No power all day, in tier 3 & WFH??

[Ethelfleda]

Office isn’t open, we have had a letter to say the entire street is being cut off on Friday from 9am until 6pm. I WFH Mon - Fri...
We are in tier 3 so no household mixing or cafes open to work in... and obviously not supposed to travel to a tier where I could sit in a cafe.

What on earth am I supposed to do??

Book a day off?

I've got no idea op but Dh is going to be in that situation next week! We had an electrical inspection and we need a new fuse board. Landlord is booking it in for next week, power will be out for 6 hours. Dh has no holiday left.

You could probably do half a day, if you charged your laptop and used your phone as a hotspot?

Can you prepare stuff to do that doesn’t need the internet?
Or piggy back on your phone?

I’ve no holiday left!
And virtual meetings I am supposed to attend on Friday.
Ok so I know asking on MN probably isn’t the best thing to do but I just wondered if anyone else had had this issue?

Get a power bank for your phone so you can recharge it as and when it’s needed. Make sure you charge your laptop fully before the power goes off. Explain to work that you will do your best but these are the unavoidable circumstances you find yourself in.

I would say it’s an unavoidable downside of WFH and the restrictions.

If it was me I would talk to them on Monday and say I will charge my laptop and work for as long as the battery lasts

I'd just make sure my laptop was fully charged and explain that I may have to make time up outside normal working hours

I can’t do a lot without WiFi though
I guess that’s the best we can do though.
Thank Christ we have a log burner!

Create a WiFi hotspot from your phone? Depends how much data you have i suppose

I have been doing meetings from my iPad. Maybe try that if you have enough mobile data?

We had a new fuse board fitted and I just said I wouldn't be online in the morning due to urgent electric work my boss was ok with it as didn't have any other option!

@XiCi

I'd just make sure my laptop was fully charged and explain that I may have to make time up outside normal working hours

Yep. Start with laptop on a full charge. Put it on battery saver mode and log in for unavoidable meetings - use mobile data hotspot for this. Work for as long as you can, and then make the time up in the evening or over the next few days if needs be.

Good luck!

Our offices remain open for issues such as this. Everyone WFH unless there is a good reason to go in; e.g. your internet goes down.

@NC4Now

Get a power bank for your phone so you can recharge it as and when it’s needed. Make sure you charge your laptop fully before the power goes off. Explain to work that you will do your best but these are the unavoidable circumstances you find yourself in.

Eminently sensible advice here.

Use your phone. I ended up upgrading to unlimited data as my broadband was so unreliable during lockdown in April/May so I had to teach A level using mobile data and have online meetings over it as well. It is doable! Also buy power banks and charge them.

This is exactly the sort of situation that employers should absolutely be understanding about just now. It's totally out of your control - I'd just book the day off.

Do you drive? can you use your car as your office, recharge phone in car, drive to somewhere with a WiFi hotspot and park up outside for meetings.

Not sure if there is a laptop charger for a car charger but might be worth looking on Amazon prime for one.

Can you ask to go into the office under exceptional circumstances? We had a new boiler a couple of weeks ago and I was allowed to go in as I had meetings booked and I didn't know how noisy it would be. I certainly wouldn't be using annual leave for something out of my control!

I would travel to another tier to find a cafe or whatever to sit in. You're allowed to travel for work

They can't legally or morally expect you to have continual perfect facilities with which to WFH. We've all got so used to the concept that we've forgotten that bit.

OP, is your work categorically not allowing anyone into the office or would you be allowed in if you explain why you cannot work from home?

As others have said, you could use your mobile as a wifi hotspot if you have enough data, though in my experience the wifi strength you get from a mobile hotspot is not as good as from home broadband. Is it possible to dial in from a land line for your virtual meetings? Do you have a friend living nearby who could recharge your laptop when the battery runs out?

It seems to me this is essentially equivalent to if the office had its power cut off for a day.

Tell your company on Monday; if you have an IT dept they may be able to suggest something, loan you an UPS perhaps.

Why on earth should she have to use her mobile data?? Sorry but I’d be doing a day of “CPD” or similar.