Working From Home

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Akie Dec 2020 12:00pm, 30 Dec 2020 1,036 posts	0 Akie Good thread, very much agree about my IM showing me as away. If i was in the office I wouldnt think twice if I spend more than 5mins in the kitchen making a brew as it probably means I was chatting to someone. We have the option to go into the office now which Ive done a few times for a change of scenery but its a 200 person office with about ten people a day going in so very socially distanced. Do find myself working later sometimes, again in the office Im conscious of catching the train/tram to get home.
JustCommandhohoho! Dec 2020 12:58pm, 30 Dec 2020 3,969 posts	0 JustCommandhohoho! Wotcha WFHers I am having a slack, just now. It's quiet today. Yesterday was not. I do occasionally feel the guilt, but I'm confident overall that the balance of time on home and work is about right. I have done odd days WFH before this year, never particularly liked it unless I had a specific task to undertake. Have worked in very distributed teams, and been the only one to go into the office in my team which I found just as lonely as being at home. It's not the location, it's the people. I work for a generally supportive organisation, and a department with good communications and use of technologies. Several meetings a day were already on Zoom. I already had a room at home I could use solely for work. The nature of my work means that most of the time I have been too busy to read the news or think too much about Things. These massively helped. Other things I do : - 20 mins exercise most mornings at 7. That's either Zoom Shred, or "walk to work" round the block. We've recently acquired a canine so even more walks - get up from computer every hour or so, meetings dependent. Make a tea. Do a lap of the garden if nice weather. Do a tiny housework job while the kettle boils. No more than 5 mins... - block out lunch in my calendar. There have been people booking over, I don't always accept. Unfortunately we seem to get crises mid morning that spill into lunch, I rarely get my hour. - it's gone a bit squiff over the holidays, but start at the same time I always did, 8am. - comfortable office setup. I managed to snaffle a good chair from an office clearance just before lockdown, so glad I did. - set up "natters" for my team - 2 30 min slots a week where there is no agenda and we're not supposed to talk work. The same 2 or 3 usually join but there's no pressure to. - done my best to foster a safe environment of trust where I let the team get on with it. - accepted that some days the mind will wander and I won't be very productive. That also happened in the office! I try to be aware of it, actually go and do something else, redress the balance. - Podcasts for background noise. I don't miss the commute but I do miss my chance to listen daily. I also listen to work relevant podcasts around the house all week so often find myself making notes on the whiteboard over the weekend if I've heard something worth trying. What I haven't sussed : - turning off the work profile on my phone after 6pm / weekends. - what to do with annual leave when you can't go anywhere or do anything much. - did try focus time / pomodoro apps. Somehow trying to focus 100% for 20 minute blocks just made me watch the app - which meetings to say no to. - what this will actually mean for career development. - compartmentalisation. Work things do get done outside work hours, and home/life things inside them. Like I started this ramble during work, realised I shouldn't have really. Stopped, went back during lunch. I could be more disciplined. - how to get 2 monitors to work reliably, every day, all day with my work laptop. Aaargh!
chunkywizard Dec 2020 3:53pm, 30 Dec 2020 11,000 posts	0 chunkywizard JC on the 2 monitors thing, do you connect and reconnect or just leave it set up? I use a dock for my PC but the laptop is left in it all the time as is the monitor. This works fine for me and both screens just work. What’s your issue? Are you using Win10?
JustCommandhohoho! Dec 2020 5:17pm, 30 Dec 2020 3,970 posts	0 JustCommandhohoho! Hey CW. I leave everything plugged in. Seems to play up most often after Windows 10 has locked / unlocked so first thing or after lunch. On my second docking station, have changed all the cables. Happens on DVI and HDMI. I've installed drivers and configuration software for monitors and docks and checked firmware. The monitors were 2nd hand from a colleague of GC's, and one has actually broken now, I only get half a screen displayed... maybe it's been on the blink and causing issues for a while... Think I will bite the bullet and buy a brand new monitor for me as opposed to having hand me downs. ooh hang on... the dock is USB, I wonder if I can stop it sleeping...
chunkywizard Dec 2020 6:07pm, 30 Dec 2020 11,002 posts	0 chunkywizard Do you have another monitor or TV you can use as a second screen instead to check if tht is the issue? Worth checking before you buy a new one.
Snoot Dec 2020 9:09pm, 30 Dec 2020 1,241 posts	0 Snoot We've had some interesting discussions with the main client organisation especially in the early stages regarding 'inefficiencies' of WFH, some definite issues with the teams working on 3D modelling packages until remote desktops were set up and we have some meetings. Effectively we get cost but no fee/profit on these hours. When trying to draw comparisons to pre lockdown working in their office it's interesting how they don't consider the 45min round trip between office and site on their shuttle bus as inefficient??
Surrey Phil Dec 2020 11:14pm, 30 Dec 2020 5,523 posts	0 Surrey Phil Keeping an eye on developments regarding schools delaying their restarts in the New Year. We have 13 and 16 year olds but my wife works at a primary school. Fully understand the reasoning but that will make my home working much more difficult, especially as one has special needs. Expect to be getting an e-mail or two from each school tomorrow.
Totriornottotri Dec 2020 8:15am, 31 Dec 2020 1,191 posts	0 Totriornottotri bbc.co.uk This may be of use. People are more productive apparently but promotion is tougher because they are not seen. I would like more coffee roulette and ‘social’ work activities. I think it is a good way to keep people engaged. Before I listened my concern with WfH is how you instil a culture and ethos into the workforce.
Totriornottotri Dec 2020 8:16am, 31 Dec 2020 1,192 posts	0 Totriornottotri Sorry forgot links are truncated. BBC Bottom Line, Lessons from Lockdown podcast.
Muttley Dec 2020 10:52am, 31 Dec 2020 974 posts	0 Muttley Wfh is great if you're an old hand without promotion aspirations and you have the right domestic circumstances. Suits me perfectly. I live alone, have a comfortable and spacious home with garden, and my work (now self-employed and part-time) lends itself to autonomy and solitude with colleagues on hand remotely if needed. All I ever wanted was to be left alone to get on with the job and not be bothered by management. Not so great though if you're new to the job, could do with having experienced colleagues around, and have to deal with OH, kids, school run, pets, etc in a small house or flat. Which is more likely to mean younger folk. I suspect the ideal is somewhere in between -- if you can wfh then go ahead but it'd be good to see you in the office maybe a day or so a week.