work during the pandemic - where are you at, mentally?

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and every time I've tried looking outside my company, they've offered me like....half or less of what i make now so lol

if you meh them, shut up (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 17 February 2021 17:50 (three years ago) link

Now lets be clear those are ranges during which i am more able to knuckle down/concentrate, not my daily schedule

This may be a personal thing but solo concentration on text/work for longer than like an hour isn't in my wheelhouse anymore (tho i can spend all day in group/discussion activities and only feel more energised at the end of the day)

scampsite (darraghmac), Wednesday, 17 February 2021 17:56 (three years ago) link

yeah it was less 'do no work' for me and 'read occasional news articles/ILX' during those break periods

if you meh them, shut up (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 17 February 2021 17:59 (three years ago) link

(famous people are absolutely NOT travelling rn)

this comes as a big surprise to me tbh

Guayaquil (eephus!), Wednesday, 17 February 2021 18:24 (three years ago) link

not for press etc

Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Wednesday, 17 February 2021 19:51 (three years ago) link

and certainly not for non-affiliated (non-network/studio-based) projects

Its big ball chunky time (Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved), Wednesday, 17 February 2021 19:52 (three years ago) link

lol they're already talking about resolving work travel at my place and re-opening the office soon. to be honest - the latter I think we'll probably be ok to do in a few months, as long as we have some kind of 'work at home' exemption for those people who don't feel comfortable.

but traveling? some of our work travel for training is to the Philippines, which is a 14 hour flight plus usually a layover at LAX of a few hours. though those business class international planes are very spread out and you could probably be ok with mask, lotta opportunity for exposure on a flight that long.

my boss's boss challenged this idea saying "it's too early to be talking about stuff like this now", but she actually asked people if they were interested in some stateside travel. I used the "i'm taking care of my dad" excuse which should get me out of a lot.

eventually though they might say "you agreed to travel as part of the role", well sure, my dad wasn't disabled at the time!

if you meh them, shut up (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 17 February 2021 20:16 (three years ago) link

*resuming

if you meh them, shut up (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 17 February 2021 20:17 (three years ago) link

if I get forced to fly anywhere in this current pandemic, the corporate credit card is being used on $50 steak nightly, that's the exchange

if you meh them, shut up (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 17 February 2021 20:19 (three years ago) link

Wow so as an addendum to my posts above I just learned I'm a finalist for a tenure-track academic job and the department wants me to come for an on-site visit. This is good news, but a little daunting despite assurances from those in charge of the visit, as the school is in South Dakota.

underminer of twenty years of excellent contribution to this borad (dan m), Wednesday, 17 February 2021 20:31 (three years ago) link

NB I live in Minnesota so I don't have to fly (I probably wouldn't fly no matter what)

underminer of twenty years of excellent contribution to this borad (dan m), Wednesday, 17 February 2021 20:31 (three years ago) link

I’m a hermit, I love this shit

brimstead, Wednesday, 17 February 2021 20:49 (three years ago) link

Been doing this for a while now but it's started to feel more like living at work than working from home. I work from my quite small bedroom, and being stuck in here all day and night is taking its toll. I find I don't really get properly stuck into work as early as I used to, forget to take breaks, then end up working late a lot. Not sure it's necessarily a change in activity. Probably just picking up slack from my colleagues who were let go last year

Party With A Jagger Ban (dog latin), Thursday, 18 February 2021 01:47 (three years ago) link

was on furlough March-July and again for a few weeks in November, and like oscar bravo says, I didn't miss that 20% of my salary because I wasn't spending any money outside of bills and groceries.

made redundant just over two weeks ago, can't find the motivation to start job-hunting because everything feels so static and bleak, it's hard to imagine an exciting new world full of potential and opportunity when it looks like this now.

boxedjoy, Thursday, 18 February 2021 08:49 (three years ago) link

Definitely more productive than ever, even though my actual circumstances haven’t changed much (I’ve been working from home since 2017). I wrote a book last year (pub date Jan 2022) and a proposal for a second, which is sitting with two publishers now. I haven’t gained any clients but I haven’t lost any either.

but also fuck you (unperson), Thursday, 18 February 2021 11:17 (three years ago) link

was up until midnight strategizing for some last minute program funding thing; had a 9am zoom meeting -- realized that actually I could get 7 hours of sleep and I think I got 6 3/4 hrs because I was anxious and woke up before the alarm

sarahell, Thursday, 18 February 2021 19:47 (three years ago) link

I've found if I'm setting an alarm, I need to try to begin sleeping at least an hour before the optimal time for sleep to begin. because if I need 7 hours of sleep and go to sleep 7.25 hours prior to the alarm, all I do is get anxious about getting enough sleep and it takes me hours to get to sleep.

sleep aids stopped working on me eons ago.

if you meh them, shut up (Neanderthal), Thursday, 18 February 2021 19:49 (three years ago) link

the pandemic has completely wrecked my sleep. I never had this many issues sleeping previously.

that means I can be real brain foggy some days when training and lose my train of thought mid-sentence.

"everybody turn to page..........false."

if you meh them, shut up (Neanderthal), Thursday, 18 February 2021 19:50 (three years ago) link

i've been working on-site throughout the pandemic. my normal work area is well ventilated, and i'm usually not around many other people, so i'm pretty unlikely to get covid at work. that said, i kind of despise a bunch of people i work with that i didn't previously, which probably isn't healthy. i'll never stop being impressed by how eager they are to find excuses to not have masks on in poorly-ventilated indoor areas. i also feel like there's a bad dynamic where people who are working remotely are less helpful and more likely to create useless chores for people working on-site than they would be if they actually had to show up in person.

circles, Friday, 19 February 2021 01:21 (three years ago) link

I need to try to begin sleeping at least an hour before the optimal time for sleep to begin.

oh for sure, hence the calculation of 7 hours based on "going to bed" at midnight and having to be up at 8:15am to be functional for a 9am meeting.

sarahell, Friday, 19 February 2021 02:03 (three years ago) link

oh lol I never do the "being up an ample amount of time before work" thing, my naive self expects to wake up at 8:55 and be solid at 9:00 am

if you meh them, shut up (Neanderthal), Friday, 19 February 2021 02:06 (three years ago) link

I need to have at least two cigarettes prior to being functional w/another human being in a professional context

sarahell, Friday, 19 February 2021 02:07 (three years ago) link

also coffee

sarahell, Friday, 19 February 2021 02:08 (three years ago) link

For a while, I was coming home at midnight on Tuesdays and having to get back to work at 7 the next morning for a 16.5 hour shift. I was able to switch the Wednesday morning shift to Friday starting this week, which means that I can get more sleep.

Christine Green Leafy Dragon Indigo, Friday, 19 February 2021 02:37 (three years ago) link

I go to my university office three times a week. I love it. It saved me. I reached a point in late August when, after a 2 p.m. Zoom class when I'd been home for hours, I closed my laptop and realized, "Fucking hell, it's going to be like this forever, isn't it?"

When the university allowed us to return in late September, I realized how much I'd missed morning exercise, showering, picking clothes, and driving to campus....even though I was by myself in my office suite and Zoom-ing in a space smaller than my apartment. I see colleagues, one or two at a time, every four or five weeks. I have the space to myself.

Now I've evolved toward actually teaching a remote course over Zoom while in the classroom -- another psychological balm. Yesterday and last Wednesday's classes were best since Feb-March 2020 before the lockdown. Man, have I missed the psychological comfort of classroom space even when no one but me is in it, acting like a ham.

So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 19 February 2021 02:57 (three years ago) link

and, yeah, been quite productive as a writer

So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 19 February 2021 03:00 (three years ago) link

I've been working from home since St. Patrick's Day. I'm okay as long as I have enough work to keep me busy. But during lull times, like right now...?

Infanta Terrible (j.lu), Friday, 19 February 2021 03:01 (three years ago) link

Feels like I’m in the second or third category yet according to my annual review this was my best year ever. Maybe in spite of the distraction I just have more time due to not commuting and no office bullshit. Still, I feel much less connected to my work than I did before. Sometimes it almost feels unreal, as though my job is just a chimera.

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Friday, 19 February 2021 03:36 (three years ago) link

Feels like I’m in the second or third category yet according to my annual review this was my best year ever. Maybe in spite of the distraction I just have more time due to not commuting and no office bullshit. Still, I feel much less connected to my work than I did before. Sometimes it almost feels unreal, as though my job is just a chimera.

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Friday, 19 February 2021 03:36 (three years ago) link

Feels like I’m in the second or third category yet according to my annual review this was my best year ever. Maybe in spite of the distraction I just have more time due to not commuting and no office bullshit. Still, I feel much less connected to my work than I did before. Sometimes it almost feels unreal, as though my job is just a chimera.

longtime caller, first time listener (man alive), Friday, 19 February 2021 03:36 (three years ago) link

working at home: sometimes doing well, sometimes doing my best, sometimes a mess
but i'm freelance so the lurking spectre is that I'm going to have no work come May. it's a bad time.

That's not really my scene (I'm 41) (forksclovetofu), Friday, 19 February 2021 03:41 (three years ago) link

earnestly cannot tell if anyone at my company is genuinely doing any work on a given day

stimmy stimmy yah (Simon H.), Friday, 19 February 2021 03:44 (three years ago) link

Rude to look too hard rly

scampsite (darraghmac), Friday, 19 February 2021 09:53 (three years ago) link

Started working in an office at the start of the year. Hadn't worked for about 16 months prior between bad mental health and unemployment. The building is very covid-secure and sparsely staffed. I've surprised myself by being mostly giddily high at having a job and a routine and money. Tinge of survivor's guilt maybe, plus I'm still only in the induction phase, but fuck it, on the whole I cannot remember the last time in my life I felt this good and this mentally strong.

The Scampo Fell to Earth (Noodle Vague), Friday, 19 February 2021 09:59 (three years ago) link

Fuck yeah, that's the stuff NV

A Scampo Darkly (Le Bateau Ivre), Friday, 19 February 2021 10:01 (three years ago) link

One for the KIP Covid thread.

I'm Going to Bring a Watermelon to Mark Grout Tonight (Tom D.), Friday, 19 February 2021 10:15 (three years ago) link

Great to hear nv

scampsite (darraghmac), Friday, 19 February 2021 11:04 (three years ago) link

awesome, NV.

So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 19 February 2021 11:16 (three years ago) link

Ive been in and out of the mostly-deserted office in the past three weeks due to work that couldnt be done at home.

Like alfred, ive really enjoyed it, whether that be the change of routine, the movement itself or the environment

Might look to keep it up, i had thought that the guff about a mixed of wfh/office routine was nonsense but im finding otherwise

scampsite (darraghmac), Friday, 19 February 2021 11:22 (three years ago) link

Thanks everybody

I'll probably be given the opportunity to work from home at some point but I live 20 minutes walk away and the walk and the routine of getting up and leaving the house is also really good for me so I'm happy coming in as long as I can

The Scampo Fell to Earth (Noodle Vague), Friday, 19 February 2021 11:32 (three years ago) link

Yes, one of the things I miss most about not working is the walk there and back, which is the only exercise I had last year.

I'm Going to Bring a Watermelon to Mark Grout Tonight (Tom D.), Friday, 19 February 2021 11:37 (three years ago) link

'Grats NV, that's excellent news!

pomenitul, Friday, 19 February 2021 14:55 (three years ago) link

I am very happy for you, NV! <3

brimstead, Friday, 19 February 2021 16:40 (three years ago) link

was phoning it in a bit for the first few months of WFH but back to normal productivity now

i miss getting lunch at the office more than i do working at the office

ciderpress, Friday, 19 February 2021 17:24 (three years ago) link

Heh yep the coffee break stroll with me mate is badly missed, i am still going in on a friday for an hour at lunch to perform a socially distant version

scampsite (darraghmac), Friday, 19 February 2021 19:40 (three years ago) link

This would have been a much more productive week had my internet not been down since Tuesday. This shit is fuuuuucked.

but also fuck you (unperson), Friday, 19 February 2021 19:54 (three years ago) link

i've been smoking more than i was before the first lockdown anyway but again the meeting people in the smoking shelter vibe is a great part of being at work

The Scampo Fell to Earth (Noodle Vague), Friday, 19 February 2021 19:55 (three years ago) link

i am definitely smoking fewer cigarettes, but that's a combination of not taking smoke breaks with colleagues and getting hit up for cigarettes by members of the general public

sarahell, Friday, 19 February 2021 19:57 (three years ago) link

there was a point before the pandemic when we were having financial problems, and me and my fave work colleague thought of the fundraising strategy of basically standing outside smoking all day and selling cigarettes at 100% markup to passersby as there is heavy foot traffic where we work.

sarahell, Friday, 19 February 2021 20:00 (three years ago) link

i think we had even come up with the idea of periodic trips across the Nevada border and buying a bunch of cartons at a time to take advantage of the way lower taxes on cigarettes there, so our profit margins could be even higher.

sarahell, Friday, 19 February 2021 20:01 (three years ago) link

11) trying to ignore the ledge

Rude.

I took drugs recently and why doesn't the UK? (ledge), Saturday, 1 May 2021 16:45 (two years ago) link

It's been hell year and a half working in the bowels of the information technology industry. Other than a few days here and there, I have been still on-site. It's always weird to see people who have not seen the office come in for the first time, they still have that "just out of the bubble" vision that I lost probably second week of April last year.

In general, my feelings on the past year is that the human race is mostly a bunch of a$$holes and I have wished many days for the sun to go supernova and blot this grease spot of a planet out of the heavens. I would rather spend a year detassaling corn in an endless July than re-live my last work year. At least when I had that gig the people I worked for seemed to have some regard that I was a human being and cared that I did not overheat and die in the fields.

earlnash, Saturday, 1 May 2021 17:00 (two years ago) link


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