Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My wife has worked from home over the last 10 yrs. She bought a new car in the summer of 2015. I just checked, she has 22K miles on it.
Yup. I bought a car in 2016. Mine has 12k! I spend more time flying out of Tampa than I do crossing that bridge. In fact, I travel all over the US and world monthly, but can't recall the last time I set foot in Pinellas County. I think I spend more time traveling to California in a year than I do crossing the Howard Frankland into PInellas.
I am not being sarcastic. I am being 1,000% serious. While there are still many jobs that require you to show up, require face time, etc., there are more work-from-home jobs than ever before. If your career field/job of choice allows you to get a job working from home, and you are not working from home, you are missing out on a MAJOR opportunity. If all the people who CAN work from home WOULD work from home, we would have much less gridlock. Again, 99% of the people I know, whether they live in Tampa Bay or elsewhere in the world, work from home.
But not all people can work from home everyday.
My husband has more flexibility to stay home if the weather is bad and the road conditions are challenging (major winter/snow/ice events), but if he's "on call" over a particular week, then he's required to be in the office all 5 days (or if there's a holiday, the number of work days that week). Usually, he tries to work from home 2X/week.
There are benefits to working at home, but there are also benefits to working in the office. My husband claims he has the best of both worlds with his situation.
Working from home can be a major opportunity, but it can also have some downsides (especially if you are more inclined to be an introvert to begin with.....it can be really isolating.)
In my circle, the numbers are closer to 50-50 working remotely and it's really industry dependent. In some industries, travel is a big part of the job or doing some sort of physical labor on site is required. You just can't be on a phone and use an internet connection.
(Obviously, I'm not in Florida if I'm talking about snow......)
I do agree that there would be less gridlock if more people were able to work from home, but in many cases, it's not possible or desirable.
My husband has more flexibility to stay home if the weather is bad and the road conditions are challenging (major winter/snow/ice events), but if he's "on call" over a particular week, then he's required to be in the office all 5 days (or if there's a holiday, the number of work days that week). Usually, he tries to work from home 2X/week.
There are benefits to working at home, but there are also benefits to working in the office. My husband claims he has the best of both worlds with his situation.
Working from home can be a major opportunity, but it can also have some downsides (especially if you are more inclined to be an introvert to begin with.....it can be really isolating.)
In my circle, the numbers are closer to 50-50 working remotely and it's really industry dependent. In some industries, travel is a big part of the job or doing some sort of physical labor on site is required. You just can't be on a phone and use an internet connection.
(Obviously, I'm not in Florida if I'm talking about snow......)
I do agree that there would be less gridlock if more people were able to work from home, but in many cases, it's not possible or desirable.
What I'm saying is that if you are, let's say for example, a paralegal secretary, and you are not working from home, you should be. Because there's a zillion paralegal employers (law firms, companies, etc.) that will allow you to work from home. You should be looking to get one of those jobs. The same goes for a zillion other professions. If you are working in an office, there's a HIGH chance that there's a company out there that will allow you to do that job from home. You should be looking to get one of those jobs. Obviously if you are a plumber or a store manager or a firefighter, this does not apply to you.
While working from home is isolating, the benefits of working from home are HIGHLY DESIRABLE. Not having to buy clothes to wear in an office daily, being able to control your noise or heat/cooling level, not having to eat out or pack your lunch, not having to drive in gridlock, not having your car poison the already poisoned air, not having to put miles on your car, not having to spend money on gas, not having to spend money on transit, not standing in line for a crowded train or bus in the bitter cold (or in Florida, the oppressive heat), not having to spend money on car repairs, tolls, oil; being able to be home to do chores around the house during the day (like throwing laundry in the wash, etc.), being home to accept packages or repair technicians are just a FEW of the many benefits of working from home.
I work for a government entity and my job responsibilities are nearly 100% computer based.
That being said, the common perception that government employees are lazy do-nothings permeates our management to the point where working from home is, on paper, considered acceptable, but discreetly discouraged.
There’s also the issue of the “have nots”, those employees whose positions are outward facing and require them to be physically present for work. They wail and rend garments over the “unfairness” of such arrangements, putting additional pressure on management to simply ban or discourage working remotely.
Some years back management allowed such arrangements with a requirement that everyone in a specific group be present one day a week for meetings and other organizational things. A change in management 5-7 years back killed this, as the new management was former military and short sighted, thinking that people couldn’t be trusted to do their jobs unless someone was standing over them.
I get to work from home several days a week thanks to a manager who embraces the policy and ignores the pressure from others who fear retribution. We’re quite productive as a team and get the job done as required. We just have to do it on the “down low” because others would complain because their managers aren’t as progressive as ours, and in doing so might cause a policy change officially ending the practice.
I will say that I like working from home but I don’t. What I mean is that it’s understandably convenient, it saves me time and money, and I think I’m more productive. However, as was previously mentioned, it’s terribly isolating in some respects.
It also requires one to manage their time properly. I find that I actually spend more time working when home than at the office. I’m far more conscious of my work time when working from home. I suspect there are those who don’t have the ability to manage their time when doing so, and end up being less productive.
All in all, it’s a win-win. Too bad there aren’t more opportunities to do it. It just makes sense.
My husband as worked over 20 years for Hillborough County. I had always hoped they would allow at least some days where he could work remotely, but it never happened. As mentioned above, too many guvmint employees are just "sucking the teat" so to speak as it is. And he actually has to be in the field quite often to oversee his projects, anyway.
Oh well, he's only got one year to go and he will be retiring with a great pension so no complaints!
What I'm saying is that if you are, let's say for example, a paralegal secretary, and you are not working from home, you should be. Because there's a zillion paralegal employers (law firms, companies, etc.) that will allow you to work from home. You should be looking to get one of those jobs. The same goes for a zillion other professions. If you are working in an office, there's a HIGH chance that there's a company out there that will allow you to do that job from home. You should be looking to get one of those jobs. Obviously if you are a plumber or a store manager or a firefighter, this does not apply to you.
While working from home is isolating, the benefits of working from home are HIGHLY DESIRABLE. Not having to buy clothes to wear in an office daily, being able to control your noise or heat/cooling level, not having to eat out or pack your lunch, not having to drive in gridlock, not having your car poison the already poisoned air, not having to put miles on your car, not having to spend money on gas, not having to spend money on transit, not standing in line for a crowded train or bus in the bitter cold (or in Florida, the oppressive heat), not having to spend money on car repairs, tolls, oil; being able to be home to do chores around the house during the day (like throwing laundry in the wash, etc.), being home to accept packages or repair technicians are just a FEW of the many benefits of working from home.
Pat yourself on the back for being able to work at home. You are fortunate and can look down at the poor souls that have to commute in 2020.
My husband as worked over 20 years for Hillborough County. I had always hoped they would allow at least some days where he could work remotely, but it never happened. As mentioned above, too many guvmint employees are just "sucking the teat" so to speak as it is. And he actually has to be in the field quite often to oversee his projects, anyway.
Oh well, he's only got one year to go and he will be retiring with a great pension so no complaints!
I know some people who work at the County, and they're telling me that the mindset regarding working remotely is beginning to change. Apparently Social Services has people working from home now and the IT department is considering it, too. They made it sound like it was more a matter of the issue being forced by a lack of space and expanding staff numbers in the County Center than anything else.
I know some people who work at the County, and they're telling me that the mindset regarding working remotely is beginning to change. Apparently Social Services has people working from home now and the IT department is considering it, too. They made it sound like it was more a matter of the issue being forced by a lack of space and expanding staff numbers in the County Center than anything else.
And yes, FRS is a wonderful thing!
RM
The tighter the job market (right now it's the tightest in decades), the more employers will have to offer it. There are just too many jobs, not enough employees. It's an employee's market. Why should I go work for Firm A, B or C, when Firm D will let me work from home?
You want your jobs filled with quality candidates? Let them work from home.
I wonder if this percentage offsets the crammed roads in Tampa?
5.2%
Slowly but surely, working at home is becoming more common
According to recently released data from the US Census, 5.2% of workers in the US worked at home in 2017—or 8 million people. That share is up from 5% in 2016, and 3.3% in 2000.Sep 17, 2018
The tighter the job market (right now it's the tightest in decades), the more employers will have to offer it. There are just too many jobs, not enough employees. It's an employee's market. Why should I go work for Firm A, B or C, when Firm D will let me work from home?
You want your jobs filled with quality candidates? Let them work from home.
Unfortunately that's not the case when you're talking government jobs in most cases. There are other benefits, like insurance and pensions, that people will sacrifice salary or other benefits for in order to gain admittance to the "club", so to speak. That and entities such as the county government have found that if they don't offer competitive pay, or something close to it, they won't get decent candidates or any for that matter.
Hillsborough County (not schools) pays pretty competitively for skilled positions such as IT. Areas that are in high demand maybe not as much, but again, you've got some benefits that can't be easily quantified in government work.
FRS (Florida Retirement System) pensions are pretty nice if you get enough time in. You can easily put down 30 years and go home drawing 50% of your former pay. That's pretty rare in the private sector. Participate in the DROP program and you can make out very nicely with a lump sump at retirement in addition to your pension.
RM
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
