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When working from home is toxic

morgan.zoemp.be

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Re: When working from home is toxic

#51

Post by MattGaiser »

treespace8 wrote: post #32

I just don't understand these articles. The office isn't going anywhere. Don't worry, if you want to work in an office that option is not going away. Working in the same physical space as management will aways have an edge on remote workers. That's why it won't be going anywhere. I can only speak for myself, but I feel that for many of us this is a once in a lifetime chance to establish working for home as a complete…

I think the problem is most people think they work for a company rather than an industry. Some companies have gone fully remote, so if the office is your thing, you will need to leave that company.

To me that isn't a big deal, but a lot of people are reluctant to switch jobs.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#52

Post by DoreenMichele »

xwdv wrote: post #2

You know what we need? Something that is the equivalent of a blue check mark for remote workers. The check mark would mean that this worker has a home office setup that meets or exceeds standards for remote work. The certification process can be handled by a neutral third party. The standards would be stringent, a laptop on on some corner desk wouldn’t quality. You must have a room with a door that can be closed IMO.…

I think some people object (aka downvote) because one of the good parts of wfh is "different strokes for different folks" without having to justify it or get permission. You are suggesting an approach that people will tend to find highly invasive and controlling.

If you want to control my work space and dictate what that looks like, then assign me an office and make what you want on your dime. Don't try to turn wfh into some perfect slave labor scenario where employers control it and employees pay for it and it's this highly invasive process.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#53

Post by andrey_utkin »

xwdv wrote: post #9
deregulateMed wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't tell if this is serious. If you are serious, what's stopping me from renting a space for 1 hour, getting the check mark and going back home to my slum? Or fixing up my place, getting rid of kids toys, getting the check mark, then letting things go back to before? Seriously though, if you can't do your job, your manager should be able to figure it out.

It could be trivial to do an express “recertification” by recording a video of your workspace once in a while, after you’ve done the full certification.

I think we all need constant monitoring and certification that we're not shitting our pants. Because, you know, shitting one's pants is bad, so we totally need some patroling to save people from this. Can we count as a civilized society while we let pants-shitting happen to our citizens?

Re: When working from home is toxic

#54

Post by ghaff »

treespace8 wrote: post #32

I just don't understand these articles. The office isn't going anywhere. Don't worry, if you want to work in an office that option is not going away. Working in the same physical space as management will aways have an edge on remote workers. That's why it won't be going anywhere. I can only speak for myself, but I feel that for many of us this is a once in a lifetime chance to establish working for home as a complete…

>if you want to work in an office that option is not going away

Probably not universally, but in general.

Though they may have to deal with a lot of their co-workers not being present, the norm for meetings being Zoom rather than conference rooms, and hoteling.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#55

Post by dukeofdoom »

To me the home office wins out by a lot:

Small cubicle with no window near by is a common office situation. Lack of exposure to sun disrupts the circadian rhythm. Vs Sitting next to a window at home.

Many Office AC systems don't filter the air from pollutants adequately. Cheap office carpets tend to have all kinds of chemicals that off gas. No way to open a window to get fresh air. Vs the typical home office with a window to the side you can open anytime.

I was in an office where the secretaries farts would rise and accumulate in a dead zone at the second story stair well. No more smelling other peoples farts or getting their flue.

Sitting prolonged times in a chair, and not being to take a bathroom break for long times. Not only uncomfortable, also unhealthy. Vs a chair I pick, and a standing desk, and short breaks anytime I want.

Listening to music on headphones vs a radio playing in the background at home. Headphones damage hearing.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#56

Post by ghaff »

xwdv wrote: post #2

You know what we need? Something that is the equivalent of a blue check mark for remote workers. The check mark would mean that this worker has a home office setup that meets or exceeds standards for remote work. The certification process can be handled by a neutral third party. The standards would be stringent, a laptop on on some corner desk wouldn’t quality. You must have a room with a door that can be closed IMO.…

People differ. I have a nice home office setup but for probably half the time I just use a laptop somewhere else in my house.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#57

Post by Nagyman »

nubb wrote: post #26

These articles are so low quality. Some ppl WFH better, some ppl prefer an office. This isn't ground breaking philosophy and the endless articles repeating the same basic idea is just boring now. /rant

It's also a monumental shift for the workforce. Many of the problems people have WFH are because we've WFO for so long! Social culture has incredible momentum - so much so that it took a pandemic to get the ball rolling in the direction promised by home PCs decades ago.

A transition like this takes time. That consideration seems to be absent from arguments one way or the other, but I'm happy to hear them so we can smooth out the transition to _whatever_.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#58

Post by the__alchemist »

MattGaiser wrote: post #42
probably_wrong wrote: post #21

> My concern with such a chart is that not everyone has a home office that looks as good as a traditional workplace. In addition, interruptions happen at home too and chatting with coworkers is not a problem per se. I wish every person arguing for or against home office would open their comment detailing what their home setup looks like. As someone living in an apartment with no backyard and a small desk placed in th…

I can see a large split based on this. One of the things I don't want about going back to the office is going back to a crappy chair that does not fit me well (I am rather tall). I have gotten used to having a headrest. But if I were using a wooden kitchen chair all this time, that office chair might be quite nice.

Why not bring a chair you like into work?

Re: When working from home is toxic

#59

Post by loloquwowndueo »

probably_wrong wrote: post #21

> My concern with such a chart is that not everyone has a home office that looks as good as a traditional workplace. In addition, interruptions happen at home too and chatting with coworkers is not a problem per se. I wish every person arguing for or against home office would open their comment detailing what their home setup looks like. As someone living in an apartment with no backyard and a small desk placed in th…

The main thing I have always had is a mostly dedicated room I can close when I’m working. The room itself has varied between one with a nice big window, a basement room where I was basically staring at a wall, and variations in between. I have an IKEA office chair, an electric standing desk and a Bluetooth headset, the latter two allow me to vary positions and walk around when stuck in endless video calls.

Even if the room is functionally shared (these days the room in question also houses a tv so it doubles as our TV room after hours) we are disciplined and use the room for the proper purpose at the proper time, so the work-life distinction is well-kept and that helps a lot with the “it’s easy to drift back to work” thing.

Re: When working from home is toxic

#60

Post by yoz-y »

treespace8 wrote: post #32

I just don't understand these articles. The office isn't going anywhere. Don't worry, if you want to work in an office that option is not going away. Working in the same physical space as management will aways have an edge on remote workers. That's why it won't be going anywhere. I can only speak for myself, but I feel that for many of us this is a once in a lifetime chance to establish working for home as a complete…

Some people may genuinely fear that is going away since there is a lot of talk about hot-desking at the very least. Not having to pay for offices also has its advantages.

Finally it adds to signal, without pro-office articles one would think that everybody hates working from the office.

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