Wfh now?

[LivingAlmostLarge]

it is nice to work from home. And I can say I work hourly and I don't always clock in for a quick call. But I certainly don't work as hard as my DH who is salaried. He usually works 9-6 and works through lunch at the table reading messages and email. He works most nights 9-11/12 as well. And on weekends he'll pull out and work couple of hours each day and is always on his messages and email. The problem with a work phone is it's constantly attached to him. He gave up his regular phone but we kept the line and sim card. He was tired of carrying three phones personal, android, and apple.

[Smallsteps]

This is a problem that pre-dates the COVID situation. We run into this at work a lot. An email will go out to the staff but the only ones who see it are the ones who are working that day. If someone is off for 2 or 3 or 6 days, they don't see it until they are back at work, which is sometimes a problem when it's a time-sensitive matter. If it's something really important, they'll text everyone too. If hourly folks are reading emails when they're off, you have to pay them, but texting apparently is okay. Makes no sense to me but that's how it goes.

I do wonder about labor laws and workman's comp issues with folks WFH. If you get up from your desk to get a snack and you trip and fall at home, is that a work injury because you were on the clock even though it happened in your living room?

If they ask you to use your private phone to connect to work for reasons beyond lets say calling in or schedule change etc in MY state they are suppose to pay a % of phone cost.
In a perfect world they would pay you for answering those emails or going online outside of your normal work hours but instead it is being used to create a situation where some may feel they must do it without a mention of pay. when brought up some managers say things like you are they only one saying anything everyone else is doing this or that. There is room for real abuse.
If some who see an opportunity to try to stand out ( brown nose) by working extra but not charging puts themselves as well as their employer in a bad spot. All you need is one disgruntled person to cause a big problem.


I was messaging another contractor who is hourly, she finds it great.......... as she goes grocery shopping in the day and runs errands .... so if she is in a wreck is it OTJ if her hours are set? There is no accountability as there is not a matrix of this many cases or files etc in what we are doing.

Leadership had this conversation a few times this month, if you trip and fall or any other injury at home .....how can a team investigate and prevent injuries?

Many people do not have a complete office setup or perhaps the room for one, in their homes and working from their couch or dining room table is not Ergonomic and could lead to problems.
Our leadership team has told us that any office equipment like ergo keyboards/ mouse / chair/ desk is the responsibility of the employee. They arranged from a office furniture discount through our suppliers but the setup people were used to at office with a sit stand desk and task chair with many adjustments the lowest end is $1000 a set up.

[disneysteve]

If they ask you to use your private phone to connect to work for reasons beyond lets say calling in or schedule change etc in MY state they are suppose to pay a % of phone cost.
In a perfect world they would pay you for answering those emails or going online outside of your normal work hours

So how is your job supposed to communicate with you if you aren't expected to read email or text messages? There has to be a way for them to stay in touch with you that doesn't involve them having to pay you to do so. At my place, for example, if a tech calls out, the manager needs to send out a message to everyone to find coverage. If the only people who would see that message would be the ones already working, that would be a waste of time. That message needs to go to the people who aren't working to see if they want to come in. Especially early on in the COVID crisis, we were having policy and procedure changes almost daily that needed to be communicated to the entire staff promptly. You couldn't always wait until the next time you came into work to learn of the new things.

I don't know what the right answer is but expecting employees to have zero contact with work when they are off isn't practical.

[Smallsteps]

So how is your job supposed to communicate with you if you aren't expected to read email or text messages? There has to be a way for them to stay in touch with you that doesn't involve them having to pay you to do so. At my place, for example, if a tech calls out, the manager needs to send out a message to everyone to find coverage. If the only people who would see that message would be the ones already working, that would be a waste of time. That message needs to go to the people who aren't working to see if they want to come in. Especially early on in the COVID crisis, we were having policy and procedure changes almost daily that needed to be communicated to the entire staff promptly. You couldn't always wait until the next time you came into work to learn of the new things.

I don't know what the right answer is but expecting employees to have zero contact with work when they are off isn't practical.

I said a Schedule change of being called in to cover a shift or calling out etc CAN be done ..... i would think policy changes or procedure should be on the clock items.

When it becomes answer these questions/ mini meetings etc or teach someone over the phone some steps to do ....any real WORK related items then yes they need to pay for the % of your phone being used. if they want access all the time provide a company phone.

I just see many employers have not examined all the items that can fall under this WFH situation.... Example: a manager asked me to set up MY printer for items
#1 i am not using my printer /paper and ink for their business and
#2 many items we print are of a sensitive nature I do not want to be responsible for that in my home ( we keep locked in the office.)... if someone broke in and had privileged info i chose NOT to be liable.

[disneysteve]

I agree that if you are working from home, work should be providing all of the necessary supplies - computer, printer, paper, internet access, etc. I have a few friends working from home and their employers got them all set up with everything they needed.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

If they ask you to use your private phone to connect to work for reasons beyond lets say calling in or schedule change etc in MY state they are suppose to pay a % of phone cost.
In a perfect world they would pay you for answering those emails or going online outside of your normal work hours but instead it is being used to create a situation where some may feel they must do it without a mention of pay. when brought up some managers say things like you are they only one saying anything everyone else is doing this or that. There is room for real abuse.
If some who see an opportunity to try to stand out ( brown nose) by working extra but not charging puts themselves as well as their employer in a bad spot. All you need is one disgruntled person to cause a big problem.


I was messaging another contractor who is hourly, she finds it great.......... as she goes grocery shopping in the day and runs errands .... so if she is in a wreck is it OTJ if her hours are set? There is no accountability as there is not a matrix of this many cases or files etc in what we are doing.

Leadership had this conversation a few times this month, if you trip and fall or any other injury at home .....how can a team investigate and prevent injuries?

Many people do not have a complete office setup or perhaps the room for one, in their homes and working from their couch or dining room table is not Ergonomic and could lead to problems.
Our leadership team has told us that any office equipment like ergo keyboards/ mouse / chair/ desk is the responsibility of the employee. They arranged from a office furniture discount through our suppliers but the setup people were used to at office with a sit stand desk and task chair with many adjustments the lowest end is $1000 a set up.

Um I work on the kitchen island and DH works downstairs in the playroom on a pseudo desk. At least he has a 32" monitor and I have a 27" monitor. But we are also dying when internet uploads when all four of us are on meetings at the same time. So right now we are trying desperately to get a shed office built. We are planning on moving it turns out as well.

[Smallsteps]

Um I work on the kitchen island and DH works downstairs in the playroom on a pseudo desk. At least he has a 32" monitor and I have a 27" monitor. But we are also dying when internet uploads when all four of us are on meetings at the same time. So right now we are trying desperately to get a shed office built. We are planning on moving it turns out as well.

There is a far cry from a temporary work from home situation and a more long term situation. This is coming to light recently in my situation. People like to see and talk to people NOT on zoom. basic talk of current events or the weather. Many seem to feel out of sorts lately.
I personally have a desk set up a whole room that is office / guest room but find I end up doing most in dining room. Many people may be on couch or whatever and it is not working so well as our ergonomic team is getting swamped with complaints.

I also have a issue with super slow connections in afternoon thought it was my internet but a few have noticed it in their world to and we have decided it is either the VPN or the server at office we are all connecting to. We went through setting up a MFA verification and for all the MONTHS I have been home it has sent a code and asked for identification twice ..... my supervisors boss gets asked for every time he opens a new folder..... that does not seem normal to me.
We are also beginning to narrow down those whom are not able to be mature enough to work with out closer supervision as they never seem to get items completed unless they are watched.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Maybe but we are working on rectifying the situation as we speak. It is what happens. You do the best you can while you make do.