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Transitioning from Work-From-Home back to going to the office

Started by ZLoth, May 08, 2021, 08:36:34 PM

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ZLoth

This Dilbert got me thinking.... for those of us who transitioned from working in a office to working from home, how many of you are looking forward to going back to the office?

For me.... PLEASE! When I was job relocated to Texas, I paid a price premium to have a home within walking distance from my workplace with the bonus being that I'm a five minute drive from a Dart light rail station which can take me downtown. There are additional financial benefits including lower cost of operating my car and low car insurance premiums.

That's what bothers me about this whole Covid work-from-home. From February, 2019 to mid-March, 2020 (13½ months), I enjoyed my short commute including listening to an audiobook on my walk. The earliest we can go back to the office is the end-of-June, although realistically, we're not expecting to be back in the office until early September. That's at least 17½ months. I have a dedicated bedroom which I converted over to a home office for occasional work from it. For the past year, the only difference between work and home mode was switching my display from HDMI to DisplayPort mode and plugging my keyboard and mouse from my home computer to my office laptop.

Of course, the flip side is that this Covid thing provided me with some career-enhancing opportunities (along with some long hours) that will be very unique on my team's resume.
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Max Rockatansky

#1
My wife is looking forward to it, her office had her at home most of COVID.  She actually liked being at work and interacting with her co-workers, being at home has been grindingly boring I'm to understand.

To that end something I will like about her going to work is being able to take naps when I'm off or write with total silence.  The flip side is she will probably be more comfortable inviting family to stay over which will be just as great of a distraction.

Rothman

Not looking forward to it in general.  This was the time for us introverts to shine and now the extroverts are salivating at subjecting us to their incessant blabber out of a need to feel important once again.  We must stop their coup in its tracks.

I kept home and office separate psychologically by actually getting dressed for the day and keeping in mind when I logged in and out of my VPN into my office computer.  If keeping home and office separate was an issue for others, that seems to be more on them being able not to take measures to separate the environments in their heads than the simple need to work remotely.

I do have to say that I have a couple of staffers that are more productive in the office and are therefore ruining this respite from the office for the rest of us.  If they were like my other six staffers, I wouldn't feel the pull to go back into the office at all.

Going back to sitting in an office where work there are always some minutes of downtime where I'm sitting and waiting for others or for the next meeting just sounds awful, especially since those times allowed me to get things done around my home.  Going back to having to scrunch some home duties back into pre and post office hours just sounds miserable.

I also set up my home so I could quickly walk to the office.  I don't believe working from home tears me from that benefit.

Ideally, I'd prefer a workplace where I was in the office when I needed to be and free to work remotely when I didn't.

Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

Roadgeekteen

I don't work, but it was extremely special when I got to return back to school every other week. There were so many little things that I didn't know that I missed. I still like my remote weeks though as I get more sleep.
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vdeane

While work from home does have some nice advantages, I'm looking forward to going back to the office overall.  At work, I have a dual monitor system, which makes life a lot easier; at home, I'm remoting in from a laptop (chained through a VDI, as the Pulse system for remoting in directly doesn't work on any of my home computers, and the VDI tends to lag and is glitchy - for example, if I need to type something in all caps, I need to hit shift separately for each letter as if I were typing on a phone, as simply holding it down or using caps lock is not recognized).  And I could use my desk phone instead of my cell phone for WebEx/Zoom meetings and calling people again.  And scheduling time for field work/meetings is a PITA when working around telecommuting.  Plus it's nice to be able to talk to my coworkers and actually see human beings.  There was a while where my apartment felt like it had turned into solitary confinement with a cell phone and internet connection.  And grocery shopping is MUCH more convenient to do on the way home from work rather than as a separate trip in the evening.

As such, while I'm currently in one day a week in the office, I plan to increase that to three days a week once I'm fully vaccinated, and from there evaluate if/when to go back to a full five days per week (I've been taking advantage of staying at home and not needing to be presentable to dramatically shorten my morning routine and allow myself to sleep in another hour two days a week, so three days to five is a much bigger hump than one to three).

Quote from: Rothman on May 08, 2021, 09:51:36 PM
Going back to sitting in an office where work there are always some minutes of downtime where I'm sitting and waiting for others or for the next meeting just sounds awful, especially since those times allowed me to get things done around my home.  Going back to having to scrunch some home duties back into pre and post office hours just sounds miserable.
That would be the downside.  Days where there's not as much to do and nobody's around the office can certainly be quite boring, which isn't an issue with work from home.  And not being used to compressing everything as much as I needed to when I had a daily commute is one of the reason why I'm tying to take the transition slow.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

GaryV

From the possible arrangements I've heard, I'm not enthused about returning to the office.  The thing I hear most about is "hybrid", where you work from home some days and go in on others.  You wouldn't have an assigned space in the office, but would reserve a "hotel" desk.  No thank you.  I don't want to haul my stuff to and from work on the days I'm working there.  I want a space where I can keep things - simple stuff like pens and paper, reference materials, coffee cup, a fleece for those days that it's cold, etc.

1995hoo

I was already working from home before the pandemic and will continue to do so after things reopen. I live in Virginia and my office is in New York City.

Regarding vdeane's comment about dual monitors, I upgraded my work rig at home at my own expense when there was a combination of a Dell sale combined with an American Express promo that allowed me to get a great deal on dual monitors that attached to a single stand. Of course I understand why some people either cannot, or do not want to, spend their own money on that sort of thing, but I can keep those monitors if I ever change jobs and use them for one of our home PCs. Big thing for me is that, as vdeane says, dual monitors make life a lot easier. The laptop screen is far too small except for use in a pinch (e.g., of course I use it if I'm on Amtrak going to or from New York), and even a single monitor is not enough space for the way I work because I regularly have three or four Word documents, seven or more .PDFs, several browser tabs, e-mail, MS Teams, the Windows file manager, and one or two other things open all at the same time, so Alt-Tab is not an ideal way to cycle between things.

We have an IP phone thing that duplicates the desk phone at the office with an on-screen phone that uses either the PC speaker and microphone or a headset. Only thing is, it's a nuisance for voicemail because you have to use your mouse to click the buttons. We've started calling each other via MS Teams (usually voice-only, but occasionally video) because it's more convenient to make an internal call that way. Have to use the "softphone" to make external calls, though.

Being able to sleep later in the morning because I don't have to commute is certainly nice as well. I used to get up at 6:15 to be in downtown DC by 8:00, and that was without eating breakfast or drinking coffee before leaving. Now I get up at 7:00, shave and shower, eat breakfast and have my coffee, and then start work at 8:00.

I suppose for me the biggest downside of working at home is a smaller space. My home office is the smallest room in the house (other than bathrooms, of course). That also means because the monitors throw off a fair amount of heat (I have four monitors in there–the two I mentioned for work, plus two attached to my home PC) it can get rather warm in the afternoons. We replaced all our windows last year and the new ones are a huge improvement, so it'll be interesting to see how much of a difference that makes this summer.
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hbelkins

I'm not looking forward to it.

I don't look forward to getting up earlier in the morning to get showered, get dressed, and embarking on a 45-minute commute. Getting up at 7:45 to start the work day at 8 a.m. has its advantages.

With the price of gas going up, and me now having to drive an old truck now that gets less than 20 mpg, gas is an added expense that I won't enjoy paying.

I have been working from home where there is no payroll (occupational tax). The town where my office is located levies a 2% tax. So in the 14-and-counting months since I've been working from home, I've had a de facto 2 percent raise, which is more of a raise than I have had since 2007. I won't enjoy having less take-home pay when I have to start paying the payroll tax.

And there's the bonus of not having to deal with people, having to make idle chit-chat, and all those other things.

We've been given no indication when or if we'll go back to some semblance of a normal schedule. I have been going to the office every couple of weeks to get mail, sign timesheets, etc.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

MikeTheActuary

I was working from home before the pandemic, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.  I live outside Hartford CT (and will soon resume shuttling between CT and Memphis TN), and work in Montréal QC.

I actually miss going to an office.  While there are advantages to working from home and am a definite introvert, there is certain information that I picked up just by being around folks in the office.  Two offices ago, I had a 20-30 minute commute on back roads northwest of Hartford, and that helped create some mental separation between "home" and "work" that was nice.

However, when that office moved, and my commute went to 90+ minutes a day and I wasn't actually working with anyone in that building (I supported underwriters around the US...but not locally)...that's when the cost-benefit of going into the office made a compelling argument to working from home.

Before the pandemic, my company was toying around with letting most employees opt in to working 50% from home, probably on a "3 days office, 2  days home // 2 days office, 3 days home" schedule, as real estate reality in the Canadian cities where we have major offices was making it difficult to find space for the growing employee population.  While there hasn't yet been an announcement (aside from our offices being closed through at least Labour Day), most of us think that plan will be adopted.

Most of the folks in my department seem to be on the same page -- finding some advantages of working from home, but missing some of the impromptu discussions you can have in the office (and the social interactions, as most of my department is extroverted).

kphoger

I couldn't wait to get back into the office.  When the company started bringing people back in (like a year ago now?), they offered me the choice to continue working from home, and I said No way!

Walking twenty steps down the hall to personally ask a question is so much better than e-mailing someone and hoping they get to their inbox soon.
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webny99

Quote from: kphoger on May 11, 2021, 01:29:55 PM
Walking twenty steps down the hall to personally ask a question is so much better than e-mailing someone and hoping they get to their inbox soon.

This depends on the context, but it's definitely also a generational thing. Sometimes I'll use email even when I could just walk down and ask, especially if it's something that person is going to have to look up.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: kphoger on May 11, 2021, 01:29:55 PM
I couldn't wait to get back into the office.  When the company started bringing people back in (like a year ago now?), they offered me the choice to continue working from home, and I said No way!

Walking twenty steps down the hall to personally ask a question is so much better than e-mailing someone and hoping they get to their inbox soon.

I think that I would have begun to gone stir crazy at home myself.  It's way easier to do my job in person than over a computer or phone.  To that end I guess I feel fortunate that I never had to do remote work.  Besides I don't want the barrier between work and home life to get blurred any more than it has. 

hbelkins

When I go back to the office, I'll need to take a cat back with me, as I've grown accustomed to having supurrvision this past year-plus.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

golden eagle

I've been working from home for over a year and I can't imagine going back to the office. I did get an email saying I'll be working from home for the foreseeable future, so I'm happy about that.

Scott5114

Quote from: hbelkins on May 09, 2021, 02:20:09 PM
I have been working from home where there is no payroll (occupational tax). The town where my office is located levies a 2% tax. So in the 14-and-counting months since I've been working from home, I've had a de facto 2 percent raise, which is more of a raise than I have had since 2007. I won't enjoy having less take-home pay when I have to start paying the payroll tax.

I had no idea there were places where cities could charge payroll tax. As far as I know, that's not legal in Oklahoma.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

GaryV

Quote from: webny99 on May 11, 2021, 01:34:36 PM
Quote from: kphoger on May 11, 2021, 01:29:55 PM
Walking twenty steps down the hall to personally ask a question is so much better than e-mailing someone and hoping they get to their inbox soon.

This depends on the context, but it's definitely also a generational thing. Sometimes I'll use email even when I could just walk down and ask, especially if it's something that person is going to have to look up.

Or something that you want a record of the answer to refer back to when needed.

TheHighwayMan3561

My job by nature doesn't allow me to work from home, but we had kicked the tires on the the main weekday host doing shows from home if he felt it was becoming too dangerous to come to the station in person. We already had one host who was doing a show from home before the pandemic started, and I wouldn't really want to deal with a second host doing that where you can't easily communicate with them in moment-to-moment situations.
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Scott5114

Quote from: GaryV on May 22, 2021, 06:31:41 PM
Quote from: webny99 on May 11, 2021, 01:34:36 PM
Quote from: kphoger on May 11, 2021, 01:29:55 PM
Walking twenty steps down the hall to personally ask a question is so much better than e-mailing someone and hoping they get to their inbox soon.

This depends on the context, but it's definitely also a generational thing. Sometimes I'll use email even when I could just walk down and ask, especially if it's something that person is going to have to look up.

Or something that you want a record of the answer to refer back to when needed.

Or something you want written record of cause you don't trust the person not to throw you under the bus or to try to wiggle out of a commitment they made.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

texaskdog

We "closed" but I work in accounting so have always had to go in once a week.  We recently moved, increasing my drive from 14 to 28 miles, through bad Austin traffic.  Other department are coming back a couple days a week but we're sticking to one day.  Monday I get up at 5:15 and get home at 5.  Rest of the week I get up at 7 and am done at 4....works for me!

GaryV

Quote from: Scott5114 on May 22, 2021, 11:00:46 PM
Quote from: GaryV on May 22, 2021, 06:31:41 PM
Quote from: webny99 on May 11, 2021, 01:34:36 PM
Quote from: kphoger on May 11, 2021, 01:29:55 PM
Walking twenty steps down the hall to personally ask a question is so much better than e-mailing someone and hoping they get to their inbox soon.

This depends on the context, but it's definitely also a generational thing. Sometimes I'll use email even when I could just walk down and ask, especially if it's something that person is going to have to look up.

Or something that you want a record of the answer to refer back to when needed.

Or something you want written record of cause you don't trust the person not to throw you under the bus or to try to wiggle out of a commitment they made.

As I said, "when needed".   :-D

MikeTheActuary

Quote from: kphoger on May 11, 2021, 01:29:55 PM
I couldn't wait to get back into the office.  When the company started bringing people back in (like a year ago now?), they offered me the choice to continue working from home, and I said No way!

Walking twenty steps down the hall to personally ask a question is so much better than e-mailing someone and hoping they get to their inbox soon.

IT folks had been trying to get a series of instant messaging clients implemented for years.

Then the pandemic happened...and now we've all become well-versed in using Teams.   We can send a quick message, and switch to voice and/or video if needed.

It's not the same as just popping over to someone's cube/office...and Teams is a resource hog...but I'm hoping it sticks after our offices reopen.  It's nice not having to make an international call to get a quick question answered!

index

Obviously I'm not at the age where I'd have any job that would do this, but I will say that I hope that workplaces don't continue to do this after COVID where you have work-from-home-only job offerings or a mixed schedule in which some days you're regularly expected to work from home.

Based on how I did with remote classes, I cannot focus at home, and if I'm not leaving the house and in some sort of routine, at least during the weekdays, I can't really keep up with myself. I start to slip on hygeine, taking my medications when I should (or, more often than not, forgetting them entirely), getting in the right sleep cycle, etc etc. And I also start to binge eat.

Basically, I become a massive slob that doesn't put any effort into anything. I am an introvert and sometimes getting out there sucks, but just being at home all the time for literally everything is really, really bad for my health and well-being.
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Rothman

Quote from: index on May 23, 2021, 08:10:55 AM
Obviously I'm not at the age where I'd have any job that would do this, but I will say that I hope that workplaces don't continue to do this after COVID where you have work-from-home-only job offerings or a mixed schedule in which some days you're regularly expected to work from home.

Based on how I did with remote classes, I cannot focus at home, and if I'm not leaving the house and in some sort of routine, at least during the weekdays, I can't really keep up with myself. I start to slip on hygeine, taking my medications when I should (or, more often than not, forgetting them entirely), getting in the right sleep cycle, etc etc. And I also start to binge eat.

Basically, I become a massive slob that doesn't put any effort into anything. I am an introvert and sometimes getting out there sucks, but just being at home all the time for literally everything is really, really bad for my health and well-being.
I'm an introvert as well.  What helped me was keeping home and work distinct (e.g., still dress up for work and use when I log into my work computer as a psychological trigger that I am not really at home).  And, of course, having downtime at home is much more enjoyable than having it in the office.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

MikeTheActuary

Quote from: index on May 23, 2021, 08:10:55 AM
Obviously I'm not at the age where I'd have any job that would do this, but I will say that I hope that workplaces don't continue to do this after COVID where you have work-from-home-only job offerings or a mixed schedule in which some days you're regularly expected to work from home.

Based on how I did with remote classes, I cannot focus at home, and if I'm not leaving the house and in some sort of routine, at least during the weekdays, I can't really keep up with myself. I start to slip on hygeine, taking my medications when I should (or, more often than not, forgetting them entirely), getting in the right sleep cycle, etc etc. And I also start to binge eat.

Basically, I become a massive slob that doesn't put any effort into anything. I am an introvert and sometimes getting out there sucks, but just being at home all the time for literally everything is really, really bad for my health and well-being.

I've been working from home for over a decade now; I got started because after the local office moved I was spending 90+ minutes commuting each day only to sit in front of a computer and talk to people in other places by phone and email.

The trick to working from home is to be able to have a regular schedule, a dedicated space or "something" where you and others in your environment know that you're "at work".  Some people can do it better than others...and that's OK.

I'm looking forward to being able to go back into my office (now in Montréal).  But I'm hoping that a greater tolerance for WFH, and some of the communication changes that happened because of the pandemic lockdowns last.

texaskdog

Quote from: GaryV on May 09, 2021, 07:16:08 AM
From the possible arrangements I've heard, I'm not enthused about returning to the office.  The thing I hear most about is "hybrid", where you work from home some days and go in on others.  You wouldn't have an assigned space in the office, but would reserve a "hotel" desk.  No thank you.  I don't want to haul my stuff to and from work on the days I'm working there.  I want a space where I can keep things - simple stuff like pens and paper, reference materials, coffee cup, a fleece for those days that it's cold, etc.

Generally though they are so nuts about cleanliness now why would they do that?



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