Coronavirus Workplace thread

[rage2]

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I’m clearly remembering that other thread wrong. I thought you said you had a webcam and teams trained on your guys all day long?

Uhh, nope.

https://forums.beyond.ca/threads/412...56#post4857556

Thought I was pretty clear.

[D'z Nutz]

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WFH will now be embraced as a viable option to save costs on office space and the office space might become a dying concept. Who knows?

I think so too. Once all this blows over, it wouldn't surprise me if more companies opted to continue with WFH, give employees the option, or do a partial office/WFH arrangements as a lot of people will be set up for it already and the underlying infrastructure is in place. My organization was already doing the partial office/WFH thing for a few years already.

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Personally, I prefer having separate work and home spaces. I find being in an office much less distracting because I am only there to work; mentally, it's just easier to keep the spaces completely separate. Not to mention that working from home would be far worse than having a company phone for the boss wanting work done at anytime outside of work hours. Workaholic bosses would be a nightmare.

I'm the same way. I need that boundary between work and home. I don't even check my email off hours and I make it clear to never to expect a response from me unless specific people call me to inform me there's an emergency and my assistance is needed. I've known project managers who once they figure out who will answer emails and texts off hours will exploit that, even going as far as figuring out what the daytime hours are in different timezones when people are going on vacation on the other side of the world so they know when to expect responses and completed tasks.

[revelations]

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Productivity measurement has always been more difficult than attendance tracking. But it's also always been more effective. Even without WFH any manager that care how many hours your ass is in a chair is a weak manager.

Years ago, I had a SERIOUS micromanager looking over my shoulder constantly. She would still find ways to pick on me (apparently she did this to all the men who worked under her).

It got so bad that I started tracking my mouse distance traveled - and then telling her that I did X km of work today. That shut her up.

[nzwasp]

Those of you that have both your spouse and you working from home, are you both sharing a work space or how do you have it setup? in my case our house doesnt have a dedicated office it has an open concept front room so we have that curtained off right now to make an office. Then we setup a couple of Ikea desks and 2 monitors and a docking station for my wife. Then I have the outside table (also ikea) upstairs in our bedroom to create a 2nd working space, also with a dock and two monitors.

[killramos]

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Uhh, nope.

https://forums.beyond.ca/threads/412...56#post4857556

Thought I was pretty clear.

It was the “I have been forcing my teams to enable video” that got me.

[Strider]

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It was the “I have been forcing my teams to enable video” that got me.

Or Spikers?
https://forums.beyond.ca/threads/412...46#post4857546

[rage2]

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It was the “I have been forcing my teams to enable video” that got me.

Ahh. Well by forcing I'm telling them to turn it on when meeting with me. Still have a few stragglers that refuse to turn it on because they don't haven't cleaned themselves up lol.

Like I said, video is only used for social and mental aspects of isolation. It's terrible to use it for productivity tracking, I can jerk off during a call with video on and nobody would know because I don't have a wyze camera pointed at my crotch.

[Xtrema]

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Yea I’m Impark, I’ll have to see if they have any policies but no way I will need my parking for April at this point.

Through the usual cancelation method it said earliest I can cancel is April 30 at this point.

Called them and confirmed that's the case. Since there was a waiting list at my lot (before COVID) plus there is discount off list price since they honored my old price before Impark took over the lot. I ain't giving that up as they have said I will lose it if I reapply.

Typical Impark. I'm not expecting they would do anything.

Given that lot out in 17th ave is cheap and my save almost if not more on gas anyway. I'll just let it ride.

[sabad66]

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Ahh. Well by forcing I'm telling them to turn it on when meeting with me. Still have a few stragglers that refuse to turn it on because they don't haven't cleaned themselves up lol.

Like I said, video is only used for social and mental aspects of isolation. It's terrible to use it for productivity tracking, I can jerk off during a call with video on and nobody would know because I don't have a wyze camera pointed at my crotch.

We are all still waiting for an explanation on that lol

On a related note, Wyze released firmware today that will allow you to use a wyze cam as a webcam. Unfortunately it requires a usb a to usb a cable which not a lot of people have.

[killramos]

Pro tip for WFHers is to remove the commute from your car insurance. Saved me a few hundred dollars from now until august renewal.

Still not sure what to do about my parking as I remember getting it setup in the first place was a huge hassle.

[holden]

People were admitting to using their car to commute for work? I assumed everybody just lied and said they take transit.

[killramos]

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People were admitting to using their car to commute for work? I assumed everybody just lied and said they take transit.

Will work out splendidly when you get in a crack up at 6AM between your home and the office.

Lieing to the insurance company is always a life hack.

[lasimmon]

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Will work out splendidly when you get in a crack up at 6AM between your home and the office.

Lieing to the insurance company is always a life hack.

This.

[sabad66]

Just like some smokers i know who lie about being nonsmokers on their life insurance. Like in what world do you think an insurance company isn't going to do some basic DD before paying out hundreds of thousands of dollars if you pass away at a young age?!?!

[HiSpec]

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On the dev side like everyone else we use the greatest micromanagement tool called Jira lol.

My previous employer used Jira. I absolutely hated it. I'm not sure if the developers at my previous employer didn't know how to configure or program it properly but it was clunky and there was always something broken or not functioning properly so they would give us 'workarounds' for certain tasks.

[ianmcc]

We have separated our crew into two shifts.
We are working Mon Tues Wed 12 hours with a makeup 4 hour shift every second Sunday; second crew working Thu Fri Sat and offsetting makeup shift.
This way one exposure won't quarantine everyone and we can still work by splitting the remaining crew and pulling in from other locations.
Except we have contract cleaning staff, managers and other business units in three different unions in the same building working across both our shifts basically counteracting our efforts.

[flipstah]

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this is a big concern IMO. Calgary is already struggling to fill office space so if companies realize they don't need as much it will only exasperate the problem. I can totally see our property taxes going up big time the next few years.

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Personally, I prefer having separate work and home spaces. I find being in an office much less distracting because I am only there to work; mentally, it's just easier to keep the spaces completely separate. Not to mention that working from home would be far worse than having a company phone for the boss wanting work done at anytime outside of work hours. Workaholic bosses would be a nightmare.

The only benefits I can see would be no commute, which would also be cheaper.

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I think so too. Once all this blows over, it wouldn't surprise me if more companies opted to continue with WFH, give employees the option, or do a partial office/WFH arrangements as a lot of people will be set up for it already and the underlying infrastructure is in place. My organization was already doing the partial office/WFH thing for a few years already.



I'm the same way. I need that boundary between work and home. I don't even check my email off hours and I make it clear to never to expect a response from me unless specific people call me to inform me there's an emergency and my assistance is needed. I've known project managers who once they figure out who will answer emails and texts off hours will exploit that, even going as far as figuring out what the daytime hours are in different timezones when people are going on vacation on the other side of the world so they know when to expect responses and completed tasks.

So I was a bit exaggerating about the office environment disappearing. It can't overnight but some businesses will start to accept WFH or solidify the fact why it doesn't work. It definitely depends on work culture because my current employer has started embracing WFH/working remote the past year or two as well so it's not a big change. It's just scale.

I'm on the camp of having separate environments as well, but WFH isn't bad. It's just weird hearing dogs howling or kids crying or kids wanting to talk to other people during a meeting but it is what it is.

I developed a bad habit of checking emails after work hours just to clear that notification blip on my phone. Really have to stop that, because I don't expect people to reply back ASAP.

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Pro tip for WFHers is to remove the commute from your car insurance. Saved me a few hundred dollars from now until august renewal.

Still not sure what to do about my parking as I remember getting it setup in the first place was a huge hassle.

Holy shit thanks! I just emailed Touchstone so yayaaaaay

[pheoxs]

Tbh i like working in the office more than at home. There's lots of little things that are much easier when you can walk over and chat with the rest of your team. Or you even overhear conversations that might be relevant to you and be aware of. Plus I like the structure of a commute and then coming home and being done with things.

[beyond_ban]

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Tbh i like working in the office more than at home. There's lots of little things that are much easier when you can walk over and chat with the rest of your team. Or you even overhear conversations that might be relevant to you and be aware of. Plus I like the structure of a commute and then coming home and being done with things.

The structure is a major key component that i miss. While it is nice to sleep in a little longer and to be able to roll out of bed and into my home office, not having the structure that comes with waking, showering, throwing on a suit and commuting into work sucks. I am a social person by nature, so just hanging alone in isolation without any kind of in-person interaction wears me down. I also find no separation between home and work now, as i am constantly sending / receiving emails and putting in work throughout the day / evening rather than leaving the office and trying to decompress until the next morning.

[pheoxs]

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The structure is a major key component that i miss. While it is nice to sleep in a little longer and to be able to roll out of bed and into my home office, not having the structure that comes with waking, showering, throwing on a suit and commuting into work sucks. I am a social person by nature, so just hanging alone in isolation without any kind of in-person interaction wears me down. I also find no separation between home and work now, as i am constantly sending / receiving emails and putting in work throughout the day / evening rather than leaving the office and trying to decompress until the next morning.

Yup exactly. I'd take office life over WFH life all the time (granted I have a 10 minute commute. If I was still in airdrie I'd probably be happier WFH)