Working From Home Thread

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#2467639 22-Apr-2020 10:17

This gadget has been an absolute lifesaver for me WFH.

Jabra Speak 510

Obviously not going to work for anyone who doesn't have a quiet, private to place to work from but where you do its fantastic. Not having to wear a headset all day but still having a good quality handsfree speaker phone that is both USB connected to my laptop and also bluetooth connected to my mobile just makes the video conferences that more bearable.

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#2467746 22-Apr-2020 12:24

kotuku4:

I could consider discussion of change of employment status. Suck it up and carry on, as I expect most of us will. Is there anything that I have missed?

I should contact insurer about using my vehicle for work, so that i'm covered?

You should be paid for using your own vehicle regardless, there are standard(ish) per km rates for this, it covers not just petrol but insurance & wear & tear
Using your own vehicle definitely has wear & tear , it will get dinged up in carparks during work usage and will be increased risk of prangs & theft/break in
I will be 100% your problem if your car gets damaged during work usage (from experience)

I had to get more expensive commercial insurance for my car because I sometimes use it for work (2,3 times a week)

The other thing to consider, dont make yourself a problem employee with demands for all this. Problem employees could be the first to get laid off

lchiu7

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#2467788 22-Apr-2020 13:34

Senecio:

ANglEAUT:

The employer of my wife has offered $20 per week towards electricity. Very nice of them & seems generous based on our monthly usage.

That's quite generous of her employer.

We got a few inquiries early on from our staff who are WFH looking for compensation for increased utility usage. In each case when asked to review their total outgoings of WFH vs coming in to the office they were quite a bit better off WFH. That quickly silenced all but the most stubborn.

Not that I worry about it but a daily bus ride to and from work is $7. So I am saving $35/week not to mention all those $4 coffees :-( So I can't believe I would be using $35 more electricity a week. Maybe all the baking my wife is doing after she watches some YT video might impact electricity usage.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

NumPy

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#2467814 22-Apr-2020 13:47

kotuku4:

So using home internet, power, cell phone, and next week vehicle. Storing and charging office and field equipment. Grateful to have some work, but there are some personal costs. As an employee I don't see any compensation or tax breaks. For short term it's not a problem, if a longer term it's a more significant sacrifice.

I could consider discussion of change of employment status. Suck it up and carry on, as I expect most of us will. Is there anything that I have missed?

I should contact insurer about using my vehicle for work, so that i'm covered?

Suck it up and be blessed that your job has not yet been affected :-)

We have been asked to take unpaid leave over the next couple of weeks despite us being adequately equipped to work from home. I count myself lucky to still have a job despite the unpaid leave and the fact that my company is no doubt in financial trouble. As somebody else mentioned you probably saving money overall anyway (no petrol/bus/takeaways). I think putting in a claim for an electricity bill while working from home would be really cheeky, and would probably do me no benefit when retrenchments come.

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#2467876 22-Apr-2020 14:09

Yeah we had a couple of enquiries from staff re the idea of compensation for using their own power and internet for work purposes.

A quick tally of what they save by not driving/busing/training into work and utilising work mobile plan for personal use is a good way of shutting that conversation down pretty quickly.

Personally I am saving around $200/month just in commuting costs.

I have unlimited fibre, so no amount of extra usage costs me anything.

Phone plans etc - work mobile - costs nothing to me, personal mobile - using NO data due to being in wifi coverage all the time.

More theoretical savings there.

No ironing of work shirts or drycleaning of suits etc...more savings.

No takeaway coffees or bought lunches. More savings.

Monetarily I am way better off.

Mentally? I really need to get back to the office.

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lchiu7

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#2467955 22-Apr-2020 15:45

Handsomedan:

Yeah we had a couple of enquiries from staff re the idea of compensation for using their own power and internet for work purposes.

A quick tally of what they save by not driving/busing/training into work and utilising work mobile plan for personal use is a good way of shutting that conversation down pretty quickly.

Personally I am saving around $200/month just in commuting costs.

I have unlimited fibre, so no amount of extra usage costs me anything.

Phone plans etc - work mobile - costs nothing to me, personal mobile - using NO data due to being in wifi coverage all the time.

More theoretical savings there.

No ironing of work shirts or drycleaning of suits etc...more savings.

No takeaway coffees or bought lunches. More savings.

Monetarily I am way better off.

Mentally? I really need to get back to the office.

I agree with most of that except I would be happy going to the office say one day a week. That's enough for the social side. Apart from that I am really productive remotely though a few too many VC's for my liking. Hopefully the novelty will wear off.

I still iron shirts since I hate wearing crumpled shirts and you still need to look tidy on a VC.

Staying in Wellington. Check out my AirBnB in the Wellington CBD. https://www.airbnb.co.nz/h/wellycbd PM me and mention GZ to get a 15% discount and no AirBnB charges.

kotuku4

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#2467983 22-Apr-2020 16:59

I hear ya. I'm more small town, and bike to work. So no commute cost, miss the ride.

Will continue to work from home under level 3 and drive to several small construction sites, plus some other work as required. May get paid $0.50 /km, half what is charged out.

Don't have work phone.

It has been suggested that we could take some leave, I don't have much.

I'm playing mum and trying to work, not very productive at all.

Broke my Coffee machine, maybe that's the problem.

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MikeAqua

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#2468463 23-Apr-2020 10:55

Well after 5 weeks of working from home I definitely, absolutely, detest it.

I'm used to travelling around the country, and getting out on the water with as part of my regular duties. I'm definitely missing all of that and the face to face interaction with colleagues and customers. I miss seeing the people at the bakery I buy my daily coffee from ...

I can't wait until I can get back to my daily commute and out in the boat. Sorry climate.

Mike

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#2468467 23-Apr-2020 10:59

kotuku4:

Broke my Coffee machine, maybe that's the problem.

I'm so thankful for my coffee machine.

Making "almost cafe quality" coffees has really helped, but there really is no substitute for a good coffee made by someone else.

Handsome Dan Has Spoken.
Handsome Dan needs to stop adding three dots to every sentence...

Handsome Dan does not currently have a side hustle as the mascot for Yale

*Gladly accepting donations...

shk292

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#2468500 23-Apr-2020 11:33

MikeAqua:
Well after 5 weeks of working from home I definitely, absolutely, detest it.

I'm used to travelling around the country, and getting out on the water with as part of my regular duties. I'm definitely missing all of that and the face to face interaction with colleagues and customers. I miss seeing the people at the bakery I buy my daily coffee from ...

I can't wait until I can get back to my daily commute and out in the boat. Sorry climate.

I think I want your job - what do you do?

networkn

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#2468525 23-Apr-2020 11:52

shk292:
MikeAqua:

Well after 5 weeks of working from home I definitely, absolutely, detest it.

I'm used to travelling around the country, and getting out on the water with as part of my regular duties. I'm definitely missing all of that and the face to face interaction with colleagues and customers. I miss seeing the people at the bakery I buy my daily coffee from ...

I can't wait until I can get back to my daily commute and out in the boat. Sorry climate.

I think I want your job - what do you do?