Working From Home Proactively Due to Weather

[CoachHines3]

i dont think i could work from home.

i have a lot of flexbility at work when to come in/when to leave but i come in every day.

very small company-- there are 4 of us.

 

[Dopey]

I’ve been working from home all week because of sick family members. I guess being home because of weather is a side benefit today. I prefer the office, but this more accepted option is nice.

 

[Cyclones_R_GR8]

Look for a bunch of huge abandon buildings in the future.

I see that as a definite possibility as well. We were already going to section off half of the upstairs portion of our building as we no longer have anywhere near the total number of employees in town from when we first started. Having been bought and sold several times makes us spread out all over the place. Plus finding talent is a nationwide search and it's easier to hire someone if they don't need to relocate.

 

[Mr Janny]

Prior to the pandemic, my job allowed one WFH day per week. I would always enjoy those days, but never thought I could do it long term. I've come to really like telecommuting though. My company has already announced that when the office is open again, we can choose how often we come in, anywhere from full remote to 100% in the office. I decided on doing one in person day per week, and the rest at home, so we'll see how that goes.

 

[carvers4math]

One of the few good things to come out of Covid. Also means less parents scrambling with what to do with kids suddenly on the loose for snow days.

 

[Gonzo]

I've primarily worked from home for 10 years now. I go into the office at the mothership one day a week, and that's the day I get little if anything done. There's no way I could go back to a situation where I'm in the office five days a week.

 

[Clonehomer]

I'm already disappointed in my coworkers at home setup. When you're supposed to be leading a meeting, maybe don't have your spouse sitting right next to you leading another meeting via speaker phone? If this WFH thing is here to stay, we're going to need a shift in accomodations for it. Dedicated space will be an important feature in real estate going forward. Or at least headsets that are designed to eliminate background noise.

 

[Drew0311]

Prior to the pandemic, my job allowed one WFH day per week. I would always enjoy those days, but never thought I could do it long term. I've come to really like telecommuting though. My company has already announced that when the office is open again, we can choose how often we come in, anywhere from full remote to 100% in the office. I decided on doing one in person day per week, and the rest at home, so we'll see how that goes.

IM pretty convinced a lot of companies will make some come back to justify having a huge office building. Companies don't like having that huge building and paying for it and having nobody in it. Even if everyone is still getting the job done. Plus, Management loves to be the center of attention and in a power position. That is a lot harder to do when you don't get to walk around the office being the big dog. I barely talk to my manager these days. I just do my job well and he has no reason to talk to me about anything. He is a good one though.

 

[Macloney]

I have worked from home for 5 years. I have not even been in the office for 2 years. The only reason I would go back in is to get my computer upgraded or if I have a computer issue. Pretty much my whole office went WFH during covid and nobody has gone back. These huge companies are figuring out that they can downgrade how big their office space is. Look for a bunch of huge abandon buildings in the future.

Do they give you any extra compensation for working at home? Phone, internet, etc.

When I worked from home 5 years ago we were getting phone and internet paid for, but by the time I left they had cut both saying that those were now common utilities that everyone had.

 

[MJ29]

Prior to March 2020, I did not think I would enjoy working from home. Then I was forced to, and I saw the benefits. There are still advantages (for me) to being in the office, but I'm glad we at least have a hybrid work option (two days home, three days in the office). My husband and I are both working from home today due to the weather. The kiddo is here too, which isn't ideal, but for one day, it'll work.

 

[Hoggins]

My wife has worked from home since 2015 and is feral at this point. She'll very likely work remote forever. I work from home whenever I want. In the winter, I work from home a bunch and in the summer I'm alone in a corn/bean fields doing science. With Teams, I really don't need to talk to anyone unless it's to correct issues. It's awesome.

 

[MeowingCows]

I'm still work from home due COVID company policy.

I think we're moving to permanent WFH post-COVID, after being fully in-office before.

Dodging weather by WFH has been a nice benefit at times. Driving 25 minutes to DSM and back normally would be a slog today, probably twice that time. And unsafe.

 

[CycloneErik]

I have been home since Dec 22nd. I dont care how bad it gets,, besides i had wrist surgeery yesterday so its up to the wife.

Good timing!

 

[Hoggins]

IM pretty convinced a lot of companies will make some come back to justify having a huge office building. Companies don't like having that huge building and paying for it and having nobody in it. Even if everyone is still getting the job done. Plus, Management loves to be the center of attention and in a power position. That is a lot harder to do when you don't get to walk around the office being the big dog. I barely talk to my manager these days. I just do my job well and he has no reason to talk to me about anything. He is a good one though.

Companies that force people back are going to lose talent. We're already seeing this with 16 million people having quit their jobs in the last 4 months and yet unemployment is low. Those people are still working, they're just choosing to WFH or leave **** jobs for better situations.

 

[CyHans]

I am hybrid meaning I come in 3 days every other week. I could have stayed home today because of the weather but I drive a truck and I'm one of the weird ones and actually enjoy playing in the snow. (Given there aren't people around me that don't know how to drive in snow) My wife is the complete opposite and loves WFH. I am literally the only person on my entire floor today.

 

[cycloner29]

Been working remotely for over 5 years. Went to the home office in December. First time I had been there since December of 2019.Sure you don’t get the everyday water cooler talk like you would in an office setting, but like @throwittoblythe said, the freedom and flexibility one has is immeasurable. Even with a 15 employee company, only 3-4 actually go to the office to work.

On my downhill side to retirement, but in the situation, I almost feel like I am as I work from home. It just seems to have so many more perks. My vacation is not tracked even. I'll go upstairs for lunch watch the noon news, maybe run a couple errands, etc. This kinda makes up for the other jobs that I had that going to work at 5-6 am and getting home at 11 at night during spring and fall in the ag industry. Plus the stress of not having to deal with with ownership on a daily basis. I mean I report to the owner every Monday and we talk for about an hour, but that's about it.

 

[BCClone]

Do they give you any extra compensation for working at home? Phone, internet, etc.

When I worked from home 5 years ago we were getting phone and internet paid for, but by the time I left they had cut both saying that those were now common utilities that everyone had.

Figure the commute, clothing and lunch savings would save you more than that.

 

[KnappShack]

Do they give you any extra compensation for working at home? Phone, internet, etc.

When I worked from home 5 years ago we were getting phone and internet paid for, but by the time I left they had cut both saying that those were now common utilities that everyone had.

I get a monthly stipend and we receive random stipends to upgrade our home offices.

We've been told that it's possible to relocate away from our regional office with one caveat

If we are needed in our assigned office we have to absorb the cost of getting to the office. They won't pay for air or hotel in that situation.

In my 5 years I think there's maybe 1 time we were actually needed downtown. So it might be a risk I'm willing to take to get out of this area.

 

[Drew0311]

Do they give you any extra compensation for working at home? Phone, internet, etc.

When I worked from home 5 years ago we were getting phone and internet paid for, but by the time I left they had cut both saying that those were now common utilities that everyone had.

No they don't. The theory they work on is if you don't like it, we have an office you can come work at. SO basically they don't care about the future office space we are going to be saving them when they can downsize the building to about a three quarters of what they have now. They know we like working at home so they don't need to give any additional money.

 

[BCClone]

No they don't. The theory they work on is if you don't like it, we have an office you can come work at. SO basically they don't care about the future office space we are going to be saving them when they can downsize the building to about a three quarters of what they have now. They know we like working at home so they don't need to give any additional money.

Many of these companies have to sign 10-20 year leases on buildings. It will still be a few years before companies can save on office space.