Working from home Y/N

[Sasaferrato]

I'm retired, but have spent the last couple of evenings doing my neighbour's very belated tax return.

Had I known the complexity, I wouldn't have offered. He is PAYE plus three SE enterprises. Documentation is somewhat scanty, receipts are pretty much non existent, as are mileage details. He has been warned that if it goes tits up, it is 'signature' on the form.

When I started out, he offered to pay me, but I refused, he then said he would get me a good bottle of Islay malt. I would reckon we are now over a case, and counting.

 

[Sasaferrato]

The thing I really miss is air con.

It is 25°C in this room, and that is with a through breeze.

I'm off back to the garden.

 

[Pickman's model]

I'm retired, but have spent the last couple of evenings doing my neighbour's very belated tax return.

Had I known the complexity, I wouldn't have offered. He is PAYE plus three SE enterprises. Documentation is somewhat scanty, receipts are pretty much non existent, as are mileage details. He has been warned that if it goes tits up, it is 'signature' on the form.

When I started out, he offered to pay me, but I refused, he then said he would get me a good bottle of Islay malt. I would reckon we are now over a case, and counting.

demand to be paid in talisker

 

[mx wcfc]

Be interesting to see if they're happy for me to keep working at home as much. I'd gladly keep doing it but I expect they'll want me in for a day or two a week.

I'm sort of in favour of going in once a week, when this whole thing is over - just to socialise, go to the shops, meet up with my mates in Reading etc. I suppose it'll be good to see work colleagues too.

 

[Voley]

I'm sort of in favour of going in once a week, when this whole thing is over - just to socialise, go to the shops, meet up with my mates in Reading etc. I suppose it'll be good to see work colleagues too.

I couldn't give a shite about seeing my work colleagues.

 

[Sasaferrato]

demand to be paid in talisker

Lovely whisky, but from Skye.

 

[eatmorecheese]

I was a bit uncertain about WFH, but it seems to be working. Do admin, assessments and virtual visits, plus daily team meeting on Teams in the morning, then socially distanced home visits in the afternoon. The alternative is an office in Birkenhead, whch I'm happy to keep to a minimum

 

[Roadkill]

I've been in the office for the last few days, though am back at home for another couple of weeks now. Working on site has highlighted to me that I've drifted a bit during lockdown. Without urgent deadlines and with much less contact with colleagues it's been too easy to lose focus and not achieve everything I feel I should have done, something that the enforced isolation - as someone living on my own - has not helped. Looking back, I think I probably got a bit depressed after the first few weeks, and after a few days working alongside people I feel a lot more motivated and positive now than I did a week ago.

There are parts of my job I've always done best from home, and I have felt at times in the last few years that I've not had enough WFH time. If one outcome of the pandemic is that I get more of it then that's no bad thing, but I certainly don't want it to become the whole - or even the majority - of my working life.

 

[mx wcfc]

Today is fun.

I'm looked out of Outlook and all my files on the system.

I'm getting emails on my work phone, but there is bugger all I can do with most of them.

worse things have happened.

 

[MBV]

Trying to decide how many days I want to do in the office when we have the option to.

Living on my own I have missed the social element of work even if I never do any of the after hours stuff.

 

[DJWrongspeed]

The thing I really miss is air con.

Tell me about it. The stupid thing is there's a huge air conditioned office sitting there with a few people but we're not allowed back yet until we've done a load of H&S forms.

I'd happily go in 2-3times a week. WFH has not helped to inspire me to do my job at all. It's just depressing sitting in a room alone.

 

[RubyBlue]

How's WFH going for those where there's more than one member of the household doing it? Are you enjoying spending every hour of both your work and leisure time in the vicinity the same person /people?

that’s the only thing that’s getting to me ~ my partner and myself ~ 24 hours a day together in a 1 bed flat wfh. But then hopefully he’ll be back at the office in January and at least we are actually working rather than stuck here 24/7 unemployed.

 

[RubyBlue]

I couldn't give a shite about seeing my work colleagues.

That’s what I’ve been saying they mainly all nice enough but a convo over video is plenty enough for me!

 

[Thaw]

I've been back in the office hot-desking for 2 weeks now. Last week was good but this week I'm just enraged. I've got one idiot banging a mouse on the desk and sniffing and another one giving me a headache with all his cologne. I want to go home and spy on the neighbours like in the good old days last month.

But generally I prefer the inane background chatter and a change of scenery to sitting at home by myself.

 

[ElizabethofYork]

I'm currently doing 3 days at home and 2 days in the office, which is fine by me!

 

[moochedit]

Back to full time in the office

I was WFH for about 3 months when all this started and would have happily carried on for ever like that but my boss had other ideas

 

[cybershot]

I’m back full time. I’d say the time I spent faffing at home I actually feel less guilty about now because counting the hours of lost productivity from people just waffling away this week has been several hours at least.

To the point where I’m going to have to time a trip to the toilet or something every morning because when the one girl comes in she just insists on chatting to me for 30+ mins and it’s driving me nuts, even when it’s quite obvious I don’t want to talk she just doesn’t seem to get the hint.

 

[teuchter]

insists on chatting to me for 30+ mins and it’s driving me nuts, even when it’s quite obvious I don’t want to talk she just doesn’t seem to get the hint.

I believe that this might be an issue associated with working from home rather than working from work, for some people.

 

[marty21]

Slight change in our wfh arrangements, Mrs21 has now retired & gone back part-time. It's a good deal, gets her pension and paid for 3 days a week. So now I can work at a desk 2 days a week , after 6 months of working from the sofa.

I have to go in to HQ next week to pick up a new work mobile, that will be the 1st time in the office since March (albeit just to pop to reception). I have been to the neighbourhood I manage 3 times since March, 4th time will be next week.

No concrete news on a return to office work, I do want to go back, my productivity at home has been a bit disappointing

 

[cybershot]

I believe that this might be an issue associated with working from home rather than working from work, for some people.

no she’s always been like it. Over chatty and no filter. For people like me she’s just annoying. Lovey girl but annoying.

 

[sovereignb]

Still like it but only been doing it for 2 months. I would dread a 5 day a week again.

 

[skyscraper101]

Back back the office out of choice since August.

I've been very lucky though. We're encouraged to WFH, but welcomed in if we prefer to come in. It's very clean and safe here. Hardly anybody here still. Plus, to put everyone at ease, they've offered everyone over £50 a day in travel/parking expenses. So I could literally Uber to work and back if I wanted. Not that I am. I don't want to add to London's congestion.

I'm just expensing the train in, and sometimes the boat home to Putney.

 

[TopCat]

I'm just commencing working from home. Any recommendations to avoid pitfalls?

 

[Yu_Gi_Oh]

I thought I'd be much happier back at work, but I fucking hate it.

I'm the only teacher who made it back, so everyone else is still teaching online and posting pictures of themselves WFH in log cabins or in fucking Thailand or whatever, while I'm on campus completely alone actually physically teaching while the rest of them post up some asynchronous activities and get on with their lives in the meantime.

I know that it's better for the students that I teach in person. Their attainment last semester was poor, but I do miss doing yoga in my living room while they did their activities. Being lonely at home is better than being lonely at work.

 

[Elpenor]

I'm office based 100% as it's far easier to do my role with 2 screens, and need to use a desktop tower for sending payments etc.

Having spent 6 months unemployed living alone in a house, being able to interact with colleagues has been amazing for mental health and general mood. I had a few false starts beginning jobs which were wfh and quit within a week as I found it impossible to focus - the wrong setup at home, and terribly slow internet speed made it a real challenge.

 

[mx wcfc]

I'm just commencing working from home. Any recommendations to avoid pitfalls?

Don't log into Urban/FB/Twitter during working hours!

Get yourself set up. Decent chair to protect your back, that sort of thing.
As sunset gets earlier go for a walk at lunchtime.
Keep the green light on by nudging your mouse every few minutes.

More positively, get stuff like your washing done during working hours.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

I'm just commencing working from home. Any recommendations to avoid pitfalls?

Get some plants so you have some greenery around the area you work - it makes it much more pleasant.

 

[TopCat]

Don't log into Urban/FB/Twitter during working hours!

Get yourself set up. Decent chair to protect your back, that sort of thing.
As sunset gets earlier go for a walk at lunchtime.
Keep the green light on by nudging your mouse every few minutes.

More positively, get stuff like your washing done during working hours.

Green light?

 

[Elpenor]

Green light?

On Teams / Skype, it shows you're "active" and working as opposed to "away" and asleep on the sofa. A friend leaves his mouse on the washing machine when its running to keep the mouse moving when its on the spin cycle

 

[TopCat]

On Teams / Skype, it shows you're "active" and working as opposed to "away" and asleep on the sofa. A friend leaves his mouse on the washing machine when its running to keep the mouse moving when its on the spin cycle

Ok. I might design something. I have a battery operated cat toy I can attach the mouse to.