Working from home: More or less productive/efficient (1 Viewer)

[Captain Cranks]

I've been working from home since 2015 so I've had an opinion on this for a while, but curious to see what you all think now that many have joined me.  

 

[snogger]

answered: am more productive and efficient. I'm getting more done and more quickly.

Over the last 8+ years I've worked from home in different formats..

For a couple years worked 2 days a week from home, then for 5 years worked Full Time from home..
Then started a new job and worked one day a week from home and now, with Covid, back to Full time from home for the time being.

Without a doubt I am more productive, get more done and faster. No walk-bye instant meetings, no interruptions when in the middle of working on something, etc.

Even though I sometimes miss the banter with those around me about none work items, sometimes I'd find myself  wishing those around me would shut up so I could concentrate on what I was doing.

The two hours I spent on the road back and forth to work are better spent at home getting things done.. 

when this Virus stay at home ends, I'll definitely be working with my manager to be at least two days a week from home, maybe 3.

 

[Captain Cranks]

answered: am more productive and efficient. I'm getting more done and more quickly.

Over the last 8+ years I've worked from home in different formats..

For a couple years worked 2 days a week from home, then for 5 years worked Full Time from home..
Then started a new job and worked one day a week from home and now, with Covid, back to Full time from home for the time being.

Without a doubt I am more productive, get more done and faster. No walk-bye instant meetings, no interruptions when in the middle of working on something, etc.

Even though I sometimes miss the banter with those around me about none work items, sometimes I'd find myself  wishing those around me would shut up so I could concentrate on what I was doing.

The two hours I spent on the road back and forth to work are better spent at home getting things done.. 

when this Virus stay at home ends, I'll definitely be working with my manager to be at least two days a week from home, maybe 3.

That's my experience too.  No people walking by to bull####.  No banter before meetings.  Just get #### done and move onto other work stuff or have more time to do personal stuff at home.  And that doesn't even include the 2.5 commute-get ready time I gained.  

 

[-OZ-]

Base level, objectively - equally productive, maybe more.

But I feel like I'm less effective. Some things go great, sometimes I can get in the zone, motivated, write a great brief or work through whatever project I have in front of me. 

But way too often I'm not motivated, distracted, and just going through the motions trying to balance work and the kids, kinda failing both. 

I think our office will go to a 40% WFH solution, which I'm good with, preferably after the kids are back in school.

But now the kids are going virtual through September.

 

[Captain Cranks]

Base level, objectively - equally productive, maybe more.

But I feel like I'm less effective. Some things go great, sometimes I can get in the zone, motivated, write a great brief or work through whatever project I have in front of me. 

But way too often I'm not motivated, distracted, and just going through the motions trying to balance work and the kids, kinda failing both. 

I think our office will go to a 40% WFH solution, which I'm good with, preferably after the kids are back in school.

But now the kids are going virtual through September.

Self-motivation is an integral part.  I struggle with pushing myself along sometimes as well.  

 

[Leroy Hoard]

The absence of pot luck lunches has to be considered a positive.  At least for your gastrointestinal tract.

 

[snogger]

Self-motivation is an integral part.  I struggle with pushing myself along sometimes as well.  

I could see that if I was just doing "Day-to-Day" stuff.

Luckily for me I have a Manager who likes to look to the future and has me preparing for projects he knows we won't fully start until 2021.
So I have my normal day-to-day O365 Admin work,  my Power Apps and Power Automate creation work, then there is the FAQ Bot work..
When I get to a point I don't want to work on those, I jump into the Future Projects for 2021 ( Project Cortex and AI Builder).

Variety keeps me motivated  

 

[need2know]

it would be great if my wife and kid werent there

 

[Lehigh98]

I'd say I was more productive in the past when I was home alone.  Now with summer / covid and my kids and wife home, there can be as many distractions as there were in the office.

 

[NutterButter]

Probably the same.  When at work, I can either do work, surf the web or kill a handful of minutes here or there with other non-work related activities like getting some coffee or getting some water which inevitably means I'll be BSing with someone in the kitchen.   At home, there's no one to BS with, but I do have the opportunity to do a bunch of things around the house so I'd say it all balances out.   

 

[-OZ-]

Self-motivation is an integral part.  I struggle with pushing myself along sometimes as well.  

I'm motivated for lots of things.  Most  of which  are not work related. 

 

[Vanilla Guerrilla]

Self-motivation is an integral part.  I struggle with pushing myself along sometimes as well.  

I've had a few really bad days motivationally where I actually felt guilty about not getting more done.  But overall, it is more than offset by how many days that I've gotten a ton more done and had a better attitude about it than I would have in the office.

 

[Stompin' Tom Connors]

Self-motivation is an integral part.  I struggle with pushing myself along sometimes as well.  

This is where I am too. Less productive, less efficient. Too many distractions, and my ability to stave those off at home has been much harder. 

 

[Captain Cranks]

This is where I am too. Less productive, less efficient. Too many distractions, and my ability to stave those off at home has been much harder. 

It's definitely not for everyone.  As a business owner who employs other people who work from home, I can tell you some are built for it and some are not.  My ex-business partner ended up renting an office because he was too easily distracted by things at home. 

 

[huthut]

Missing an option of same efficiency, but getting less things done due to working less. When I get focused on doing something I am just as efficient, but it feels there are so many distractions that I am not getting as many tasks started, it is too easy to start browsing the internet or go work out for 30 minutes or whatever, while when I am at work I just work straight through.

 

[Hawks64]

Also missing the option for WFH prior to Covid. My efficiency nor production have changed at all, but I've been wfh for a long time.

 

[nirad3]

I absolutely hate working from home.  I am way more productive in an office, where I'm there to do work.  Get there, get coffee, do work (then mess around here), do more work, get lunch, do more work, and then go home.  Done.

At home I hit the snooze button a few times (this is new for me), get the kids breakfast, then force myself to open the laptop and get going.  I just started a new job so it's "training" and "learning" that I'm doing... and quite honestly it's a challenge doing this remotely.  

I had a routine at my old gig and it was "safe".  My anxiety levels are through the roof the past couple of weeks trying to wrap my head around what I'm doing now, and it doesn't help that I have my kids poking their heads into my office even though they know "door closed = daddy's on a call".  I am tempted to fart around, sit on the couch, play with the kids, do chores, etc.

It would be much different if I were in an office environment learning my new role.

 

[acarey50]

I absolutely hate working from home.  I am way more productive in an office, where I'm there to do work.  Get there, get coffee, do work (then mess around here), do more work, get lunch, do more work, and then go home.  Done.

At home I hit the snooze button a few times (this is new for me), get the kids breakfast, then force myself to open the laptop and get going.  I just started a new job so it's "training" and "learning" that I'm doing... and quite honestly it's a challenge doing this remotely.  

I had a routine at my old gig and it was "safe".  My anxiety levels are through the roof the past couple of weeks trying to wrap my head around what I'm doing now, and it doesn't help that I have my kids poking their heads into my office even though they know "door closed = daddy's on a call".  I am tempted to fart around, sit on the couch, play with the kids, do chores, etc.

It would be much different if I were in an office environment learning my new role.

Training the kids is key, though I know yours are a little younger than mine, so it's not as easy for you to just tell them to figure it out or make a bowl of cereal for breakfast when you are on a call or have a deadline.

 

[Stompin' Tom Connors]

I absolutely hate working from home.  I am way more productive in an office, where I'm there to do work.  Get there, get coffee, do work (then mess around here), do more work, get lunch, do more work, and then go home.  Done.

At home I hit the snooze button a few times (this is new for me), get the kids breakfast, then force myself to open the laptop and get going.  I just started a new job so it's "training" and "learning" that I'm doing... and quite honestly it's a challenge doing this remotely.  

I had a routine at my old gig and it was "safe".  My anxiety levels are through the roof the past couple of weeks trying to wrap my head around what I'm doing now, and it doesn't help that I have my kids poking their heads into my office even though they know "door closed = daddy's on a call".  I am tempted to fart around, sit on the couch, play with the kids, do chores, etc.

It would be much different if I were in an office environment learning my new role.

I'm with you, friend. I can be vocally self-critical and say that a lot of it is me. It is really hard for me to switch up routines -- I get in my groove and that alone helps. 

I had a singular routine -- wake up every day at x AM, drive into the office early, do y things before others arrived and the day got busy, left no later than z PM. Eat dinner, hang with wife and kids, back on my computer to wrap up anything/prep for next day, sleep.

The actual commute, while it was anywhere from 1/2 hour to 1 hour+, was helpful -- I love to drive and love my car, and it was a time of relative peace (road rage at idiot drivers notwithstanding), entertainment (tunage or Stern on Siriuis), and even allowed me to unwind at the end of the day. It was a literal, physical transition that helped me move between my work brain and home brain. 

Now, I have to deal with my work schedule swirling together with my life schedule (e.g. what my wife and kids are doing). I worked long hours prior to COVID but find myself in front of the computer logged into work from 6 AM often until midnight, with a 1/2 hour with the family at dinner before going back to my monitor.

It's not that I am working for all 18 hours -- on the contrary, bring at home breeds too many distractions and work I could get done in an hour in an office takes at least 3x longer because of my inability to buckle down and focus like I can at the office. And if I take a break for lunch -- rather than warm up soup and eat it at my desk in the office -- I find myself taking and hour or more to eat and get back into the swing of things.

Much of this stems from my not kicking my own @$$ and not allowing distractions to waylay me or force-improving my motivation. But I never had this much problem with procrastination and getting output out the door in my entire working life.

I want to love working from home as it's so much easier and comfortable and seems like it may be my reality through the beginning of next year.

Can't teach an old dog new tricks, though, I guess.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

it would be great if my wife and kid werent there

Maybe you could stay home and send them to work.

 

[culdeus]

Having the wife and kids around hurts. Alot.  

Takes away nearly all time gain from lack of commute.   

Feel like get same amount of core stuff done but not able to collaborate on the big projects and reach consensus easily at all where there is conflict.  Resulting in lots of lots of rehashing and looping extra people in and crap.  

 

[Scoresman]

Working from home means I don't have to watch the clock for when I need to leave to catch the metro home.  The extra time not commuting has been essentially split between work and personal.  Win/win to me.  

 

[Dr. Octopus]

You left out the option "Just as efficient and productive either way"

 

[Da Guru]

My BIL works for FCA in CAD Design..my wifes sister said he basically does nothing since the WAH started except workout and golf everyday while logged in.

 

[mr roboto]

I’ve WFH for 8 years. Sales, on the phone a lot. But I used to travel 5-7 days/month and those trips cut my productivity down because when I was out of town I couldn’t keep my pipeline of leads/deals going. So I’m working the same pipeline but it’s more efficient. 

 

[madshot31]

Less everything. Motivation, production, communication, etc. We are a team of 4-6 people that well are learning on the spot in a new unit for the state and now work from home. We all have different backgrounds that merge together in our field, but it is infinteately easier to walk twelve feet and ask about something then try and zoom/email things back and forth. The pay grade and classification isn't high enough to hire everyone that knows what is what for the field, so lots of lost time. 

Also, I love the concept WFH if it was for myself, but working for the man(state government) its doesn't have the same feel. Our jobs have a ton of back and forth between field and office, and office with office,  which is a lot tougher now.

 

[nirad3]

Training the kids is key, though I know yours are a little younger than mine, so it's not as easy for you to just tell them to figure it out or make a bowl of cereal for breakfast when you are on a call or have a deadline.

Yeah, the 9YO can make a waffle. 

I think it's more on me.  It's just so easy to get up and do something other than work.

Was supposed to return to the office this week.  Our Governor put a kibosh on that.  :(  

 

[huthut]

Yeah, the 9YO can make a waffle. 

I think it's more on me.  It's just so easy to get up and do something other than work.

Was supposed to return to the office this week.  Our Governor put a kibosh on that.  :(  

Kind of depressing to hear a toddler playing with their stuffed animals "sorry, I cannot play now, I have a meeting". 

 

[TheBaylorKid]

Less productive.

While I love the lack of commute, I keep staying up later, that’s on me, or actually maybe on my kids. Because when I tried the keep the rising routine here’s what happened. With commute, dad left for work I’ll go back to sleep. With covid, oh dad’s down the hall, let’s get up with him at 6:00 and get less sleep and be cranky earlier in the evening  and longer.

In regards to actual work, people feel they need to check in more frequently because we are working remotely. Example VP used to bring the office together monthly but now we are doing it weekly. Used to do one staff meeting a week, now boss wants two. Seeing this with project teams.

I also feel people are putting less into creating agendas. I don’t know if people value conference call time less than face to face. Because f2f would have defined agenda 

My teams that ship are driving to fedex instead of pushing a cart down the hall, so that is efficiency lost.

 

[moleculo]

it's a mixed bag for me.  There are parts of my job that I physically have to be in the office for - building prototypes and inspecting test results.  Clearly I can't do that from home so I guess we can chalk that part up to less efficient. But, there are parts of my job that I can be home for - conference calls, computer time, etc.  for those, I'm just as effective at home as I am at work.

These days I stay home unless I have a reason to come in.  It doesn't need to be a big reason - the slightest thing can make me come in.  The last couple of days I have started home, something comes up, so in I go.  

WFH is easy for me.  I have a dedicated office area separate from the rest of the house and my kids are big enough to be self-sufficient.

 

[acarey50]

Yeah, the 9YO can make a waffle. 

I think it's more on me.  It's just so easy to get up and do something other than work.

Was supposed to return to the office this week.  Our Governor put a kibosh on that.  :(  

I think this is where I am lucky - actually just got off a meeting with my boss where we talked about the sort of "balance" that is needed.

For example, the other day, about 10 or so, my 13 YO was doing a one on one goalie training session with a local college kid down at the park, but rather than just drop him off, I took the 9 YO with me and we threw a football around for about 20 minutes before it got too hot and I brought him back home. My bosses all encourage us to do this sort of thing - walk the dog in the middle of the day, help the kids with schoolwork, etc., but part of that is a lot of our work is project based, we have developed a level of trust with our leadership and our clients so we don't need to be strapped to a desk from 7-4 as long as we are hitting our deadlines. That's why I have a company phone - if it's important you can call, text or email me. But, all of our bosses have made it clear that they don't expect us to be available and online 24/7. Yesterday that meant I was doing emails around 8 last night to prep for an AM meeting, but that was not until after dinner with the family.

The nice thing is that this sort of balance and, especially right now the focus on family, is encouraged all the way up through leadership. The work will always be there.

 

[MAC_32]

I selected none of the above. I can do my work anywhere, and it took a couple months, but once adapted to the challenges of WFH my productivity and efficiency are near previous norms. My problems are (and were) working in an environment full of procrastination. Everyone WFH has exacerbated that problem, but I can't control it in my role so I don't worry about it. Instead when I finish my work for the day I'll go to the market, do a 2nd workout, some yard work, play some ball with my boys, etc. I just keep an eye on my email to see if I need to dial back in and occasionally after hours if it's someone on my direct team.

There is one mistake I'm not going to repeat if we end up remote learning this fall - absolutely do not start something I can't finish by 9:30 am. Once that circus starts I'm not getting anything done other than shuffling around emails. Thinking I could do anymore than that was a constant stressor I didn't kick until I just simply stopped trying to do it. So I may choose to start waking up earlier than 8:29 (oh the horror!) or just work evenings, but that's a bridge to cross then; not now.