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[Hero of Spielberg]

In Australia the people I know who have been applying for jobs say the jobs are offering some WFH but also require a percentage of time in the office.
I think some who’ve prematurely bought in remote areas might be in for a rude shock if they need to find another job.

 

[Shadowplay1979]

I live 5,656 miles from the office.....due to travel restrictions

 

[BadBurger]

I've been considering it. I have enough money in my regular-ass savings account to buy a large house out in the country, but I am waiting to see how my employer rebounds once the pandemic is over. Healthcare IT so things are touchy, a lot is still up in the air.

 

[Amiga]

only meet my office group 3-4 times in almost a year.

 

[teezzy]

In Australia the people I know who have been applying for jobs say the jobs are offering some WFH but also require a percentage of time in the office.
I think some who’ve prematurely bought in remote areas might be in for a rude shock if they need to find another job.

What is your avatar?

 

[Deleted member 17706]

I don't see a 100% WFH situation working long-term outside of software engineering companies.

It's fine for now with most companies still having the majority of their employees having worked at the office together at one point and having some kind of bond and culture, but give it another year or two when more and more of the company have never met in person and things will start to fall apart really fast.

I definitely think more flexibility will become the norm, at least for a few years, though.

 

[teezzy]

WFH has its downsides too. Productivity and morale at my job seems to be lower than ever. Personally, I can't focus worth a dick and I miss seeing people, feeling like I actually did something with my life instead sit in this PC chair all day

 

[SLoWMoTIoN]

Shit, I wish I could live in the middle of n...I mean not surrounded by people.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

WFH has its downsides too. Productivity and morale at my job seems to be lower than ever. Personally, I can't focus worth a dick and I miss seeing people, feeling like I actually did something with my life instead sit in this PC chair all day

Same at my job. We're kicking ass, but everyone is still very much in a holding position. We're making it work because there's no other choice.

As soon as some people start being able to return to the office, though, I can't see 100% WFH being a permanent solution. The permanent WFH crowd will be hard pressed to make their worth known and will miss out on opportunities unless their work is very unique and irreplaceable. I'm guessing we'll ease back into things with some kind of "flex time" where people can come in by choice at first, then need to come in 2 days a week, etc.

 

[teezzy]

Same at my job. We're kicking ass, but everyone is still very much in a holding position. We're making it work because there's no other choice.

As soon as some people start being able to return to the office, though, I can't see 100% WFH being a permanent solution. The permanent WFH crowd will be hard pressed to make their worth known and will miss out on opportunities unless their work is very unique and irreplaceable. I'm guessing we'll ease back into things with some kind of "flex time" where people can come in by choice at first, then need to come in 2 days a week, etc.

We've had it at my company for a while now where if your numbers are decent, and you're not a retard, you can WFH 3/5 days a week - just because that's the days we have meetings, etc

I wouldnt mind that again. The work environment by me was so fun that it really offset the banality and stress of the work involved. Without that... boy, is it trying

 

[navii]

Good luck getting uber eats delivered.

 

[Woo-Fu]

The push for WFH is probably the best thing to come out of the pandemic. It was going to happen anyway but covid has accelerated implementation. I would guess that the person who bought the house is confident enough in their ability/performance as a WFH worker that they'll simply move on to a different company if their current one backs off of WFH down the road.

 

[Virt McPolygon]

Good luck getting uber eats delivered.

This is a good point. Ever since WFH started, it was clear which of my coworkers don't know how to cook.

On the upside, it's not a difficult basic life skill and if you're stuck at home, there's plenty to time to learn.

 

[Yoboman]

WFH only works for blue collar office jobs.

Works for farmers

 

[Hero of Spielberg]

What is your avatar?

Cover art from Quest for Glory

 

[teezzy]

Cover art from Quest for Glory

Thank you kind sir

 

[michaelius]

Why would do they reduce pay? It's about the quality of work you deliver, not the geographical location of your house that determines your added value to a company.

I have an office job that had 1 day a week WFH before corona. I've been working from home 100% since March, there's no way I'm going back to the office fulltime, wether it's this job or a next one. If any, this crisis has proven that the stigma that's on WFH is bullshit. Things get done, exceedingly beyond expectations even.

Teams/Skype has made real life meetings obsolete.

Competition - even if you are not willing to work for less because you have lower costs someone else will take this chance.

 

[GeorgPrime]

(*Above is not his actual house)

We've been working from home without issue since March. My colleague thinks that we'll always be able to WFH moving forward, but it seems very shortsighted to me especially when it comes to purchasing a house.

Has anyone else moved out of the city during COVID?

Do you think WFH will become a permanent option or will companies want us to return to the office as soon as possible?

I'm also wondering if WFH does become permanent, will companies try to reduce pay based on home location? Companies open offices in expensive cities because there is a talent pool there, but I am wondering how this all shifts moving forward.

Iam just glad we are finally going away from being stuck in a concrete cage of depression xD Staring at white or gray walls doesnt motivate you to do your best all day. If its a job where i only have to sit at a computer, i can easily do it while sitting somewhere outside where i can enjoy working.

as soon as companies realize that "not being stuck in the office and staring at a screen for 8 hours per day" increases work motivation they wont go back to it.

 

[nush]

This is a good point. Ever since WFH started, it was clear which of my coworkers don't know how to cook.

On the upside, it's not a difficult basic life skill and if you're stuck at home, there's plenty to time to learn.

If anyone wants to learn and share thier cooking skills come and join us in the Cooking GAF OT

Cooking GAF: OT

Thought I’d just humble brag my way through motivating myself to cook more at home by bringing friends along for the ride. Let’s post what you just cooked in this thread GAF! First up for me Brioche Day! A. French Toast B. Croque Madame with the leftover French Toast

www.neogaf.com

Home cooking by normal people, all skill levels welcome and you can share what you've made to give each other ideas.

 

[nush]

dp.

 

[p_xavier]

I sold my condo in the city and my country house and bought a waterfront house in a rural town which I entirely renovated. I'm an hour train ride from work. So it's still maneageable and won't get a pay cut since it's commutable.

 

[Susurrus]

ISPs with bandwidth caps enters the telemeeting.

Comcast held that off for our area till July due to some legal action....

Comcast to delay data-overage fee, waive contract cancellation charges amid pandemic - WTOP News

Internet and cable provider Comcast will delay its plans to charge a data-overage fee to customers who use more data than is in their plan in a given month.

wtop.com

They are giving options to bail even if still under contract, but I literally have no other option so what am I going to do? I know I'm not the only one in this boat. I don't get close to that cap anyway (use about half), but I could see how it would be an issue for many, especially if those caps were lower, multiple people in the house teleworking, etc.

Also for new employees that live far away, where do they get their work laptops? Company mail them out? Or do people just use their personal machines, which as a cyber security professional sounds like a security nightmare, especially for massive, high target businesses/organizations?

Just some devil's advocate stuff, I'm not against WFH where appropriate. Though I do like living in the city, but obviously it isn't everyone's cup of tea.

 

[p_xavier]

ISPs with bandwidth caps enters the telemeeting.

Comcast held that off for our area till July due to some legal action....

Comcast to delay data-overage fee, waive contract cancellation charges amid pandemic - WTOP News

Internet and cable provider Comcast will delay its plans to charge a data-overage fee to customers who use more data than is in their plan in a given month.

wtop.com

They are giving options to bail even if still under contract, but I literally have no other option so what am I going to do? I know I'm not the only one in this boat. I don't get close to that cap anyway (use about half), but I could see how it would be an issue for many, especially if those caps were lower, multiple people in the house teleworking, etc.

Also for new employees that live far away, where do they get their work laptops? Company mail them out? Or do people just use their personal machines, which as a cyber security professional sounds like a security nightmare, especially for massive, high target businesses/organizations?

Just some devil's advocate stuff, I'm not against WFH where appropriate. Though I do like living in the city, but obviously it isn't everyone's cup of tea.

Our company mails the laptops out.

 

[Goro Majima]

Once things return to "normal", I think it'll only take a couple bad quarterly earnings reports for companies to want to bring people back in for direct oversight.

Won't really have much to do with earnings but once middle and upper management start looking for answers then I'll be shocked if one of those straws they grasp isn't "well we need to bring people back in for accountability".

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Everybody is trying to be progressive about WFH since we are in the middle of a pandemic - once this gets under control in H2 2021 expect your boss that was chill about you working from home the whole time to tell you to get your ass to the office. Rule of thumb: if big WFH culture didn't exist before Covid-19 (which is the case everywhere except probably tech start-ups) expect it to go back to how it was.

Also, if you want a promotion you better get some face time with your boss and N+2. Results matter, but personal connection matters as well.

 

[AmuroChan]

I'm also wondering if WFH does become permanent, will companies try to reduce pay based on home location? Companies open offices in expensive cities because there is a talent pool there, but I am wondering how this all shifts moving forward.

I hope not. I actually got a bonus at the end of 2020 because my company did not renew the lease on our very expensive midtown Manhattan office, which saved the company tens of millions of dollars. As a result of that, all the employees got a nice bonus check from the cost savings. A few of my colleagues have already moved to other states with lower cost of living. I might do the same at some point.

 

[p_xavier]

I hope not. I actually got a bonus at the end of 2020 because my company did not renew the lease on our very expensive midtown Manhattan office, which saved the company tens of millions of dollars. As a result of that, all the employees got a nice bonus check from the cost savings. A few of my colleagues have already moved to other states with lower cost of living. I might do the same at some point.

Yup, our company cut office space by 75% for a 25y lease.