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olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,048
14,666
The Arm of Orion
I can work from home, in fact I can work anywhere there's an internet connection. In my mind that's a bad thing, disrupting home life and personal time.

It is undeniably going to be the norm for loads of jobs in the future, and I think that's a terrible thing
Bad indeed. This might be just the thing used to (steam)roll out the dreaded 5G.
 
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cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
I am very grateful that I'm retired. If this virus came out in 1990-2017 I would be dealing with a huge nightmare.
My pool hall would be empty as would all my tenants in the plaza with me. My lawyer would be reading every word of my insurance policy looking for the way the insurance companies plan on screwing everyone.

I think it is going to be us as usual bailing out our inept government. I have dealt with some of the largest commercial insurance companies for over 20 years. They will try to fuck you and are good at it. They will deny every claim and then make you sue them because they know most people don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars to chase their losses.
 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,455
Some expert on TV reminded people that social distancing didn't mean people had to stay indoors, just keep distance from people. I guess some think staying at home means staying inside. The point sounds silly, but I bet it clarified things for a lot of people. Take a walk.
 
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olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,048
14,666
The Arm of Orion
Some expert on TV reminded people that social distancing didn't mean people had to stay indoors, just keep distance from people. I guess some think staying at home means staying inside. The point sounds silly, but I bet it clarified things for a lot of people. Take a walk.
Smoke while you walk: that'll make people take pains to keep as much distance between them and you as possible.
 

Sloopjohnbee

Lifer
May 12, 2019
1,291
2,288
Atlantic Coast USA
lol social distancing; I've got a secret- I actually had coronavirus 2 months ago(mid December right before Xmas)(I ordered some black tea directly from China, it arrived in sealed packets and I didn't suspect a damn thing drank it, loe and behold 2 days later I was VERY ill and couldn't move for a week with severe chest pain, and dillusions/agony) it eventually passed and I was fine. This is bad but not that bad.
 

olkofri

Lifer
Sep 9, 2017
8,048
14,666
The Arm of Orion
lol social distancing; I've got a secret- I actually had coronavirus 2 months ago(mid December right before Xmas)(I ordered some black tea directly from China, it arrived in sealed packets and I didn't suspect a damn thing drank it, loe and behold 2 days later I was VERY ill and couldn't move for a week with severe chest pain, and dillusions/agony) it eventually passed and I was fine. This is bad but not that bad.
That's it! I'm adding you to the Ignore list! :eek:?
 
Jan 30, 2020
1,899
6,277
New Jersey
Working from home has it's pros and cons like everything else. I've been at it almost 11 months now after about 10 years of 100 mile round trip commutes every day. Don't miss the lost life sitting in a car with the sun exposure and exhaust exposure of traffic. I easily removed about 15 hours per week of sitting in a car from my life but I probably give half of that back to the company in irregular/additional work hours because I'm home and it doesn't bother me.

So they actually get more hours out of me and I still come out ahead with personal time with the commute savings. I spend more money on food and electricity, but I save on fuel consumption. If something needs to be done during the day, I can go do it as I'm not stuck at the office. Plenty of other give and takes, but at least for me, I'd take it without thinking twice for it to be the "future". During the summer time, I go have lunch outside with the wife followed by a pipe. That's never happened before until now.
 

krizzose

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,126
18,183
Michigan
Working from home this long has proven to me that my smoking rate is more natural than imposed by outside factors, e.g. being at the office and being unable to smoke. I'm home all day and can smoke whenever I want, and my smoking frequency has increased about 10% at most. Good news for the cellar, and I estimate that I have between 30 and 40 years worth of stock. Also good news for the cellar is that my entertainment/restaurant/bar/tailgating/traveling expenditure has plummeted, and I've therefore spent more on tobacco than I would have under normal conditions.
 

macaroni

Lifer
Oct 28, 2020
1,007
3,115
Texas
kids get out of school. . . . If this happened to me when I was a kid, I would have felt like I won the lottery hahaha.
When school was called off for snow in Northern VA when I was growing up, I LOVED it--the BEST!!! My Mom didn't mind, I think she liked getting to fix lunch for my sister and me--and it didn't stop her from her afternoon nap one bit! :) mike
 
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macaroni

Lifer
Oct 28, 2020
1,007
3,115
Texas
Haha, right? I was thinking the same thing. The ultra rare "snow day" when I was a kid was like a carnival cruise. I can only imagine what an extra week of spring break would have felt like. My head would probably have exploded . . . .
Well put, please disregard my last post--I hadn't read this yet. Alaskanpiper, you're exactly right--you gotta gift with words! My head would have "exploded" too :)
 
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krizzose

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,126
18,183
Michigan
I can work from home, in fact I can work anywhere there's an internet connection. In my mind that's a bad thing, disrupting home life and personal time.

It is undeniably going to be the norm for loads of jobs in the future, and I think that's a terrible thing

Even though it's been over a year since I've been WFH, I'm still processing whether I prefer it to going to an office. I miss my coworkers [some of them], but I don't miss the time suck of a getting ready in the morning and the commute (even though my office is only 6 miles away from my house). I don't have children, and my wife works out of the house, so while distractions are of course all around me, they are not as significant as they might be for others. I'm less productive per hour, but it's so much easier to be plugged in to my job longer each day, without feeling like I'm working more. The result is that I'm probably more productive per day without any real extra effort. I have the ability to shut it down for the day when I want to, so no one is hunting me down after hours.

Without going into too much detail, the company I work provides varied services to multiple clients, and I work for just one client, and I'm the only person on that job. I was "remote" from the client even when I was at the office, so the work in that regard is no different whether I'm in the office or not.

I save money on gas, and also lots of time. The getting ready/commute chunk of time is the most obvious, but the little bits of time saved throughout the week really add up: laundry, minor household stuff, etc. Instead spending hours on the weekend doing those things, I can spread it throughout the week when I feel like getting up from desk. I lease a vehicle, and finessing mileage (though never a real problem in the past) is now completely out of mind. In any event, my feelings on the matter are moot, as I'll be WFH even when the office fully reopens - the powers that be want to use the space for their multiple short term projects and make themselves more $$$ on the square footage.
 

Servant King

Lifer
Nov 27, 2020
4,181
22,812
38
Frazier Park, CA
www.thechembow.com
I am very grateful that I'm retired. If this virus came out in 1990-2017 I would be dealing with a huge nightmare.
My pool hall would be empty as would all my tenants in the plaza with me. My lawyer would be reading every word of my insurance policy looking for the way the insurance companies plan on screwing everyone.

I think it is going to be us as usual bailing out our inept government. I have dealt with some of the largest commercial insurance companies for over 20 years. They will try to fuck you and are good at it. They will deny every claim and then make you sue them because they know most people don't have hundreds of thousands of dollars to chase their losses.
Speaking of nightmares...ever try to do the break shot in a game of straight pool? Unreal! Willie Mosconi must've had nads of ivory.
 
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karam

Lifer
Feb 2, 2019
2,359
9,055
Basel, Switzerland
Even though it's been over a year since I've been WFH, I'm still processing whether I prefer it to going to an office. I miss my coworkers [some of them], but I don't miss the time suck of a getting ready in the morning and the commute (even though my office is only 6 miles away from my house). I don't have children, and my wife works out of the house, so while distractions are of course all around me, they are not as significant as they might be for others. I'm less productive per hour, but it's so much easier to be plugged in to my job longer each day, without feeling like I'm working more. The result is that I'm probably more productive per day without any real extra effort. I have the ability to shut it down for the day when I want to, so no one is hunting me down after hours.

Without going into too much detail, the company I work provides varied services to multiple clients, and I work for just one client, and I'm the only person on that job. I was "remote" from the client even when I was at the office, so the work in that regard is no different whether I'm in the office or not.

I save money on gas, and also lots of time. The getting ready/commute chunk of time is the most obvious, but the little bits of time saved throughout the week really add up: laundry, minor household stuff, etc. Instead spending hours on the weekend doing those things, I can spread it throughout the week when I feel like getting up from desk. I lease a vehicle, and finessing mileage (though never a real problem in the past) is now completely out of mind. In any event, my feelings on the matter are moot, as I'll be WFH even when the office fully reopens - the powers that be want to use the space for their multiple short term projects and make themselves more $$$ on the square footage.
I am also always remote for my company's clients, they are in the US and I am in Greece so that's not an issue.

What is an issue is the bolded bits: I find I start work later too, am less productive per hour, and as a consequence work longer hours, meaning I'm more away from my wife and kids, even though they are one or two doors away. I find WFH lacks the discipline of working from the office, both in the going to work as well as going back home, and a massive time sink as well. Overall my, and my coworkers' efficiency is in the toilet. We deliver the work but we do it in 2-3 more hours per day, at no extra pay, and with the cost of nerves, tiredness and lost family time.

The "little bits of time saved throughout the week really add up", are you sure? I am not having a go at you, but because I am in exactly the same situation I consider these extra time sinks and breaks of focus. Or if for example my wife or kids come to tell me something - if I haven't locked my door, which I now often do even if not on a business call - that can be up to 10-20 minutes or lost time. I am at fault, for sure, for not being disciplined enough. The work DOES get done in the end, but at a higher cost to me I find.

Frankly I think working from home will become the norm for a load of office jobs, I already hear from friend whose jobs (office job) are not renewing their leases and rents and moving everything to be remote working (no extra money dolled to employees though from rent savings etc!) but I'm firmly not a fan.
 
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karam

Lifer
Feb 2, 2019
2,359
9,055
Basel, Switzerland
I can work from home, in fact I can work anywhere there's an internet connection. In my mind that's a bad thing, disrupting home life and personal time.

It is undeniably going to be the norm for loads of jobs in the future, and I think that's a terrible thing
Interesting! I've been posting on this forum for over a year :) And what a year it's been, good and less good, at least it's good to see I didn't say something different today!
 
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