AIBU to ask what your WFH jobs are

[dobbyssoc]

Wondering if people could tell me what jobs they do and in what industry that allowed WFH before covid hit? I have never come across one that will even entertain the idea but with DC I would really appreciate that flexibility but they don't seem to exist (not in the immediate future but in the coming years!)
AIBU to feel like they don't exist!

Call centre customer service. No selling. I've been working for a big name company doing this.
Without doubt lockdown has forced this on them and I love it. They are thinking of making working from home permanent as an option for employees who have proven they can work well.
Yes me please
It isn't like working alone because we have a group chat going on at the same time and daily team meetings. It doesn't take long to get into my work zone, time flies by and I soon forget I'm not in the office. I'm definitely WFH till September because there is no room in the office for us all
with the 2m distancing.
The trust issue is managed because they record and monitor calls and know exactly how long you have been on and off the phone. And performance is measured on the outcome of the call.
I understand that wouldn't be for everyone but I like rules so it suits me. And you can switch off the second your shift ends and you don't finish your day with work clogging up your headspace with jobs to do the next day.
Especially nice when it's sunny because you can sunbathe in your back garden at the same time
And lots and lots overtime which isn't really like work if you are topping up your tan at the same time.

Exec Assistant, I work for a hedge fund. V busy. WFH works really well and I don't need to be in the office at all.

@notangelinajolie
The trust issue is managed because they record and monitor calls and know exactly how long you have been on and off the phone. And performance is measured on the outcome of the call
I understand that wouldn't be for everyone but I like rules so it suits me. And you can switch off the second your shift ends and you don't finish your day with work clogging up your headspace with jobs to do the next day

All sounds great, I would love to be able to switch completely off but I am constantly on alert in my role. I'm a rule lover too so your working style would work for me

Exactly @IcedPurple - a number of lower skilled admin roles will be outsourced. Similar to how it is in Asia, where you have a lot of shared service centres in the Philippines or India, but certain jobs remain in Singapore or Australia for example.

I took early retirement 5 years ago but prior to this I spent 17 years as a specialist travel consultant although wouldn’t recommend that at present of course.☹️

Also, in order to make a good living, you need a great deal of experience and lots of qualifications. Many companies in travel now offer wfh opportunities where they will train you for a huge fee. Definitely NOT recommended! You make a small error and it could cost YOU thousands of pounds.

I am a Test Analyst - we were sent home with our desk tops and 2 monitors the first week it all kicked off.

They don't seem to be in any rush to have us back either

Back office admin/finance in financial services. Entire company 400+ employees including call centre all at home and will be til end if the year. Got a new starter today so we’re still recruiting and training remotely.

Exactly @IcedPurple - a number of lower skilled admin roles will be outsourced. Similar to how it is in Asia, where you have a lot of shared service centres in the Philippines or India, but certain jobs remain in Singapore or Australia for example

Yeah I think it's a kind of a 'be careful what you wish for' sort of thing.

It might be more difficult for small businesses, but larger companies might well think that if location no longer matters, why employ someone at British rates in Bristol or Birmingham, when you can get an equally competent person for a fraction of their salaray in Bangalore or Bucharest?

Buyer for pharmacy chain, mum works in payroll, DH marketing

Self-employed. Writer and researcher. Have been doing this for about 10 years, part time.

I'm a fundraiser and volunteer manager in non-profit, DH is back office (works for the CFO) in a mega bank.

We could both work from home on an ad hoc basis before the pandemic hit.

Exactly @IcedPurple - a number of lower skilled admin roles will be outsourced. Similar to how it is in Asia, where you have a lot of shared service centres in the Philippines or India, but certain jobs remain in Singapore or Australia for example
In my part of IT it's not just the lower skilled roles.
Loads of talented people all over the world - as observed by a Previous Poster.
As a further example, many of you might be surprised to learn where your employer's payroll processing is actually getting done.
In the last year I have seen companies who are doing it in India, Poland, Romania, Canada and the USA for all their UK employees.
Our government is doing its best to export as many IT jobs as possible too, which obviously has nothing to do with the Chancellor's Father in Law running such a business.

I worked from home in my previous role for over 20 years with visits out to clients 1-2 times a week. Big FTSE company and now wfh again with a much much smaller one.

However some have indicated already - It really is a trust issue and SO many times people have let themselves down by thinking wfh means no childcare costs!

They were never around for audios, if a face to face meeting was required suddenly an urgent dental appointment was claimed. We had lots of changes of management so the really troublesome skivers were never really caught but honestly it didnt take long to work out who they were!

I was a middle manager and customer facing which was key in that if I wasnt responsive or didnt answer the phone they would have gone to my line manager so that might be part of it.

I agree also with others. You are unlikely to get home working immediately. If you do they are likely to ask for proof of childcare cover which is understandable.

Data manager. All my work I can do from home and I will be pushing it after all this is over. So much ease of life with child and home care and not commuting for 2.5 hours a day

One warning for working from home - and this may be because my children are adults - is the temptation to do the, “Ooo, I’ll just have a fiddle with this...” on a Sunday morning & all of a sudden it’s 5pm. Like me yesterday!

I'm a Specialist Nurse working with young offenders.

Prior to Covid I could wfh occasionally (So I'd do clinical work on days in and report writing or create training packages from home).

Now I'm at home most of the time, providing most therapy via telephone or video link, which I absolutely hate, but I suppose I am lucky to do. I am only in once or twice a week in person, we have a Rota of senior staff to do this, junior staff are at home all the time.

For exactly that reason, when i finish for the day, I completely pack away my papers and laptop. Less temptation just to shove it on briefly. I don't have a work phone so I just give my number to those that need it and they know my hours.

It's really important to separate work and home life and that's what folk at the moment are struggling with as they might be working in their bedrooms or at their dining table etc and it's not like they can head to the cinema or pub with friends etc after work.

As restrictions ease and DC go back to school and we have other things we can do it will be easier to work at home i think.

I hated being full time at home at first, now I'm hoping that my role is one deemed to be ok to be done at home full time with just occasional trips into the office.

Civil service. Cross govt criminal investigation. Wfh a couple of days a week before covid- obviously have to go out a lot as well as you can't nick people via MS teams...atm we are home based majority of the time.

CS are fabulous employers imho. Have worked term time only when kids were little, 3 lots of mat leave on 6 months full pay. Very positive re disabilities. Work flexi hours .. currently work full time across 4 days so always have Friday off and every week is a long weekend.
Could earn 10k more in private sector but the flexibility on hours/days is worth more to me.

Admin for a HR company ☺️

Farmer Absolutely no help to you i should imagine

My husband has his own business doing SEO for companies, as well as a few of his own websites.

HR Manager. WFH wasn't encouraged before CV, but management now freely admit that it's working incredibly well for support staff, and will be more allowed / encouraged going forward.

Technical writer.

If you have education and admin experience, have a look at Clerking for Governors. Your LA will (likely) have a Governor Services team/dept, have a look on website or email to see if they need Clerks. Once you have experience, you can go freelancing. Good money in it if you're good!

I will attend each school I Clerk for once per half term for meetings (bit different at moment of course!) but majority done at home. I know some clerks that have 10-12 schools

@CharDeeMacDennis how did you get into subtitling?