would be accommodated with access to the office.

There are staff members in my Dept currently attending the office as their role requires it. There is a procedure in place and no issue with allowing staff go into the office when it is considered essential to their role - i.e. "needed".

But the fact is your role does not require you to be in the office. You confirmed as much to me in [URL="[https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=115269472&postcount=40](https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=115269472&postcount=40)"]this post[/URL] on the other thread that your role was not one that was classed as essential and did not require a physical presence in an office.

You're issue has always been that you don't want to WFH. That it doesn't suit you. Fair enough. You don't like it. I think we all get that. And I can sympathise to a point, with walls closing in on you.

But its a temporary situation, and the situation is changing all the time. No one expected the situation to drag on as long as it has.

Thousands more have it a lot worse then you do, right now. They have no jobs. Can you understand why they would not be sympathetic to you right now?

The government had to react to an ever-changing situation and they made the decisions they did based on protecting the public health, in the midst of an ever evolving national and global public health emergency. There simply wasn't the time to sit down and go through each public servant's contract and discuss changing it with them.

You should also know that as a civil servant, you are just a number. They are not going to make exceptions for you, unless you can give them a BUSINESS case for why you need to be in the office. As for moving roles, as a CS you go where you're told, when you're told, and there is very little, if ever, any negotiation in that. EVERYTHING is based on the business needs of the Dept first, not your personal needs.

You'll get your spare bedroom back, when the government decides it safe to allow office work to resume. Until then you can claim tax credits for your utility costs. And honestly, you need to stop ranting about it, and get on with it as best you can, because its not going to change anytime soon.

A safe working environment is a NEED, not a WANT. I need a safe working environment. My employer needs to provide me with a safe working environment as required by law.

I'm not looking for sympathy from anyone.

I was hoping that people could see:

1) the basic obligation of the employer to provide a safe working environment applies, even in Covid (as confirmed by HSA recently)

2) the basic right to private property - my house, my rules, I get to decide what goes on in my house, not my employer or anyone else

3) the business case of avoiding constructive dismissal claims and musculo-skeletal compensation claims.

rostalof wrote: »

Are you joking? He's a civil servant. Despite the public's perception that the civil service waste money like nobody's business and all civil servants are on the gravy train, that isn't the case. No departments or CS organisations that I know of have provided allowances or funding for equipment, this is set in stone by order of DPER. A lot of departments won't let you remove equipment from the office either. You know that €3.20 that your employer can pay you tax free as a WFH daily allowance, they flat refuse to pay that too. As for the tax credit for working from home, I did a rough calculation a few weeks back and even if you had about €4,000 in household electricity, phone, heating and broadband bills for the year, you'd probably be able to claim between €50 to €60 back.

That being said, unfortunately Andrew, as others have pointed out, the government have stated that anybody whose work can be carried out remotely must work remotely. The civil service has to lead by example in this instance so it can't be an a la carte approach and if the job you do doesn't physically require you to be in the office, you must work from home. Yes, it's a hardship on some people but it's not forever and as civil servants it's the least we can do for our country in comparison to the risks taken and sacrifices made by so many others.

It absolutely can and IS a a la carte approach at present. Staff are going into the office. The only extra requirement is that someone has to manage a rota. That's all that is required.

Antares35

Andrew can I ask (sorry your post is too long to quote and I'm on mobile so can't select a section) do you think we should all be made go back to a nine to five commute? I think what some people are trying to say is that working from home is working for them and their employers, and notwithstanding that the covid situation will hopefully not always be like this, that perhaps there should be more flexibility around being allowed to work from home going forward. At least, that is my hope.

I also recognise that it isn't for everyone, but for some their quality of life has improved drastically, so shouldn't we all be pushing for a move towards a flexible approach, one where employees can carve out a way that works for them? And that includes accomodating people who wish to be office based too.

As bad as it is to force people to work from home and cobble together some semblance of an office "environment" with limited resources, is it also not just as bad to say that everyone has to return to what was for many, a rat race and an existence rather than a life?

Surely there's a place for both.

c68zapdsm5i1ru

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Ah, Dev's dream of a largely rural Ireland, unsullied by the ravages of the industrial revolution.

We're moving on from the industrial revolution. That's the point.

c68zapdsm5i1ru

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

I'm not looking for another job because I quite like my current job, and because at my age, changing job is extremely difficult.

I'll keep telling people about it as long as people keep posting the 'WFH suits me so you should stop moaning' nonsense.



We're not in crisis mode now. We were in crisis mode last March and April. We've now had the best part of a year for employers to get their act together, and to provide a safe working environment as required by law. We were all willing to pull together for the sudden crisis, but that ship has long sailed. Worst case scenario could have us working in the way for years to come. .

Of course we're in crisis mode. The whole world is in crisis mode. Down the line your concerns will be valid ones, but against the current backdrop they're unbelievably trivial. You're talking as if you're the only person being asked to make sacrifices at a time when everybody's lives are being curtailed for the greater good.
An uncomfortable chair and the temporary taking over of your spare room hardly compare to deaths, job losses, the cancellation of important medical appointments, not being able to have proper funerals for loved ones, special needs children not being able to avail of vital services - just to mention a few of the truly awful circumstances many people are currently dealing with.

And no one is saying working from home suits me so stop moaning. We're saying your employer has to follow guidelines and whinging and whining about how hard done by you are is a bit tone deaf in current circumstances.

AndrewJRenko

Antares35 wrote: »

Andrew can I ask (sorry your post is too long to quote and I'm on mobile so can't select a section) do you think we should all be made go back to a nine to five commute? I think what some people are trying to say is that working from home is working for them and their employers, and notwithstanding that the covid situation will hopefully not always be like this, that perhaps there should be more flexibility around being allowed to work from home going forward. At least, that is my hope.

I also recognise that it isn't for everyone, but for some their quality of life has improved drastically, so shouldn't we all be pushing for a move towards a flexible approach, one where employees can carve out a way that works for them? And that includes accomodating people who wish to be office based too.

As bad as it is to force people to work from home and cobble together some semblance of an office "environment" with limited resources, is it also not just as bad to say that everyone has to return to what was for many, a rat race and an existence rather than a life?

Surely there's a place for both.

As stated above; My getting back to the office does not mean everyone getting back to the office.

Not going to quote the latest long post, as frankly I'm getting bored with it at this stage.

Andrew, staff are going into the office where there is an essential need. Your role does not fit the criteria.

You are choosing to ignore the whole point of why we were instructed to work from home in the first place. To suppress the virus, reduce contacts and reduce transmission, and to protect the health services from becoming overwhelmed.

We may be almost a year into this, but we are still recording new cases of covid in 4 figures every day, (and thats not counting untested) and deaths in the 3 figures. With the new variants now to also deal with the situation now is worse then it was last spring.

You say your employer is obliged to provide you with a safe workplace, but your employer cannot guarantee that in the middle of a pandemic.

They can't guarantee you won't become infected in the workplace, and in turn they can't guarantee that if you did become infected, you won't transmit the virus to someone else.

Workplaces have been identified as one of the places were transmission and outbreaks are happening. (I'm pretty sure spookwoman posted links to the figures on outbreaks in workplaces recently on one of the other threads).

So I'm afraid you'll simply have to put up with things the way they are, until the situation looks a lot different then it does now.

Thats me

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

As stated above; My getting back to the office does not mean everyone getting back to the office.

As stated above, your getting back into office will not happen until national emergency restrictions are lifted. Whatever you claim here would be worth to discuss in context of WFH in post-emergency times, but since you are going to return to the office immediately when allowed all this whining simply has no purpose.

AndrewJRenko

Thats me wrote: »

As stated above, your getting back into office will not happen until national emergency restrictions are lifted. Whatever you claim here would be worth to discuss in context of WFH in post-emergency times, but since you are going to return to the office immediately when allowed all this whining simply has no purpose.

We need these discussions now, to put a solid plan in place for when restrictions are eased.

Deleted User wrote: »

Not going to quote the latest long post, as frankly I'm getting bored with it at this stage.

Andrew, staff are going into the office where there is an essential need. Your role does not fit the criteria.

You are choosing to ignore the whole point of why we were instructed to work from home in the first place. To suppress the virus, reduce contacts and reduce transmission, and to protect the health services from becoming overwhelmed.

We may be almost a year into this, but we are still recording new cases of covid in 4 figures every day, (and thats not counting untested) and deaths in the 3 figures. With the new variants now to also deal with the situation now is worse then it was last spring.

You say your employer is obliged to provide you with a safe workplace, but your employer cannot guarantee that in the middle of a pandemic.

They can't guarantee you won't become infected in the workplace, and in turn they can't guarantee that if you did become infected, you won't transmit the virus to someone else.

Workplaces have been identified as one of the places were transmission and outbreaks are happening. (I'm pretty sure spookwoman posted links to the figures on outbreaks in workplaces recently on one of the other threads).

So I'm afraid you'll simply have to put up with things the way they are, until the situation looks a lot different then it does now.

Shawn Sparse Sunstroke wrote: »

Of course we're in crisis mode. The whole world is in crisis mode. Down the line your concerns will be valid ones, but against the current backdrop they're unbelievably trivial. You're talking as if you're the only person being asked to make sacrifices at a time when everybody's lives are being curtailed for the greater good.
An uncomfortable chair and the temporary taking over of your spare room hardly compare to deaths, job losses, the cancellation of important medical appointments, not being able to have proper funerals for loved ones, special needs children not being able to avail of vital services - just to mention a few of the truly awful circumstances many people are currently dealing with.

And no one is saying working from home suits me so stop moaning. We're saying your employer has to follow guidelines and whinging and whining about how hard done by you are is a bit tone deaf in current circumstances.

Unfortunately for you, the Health and Safety Authority disagrees with you. Their published guidance is crystal clear on the obligations of employers to provide a safe working environment for staff working from home.

https://www.hsa.ie/eng/publications_and_forms/publications/safety_and_health_management/guidance_on_working_from_home_for_employers_and_employees.html

You may not realise it, but there's a good reason why employers have taken serious steps around ergonomics for the past 20 years or so. They don't do it for a laugh or to tick a box. They do it because they know well that if employees don't have a proper desk and chair, well-fitted to the employee in question, it is going to come back to hurt the employee and the employer in the long run.

This was covered on the RTE News this evening, with the lady noting that claims have already been made and paid out by employers.
https://www.rte.ie/news/player/2021/0204/21904580-employers-warned-over-conditions-for-staff-working-from-home/

There's a good chance that we're looking at the growth of the next 'army deafness' claims scandal. Unfortunately, some people are too obsessed with hanging onto their own privileges that they can't see what is in front of their nose.

Shawn Sparse Sunstroke wrote: »

Of course we're in crisis mode. The whole world is in crisis mode. Down the line your concerns will be valid ones, but against the current backdrop they're unbelievably trivial. You're talking as if you're the only person being asked to make sacrifices at a time when everybody's lives are being curtailed for the greater good.
An uncomfortable chair and the temporary taking over of your spare room hardly compare to deaths, job losses, the cancellation of important medical appointments, not being able to have proper funerals for loved ones, special needs children not being able to avail of vital services - just to mention a few of the truly awful circumstances many people are currently dealing with.

And no one is saying working from home suits me so stop moaning. We're saying your employer has to follow guidelines and whinging and whining about how hard done by you are is a bit tone deaf in current circumstances.

Is this the oul Catholic 'offer it up' nonsense? Others are suffering, so I should get back in my box and shut up, even though there is no connection between the two?

Sorry, not buying it. My employer has to follow guidelines all right, like those from the HSA quoted above.

Jim Root

beauf wrote: »

Like I said thats not been my experience. Very popular now with so many using the cloud. It just eliminates so many issues caused by users breaking their machines.

Yep; no one in our place, can install anything on the machines. They are effectively useless without being on the company network.

kippy

Jim Root wrote: »

Yep; no one in our place, can install anything on the machines. They are effectively useless without being on the company network.

They shouldn't be useless....but I suppose depending on the type of setup they could be.

There are plenty corporate devices outside the office where the main user doesn't have the ability to install apps or make system wide changes that aren't "useless - the opposite infact.

c68zapdsm5i1ru

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

We need these discussions now, to put a solid plan in place for when restrictions are eased.






Unfortunately for you, the Health and Safety Authority disagrees with you. Their published guidance is crystal clear on the obligations of employers to provide a safe working environment for staff working from home.

https://www.hsa.ie/eng/publications_and_forms/publications/safety_and_health_management/guidance_on_working_from_home_for_employers_and_employees.html

You may not realise it, but there's a good reason why employers have taken serious steps around ergonomics for the past 20 years or so. They don't do it for a laugh or to tick a box. They do it because they know well that if employees don't have a proper desk and chair, well-fitted to the employee in question, it is going to come back to hurt the employee and the employer in the long run.

This was covered on the RTE News this evening, with the lady noting that claims have already been made and paid out by employers.
https://www.rte.ie/news/player/2021/0204/21904580-employers-warned-over-conditions-for-staff-working-from-home/

There's a good chance that we're looking at the growth of the next 'army deafness' claims scandal. Unfortunately, some people are too obsessed with hanging onto their own privileges that they can't see what is in front of their nose.





Is this the oul Catholic 'offer it up' nonsense? Others are suffering, so I should get back in my box and shut up, even though there is no connection between the two?

Sorry, not buying it. My employer has to follow guidelines all right, like those from the HSA quoted above.

No it's trying to make you realise that there are far more important and urgent and life threatening things going on than your concerns about office furniture and heating your spare room.
These are not normal times, everyone is having to put up and get on with it, and listening to your constant moaning about your rights and entitlements is getting very irritating.
If you'd been alive and living in the UK during WWll would you have been raging against rationing because you're 'entitled' to a healthy diet or blackouts because it's your house and you're 'entitled' to let the light in if you want.

Jim Root

kippy wrote: »

They shouldn't be useless....but I suppose depending on the type of setup they could be.

There are plenty corporate devices outside the office where the main user doesn't have the ability to install apps or make system wide changes that aren't "useless - the opposite infact.

We can use an internet browser, that’s it. No applications will work unless logged in and 2 factor authentication applied

Andrew these latest claims are simply ridiculous.

"My home isn't safe".

"No one asked me if it was possible".

You're playing with the interpretation of "where possible" when you know full well what is meant by it is can the work be done from a remote location.

In the meantime, if I was as miserable and uncomfortable as you claim to be, and I knew there was no end in sight then I would invest in whatever I needed to make myself less miserable.

This desk for instance. Only €229 and lucky you has a spare room to put it in. Get yourself a nice chair to match.

Keep the receipts for the trumped up claim you're clearly planning on taking.

In other news, my new laptop has arrived.

And now I'm in the market for a new desk too, so I can have my work and personal laptops side by side.

Only I won't make a drama out of it.

Mrs OBumble

Shawn Sparse Sunstroke wrote: »

No it's trying to make you realise that there are far more important and urgent and life threatening things going on than your concerns about office furniture and heating your spare room.
These are not normal times, everyone is having to put up and get on with it, and listening to your constant moaning about your rights and entitlements is getting very irritating.
If you'd been alive and living in the UK during WWll would you have been raging against rationing because you're 'entitled' to a healthy diet or blackouts because it's your house and you're 'entitled' to let the light in if you want.

That's like saying that so long as Covid is treated, it doesn't matter what happens to people with cancer or heart disease.

Mrs OBumble

[Deleted User] wrote: »

In other news, my new laptop has arrived.

And now I'm in the market for a new desk too, so I can have my work and personal laptops side by side.

Only I won't make a drama out of it.

Ah lovely, a thinly veiled "ive got such a big house that my spare room takes a big desk" post.

Good luck for you.

Like many people, mine won't fit a desk at all.

c68zapdsm5i1ru

How do you make that out Mrs O Bumble

AndrewJRenko

Shawn Sparse Sunstroke wrote: »

No it's trying to make you realise that there are far more important and urgent and life threatening things going on than your concerns about office furniture and heating your spare room.
These are not normal times, everyone is having to put up and get on with it, and listening to your constant moaning about your rights and entitlements is getting very irritating.
If you'd been alive and living in the UK during WWll would you have been raging against rationing because you're 'entitled' to a healthy diet or blackouts because it's your house and you're 'entitled' to let the light in if you want.

Except it's not WW2 and we're not in blackouts. All that is needed is a rota to make sure that on the days I'm in the office, there is no-one else in the three seats around me. That's all that is required.

Deleted User wrote: »

Andrew these latest claims are simply ridiculous.

"My home isn't safe".

"No one asked me if it was possible".

You're playing with the interpretation of "where possible" when you know full well what is meant by it is can the work be done from a remote location.

In the meantime, if I was as miserable and uncomfortable as you claim to be, and I knew there was no end in sight then I would invest in whatever I needed to make myself less miserable.

This desk for instance. Only €229 and lucky you has a spare room to put it in. Get yourself a nice chair to match.

Keep the receipts for the trumped up claim you're clearly planning on taking.

Not everyone has the privilege of 'investing' in a desk and chair, and extra heating, while also having to 'invest' in extra devices and broadband upgrade to let the kids do their schooling.

And sorry, but how exactly did you conclude what is meant by 'where possible'? Are you a legal expert now as well? Are you saying that expect those people who are working on a kitchen chair or a bedroom stool to just suck it up and bear whatever injuries may result, because someone can't be arsed managing a rota?

c68zapdsm5i1ru

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Except it's not WW2 and we're not in blackouts. All that is needed is a rota to make sure that on the days I'm in the office, there is no-one else in the three seats around me. That's all that is required.



Not everyone has the privilege of 'investing' in a desk and chair, and extra heating, while also having to 'invest' in extra devices and broadband upgrade to let the kids do their schooling.

And sorry, but how exactly did you conclude what is meant by 'where possible'? Are you a legal expert now as well? Are you saying that expect those people who are working on a kitchen chair or a bedroom stool to just suck it up and bear whatever injuries may result, because someone can't be arsed managing a rota?

Public guidelines say that only essential staff should be travelling to work, not that employers should be drawing up a rota.

Sultan of Bling

Andrew you put a link to the HSA website earlier.

Have you reported your employer to them or do you intend to?

AndrewJRenko

Shawn Sparse Sunstroke wrote: »

Public guidelines say that only essential staff should be travelling to work, not that employers should be drawing up a rota.

You have looked at the very broad definition of essential services, right?

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c9158-essential-services/#information-and-communications

And what happens when we ease back to Level 3?

c68zapdsm5i1ru

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

You have looked at the very broad definition of essential services, right?

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c9158-essential-services/#information-and-communications

And what happens when we ease back to Level 3?

I've no idea what your point is.

Mrs OBumble

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Ah lovely, a thinly veiled "ive got such a big house that my spare room takes a big desk" post.

Good luck for you.

Like many people, mine won't fit a desk at all.

Actually, you're 100% wrong there.

I live in a small two bedroom bungalow. There is no space in my bedroom where I can fit a desk, and my adult daughter occupies the other bedroom.

I've spent the last 11 months working from my living room, from the sofa with my laptop on a riser, balanced on an occasional table measuring 50cm x 36cm x 53cm. I now need a bigger table due to the work issued laptop.

I try to work from 8am to 4pm and my daughter spends most of the day in her bedroom, so I have quiet to do so.

But I get on with it, and I'm not complaining because I can still do my job, and I am not the type of petty minded jobsworth who is obsessed with rules in the middle of a global health crisis.

AndrewJRenko

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

Except it's not WW2 and we're not in blackouts. All that is needed is a rota to make sure that on the days I'm in the office, there is no-one else in the three seats around me. That's all that is required.

And again, you continue to ignored the point of why we are working from home in the first place.

It's not about rostering people on and off. It's about minimising the numbers of people travelling. Its about minimising contacts, preventing transmission, and protecting the health service. (Another approx 1300 cases and 75 deaths today, in case you're concerned).

Non-essential people working from offices will mean more non-essential people travelling on public transport. More cleaners who will then be needed to go in and service offices. More security staff, and so on, and so on.

Something which, despite all your mouthing about safe workplaces, obviously doesn't concern you at all, so long as your WANTS are met.

I'm done. I'm not interested in going around in circles on this any further.

I'm glad that for most people, common sense prevails, but as I said earlier, there will always be those who will be disgruntled, just for the sake of it.

Antares35

AndrewJRenko wrote: »

You have looked at the very broad definition of essential services, right?

https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c9158-essential-services/#information-and-communications

And what happens when we ease back to Level 3?

Have you tried going to work and arguing the points you put forward here with the gardaí that stop you in the way?

H8GHOTI

Andrew, can I ask was your employer able to get someone else to do your work for you or is it just not getting done during lockdown?