Do you support 100% remote work?

[M_Six]

My former job was helping professors and instructors develop and troubleshoot online courses. 99.9% of what we did was online. I rarely had to set foot in a classroom or someone's office. So in my case, 100% online was very doable. I also had to support online courses that ran 24/7 or had evening test schedules, so I often had to work online at night anyway.

We worked from home for about 16 weeks in the spring of 2020, but were required to return to our offices in July 2020, well before the pandemic was over. I locked myself in my office and only dealt with people on the phone or online. So the only thing that changed by my being in the office was the chair I was sitting in. And at that point, since I was required to be in the office all day, I could have easily signed off at the end of the day and refused to deal with any issues after I left the office. I didn't do that because it would have adversely affected the students. But that was the ridiculous situation we were put in by the administration. It was a driving factor in my early retirement.

There are plenty of other jobs at the university that could be 100% online and then there are jobs that can't possibly be done remotely. So like everyone else here is saying, it depends on the job.

[m2ss]

If it improves the performance of my stocks then I support it.

[CarPoor]

My teams have consistently been more productive remote. Im an engaged manager and I expect that helps and in my view it’s those that can’t or are too lazy to manage their people engaged that have issue with the environment.

[Nachbar]

Originally Posted by wtwo3

I don't think I can ever go back to the office. I absolutely LOVE being 100% remote. The flexibility it offers my personal life is unmatched. It's much easier for me to do a mid-day workout as well in the comfort of my own home. I even have a new under desk treadmill to get some steps in so I'm not sitting on my ass all day. I don't think I'm any more or less productive, I'd say my productivity from home is roughly the same as when I was in the office. But quality of life has increased so much.

My evenings are much more relaxed as well since I'm not worried about feeling exhausted at work the next day if I stay up too late or having to get up early and brave the commute. If I'm feeling crappy, I can take a quick power nap in the comfort of my own bed and get back to work feeling much better.

Exactly this!
And we can manage and enjoy the two little kids better/more. I work about 95% remote, my wife one to two days a week (she works 70%). When I am leaving to visit a client for a meeting or lunch, my kids don’t understand, why I have to leave home for work.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by ///d

This!

I've worked places that say if you're hours are 0700-1500, then you will work 0700-1500. You need to be logged in and at your desk at 0700 and working, so better show up early to get your coffee ready. Then I've worked places that say your hours are 0700-1500, but if you need a few minutes in the morning to take care of something go ahead, if you got everything done by 1400 and nothing else is pressing go home and enjoy your day, spend time with the family. Thats the environment I want to work in, thats where people work hard to get things accomplished because theres always a reward at the end. Forcing me to sit at my desk for the last hour of the day with literally nothing to do doesn't create a work environment I enjoy working at.

This reminds me of this one place I worked at for just a few months between jobs. The places was a total cluster fuck. They basically "inherited" me and a couple of my coworkers as we were laid off from the business we worked for that shut down. This other company I guess was a client of that business or something and said they would take us in. It was much further from my house and we were getting a pay cut but were told it would be full time remote. However they wanted us to come in for a week or so to meet everyone and "train" or what not.

Anyways a week turned to 2 turned to a month etc. At some point people just started showing up at 10am or 11am so the owner of the places decided to make everyone start clocking in and out. The "clock" was just some web application restricted to the office IP. Of course we are all in tech and the owner was not very tech savvy. Everyone was of course on time every single day by remotely connecting to the office PC and clocking in from bed.

[SharpAndCunning]

A big part of this, for me, is a lot of people have changed jobs during the pandemic when work from home or remote work became very popular.

Here's the thing, a lot of those people negotiated salaries based on being work from home. Now companies want people to come back into the office, and the 2-3% merit raises we've all gotten don't even touch commuting costs.

I think people can be just as productive at home. I'm happy to work a little longer because I'm not commuting. I'm happy to check in on the computer at 7pm just to make sure something didn't come through.

There are a lot of people that are not disciplined enough to WFH and are not as productive. But those people are going to be unproductive in the office too. Just because they look busy, doesn't mean they are.

[F32Fleet]

Depends on the position.

[ASAP]

For any office type jobs that don't really necessitate collaboration... i.e. anything related to accounting, finance, pricing, any sales jobs absolutely... it would be wild not to support it.

That is unless you are against less emissions, for needless office space, time wasted commuting and general city overcrowding for no good reason.

The only exception I can see being made is junior employees (sub 2 years in the work force or experience).

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by Theruleslawyer

This has more to do with managers not wanting to think about how to measure output. If they are getting work done I don't care if it takes them 2hrs or 8hrs. If your metric is seat time, it just means bad employees have to pretend to work. Good employees are punished. If anything wfh would force review on meaningful metrics and lead to more equitable reviews.

this is ultimately what it comes down to... people that suck at their job or don't do anything were always in the office as well... trust me I worked with those people

[Balr14]

I was a mainframe systems support specialist for many years and worked remotely for over 10 years. There wasn't any point to being in the office, because I didn't have much need to interact with anything but the mainframe. Mainframes do not fail and it was my responsibility to keep it that way 24/7/365. At one time, my manager was in Belgium. We never met.

There are a lot of IT jobs, especially mainframe, that don't require being on site. If you require being onsite, you are going to have a hard time finding and keeping staff. I'm 80 YO and retired and I still get 3 or 4 offers per week.

Another observation... years ago, people felt the companies were looking out for you, they had your back; the people you worked with and your managers were like family. Those days are long gone. Especially with the current political climate. I don't owe you a thing!

[CTinline-six]

It depends a lot on the position, as well as the person.

A lot of positions can be done 100% remote, but obviously jobs requiring a physical task at a particular site cannot be done remotely.

The whole "people work in the office better" idea is bullshit. Those who screw off at home usually screw off and are distracted easily at work, especially if they are talking to other coworkers or surfing the web.

My philosophy is that as long as the work is getting done, and there is enough of a presence in the office for anyone onsite to be getting the assistance they need, a hybrid schedule is easily doable for my particular field (University IT). I just request that staff provide me with a weekly update of tasks they have completed. It's quite easy to see if people are doing their work or not, especially with MS Teams and ticketing systems allowing you to reach out to people when needed or see if they are online. Staff are either productive go-getters, or they aren't. The weekly update keeps those in check who are on the fence, but for the most part everyone does pretty well. I also find that staff are more willing to step up to the plate during crisis situations knowing that they have flexibility outside of those times. Obviously there are some who take advantage, but they don't last long in this environment, since the others care about keeping their flexibility.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by CTinline-six

The whole "people work in the office better" idea is bullshit. Those who screw off at home usually screw off and are distracted easily at work, especially if they are talking to other coworkers or surfing the web.

...and also distract their co-workers from focusing on their work.

When COVIDgeddon hit, my DW's employer at the time had a social butterfly that flickered between cubicles distracting anyone. She showed up late for group meetings, and then never put down her "smart" phone to listen or participate. If there was competent management who wasn't besties with the butterfly, she would not have survived her first employee review.

When lockdown hit, her computer was always "broken" so she didn't do much work. Back to the point, she was texting every one of her co-workers all day with non-work crap, making her just as distracting when WFH as she was in the office.

Ironically, my DW (who blocked the butterfly's texts) was let go due to lack of performance...because she wasn't a team player and refused to do the butterfly's work.....

[ryan stewart]

Im "hybrid" which is basically remote unless I have to go into one of the hospitals/practices and I wont be going back, too many opportunities out there.

Once covid hit I moved my setup into the guest room in the front of the house and setup a beast of rig that well eclipses what they put in my office, I have my own bathroom on this room, and I look out a giant double window into sunlight and trees. Im more productive work wise and my quality of life everywhere else has skyrocketed. Simple things like moving a load of laundry can be done in those little 5 minute windows between productivity or waiting on someone to respond to something, my commute has been replaced by gym time so Im damned near back to high school shape, my dog is happier, I cook healthier and more complex dinners, I have more time to meet friends on weeknights so im more social with people I actually want to hang out with, and my expenses regarding my commute are basically gone.

I wont be going back to a 1980s office building with flourescent lighting and sharing a communal bathroom some dudes who must eat taco bell 97 times a day.

Honestly the only knock is my BMW is starting to get that "classic car smell" from sitting. I keep it on a tender but guess I need to get some of those air freshener/absorber tubs to keep in it.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by ryan stewart

Im "hybrid" which is basically remote unless I have to go into one of the hospitals/practices and I wont be going back, too many opportunities out there.

Once covid hit I moved my setup into the guest room in the front of the house and setup a beast of rig that well eclipses what they put in my office, I have my own bathroom on this room, and I look out a giant double window into sunlight and trees. Im more productive work wise and my quality of life everywhere else has skyrocketed. Simple things like moving a load of laundry can be done in those little 5 minute windows between productivity or waiting on someone to respond to something, my commute has been replaced by gym time so Im damned near back to high school shape, my dog is happier, I cook healthier and more complex dinners, I have more time to meet friends on weeknights so im more social with people I actually want to hang out with, and my expenses regarding my commute are basically gone.

I wont be going back to a 1980s office building with flourescent lighting and sharing a communal bathroom some dudes who must eat taco bell 97 times a day.

Honestly the only knock is my BMW is starting to get that "classic car smell" from sitting. I keep it on a tender but guess I need to get some of those air freshener/absorber tubs to keep in it.

All "classic" BMWs smell like crayons. If you sat me blindfolded in an older BMW I'm pretty sure I could tell it was a BMW by the smell.

[ASAP]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

All "classic" BMWs smell like crayons. If you sat me blindfolded in an older BMW I'm pretty sure I could tell it was a BMW by the smell.

am I sick if I say, I like the crayon smell?

but definitely the older E series BMW smelled different in my opinion

[ryan stewart]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

All "classic" BMWs smell like crayons. If you sat me blindfolded in an older BMW I'm pretty sure I could tell it was a BMW by the smell.

Well I guess my e91 is a classic now. I'd like to negate it becuase it's basically the only sign of age anymore (I even replaced the door handles).

[XutvJet]

It really depends on the white collar job and your experience. I'm in environmental consulting. For someone fresh out of school or new to the company, it is imperative that they get some person to person training and mentoring. I'm not saying in the office fulltime, but easily 50%+.

I'm very much in favor of a hybrid arrangement for most office-based jobs. I am not in favor of fully in-office or fully remote in most instances though. There needs to be some level of person to person interaction. 100% Zoom calls and conference calls can't cut it, but fully in-office isn't necessary either. Being in-person undoubtedly increases collaboration, brainstorming, etc.

Hybrid is likely the future with offices being smaller/leaner where employees reserve cubes and office spaces and come in 10%-50% of the time.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by ASAP

am I sick if I say, I like the crayon smell?

but definitely the older E series BMW smelled different in my opinion

I don't have much experience with actual classic BMWs like e30s etc so I'm not sure if they have the crayon smell, but BMWs from like the 2000s forward definitely get that smell at some point.

The only cars I've owned that actually had a nice leather smell were a Cadillac XTS which was the top trim so everything was lined with leather. That car smelled really good, I miss it. The Cayenne also has a mild leather scent, although not nearly as much as the Cadillac.

Originally Posted by ryan stewart

Well I guess my e91 is a classic now. I'd like to negate it becuase it's basically the only sign of age anymore (I even replaced the door handles).

I use chemical guys leather scent in all my cars. It's the only car scent I like and to me actually smells the closest to actual leather. I find it too strong straight out the bottle so I typically dilute it a bit.

[Balr14]

Originally Posted by ryan stewart

Honestly the only knock is my BMW is starting to get that "classic car smell" from sitting. I keep it on a tender but guess I need to get some of those air freshener/absorber tubs to keep in it.

I never thought of that until you mentioned it. But, my old 335i that sat waaaay more than it was driven, had that smell. I think I averaged less than 1000 miles per year.

[Nachbar]

My Homeoffice doesn’t smell strange 😁

[3.0L]

F No. I don't know how to repair computers from home. I'm talking about hardware failures.

[Bruuuce]

Not totally a fan, but of course the role has allot to play with it.

Overall I'm more concerned with the economic impact of it. I am sure it's been stated, but the entire ecosystem is based on lots people going to X area, spending money to get there, spending money eating there and socializing around there after hours. Not to mention spending more money on housing to live near around there.

If all that changes what happens to the commercial real estate, small businesses, residential real estate... all the valuation in the real estate around these commercial facilities becomes about worthless. The opposite effect has already been seen with increasing housing valuations in remote areas because of remote work.

That's one of my problems with it.

Now only being connected to you work space, management, co workers via a screen is another long term bad step, IMHO. I just need to work out an AI of my talking head and then plug a socket into my real head and we are set. No need to even get out of bed, or leave your home.

Lots could be read into this, but it's the no interaction component to life. Many people get that sense from their job..

Thinking we are forgetting the interaction with people that is needed. Especially the ones you don't necessarily like or want to be around. Heck, some of them turn into the better work mates or friends long term.

Doesn't this also just make us all numbers, I know we are any way. But much easier if you can just send an email an say your gone, vs doing it in person.

So, maybe I've seen to many futuristic sci fy movies on the topic, but its not good when we are all hunkered into our individual eco systems.

not sure I should of commented on this. But overall thumbs down.

I will also say, I do like working from home, have done it am doing it and all that. But its not the same.