@rickle1
I think it was Anderson Cooper, even with his decades of experience, who said he missed the interaction with coworkers on all levels, a wave as he passed or a word shared at the water cooler, so to say.
I worked from home as I wished and found it more work, more head down focus. D1 has now had 5 years+ in an office setting and the benefits of a face to face team do show.
@lookingforward a big piece of the workplace that is quite important, I believe, is collaboration. Yes you can have zoom meetings and the tools are quite good to collaborate (letās face it, companies with multiple locations have to do this all the time anyway), but the missing piece in my opinion is spontaneity. That non planned conversation that leads to an idea or suggestion or whatever. Thatās really hard to recreate and is really important.
Exactly. I know she learned by leaps and bounds via that collaboration.
My daughter is using her phone as a hot spot at our lakeside cabin. My husband is using the third floor sleeping porch. I donāt know what he will do when winter comes. There is only 1 employee out of twenty working out of the office building. Perhaps my husband will head back to there.
CNN had a piece about how nice garden sheds are being repurposed for work from home. The video at the top of the page has nothing to do with it. https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/26/success/backyard-sheds-work-from-home/index.html
Iāve been in some denial about how long this all would last, and I finally have left the kitchen as my work from home space and did a more private setup in my home office space. It required some juggling to add another (the work) computer in there and attach to a big monitor and have a decent chair, but I think itās a better plan than what I was doing. I ordered an inexpensive computer table from Amazon which came really quickly andI Iāll build it up to give myself some more working space. The downside is that I am further from the refrigerator.
D2 has been at her first post college job for 3 years now and is staying with us during wfh. Her company has no plans yet to go back in their office which is all open concept with no cubicles and people working very close. She misses her co-workers, but has loved wfh since she can get up early and have time to exercise or sit by the pool at lunch and still be able to end her day early. She has a 3 person team working for her and she says her team has been even more productive since they started wfh.
I love the shed idea - and the looks of those posted in the article. Weather of course in cold/hot climates could be an issueā¦
I have always preferred if working from home to have a designated work space with occasional moving around. My designated space is an extra bedroom with a desk and appropriate chair, lots of windows for light and upstairs and away from my H who is retired and making his own ānoiseā on the main floor.
Last week though it was super hot and both outside and my upstairs space were not comfortable for working. So I parked myself in the living room. H has a habit of talking on the phone a lot to people he used to work with (they all retired it seems to spend a couple of hours a day on the phone with each otherā¦) or other calls he needs to make. AND he insists on many of these calls being on SPEAKER. Yes, it caps cause it is LOUD and ANNOYING! I thought I was going to lose my mind! He has no concept of work happening on a computer and I think when he sees me on my computer he assumes Iām just checking Facebook or something. I put headphones in and it helped.
But for this reason I will happy for fall, my space upstairs with lots of light. I do remind myself often that we are lucky to have really plenty of space to use in our home. And I do try very much to be cognizant of not making H lose his freedom to do his stuff at home just because Iām working.
I love the sheds! We have a very nice garden shed that people often comment on thinking itās used for gathering rather than storing all kinds of outdoor stuff- it would be great to use for wfh but then Iād have to find somewhere for all the stuff!
It is nice during warmer weather here to use the patio- we have comfy furniture and WiFi out there. Really wish I had a big screened in porch- thatās where Iād like to work?
At the beginning of work from home I noticed several hotels advertising rooms by the day that they had converted to office furnishings. Iām not sure if they are still doing it. My son likes to ride his bike with laptop in his backpack out to the local Univ. It has beautiful outdoor spaces and he has found several spots he loves. Once some form of school starts up in fall I donāt know if he will have the peace he has been experiencing. His wife is also work from home and they each have a dedicated extra bedroom as office space. He has had some onsite assignments which is nice for collaborating. He loves the combo and hopes to not go back to the office on a permanent basic. Like so many young people his company was big on the open concept. They also were big on team building and fun together. It will be interesting to watch what happens in the future.
The rest of us in the family arenāt work from home so our lives havenāt changed much.
I work in the bonus room which has lots of windows and nice light. My S in high school has taken over what used to be my office for his remote school ā no less than 3 monitors! Iām glad he doesnāt have to do his classes from his tiny bedroom.
My H is working from our guest room downstairs for his numerous and long calls and sits at the kitchen table mostly to do emails, etc. When the pandemic first started he would rove around downstairs on his calls and he was soooo LOUD. We had feedback. 
Now heās pretty good about staying in the guest room for calls.
He would do more in the guest room but thereās no room for a desk. Well, thereās a DIY stand up desk which is really a bureau with a big box on top and he stands on a yoga mat. Itās pretty funny, lol! We could move the bed up against the wall and get him a small desk ā but he seems okay doing his quiet work in the kitchen or on the porch since S and I are both upstairs.
In fact, we all vie for the screened porch when the weather is not too hot!
Little S has discovered the joys of Screened-in-Porch Junior High. The chairs are deep-seated w/ wide arms for balancing laptops and watching google classroom videos. The loveseat is long and deep enough for lying down. Thereās a large table for note taking and snacks. Thereās a fan to stave off some of the summer heatā¦ yep he was pretty much in heaven.
My daughter has to return to the office tomorrow for the first time since March. In fact, she moved from their Florida office to their Denver office so it will all be new for her. She is not excited.
In the olden days, before work from home was possible, Iād often go into the office to work on a Saturday. I could get about a weekās worth of work done in 4 hours because there were no phone calls, no people stopping by, no meetings that took 3 hours and should have taken 1. My secretary (I SAID it was a long time ago) would come in on Monday morning to piles of dictation tapes, marked up letters, all my filing marked (we had to code it to be filed), forms marked up ready to go to the printing department, all kinds of things to be returned to the library or another department. It was productive, but not that much fun and I wouldnāt have wanted to work that way 5 days a week. I liked discussing issues with colleagues, going out to lunch with them, having a beer after work.
Years later, when work from home was possible, I liked having the option when I was having furniture delivered or needed to go to the dentist mid-day, but I still liked going into the office. There is always someone stopping by my desk asking for an option, someone needing to go to a meeting. I think it everyone is working from home, they just wonāt hold those meetings or will just go ahead without a legal opinion.
@twoinanddone Excellent post aptly describing the spectrum. WFH lets you get a ton done efficiently without the interruptionsā¦but sometimes those unplanned conversations result in meaningful collaboration or keep a valuable employee engaged with the company. Maybe that engagement keeps them from jumping ship because they like the team. Itās a fine balance.
My hope is going forward firms will learn who and what is most valuable to be in office.
BTW - love the idea of hotels setting rooms aside for business use. Have had many meetings in hotel lobbies. Some people are adding on to their homes or considering moving to a larger home with WFH in mind. Iām sure they will do the numbers but having a local space outside the home but not in the office may make more sense. I was thinking some time ago that if business travel doesnāt pick up, hotels could transition to daily or weekly office rentals. Was also thinking about retail branch banking centers. Many are closed, and with the explosion of digital banking , lots wonāt reopen. Saw an interview with the CEO of PNC and he stated they advanced their digital footprint by ten years in six months. It was all about getting seniors comfortable with online banking. Now that they are, theyāre not going back. Why would they? What do you do with the branches. I would think they could easily be rebranded into a shared office space environment. Bring together local team members one or two days per week.
Seeing the bank thing happening here in my NJ suburb. Local Bank of America branch (they built the building they have been in for over 20 years) is closing permanently in December.
I am happy to see others on this board who understand the benefits of working in an office, particularly for young people. The socialization and collaboration is valuable.
I had hoped that the alternative work spaces that we used to use (cafes, libraries, etc.) would be back in business by now. Hopefully, most of them will be before it gets too cold out. Since my daughter is stuck in her studio apartment until June 2021 (her companyās estimate right now), I would love for her to have a place to go on occasion for a change of scenery!
Itās been driving my 87 year old mom nuts that she hasnāt been able to go INTO a bank and stand in front of a teller. That is the only way she is sure her ābooksā (all her accounts) are straight and good.
Re: the loss of discussion of work related things over the water cooler or a pause by a cubicle (or even non-related work or work drama!) - does using a format like Slack - which was set up for the work place (not necessarily casual message boards!!! 
) to help work/words flow and productivity) help in your workplace??
About 4 years ago I was the only remote employee in a small office of six. We used Slack and it was a lifesaver in terms of making me feel more connected. I would physically drive to the office (2.5 hours) about 3 time a month to work for a day, sometimes two. But Slack conversations ā including water cooler chats ā were great. It was easy to quickly check in on things and keep work moving.
Iām not sure it was great for creativity and planning, however. We were going through strategic planning and I always went down for those meetings in person.
Last year I had a contract and was embedded in a virtual company so we were all remote and spread up and down East Coast. We also did all project planning and strategy work face-to-face. A lot of fly-in, fly-out same day meetings. My contract finished in March (funny timing) and know theyāve not met in person since then. I think itās been a bit of a struggle for them. Anyway, this team had a number of young professionals. They did fine ā I think the hybrid model of some face to face met their PD growth needs. One issue ā the young folks in cities (DC and Boston specifically) often also had partners or roommates with WFH flex and yet small apartments so they sometimes rented WeWork spaces b/c they needed space and ability to concentrate.
The problem with virtual meetings using zoom or the like, is that you canāt have cross conversations. I know from my experience with my book group using zoom. It didnāt feel like real socializing or our in-person book groups because only one conversation could happen at a time.
Slack and other messaging systems are quite popular even in the office. It is like texting but for work. It has the same disadvantages of texting.
Our national organization does a ālargeā (about 100 participants) educational call every other week. The chat gets pretty active and creative. Many of the ideas or discussions that start in chat get continued off line after the call- via email or another face to face small group Zoom.
Speaking to buying a home to fit WFH: itās not the only reason we bought this house, but it sure worked out perfectly.
Thereās an in-law suite off the Kitchen that DH has taken over as his office. He has stated he may never go back to a real office. He has put up two dry erase boards, one of which is massive. He has a large desk, but would love to get rid of it and get a standing desk. One of those that you push a button and it can go from regular height to standing. He really misses the one he had at his office!! We also got him some nice books shelves and a comfy couch.
He also hooked up to his work laptop, an LCD tv we were using so that he have double screens. We got him some Airpods, but my god he talks loudly now!!
Then we have Little Sā¦ he moves around a little more and we donāt 100% have everything figured out. But we made up a little study room in the 10x12 loft upstairs. He has a desk and a large gaming chair that reclines. We put up some nice curtains and a pretty little natural fiber throw rug. A large canvas painting of a beach scene from one of our fave beaches should be arriving soon.
But that area doesnāt work great when he wants privacy. So if heās playing his violin, he usually moves to his media room. He put his stand in there but thereās nowhere for his laptop to go (theyāre using SmartMusic). So he just put his laptop on a big bucket of legos and gets on his knees. Thatās just not conducive to good violin practice, IMO. Iāve gotta figure something out!!
Right now S19 is on campus, but he will be home for 2nd semester (most likely). He got the huge 2nd bedroom w/ en suite bath, so his desk is in his room. He put up a bunch of canvases of book covers of some of his favorite literature, and he has tons of bookshelf space. Heās thrilled w/ his space.
Iām just a SAHM, but I also have my own space. If Iām not in the kitchen you can usually find me either on the SIP or in my library. I have french doors that I can close and ignore everyone if I wantā¦ though they tend to find me anyway.
I worked in tech/semi-tech and the cross pollination among engineers/sales/support was vital. You pick up so much just by being there to ask a question, hear how someone solved an issue, etc. Itās a different interaction than just communicating.
Generally, the bosses were around, too. You donāt get that oversight (good and bad) or learn office politics skills, from home.
I personally find Zoom a mess. And in one vol role, Iāve avoided the big weekly chats that I feel serve no purpose. Itās as if leadership wants to put 30 group leaders together just to put them together.
But it is interesting how much of the country has mobilized to try to keep things rolling.