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With today's technology company can track your activities on the computer. Remember, you can't claim privacy when you're using company-issued equipment (computer).
Just to give an example, one of my previous employer tracked the time I login and logout, plus the time of inactivity. They also blocked certain social media websites so you can't go there. Beyond that, they lined up meeting schedules from 7am to 5pm. I had to eat lunch while attending meeting online. At anytime, you can see anyone in the company if they're logged on, logged off, or inactive (which means you have not move your mouse in 60 seconds). Many worked passed regular hours without overtime pay. You'll need to be "authorized" to receive OT pay.
So WFH is not all milk & honey & Apple pies. It depends on individual company culture & policy.
100 percent agree with the above. The company laptop is used by most WFH people specifically so the company can attach an electronic leash. The employer does not really care if the employee is physically at their own home, but they want them to be somewhere where the network connection is secure and fast enough to support the work being done. They would not want someone at Starbucks or other public place using the public open (unsecure) wifi. Most employers pay for a high speed internet connection to the residence of a WFH employee, mostly so they know it is a good and secure connection.
100 percent agree with the above. The company laptop is used by most WFH people specifically so the company can attach an electronic leash. The employer does not really care if the employee is physically at their own home, but they want them to be somewhere where the network connection is secure and fast enough to support the work being done. They would not want someone at Starbucks or other public place using the public open (unsecure) wifi. Most employers pay for a high speed internet connection to the residence of a WFH employee, mostly so they know it is a good and secure connection.
Just open up that laptop right next to your computer at home and you can do both.
I was an engineer and some of my code compilations took 1/2 hour or more and so I'd go on my home computer and do stuff while waiting for the code to compile so I could test it.
WFH is not new and has been done by lots of people for decades. It's new to many due to the pandemic and they have found some of the freedom that WFH offers while still getting your work done.
And so now they don't want to go back to being stuck in an office for 8 hours.
I would be able to throw in a load of laundry or start dinner while working.
I could stop and go pick up my son from school so he didn't have to ride the bus for an hour to get home.
I was not customer facing so my hours were pretty flexible.
Smart companies will have employees using a custom VPN to connect even when you WFH to insure company security.
I get what the poster is trying to ask. And admit I also see more people of working age out and about during what used to be the core work hours of 8 to 6. More people run short errands during the day. Or pick up kids after school. As long as they have their phone or computer along. And hey you can do at home work while you cook dinner. Just be discreet. If you have two computers you can also contribute to forums in between phone calls. Yay. But remember when you worked in an office? You might have taken breaks too.
It’s the people whose jobs are partly physical who I admire. Lab workers. Cashiers. Farmers. Carpenters. Pilots. They are always giving 100%.
I work from home and do schedule my breaks so that I can grocery shop or run errands when it is less busy. I work in accounting for an engineering firm and all that matters to my boss is that the work gets done.
I was WFH 100% during most of the pandemic. Now I'm back in the office somewhat. On the days that I work from home, I realized I could flex my schedule. For instance, I get called to a lot of meetings during the traditional "lunchtime" due to working with people in various times zones. So, now, if I have an errand like a grocery store run, or I want to walk the dogs, I'll do it at 10AM. Technically my working hours, but I find the store less crowded so I like going there better. Then I come back and work through what would normally be my lunch.
I've also started going to the gym and I want to take advantage of lower crowds. So I'll go at 10AM, finish my 11:00. Either work through lunch or add an hour onto my day at the end.
Addressing the computer games: used to be I had to go sit in a very boring meeting at work in a large conference room and force myself to look interested when it was just some sales pitch or leadership pitch. Now that I can do those same briefings by Zoom, if the meeting is forced but not relevant to me, I can use my phone to do Wordle, play a game, scroll social media, etc. and still listen in. Can't do that in person. So that might be some of what you're seeing.
Every job has its slackers, maybe you are seeing a few of those. Most people are working, they have "work" to be done. Even though they are working from home, they still need to produce their work.
My husband works from home. A few times a week he will go to the store during his lunch break. He couldn't do that when he was in his DC office.
It’s amazing how many who were working from home from our gym are no longer there now that they were called back in
Yeah, I was going to say that it might define how you define "home". Here, for many of the WFH people it encompassed a bar.
I do know that now, instead of having two defined times of ****ty traffic on the single main road in the County, that the traffic is ****ty throughout the day.
I work for the National Park - on a Detail in NM - I am working from home for them - I am in TX now. Going to NM in June to work for a few weeks, then back home for that.
With today's technology company can track your activities on the computer. Remember, you can't claim privacy when you're using company-issued equipment (computer).
Just to give an example, one of my previous employer tracked the time I login and logout, plus the time of inactivity. They also blocked certain social media websites so you can't go there. Beyond that, they lined up meeting schedules from 7am to 5pm. I had to eat lunch while attending meeting online. At anytime, you can see anyone in the company if they're logged on, logged off, or inactive (which means you have not move your mouse in 60 seconds). Many worked passed regular hours without overtime pay. You'll need to be "authorized" to receive OT pay.
So WFH is not all milk & honey & Apple pies. It depends on individual company culture & policy.
Yes—exactly
Know someone who works for IBM in teaching technology
She has screens for all her worker bees and can even tell when their eyes drift from their screens to their phones for example
Pretty ruthless
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