Is your company letting you work from home?

Akrasia

It’s actually the perfect opportunity for people who oppose working from home to gather statistics that they can use to falsely’prove’ that it doesn’t work

krissovo

I have been working from home the last 10 years, it's swings and roundabouts. Writing a proposal or a complex Technology architecture document for example is more productive to draft at home but less productive to finalise the release version if you need to collaborate. Teams and Slack etc have helped but true team buy in and positive input can only come face to face. Virtual whiteboards are helping to close the gap and I have found Mira/air sketch and a Ipad with pen really productive for my team but still not quite as good as a face to face workshop.

What we will end up with is a hybrid working environment with offices that have hot desks and moveable furniture so you can create temporary team spaces.

El Tarangu

Even companies that are diametrically-opposed to WFH in the normal run of things will start to invest increasing sums of money in facilitating it from now on - who knows how long this current pandemic will run for? And what if there was another virus in 5 or 10 years time?

witchgirl26

I'm working from home since last Friday. Was already set up to do so and do it once a week. Rang my boss in the UK as soon as Leo made his statement & just told him I'd be working from home to which he just laughed and said everyone would be soon. Sure enough Dublin office wide memo sent out an hour later advising us all to work from home. Poor IT suddenly having to set up people who'd never worked from home before in a hurry.

Captain Flaps

Have been set up to work from home for days, can do 100% of my job effectively using my equipment at home and can remote in to my work pc for the 5% of the time it's needed... but no, we're still being told to come in wednesday despite zero attempt to implement social distancing

PhilOssophy

Captain Flaps wrote: »

Have been set up to work from home for days, can do 100% of my job effectively using my equipment at home and can remote in to my work pc for the 5% of the time it's needed... but no, we're still being told to come in wednesday despite zero attempt to implement social distancing

You probably suffer from the same problem as we have in our workplace. On Monday, most people were accessible on Skype For Business, work was done as expected. But 1-2 team members didn't respond for a couple of hours, which will probably mean we will all lose WFH again once this is over. And ironically, once of them had been the most vocal about WFH for the last few years.

As usual, a few idiots ruin it for everyone. But maybe management will see what is happening and act accordingly, realising that most of us can WFH and be trusted and prove to them that it can work.

Anyone who is just fluting around is going to give them ammo that it can't work. A real pity.

cee_jay

Captain Flaps wrote: »

Have been set up to work from home for days, can do 100% of my job effectively using my equipment at home and can remote in to my work pc for the 5% of the time it's needed... but no, we're still being told to come in wednesday despite zero attempt to implement social distancing

Same, but our place does not have capacity for everyone to connect remotely apparently ( it hasn't been communicated officially) and critical services are being prioritised. They also haven't communicated the business continuity plan...

Tesla3

LolaJJ wrote: »

I would also like to add that I am in complete disagreement with my boss

You guys should join a union and demand you work from home, it is an unnecessary risk which could take a life. Pm me if you would like help with this!

miezekatze

sarah88 wrote: »

My job are choosing to ignore the HSE about working from home There is a large portion that can, without difficulty do their job from home.

They are completely refusing. Other then taking leave, or speaking with your employer (already done), are there any other options? Company is adament that they are depending soley on HSE for guidance but actively ignoring said guidance. Really concerned that we are being exposed unnecessarily,

It's the same for me. We can do our job from home no problem, there is no reason for us to be on site other than our employer telling us we either have to be there or take the day off. It's so frustrating, they are putting our health at risk for no reason at all. There's no parking either so it's public transport for all of us.

PhilOssophy

Tesla3 wrote: »

You guys should join a union and demand you work from home, it is an unnecessary risk which could take a life. Pm me if you would like help with this!

I'll get the popcorn ready for the reaction from his boss to this crazy suggestion....record it if you can LolaJJ.

While I don't agree with his actions, I doubt very much he will recognise a union........

Tazium

Dear boss,

Please outline the health and safety measures you have taken to ensure that coming into the office provides no increased risk to my health, safety and well-being.

Thanks very much,

Snotty

Work for a large subsidiary of a US company, we've been informed the whole workforce is to WFT till June at least and it will be reviewed again then, however the building will be opened 24/7 should someone have IT issues at home.
WFT is great but it gets old quickly, diet suffers, less exercise and cabin fever sets in, however if you plan a routine it is manageable

PhilOssophy

Snotty wrote: »

Work for a large subsidiary of a US company, we've been informed the whole workforce is to WFT till June at least and it will be reviewed again then, however the building will be opened 24/7 should someone have IT issues at home.
WFT is great but it gets old quickly, diet suffers, less exercise and cabin fever sets in, however if you plan a routine it is manageable

Yeah, a day or two a week is grand but after that, cabin fever sets in for sure.

ancapailldorcha

I've my first ever working from home day tomorrow. Any advice? I work in a lab so my productivity is going to take some form of a hit.

DopeTech

We done a WFH test day last week. Management extended it until Friday. By Friday afternoon we were all told to work from home until the end of the month with any office visits to be passed by management first. From an IT perspective my company was prepared. Globally most of the workforce are now working from home all virtually without a hiccup. I can see us working from home for at least 6-8 weeks.

TheBody

We have been told to work from home where possible. However, living in rural Ireland means my broadband is so crap, I'll almost certainly have to go to the office.

RedXIV

Email last night came in from overlords (irish arm of a MNC) that unless you physically NEED to be in the building to do your job, to WFH until the end of the month and a further review will happen then

NewbridgeIR

Have been WFH since 2015 - started at one day a week, moved to two days a week in 2018. On Thursday we were given a directive to work from home wherever possible. Office still open but I believe there is hardly anyone there so no issue with social distancing for the few that have gone in. Can do the job from home aside from dealing with incoming post - but a shift to every day is proving to be a challenge - given my children are here all the time.

punisher5112

Was off few days, back in today, can't work from home as will be ferrying others around....

Supposedly it's very quiet though.

Kintarō Hattori

Very fortunate that my job can be done from anywhere that has a decent internet connection. We were told to work from home and things would be evaluated at the end of the month.

Working from home is easy- it's trying to disguise the fact that I'm here from the 3 year old that's the issue :pac:

jester77

Mine always offered wfh, so everything is functioning normal. They are also giving us 2 weeks paid leave to look after the children when we have no alternatives, which is super helpful under the current circumstances.

Squeeonline

Been WFH since Monday. Expect it will last 4 weeks but will be reevaluated after 2. I work in a pharma company in Vienna but I can work from home. I'll probably pop in some time this week to pick up some paper/notes that I forgot on Friday in all the excitement.

The company actually gave me a letter meant for the police or whoever stops me that my company is critical and I am allowed to commute/travel as long as it's for business. Granted, I'm entry level so this went to everyone I imagine.

QuestionSpark

I'm a TCO Finishing contract next week. Not feeling great in health at moment. With the virus I don't want to get public transport or go to office. Playing it by ear but ccould I finish up the contract without returning to the office? Advice appreciated.

_Brian

Yea.
Not back to the office for weeks.

Stheno

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I've my first ever working from home day tomorrow. Any advice? I work in a lab so my productivity is going to take some form of a hit.

1. If you can, have a dedicated workspace.
2. Get up shower have breakfast then "go" to work
3. Structure your day and take regular breaks, I have a to do list
4. Keep in touch with colleagues.
5. Finish on time and "go" home

Stheno

_Brian wrote: »

Yea.
Not back to the office for weeks.

Same here, we work in a global team with conference calls 70% of the time so apart from the social aspect it doesn't make much sifference

solidasarock

solidasarock wrote: »

I work as a CO in a department in the civil service and No. Not unless I get infected or I need to be home if I had kids and need to mind them due to schools closing.

The official HR response is we are encouraged to work from home if we can but LOL only the higher grades are given work laptops that allow them to work from home so now all the senior staff will be "working from home" and everyone else has to drag themselves to the office to do the daily grind without unit leaders.

I understand the civil service isnt known for its fast acting, logical processes at times but it seems we have to wait until someone gets infected before they take it seriously.

Hi Solidasarock - I posted a similar situation yesterday in another thread.

I work in civil service as a TCO.
I work on a team which is mostly people in their mid twenties. I am 60. There is one bottle of sanitizer in the entire building of over 200 people - it is at the clock in area. There is none in the bathroom or at work areas. I've made my own sanitizer but its not very strong and may not be effective enough. I am very worried about picking up this virus.

We share document pouches, we operate machines with everyone touching screens, buttons and keyboards. From when I enter the building I have 10 doors to go through from going to the clock in area back to the floor I work on. Same again at lunchtime and break. I could be going through doors up to 40 times a day, that's a lot of door handles. The younger crowd were all talking about their weekend in pubs in Dublin. I feel very uneasy about this. Our work is non essential under the circumstances right now, its not Health or Social welfare.

Do I have to keep going to work when I feel this uneasy and worried? I live alone and my kids live abroad. If I get sick I am going to be completely alone.

QuestionSpark

QuestionSpark wrote: »

I'm a TCO Finishing contract next week. Not feeling great in health at moment. With the virus I don't want to get public transport or go to office. Playing it by ear but ccould I finish up the contract without returning to the office? Advice appreciated.

I'm a TCO too and I feel upset at there being no discussion at all about stopping work. We have no sanitisers or other precautions and share desks, documents, machines, bathrooms and go through numerous doors to get to my area of work. I hope there is some clarity tomorrow. I feel very vulnerable . Some HEO's and permanent staff have been given the option to work from home.

QuestionSpark

Deleted User wrote: »

I'm a TCO too and I feel upset at there being no discussion at all about stopping work. We have no sanitisers or other precautions and share desks, documents, machines, bathrooms and go through numerous doors to get to my area of work. I hope there is some clarity tomorrow. I feel very vulnerable . Some HEO's and permanent staff have been given the option to work from home.

No discussion. Very disappointing and upsetting in the current crisis. Same as yourself with about 100 doors to get through, buttons to touch, shared surfaces. Horrible. I feel like staying away, for both the sake of myself and others, particularly as I am so close to finishing up. Hope you get some clarity.

Tesla3

PhilOssophy wrote: »

I'll get the popcorn ready for the reaction from his boss to this crazy suggestion....record it if you can LolaJJ.

While I don't agree with his actions, I doubt very much he will recognise a union........

Well some people believe the boss is king, and others know better!
My experience is you can decide to fight and maybe you will lose or you can decide not to fight and allow the boss to win every way

Captain Flaps

Captain Flaps wrote: »

Have been set up to work from home for days, can do 100% of my job effectively using my equipment at home and can remote in to my work pc for the 5% of the time it's needed... but no, we're still being told to come in wednesday despite zero attempt to implement social distancing

Update: back in work. No sanitisers, email sent around about social distancing, both of the company owners appear to be working from home themselves as there's no sign of them here.

PhilOssophy

Tesla3 wrote: »

Well some people believe the boss is king, and others know better!
My experience is you can decide to fight and maybe you will lose or you can decide not to fight and allow the boss to win every way

Yeah well in the real world, he who pays the piper calls the tune. I am not defending his bosses stance but telling him you will help him join a union as a proposed action is just nonsense.

Mazuma

solidasarock wrote: »

I work as a CO in a department in the civil service and No. Not unless I get infected or I need to be home if I had kids and need to mind them due to schools closing.

The official HR response is we are encouraged to work from home if we can but LOL only the higher grades are given work laptops that allow them to work from home so now all the senior staff will be "working from home" and everyone else has to drag themselves to the office to do the daily grind without unit leaders.

I understand the civil service isnt known for its fast acting, logical processes at times but it seems we have to wait until someone gets infected before they take it seriously.

Same here we can work from home if you have a department laptop - which only AP and upwards have - so while they all left the building last week in a rush out the door - everyone else has to come in to such time IT can get people set up remotely using their own PCs at home - which could be weeks !

Mazuma

Mazuma wrote: »

Same here we can work from home if you have a department laptop - which only AP and upwards have - so while they all left the building last week in a rush out the door - everyone else has to come in to such time IT can get people set up remotely using their own PCs at home - which could be weeks !

There is software readily available to download onto your work computer that allows you log into it remotely.

I would like to think it would not take weeks for IT to distribute this software.

bladespin

salonfire wrote: »

There is software readily available to download onto your work computer that allows you log into it remotely.

I would like to think it would not take weeks for IT to distribute this software.

There are some serious security issues with the more standard off-the shelf remote log in softwares, most companies will want stronger software, especially for payroll related.

skooterblue2

LolaJJ wrote: »

We were all given laptops and set up on networks to facilitate us working from home but our boss thinks it's just like the flu and everyone is being hysterical so we all need to be here...in reality, we could all do our jobs from home

Could you buy your boss a history book and show him the parallels with our current time? I am not saying he will appreciate it but it might knock some sense into him.

listermint

bladespin wrote: »

There are some serious security issues with the more standard off-the shelf remote log in softwares, most companies will want stronger software, especially for payroll related.

Off the shelf stuff is what is used for remote access the world over.

I urge you to find a SAAS company using their own in house built and developed remote access software.


Its all third party known industry names (off the shelf)

bladespin

listermint wrote: »

Off the shelf stuff is what is used for remote access the world over.

I urge you to find a SAAS company using their own in house built and developed remote access software.


Its all third party known industry names (off the shelf)

I only know what I'm told not to use, but cheers, I'll pass that on to our IT manager.

Tesla3

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Yeah well in the real world, he who pays the piper calls the tune. I am not defending his bosses stance but telling him you will help him join a union as a proposed action is just nonsense.

Thankfully over 350,000 workers in Ireland have decided to join a union, they know that there is power in a union! They do not win every fight but they win enough. Hopefully you might gain enough courage someday to fight for yourself and colleagues. Come on you know you want to to!

Mrs OBumble

I am the IT support. Just about finished enabling 30-ish staff to work from home, this meant teaching some of them how to use laptops, as well as how to log in to the VPN. I was one of the last to be enabled, and will still need to attend the office for a short time each day to perform critical tasks there.

Three weeks ago, this company did not allow work from home. They had a minimal (1-2 person) setup to allow off-site working is extreme cases, usually when senior managers had to attend meetings.

It's been a busy few weeks, with lots of problem solving and changes of direction.

PhilOssophy

Tesla3 wrote: »

Thankfully over 350,000 workers in Ireland have decided to join a union, they know that there is power in a union! They do not win every fight but they win enough. Hopefully you might gain enough courage someday to fight for yourself and colleagues. Come on you know you want to to!

Nah, I prefer to be paid what I am worth and based on how hard I work rather than on how long I am there, if I don't like a workplace I leave and find a better one. I prefer to not be paid the same increment as the waster beside me who does f all.
I fight my own fight and let my colleagues fight theirs, without paying some bearded one in the process....
Have once worked in a unionised environment, did not join union, hated the place and the culture there and left.
But anyway, you have a good weekend and good luck with the union recruitment, I wonder how the person you were suggesting do that got on?

Tesla3

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Nah, I prefer to be paid what I am worth and based on how hard I work rather than on how long I am there, if I don't like a workplace I leave and find a better one. I prefer to not be paid the same increment as the waster beside me who does f all.
I fight my own fight and let my colleagues fight theirs, without paying some bearded one in the process....
Have once worked in a unionised environment, did not join union, hated the place and the culture there and left.
But anyway, you have a good weekend and good luck with the union recruitment, I wonder how the person you were suggesting do that got on?

Good luck to you as well, I hope your individualist working life delivers for you. For some of us others however a more collective approach works.

ExoPolitic

DopeTech wrote: »

We done a WFH test day last week. Management extended it until Friday. By Friday afternoon we were all told to work from home until the end of the month with any office visits to be passed by management first. From an IT perspective my company was prepared. Globally most of the workforce are now working from home all virtually without a hiccup. I can see us working from home for at least 6-8 weeks.

I think you work for the same company I do lol. Got the same memos.

trumptheman

Stheno wrote: »

1. If you can, have a dedicated workspace.
2. Get up shower have breakfast then "go" to work
3. Structure your day and take regular breaks, I have a to do list
4. Keep in touch with colleagues.
5. Finish on time and "go" home

Good advice, make sure to take your hour lunch as well.

I have a 60 inch TV at foot of bed and usually work off this till about lunch time.

I like the extra rest relaxing in bed to be honest as felt pretty much burned out the last year and its not affecting my work whatsoever. In fact I'm more productive but its funny doing meetings over Skype in bed.

I was going to ask for a month off unpaid soon but seem to be coming back to my own self working from home. I was suffering from severe burnout.

PhilOssophy

Tesla3 wrote: »

Good luck to you as well, I hope your individualist working life delivers for you. For some of us others however a more collective approach works.

It has delivered very well so far, through both good times and bad so I've no complaints! You should try it, maybe your collective approach is holding you and your army back.

KaneToad

PhilOssophy wrote: »

It has delivered very well so far, through both good times and bad so I've no complaints! You should try it, maybe your collective approach is holding you and your army back.

As long as you're alright, that's all that matters.

smelly sock

Still going in myself. Nobody else around and have an office to myself. Happy enough for the moment

smelly sock

salonfire wrote: »

There is software readily available to download onto your work computer that allows you log into it remotely.

I would like to think it would not take weeks for IT to distribute this software.

That software generally has a myriad of issues around security

Its not that simple.

miezekatze

My employer has finally come around and is allowing people to work from home now. It's been a very frustrating and stressful process to get this far, they were so unreasonable at the start and were willing to put our health at risk for no reason. I think a lot of us will be looking for new jobs once things get back to normal.

bladespin

PhilOssophy wrote: »

Have once worked in a unionised environment, did not join union, hated the place and the culture there and left.

Have to agree, had a similar experience and hated it and left, fight your own battles, would never sign up again.

Nothing against unions as such but definitely didn't fit me.