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Apart from 7 days right at the start of lockdown when I had to self isolate I have been in the office all along.
I've really enjoyed it. Commute in lockdown is only ten minutes. It's been like WFH but in a more pleasant environment because for the first six weeks I was the only one here. I'd go for walks around the building and got so much more done without staff interruptions. I've been able to leave the office at 5 instead of 6 or 7.
Until last week there was only one other guy but the word came down from on high everyone had to go back to the office. I expressed my misgivings because some staff were uncertain and the business is screwed if anyone gets Covid and we have to shut down but was told effectively to shut up and toe the line.
No one is allowed to WFH. At least half the staff are scared to be here. Mask up all day long. It's quite depressing and I'm back to working 13 hour days.
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@dogmeat said in Lockdown Check In:
Apart from 7 days right at the start of lockdown when I had to self isolate I have been in the office all along.
I've really enjoyed it. Commute in lockdown is only ten minutes. It's been like WFH but in a more pleasant environment because for the first six weeks I was the only one here. I'd go for walks around the building and got so much more done without staff interruptions. I've been able to leave the office at 5 instead of 6 or 7.
Until last week there was only one other guy but the word came down from on high everyone had to go back to the office. I expressed my misgivings because some staff were uncertain and the business is screwed if anyone gets Covid and we have to shut down but was told effectively to shut up and toe the line.
No one is allowed to WFH. At least half the staff are scared to be here. Mask up all day long. It's quite depressing and I'm back to working 13 hour days.
Here's an example of a public service office policy under the traffic light system. We have it pretty good compared to you and I'm only posting this to show how it can be done. It really comes down to the thinking of the management I guess. Some still feel a loss of control when their people and under their noses. Ours changed their thinking quite quickly but I guess that yours have a way to go.
I have removed the detail but at RED if in the office it is face coverings when moving around. If at your workspace you don't need them
• At the RED setting, working from home is encouraged where possible.
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• At the ORANGE setting, workplaces are open with remote working encouraged for vulnerable staff or where staff live with vulnerable people:• At the GREEN setting, workplaces are open:
These are guidelines and at RED you need to justify office attendance (to control numbers)
At Level 2 we have basically been following RED so being in ORANGE now is a bit looser but anyone who said to their boss that they would rather WFH would probably be allowed to.
We are pretty good with remote working full stop and many people either WFH as their primary place now anyway (with expectations to come to office if requested) or have flexible arrangements where groups willset themselves 'anchor' days where everyone comes in.
In this respect Covid has really accelerated the thinking around WFH and when you combine that with a building move to a flexible 'hot desk' type system there is a mindset of flexibility.
Even in the space of 11 months I have gone from having flexibility to wfh if necessary (eg a tradie coming around) to being able to just get wfh cleared and go anywhere to do it (eg I will travel to the SI for personal reasons then wfh some of the days down there) to it now being quite accepted that I could just move down there permanently and wfh as standard with the odd self-funded trips to Wellington.
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@dogmeat said in Lockdown Check In:
Apart from 7 days right at the start of lockdown when I had to self isolate I have been in the office all along.
I've really enjoyed it. Commute in lockdown is only ten minutes. It's been like WFH but in a more pleasant environment because for the first six weeks I was the only one here. I'd go for walks around the building and got so much more done without staff interruptions. I've been able to leave the office at 5 instead of 6 or 7.
Until last week there was only one other guy but the word came down from on high everyone had to go back to the office. I expressed my misgivings because some staff were uncertain and the business is screwed if anyone gets Covid and we have to shut down but was told effectively to shut up and toe the line.
No one is allowed to WFH. At least half the staff are scared to be here. Mask up all day long. It's quite depressing and I'm back to working 13 hour days.
I've been WFH since March. 2020. I don't miss the commutes and the office has only recently permitted us to come back in, but we have to book a space which sounds like hotdesking. And I don't do that. I don't envisage going back in until next year.
One element I have noticed (especially as Mrs Antipodean is contracting to a govt dept) is the wasted time with needless meetings hasn't changed. In fact it seems that Zoom/ Teams meetings have proliferated so people can waste other people's times.
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@antipodean said in Lockdown Check In:
@dogmeat said in Lockdown Check In:
Apart from 7 days right at the start of lockdown when I had to self isolate I have been in the office all along.
I've really enjoyed it. Commute in lockdown is only ten minutes. It's been like WFH but in a more pleasant environment because for the first six weeks I was the only one here. I'd go for walks around the building and got so much more done without staff interruptions. I've been able to leave the office at 5 instead of 6 or 7.
Until last week there was only one other guy but the word came down from on high everyone had to go back to the office. I expressed my misgivings because some staff were uncertain and the business is screwed if anyone gets Covid and we have to shut down but was told effectively to shut up and toe the line.
No one is allowed to WFH. At least half the staff are scared to be here. Mask up all day long. It's quite depressing and I'm back to working 13 hour days.
I've been WFH since March. 2020. I don't miss the commutes and the office has only recently permitted us to come back in, but we have to book a space which sounds like hotdesking. And I don't do that. I don't envisage going back in until next year.
One element I have noticed (especially as Mrs Antipodean is contracting to a govt dept) is the wasted time with needless meetings hasn't changed. In fact it seems that Zoom/ Teams meetings have proliferated so people can waste other people's times.
Remember when "conference calls" were a thing? When you'd get a bunch of people on the PHONE and talk about some stuff? These days everyone has to see your face for some reason, it's bloody annoying.
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this is another reason why work is way better than home
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@taniwharugby I have better coffee at home than work unless I pop out and buy one from somewhere good.
My first of the day is always from home but the second adds up $ wise if at the office. -
@taniwharugby said in Lockdown Check In:
this is another reason why work is way better than home
i have that at home...
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@mariner4life we just have a Nespresso at home.
Not that I need more coffee!
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@mariner4life said in Lockdown Check In:
@taniwharugby said in Lockdown Check In:
this is another reason why work is way better than home
i have that at home...
My friend has one and we are talking about making the change from Nespresso to one of those. Is it worth it?
Is the cleaning a bitch (my friends moans about that with his but its a few years old)?
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@gt12 said in Lockdown Check In:
@mariner4life said in Lockdown Check In:
@taniwharugby said in Lockdown Check In:
this is another reason why work is way better than home
i have that at home...
My friend has one and we are talking about making the change from Nespresso to one of those. Is it worth it?
Is the cleaning a bitch (my friends moans about that with his but its a few years old)?
ah, is it? i haven't cleaned it yet. It cleans itself out before and after use. i have to clean the milk system once a week or so but that's an automated process.
it's a fucking great machine. the cold brew is excellent
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@mariner4life our one gets a hammering at work (20+ in our office) the milk clean is done daily and there is a dude that comes in weekly to do a full clean (the company we hire it from) we have the little fridge for the milk too....on looking ours is a slightly bigger and different model than that pic.
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@mariner4life said in Lockdown Check In:
@taniwharugby said in Lockdown Check In:
this is another reason why work is way better than home
i have that at home...
Look at moneybags here. I'd be shot if I spent that for coffee at home, and that from a woman who started a business exporting coffee from PNG.
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@antipodean said in Lockdown Check In:
@mariner4life said in Lockdown Check In:
@taniwharugby said in Lockdown Check In:
this is another reason why work is way better than home
i have that at home...
Look at moneybags here. I'd be shot if I spent that for coffee at home, and that from a woman who started a business exporting coffee from PNG.
she bought it, not me
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@mariner4life said in Lockdown Check In:
@gt12 said in Lockdown Check In:
@mariner4life said in Lockdown Check In:
@taniwharugby said in Lockdown Check In:
this is another reason why work is way better than home
i have that at home...
My friend has one and we are talking about making the change from Nespresso to one of those. Is it worth it?
Is the cleaning a bitch (my friends moans about that with his but its a few years old)?
ah, is it? i haven't cleaned it yet. It cleans itself out before and after use. i have to clean the milk system once a week or so but that's an automated process.
it's a fucking great machine. the cold brew is excellent
We had a very similar one in the office in London. Worked out that if you ran one shot then topped it with what they called a latte and stopped the milk flow part way through you got a quite drinkable approximation of a FW.
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@antipodean said in Lockdown Check In:
One element I have noticed (especially as Mrs Antipodean is contracting to a govt dept) is the wasted time with needless meetings hasn't changed. In fact it seems that Zoom/ Teams meetings have proliferated so people can waste other people's times.
Working for a global company it seems the Board has decided Pandemic = strategy meeting time. I spend around 3 hours / week in the evenings in Teams meetings.
My PB is 4 in a week totally 11 hours. Once / month the meeting starts at 00:30!
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FWIW, my advice to you guys (coming from someone at the bum end of his career) is you should switch to contracting for yourself if at all possible. I have 2 contracts on the go right now, a SAP installation that will take another year that I WFH for 3 days a week. I’m working another 2 days a week managing a programme for a different organisation where I go into the office and work with a crew I know well and love working with. The social interaction is really important to me as I’m very aware of (and if I’m honest worried about) the fact that in another couple of years that will likely be gone for good.
But the best part about working for yourself is you can largely dictate the terms of your engagement. I was able to say right up which days I would be working and where. Anything mandatory on their part that inconvenienced me, we negotiated, which was pretty much me increasing the rate to compensate.
The best part is I go home / log off at 5pm and I’m done. After decades of 60 hour weeks it is amazing what a difference that makes to the quality of my life. I reckon I’m honestly healthier and happier than I was when I was in my 40s. It has made such a difference in my case that Mrs JC has resolved to pull the pin next year and start contracting herself.
At the moment if you’ve got any talent it's a real seller’s market out there. I’m sure it would be different if I wasn’t financially secure or had dependents but right now I wouldn’t have it any other way.
But get a shit-hot accountant!
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@jc said in Lockdown Check In:
FWIW, my advice to you guys (coming from someone at the bum end of his career) is you should switch to contracting for yourself if at all possible. I have 2 contracts on the go right now, a SAP installation that will take another year that I WFH for 3 days a week. I’m working another 2 days a week managing a programme for a different organisation where I go into the office and work with a crew I know well and love working with. The social interaction is really important to me as I’m very aware of (and if I’m honest worried about) the fact that in another couple of years that will likely be gone for good.
But the best part about working for yourself is you can largely dictate the terms of your engagement. I was able to say right up which days I would be working and where. Anything mandatory on their part that inconvenienced me, we negotiated, which was pretty much me increasing the rate to compensate.
The best part is I go home / log off at 5pm and I’m done. After decades of 60 hour weeks it is amazing what a difference that makes to the quality of my life. I reckon I’m honestly healthier and happier than I was when I was in my 40s. It has made such a difference in my case that Mrs JC has resolved to pull the pin next year and start contracting herself.
At the moment if you’ve got any talent it's a real seller’s market out there. I’m sure it would be different if I wasn’t financially secure or had dependents but right now I wouldn’t have it any other way.
But get a shit-hot accountant!
Here I was, getting all excited, and you just had to go and ruin it for me didn't you?
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@voodoo said in Lockdown Check In:
@jc said in Lockdown Check In:
FWIW, my advice to you guys (coming from someone at the bum end of his career) is you should switch to contracting for yourself if at all possible. I have 2 contracts on the go right now, a SAP installation that will take another year that I WFH for 3 days a week. I’m working another 2 days a week managing a programme for a different organisation where I go into the office and work with a crew I know well and love working with. The social interaction is really important to me as I’m very aware of (and if I’m honest worried about) the fact that in another couple of years that will likely be gone for good.
But the best part about working for yourself is you can largely dictate the terms of your engagement. I was able to say right up which days I would be working and where. Anything mandatory on their part that inconvenienced me, we negotiated, which was pretty much me increasing the rate to compensate.
The best part is I go home / log off at 5pm and I’m done. After decades of 60 hour weeks it is amazing what a difference that makes to the quality of my life. I reckon I’m honestly healthier and happier than I was when I was in my 40s. It has made such a difference in my case that Mrs JC has resolved to pull the pin next year and start contracting herself.
At the moment if you’ve got any talent it's a real seller’s market out there. I’m sure it would be different if I wasn’t financially secure or had dependents but right now I wouldn’t have it any other way.
But get a shit-hot accountant!
Here I was, getting all excited, and you just had to go and ruin it for me didn't you?
i smashed in to that roadblock too
and the shit hot accountant part
Lockdown/Covid Check In