People who've gone remote are you back, going back or now permanent remote?

What's your remote status?

  • Never went remote

    Votes: 11 26.2%

  • Always remote

    Votes: 8 19.0%

  • Back already

    Votes: 2 4.8%

  • Going back eventually

    Votes: 4 9.5%

  • Never going back

    Votes: 7 16.7%

  • Hybrid office/remote

    Votes: 10 23.8%
  • Total voters
    42
A Potted Plant

A Potted Plant

Honorary Sod
My company isn't back but that cloud is floating out there. I got a taste for wfh and it's the highest requirement for a job going forward. I was wondering if anyone out their has had their company start offering permanent remote work.
 
what about some combination? my company hasn't made a decision but the talk coming from above sounds like a mixed setup, part time in the office with a bias towards wfh. (possibility to eliminate some of the older buildings and setup 'hoteling' areas for those who are in on a given day) Which is probably about perfect for my job since i cant bring prototype parts home or interface with the artisans remotely.
 
I've been home since March 12, 2020. My firm talked about bringing people back last fall (lol). Now the word is they'd like to see some people come in a day or two a week starting some time in the next month or so. By fall, 3 days a week will most likely be my new norm going forward.
 
Been WFH full time since March 2020. The company has not determined any official WFH policy yet tho (aside from "don't come in" and "when we do open, don't come in if you don't have to"). An informal survey of our office determined all but 3 people want full time home or only in office part-time. I have asked for full time home w/ maybe once a month going into the office. We shall see what happens. But after 14+ years commuting on NJ Transhit, I've paid my dues. I do not want to deal with that commute again.
 
My company isn't back yet, but I'll never go back. My work situation working at home is so much better than it ever was in my office that I told my boss that I won't ever go back and he seemed fine with it. I only live four miles from my office, so if I need to be there for live meetings when they do go back, I can always do that easily. Back when it became apparent that this was going to last at least a year, I put some work into my home office to make it a better situation: I picked up a 40" TV for a monitor that I mounted on the wall, picked up a remote mouse/keyboard and an audio bank with voice recognition to make calls through my laptop and connected everything through a docking station, so I barely ever have to touch my actual laptop. If I go back to my office, I'm back in a windowless cubicle with a monitor that was ruining my eyesight and a headset phone system that only occasionally worked. There's no way I'm doing that. The only downside is that I work way more than I used to now.
 
In my previous stint with this company for 18.5 years, I spent the last 4-5 of those years basically 100% remote. After a year of unemployment, I ended up back here (long story) just when COVID started last March 2020. Pretty much everyone not on the manufacturing side was already remote and then in July 2020 they announced a new Global policy which allows the employee to decide what working arrangements work best - meaning totally up to me how/where I want to work. They even changed the office setup to "hotel desks" meaning no one really has an assigned desk any more anyway.

I am so used to being WFH before COVID its not really new to me, although the occasional team lunch meeting or in person meeting was sometimes fun to see people.

I don't anticipate really going back to the office especially now that I have my full time basement setup. But I may schedule/plan 1 day in the office at some point, since after 13 months in this new role I have never even met my team in person other than MS Teams video calls.

And if I decided to leave this job at some point (also a long story) the whole COVID thing makes the WFH conversation much more open where before it could be an interview and/or job offer killer.
 
13 March 2020 was the last day in the office for me. I also started a new position inside the company 1 April 2020. Prior to that I was a field sales manager, and was dreading having a desk job. My owner is very cautious bringing non-essential personnel back to the office. Even customer service, credit and AP are staffing skeleton shifts - proof that people do not need to be bound to an office to get their jobs done.

If anything, productivity has probably increased (less time in the car means more time at the computer), with a reduction on overhead expenses (utilities, sundries, etc). I see my position staying WFH, with the occasional trip to the office.
 
@shrpshtr325 added your suggestion,

I think that is most likely for me if I stay. I have my second interview with a subsidiary of IBM that has left the door open to wfh but I don't ever want to be in an office again. I've got 2 hours a day back that use to be spent commuting if I do go back to an office I need to live close.
 
Never went remote, company never closed. Since manufacturing was considered essential (nothing here is essential other than the bottom line) we never closed. Only time I wasn't in the office was vacation, holidays and 5 days after I tested positive. Company and the product line I'm directly involved with had the best year in the history of the company. On the plus side, my daily commute time went from 1.5hrs to 40minutes.

My wife however, has been WFH since March '20. She's faculty at a SJ community college location and been in Zoom Hell 4 days a week. Effing hates it and wants to go back. She's tired of staring at a screen of black boxes with names. Little to no interaction from any of the students.
 
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DEEZ NUTS said:
@shrpshtr325 added your suggestion,

I think that is most likely for me if I stay. I have my second interview with a subsidiary of IBM that has left the door open to wfh but I don't ever want to be in an office again. I've got 2 hours a day back that use to be spent commuting if I do go back to an office I need to live close.
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im still 100% remote at this point, but i dont see a full time in office gig coming back for me (but then again iv been wrong before)
 
shrpshtr325 said:
im still 100% remote at this point, but i dont see a full time in office gig coming back for me (but then again iv been wrong before)
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My boss must be watching, he called me asking about going back. Told him I don't ever want to go back and will do what I can to get a remote role if he wants to have that door open. Hybrid is as far as he'd commit.
 
1speed said:
The only downside is that I work way more than I used to now.
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Shaggz said:
If anything, productivity has probably increased (less time in the car means more time at the computer)
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^^^^THIS & this.
DEEZ NUTS said:
I've got 2 hours a day back that use to be spent commuting
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For me it’s 3 hours.
Now that the days are getting longer that’s found bike and chore time.

Looking at just one key metric, my productivity increased 2.5x between Feb 2020-Feb 2021 compared to the prior 12 months. This has been seen across the boards.
My boss has submitted for a new line/position for an additional me.

My school is pushing to have all students back in the fall, but not sure where that leaves those of us who don’t have a teaching load.
Likely they’ll stick with essential only. Given how tight things are for physical space in Gotham, I will be surprised if they don’t capaitalize in this windfall.

I was already WFH 2 days a week in the before times, so I only see a hybrid schedule in my future.
In reality there’s nothing I can’t do remotely, so the only reason to go back would be to socialize and eat on the company dime at lunch meetings.

That said, my wife thinks it would be good for me to go back.
She’s usually right, but I never said that.

Like @jdurk’s, my wife is ready to go back. She’s a therapist, so imagine a solid 35 hours a week on Zoom.
I’d lose my fucking mind.
She’s started seeing people inside (vaxed) and social d outside sessions for those who ain’t.

Side note: after 14 months I finally got a desk and cobbled a window office. No more breaking down my dining table workstation every night for dinner.
E1ECB879-FE66-451B-A558-E75DFC9F02FF.jpeg
 
Went fully remote March 2020. Stating last fall we got the option to come into the office, but we need to register and they can only accommodate a limited number of people. Going forward they will have us 2-3 days a week in office as needed but only when the work calls for it (team collaboration, sensitive meetings, creative or ideation sessions). We’re moving buildings to downsize excess space and nobody will have an office anymore.
 
I’ve been WFH across 4 orgs for like 6 years now. I’ve always had to travel a bunch so it’s been a good balance for me. I don’t see ever going into an office again on any regular basis.

That said I have not traveled for work since last February and I sure could use the company to buy me some good coffee & a great bowl of ramen. There’s actually some non-zero chance I’m on the road for a few days next week but I kinda doubt it.
 
My situation is a bit ironic. I worked in NYC for 33 years, commuting 3 hours a day, 5 days a week. I pined for a job closer to home the whole time but in my line of work (global banking) the opportunities weren’t there. Then, in 2018 I FINALLY found a great role with a global bank that happens to have an office 8 mins from my house. No more NYC commute! 18 months later, though, COVID hits and no commute at all. I do miss the camaraderie at the office, especially since it’s so close. But we won’t be back until after Labor Day and even at that it’ll be roughly 50/50 at work/remote.
 
Drinking a cup of coffee before heading out for a road ride. Swinging by a buddy's house around the corner, meeting @rustynuts and another in Rumson. Back by 7:30. #wfhthings

rick81721 said:
Still retired remotely
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You don't miss seeing your retired colleagues in person? :)

Policy in my company is that they're switching to all single person offices. If you want one, you have to commit to 4 days/wk in person. Unclaimed offices go into a pool as flex space. Last I heard, 23% of the company (of 8500) signed up. Given that we've been running 11-12% in-person throughout because some people have to be there, not a huge delta. I heard that the site in MD I used to go to a lot had FIVE people out of 100 sign up. My small site in NJ of about 45 might have a few more than that thanks to a full court press by a couple managers but I doubt we'll renew our lease.

I'm 95% loving WFH and don't see ever returning full time. Even though my commute was short, by the time you added it all up, I was still wasting an hour per day. I'm riding more, seeing my friends more, seeing my daughter more, eating better, and spending less money. All while being more productive. I wasn't a real road warrior but I still managed to have status at United and Marriott for (in retrospect) mostly big wastes of time.

My wife's planning to go back though. Her office is 2 miles from the house. TBH, I think she misses the cafeteria the most.
 
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