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Is Working from Home the same as Working from anywhere. (Due to Covid? )

28 replies

Carolhh · 11/09/2020 18:42

Wondered about this, people who work from home could they work from a library for instance?

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RandomMess · 11/09/2020 18:43

Depends on internet availability and security.

DH works for government and he can't work from just anywhere.

I work in education and can work anywhere with WiFi.

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RandomMess · 11/09/2020 18:44

Also if in a library etc the internet service may not be good enough to download and upload the documents I use from our shared area.

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Heptember · 11/09/2020 18:44

A good portion of my day is now Skype/ Teams meetings, so not in my case no.

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Sophoa · 11/09/2020 18:52

I spend most of my day on zoom so in theory I could be anywhere in practice I wouldn’t want anyone listening in. If I don’t have calls I could work anywhere

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Carolhh · 11/09/2020 21:40

thanks for the comments, it makes sense that it kind of varies depending on your job. I think with confidential stuff perhaps work from aywhere isn't suitable. but I've heard of screens that can hide info, but not sure how good those are or if they are suitable.

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pinkcarpet · 11/09/2020 21:42

Depends on your job. I spend a lot of time on calls discussing confidential issues so have to work somewhere that I cannot be overheard.

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Ellmau · 11/09/2020 23:22

You probably can't right now, most libraries are open for limited hours with people only allowed in long enough to change books,

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TheOrigBrave · 11/09/2020 23:31

I can work whenever there is decent WiFi (scientific journal editor). It's not as good as my home office where I have a full desk and large monitor and blue tooth keyboard, but if I plan to do certain tasks it's perfectly manageable, and nice for a change of scenery.
I've worked from airports, hotel lobbies, cafes, libraries, a table next to where DS is doing the climbing wall (childcare issues!), from my FIL's flat when he's wanted company (he has Parkinson's) and every couple of months from the hair salon (while the high lights work their magic).

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Carolhh · 12/09/2020 12:07

thanks everone. @TheOrigBrave that sounds fun working from different places. I need to ask my manager but wasn't sure how to ask her about this.

Scientific editor sounds like a great job, you get to read many articles. Did you have to have a degree for this job?
thanks

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TheOrigBrave · 13/09/2020 22:56

@Carolhh

thanks everone. *@TheOrigBrave* that sounds fun working from different places. I need to ask my manager but wasn't sure how to ask her about this.

Scientific editor sounds like a great job, you get to read many articles. Did you have to have a degree for this job?
thanks

Yes I read very many articles, some at pre-peer-review stage and others after they have been accepted for publication.

I have a degree in molecular biology and use that knowledge in my job, though there is a great deal of informatics as well, but I've learnt that during my professional life (since it was barely a thing when I did my degree!).
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titchy · 13/09/2020 23:03

One of my colleagues has been wfh from her Italian villa!

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FartingNora · 13/09/2020 23:08

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Ariela · 13/09/2020 23:10

We always have wfh a bit, but when my Dad was ill I was wfh from his flat a couple of days a week - lovely sea views.

I also wfh from the pub garden from time to time.Grin
(in mitigation the broadband speed is faster than at home)

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QueenPaws · 13/09/2020 23:12

I can only WFH as I'm on calls all day, so need a very quiet background

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Ariela · 13/09/2020 23:12

Oh and I am on a committee and I do the meeting zoom calls from inside our horsebox lorry as it is quieter there (dog randomly barks at noises off, and then leaps on the chair to see out the window, jogging the table the laptop is on)

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TheOrigBrave · 14/09/2020 07:44

I do the meeting zoom calls from inside our horsebox lorry

Grin I declare Ariela the winner!

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[AUTO]d3jqakcn9qlt2 · 14/09/2020 07:53

Not if you have to deal with confidential information or you have to have verbal meetings.

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LilyLongJohn · 14/09/2020 08:56

I can work anywhere, my Dad had an operation last year and he's 6 hours away, so I worked from his house allowing me to look after him.

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Martinisarebetterdirty · 14/09/2020 08:59

I need extra screens, it’s hard to work just on a laptop. However I can in theory work from anywhere, it’s just much better and more comfortable to be in the office or in my home office (chair support, WiFi speed, background noise etc)

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FatGirlShrinking · 14/09/2020 09:02

It depends on the risk assessment too, for example my company have us working from home rather than the office to reduce risk of catching COVID from other people in the vicinity. If they then said but you can work in a public library if you want then they may as well just have us back in the office.

If they have moved to WFH so they can close offices and save money then they may have a different view

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innitbloodysuper · 14/09/2020 09:05

I can work anywhere. During the summer holidays I went to our caravan, kids played out on the site until I was done for the day at 1:30pm. We were then able to head off to the beach. Work knew where I was and had no issues.

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adagio · 14/09/2020 09:08

My company have explicitly stated UK only, I think due to insurance and due to the data protection laws being potentially different elsewhere, and we have annual cbt reminding us of the dangers of working out of the office (so confidentiality of data , use privacy screens, be careful what you say, risk of asset theft etc.

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lljkk · 14/09/2020 09:09

I can't work well with large datasets over wifi, I need ethernet.

I want at least one big screen, preferably multiple big screens, working on small slow laptop is awful.

VPN is tempermental & unreliable (also fewer licenses than there are employees) at best of times but especially unreliable over wifi.

Occasional data are confidential, bad if someone looked over my shoulder

I have telecons I'm asked to contribute to.

There are files my laptop can't open but my desktop can.

Odd distracting people are common in library (sorry, but true!)

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pinkcarpet · 14/09/2020 13:44

@adagio lots of companies require people to stay in the UK. Mine is the same and has a total ban on people working from other countries if they are UK employees. If people decide to wfh but they are actually in a foreign country it can cause all kinds of issues for their employer. Insurance, tax, health & safety, GDPR breaches, cybersecurity risks due to using insecure wifi and so on.

People think WFH means work from anywhere but that is actually quite difficult to achieve without incurring costs to the business and some good planning

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Love51 · 14/09/2020 13:54

I worked from my parents house when my husband was home with the kids as they needed the dining room / playroom / my desk. Loads of people are working from other people's houses to get away from their spouse!
BIL used to work from his in-laws house abroad, as his wife worked in a school, they used to fly out as a family then he'd work from the in-laws house the first week of a long break. That way he could help her with the tiny children on the flight, plus have evenings with the family. They had a suitable office space and decent internet. It hasn't happened this year, but for years he has only gone into the office a couple of days a week. At least he was well equipped when everyone got sent home.

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