Discussion»Statements»Rosie's Corner» Target date JULY 2021. Google employes will work from home until that date. Safety first is good. Will YOU be safe at work?
I retired nearly four years ago but I do sometimes wonder how my former colleagues are managing.
Some could work from, or at, home, with care. (The company made a careful distinction between "from" and "at".)
Most could not, or at least could do so only in limited ways and not regularly.
Some had their own offices; most shared offices, labs or workshops with anywhere from 1 to perhaps 20 others. In some cases, people had occasionally to work in close proximity to carry out particular tasks, or in very small rooms.
It must be difficult for them.....
' There was a thought-provoking item on the radio today about the effect of extensive home-working on areas like Canary Wharf, in the London metropolis. This has become an "agglomeration" of huge banks and other finance companies, and so many of their employees are presently working remotely that it firstly leaves the buildings nearly empty, and further, raises the question of needing a costly office building in a costly city where the salaries are higher too. (You could pay the remote worker less, compensated by not spending so much on commuting.)
However, the item also found a knock-on problem that has hardly been mentioned. Areas like Canary Wharf attract many service traders - cafes, bars, taxi-companies etc. - frequented by the well-paid money-traders. Now, these small businesses are struggling; they were hit hard by the lock-down anyway, but now when they can operate again, by a substantial drop in custom.
I'm glad you're retired Durdle. Puts you in less danger from our current threat. Jim and I are retired too. We're the lucky ones. I feel so very bad for the young working couples with children. Their problems are horrendous and scary and could be deadly. I'm not really sure I understand how most people could work "from" home or "at" home though. So much of "work" is interacting with others and when you are "in person" you can most easily "read" a person. Not so easy to do from home or at home. If your work is mostly solitary that's fine. But I wonder how many jobs are like that? A grimace or eye rolling or shoulder shrugging. How do you discern that via electronics? Or tone of voice? I guess they just had to figure it out but I wonder how well it's working? And your point about empty buildings is well taken. And we don't even know WHEN it will end. Boy talk about a puzzle! Do you have any "feel" about that? Months away or years? Got your crystal ball handy by any chance? Thank you for your thoughtful reply. Every day is a crapshoot everywhere in the world. I can't say it's enjoyable but at least we're still here! :)
This post was edited by RosieG at July 30, 2020 2:25 AM MDT
Durdle 