I have worked from home for over a decade, so I thought I would share some tips for those of you who will be adjusting to a new work style. For a number of reasons, I do not discuss my actual job on this here blog- for about five years I had people calling and emailing my boss trying to get me fired, and I like to keep my work life and my blog/personal life separate. So please, no discussion about that in the comments or I will just delete it. You’ll just have to trust me that I do in fact work from home, and leave it at that.
At any rate, some general tips that I think you might find helpful.
1.) Have a separate, discrete place that will be your work space. Don’t just think you can take your laptop and lounge on the couch and get things done. I understand not everyone has a house, many of you live in apartments, so this will be more difficult for some of you, but trust me on this. You want a space that is your designated work area.
Many of you will think this is because it will increase your efficiency, and it is, but it is also for your mental health. Your house is now also your office, and no one can stay at the office all day long without losing it. So you want to have a mindset that “when I am in this room/place, I am working, and when I am in the rest of the house I am not working.”
I have a designated room (my office), and but for rare occasions when I may sit with the laptop on the front porch or on the back porch in nice weather, that is where I work. I do not work in the living room with a laptop. I do not sit at the kitchen table and work from there. I work in my office.
Also, in my office I have a Herman Miller chair I purchased and adore. It is worth the money and better than replacing a cheap chair every year. Make sure your work provides you with the computing and other office supplies you need.
2.) Keep a schedule. It doesn’t have to be a formal schedule, it doesn’t have to be a super strict schedule, but it does have to be a schedule. Get yourself in the mindset that during certain hours you will be working and other hours you will not.
3.) Get up and move every half hour. Whether it is to give the dogs a pet or a treat, go to the bathroom, go downstairs and grab some ice, etc.
4.) Try to keep your designated workspace clean. There are no janitors coming to clean after you go home- it’s up to you, bub.
5.) I personally like to shower when I wake up, just as if I was going to an office. Wakes you up, makes you feel more alert, etc.
6.) If you work with sensitive material, get a VPN/learn how to encrypt. I am sure others here can fill you in more on security issues.
7.) This is super important- most people (not, you know, introverts like me) can start to get manic if they go without human interaction and the assurances that come with talking and working with people face to face. So don’t just rely on email. Talk to people on the phone about the email you sent, facetime them, stay in touch. People are used to running into people in the hallway to discuss things, seeing you in your office and chatting, etc. Now they are just getting an email. Communicate with them and let them know you are there.
8.) Make sure you take breaks just like you would at the job.
9.) This may just be me, but even though I have a tv in the office, I turn it off unless there is something breaking I want to watch. Same with music. I rarely listen to music when I work unless it has no words- classical, jazz, etc.
10.) Again, may just be me, but I have a lot of plants in my office.
11.) GO OUTSIDE AND GET FRESH AIR. SIT ON THE PORCH. PUTZ AROUND IN THE YARD. JUST DO NOT BE NEAR PEOPLE.
I’ll add more to this as I think of it, and perhaps some of you have stuff to offer. I do think that for a lot of people, working from home is going to be a lot harder than you think it is. Others of you might take to it and wish it could be like this forever.
dr. bloor
Good tips, all.
Dunno how to break this to you, but we all already know you’re employed as Steve’s valet.
zhena gogolia
I love working from home when I’m not terrified.
trollhattan
Good stuff, thanks.
Our director has just opened the door to working from home and given the overlap with my kid suddenly having two weeks with no school (a total I expect to grow) my intention is to make this happen. And I do fear the myriad distractions around every corner and for now, there is no spot to clear and make dad’s office. Maybe I’ll try Les Nessman’s masking tape office walls.
And damnit I need a new office chair. And a better monitor would be nice.
MomSense
I don’t know how to get my office to decide to work remotely.
LeftCoastYankee
Those are all excellent tips.
The shower and the breaks were big for me when I started. I used to feel like I had a head start going straight from bed to the desk (via coffee making). No wasted time with morning prep and a commute. Then it’s noon and you feel gross and everyone is emailing and calling.
I finally figured out what John’s pointing out, and went to a more regular routine. Although, I made kind of a point to convert former commute time to exercise time to put a positive spin on things.
Also get out of the house on your breaks as much as possible.
Martin
One of my habits is to walk to get coffee in the morning. About 2 miles round trip. It gets me up and out early, gets my energy going. I use that time to figure my day out and start to get my head into my work so that when I get home I want to start getting things written, etc. And I get a little social interaction.
That is my mental ‘start of the day’.
I find that putting a podcast on the background usually helps me focus. It reminds me of the usual office background noise. Not TV – nothing visual. I pick one podcast for the whole day so the voices are all familiar. Then switch it up for the next day, etc.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@trollhattan: Just remember to make sure everyone uses the imaginary door.
Orson
Thank you for this very useful post. I’ve been working at home for a couple of years, and you *reminded* me of some things that I should be doing to be more productive. Thanks!
Mnemosyne
There is a specific part of my job that I can’t do without an authorized VPN from the Giant Evil, and my personal laptop isn’t updated enough to accept it. Whee! So they’re trying to track down a laptop I can use.
Martin
@trollhattan: Depending on the weather, my designated office space is my covered patio. Fewer distractions out there and being outdoors is uplifting for me. It’s my most productive work space by far.
JoyceH
I work from home too, though lately I haven’t been doing much of it. It’s not pandemic fears but general malaise since my sister died – hope I can get past that soon.
I too have a designated workspace and I’ve found that making a cup of coffee is a good “I’m working now” signal. I only drink coffee when I’m working. Some people listen to music, but I like to go to “Coffitivity” which is a website that provides ambient coffee house sounds. For some reason that seems to help productivity. There’s the various clinking and background murmurs – sometimes I choose the Parisian cafe; the murmurs have French accents!
Martin
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Make them knock first.
trollhattan
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Right? “Respect mah [simulated] autoritay!”
JMS
I’ve worked from home full time for nearly 4 years. My big thing is always get dressed in something other than pajamas. I don’t wear makeup but I do put on some moisturizer and BB cream. Be careful with mindless snacking too. I agree with the other stuff as well.
I have a husband and now with Covid 19 my teenage children are forced to be at home with me, so as an introvert I may have more forced interaction than I actually want, but if you don’t have people around, make sure to make a point of interacting with someone on the phone, video chat, etc. Even virtual meetings for work help in this regard if you get along with your colleagues.
trollhattan
@Martin:
Sounds really nice!
dexwood
I worked from home for a decade, too, and one of the biggest problems for me during the first year was training my friends and relatives to quit calling me or stopping by just because they knew I was home during the day. Stupid shit interruptions. I’m working! No, don’t drop by for coffee and a chat. Some got it faster than others.
Martin
@JoyceH: Coffitivity is a brilliant idea. Never heard of it. That would work well for me.
David C
Great advice. I’ve done telework for 1 day/week and during closures for years. I’m just happy that I have that option so I can ensure that one less possible disease vector is not out and about. I’ve found that keeping a work routine, including a morning walk before I start work, is important. Have trouble concentrating and sticking to task? Try the pomodoro method. https://tomato-timer.com
My day job deals with preparedness for a nuclear attack and many of the same preparedness and response elements apply – or are close enough that I am disheartened by just about every leader not named Fauci. Knowing the system and what’s being done (or not being done) and what should have been happening has led to stresses that outsiders have trouble imagining. It’s like being a climate scientist, I guess, but at a faster pace.
We know that health care systems do not have enough surge capacity and people and facilities will be stretched to their limits. Be kind to each other. My children live in the NE panhandle of WV and are just figuring out that something might be up. No incidents in Wild, Wonderful WV, AFAIK, but then testing has been pretty awful.
Take care.
JMG
I am retired, but for the last four years of my work life I worked exclusively from home and loved it. I also followed most if not all of J. Cole’s recommendations in his post and they worked very well. Anyone new to this practice should imitate his policies.
JanieM
I retired last summer after working mostly from home since about 1982. The one big area where I departed from John’s list is that I never kept regular hours; that was in fact part of the point.
I didn’t find it easy to do intense mental work for eight straight hours a day; I think I was much more productive when I took the chance to work at home and break up the work day ad hoc.
I would work for a couple of hours, take a break, do the laundry, work some more, make dinner, work some more, whatever. This was related to the fact that I’m a night person, and since for many years I could mostly work on my own at programming or technical writing projects, no one cared if I did the work at 2 p.m. or 2 a.m., or on Weds. vs. Sunday, as long as it got done. This worked fine for me, although I get it that it wouldn’t work for everyone, and maybe especially someone who has normalized to a regular 9-5ish schedule.
In later years I was more often part of teams that had to meet regularly, which was easy enough in an era where online meetings are taken for granted with a workforce (as ours was) scattered around the globe. I also had regular phone calls with the colleagues I worked most closely with. So in those later years there was a much bigger distinction for me between weekdays and weekends than there had been before. So much so that now that I’m retired, I’m finding it hard to keep track of when it’s the weekend and when it isn’t.
When my kids were little, I had a babysitter coming in for a few hours a day so that I could close the office door and not worry that they were going to spill half a gallon of white paint on the kitchen floor (that happened once…..). That worked out okay, but then again I wasn’t working full time in those years.
trollhattan
@Mnemosyne:
I can’t create web content from home w/o a VPN and lacking one, will need to go into the office for that. But I can aggregate those tasks to a few hours/week and so long as this policy is in place it will be a skeleton crew there and not a large risk. Plus, no traffic!
My micromanager supervisor will just have to chill the fvck out.
Rand Careaga
Late in my alleged career at BrainDead Systems (formerly Flatline, Comatose, Torpor & Drowse) I was offered the option of working from home one or two days a week. I did not take the employer up on it because (A) a regime change up in the executive suite a few years earlier had sent my political fortunes into a steep decline (I had formerly sat in on the councils of the mighty, admittedly below the salt; my position in the workplace was analogous in equal portions to the roles of Holbein the Younger and Lear’s Fool), and I didn’t want them to become accustomed to the idea of my absence, and (B) I suspected that my productivity would take a big hit. Thirty months of retirement, during which, contrary to expectations, I have got little accomplished with an extra ten hours a day to play with, have served to bear out the latter supposition.
I don’t miss paid employment or the commute at all (and I enjoy the fact of having been grandfathered into one of them old-fashioned “defined benefit” plans, abolished by FCT&D back in the eighties), but the job imparted a certain structure to my life, and I notice that absence.
Arclite
@MomSense:
“I don’t know how to get my office to decide to work remotely”
Snort a bunch of black pepper in the bathroom and come out in a sneezing fit. ?
CaseyL
I wish I could have a designated office area in my house, but converted my “extra spaces” to glass studio work areas (main studio upstairs; cutting, frit sifting, and torchwork downstairs).
So it’s the sofa for me. It’s not too bad. The worst part is I can’t organize reference materials very well, but have to rummage through a Pile O’ Files.
trollhattan
As I figured, my kid’s tutoring gigs are producing oodles of babysitting gig opportunities. She’s not fond of unstructured time around little kids but I can see the cartoon dollar signs flashing in her eyes, so I’m guessing she’s going to become a Disaster Profiteer.
Arclite
As someone who worked from home for eight years, I suggest setting the kitchen timer to an hour to be sure to get up and walk around. I found I would sit for much longer at home than in the office, where I’d often visit someone’s desk instead of IM. You don’t want to get deep vein thrombosis from sitting too long.
trollhattan
Somebody should collect crime data for tiny house dwellers who suddenly find themselves working from home. #RealityShowOpportunity
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Martin: It would be rude no to.
@trollhattan: I’m the master of my office! In my case, except for the cocker spaniel and the yorkipom.
Dagaetch
Anyone have a recommendation for a good standing desk stool? I’ve had a standing height desk for years, and for the occasional use it normally gets I just stand on a foam mat. But now that I’m gonna be working from home for a while, I’m thinking a stool for occasional sit breaks would be a good idea.
JanieM
@Arclite:
Someone else also mentioned this. With my creaky shoulders, hips, and back, I now set my timer to 15 or 20 minutes. Then I have a battle to only take short breaks. ;-)
I was using timeanddate.com’s timer, but then I took my oldest laptop off the internet when Microsoft stopped supporting W7. So when I’m working on that one (writing….), I use the timer on my phone. Which I only discovered recently, being heavily committed to only using my phone as a phone. And a camera. And a … oh, never mind.
Ohio Mom
I hope whoever was calling Cole’s boss, demanding he be fired, suffered for it. What a horrible thing to do.
mrmoshpotato
LOL I find this hilarious for some reason. But Cole prevails!
Martin
How the fuck do people have employers without proper VPNs?
Iran just screened 7.5 million residents – 175,000 presumptive cases. 22,500 sent to doctor, 1100 hospitalized.
grammypat
For those of us who will be staying at home “as much as possible” but will still need to go out into public spaces (e.g., grocery, post office, etc.) here’s a Wired article about How Long Does the Coronavirus Last on Surfaces? that I found informative.
The “significant viral shedding in patients’ fecal samples” was both enlightening and scary.
Ruckus
@JanieM:
That part of night person is a very valid point.
I’ve been a night person since I was a kid and it really does affect how you see and interact with the worlds, work and not work.
Mike in NC
Wife is a retired systems analyst (banking) and I’m a retired software engineer. Worked many years as a federal government contractor — DC area — where working from home was never permitted. Times change,
Formica
@Dagaetch: use the search term “drafting”, i.e. “drafting height stool” or “drafting height chair”. They are usually the right height for a standing desk. Source: I have had a standing desk for thirteen years ?
debbie
Number 3 especially! Your back will thank when you’re done for the day.
Don’t forget that your company will probably be “watching” you. Most of them think working from home is an excuse to goof off.
debbie
@MomSense:
Email them a list of links about the state medical directors begging everyone to think about working remotely.
Martin
This should be interesting. Mexico considering closing the border with the US, despite some, they assume, being healthy people.
How soon before Trump demands the wall be torn down because he doesn’t want to be on the deplorable end of that relationship?
mrmoshpotato
@trollhattan: Hi, police? Today my house was stolen again – but with me in it!
Croaker
I have worked from home every other day for over 10 years. I love it. Longest stint was 4 weeks straight. We are now remote for several weeks. Currently, in a lock down we’re we live so won’t be heading into center city anytime soon.
Couple of items:
(1) in addition to dedicate space – good work surface
(2) monitor recommend. I have LG love it. It’s not terribly expensive
(3) video conferencing – look at your software settings e.g. MS teams allows you blur out back ground
(4) messaging apps critical depend on them the most
(5) Battery based hand sets. Remember to cradle after use. I still forget now we have to get batteries again
(6) dedicated space is awesome if your in a closed area posters are great. We can’t do plants our Ms Busy is into everything. I have some good Amtrak and Star Wars ones gifted to me
(7) mute yourself by default to avoid the child or dog bar or in our case the cats
(8) interruptions – get use to the delivery driver knocking etc try to schedule meeting times around food deliveries I have an excellent schedule person who puts up w me for that
(9) fresh air open a window if you or go out for few mins
(10) dress I always recommend clothing especially if you are doing a video conference
(11) bit silly but keep a notepad and pen handy
(12) keep your space tidy no one should see the mess you make ensure the camera angle conceals it
(13) you will find you work longer and off hours more
debbie
@Mnemosyne:
I got a Chromebook for less than $200. No way was I letting them get access to my Macbook and pollute with their dinosaur programs (I think we’re still on 2007 Windows).
cain
I’ve been working from home since last year. My biggest problem isn’t the human interactions, it’s not knowing when to quit. I can keep going.. then again, I’m not strictly working on work. Working open source lets me work on a number of things. I should take a break though and play guitar or some other thing.
Ruckus
@Rand Careaga:
Well done.
FCT&D. I worked for a company that could have been designed by or after them. May in fact have been. But it was mostly not that bad as I had loose guidelines as to duties, pretty much freedom to come and go, and that go part I did a lot, on the road over 7 months a year, and a boss who had too much to do and mostly left me alone, till the last 3 yrs.
mrmoshpotato
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Rah rah sis boom bah, mate. Cheers!
WaterGirl
I have worked from home since 2007, and I’m not sure I could have more different work from home style than Cole if I tried. Except that I do get up and move around a lot. And I do have good chairs to sit in.
For the first three years, I worked for the University; for the past 10 I have had my own consulting business. I loved working from home, from the very first minute.
I love working in my PJs.
I don’t have a set schedule, and I don’t “shower and get ready for work”. I might shower in the morning, in the afternoon, or the evening.
I always sit in a chair and work from my laptop, but that might be in the living room, the sunroom, or on the screened in porch. (when weather permits)
I use a timing program (Toggl) so I can be sure I’m working the appropriate amount of hours. It’s also helpful for billing. (Or tracking your time if you work for someone else.)
I love that I can stop working whenever I feel like it, make lunch, go to the store, get dinner started, move the laundry from the washer to the dryer, whenever I feel like it. The timer program allows me to do all that totally guilt-free.
I love that I have total flexibility, as long as I’m getting my work done and taking good care of my clients.
Ramalama
All the points Cole mentions here are great. I work at home. My office is a slightly updated mudroom. Really small but has lots of sun, which I need. Friend helped me design a board that I put on our bench so that I have a kind of second desk when I need it. Lots of shelving. It really works. I suspect that if we ever move/try to sell the place, it will have to go back to having just the one function. I’ve used a total of 4 different kinds of VPNs through the years. None of them are perfect. But I try to keep away from the five eyes. It’s easier to take breaks when … no snow.
joel hanes
@grammypat:
If you feel sick and live with others who don’t, you should take a good soapy shower immediately after getting off the stool
Then sanitize the toilet seat and handle and lid.
hells littlest angel
As a fellow home worker, I heartily endorse all of these tips. I would add, if you can afford it, have a separate device for electronic time wasting, such as commenting on blogs.
mrmoshpotato
@Martin:
Hahaha, that ship sailed years ago when the Kremlin’s bitch announced his deplorable campaign by saying horrible things about our Mexican neighbors and allies.
Ramalama
@WaterGirl:
I tried free timers but I’m too lazy? I always put off billing clients because I just hated tallying up the work. Finally started using Freshbooks and even agreed to pay for it (they have a free trial), and even upgrade – pay more – because they made it so much easier for me to bill projects. I’ve been getting paid more quickly, easier, whatnot.
But this is coming from someone who likes to eat oranges, yes, but is seriously too lazy to unpeel one myself.
Ruckus
@Dagaetch:
McMaster Carr. They have most everything.
Avalie
@David C: Have worked at home at least one day a week for several years. I find the pomodoro method thing extremely helpful when procrastination and/or writer’s block is interfering with productivity.
I also recommend setting aside blocks of time for calls and emails to others. Doing it first thing in the morning reassures my boss that I am actually working and lets me ease into the day before tackling bigger stuff. And then doing it again in the afternoon sets me up to have responses to anything I need by the next morning when I check in. And structuring communication time helps me make sure I am not isolating myself too much.
mrmoshpotato
@Ramalama: Psst, just take a big bite out of an unpeeled orange. ?
?BillinGlendaleCA
@mrmoshpotato: Yorkshire terrier and Pomeranian mix…YorkiPom.
Winston Churchitler
It’s really a productivity and economical tip –
Trump Dumpin’ aka Trump Dump Trucking:
You walk around full of shit throughout the day so that you don’t have to use as much toilet paper.
Mnemosyne
@Martin:
My employer has a proper VPN, but I don’t have the right equipment to access it. ?♀️ I’m an hourly employee who belongs to a union, so working from home can be very fraught when it comes to the rules.
Brachiator
I spend some days working from home, and work with customers who work at home. A couple of things.
I try to go out in the morning and have breakfast. Then when I come home I am “going to work.” It helps me put my mind in gear and reminds me that I am not just at home.
Not a big deal currently, but family and friends know when I am at work. And so, not available for friendly banter.
I generally recommend that a person have a dedicated work computer. I have tax preparer customers who let their kids have access to their PCs, and also use them to watch, ahem, “adult entertainment.” And they wonder why they end up with malware. In any event, if information on a PC is important or confidential, you should consider all necessary steps to ensure that information is secure. Including having a cheap second device that you use for non-work or family.
If you take a PC to a coffee shop or other location, take reasonable security steps. And never let anyone touch a laptop or other work device that you have out in public.
Use strong password, 2 factor authentication and other measures to log onto your device, especially if you take it out in public.
Echo John Cole’s points about having an office or dedicated work space. If you have a home business and take a home office deduction, a space must be used solely and exclusively for business. Employees are no longer allowed a deduction for a home office, even if an employer says that you have to work at home.
Double ditto on having a comfortable chair.
Another Scott
@trollhattan: You have an evil mind.
I like that. :-D
rofl.
Cheers,
Scott.
J R in WV
Have very rarely worked from home before retirement. When I had something difficult to write, I would work on that in evenings, telling someone what they wanted to happen was not possible due to the constraints of 1) inexpensive… 2) quick… 3) good — pick any two. Bosses funding a project always had unreasonable budget ideas and schedule requirement. And we weren’t willing to give up “good” as a first priority. Also, “when can we release these expensive contract developers?” As soon as regulatory requirement changes end they can go to another project — aka no time soon!
We had to log all changes to all data, which was time consuming, a little. We had to staff up with contract help because POLITICS disallowed actual new FTE staff.
I did enjoy the work, but thinking back on it, so glad I was able to take my pension and go away from the office all retired…
trollhattan
@mrmoshpotato:
Heh!
Remember Whoopi Goldberg in “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”?
Like that.
Percysowner
I need advice. I take care of my granddaughter 4 days a week, might go to 5, since the other grandmother, who watches her 1 day a week has some health issues. Anyway, my Son-in-law just got word that he will be working from home from the next 3 weeks. Any tips for keeping my 2 year old granddaughter out of his hair? He won’t be in a dedicated room, because there isn’t one and the only good connection to the Internet is in an open family room. I need to make sure the kiddo doesn’t interfere with my SIL’s work. Any tips would help.
mrmoshpotato
@?BillinGlendaleCA: I stand by what I said.
How funky is your chicken?
Also Gene It On
Poe Larity
@Dagaetch: Stools are hard, have tried several cheap ones and just ended up standing more and getting a cushion for when I use the stool. Drafting chairs are nice, expensive but IMO defeat the whole purpose of a standing desk because you’ll just sit comfy in them all day. Also anything rolling tears up the wood floors and plastic mats suck.
Croaker
PETS Happen. When booping starts you know it’s time.
Cats and working home.
1 Get used to it. Your on their time.
2 Your office chair arm is no obstacle
3 The desk height is irrelevant
4 The birds at feeder are only a distraction
5 Spreadsheets and mouse pointers are fascinating to our furry masters
TO Minimize forceful lap petting is required
Carry on and try to stay come the Orange Mind Control Ferret has everything under control
Martin
@Mnemosyne: But VPN isn’t just for working from home. It’s for employees on business travel, any time you need to do a rapid expansion – maybe into a temporary space, etc.
You put all of your internal business behind the allocated IP and VPN firewall. That way no matter what happens, you can fall back on the VPN. A friend of mine had to move 300 employees to a new building in 3 days due to the building being shut down for a gas leak or something. The VPN saved him.
And I can hit the VPN from my phone and share the IP to my laptop so even if I need to borrow a laptop from someone I can still work. Had to do that one at a conference when my laptop got hosed.
People – tell your bosses to get their shit together.
trollhattan
@Percysowner:
What’s the weather like there?
Might be an opportunity to introduce the 2YO to nature–parks, hiking trails and the like. Ours was a good traveler and very happy in her car seat, but no two 2YOs are alike and some can’t handle not doing something new every 30 seconds.
Dad will probably want some structured breaks, so little field trips where people aren’t, would seem in order.
You are a Very Nice grandparent!
mrmoshpotato
@trollhattan: Haha, what was that? Never seen it.
But seriously, some people build tiny homes on trailer frames, and occasionally they get stolen.
narya
My workplace is being awesomely proactive; we provide health care, so we can’t shut down entirely at this point, but “Tier 1” employees are required to work from home. I’m in that tier, but all of the loaner laptops (w VPN access) are taken. Thus, I have permission to go in to the office (which is admin staff, no patients) until a laptop is available. Not ideal, but I will sequester myself in my office and avoid touching anything on public transportation and scrub down everything all the time. Or, at least, I will go in as soon as I stop with my own symptoms, which I”m fairly certain are garden-variety cold or flu. Another awesome thing: we have a ton of practice doing testing (for HIV/STIs) in outreach settings, so when tests become available, we’ll be able to provide them.
Truthfully, though, I hate working at home. I really like my home to be my HOME–but as soon as I have laptop/VPN access I will happily obey. Joining the Rancho Gordo bean club and having a CSA share delivered to me seems better all the time. Now if I only had a working oven . . .
BruceFromOhio
Great list, 1, 2, and 3 for sure. Thanks for sharing, and I’m sorry someone is trying to get you fired. Such bullshit.
Croaker
@Percysowner:
Set up a little workspace nearby w a few favorite things for your granddaughter.
mrmoshpotato
We’ll, this is related to the virus.
Yutsano
I have to have my Internet connection tested by our IT staff (who are not local) and then have my computer approved before I can do any sort of telework. And then I still have to get upper management approval. The latest is we still have to go in but we take telephone calls! It’s nuts.
Another Scott
Thanks for these tips, JC, and everyone. J and I are probably going to be teleworking soon. We each have our own office spaces.
One thing I picked up from a “working efficiently” bit of training years ago was to “turn off e-mail notification sounds and popups”. I always have my work PC speaker muted (even for training videos – I read the closed-captioning). I like to think that I can multi-task, but it really does kill concentration to have notifications going off all the time. The world won’t end if you don’t reply to an e-mail until a few hours later. ;-)
Good lighting is important, also too.
I like to have background music going. It seems to help time pass for me, for some reason, even while I’m working. J has to have quiet, so that’s definitely a personal thing.
Cheers,
Scott.
Gvg
Some artical I read with tips mentioned if you work in pajamas, have a set for work that aren’t the same as for sleeping and have a ritual that means you are done for the day so you can mentally turn off and quit answering emails etc.
currently with a regular job I freely send emails to the boss with queries that occur to me that I don’t expect answers on till morning work. Sort of making sure I don’t forget to ask. If you don’t keep a clear I have done my work mind set, you can end up always working unhealthy.
what is going to be challenging for many people is having the kids home and needing to nag them to do school work, not goof off, while trying to do their own job, and several people can be noisy and get in each other’s way.
phein60
@Arclite: I don’t remember where the study was published, but a few years back someone in our lab brought in a paper that showed that after 20 minutes of sitting, human bodies go into a lower-energy expenditure state, kind of like a harddrive powering down. So now I set a timer on my phone for 15 minutes, and when it goes off, I stand on my tiptoes and reach for the ceiling, even in meetings. I feels much more awake when I do.
Kelly
My wife is at an art sale at the local community center. Around a dozen local artists and crafters. The majority are retirees over 70. Several give painting lessons and several more music lessons. The musicians sit in at local jams a couple times a month. They enjoy the work and kinda need the money. Many are the pillars of the local volunteer community. They are very socially active people.
I’m maintaining my isolation so I can take care of my 83 year old mother if need be. Sitting here I’m thinking maybe I should go just to push an EMERGENCY, EMERGENCY THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!!!!! msg
Doubtful if I’d be effective.
ThresherK
Tangent: Is your library cancelling days for safety purposes? Ours is; I took a couple books out of our library today, as they’re going on a two-week hiatus after tomorrow.
Matt Taibbi’s “Hate Inc, How Today’s Media Makes us Despise Each Other”, is making a play for Centrist Respectability! I spotted it in the wild at my library; it’s about how “divided” we are.
Guess who the two equally at-fault people are on the cover?
rikyrah
Found this on another blog:
From a doctor at Stanford hospital: The new Coronavirus may not show sign of infection for many days. How can one know if he/she is infected? By the time they have fever and/or coughand go to the hospital, the lung is usually 50% Fibrosis. Taiwan experts provide a simple self-check that we can do every morning. Take a deep breath and hold your breath for more than 10 seconds. If you complete it successfully without coughing, without discomfort, stiffness or tightness, etc., it proves there is no Fibrosis in the lungs, basically indicates no infection. In critical time, please self-check every morning in an environment with clean air. Serious excellent advice by Japanese doctors treating COVID-19 cases: Everyone should ensure your mouth & throat are moist, never dry. Take a few sips of water every 15 minutes at least. Why? Even if the virus gets into your mouth, drinking water or other liquids will wash them down through your throat and into the stomach. Once there, your stomach acid will kill all the virus. If you don’t drink enough water more regularly, the virus can enter your windpipe and into the lungs. That’s very dangerous. Please send and share this with family and friends. Take care everyone and may the world recover from this Coronavirus soon.
Suzanne
I have been working from home for the past two months. I agree with everything that John has said. One thing that I have found challenging is getting the other people in the house to behave as though I am at work for the day even though I am sitting there. That is something my kids are still struggling with, and them being home this week has made that harder.
RandomMonster
RandomWife and I needed to relocate, and I was fortunate in that my employer decided they would rather keep me on as a remote employee than replace me. I arrived at the same conclusions as our esteemed host. I have a whole room that is my office with a large drafting table for a desk. (I need a lot of space for monitors, laptops, and drives.) I shave and shower everyday and put on regular clothes as if I’m going into a regular office. If I don’t, I’m not really in the right frame of mind to focus. I have regular Webex or Skype meetings, and I message/chat with coworkers throughout the day. The only thing from Cole’s I’m missing are houseplants. Come to think of it, that’s kind of a good idea.
Ken
@rikyrah: I think the “Stanford” message has been debunked. Some content may be correct but some is not.
I saw the debunking here on BJ comments, so take that as you will.
Josie
@Percysowner:
I will travel three hours tomorrow to do my regular two week stint caring for my son’s two year old daughter ( the other grandmother just did her two weeks). He texted me that he will be working from home for at least one week and maybe more, so I am facing a similar dilemma.
I suggested that he set up an office space in his bedroom, so that he has everything he needs in one place and can close the door to shut us out. She and I spend time in the family room and kitchen downstairs and the bedroom she shares with her 5 year old sister upstairs. We need to change places and activities pretty often due to short attention span. Setting aside a space for the working person with a door that closes is the only way I can see this being successful. The other possibility would be for the working person to set up outside as Martin suggested, if the weather permits.
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@rikyrah: That’s bunkum. We’ve posted the debunking a couple of times over the last few days.
chopper
i’ve been WFH for the last 15 years or so. i agree with all this stuff, and also (if it wasn’t mentioned), cultivate a firm avoidance of the fridge. it’s easy to mindlessly eat throughout the day when your office has a fridge and pantry full of food. make your meals part of the schedule.
also, if you have family, make sure they know that just because you work from home doesn’t mean you’re the family gofer who’s on call every minute to drop shit and go do X. it’s fine to tell the spouse that you’ll pick up the dry cleaning after you’re done with work, or on your lunch break, like the rest of em.
Marcopolo
OT Good news:
Looks like Warren is having an impact on Biden’s policy proposals. Considering the 2005 Bankruptcy bill was one of the biggest areas of disagreement this is significant.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: I believe Stanford put something out saying this definitely did not come from them. Let me know if you would like me to delete your comment.
Josie
@Josie:
Also, look into devices that boost the internet power in other rooms. My son installed one at my house that helped with that problem.
Ken
Several friends have home offices that qualify for a tax deduction. One regulation (as I understand it) is that the space has to be dedicated as an office, not dual-use. The tape lines might be helpful in that regard!
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
@rikyrah: Might want to pass this back to that other blog:
No, you can’t test yourself by holding your breath, and other claims debunked.
feebog
Some people on the blog may remember that I do some type of legal work. Actually, I am a labor arbitrator and hearing officer. So I conduct hearings and then produce a decision or report depending on the venue. So I do a lot of writing at home. One the things I find most useful is to create a to-do list every day. For years I used the Franklin Planner system, now I simply use a legal pad. I write down every thing that I need to accomplish and then prioritize. I prioritize ABC, and then each letter gets a number. So I may have nine items on the list and each on will be an A1, B3, C2, and so on. I try to work in that order, but of course that does not always work out. Emails and calls are always top priority. I include personal errands like a trip to the Post Office or shopping. Anyway, this keeps me productive and I rarely miss anything. I keep my calendar on my Ipad and that is always A1. And as John said, frequent breaks; I never sit more than a half hour at a time without a stretch or walk around the house,
allium
@rikyrah: Seconding Ken – this “Stanford message” (as opposed to actual medical information actually from Stanford University and its associated medical resources) is hogwash.
https://www.lamag.com/article/coronavirus-hoax-stanford/
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/03/viral-social-media-posts-offer-false-coronavirus-tips/
ThresherK
@Ken: Somewhere, Richard Saunders is nodding with approval.
Ken
Not yet, but they’re doing more frequent cleaning and have promised hand sanitizer at the doors.
If they close, I expect I’ll spend a lot of time with the fine (albeit out-of-copyright and somewhat dated) literature available at Wikisource and Project Gutenberg.
Mikeindublin
For anyone questioning the shutdowns, consider the alternative.
https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca
Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism
And while I’m here, I love this drafting chair: Modway Veer Drafting Chair It’s comfortable enough to sit and work in, but not so comfortable that I’m reluctant to get up and move when my pomodoro timer goes off. I had to get the wheel stand replaced last month, still under warranty, and I didn’t have to fight them for it. It took several days to get it, but I think that was a warehouse issue.
I replaced the floor-damaging plastic wheels with a set of rollerblade caster wheels that have worked out very nicely.
ThresherK
@Ken: Ours has also stopped handling patrons’ library cards, having gone to code scanners ages (relatively speaking) ago. The hand sanitizer has been there for years, but they’re putting in more stations.
Ruckus
@Sister Rail Gun of Warm Humanitarianism:
Here is the real info. The WHO World Health Organization with Your questions answered.
Here is the main page World Health Organization.
Rand Careaga
@Ruckus: I had the privilege, around a quarter of a century into the gig, of working for a magnificent boss. He was in place during the ill-advised 2003 merger that turned FCT&D into BDS (“Best job I ever had,” he observed later, anent his posting to our San Francisco office. “After that, most stressful”). Alas, not long after he got here, his health began visibly to decline. He retired in 2006 and died suddenly early the following year, not yet sixty.
I always gave him my best work not because I feared his disapprobation (though I would have dreaded that), but because I would have felt ashamed to disappoint him. It is an exquisite pleasure, the sensation of extending respect. It was, seriously, an honor to have served under him.
Ken
@Marcopolo: Beginning a countdown to another iteration of the Dolchstoßlegende, sponsored this century by Twitter.
germy
A Ghost to Most
I worked from my recliner for over a decade. How you ask? Airdesks.com
FelonyGovt
I’ve worked from home for 15 years. Self-employed, so a little different. But I agree with all of John Cole’s suggestions. I would add— don’t scrimp on supplies or on your set-up. In my case, a comfortable chair and footrest, fresh pens, file folders, appropriate software, reference material, anything I would have in an outside office.
low-tech cyclist
Any tips on how to get them to do this?
BretH
2 Monitors. 24″ minimum.
Best investment ever, especially with a cheap 2 monitor stand for the desk. Also nice is a dock for the laptop so you don’t have to go unplugging wires all the time when you want to take the computer to a different location.
germy
TaMara (HFG)
Well, my work life is quite different than Cole’s – except, after working out and walking the dogs, I do shower and dress for my day. But the rest is flexible depending on how I’m feeling. But with most of my clients, I’m not tied to a daily schedule, more a project schedule, so my time is my own.
Cats and dogs are not allowed in my office – it’s the only place and they just had to get used to it.
But then I work in different areas of the house off and on, so they aren’t without me for long, LOL.
I use a ball, not a chair and alternate with sitting and standing (my standing desk is motorized).
Because of how my mind functions, I’m good for maybe 2 to 3 hours with breaks, then I have long break and then another 2-3 hours. Sometimes those last 2-3 hours are in the evening. Those shorter hours make me much more productive. I can accomplish more in that time than I ever did in an office setting.
Like others have said, I love being able to stop, move laundry from washer to dryer, empty the dishwasher or play with the critters in the backyard as breaks from working without feeling guilty.
And there is always noise in my house – I know others need quiet – but I grew up doing homework with toddlers in the house and worked in busy offices. For quite a while, my office was in the middle of a busy children’s museum and I loved it. Quiet makes me nutso.
trollhattan
@mrmoshpotato:
A caper comedy she made a gazillion years ago. She was calling the cops from a phonebooth while being hauled away by a tow truck.
germy
One tumbleweed, one vote.
RobC
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Lay down tape Les Nesman style to indicate to your family where the walls should be
schrodingers_cat
@BretH: recommendations for a dock?
trollhattan
@Kelly:
“Emergency, everybody to get from street!”
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
@germy: It’s so bad the entire “Squad” voted for it.
It’s so bad the 40 no votes all came from republicans.
trollhattan
@schrodingers_cat:
Suggest dock of the Bay.
Baud
@David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch:
Adam Serwer would have made Trump and McConnell cave.
Eric K
I’ve been working from home about 12 years.
here are a couple other things I’d add/differ slightly
1) while I have a dedicated desk to work from I take advantage of being at home and able to mix it up so I’m not sitting in the same chair with the same posture all day. If I’m on a web conference that I don’t need to present during I’ll take the laptop to the couch to sit differently for an hour or so for example.
2) when on a phone call walk around the whole time
I think one thing that may come out of this is a lot of companies that resisted telecommuting will realize how well it works. Especially for large companies with people spread all over, what my company realized was they were paying a lot of money for expensive office space filled with people on remote meetings most of the day with people sitting in other expensive office space.
also the infrastructure (PC hardware, software, highspeed internet, etc) to enable all of this has improved dramatically over that time and it really has gotten much better in even the last couple years.
trollhattan
@germy:
“Land mass support.”
This is code for…? Lemme guess, folks that don’t get along with anybody so they have to move out to the sticks where they shoot at any neighbors what done walked on their proppity.
ThresherK
@RobC: I don’t want to say “Beat you to it” at #94, but maybe I remember Les Nessman’s actor’s name better than many.
(Fun facts I learned today: He was a Fulbright scholar who studied Shakespearian acting in England, and had a couple stints in the Peace Corps.)
Ruckus
@Rand Careaga:
That last three years? Worst boss, second only to an E7 in the navy who thought everyone respected him when no on had an ounce of respect, even when everyone’s respect was added up.
When he had too much to do there was mostly chaos but with everyone knowing their jobs and trying to do their best. It actually worked because he never had time to screw it up. And then another manager quit. We all traveled a lot, this manager, and his wife traveled by motor home all over the country and he’d had enough. He gave notice and his replacement, who knew my boss, said he wouldn’t come to work there for the current boss. The company took all responsibility away from the old boss, with the exception of, you guessed it, me. He took to drinking a lot more, every day and made my life a living hell. I’d planned to retire from there. One of the best days of my life was giving the CEO notice. Oh the company wasn’t completely fault free here, they told everyone, including the old boss, at a company retreat. As they were saying it I was thinking “FUCK.” I figured it would go bad, I was wrong, it went very bad. The company doesn’t exist any more, took about 4 yrs after I left to implode completely. Multimillion dollar company, about 25 full time and another 100 part time, gone.
Immanentize
I miss Raven. He both spent his time working from home, and was deeply involved in online teaching at U.GA.
All change is loss.
Baud
@Immanentize:
Sucks for us, but I assume he’s out enjoying the real world in his retirement.
Another Scott
@BretH: +1
I’ve got 4 ea 27″ monitors on a stand in my home office. The two bottom ones are for my work laptop, the top right is for my home PC, the top left is for my home MacMini. I still need to tweak it a bit (move the screens down some and get them closer together), but it works pretty well.
It’s the 2nd stand I’ve tried – the first one had a large metal base that took up far too much desk space. The second one is a post that clamps to the tabletop. It works much better.
Cheers,
Scott.
Immanentize
@Baud: I am so tired of this “Dems caved” shit. How about, “Dens got an amazing deal for Americans given the vicious Republican opposition?”
Ruckus
@germy:
On of the most open statements that land mass – money is what conservatives believe deserves freedom. Not all people, only those with the most money to purchase all the land. Think 11 homes for John McCain.
Baud
@David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch:
@Immanentize:
Loomis of all people has this covered.
Percysowner
@Josie:
Right now, my SIL doesn’t want to use the wireless, so he’s talking connecting with ethernet into the cable modem itself. That room doesn’t have a door. He’ll have to play with it to figure out what works.
@Croaker:
A workspace nearby sounds like a good idea. I’ll see if I can keep her to her own area.
@trollhattan:
We’re in central Ohio, so the weather changes daily. Taking her out is a good idea though. I’ll start checking nature trails and municipal gardens, see what we can come up with.
David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch
@Immanentize: the deal was so bad even
Raymond ShawTulsi Gabbard voted it.Kelly
@trollhattan: That movie paralysed me with laughter as a child and I only understood a little bit of the satire.
zhena gogolia
I’m nostalgic for the days when I gave a shit about politics.
RandomMonster
@TaMara (HFG): I don’t allow the cats in my office, either. I had to insist my office is a room with a door on it. If I leave the door open, one or both will hang out on the desk, knocking stuff over and trying to interfere with meetings in a not cute way.
Immanentize
@Baud: Only people with something like a sinecure would think that Pelosi’s bill was not worth passing RIGHT NOW!
Immanentize
@David ? ☘The Establishment☘? Koch: Gabbard showed up at work? Damn, I might have to vote for her now.
Baud
@Immanentize:
Looking forward to 2021 and getting some social distance between Tulsi and the Democratic party.
trollhattan
@Percysowner:
Among my lasting treasured times with the toddler were seeing how much of her world comprised the first 2 feet from the ground up, and her perception of it versus mine. So many first-ofs and so many delights of discovery.
Once, we were taking our first walk from our vacation rental on the coast and as we stepped onto the gravel road she stopped, stretched her arms wide and said, “Rocks! Beautiful, beautiful rocks!”
japa21
@Immanentize: Hey, she’s won two delegates, which is more than most of the original candidates.
jackmac
As a freelance writer for 20-plus years and now also handling a full-time job from home, I wholeheartedly endorse Cole’s tips. Working from home may offer some flexibility and convenience, but keep in mind that you are still doing a job, not just checking work email while streaming an Avengers movie.
Baud
@Immanentize:
But… Leverage!
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
I work from home once a week and this is all good advice. I work for a Federal Agency that has nothing to do with pandemic response. My boss just asked a bunch of us to come in for a meeting on some BS project… tomorrow. If we were being asked to come in to help with the current crisis I’d be fine with it but as is it seems like Lumbergh-ian cruelty with extra sadism sauce.
trollhattan
@Kelly:
Same. It was so clever to have something for everyone and rewards rewatching. Feel the same about “Rocky and Bullwinkle.”
Martin
@trollhattan: That is one of my dad’s favorite movies. I should watch it again, it’s been ages.
johnnybuck
Did you ever get that fish sandwich?
Feathers
@Percysowner: You might try playing in one of the bedrooms? That would be my suggestion.
I have been so focused on the kitchen that I totally missed that I am basically out of shampoo. The Target website has what is in stock at each store and they have my brand. It’s open until 11, so I think I’m going to make a list and go out later tonight when it is usually empty.
Immanentize
@Baud: like an ocean between us
Redshift
My company switched to everyone who can working at home full-time. I’ve worked at home intermittently at various jobs, and full-time for one job many years ago.
My main piece of advice to add is don’t work too much. My first home office stint, I was mentally keeping track of time spent talking breaks or running errands and making up the time at the end of the day, and it took me several months to realize that I wouldn’t do that if I was in the office, so I didn’t need to do it at home. In addition, I actually enjoy my work, so it’s very easy for my to fall into spending more time on it. Try not to do that.
Josie
@Immanentize:
One of my favorite quotes is from Theodore Roosevelt.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
James E Powell
@Marcopolo:
What do think had the most impact: Warren, 15 years experience, or the fact that Biden is no longer the Senator from MBNA?
Baud
@James E Powell:
The fact that Biden understands the importance of bringing the party together.
Baud
@Josie: I like that too.
James E Powell
@Immanentize:
Dems never get credit for doing the hard work for the benefit of the whole country. We are truly the Mommy party.
SFBayAreaGal
@trollhattan: I loved WKRP in Cincinnati
Marcopolo
@James E Powell: Maybe a little of all of those. But his campaign went out of their way to mention endorsing Warren’s plan. They didn’t have to do that.
The thing I’ll really be looking at after he’s Prez will be his appointments.
daize
@SFBayAreaGal: “As God as my witness….”
Kirk Spencer
I envy the lot of you who can work from home.
Restaurant workers. Warehouse workers. Drivers.
I know we’ve spoken about them needing the ability to go home, to NOT infect the rest of us and to recover. But what’s the plan for the business that can’t function without them on site for work?
Because if you’re a small restaurant and both your cooks are sick and quarantined for two weeks, you’re closing your doors.
Heck, even if you’re Amazon and only 5% of your floor runners call in sick you’re going to feel it.
So what’s the plan so when the worker recovers there’s a job to come back to?
Redshift
@germy: I get a daily email digest of Virginia political news and opinion. Earlier this week, there was an op-ed from some guy (who apparently gets paid to teach history) insisting that all the stuff the Democratic majority here passed is unconstitutional! His reasoning, to use the term loosely, was that the the federal capitol wasn’t intended to control territory in the neighboring states, but so many federal workers live there that they totally control it, and they only vote that way because they work for the government.
Pretty tortured logic, but these days a common theme among Virginia Republicans trying to explain why they keep losing even though they’re sure they’re the majority is “Northern Virginians are zombies mind-controlled by the Feds.”
What Have The Romans Ever Done for Us?
@daize: I thought turkeys could fly!
BretH
debbie
@Percysowner:
Franklin Park’s Butterflies and Blooms started today — or was supposed to. You might call them to see if they’ll be open. The zoo will be open — no shows or tours or anything, but I think you can walk around there.
James E Powell
@Baud:
That, too. But I think the fact that he is no longer beholden to the banking & corporate industries frees him up to do what he needs to do.
MoCA Ace
Thank you for this… I printed it for reference when it happens to me.
I have an unfinished space in the basement that I can clean up and make into an office. About 75% of my work is office-based but it’s very seasonal. Once spring is here I’ll be in the great outdoors, away from almost all human interaction, about half the time. All of my office hours can easily be home-based. I’m a night owl though, so I can see doing field work in the day as needed and saving the office work for late evenings.
Unfortunately, after talking to my boss yesterday I get the feeling the executive in charge won’t make that call until someone at work ends up in the hospital with Covid19… or dead. I know he’s a Republican and a Trump supporting Catholic to boot so I’m pretty sure he figures God will sort it all out. Of course if I’m the one that ends up in the hospital shit is going to get real because I’m the only one who does what I do at the place.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Josie: Gonna share that with the kid, she was given some supervisory responsibilities and is having a rough time with it.
Anonymous At Work
Question: How in the unholy bowels of Hades does one manage employees who work from home while working from home themselves, without becoming a micromanager???
Not me that’s asking, but my horrible insecurities that are giving themselves an aneurysm.
schrodingers_cat
@BretH: I have Dell XPS 15
Josie
@?BillinGlendaleCA:
Great. I hope it helps.
trollhattan
@debbie:
They closed our zoo until further notice. Just enough staff on board to take care of the critters, who will perhaps enjoy the relative peace and quiet. Although I suspect the giraffes get lonely, they seem to enjoy the hooman attention.
Redshift
@Anonymous At Work:
Hmm, I guess it depends a lot on how management works in normal circumstances. I have aggressively avoided moving into management my entire career, but in my software development work, a lot of the day-to-day management process is online already, so it wasn’t a big shift.
I could tell you about the kinds of processes we use (or point you to resources), because they’re not actually specific to tech work even though they’re widely used there, but I suspect that would be a big shift to do on the fly under current circumstances.
On a more general level, I’d suggest figuring out how often you need to touch base with people to make sure they’re on track, and not do it too often. Some people may need more attention to make sure they’re not slacking off when they’re out of sight, but I would bet most of them might surprise you in a good way.
Jay Noble
@rikyrah: This is a FAKE making the rounds!
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2020/03/theres-a-facebook-coronavirus-post-going-viral-claiming-to-be-from-stanford-dont-believe-it/
Jay Noble
@MoCA Ace: The ArchDiocese of Grand Island which covers a big chunk of Nebraska, has declared a 250 person limit at all services including funerals. This is hitting home here after my local dentist (was my age and married my high school girlfriend) who was very involved in the community and dentistry passed away. As it was they were worried about room now . . .
WaterGirl
@Kirk Spencer: I have been glad to see you back here lately. Maybe you were here all along and we were on at different times, but I am always glad to see your nym.
WaterGirl
@Anonymous At Work: I used to take each person who worked for me out to breakfast or lunch once a month (just the two of us). I would always ask what they needed from me, what was the most helpful thing I was doing that made their job easier, and if I could do one thing better or differently, from their perspective, what would it be
That may sound dumb, but it worked for us. It made for open communication. No micromanagement needed.
Kirk Spencer
@WaterGirl: Thank you.
I lurk a lot more than I used to, but I try to read most threads eventually in the day. And once in a while I think I’m in soon enough that my opinion isn’t just “me too.” :)
Soprano2
I work for our sewer department. We can’t shut down, and most of our employees couldn’t do their jobs from home. One of our field employees heard Coronavirus can survive in the sewer for a week. I don’t know if that’s true. I can’t imagine our dictatorial IS department allowing us to work from home, but they might get overruled. Honestly, I think I’d rather take two weeks of vacation rather than try to work from home. Then there’s the pub we own. We can’t afford to close, and what would our employees do? I can’t afford to pay all of them for two weeks. This sucks so much for people like us, because I know if we did close those customers would just go somewhere else. There needs to be some kind of government system for this situation, where they order everyone to close and then they help people get through that financially by sending them a check or something. I can tell you, a lot of small business people are going to go out of business by the time this is over
RandomMonster
@Anonymous At Work:
I’ve worked for entirely virtual companies. It’s can be done with definable deliverables and trust in the people you hired.
zeecube
@Brachiator: Also second getting a comfy chair. We splurged for our home office and purchased a Serta iComfort office chair. Very cushy. Great for cat naps.
MMM
I call shenanigans on you having a real job
Zinsky
Good advice Cole. I think we all need to get a whole lot of social distance between us and Donald Trump!!
Ramalama
@mrmoshpotato: I have seriously considered doing just that.
SWMBO
Haven’t read the thread yet but ALL Florida schools have been shut down for two weeks.
https://wsvn.com/news/local/florida/department-of-education-announces-closure-of-all-florida-public-schools/
cmorenc
Most of us already have plenty of experience wonking from home. Maybe not quite the same thing as working from home.