Topic: Work From Home - Thoughts, tips, tricks, etc.

[PJungnitsch]

I think a lot of people in management thought working from home wasn't effective, until Covid forced the issue and they found it was just fine.

To be fair Zoom and Teams type remote video conferencing turned out to work very well IMO, which I don't think many expected. I remember video calls being a big mess for years beforehand

In the end you still have the same work to get done

[Firm]

I think a lot of people in management thought working from home wasn't effective, until Covid forced the issue and they found it was just fine.

To be fair Zoom and Teams type remote video conferencing turned out to work very well IMO, which I don't think many expected. I remember video calls being a big mess for years beforehand

In the end you still have the same work to get done

This, I lead a team of people, and I have numbers to hit every week....sales, profitability, fill rates, etc. If someone isn't pulling their weight, it becomes evident pretty quick and we address it. So, if you're getting your work done, to a high degree, and turning in results, I don't care where you are; as long as you're hitting the mandated 3-days in and you're available for meetings when expected.

Teams is fantastic, and even if everyone is in the office, sometimes we'll just jump on Teams because it's easier and faster to share screens and solve problems collectively through Teams than it is to pick a meeting room, get everyone physically in the room, get hooked up to the monitors, etc...

[tortoise]

... So, if you're getting your work done, to a high degree, and turning in results, I don't care where you are; as long as you're hitting the mandated 3-days in and you're available for meetings when expected.

I'm curious. On the one hand you say you don't care where they are, on the other you say they need to be in 3 days per week.

Do you care about the latter because it's company policy?  And if so, would you be ok with staff working from home full time?

[TheHire]

I couldn't do it.  I like going into my office too much.  I'm a social being, and like the camaraderie and face-to-face banter that I get at the office.  Helping that is a pretty good dose of corporate culture at my office, where the managers don't breathe down your neck, and people here are generally pretty happy.  We eat lunch together, do twice-a-day walks, etc. 

This 100% for me. That said, I work in "car" environments where my passion truly is making a living, which I'm very fortunate to have.

[Firm]

... So, if you're getting your work done, to a high degree, and turning in results, I don't care where you are; as long as you're hitting the mandated 3-days in and you're available for meetings when expected.

I'm curious. On the one hand you say you don't care where they are, on the other you say they need to be in 3 days per week.

Do you care about the latter because it's company policy?  And if so, would you be ok with staff working from home full time?

Yeah, company policy is 3-days a week, so I've gotta enforce it....But personally, I don't care. Provided that you're delivering.....If you're not, then you're going to have to be in the office where I can be closer to your work and provide the coaching to try and correct.

I will say, when I started at this company, but was still living in the GTA so I was primarily remote for the first 3 months or so until making the move, onboarding and making useful connections totally remote was very difficult. So I think a more tenured employee is going to be a lot more successful fully remote than someone new to the organization who needs to make those connections and rely on their peers for on-boarding support.

[tortoise]

Yeah, I agree it's tough to get to know people when you're new at a job and working remotely.

I switched jobs two years ago and the new one is fully remote. I already knew some people in the group, so that really helped. But on top of that, there were a lot of things put in place to help new people integrate.

First, I was assigned a mentor that would meet regularly to walk through the systems and processes, and answer any questions. 

There were also daily half hour informal meetings where people could log in to chat.  I found them really useful to get to know people.

I'm lucky in that we do field work across the country for a week at a time, in groups ranging from 2-4 people, so there's plenty of opportunity to get to know people better.

Like everything, how working from home is implemented matters.  If I wasn't working in such a collaborative environment where there's frequent conversations with coworkers I'd enjoy working from home a lot less.

[BWII]

I've been in the office 3 times since March 2020...don't miss it really.  No more "that guy"  (the heavy smoker) walking in to my office right after he's had his 14th cigarette by 9:15 in the morning...I get to have my music cranked, or not, but I can have music if I want...no more driving 25 minutes to work everyday, oh the stress of having to pass a car! Woe-is-me! (wipe brow...fainting spell)...so much less spent on gas...though it's seemingly harder on the car not using it than using it...tradeoffs...and if I worked in the office...what would I do with this!? 

Probably just take her with me but she'd throw up in the car...she's too darn cute to leave at home for 9 hours...

Plus I too have automotive art on the wall (desk top is finished since this)

What I do kinda miss though...going out for lunch with a friend...I used to go to my parents 2-3 times a week with my brother - just to go eat our lunches.  So don't get to see them as often.

Otherwise...no interest in going back to the office. 

[PJungnitsch]

So I think a more tenured employee is going to be a lot more successful fully remote than someone new to the organization who needs to make those connections and rely on their peers for on-boarding support.

Agree. Here new employees don't get the option of working from home for some months, might be partly to keep a closer eye on how they perform and partly to help with the above.

We've had huge turnover here the last few years and as one of the few left with some history I spend a lot of time when in the office mentoring the new people. Not nearly as easy when remote

[valuator]

So I think a more tenured employee is going to be a lot more successful fully remote than someone new to the organization who needs to make those connections and rely on their peers for on-boarding support.

Agree. Here new employees don't get the option of working from home for some months, might be partly to keep a closer eye on how they perform and partly to help with the above.

We've had huge turnover here the last few years and as one of the few left with some history I spend a lot of time when in the office mentoring the new people. Not nearly as easy when remote

Yeah, I see this a lot in the CRE / consulting world.  A friend of mine who is responsible for staffing up his practice has struggled since COVID / WFM took a hold to retain new hires.  He takes mostly recent university grads as analysts, but it's hard to train them remotely....they end up dissatisfied because they don't fully understand how to do their work;  asking questions and mentoring is best done in person.  But everyone expects to WFH and he can't find anyone willing to commit to mostly in-office hours.  So they insist on WFH, but are unhappy with the result and end up quitting.  It's a weird situation.