Working From Home

MrsStepford

Husband has been based at home since 13th March, although he is going out all over South East when there are problems to sort. This week, he was told that the company (quite abig one) has been so pleased with the improved productivity, improved staff morale and cost savings, that they have decided, that anyone who wants to carry on WFH can do so. Also, that they will provide any extra IT or office equipment needed. 

The first step they've made, is to set up an internal 'social media'-type thing so that people can chat with each other across the company. They've also sent out an earpiece-headphone thing which is wireless and it means that husband can mute background noise in the house and wander about talking while putting washing machine on or making himself a snack. 

So now he has to make an assessment, about what he needs and how this will work for us as a couple as well. He's been camped out in the back end of the sitting room and long-term, that's not feasible. We have the space to set him up an office elsewhere in the house, if we move furniture and re-decorate. 

Have to say that I approached the WFH thing with apprehension as I am at home working on my website and have done for years. But it's been relaxed and quite fun to have him here. Bags under his eyes have completely gone and he's way less stressed. 

So I thought I'd ask what other forum members have experienced working from home. If this is the new normal for you, what changes are you making ? Are there tax implications on accepting IT and office equipment ? Also, are there downsides to WFH ? Husband has seemingly hollow legs and guzzles tea about every 45 mins so shopping costs more. 

JamoLew

For me, the downside is the lack of social contact with people
Upside is lack of contact with contact with people I really don't "like"
I do find that effective communication is key and there appears to be an increased expectation that people will respond more immediately to Teams/Email than they would in the actual workplace
Also, my home environment for many years has been by space to relax after a long/hard days/weeks work.
Working from home, I find it much harder to switch off and relax
Some employers may also have additional expectations with regards to availability etc 

suki1964

Shopping may be costing slightly more, but then personal spends on treats for the office have decreased

MovingForwards

I agree with JamoLew.
For me, if I knew how long I would be working from home and how often I would set up something resembling what I have at work. Unfortunately, this would involve scaling down my furniture to make space for desk / chair etc as I purchased my flat to live in, not work from. As it stands I'm working off a laptop, on my lap, which isn't great due to disabilities. Before anyone says anything I've been trying since given it to get reasonable adjustments.

The positives for me include not commuting and saving that each month, not having to deal with the people I work with face2face, being able to start / finish on time and then get on with my private life, eating / drinking better.

The negatives include the wrong equipment and knock-on effect of my health, not having the downtime between finishing work and getting home to de-stress, having daily unnecessary meetings so a couple of people can feel important.

Would I like to carry on working from home?
Yes, the positives outweigh the negatives.

gettingtheresometime

We alternate between working from home & our office though we're wondering whether to renew the office's lease next year. 

For us the lockdown has made us realise going to the office means there's a demarcation/psychological line between work & home. 

Also how do you both feel about being in each other's company 24/7?

BillTrac

Luckily, with promotion and job changes, the majority of my working life since 1988 has been based from home with probably 60% actually being WFH. Of course, with Covid it's been 100% since beginning of March.
I'm lucky that we have a three bedroom house with only one actually being the bedroom we use. The second is a 'guest room' with the third being my office. I've set it up exactly as an office and I don't have a TV in there so not tempted to watch that. I am in regular contact with colleagues and often will make/receive calls which aren't totally work related. This helps a lot.
I get much more done as I have more control over potential distractions. In the office a colleague can approach you and it's not decent to ignore. WFH I can choose whether to answer a phone call or email. I will often 'ignore' calls, finish what I am doing then call back/reply.  
When I shut down at the end of the working day I close the door and go for a walk.
WFH suits me 100%. 

[Deleted User]

Agree with @gettingtheresometime regards being together 24/7 - it can be very 'trying' !

I think working from home is perfect if you're the very disciplined types, some don't possess that level of discipline and lackadaisical traits kick in.
Maybe try it for another 6 months and take it from there.

Re: Shopping costs - surely that's equalled out by the eating costs incurred during a working week anyway, lunches, morning coffee breaks, tea breaks etc ?

The tax queries, best ask the employer and their accounts dept.

eamon

Like 1000's of others I been working from home. Space wise I have it easy compared to so many others. Live alone more space than I need. Speaking to some colleagues and they hate it, too many people at home, space, distractions etc. Work are actively thinking about the long term implications should safe working distance become normal in the workplace. It certainly raises many questions. I miss the banter and the social aspects of being at work.

oh_really

Long term mental health should be on the radar. Although its a home, its also a workplace - whats happening regarding risk assessments or is the employer quite happy to offload its obligations silently?  Is your home insurer content with this development becoming permanent?

What about performance monitoring and the upsurge in bossware and its impact?

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2020/06/inside-invasive-secretive-bossware-tracking-workers

Cromwell77

I have worked from home at last a day a week for 20 years all of the time I have had a dedicated room which has been set up and used as an office if I did not have this my output would be lower. If I did not have a spare room and was going to work from home 100% I would buy a garden building I would not work on the dining room table or 8n a room without a proper desk and chair or that was used for another function. 

MrsStepford

When we had neighbours from Hell, I had a weekly counselling session to help me deal with it. Out of that came the idea of a daily 'debrief' about our days. It felt weird at first, but now it's normal routine to have a mug of tea and do that, discuss what's available for supper and then husband unwinds by cooking. We eat together in the kitchen and always have done. Wednesday nights we do something together, Monday and Friday nights we do our own thing and the rest are flexible. We're lucky, in that there's just the two of us, in a four bedroom house (less of a wreck than it used to be) so we're never on top of each other.  During the day, we aren't together much, just passing each other by in the kitchen. Much of our routine hasn't changed. 

Insurance already reflects that I'm here. I don't know about bossware. He prefers to get up early and deal with emails before the phone calls start, but unless he's on a call at 5pm, the phone goes off and laptop gets shutdown. On a Friday, he might call it quits at 16:30. Also, if he wants a break, he will stick a mask on and go for a walk. As long as he takes his phone, it's fine.