How I cope with WFH (Working from home)

[inlinesix]

1 hour ago, Albeniz said:

Borrow this thread.

Recently some hotels have opened up their lounges to cater to customers who prefer to Work from “Hotel”.  I thought this is quite a good idea if you want to free yourself a day or two from noisy children at home to better focus on your work.  Has anyone tried, and how was your experience?

But I do have some concerns about enclosed space and ventilation in an air-conditioned lounge environment.

Another way would be to go to open-space kopi tiams in some remote places with only a few customers, and spend the whole day to work on my laptop.  Any suggestions for this type of Alfresco-styled kopi tiams?

You can always go Chye Seng Huat Alfresco area to work.

[Adrianli]

1 hour ago, Albeniz said:

Borrow this thread.

Recently some hotels have opened up their lounges to cater to customers who prefer to Work from “Hotel”.  I thought this is quite a good idea if you want to free yourself a day or two from noisy children at home to better focus on your work.  Has anyone tried, and how was your experience?

But I do have some concerns about enclosed space and ventilation in an air-conditioned lounge environment.

Another way would be to go to open-space kopi tiams in some remote places with only a few customers, and spend the whole day to work on my laptop.  Any suggestions for this type of Alfresco-styled kopi tiams?

Many of these alfresco kopitiam are located in industrial areas. Depends on where you stay. Lunch time will be very busy, then rest of the day pretty peaceful. 

I know Loyang, Woodlands, Benoi and Tuas have many of such kopitiam. 

[inlinesix]

17 minutes ago, Adrianli said:

Many of these alfresco kopitiam are located in industrial areas. Depends on where you stay. Lunch time will be very busy, then rest of the day pretty peaceful. 

I know Loyang, Woodlands, Benoi and Tuas have many of such kopitiam. 

There might be Safe Distancing going around to chase ppl off from kopitiam.

I was chased away from Starbucks Velocity.

[Albeniz]

4 hours ago, Adrianli said:

Many of these alfresco kopitiam are located in industrial areas. Depends on where you stay. Lunch time will be very busy, then rest of the day pretty peaceful. 

I know Loyang, Woodlands, Benoi and Tuas have many of such kopitiam. 

Good suggestion! The one with cheapest carpark and cooling fans would be the best choice.

[Adrianli]

43 minutes ago, Albeniz said:

Good suggestion! The one with cheapest carpark and cooling fans would be the best choice.

Cheapest carpark? Most of the industrial kopitiam carparks are free parking lah.

[Adrianli]

5 hours ago, inlinesix said:

There might be Safe Distancing going around to chase ppl off from kopitiam.

I was chased away from Starbucks Velocity.

I never had the opportunity to sit in a kopitiam that long. Usually eat and leave liao.

[Dp26]

I was at CBTL last week with a client. 
the staff told me no work to be done over a laptop over there. (I was carrying a Ipad.)

 

some places don’t allow/encourage long hrs 

I told the staff that I’m just showing some stuff over my ipad not really doing any work then he reluctantly ok. 
 

after the presentation of maybe 20mins we continue chit chat a while before he comes over again and told me to “close off” my ipad as it was on the table “standing up” even though he knows that it’s off cos the screen is black already. 
 

so anyway do check with the establishment if they got any “rules” in place before settling down for a whole day of work. 

[Dafansu]

15 hours ago, Dp26 said:

I was at CBTL last week with a client. 
the staff told me no work to be done over a laptop over there. (I was carrying a Ipad.)

 

some places don’t allow/encourage long hrs 

I told the staff that I’m just showing some stuff over my ipad not really doing any work then he reluctantly ok. 
 

after the presentation of maybe 20mins we continue chit chat a while before he comes over again and told me to “close off” my ipad as it was on the table “standing up” even though he knows that it’s off cos the screen is black already. 
 

so anyway do check with the establishment if they got any “rules” in place before settling down for a whole day of work. 

maybe applicable for certain eateries. can make use of this chance to chase away the seats hoggers too . Walked passed Starbucks, Waterway Point this morning, lots of students sitting there with their laptop and notes. 

[Mustank]

https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/eat-drink-man-woman-16/gpgt-new-computer-chair-kym-6395269.html

 

heng I have been using ergohuman for a few Years Liao 

sg so hot, best is buy nylon mesh material and put a fan behind to blow the arse

I experimenting with installing 5v Pc fans (Usb) to put behind backrest and under the seat 

powered by a power bank

 

all these leather thing no point buying in Sg. The sweat will corrode the leather

https://shopee.sg/product/195711621/5537825431?smtt=0.20027492-1603097174.9

 

Edited October 19, 2020 by Mustank

[Jusnel]

2 hours ago, Mustank said:

https://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/eat-drink-man-woman-16/gpgt-new-computer-chair-kym-6395269.html

 

heng I have been using ergohuman for a few Years Liao 

sg so hot, best is buy nylon mesh material and put a fan behind to blow the arse

I experimenting with installing 5v Pc fans (Usb) to put behind backrest and under the seat 

powered by a power bank

 

all these leather thing no point buying in Sg. The sweat will corrode the leather

https://shopee.sg/product/195711621/5537825431?smtt=0.20027492-1603097174.9

 

Leather needs air con and regular maintenance polishing 

 

[lululormee]

why employer dont like u work from home? good read here

https://www.smart-towkay.com/blog/view/190-remote-working-employers-and-employees-disagreement-over-working-from-home

A recent survey has revealed that around half of employees in Singapore indicated they would quit their companies if they were not guaranteed remote work and flexible working hours, while around the same proportion of employers expressed their desire to return to pre-coronavirus working conditions instead.

Commissioned by digital workflow firm ServiceNow and conducted by market research firm Wakefield Research, this survey spans 11 countries and provides some insight into what is potentially the world’s first large-scale experiment (by necessity) on employees working from home.

Of the employees polled in Singapore, a whopping 91% said that they liked the new digital changes such as remote working, 52% believed it is essential to be provided flexible working hours, and 45% considered it paramount that their companies guaranteed remote work.

Meanwhile, 46% of executives considered it a priority to revert to previous modes of working before the pandemic, and 47% felt it would be more challenging to establish the current mode of work as a permanent feature than it was to cope with the initial blowout caused by Covid-19.

So, why are employees and employers at odds over their perspectives on the current state of work?


The pros of working from home

The results of this survey suggest that employees would stand to benefit more from remote work while employers would lose out. However, that might not necessarily be true. Remote work has its pros and cons for both parties, and it is not evident that one outweighs the other for either party.

Take employees, for instance. The survey identified the top benefits of working remotely for them: saving commuting or travelling time, more flexibility in managing responsibilities, and being able to improve work efficiency through better use of technology. All fairly clear and obvious points.

However, common sense dictates that these factors will have a positive knock-on effect which benefits employers as well. After all, which company would not be keen to let workers have more time and improve work efficiency?

In addition, companies stand to enjoy an obvious financial advantage too; more employees working from home means less demand for office space. Even if employers do not downsize to smaller premises to save on operating costs, rental fees are already going down due to decreased demand.


What issues does remote working bring?

On the flip side, the survey also shares the problems employers have with remote working. 91% of them pointed out that many routine business functions - document approvals, performance reviews, IT asset requests and approvals, as well as check or cash transactions – still need to be conducted offline.

Coupled with the fact that 60% said they do not have a fully integrated system to manage digital workflows across all business functions, and it becomes evident that businesses do not believe they can operate well enough without their staff physically present at the workplace.

Interestingly enough, while 80% agreed their company will experience cost savings due to the current change in operations, only 68% were of the opinion that these savings should be prioritised towards digital transformation. This implies that while employers are willing to adopt these changes as a means to deal with the Covid-19 crisis, a significant portion of them are somewhat sceptical that further digitalisation would be effective in helping their enterprise, suggesting a certain unwillingness to move with the times.

Perhaps their concerns are rooted in the intangibles. And this should similarly be something that employees themselves need to be wary of. A good example to showcase the manifestation of this problem would be an experiment conducted by Chinese travel agency CTrip back in 2010.


Do bosses believe employees work better from home?

CTrip had decided to allow some of its Shanghai call centre staff to work from home for 9 months. This produced some astounding results: work performance increased by 13%, worker satisfaction soared, and the attrition rate was halved. Meanwhile, CTrip itself amassed an impressive US$2,000 annual savings per employee.

There was a significant snag, however. Those who were working from home had their promotion rate fall to approximately half that of those who continued to work in the office.

The implication is clear. Despite increased productivity, executives did not rate the employees who were not present in the workplace above those who were. An employee that is out of sight is out of mind. Working in continued close proximity to superiors most likely facilitated better communication and more opportunities to showcase one’s competence.

Moreover, bosses might feel more in control of the staff that are physically present and be inclined to trust them more. Certainly, there would always be the suspicion that employees who were working from home were skiving off, even if they were meeting their deadlines and actually being more productive. Employers are only human, after all, and just as susceptible to psychological biases.

As such, perhaps employers feel uncomfortable about letting the bulk, if not all, of their staff work from home, with all the insecurities that this would bring. Meanwhile, employees might do well to be mindful of the fact that people are naturally geared towards trusting the people close to them, and the geographic distance that remote working brings is the antithesis of that.


A mutual lack of trust

As a final twist to this story, trust must work both ways. That of employees towards their companies should also be taken into account. The survey indicated that nearly three quarters of employees felt their company would prioritise business continuity over workplace safety.

To simplify this line of thinking down to its essentials: during a global pandemic, workers value their lives more than they value their careers, and actions taken by employers which do not reflect this sentiment will be roundly rejected.


A Difficult Balance To Be Sought

When all is said and done, the advantages and disadvantages of remote work do not lend themselves to easy solutions when it comes to bridging the divide between employers and employees. This is further exacerbated by the Covid-19 predicament, which is both a health and safety issue and an economic problem.

What may help is for both parties to recognise each other’s perspective better, and understand that ultimately everyone may need to brace for an inevitably less than optimal outcome. There are rarely any winners in a global crisis.

[Jusnel]

Companies can down size the physical office space, which will result in lower rental cost for the bottomline $.

And getting staff to have virtual meetings with external and internal parties will also result in lower transport claims and meeting room usage. It will also result in lower operating cost. 

As long as staff get the work done, responsive to phone calls, meetings and email follow ups, clients are happy, I really don't see any problems with WFH. 

 

[13177]

6 minutes ago, Jusnel said:

Companies can down size the physical office space, which will result in lower rental cost for the bottomline $.

And getting staff to have virtual meetings with external and internal parties will also result in lower transport claims and meeting room usage. It will also result in lower operating cost. 

As long as staff get the work done, responsive to phone calls, meetings and email follow ups, clients are happy, I really don't see any problems with WFH. 

 

Many companies dont mind on the office rental cost la, since they have already been paying it for dont know how many years liao, until this covid came into picture. Lol. Employees point of view surely dont see any problems with wfh, but employers point of view, not all support wfh unless no choice like now. If got choice, most employers still prefer employees to be physically in the office, whether got work to do or not still must appear in the office. Lol.

[inlinesix]

2 minutes ago, 13177 said:

Many companies dont mind on the office rental cost la, since they have already been paying it for dont know how many years liao, until this covid came into picture. Lol. Employees point of view surely dont see any problems with wfh, but employers point of view, not all support wfh unless no choice like now. If got choice, most employers still prefer employees to be physically in the office, whether got work to do or not still must appear in the office. Lol.

That’s so Boomer

Edited October 22, 2020 by inlinesix

[Didu]

Office leased floor space is substantial chunk of operating cost. If daily office occupation rate is 50% or less and Finance dept is doing nothing about it, somebody's head is going to roll soon.

[Kklee]

34 minutes ago, Didu said:

Office leased floor space is substantial chunk of operating cost. If daily office occupation rate is 50% or less and Finance dept is doing nothing about it, somebody's head is going to roll soon.

IMHO.

24 years late ?  😀

The Straits Times, 19 October 1996

IBM set to save $5.27m in rent — through telecommuting .... Page 3  

IBM set to save $5.27 m in rent through telecommuting Sharon Vasoo 300 workers hooked up to office via laptops By A system to beat the traffic This way, I also beat the traffic jam at the ECP On business trips, I still can communicate with my colleagues and bosses...

P.S.   Laptop/Notebook in 1996 should be around $10,000 and visually pleasing mobile phones should be around $2000. 

 

[Didu]

Remember our 1st ADSL Singtel Magix service? It was launch only in '99. Before that, homes are connected via modems over copper phone cables. At 14.4, 28.8, or 56Kbps, it limits what we can accomplish remotely from home. 

 

Edited October 22, 2020 by Didu

[Kklee]

1 hour ago, Didu said:

Remember our 1st ADSL Singtel Magix service? It was launch only in '99. Before that, homes are connected via modems over copper phone cables. At 14.4, 28.8, or 56Kbps, it limits what we can accomplish remotely from home. 

 

IMHO.
1996.
For work, modems were sufficient as emails were more text based and companies used mid-range and /or mainframes with customized software that were text based.
With these systems,  slightly faster ISDN were sufficient for multi-users applications like airline ticketing.
Thereafter,  modems allow multiplayer games to be played online. 
Also,  unknown to many, there were even PCMCIA modems that could connect to mobile phones to remotely connect back to office. 
While we have  Google Home and Amazon Alexa now,  in 1996,  technology was already available to command the computer using voice for surfing web and dictation.