Monday, September 20, 2021

WFH Part Two

In my last post, I commented on some of the intricacies of the WFH (Working From Home) environment, specifically the impasse that seems to have been reached between some employers who want their employees back on site, and employees who would rather continue to work remotely. 

In some cases, employers will eventually say (and some have already said), "This gig is up. Come on back." 

But those employers who do that, do so at the risk of losing folks. As I previously said, right now good employees have the upper hand. 

And I suppose some employers are fine with that. Nobody is non-replaceable, they say. And I would agree with that. 

But then again, employers need good workers and even if they are saying they're not doing the WFH thing, how long will they be willing to see good employees leave and have to rehire and retrain? 

My blog friend TB had an insightful comment on my WFH post, explaining how he is a project manager and feels as productive -- even more productive -- working from home as he does if he were in his office. 

I am much the same way. TB also said, as part of the WFH world, we have had to become better communicators, and I couldn't agree more. But with everyone being available online, it is not overly difficult. 

Many companies were planning to bring folks back, at least part of the time, after Labor Day. But with the delta variant and increased cases, in many cases those plans were postponed. Some of us are now 18 months into remote working. 

If we have learned anything from the pandemic, it's that we don't know what we don't know, and I would not begin to predict anything. 

But I'll say this. If vaccination rates increase and we see a pattern of cases decreasing, say, over a period of 90 days, I think we'll see companies gearing up their "come back to the workplace" themes around the first of the year. But I've been wrong before. 

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Of course bad apples spoil it for everyone, and there will always be folks who try to game the system. 

There are instances where WFH folks are holding down two jobs! I no longer have the link, but there was a WSJ (Wall Street Journal) piece a few weeks ago that reported on about a half-dozen folks who are managing two different positions. In return for confidentiality, they described to WSJ how they do it. 

They say they are able to manage their calendars and phones and strategically manipulate days off, with neither employer being the wiser. And they, of course, pleased to be receiving two salaries. Apparently there a more than a few folks out there doing it. 

Although incredibly deceitful and dishonest (you have to lie like cray to make it work), supposedly it's not illegal. 

But even if I could sink that low on a moral level, I couldn't handle the stress. 




8 comments:

The Weaver of Grass said...

How pleased I am to be retired and out of the jobs market. It is all too complicated for me these days.

Kelly said...

"If we have learned anything from the pandemic, it's that we don't know what we don't know" Truth!!!

I'm a little confused about the legality of having two jobs. Is that referring to full time jobs? (since plenty of people work an additional (or two!) part time job.

Bob said...

Yes! Two full-time jobs!

Ellen D. said...

My son's employer gave their employees the choice to decide for themselves and the majority are working from home. My son chose to work in the office because he enjoys getting out of the house and socializing with his co-workers in person. In his department, 3 people have chosen to work in person and they are all vaccinated. As long as all employees are still productive and getting the work done, the owner of the company is fine with this new setup.

Ed said...

I think just flat our stealing the money from somewhere would be less stressful than trying to hold down two full time jobs. No thanks!

I'm pretty sure I thought this spring that the worst had passed us with Covid. Even when the Delta variant started up, I thought it was just going to be a short spike. But I was wrong on both accounts. Now with over 25% of the cases being unvaccinated juveniles and hopefully juvenile vaccines approved here in a few weeks, perhaps the end is near. I hope!

Debby said...

Wow. That would have never occurred to me. Don't the employers keep track of the computer time?

Bob said...

Account to what I’ve read, Debby, they keep the computers going simultaneously! But if this is really happening, I can’t believe someone has not yet been caught.

Jeff said...

Two full time jobs at the same time sounds like a definition of hell! And then there is the demand of loyalty made my most employers, especially for employees in senior positions.

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