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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if you can work from home?

183 replies

5zeds · 03/03/2020 15:16

Given the spread of COVID 19, are you able to work from home and will you? Are your employers encouraging you to work from home or playing it down?

OP posts:
Original poster
5zeds · 03/03/2020 15:18

Sorry I didn’t realise the voting was automatically added.

YABU = I AM NOT going to work from home
YANBU = I AM going to work from home

OP posts:
BrimfulofSasha · 03/03/2020 15:20

In my current role yes. I'm working from home most of this week...but I leave next week. I'm not 100% sure on the culture- they have said there is flexibility but I'm managing a team and that's not easy to do at a distance when you are new.
Theoretically as long as i have a connection(internet and server) I could.
I work in finance FWIW

BrimfulofSasha · 03/03/2020 15:21

I'm not WFH because of Corona mind you. I'm not particularly worried about that threat at the moment

DesLynamsMoustache · 03/03/2020 15:21

I'm self-employed and WFH anyway. DH could WFH too; he already does about 60% of the week, so he would just have to not do any site visits for a while

Marmit · 03/03/2020 15:23

I have the option of working from home. I’m not yet because I work in a small office in a country with minimal exposure to the virus and none of us have knowingly been near an infected area or a person who has been to an infected area. If the risk profile changes, I can and will work from home.

Gammeldragz · 03/03/2020 15:25

I'm a nurse, so no. DH does work from home as but has to go out to customers, he has some work he can do at home but once that's done he'll either have to have customers deliver or go out and collect.

kelper · 03/03/2020 15:26

I work in a supermarket so as much as I wish I could bring the alcohol and cheese section home, sadly I'm not allowed!

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 03/03/2020 15:27

I can, and do often. Fiancé can but his work are not keen at all and are not encouraging it.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 03/03/2020 15:27

I cannot do my job from home. I'm office based but the specialist database and printers that we need are only accessible at the office.

ladyvimes · 03/03/2020 15:27

I’d love to work from home! But I’m a teacher, so probably not possible!

Hingeandbracket · 03/03/2020 15:28

Nowt to do with COVID anything - WFH 99% of the time anyway.

itsallthedramaMickiloveit · 03/03/2020 15:28

Technically yes.
I am on mat leave just hypothetically if I wasn't.

It would be pointless. Because the industry would tank.

isseywith4vampirecats · 03/03/2020 15:29

no being as I clean a restaurant for one job and run an ebay page from an office at a charity shop unless the delivery driver dropped all the items off at my house which would be very difficult as all the computer stuff is set up on the computer there and not at home so I couldn't do much from home I would still have to go in there to do all my admin

SorrelBlackbeak · 03/03/2020 15:29

I could work from home but my employer is absolutely dead set against it to the extent that they're currently saying they'll pay people to take leave if they have to self isolate even if they have no symptoms and could work.

VideographybyLouBloom · 03/03/2020 15:29

I'm in London and do have the resources to WFH however it would mean us cancelling several important meetings at a particularly busy time of year.

GreenFingersWouldBeHandy · 03/03/2020 15:30

We have been given the option of self-isolating/WFH if we feel the need to but carry on as normal otherwise.

Although having said that, our MD is buying laptops/kit to enable everyone to WFH if they need to. We'll just use them elsewhere in the business otherwise.

antisupermum · 03/03/2020 15:31

I'm scheduled to go to Rome in a couple of weeks (assuming all goes to plan with flights etc) and my employers have told me to work from home for 2 weeks on my return. However, unless FOC stipulates, or I am showing symptoms, I wont be self isolating. As a lone parent to two children, I don't have the ability to hole myself up in a room for a fortnight unless I absolutely have to, and even then it would be a nightmare.

But, if work would rather I not risk the general office, I'm totally fine with that. My work won't be affected as I often work from home any way. Its a win-win situation.

FinallyHere · 03/03/2020 15:32

With a corporate enabled laptop phone and network access, I can pretty much work from everywhere, so long as the infrastructure holds up to the additional strain put on it as more and more people are using it.

We have some tests underway to check out the impact of more remote users all connecting at the same time.

Sleepyblueocean · 03/03/2020 15:32

Dh could do most of his at home but currently his boss is against it for security reasons - laptops being left where others can access them.

SingleSidedShoulderShrug · 03/03/2020 15:34

Nope, I work in children's icu.. it's unethical to take my patients home.. Grin

blamethecat · 03/03/2020 15:37

I can't, I'm an Optician so don't really fancy loads of people calling in to my home for adjustments and to pick new glasses ! The cat on the other had would think all his birthdays and Christmases had come at once of a bunch of strangers arrived to pay him attention.

InMySpareTime · 03/03/2020 15:39

I cannot work from home, I'm a storyteller!
There are plenty of things I can do to prep for future jobs, but the bit clients actually pay for is the face to face bit.
I can mend and create story props and puppets, work on my sets and costumes, type up stories etc, but that's the "back room" stuff that makes my headline hourly rate look expensive.
My main worry is that gatherings will be cancelled, as that's all my paid work.

JingsMahBucket · 03/03/2020 15:39

@kelper
I work in a supermarket so as much as I wish I could bring the alcohol and cheese section home, sadly I'm not allowed!

Love it! I would love to bring the cheese and charcuterie section home with me as well.

Barmaid101 · 03/03/2020 15:40

I can’t pull pints from home

thatmustbenigelwiththebrie · 03/03/2020 15:42

I technically could work from home but I really hope they don't make me! I live alone and if I have to work from home I will never see anyone.

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