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If Work From Home becomes a thing...

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Comments

  • Registered Users Posts: 119 ✭✭AprilMayJune


    Antares35 wrote: »
    Why not? You still need your child minded even if you are working from home. I know the lockdown has been an exception but it isn't really a sustainable option long term. Certainly OH or I could not do our jobs from home if we had a small child to mind. In fact, my company's WFH policy specifically states that it can only be done when suitable child-minding provisions are in place. I would assume that is standard.

    I suppose it depends on the age of the children. Certainly with an almost 8 year old and a 10 year old living 5 mins from the school as opposed to 1 hour from work I could dispose of childcare almost entirely. I currently leave at 7.30 in office for 8.30 typically leave at 5.30 or later home just after 6.30 so childminder needed. If I WFH I could use breakfast club from 8 (school starts at 9.20) and work til 5.30. School has basketball/irish dancing etc 3 days per week from 3-4 so it would be a matter of having two children from 4-5.30 occupy themselves with homework/snacks etc. I have plenty of family on both sides that could pitch in if there was illness as childminder doesn’t take them then anyway. I also have a husband that could do the same so if I needed to be in the office/at a meeting he would be there. In addition my parents couldn’t nor would I ask them to do the hours a childminder does but a couple of hours a couple of days a week if was stuck is different.

    I really think it depends on ages of children/supports available. But especially as children are old enough to play outside/make a snack etc themselves it becomes a lot easier and could save parents a lot of money.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,629 ✭✭✭jrosen


    I suppose it depends on the age of the children. Certainly with an almost 8 year old and a 10 year old living 5 mins from the school as opposed to 1 hour from work I could dispose of childcare almost entirely. I currently leave at 7.30 in office for 8.30 typically leave at 5.30 or later home just after 6.30 so childminder needed. If I WFH I could use breakfast club from 8 (school starts at 9.20) and work til 5.30. School has basketball/irish dancing etc 3 days per week from 3-4 so it would be a matter of having two children from 4-5.30 occupy themselves with homework/snacks etc. I have plenty of family on both sides that could pitch in if there was illness as childminder doesn’t take them then anyway. I also have a husband that could do the same so if I needed to be in the office/at a meeting he would be there. In addition my parents couldn’t nor would I ask them to do the hours a childminder does but a couple of hours a couple of days a week if was stuck is different.

    I really think it depends on ages of children/supports available. But especially as children are old enough to play outside/make a snack etc themselves it becomes a lot easier and could save parents a lot of money.

    What will you do for the 2 mid terms, christmas break, easter break and the summer holidays. Thats approx 14 weeks where your kids will be home.

    My husband works from home one day a week and picks our 10 year old up from school at 3. He says himself he is not as productive that afternoon. There is the post school chat, the homework set up. Maybe needing help. Its manageable one day a week but not every day. If you can avail of after school clubs and breakfast clubs great but not all schools have those options. It will still leave many people needing childcare.


  • Registered Users Posts: 119 ✭✭AprilMayJune


    Hence I said it depends on options and supports available. I have worked from home before and also completed a masters distance learning whilst watching my children at a younger age then they are now so I know I can be as productive.

    My childminder doesn’t take them for extra time during school breaks as she minds others and is fully booked. So I’ll continue with the summer camps using all my leave during these times never being off at the same time as my husband etc that I have done for the past 10 years, and in the meantime they’ll get older and easier. I currently get 30 days ie 6 weeks as does my husband, technically that’s 12 weeks although more like 10 when school sports days plays teacher meetings are taken into account. So really isn’t as difficult as it may appear.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,629 ✭✭✭jrosen


    Hence I said it depends on options and supports available. I have worked from home before and also completed a masters distance learning whilst watching my children at a younger age then they are now so I know I can be as productive.

    My childminder doesn’t take them for extra time during school breaks as she minds others and is fully booked. So I’ll continue with the summer camps using all my leave during these times never being off at the same time as my husband etc that I have done for the past 10 years, and in the meantime they’ll get older and easier. I currently get 30 days ie 6 weeks as does my husband, technically that’s 12 weeks although more like 10 when school sports days plays teacher meetings are taken into account. So really isn’t as difficult as it may appear.

    I would imagine then for the average worker with 20 days annual leave, no breakfast clubs or after schools clubs they wont find it as easy as you did.


  • Registered Users Posts: 119 ✭✭AprilMayJune


    Never said it was easy I had 23 days leave until 18 months ago when I got promoted. It involved more weeks of camps. For many family’s this is much cheaper then childcare especially if the are on minimum pay extra and struggling to make ends meet. Again I said it depends on circumstances. Also not everyone works 9-5. My sister works for an American multinational and during the crisis they’re happy for people to work split shifts if necessary to have morning meeting with Europe then also be available for west coast meetings in the evenings. The juggle of doing this for a few years if possible is worth so much compared to the crippling crèche fees she currently pays and with her husband working 3 shifts in a factory they could make one of them available all day with much reduced childcare.

    Everything is not black and white. Plenty people are still juggling even with childcare and the reduction in commute could lessen costs to a degree that makes life enjoyable rather then just a grind.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 24,488 ✭✭✭✭lawred2


    bilbot79 wrote: »
    I'd be tempted to buy a little apartment in the Canaries and spend my winters there, in fact I'd probably

    1/ Sell my Dublin gaff

    2/ By a cheaper Irish gaff in the countryside

    3/ Buy a place in the Canaries

    4/ Buy another place somewhere in Europe, Hvar or somewhere like that


    And just spend weeks and months in each place.

    How would the rest of you exploit work from home if you had it permanently?

    must be one hell of a Dublin gaff you've got there


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,629 ✭✭✭jrosen


    Never said it was easy I had 23 days leave until 18 months ago when I got promoted. It involved more weeks of camps. For many family’s this is much cheaper then childcare especially if the are on minimum pay extra and struggling to make ends meet. Again I said it depends on circumstances. Also not everyone works 9-5. My sister works for an American multinational and during the crisis they’re happy for people to work split shifts if necessary to have morning meeting with Europe then also be available for west coast meetings in the evenings. The juggle of doing this for a few years if possible is worth so much compared to the crippling crèche fees she currently pays and with her husband working 3 shifts in a factory they could make one of them available all day with much reduced childcare.

    Everything is not black and white. Plenty people are still juggling even with childcare and the reduction in commute could lessen costs to a degree that makes life enjoyable rather then just a grind.

    I guess it depends on your definition of enjoyable is.


  • Registered Users Posts: 492 ✭✭Fritzbox


    mvl wrote: »
    nah, think it is more complicated than this: for example, there may be other countries in Europe where salaries are higher than in Ireland for a specific organization: nothing stops a remote worker from applying for a role over there now. Lets use Germany for example. If someone got a job there, while wanting to keep home office in Ireland - would they get the Irish or German salary, when reporting to the German organization ?

    - and for future, would these companies keep local salary scales, or would salaries end up being "global" ?!?

    Having lived in Germany for 10 years I'm pretty sure that no Germany company would ever accept such a scenario - having a full employee working for the company, employed to deal with work processes /flows and clients based in Germany alone - but being based in Ireland? You surely don't mean self-employed status - an actual contractor to the company?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,070 ✭✭✭bilbot79


    lawred2 wrote: »
    must be one hell of a Dublin gaff you've got there

    Nope I'ts just a regular Dublin gaff :)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 22,648 ✭✭✭✭beauf


    jrosen wrote: »
    Why do you think that?

    They won't get a full week. And it's very hard to get two family's with exact opposite childcare days.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 2,818 ✭✭✭Sunny Disposition


    Was talking to a guy who would have a senior position in the Revenue. He said it was very hard to get to be allowed work from home until a few months ago, now they are all doing it. He says there are some negatives, it’s hard to manage, but they will be doing it a lot more now, will be v hard to take it back from employees after demanding they do it, he says.


  • Registered Users Posts: 196 ✭✭Alter_Ego


    salonfire wrote: »
    Now that the world knows how relatively well working remotely can function, there is a whole sub-continent that will aim itself to take your IT job off-shore.

    Be very careful of advocating how well remote working is


    You are 10 years behind, it's been tried already and it was with few small exception one big failure.



    Anything that is critical to your business has to be managed closely, not from far East.


  • Registered Users Posts: 162 ✭✭mayo londoner


    "Workers, like those who work on their own, as well as other workers who can keep a 2 metre distance from others can return to work."

    This is what is suggested for phase 2. Do you think many offices will chance their arm opening up on the 8th June? Wording is a bit loose in my opinion. Company I'm working for seem to be really pushing hard for a return to office, that'll be the end of WFH for good with them no doubt


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,845 ✭✭✭Antares35


    I suppose it depends on the age of the children. Certainly with an almost 8 year old and a 10 year old living 5 mins from the school as opposed to 1 hour from work I could dispose of childcare almost entirely. I currently leave at 7.30 in office for 8.30 typically leave at 5.30 or later home just after 6.30 so childminder needed. If I WFH I could use breakfast club from 8 (school starts at 9.20) and work til 5.30. School has basketball/irish dancing etc 3 days per week from 3-4 so it would be a matter of having two children from 4-5.30 occupy themselves with homework/snacks etc. I have plenty of family on both sides that could pitch in if there was illness as childminder doesn’t take them then anyway. I also have a husband that could do the same so if I needed to be in the office/at a meeting he would be there. In addition my parents couldn’t nor would I ask them to do the hours a childminder does but a couple of hours a couple of days a week if was stuck is different.

    I really think it depends on ages of children/supports available. But especially as children are old enough to play outside/make a snack etc themselves it becomes a lot easier and could save parents a lot of money.

    Perhaps. Ours is due in ten days hence why we are looking at an au pair for the foreseeable. It will be a long time, if ever, before we let her out to play on the road. Mostly because of where we live. Its all just wait and see at the moment I suppose.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,845 ✭✭✭Antares35


    jrosen wrote: »
    I would imagine then for the average worker with 20 days annual leave, no breakfast clubs or after schools clubs they wont find it as easy as you did.

    Also I'd hate not to be able to have time off with my OH :(


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,070 ✭✭✭bilbot79


    "Workers, like those who work on their own, as well as other workers who can keep a 2 metre distance from others can return to work."

    This is what is suggested for phase 2. Do you think many offices will chance their arm opening up on the 8th June? Wording is a bit loose in my opinion. Company I'm working for seem to be really pushing hard for a return to office, that'll be the end of WFH for good with them no doubt

    This should really only be workers who are currently not working at all and that are getting the helicopter money


  • Posts: 14,344 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    lawred2 wrote: »
    must be one hell of a Dublin gaff you've got there


    I laughed at that aswell. 3 properties from selling 1.


    His house must be worth a fortune to keep maintenance on 3 properties, local taxes, charges, insurance, etc. and presumably still have a few euro in the back pocket.


    In real life, people may opt to holiday more, or book longer stays over winter in cheap accommodation with good internet if their work allows them to, but I don't see this thing of Coronavirus turning Europe into Paddy's Playground as all the Irish in Dublin start buying up half of the world. :p


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,070 ✭✭✭bilbot79


    I laughed at that aswell. 3 properties from selling 1.


    His house must be worth a fortune to keep maintenance on 3 properties, local taxes, charges, insurance, etc. and presumably still have a few euro in the back pocket.


    In real life, people may opt to holiday more, or book longer stays over winter in cheap accommodation with good internet if their work allows them to, but I don't see this thing of Coronavirus turning Europe into Paddy's Playground as all the Irish in Dublin start buying up half of the world. :p

    This isn't unfeasible at all

    Dublin gaff 550 splits into

    Irish countryside gaff - 300
    Pad 1 abroad - 125
    Pad 2 abroad -125

    What's up doc?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,049 ✭✭✭tabby aspreme


    bilbot79 wrote: »
    This isn't unfeasible at all

    Dublin gaff 550 splits into

    Irish countryside gaff - 300
    Pad 1 abroad - 125
    Pad 2 abroad -125

    What's up doc?

    It's not that easy to keep three house's, according to P Flynn


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  • Registered Users Posts: 58 ✭✭M256


    If working from home becomes a mainstream thing then the market of expensive apartments in city center will collapse.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,314 ✭✭✭KyussB


    Long term working from home = your employers will make you a contractor, not an employee - and even if your current employer has difficulty doing that, any new job you take up, will only hire you as a contractor if you'll be working from home.

    Once the workforce is atomized like this, you become disposable like e.g. Deliveroo workers - your employer can shove a huge chunk of equipment/utility cost on to you - you lose all side-benefits you'd get as an employee - you sort out your own pension, no company contributions if you previously had that - you are available 24/7, not from 9-to-5 - some jobsworth managers, who need something to do to justify their jobs/existence, will use intrusive monitoring/tracking to 'verify' you are really working, or just to spy on what you're doing out of curiosity, on your own home devices (which are piss easy to access over your local network - any corporate VPN software can trivially be configured to access your LAN - most of this intrusiveness will in many cases be through mandatorily installing tracking apps yourself).

    You're not going to be an employee much longer - you're going to be a contractor, with your employer being able to fuck you over a lot more, because you're just this depersonalized thing behind a screen, who can't really do much to defend himself/herself when constantly under the threat of unemployment, and isolated away socially from all other workers and unable to unionize.

    Good luck with that...you think having a shit employer in a physical workspace is bad? Wait until you've got a shit employer that's so bad, that they can intrude on every hour of your waking day, in your own home.


  • Posts: 17,728 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    ...... If the above spiel started to happen contractor retention would be difficult good candidates would be headhunted for staff roles. It won't happen in skilled roles IMO.

    Might happen in call centre type gigs which are poor if you are staff or contract.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,818 ✭✭✭Sunny Disposition


    bilbot79 wrote: »
    This isn't unfeasible at all

    Dublin gaff 550 splits into

    Irish countryside gaff - 300
    Pad 1 abroad - 125
    Pad 2 abroad -125

    What's up doc?

    This is the problem though when peoples property booms, they generally don’t realise it until it’s too late! Most people won’t sell at the sweet spot, they always think it’ll improve.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,070 ✭✭✭bilbot79


    KyussB wrote: »
    Long term working from home = your employers will make you a contractor, not an employee - and even if your current employer has difficulty doing that, any new job you take up, will only hire you as a contractor if you'll be working from home.

    Once the workforce is atomized like this, you become disposable like e.g. Deliveroo workers - your employer can shove a huge chunk of equipment/utility cost on to you - you lose all side-benefits you'd get as an employee - you sort out your own pension, no company contributions if you previously had that - you are available 24/7, not from 9-to-5 - some jobsworth managers, who need something to do to justify their jobs/existence, will use intrusive monitoring/tracking to 'verify' you are really working, or just to spy on what you're doing out of curiosity, on your own home devices (which are piss easy to access over your local network - any corporate VPN software can trivially be configured to access your LAN - most of this intrusiveness will in many cases be through mandatorily installing tracking apps yourself).

    You're not going to be an employee much longer - you're going to be a contractor, with your employer being able to fuck you over a lot more, because you're just this depersonalized thing behind a screen, who can't really do much to defend himself/herself when constantly under the threat of unemployment, and isolated away socially from all other workers and unable to unionize.

    Good luck with that...you think having a shit employer in a physical workspace is bad? Wait until you've got a shit employer that's so bad, that they can intrude on every hour of your waking day, in your own home.

    That's very negative now.

    You make out like employers are just going to have all the power but that's not true. The workforce needs to be engaged, to belong, to be part of the company's future in order to perform. If they only needed contractors then they would already be using Asian workers through Upwork etc


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,314 ✭✭✭KyussB


    How can anyone feel as if they 'belong' to a company they are never physically at? When you work from home, you're identical to any other worker anywhere in the world, as far as your employers are concerned.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 794 ✭✭✭Biker79


    KyussB wrote: »
    How can anyone feel as if they 'belong' to a company they are never physically at? When you work from home, you're identical to any other worker anywhere in the world, as far as your employers are concerned.

    This is a good point. It's a particular problem when you factor in a medium to high staff turnover.

    As long as human beings work at a company, it needs some sort of culture to bind people together. Otherwise, its a legal entity with a few people at the top and staffed by ( in effect ) ai-bots.

    If most company tasks can be automated and all you are to your colleagues is a Teams\ Zoom\Slack login...what will bind you to other people to create a culture?

    If that problem can be solved through, for example, an effective online culture and occasional meet-ups....then it can probably work for the majority of staff.

    I still think the higher value employees will get more of the face to face meeting time, along with space at the offices. With the lower value roles relegated to almost permanent WFH (and thus being more disposable).


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,367 ✭✭✭JimmyVik


    Be careful.
    One guy I work with moved to west Mayo about 5 years ago and works from home. He wanted to leave for over a year now but cannot get a job that lets him work from home. There are jobs but paying half what he gets paid now, so he is kind of stuck.


  • Registered Users Posts: 487 ✭✭Jim Root


    JimmyVik wrote: »
    Be careful.
    One guy I work with moved to west Mayo about 5 years ago and works from home. He wanted to leave for over a year now but cannot get a job that lets him work from home. There are jobs but paying half what he gets paid now, so he is kind of stuck.

    Guy I know moved to the back end of Waterford and commuted 2 days a month was suddenly surprised when his pay the following year didn’t increase in line with the Dublin employees. Was crying blue murder.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,367 ✭✭✭JimmyVik


    Jim Root wrote: »
    Guy I know moved to the back end of Waterford and commuted 2 days a month was suddenly surprised when his pay the following year didn’t increase in line with the Dublin employees. Was crying blue murder.


    That happened with the guy I work with too. Thats part of the reason he wanted to leave in the first place. Felt hard done by.


  • Registered Users Posts: 40 Niamh:>)


    jrosen wrote: »
    I think this is a little naive. Most companies who have work from home policies will have it stated in your contract that your children must be either in childcare or under the care of another adult in the house.

    What happens when your getting the kids up, fed, lunches made and all the usual morning chaos? what happens when they come home from school?
    The huge benefit with WFH is the commute. Anyone with kids will still need childcare to some degree.

    Well I was talking about working around school hours, and maybe my husband doing the morning shift with the kids. I was never trying to say I could work with the kids here, but flexibility is the key , for both of us. I mean I’m doing that now and the kids are here !


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,049 ✭✭✭gazzer


    Really? Where did you get this from?

    I'm hearing the exact opposite, that WFH is here to stay, and we have to find ways to make it work.

    Same. I work in the Civil Service and we have basically been told that for the rest of the year at least we will only be coming into the office once a week (one staff member per pod of 4 desks) and WFH the rest of the time. Though prior to COVID it was very hard to be allowed wfh even once a week. Mad how its been turned on its head in just a few months.


  • Registered Users Posts: 58 ✭✭M256


    KyussB wrote: »
    How can anyone feel as if they 'belong' to a company they are never physically at? When you work from home, you're identical to any other worker anywhere in the world, as far as your employers are concerned.

    If you work for a multinational it is very likely that most of your day you collaborate with colleagues in different countries without having met them, like never. You lose 2 hours a day in traffic only to sit all day in Skype in the office.


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 10,479 Mod ✭✭✭✭Jim2007


    KyussB wrote: »
    How can anyone feel as if they 'belong' to a company they are never physically at? When you work from home, you're identical to any other worker anywhere in the world, as far as your employers are concerned.

    Why do you need to feel you belong to a company in the first place? My family, my friends and my local community very much so, but a company no. It’s an economic arrangement, I’m not there to socialize or be popular, I’m there to do a job and get well paid for doing it.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,812 ✭✭✭Addle


    gazzer wrote: »
    Same. I work in the Civil Service and we have basically been told that for the rest of the year at least we will only be coming into the office once a week (one staff member per pod of 4 desks) and WFH the rest of the time. Though prior to COVID it was very hard to be allowed wfh even once a week. Mad how its been turned on its head in just a few months.
    It’s a great opportunity for departments to embrace change, but as usual, there are vast disparities between departments and even offices within departments.
    Our manager can’t wait to have us back in the office full time, even though the response to wfh has been nothing but positive.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 794 ✭✭✭Biker79


    Jim2007 wrote: »
    Why do you need to feel you belong to a company in the first place? My family, my friends and my local community very much so, but a company no. It’s an economic arrangement, I’m not there to socialize or be popular, I’m there to do a job and get well paid for doing it.

    Depends on the organisation. Many will place value in business/ cross-functional relationships. Being productive can be hard without having built effective relationships.

    Is it possible to build relationships while WFH? Possibly...but with challenges.

    Is it easier to do this in traditional bricks and mortar with face to face contact? Definitely.

    If your work is reduced to tasks that can be done remotely on a permanent basis, you are in a weaker position in terms of the value you add to a company. Which makes your job less valuable over time.

    Just last Friday I saw one of our perm WFH get dumped with a load of extra menial tasks because somebody had to do them and that person had the least amount of leverage within the Team.

    Not talking about Public/ Civil service here, but a private tech company.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,229 ✭✭✭mvl


    Niamh:>) wrote: »
    Well I was talking about working around school hours, and maybe my husband doing the morning shift with the kids. I was never trying to say I could work with the kids here, but flexibility is the key , for both of us. I mean I’m doing that now and the kids are here !


    I think it depends on your role and company's policies: some companies have core hours which don't take into account the times of school drops/collections (I know my employer has these core hours; e.g. I had to organize after school activities all the primary school, as I have recurrent meetings with staff abroad after 14h/15h).
    -also, I have seen this being abused by a percentage of parents in the company I work for, I guess I am quite judgemental of that: what about the employees who don't have kids ... why anyone elses work should be affected because someone is not available due to kids related activities ?!? Your kids, your responsibility; if it doesn't suit, there is also the option of reducing working hours.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 794 ✭✭✭Biker79


    M256 wrote: »
    If you work for a multinational it is very likely that most of your day you collaborate with colleagues in different countries without having met them, like never. You lose 2 hours a day in traffic only to sit all day in Skype in the office.

    In that case, your job can be marked by head office in the States for automation.

    With current tech, somebody chatting on Skype can be replaced by a chat-bot, once their tasks within MS Office are automated.


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,406 ✭✭✭PirateShampoo


    I wouldn't be in a rush to work from home. How long until they realise they can get a chap in Eastern Europe or Asia or where ever to do the same job for a fraction of the wages.

    You cease being a physical entity for the company, just a bot down the end of a wire costing them money.


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 51,688 Mod ✭✭✭✭Stheno


    Biker79 wrote: »
    In that case, your job can be marked by head office in the States for automation.

    With current tech, somebody chatting on Skype can be replaced by a chat-bot, once their tasks within MS Office are automated.

    I think this is a somewhat simplistic view, particularly in IT, a lot of the jobs there would not be ready candidates for automation especially at more senior levels


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 4,676 ✭✭✭strandroad


    Biker79 wrote: »
    In that case, your job can be marked by head office in the States for automation.

    With current tech, somebody chatting on Skype can be replaced by a chat-bot, once their tasks within MS Office are automated.

    No, that's incorrect. You're still working on projects with all the associated decision making and bespoke work, the fact that you can meet via video rather than face to face to collaborate doesn't make it a routine scripted task.


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,229 ✭✭✭mvl


    Biker79 wrote: »
    In that case, your job can be marked by head office in the States for automation.
    With current tech, somebody chatting on Skype can be replaced by a chat-bot, once their tasks within MS Office are automated.


    ahh, sorry, but that is a simplistic view of what activities might happen on that chat: you can have architecture / research related activities by virtual teams already, these are the ones enabling the automation you are about - so would be automated last ?!?


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,442 ✭✭✭KaneToad


    Mr.S wrote: »
    Will it though? People don't live in the city (centre) just to be near work.

    Will the city centres not evolve to be less centric. If employees were to move out en masse, there would be a commensurate reduction reduction in shops / restaurants / gyms / bars etc...? Will we end up with smaller cities and larger urban towns?


  • Posts: 17,728 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Biker79 wrote: »
    In that case, your job can be marked by head office in the States for automation.

    With current tech, somebody chatting on Skype can be replaced by a chat-bot, once their tasks within MS Office are automated.

    They could be collaborating with a sister site about projects or even project managing remotely.

    Chat bots aren't exactly capable of much.
    And loads of folk aren't working on automatable MS tasks all day.


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,029 ✭✭✭tastyt


    Love people trying to convince themselves how important and skilled their jobs are compared to others

    Yes, you can’t be done without, your company is different


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 10,962 ✭✭✭✭dark crystal


    jrosen wrote: »
    What happens when your getting the kids up, fed, lunches made and all the usual morning chaos? what happens when they come home from school?
    The huge benefit with WFH is the commute. Anyone with kids will still need childcare to some degree.

    I start work at 9 when my child has already been dressed and had breakfast and is in school. I could defer my lunch until 2.15, collect him from school, be home by 2.45 and continue working while he's doing homework, having a snack etc. Finish work at 5. There's no adjustments to be made to my working day there besides taking my lunch an hour later. Only difference being, now I don't have the cost of after school childcare.

    Now my son is almost 11, so that bit older. I would imagine parents of younger children may need more support, but regardless, WFH would save me money and make me a happier employee as a result.

    I work in the civil service and productivity in our particular office has been through the roof since WFH was implemented. At least four of my colleagues have cancelled the shorter working year they had previously booked for Easter/summer, thus more productivity from them also. I go into the office twice a month to the necessary filing, taking phone calls as rostered etc. and it's been working out great for everyone.

    There's only one or two people who would prefer to be in the office, but the vast majority of us are thriving doing the vast majority of our work from home. I really really hope it's here to stay!


  • Posts: 17,728 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Stheno wrote: »
    I think this is a somewhat simplistic view, particularly in IT, a lot of the jobs there would not be ready candidates for automation especially at more senior levels

    What senior gigs can be readily automated?


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 794 ✭✭✭Biker79


    mvl wrote: »
    ahh, sorry, but that is a simplistic view of what activities might happen on that chat: you can have architecture / research-related activities by virtual teams already, these are the ones enabling the automation you are about - so would be automated last ?!?

    Obviously, not all roles in a multinational or any other commercial company are research or IT Architecture related.

    I'm talking about the majority of roles in an organisation that are support based and not revenue-generating.

    These are the ones that are already susceptible to automation and WFH might only hasten this eventuality. The tech, btw, is already here. It's increasingly affordable and becoming less complex to implement.

    This was already on the horizon before COVID-19.


  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 51,688 Mod ✭✭✭✭Stheno


    Augeo wrote: »
    What senior gigs can be readily automated?

    Do you mean cant?


  • Posts: 17,728 ✭✭✭✭ [Deleted User]


    Stheno wrote: »
    I think this is a somewhat simplistic view, particularly in IT, a lot of the jobs there would not be ready candidates for automation especially at more senior levels
    Stheno wrote: »
    Do you mean cant?

    No, I don't mean can't.
    You made a point that particularly in IT a lot of the jobs there would not be ready candidates for automation especially at more senior levels.

    I asked what senior gigs can be readily automated ........ to clarify, I'm referring to outside IT.


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  • Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 51,688 Mod ✭✭✭✭Stheno


    Augeo wrote: »
    No, I don't mean can't.
    You made a point that particularly in IT a lot of the jobs there would not be ready candidates for automation especially at more senior levels.

    I asked what senior gigs can be readily automated ........ to clarify, I'm referring to outside IT.

    Ah outside IT I wouldn't know tbh it was IT I was specifically referring to, sorry


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