Has Covid changed your opinion on working from home?

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How do you feel about working from home?

I like it more than I expected
5
28%
Less than I expected
2
11%
I expected to like it and I do
4
22%
I expected to dislike it and I do
0
No votes
I always worked from home
3
17%
I’ve gone to work the whole time
4
22%
 
Total votes: 18

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ghostrunner
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Has Covid changed your opinion on working from home?

Post by ghostrunner »

We’ve discussed this here and there but not in one place, I don’t think. I think the answers ought to cover all the bases.

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CardsofSTL
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Re: Has Covid changed your opinion on working from home?

Post by CardsofSTL »

Not done any work from home. Not that I would mind if I could.

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Popeye_Card
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Re: Has Covid changed your opinion on working from home?

Post by Popeye_Card »

For me personally, I still prefer going in to the office for most days. We have been primarily back in the office since June of 2020, but went to a flex schedule a few months ago where employees can elect to work 1 day at home (or wherever) each week. I've only used that flexibility a couple of times, but it is nice to have the option some days.

I will say that managing my team was much easier than I expected when we were all working remotely. However I think we also got extremely lucky that Microsoft Teams was just getting a foothold at our company at the same time, which really enables virtual meetings and collaboration better than Skype or other software ever did. If it had happened a year earlier, it would have been tough.

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MrCrowesGarden
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Re: Has Covid changed your opinion on working from home?

Post by MrCrowesGarden »

I enjoyed the brief time I got to work from home and I wish I could do so again. I really don’t feel anything is being missed with office culture.

AWvsCBsteeeerike3
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Re: Has Covid changed your opinion on working from home?

Post by AWvsCBsteeeerike3 »

I hated having my office at the house because it felt like I was incessantly at the office.

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Radbird
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Re: Has Covid changed your opinion on working from home?

Post by Radbird »

I had an office job for most of my career. That changed while I lived in Boulder. The business unit I was with worked in the federal arena, and the main customer was USDA. I worked primarily in defense and intelligence. Although I had an office with the group, almost everyone I supported was in WMA. The company started to reduce their physical footprint so I took advantage of that by switching to work from home. I still spent a lot of time in the DC area at first but in 2011 transferred to the global technology group and became fully remote for the last 8 years of my career. I absolutely loved it. Dealt with folks around the globe. This meant weird hours - for example, 3AM MT was 4PM in Beijing - but also massive flexibility. As long as I had cell service, I could be anywhere. The store, mowing the lawn, at a ballgame, visiting family in STL or Wisconsin. It made it possible for us to move to NH before retirement.

Fair trade off which was a good fit for me, especially late in my career as an empty nester. Your results may vary. I thought seriously about looking into work from home opportunities once COVID crashed our retirement travel plans. If only I had known it was going to be a 2+ year ordeal…

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Popeye_Card
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Re: Has Covid changed your opinion on working from home?

Post by Popeye_Card »

I feel like work schedule flexibility is a much bigger perk typically than work location flexibility. At least for me, and at least in terms of having to still have a home in Ohio (for me) rather than, say, the Amalfi Coast.

There's a rumor my company is going to start a 9/80 schedule soon across the board (meaning you work 80 hours over 9 days, and you get every other Friday off). That's a much bigger perk than being able to work in my PJ's while my dogs bark in the background.

Gashouse
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Re: Has Covid changed your opinion on working from home?

Post by Gashouse »

Definitely. My previous work from home attempts were mostly one-off days, and they didn't go all that well. I felt more productive in the office. With COVID forcing me to set up a dedicated work space, I'm more productive at home than I expected to be, and for the most part, it hasn't been a challenge to manage my team - with one notable exception. I also appreciate the schedule flexibility since I try to make it to at least some of my kids sports events that are in the afternoons, and not having a commute makes it easier to do that. My work space is a little tucked away in the basement, so it's also out-of-sight, out-of-mind when I've put in my hours.

Fortunately, I took a new job just 6 weeks before everything hit the fan and everyone started working from home in earnest. With the new job, it's much easier to decide to be done when I've put in my hours. I'm waaaay happier and less stressed. I don't think that would have been the case with the old consulting job.

I thought I'd want to be in a shared space more than I do. We have the option to go into the office, but only a few people do. I do want to see people at least a little bit, but so far, the convenience of not having to commute and letting my 17 y.o. use my car to drive herself and her brother to and from school on the majority of days has won over. It has also delayed the decision about whether we should buy a cheap car to make family logistics easier. I'm thinking we'll be able to avoid that expense, so yay!

Socnorb11
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Re: Has Covid changed your opinion on working from home?

Post by Socnorb11 »

I do lab/QC work, so it hasn't been an option at any point. Our admin folks give it thumbs-up though.

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Fat_Bulldog
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Re: Has Covid changed your opinion on working from home?

Post by Fat_Bulldog »

I love it. In fact, I switched to a company that is remote forever now. I have to travel out of town to their headquarters about every 6 weeks or so for 3 days but that is not a problem.

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