First of all let me premise this question that I FULLY understand the WFH concept and reasoning. I SUPPORT it.
This question is prompted some by two of my kids who are going a little batty working from home or classes and studying from home (grad student) with very little community choices like libraries (which here are still not open for table work).
Have you found any spots that you can get a mental break from your inside working arrangements at home? Outside coffee shops? Working in the parking lot of a library (for wifi) - LOL.
I’m doing a hybrid WFH/WFOffice arrangement. I usually spend most of the morning out on the deck working at our deck table. But this is Ohio and the time will come that working outside won’t be a choice.
I definitely take advantage of more frequent breaks - a walk around the block, mixing up a recipe, watering the flowers to get mental breaks.
My eldest just moved back into his college in Ohio this morning. He said the dorm isn’t great but has a very nice view of the woods and nature trail. He said he doesn’t think the wifi will reach all the way to the creek, but he may try it. If not, we may send him our JetPack. That way he can have movie nights outside w/ his friends, streaming from his laptop.
If you’ve got a JetPack and a lawn chair or hammock, you could go pretty much anywhere. Early this spring I saw a kid (probably 20-ish) reading and taking online notes in a hammock set up in a nature preserve. He’d worn water shoes to cross the river and had them drying on the ground while he worked. He looked happy as a clam!
I have a sneaking suspicion alot more than normal outdoor gear made trips to campuses this year! LOL
^^^ Interesting. I have never heard that term JetPack!
I suppose one could use their phone to hotspot their laptop as well.
Clearly WFH was not to be messed with earlier in C-19. But as things open up and we all venture out a bit (but our offices are still closed or encouraging work away from the office) if safe spots can be found it would bring some flavor to the workday.
Best of luck @ChaosParent23 on your son’s new year at school (here in Ohio!)
There was a recent article about private office rentals in the local area, including wifi and Covid 19 protocols. Obviously it’s not practical for an occasional break from the house. But it’s a possible idea for someone who needs a private dedicated workspace away from family members, and who can maybe even expense the cost.
I’ve actually sat at Panera all day. Had face to face client meetings, read and responded to a bunch of email, etc. Wouldn’t do a zoom there. Used to (pre covid) rent full time office space, then moved to Regis scenario with a boardroom. Got too expensive.
HOA has a really nice facility / community center with function rooms, board room, etc. Get to use that for free whenever I have a board room type meeting need. Even has the overhead projector/ big screen set up. Have met many a client there. Today, people don’t really care about your setting, more about your ability and work. (Granted I’m in a client facing role - wouldn’t be good for everyone).
When we were all working from home I moved a chaise into the sunporch and worked from there. Much more pleasant than my desk. D used the covered front porch, or would hammock on the lake front if it wasn’t a livestream. It was nice being able to work outside.
We’re in the processes of redoing our back patio and getting a daybed and heater so I can see that being workspace did a bit.
Our screened in back porch has a big conference-sized table. Front walkway has two chairs and a cafe table. Both can pick up wifi.
We’ve gone to state parks and have been able to get work done, assuming batteries are charged/back up power brought along. We have brought along camp chairs instead of sitting at picnic tables.
H has phone conferences in the car all the time. He announced that I’m driving (fed employees can’t use cell phones while driving), and he’s off to the races. We’ve been doing that for years!
@momofsenior1, would love to see what you find in outdoor daybeds! Have thought about a summer sleeping porch – we have room in our current screened porch.
Panera type settings would be great, but those are all off limits in pandemic times in my area–and I wouldn’t hang out in one now even if they were open. I miss coffee shop work dreadfully!
^^^^ This is 100% true. Coffee shops and libraries were our #1 go to study/work spot outside of home. Some coffee shops have outside spaces which might work but I wonder if they are even busier now because options are so few.
I try to work outside on my back patio for an hour or two each day on days when I have a large enough gap between meetings. It’s nice to break up the monotony and have different surroundings. It’s just too loud to work out there when on conference calls.
Pre-covid and during my time spent on call in IT, i could be found working anywhere, at any time. Friends house. My car. Restaurants. The Beach. etc. I’d use the mobile hot spot on my cell phone every time something came up when on call where i wasn’t home.
The apartment building my D & SIL live in has a few furnished units that had been corporate apartments. Now with covid, the management company has made them available for tenants to reserve (for a fee) to use during the day as office/meeting space. Some of the young parents have made use of , as well as those who need to conduct zoom meetings that aren’t possible in their own units.
If it’s internal calls w/ folks I know well I like to walk and talk – can’t take notes but I find it works for some calls.
I’m not comfortable spending long periods of time indoors in a public space yet, so I agree with patios at cafes or hotels where you have change of scenery. Do it now before it’s too cool!
Considering how many are mostly empty, I wonder if hotels will start renting rooms for the day as weather gets cooler. Seems like it’d be a good place to focus if you really had a deadline. Wonder how much folks would be willing to pay and how much hotels would need to make it worth it. And, of course, renting by the hour has a whole different connotation, lol, so maybe this isn’t a road they want to travel.
^^^ I sort of know one person who did this. Her two young kids have been home and her and her husband have been splitting child care duties. She said it was worth it to rent a room for a day and get solid hours of work done. Wouldn’t be my first choice!
Not as exciting as out in the woods, but D1 set up an office on my 3rd floor. Her fiance works at their place. We used to rent that space to visiting profs but don’t want the germ exposure this year.
So she took it over. Private, it’s own bathroom and AC/heat, a block from coffee shops, and dedicated to her. No noise. No mask needed.
I retired last month, but before that I worked on my laptop from home a lot (100% during Covid). I almost always worked in my den because I very often relied my external 2nd monitor. It was especially nice when doing video calls while also wanting to look at related emails or reference info. Sometimes I missed my real office, with 3 displays.
I own a business and for many yrs have thought of work as a thing I do, not a place I go. For the past 10 years, I purposely didn’t have an office in my office, just space for employees and a nice conference room for meetings ( client and internal - more of a board room set up). It has been great and way more productive for everyone. Pre Covid, I would only go in to meet with clients or have a staff meeting / project meeting in the board room. Then I’d leave and handle the rest of my day in the field or from a home office. Got a lot more done without all the fluff. Amazing how much more time I have to do things I want in the late afternoon.
That said, in the post Covid era, I seriously hope most of these large employers that claim they are never going back to a regular office environment require young people to work in the office, come together, etc. I get how an experienced professional can easily WFH or anywhere, but I think it’s very important for new people in their first few yrs of employment be “hands on deck” as it will shape how they feel about the company, and effect training, collaboration, camaraderie, culture, etc. Maybe a first five yrs requirement makes sense.
