Work from home… Storm Brewing

Started doing two days a week at home in early 2018. Went to three days a week in late 2019 and then obviously to five days a week when the pandemic hit.

The maximum number we can work from home is four days a week (pandemic aside), and I’ll be pushing for that. I think everyone’s romanticising about the office, when actually it’d take 20 minutes for the guy next to you to start banging his keyboard because it doesn’t work, before you’re wishing you were back at home again.

 

Would it allow those people to consider moving elsewhere, instead of being in a cramped one bedroom city flat maybe a 2 bed terrace in a smaller town - thus giving them more room to live and work? Instead of paying £650-700 for a one bed flat in Leeds, you could get a 2-3 bed terrace or semi in Barnsley for £500-600. You might have to travel more to go into the office 1-2 days but could be more flexible in where you live and have more money to spend.

 

It is a problem. We are very siloed at the moment, and have very little cross-communication with the other project streams - until they want our help with something...

 

Thank god I don’t work at home. I am based at home and travel to whichever site I’m needed. I’d absolutely miss the camaraderie. Of meeting colleagues. 1 whom I’ve had a close working relationship for nigh on 30yrs. I’ve probably spent more time in conversation with him, than the missus. God knows how he puts up with my nagging lol. Those that meet us. reckon we are married. Allus slagging each other off. Wouldn’t be the same without him. Trouble is. he’s a fowl.

 

Not everyone can afford that though. Youngsters for exampke.

 

The problems tend to occur when they don't realise they need your help because they don't realise the full implications and knock on effects. If there's anything I'm actually any good at it's spotting those scenarios and now I often can't.

 

They are paying rent for the place they live in, so why can they not afford to pay less rent for a better place? (Family, friends, etc, but that is a separate issue). Purely financially, if they can afford to pay to live in Leeds, then they can afford to live in a cheaper place in Barnsley or Doncaster

 

plus the fact you are paying to work by needing that space for an office. All that glistens isn't necessarily gold when it comes to home working.

 

What if they live in a one bedroom flat in Barnsley. Where's the rung beneath that?

 

5 bedroomed detached house in Sheffield

 

Very good

 

Can’t think of owt worse than not seeing anyone all day, working like a hermit. Plus no definition between work and home is awful.

 

I know everyone is different but one thing I'm a little lost on is the amount of people on the BBS who say they are far more productive working from home than in an office and yet they seem to have spent all day Monday to Friday for the last year posting in the BBS.

 

Cracking observation there!!

 

Think this is a great point. I know I've learnt a lot from colleagues over the years.

 

What was posting like before? ;-) You add travelling about, social chit chats and all that and it doesn't half impact on the time thats offically working time! ;-)

 

Maybe that helps them be more productive? I know when I have reports to write for example I find it much easier to be motivated if I can do a check on here for a few seconds every so often than I would if I was having to sit and write them in the staff room non stop where I couldn’t have quick BBS brain breaks and I’d be fed up within an hour or two.

 

It's a disgrace that work sometimes gets in the way of me being able to be reading and posting 5hite on here allday.

 

I think the point was that for youngsters living in cramped conditions in a city, they could afford more space outside a city.
For instance when our youngest got a job in Leeds, he wanted to move out of home, and compared an expensive flat in the city (which allows him to walk to work) with a house or larger flat in the suburbs (or even in Donny), the numbers were similar taking account of travel costs, but the lazy sod chose the city centre and staying in bed longer.

It hit him hard when he was then locked down alone, but he soon got into the swing of it with walking and bubbling with us.

 

see I'm better for being away from all distractions. When I had revision to do for eg, my house/ room was never as clean!!