Back At It?

"Tripper" (tripe46)
06/29/2020 at 09:32 • Filed to: None

I woke up to my “go to the office” alarm this morning. After my shower I used cologne and 80mph worth of product in my hair (it wasn’t enough). I put on real pants and a button down. I poured some coffee in a Yeti, peeled the cover off the M3 and drove to work! I have been in a few times to pickup hardware for new employees, but this is my first day “back in the office”.

It’s just myself, the head of HR, and a few others . All of the consultants basically fuck off for the summer so we really won’t have to deal with the masses until September and that’s only if PA continues to go in the good direction with new cases.

My company used to be an “you’re here for 10 hours a day or you’re not working hard enough” company. Now they’re like “do what ever makes you feel comfortable because we just realized that we have all of this technology that works anywhere.” As an added bonus, everyone has been showering your boy with kudos! Which is neat in a generally thankless role. I took us completely cloud and did away with VPN late last summer.

It’s honestly pretty weird. No one is here and the few people that are might as well be at home as I have already talked to someone via zoom who is a few offices away... Doors are shut, kitchen is closed, lot is empty... I doubt I will be back with any kind of regularity until the fall. No way I’m staying a full day.

DISCUSSION (32)

Sovande > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 09:46

My new boss asked me how many days a week I plan on spending in the office over the next few months. He seemed surprised that my answer was “0 .” Going to an office to perform the exact same work I can do at home is just plain stupid. Being in my car for an hour a day for no reason other than to justify the expense of an office is dumb. The company is actually in the middle of building out a new space that is going to have a large office for me with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the river. I hope to never have to spend any time there. I don’t want to have to incur costs to make someone else money and that’s exactly what commuting does.

The way this virus is going, I have no interest in interacting with people in a closed environment for 8 hours a day . I’ll likely find a new job if they make working from the office mandatory.

DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 09:54

I took us completely cloud and did away with VPN late last summer.

This deserves a huge round of applause. Even minus t he pandemic fiddling with VPNs can be such a pain.

user314 > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 09:55

We’re still WFH, and will be for the foreseeable future. We’re going to be given a four-week notice before we go back to the office, and even then it’ll be half of the group WFH, the other half in-office, switching off every two weeks. There’s been two confirmed cases in the office this month, so I figure that’s killed whatever plans there were to make the announcement any time soon. I’ve also heard from friends at a former job (same industry) that they’re not going back until September at the earliest.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 09:57

Glad you’re getting well-deserved attaboys!

We’ve been in the office for a few weeks now, but still keeping distance for the most part (meetings still via conference call). My wife is still working from home, and will be for at least another 3 weeks.

Tripper > Sovande
06/29/2020 at 09:58

I’m actually surprised how well my company has handled it. We own the building at our hub location, so I figured they would be super anti WFH. When this all first happened, they brought me into a short meeting to ask if our tech was up to snuff enough to just tell everyone to go home and work. I said yes, and they closed the office before the meeting was over!

They’re allowing people to come in to the office upon request now that were “green” in PA, but aren’t even going to even re-evaluate fully opening until October 1. I told my help desk analyst that he never has to come back if he doesn’t want to. The company make make a liar out of me at some point, but I doubt it. No reason for us to have to be on site.

I’m really only here today because my boss is taking a consulting role and we’ve just hired a head of finance.

JustAnotherG6 > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 10:00

I’m on my third week back at work. No WFH option for anyone that doesn’t have underlying health issues. And we had a positive COVID test of an office worker my first week back.

I am not pleased.

Tripper > DAWRX - The Herb Strikes Back
06/29/2020 at 10:01

Haha, we had a great year last year and my boss said, “W hat would you do if I told you you had to burn 20k this week?” I made some car jokes, then I called my favorite vendor and said, “Hey I can pay you a LOT of money to help me do two migrations and roll out cisco umbrella if you can help me right now!”

Tripper > user314
06/29/2020 at 10:05

We’re still WFH also. Re evaluating in October, but since PA is now “green” we have opened the office for people who want to come in and work with their door shut. No cubicle/open space peeps are allowed back. I’m just here because my boss is transitioning and we have just hired a head of finance. Really I just want to know if I’m reporting to the new guy or our CEO.

Tripper > JustAnotherG6
06/29/2020 at 10:09

Hmm yea that seems fucked. We haven’t had any cases, but no one I work with would admit to being sick before covid lol, no way they’d own up to it now. I’m honestly convinced it ran through our office in early Feb...EVERYONE was sick fever, cough and all.

I told my analyst that he never has to come back if he doesn’t feel comfortable. We are hella corporate there is no reason for people to be in the same room for what we do pretty much ever, haha.

CalzoneGolem > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 10:11

I’m thinking I’m going to be WFH permanently with maybe a day or two in the office a month. My company has been pretty awesome about this whole pandemic and spun up a lot of infrastructure for WFH. I imagine a lot of people from my office will not be returning to the office.

I went into the office a bit ago and had a similar experience.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 10:11

My employer wants everyone back in the office ASAP. It’s an engineering firm, so they put a lot of emphasis on the collaborative environment created by having everyone in the same space.

shop-teacher > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 10:13

I have a feeling a lot of offices will remain empty or near empty for a long time. Some permanently. At the peak of the stay at home, ridership on the local commuter train system was down 97%> I don't see it ever recovering to the pre-pandemic level.

Tripper > CalzoneGolem
06/29/2020 at 10:14

Yep, HR sent around a survey like “who wants to come back!?” almost 100% “nope”. The founders/old dudes/ladies obviously want it to go back to the way it was but are being realistic about why it can’t and def not now.

The fall will be interesting with schools and stuff because kids be spreading germs.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 10:16

The company owner has said he wants everyone in next monday, but its complete l y stupid. we’ve already been at @50% as people need to do stuff. 1/4 of the folks are doing 100% cad work, so there is zero reason to have them in. One of the senior managers has already been vocal there is no point in returning everyone so early as projects haven’t slipped. True test will be in the owner has 2 family members back in. early march well before any WFH orders were issued, these 2 family members were noticeable absent.

I think hes doing this as there is a seniro engineer who has been fucking off and doesn’t want to confront him.

Tripper > shop-teacher
06/29/2020 at 10:17

For sure. If we didn’t own our hub office building...no way we’d even offer people to come back. Our super expensive Manhattan lease ended in March and we were able to cancel our new one! We closed our LA office permanently. I bet our whole industrial block will be nothing but amazon warehouse space by 2030.

Tripper > TheRealBicycleBuck
06/29/2020 at 10:19

I’m not familiar with how engineers “work” so I don’t have a real opinion other than it seems real dumb to bring back workers unless absolutely necessary.

Gone > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 10:21

WFH until further notice still, which is fine be me! Company is taking it very slow, which I appreciate. A number of O&G companies have tried to go back to the office and have failed with outbreaks. Houston is a mess and getting worse...

Running miles since March: 408.6; d riving: 296.2 (early on, driving now is to g et curbside only), down from ~1500mi/month lol .

Tripper > Gone
06/29/2020 at 10:23

Haha I have kept up running but I have been driving the fun cars a fair amount just because the roads are so clear.

shop-teacher > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 10:24

All the fancy office space in downtowns all over , is definitely going to get a lot less valuable.

TheRealBicycleBuck > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 10:26

I can see both sides of the argument on this one. I’ve been able to insert myself into projects because I overheard conversations and had viable solutions to the problems they were trying to solve. At the same time, one of our employees was exposed to COVID in a field office last week and is now under a two-week quarantine. :/

Tripper > shop-teacher
06/29/2020 at 10:27

Unfortunately we went the other direction in Chicago and just last summer leased a gorgeous sprawling new office space above the commodities exchange downtown... Not sure what will happen there and that office is technically open, but were not asking anyone to go in.

Tripper > TheRealBicycleBuck
06/29/2020 at 10:31

I’m the head of IT for executive search consultants (head hunters). A lot of problems with candidates get solved the same way here @ the water cooler. We let the consultants stay on the zoom and chat after our Friday meetings so that different industry pros can help on and other.

404 - User No Longer Available > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 10:33

I heard from some friends that they have an ETA of September still, but mine is till further notice. We all have laptops anyways so it’s not like we lost much productivity.

Decided to go on vacation this week though... started last year and practically never had any time off except for Christmas during the “free” days in between Christmas Eve an New Years , but was still called nonetheless. Gotta go fix Kristin’s soft top right now.

jminer > TheRealBicycleBuck
06/29/2020 at 10:33

I’ll give you this - there is a magic of being face to face that’s hard to replace. Like you I’ve stumbled upon a hallway conversation that I really needed to be a part of to solve a problem or so on.

That being said - I don’t want to be in the office any time soon and my work says ‘several more months’ they stopped giving dates anymore.

Tripper > 404 - User No Longer Available
06/29/2020 at 10:36

Same were all on Azure deployed laptops. Employees can even reformat themselves if they have to.

I took a week to go to my parents cabin in early June. Going to take another in July to go to my in-laws cabin. I’ll save the last week for Christmas hoping that we can get to the outer banks.

Sovande > JustAnotherG6
06/29/2020 at 11:03

What would happen if you told them you aren’t comfortable with the arrangement? My underlying health issue would quickly become “no resista nce to current viral pandemic”and I would be at home.

CalzoneGolem > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 11:08

I’m guessing we’ll be schooling from home again which went over really poorly previously.

Tripper > CalzoneGolem
06/29/2020 at 11:24

Daycare’s are open in PA. I’m going to be real surprised if they don’t open schools in the fall, for better or for worse. Pumped not not have a school aged kiddo at the moment.

CalzoneGolem > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 11:27

My wife was talking with an ER Doc at work and the Doc was planning on sending their kids to daycare the moment it opened up again. Dafuq ?

shop-teacher > Tripper
06/29/2020 at 12:53

Expect it stay empty for a while. I’m in Chicagoland, so it’s that system that was down 97% in ridership.

Tripper > shop-teacher
06/29/2020 at 13:12

Haha damn. Only 7 people in that huge office anyway.

JustAnotherG6 > Sovande
06/30/2020 at 09:45

I’m sure if I had an underlying health issue they would allow WFH as they have with co-workers in other locations. I have a strong feeling that they aren’t concerned with my ‘comfort’ outside of their legal responsibilities.