Remote working - the future?

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118571865#Comment_118571865

exactly - brilliant.

honda boi

My 2cents.

I worked on site as a trade for years until an accident meant I couldn't do my job anymore a couple of years ago.

Became a full time daddy , before covid I'd never get a job as I'd have no one to look after my kids,school runs, activities etc.

But now since covid I was offered a WFH job from a good company that allow me flexibility with my kids and working hours. They don't mind as long as work is done and hours are done.

They knew from the start of my situation and it didn't bother them.

Showed them I'm a quick learner and a good worker.

Remember I never worked in an office environment before in my life, so I learned stuff myself and with help from other colleagues online, not a bother to me to do so. Been working my ass off and still my kids are been looked after.

So I hope that this WFH stays as if it doesn't I'd be unable to work, meaning less taxes paid by myself to the country.

C3PO

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118566910#Comment_118566910

I actually agree with you - our IT teams are working well remotely and will likely only come into the office for collaborative planning sessions. But we believe that these face to face sessions even if only a couple of times a month are really important.

StupidLikeAFox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118571865#Comment_118571865

Ha, half of them were ireland playing g on their phones for some or all of it

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118573808#Comment_118573808

Agreed, the presenter has no idea if they were really focused or not. In the office, they'd all have brought their laptops into the meeting room to see the screen, plus had proper interactivity.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118573808#Comment_118573808

You need to hire better quality grads. Or run better training sessions

Probably both

Lefty2Guns

As a construction engineer I hope WFH remains. Before the pandemic I would have spent a lot of time going from site meeting to site meeting. That doesn't happen anymore and I feel the meetings on line are a lot more productive. Whoever needs to present gets the chance without constant interruptions. If part of the meeting doesn't involve your input your able to work on other tasks which could never happen when in F2F meetings.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118566964#Comment_118566964

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567061#Comment_118567061

You probably spend more of your waking hours with your workmates than with your family, at least on your working days. It IS possible to build friendships with workmates, friendships that contribute to your overall life happiness, AND contribute towards improved working relationships. Are some people afraid of having friends or being friendly in work?'Bala

Young_gunner

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118574371#Comment_118574371

Yet again, I see personal opinions being stated as fact. It depends on the person and stage of life etc.

BASHIR

I operate a hybrid now, 2 days WFH 3 days in the office, sometimes the opposite depending on what needs to be done. Pre Covid I'd be on the road before the rest of the house wakes up. I get to have breakfast with them two weekdays a week and do the school run there and back. No hope of me moving to an employer who doesn't offer that flexibility.

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118574773#Comment_118574773

thats an ideal set up imo.

Shuffl_in

I think this idea that people should work in offices so they can meet people and have friends really shows how bad and unhealthy the full time office working environment was.

A lot of people had little to no time for making friends outside of work pre Covid. Especially commuters.

I worked locally years ago and made some good friends. We went for drinks together, played sports together, called around to each other's homes, helped each other out with bits and pieces. That's what friends are. We lived local to work, we had no commuting time so had much more free time than I had in later jobs. We were seeing family a lot more too, like at breakfast and lunch. A much healthier environment and balance.

WFH gives people a lot more free time. A lot more time to join clubs, play sports, socialise. During Covid we didn't have this but that is what will happen. If a lot of people have more free time more clubs will form, more events, more socialising.

And of course you can still make friends with colleagues but this idea that we have to be crammed into an office with random people to make friends is just sad and wrong.

Cyrus

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118574951#Comment_118574951

i dont recall anyone saying that people should work in offices so that they can make friends. Where was that said?

sergioaguero

this is some farce...

https://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/no-flexi-tax-saver-ticket-for-staff-returning-to-the-office-part-time-41302868.html

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118574951#Comment_118574951

Sports clubs are just as full of random people. Every hitherto stranger you meet is random. I have very good friends from work that I can share my deepest sorrows, my greatest joys. They are real friends fostered over years, so to call that out as being a sad state of affairs could be considered quite sad in itself.

Shuffl_in

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575024#Comment_118575024

Nobody said that it's sad to make friends in work. You know that too.

It's sad that commuting to an office and having just a few hours with family in the evenings gives us so little free time to make friends elsewhere.

Some people's 'solution' to this problem seems to be that we need to get back to doing exactly that just so we can meet other people. Now that my friend is sad.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118567061#Comment_118567061

Not everyone is sporty, belonging to a golf club, have tons of family etc, some live alone and with a disability. Those of us in that category appreciate some little interaction with colleagues at times. And surprise surprise, there are some very efficient, creative and brilliant people in that category. People I have had the pleasure to work with.

AndrewJRenko

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118574490#Comment_118574490

Which bit of my post is not factually correct?

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575164#Comment_118575164

but you dont lose that interaction with colleagues by remote working if you feel it is important to you. You actually end up with more time available to you as many posters have pointed out.

Most of us work more efficiently remotely and can socialise with friends and family as well as maintaining professional relationships. Actually remote working even increased interaction with my colleagues as we couldnt physically meet in person (not enough space for everyone) but everyone can meet online.

Shuffl_in

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575164#Comment_118575164

I'm arguing for a healthy balance here. A blended option.

And I'm sure that even those that have no interest in clubs, no interest in sports and no family would argue that those who do should have a bit more time to spend at them.

I'm not sure where you're going with the efficient, creative and brilliant people thing. That's obviously some agenda you have going on in your head but it has nothing to do with what I said or any opinions I've shared so I'll leave it.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575162#Comment_118575162

if I had a job that could be fine remotely I would have enjoyed the getting the work done with part, but I would not have enjoyed a scenario where all my work was done from my single person apartment without an opportunity to socialise with any of my colleagues.

Anyway looks like many folks will be working in the attic for many years to collect a pension.

kingtut

I've worked from the office right throughout the pandemic and have no interest in working from home. Too many distractions for me but I understand why it would suit a lot of people.

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575240#Comment_118575240

why you think you cant socialise with your colleagues when you work remotely I dont know - what has a single person's apartment got to do with anything.

Shuffl_in

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575285#Comment_118575285

It's either the 'single person's apartment' or the 'working at the kitchen table with screaming children' scenarios that they use.

gauchesnell

y

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575353#Comment_118575353

agree very confusing. I have no interest in socialising with my colleagues but my professional relationships havent suffered. We actually get to meet and interact more.

But you are reliant or need to socialise with work colleagues you can continue to do so - remote working does not mean people are locked into their "single person's apartment" and can never leave.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575201#Comment_118575201

As long as they are in the same region as yourself. If your remote colleagues are the other end of the country or in another country altogether then it becomes more like a tinder online chat 😂 But I suppose I am looking at it all from the perspective of a person who worked in a service location where face to face customer contact is what it’s about, a diverse work environment which includes teaching people with previously limited basic literacy how to use tech.

During pandemic I had several remote consultations with my GP, who was working from home, and it certainly did not equate to face-to-face. Tech cannot replace everything and everyone, yet. Tech is actually more likely to replace an amount of tech people on the future.

Sunny Disposition

It is a big change though. I think it's a big challenge now for people who are working remotely to develop and maintain interpersonal relationships. Because remote work for many people started while everything was shut, people got off to a bad start. There is a need for people to meet others during the course of the day, but for a lot of people a job won't provide that anymore.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575231#Comment_118575231

There are one or two on this thread who reckon they can do the work of several people in half the time sitting at a laptop, and if everyone followed suit there’s be tons of time for all to enjoy loads of leisure time. That’s not most people though, most people are just average. And many jobs simply cannot be expedited by their very nature. There are parallel universes of working environments, not everyone can fo their entire workload from a laptop or at double speed to maximise leisure time.

Shuffl_in

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575473#Comment_118575473

You're doing it again though - going off in a different direction.

We're looking for a healthier work/life balance. More time with families and friends, more time for hobbies and interests. Less time in the car or on public transport. Better sleep.

Some time in the office is needed (I believe). And there should be that choice there for those who can't work from home. But the mental and physical benefits of WFH to the majority of people just can't be ignored.

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118575424#Comment_118575424

it didnt equate to face to face for you. I also attended my GP remotely, got test results and renewed prescriptions online. Worked fine for me and worked out cheaper. Honestly Ive never used tinder so dont know what that means. And again weird tangent - nobody said it is replacing everyone and everybody.

I work in customer facing role but again I think you mean the physical sense - for us (I work in a university) customer facing is not just physical face to face. We moved on from that even before covid - why there is no demand for it.