I have no experience working behind a desk so have little idea where things are genuinely at. With the net and the availability of resources it seems to me that office workplaces are to some extent becoming redundant.

Apart from providing clients with a site to access the service, what benefits does an office complex provide a business?

Is there a belief that corraling workers provides motivaton by supervision?

How much that is now done in offices could not be done from the employees home?

What would be inefficient about a system in which office use was minimised by having employees working from home?

I can’t see myself working from home any time soon. It’s a bit too hard for me to bring several linacs home with me on the bus.

Langy said:

I can’t see myself working from home any time soon. It’s a bit too hard for me to bring several linacs home with me on the bus.

stuff involving particle acceleration is considered office work????

The major issue is trust – employers are not confident that people will do their proper amount of work.

Another issue is OH&S. The employer would still be liable for accidents in the home.

Another issue is adequate Internet infrastructure to allow things like video conferencing.

Dropbear said:

The major issue is trust – employers are not confident that people will do their proper amount of work.

< I might have thought that having a workspace that was dedicated to only your own work would provide an environment with less distraction

Another issue is OH&S. The employer would still be liable for accidents in the home.

< How so? If an accident in the home is work related wouldn’t it be covered by work comp?

Another issue is adequate Internet infrastructure to allow things like video conferencing.

< Less and less of an issue….

Privacy and confidentiality is why I cannot work from home.

Spider Lily said:

Privacy and confidentiality is why I cannot work from home.

Obviously your employees need to provide you counter-espionage training

Langy said:

I can’t see myself working from home any time soon. It’s a bit too hard for me to bring several linacs home with me on the bus.

You’re not trying hard enough.

kii said:

Langy said:

I can’t see myself working from home any time soon. It’s a bit too hard for me to bring several linacs home with me on the bus.

You’re not trying hard enough.

Or getting the wrong bus….

I work from home most of the time, go into the office when needed for meetings etc, maybe on average half a day a week.
It works well, my productivity is much higher than if I had to spend and a couple of hours travelling and switched my computer on a 8am and off at 4pm every day.

Peak Warming Man said:

I work from home most of the time, go into the office when needed for meetings etc, maybe on average half a day a week.
It works well, my productivity is much higher than if I had to spend and a couple of hours travelling and switched my computer on a 8am and off at 4pm every day.

that is how i see add it up along with the lack of distraction

…with the lack of distraction

WHAT!!! he’s here every bloody waking hour for gawds sake!!!

ChrispenEvan said:

…with the lack of distraction

WHAT!!! he’s here every bloody waking hour for gawds sake!!!

I suspect that people who work from home would have very little time to visit a place like this.

I like my coworkers in my home office. Frank’s so chirpy and Jas… well, who doesn’t love Jas?

My office is quite non political correct. I’m quite often found calling my co-worker a bitch.

sibeen said:

My office is quite non political correct. I’m quite often found calling my co-worker a bitch.

Girls seem to take that as a compliment

sibeen said:

My office is quite non political correct. I’m quite often found calling my co-worker a bitch.

IIRC that bitch is often under your desk too…

Riff-in-Thyme said:

I have no experience working behind a desk so have little idea where things are genuinely at. With the net and the availability of resources it seems to me that office workplaces are to some extent becoming redundant.

To some extent, yes

Riff-in-Thyme said:

Apart from providing clients with a site to access the service, what benefits does an office complex provide a business?

I’d say that the main real benefit is that discussions still work much better “face to face” than they do by phone or e-mail.

Riff-in-Thyme said:

Is there a belief that corraling workers provides motivaton by supervision?

Probably. Also probably true for some people.

Riff-in-Thyme said:

How much that is now done in offices could not be done from the employees home?

Face to face meeting and informal interaction.
Use of specialist hardware and software

Riff-in-Thyme said:

What would be inefficient about a system in which office use was minimised by having employees working from home?

Lack of interaction.
Lack of motivation for some people
Distraction from important tasks
Increased difficulty of monitoring progress, and providing assistance where required

That said, I work from home, and I’d hate to have to go back to working in a large office full time.

That’s correct, DA :)

BTW, how the hell did Langy sneak into the building.

wanders off to have a quiet word with Boris

always appreciate your input Rev ;) good moaning to you

don’t worry sibeen i noticed him. i was going to have a word but he was in and out real quick.

Divine Angel said:

sibeen said:

My office is quite non political correct. I’m quite often found calling my co-worker a bitch.

IIRC that bitch is often under your desk too…

I employ the same resource management protocols in relation to the bitch under my desk as well.

ChrispenEvan said:

don’t worry sibeen i noticed him. i was going to have a word but he was in and out real quick.

That’s what SHE said.

Riff-in-Thyme said:

Dropbear said:

The major issue is trust – employers are not confident that people will do their proper amount of work.

< I might have thought that having a workspace that was dedicated to only your own work would provide an environment with less distraction

Another issue is OH&S. The employer would still be liable for accidents in the home.

< How so? If an accident in the home is work related wouldn’t it be covered by work comp?

Another issue is adequate Internet infrastructure to allow things like video conferencing.

< Less and less of an issue….

I see you’re arguing .. but oh well.. they’re real issues and the primary reasons why most places don’t support working from home ..

Shrug..

1. “ I might have thought that having a workspace that was dedicated to only your own work would provide an environment with less distraction”

A good many people say they don’t like the idea of working form home as they’re not disciplined enough not to get distracted with homey type stuff.

2. “How so? If an accident in the home is work related wouldn’t it be covered by work comp?”

The employer is legally obligated to provide a safe working environment. Therefore, any ‘work from home’ workspace must meet legislated OH&S requirements as a safe work place. This costs money to provide/audit

3. “ Less and less of an issue….”
Still very much an issue and likely to be for at least a decade.

Dropbear said:

A good many people say they don’t like the idea of working form home as they’re not disciplined enough not to get distracted with homey type stuff.

… and The Fridge

• Another issue is adequate Internet infrastructure

• Less and less of an issue…

I have had cause, in the past, to log into work from home and even the most minor of things took an excruciatingly long time such that it was quicker and easier for me to go in to work to complete the required task…

furious said:

• Another issue is adequate Internet infrastructure

• Less and less of an issue…

I have had cause, in the past, to log into work from home and even the most minor of things took an excruciatingly long time such that it was quicker and easier for me to go in to work to complete the required task…

shrug

I spend most of my time corresponding by email. I have no issues sending or receiving a 10 MB file.

I do a bit of working from home & my problem is the firm’s firewall/virus protection.
Unless I give control of my computer to their system it won’t let me access anything & It also rejects alias email addresses.

Silvery spandex underpants

wookiemeister said:

Silvery spandex underpants

and an evil genius laugh?

Riff-in-Thyme said:

wookiemeister said:

Silvery spandex underpants

and an evil genius laugh?

Anything is possible with figure hugging underwear mark my words

wookiemeister said:

Riff-in-Thyme said:

wookiemeister said:

Silvery spandex underpants

and an evil genius laugh?

Anything is possible with figure hugging underwear mark my words

and some things are inevitable….

I wonder how it would change the services if tradies workwear had to be figure hugging and include a cape and cowl?

Probably be a rise in on the spot cash jobs……..

Riff-in-Thyme said:

I wonder how it would change the services if tradies workwear had to be figure hugging and include a cape and cowl?

Probably be a rise in on the spot cash jobs……..

Why bother? They all give arse crack for free already.

>Another issue is OH&S. The employer would still be liable for accidents in the home

That’d be easy to sort, make it contract or something that has you assume liability or aspects of.

transition said:

>Another issue is OH&S. The employer would still be liable for accidents in the home

That’d be easy to sort, make it contract or something that has you assume liability or aspects of.

As a contractor, you need your own insurance.

>What would be inefficient about a system in which office use was minimised by having employees working from home?

The ‘we pay you we own you’ thing wouldn’t be quite as much the certainty, no.

The ‘we pay you we own you’ thing wouldn’t be quite as much the certainty, no.

what about the thousands of tradies on site while their boss is back in the office? isn’t that a similar set-up to working from home? if your boss thinks like the quote suggest then maybe you need a different job.

>what about the thousands of tradies on site while their boss is back in the office? isn’t that a similar set-up to working from home? if your boss thinks like the quote suggest then maybe you need a different job”

That was a bit of a leap, you can assume I meant what I meant in a limited sense with qualification. If you haven’t ever bumped into something resembling ‘the guy that pays you owns you’, well, you know bosses do have some influence, as does money, who deals the money, wh decides if you keep the job, and who owns property (or pays the rent) etc.

no boss have ever owned me. i usually make that quite clear at some point.

>no boss have ever owned me. i usually make that quite clear at some point.

Nice of you to concede there’s a bit of it around though.

i know there is. and it’s nice of you to concede that it is not all. so what’s your point?

what i’m getting at it that saying that is superfluous. just like roughie and his comment about different paints for different surfaces. it is stating the bleeding obvious. posting for the sake of posting.

>i know there is. and it’s nice of you to concede that it is not all. so what’s your point?

That I’m too old to have a point :)

Personally I’m advocate of more working from home, and schooling from home, the NBN etc will help with that, and down the track for reasons of energy savings it will become necessary IMO.

On the subject work, mine is all contract and I assume all liability, of specifically what I do. Which means I got go do that now.

Have a nice afternoon.

transition said:

>i know there is. and it’s nice of you to concede that it is not all. so what’s your point?

That I’m too old to have a point :)

Personally I’m advocate of more working from home, and schooling from home, the NBN etc will help with that, and down the track for reasons of energy savings it will become necessary IMO.

Of course you may then have to compete with people in countries with much lower pay rates who can also sit at a computer and churn stuff out.

ChrispenEvan said:

what i’m getting at it that saying that is superfluous. just like roughie and his comment about different paints for different surfaces. it is stating the bleeding obvious. posting for the sake of posting.

You monster

If working at home is going to be the next big thing , look out, it means jobs will be taken off shore

morrie said:

transition said:

>i know there is. and it’s nice of you to concede that it is not all. so what’s your point?

That I’m too old to have a point :)

Personally I’m advocate of more working from home, and schooling from home, the NBN etc will help with that, and down the track for reasons of energy savings it will become necessary IMO.

Of course you may then have to compete with people in countries with much lower pay rates who can also sit at a computer and churn stuff out.

The bastards! :)

In the future people will pay guest forumers like me to visit their forums

I’ll raise a frothy sarsaparilla to you whilst in my silvery underpants whilst I go on to conquer the universe

I wear the silvery pants sting wore in dune, I get a discount on sci go props

morrie said:

transition said:

>i know there is. and it’s nice of you to concede that it is not all. so what’s your point?

That I’m too old to have a point :)

Personally I’m advocate of more working from home, and schooling from home, the NBN etc will help with that, and down the track for reasons of energy savings it will become necessary IMO.

Of course you may then have to compete with people in countries with much lower pay rates who can also sit at a computer and churn stuff out.

We already have to do that