Coronavirus in Massachusetts (Boston, Hingham, Harvard: how much, home, schools)

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

If anyone polls dogs, I am sure that remote work for their human will be getting two paws up from virtually all of them. More company, more petting, more walks - what's not to like?

I think my dog must be tired of us being home all the time

[mdovell]

I guess it also brings up another thing. What incentives are going to be created to create an attraction to going back to the office. If we're going to start spending a half an hour minimum each way to a job that our time is taking away. Are we going to see exuberant cafes? Are we going to see free parking? Are we going to see flexible scheduling? Are we going to see on-site daycare? How about on-site gyms?

[robr2]

Originally Posted by htfdcolt

It definitely didn't seem this bad. I think a big part of the problem is--with so many people remote, there are no spontaneous interactions by which to learn information. So a meeting is called just to gather or exchange information. And it seemed like the transit time to/between meetings forced a bit of a mental break. And for sure, lunchtime was respected by all.

One thing Mrs. Robr2 noted is that at the office, meetings may have been scheduled back to back but there was an understanding that people would leave one meeting early or arrive late due to having travel in the building, bathroom breaks, grabbing a water. In the Zoom world, meetings go to the bitter end and start right on time without a chance to do any of the above. Those few minutes allowed one to regroup and mentally prep for the next waste of 30-60 minutes.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by mdovell

I guess it also brings up another thing. What incentives are going to be created to create an attraction to going back to the office. If we're going to start spending a half an hour minimum each way to a job that our time is taking away. Are we going to see exuberant cafes? Are we going to see free parking? Are we going to see flexible scheduling? Are we going to see on-site daycare? How about on-site gyms?

Not getting fired?

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

Not getting fired?

You don't seem to get it. If people are called back to the office more than they want to be there they can find another job that provides more flexibility. Not everyone is ruled by their employer and what they want from them. There are a TON of fully remote job postings right now.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by NewfieMama

I have a coworker with a similar arrangement, but her hours are 7am - 3pm. She used to leave the office at 3pm and everybody made sure to schedule meetings prior to 3pm if they wanted her there. I still respect her schedule, but often see her booked until 5 or even 6pm at night. Now that we are all remote, everybody just assumes others are working the same long hours.

Can't you just decline, or put a block on your calendar?

I'll admit, i'm making that statement from the position of "the boss" so it might be a bit out of touch. I remember years ago we had a customer with one employee that hated us so badly he made it a point to schedule a recurring meeting at 4-6PM on a Friday for about 3 months. He was in CA, so it was a 1-3pm meeting for them. We couldn't say no. It pissed me so much because ultimately they were in the wrong with the issue we were trying to address.

I'll never forget that one and it's affected how and when i make meetings in consideration for people even when i wasn't in charge.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by msRB311

You don't seem to get it. If people are called back to the office more than they want to be there they can find another job that provides more flexibility. Not everyone is ruled by their employer and what they want from them. There are a TON of fully remote job postings right now.

I haven't looked but I figure most are "Remote til Covid". Plus they are probably paying decently less than what you are making now.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by BostonMike7

Can't you just decline, or put a block on your calendar?

I'll admit, i'm making that statement from the position of "the boss" so it might be a bit out of touch. I remember years ago we had a customer with one employee that hated us so badly he made it a point to schedule a recurring meeting at 4-6PM on a Friday for about 3 months. He was in CA, so it was a 1-3pm meeting for them. We couldn't say no. It pissed me so much because ultimately they were in the wrong with the issue we were trying to address.

I'll never forget that one and it's affected how and when i make meetings in consideration for people even when i wasn't in charge.

I used to have to schedule around Zuhr and Asr. I had Turkish, Pakistani, and Iranian co-workers over the years where I had to know when astronomical noon and sunset were. If I couldn't avoid it, I'd have a 10 minute bio break in the middle of a meeting.


I've always worked on multinational things. Israel. Europe. West Coast. Asia. Other than 8pm Eastern on Friday though the early hours Sunday morning, there was someone awake and working somewhere. When things got crazy, it made for a challenging work-life balance.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

I haven't looked but I figure most are "Remote til Covid". Plus they are probably paying decently less than what you are making now.

No. People had fully remote jobs before covid as well.

[bizcuit]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

If anyone polls dogs, I am sure that remote work for their human will be getting two paws up from virtually all of them. More company, more petting, more walks - what's not to like?

My dogs LOVE this.