Page 3 | Working from Home - what exactly do you do?

TheHumanExperience · 2022-10-30T20:16:58+00:00

I would love to work from home but in a creative way. All I can find, are insurance, customer service and admin vacancies. I wonder if anyone does something a little more interesting, or a job they actually love and can't wait to start every morning. If you do, what is it, and how did you get into it, and is there any hope for a late starter? How do you take the plunge if you are considering self-employment from a steady but boring job, it's a big risk.

C8H10N4O2 · 30/10/2022 22:29

PeloFondo · 30/10/2022 22:27

@C8H10N4O2 contact centre/customer service/auto industry

Contact centre - doesn't surprise me so much, its always been insanely monitory (if that makes sense!).

C8H10N4O2 · 30/10/2022 22:32

Furcoatandnoknickerz · 30/10/2022 22:27

@C8H10N4O2 I work for NHS!

Patient facing? I'd be asking the trust how much they spent on the software and how they were proving the business case for that software at a time of austerity (and which relative of a trustee was flogging the software).

Also how they demonstrated it was compliant with patient confidentiality and not breaking down security records designed to stop eg copy and paste of content from confidential records.

Your supervisor is incompetent if they use this as a manager, but I guess you know that first hand 😃

Energeticenoch · 30/10/2022 22:32

We are not monitored. I have no idea if my staff are working their hours or not. I do know however that they reply to emails when I send them, answer calls when I call them and do the work they’re expected to do. Quite frankly if that means they’re working a bit less here and there I couldn’t care less

ReadyForPumpkins · 30/10/2022 22:37

Furcoatandnoknickerz · 30/10/2022 20:56

Please remember, if you take on a work from home job for a company, you will be tracked and monitored every second of your working day. Even to to point where you click a button go to the loo…..comfort break!
WFH has evolved since lockdown 1, not in a good way!
I work in an office where there’s still some home workers, the supervisor just sits monitoring their log in status all day. If she thinks they’ve been quiet for too long they get a snotty message.
They don’t stay long!

I am a software developer and that is definitely not true. My boss do not know when I’m not at my computer and he is fat too busy to sit there watching us all the time. I have flexible hours where I can go sports day, school play, music lessons, dentists etc. I don’t have to tell my boss I am going. He sees our output. We are judged by what we produce, not how many hours we sit in front of a computer. Only low skilled jobs are monitored like what you described.

1994girl · 30/10/2022 22:38

Furcoatandnoknickerz · 30/10/2022 20:56

Please remember, if you take on a work from home job for a company, you will be tracked and monitored every second of your working day. Even to to point where you click a button go to the loo…..comfort break!
WFH has evolved since lockdown 1, not in a good way!
I work in an office where there’s still some home workers, the supervisor just sits monitoring their log in status all day. If she thinks they’ve been quiet for too long they get a snotty message.
They don’t stay long!

It didn't with me.

Lcb123 · 30/10/2022 22:40

Furcoatandnoknickerz · 30/10/2022 20:56

Please remember, if you take on a work from home job for a company, you will be tracked and monitored every second of your working day. Even to to point where you click a button go to the loo…..comfort break!
WFH has evolved since lockdown 1, not in a good way!
I work in an office where there’s still some home workers, the supervisor just sits monitoring their log in status all day. If she thinks they’ve been quiet for too long they get a snotty message.
They don’t stay long!

im sure this does happen but definitely not in my experience of working from home for a few employers. They trust that we are getting on with our work, and the managers are too busy to check up on you anyway!

Furcoatandnoknickerz · 30/10/2022 22:41

@C8H10N4O2 I get what you’re saying, it’s Admin/ patient facing, not clinical.
The actual software for the booking of patients is very good and unable to be tracked.
However, the actual log in to the pc activates teams, which shows who is logged on to what PC and when, obviously you’ll be aware of how that works, shows green when you’re logged on and busy, Amber if you haven’t shown any movement for a few minutes etc.
If you’re working on the Admin, that can simply be tracked by the amount of emails you get through.
Yes, the supervisor is incompetent, completely out of her depth.

Furcoatandnoknickerz · 30/10/2022 22:43

@ReadyForPumpkins thanks for the input on my low skilled job.

Magn · 30/10/2022 23:30

Engineering. We can be tracked to an extent but it's only really used when someone has already been performance managed and shown to be trouble. Default is trust until proven otherwise.

AllLopsided · 30/10/2022 23:40

I was a freelance editor in a particular subject. Started in an office as editorial assistant (with a degree in my subject), then was a copy editor in a job before going freelance. Got some work through existing contacts and other work I applied for. No one checked up on me, though there was resistance against people working from home in the early years. Did a lot of projects with just me and a designer - no need to be in the same place. I worked from home on and off from 2001-2015. Pretty much retired early due to ill health. Mostly I really enjoyed my work.

No499 · 30/10/2022 23:52

Furcoatandnoknickerz · 30/10/2022 20:56

Please remember, if you take on a work from home job for a company, you will be tracked and monitored every second of your working day. Even to to point where you click a button go to the loo…..comfort break!
WFH has evolved since lockdown 1, not in a good way!
I work in an office where there’s still some home workers, the supervisor just sits monitoring their log in status all day. If she thinks they’ve been quiet for too long they get a snotty message.
They don’t stay long!

Totally incorrect, definitely not every WFH job. I work in finance and as long as I get my hours done they don't care how I do it. I fit my working hours around my schedule. All of my team WFH and have for years, including my direct line manager

rockingbird · 31/10/2022 05:41

Having worked from home for over 10!years I can honestly say I've never been tracked. Smart working has always been a thing in our company, some choose to go into the office once a week and live locally. I'm miles away, have kids to juggle and work around my family commitments. It works well, I often do over my allocated hours and I'm a valued member of the team. These jobs are rare and if your fortunate to have one you've earned your stripes getting there - I did 20+ years in the office and a nasty London commute.

Pung · 31/10/2022 05:51

I work in a large, complex bureaucracy, doing vague stuff.

You can get mouse jigglers for £10 off Amazon.

AriettyHomily · 31/10/2022 07:42

Furcoatandnoknickerz · 30/10/2022 20:56

Please remember, if you take on a work from home job for a company, you will be tracked and monitored every second of your working day. Even to to point where you click a button go to the loo…..comfort break!
WFH has evolved since lockdown 1, not in a good way!
I work in an office where there’s still some home workers, the supervisor just sits monitoring their log in status all day. If she thinks they’ve been quiet for too long they get a snotty message.
They don’t stay long!

I certainly dont!

SudocremOnEverything · 31/10/2022 07:49

I don’t think anyone has the time to be monitoring people’s toilet breaks when WFH at my work. I mean… it’s not going to improve productivity or morale and it would be onorous for the company to monitor it all too.

“I noticed you took a longer than usual toilet break today. Care to explain your bowels to me?”

That’s not to say that you don’t get lazy colleagues who don’t pull their weight when you’re all remote. But you get them in an office too and it impacts upon your work in just the same way.

TheMoops · 31/10/2022 07:56

Please remember, if you take on a work from home job for a company, you will be tracked and monitored every second of your working day. Even to to point where you click a button go to the loo…..comfort break!

Definitely not the case for all jobs.
I'm an academic and wfh 3 days a week as I do quite a bit of online teaching.

I'm completely trusted to just do my job.

YellowAndGreenToBeSeen · 31/10/2022 08:19

Also not monitored.

WFH in a creative industry and manage a team of 10. I don’t care what time they start or finish work, when they take breaks, or how long those breaks last. They just need to hit the pre-arranged deadlines and they always do.

mushroomdecoup · 31/10/2022 08:30

My friend works for a financial advisory service for businesses, works fully from home with the very occasional trip to the local office and maybe once a year to London head office. But she is not low level, she is middle management level. She certainly isn't monitored to within an inch of her life. Before lockdown she had worked for them for 10 years, shown a great work ethic and worked her way up. It would be fairly apparent if she wasn't doing her job, she doesn't need to be micromanaged to see that.

Livpool · 31/10/2022 11:47

Furcoatandnoknickerz · 30/10/2022 20:56

Please remember, if you take on a work from home job for a company, you will be tracked and monitored every second of your working day. Even to to point where you click a button go to the loo…..comfort break!
WFH has evolved since lockdown 1, not in a good way!
I work in an office where there’s still some home workers, the supervisor just sits monitoring their log in status all day. If she thinks they’ve been quiet for too long they get a snotty message.
They don’t stay long!

This has never happened to me

DoloresMadrigal · 31/10/2022 12:07

YellowAndGreenToBeSeen · 31/10/2022 08:19

Also not monitored.

WFH in a creative industry and manage a team of 10. I don’t care what time they start or finish work, when they take breaks, or how long those breaks last. They just need to hit the pre-arranged deadlines and they always do.

Same as this. I'm a picture researcher for a large image archive, and can work from home full time or choose to go into the office when I like. I manage 4 people and couldn't care less which hours they're working as long as the work gets done!
My job is creative - choosing images for all kinds of projects.. books/media/advertising/tv, and I can do this from anywhere with an internet connection, so it's not just the insurance/customer service type jobs that suit WFH.

VladmirsPoutine · 31/10/2022 12:26

I can't believe it took a whole global pandemic for WFH to even be mooted as a reasonable working policy!

Pippa54 · 02/10/2024 11:53

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