Remote Work Support & FAQ

nolalady said:
I have to write things down on my paper calendar and track things manually. I just tend to remember it better when I write it out. I also try to map my week and give myself two to three tasks that I must finish for the week. I do use my outlook calendar to flag emails and I do some color coordination of emails too.
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I color code a lot of my meetings since I have a lot that get invited to. I also use secondary colors to flag something as, basically, "prepped" for whatever that meeting is. So when I prep a week or more prior I know that I've already done the work ahead of time on the day of.
 
Latest indications are my company might be working remotely until mid to late next year now.

Because of this, we are getting $400 to make improvements to our home office in our next paycheck. Yawn, taxes will come out so it's not really $400 but still good.

Since I already bought a new chair this past spring because I could physically not sit in mine 8 hours a day, I think I'm going to use this money to upgrade my desk.

I currently have an sub $100 desk from Staples that I have had since High School. It's got to be getting close to 20 years old now if not older. The fake wood finish is peeling off the partic board and the keyboard tray keeps collapsing. The desk is also too small for my needs.

I currently have a iMac and 27" display sitting side by side. No room for my printer since I got the second display. On top of that, working from home I also have my MacBook Pro, which I have to sit in front of my iMac because the second display is also connected to my MacBook Pro.

I'm looking for something where I can have more space, possible an L shaped desk. I have about five feet of space along the wall to fit the desk into, but plenty of room for an L that juts out. I could also potentially re organize my whole living room to make room elsewhere.

I noticed most desks these days don't have a keyboard tray. I guess that's fine, but then I'd kind of like the ones that have the section in the back to sit a display on to get it higher.

Does anyone have any good recommendations on desks?
 
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RenegadeMonster said:
Latest indications are my company might be working remotely until mid to late next year now.

Because of this, we are getting $400 to make improvements to our home office in our next paycheck. Yawn, taxes will come out so it's not really $400 but still good.

Since I already bought a new chair this past spring because I could physically not sit in mine 8 hours a day, I think I'm going to use this money to upgrade my desk.

I currently have an sub $100 desk from Staples that I have had since High School. It's got to be getting close to 20 years old now if not older. The fake wood finish is peeling off the partic board and the keyboard tray keeps collapsing. The desk is also too small for my needs.

I currently have a iMac and 27" display sitting side by side. No room for my printer since I got the second display. On top of that, working from home I also have my MacBook Pro, which I have to sit in front of my iMac because the second display is also connected to my MacBook Pro.

I'm looking for something where I can have more space, possible an L shaped desk. I have about five feet of space along the wall to fit the desk into, but plenty of room for an L that juts out. I could also potentially re organize my whole living room to make room elsewhere.

I noticed most desks these days don't have a keyboard tray. I guess that's fine, but then I'd kind of like the ones that have the section in the back to sit a display on to get it higher.

Does anyone have any good recommendations on desks?
Click to expand...
No real recommendation but my company sent me a "desk". It's really just a 4x2 ft table with no drawers or compartments. It works, but it's not that pretty. I would probably check out what IKEA has. They usually have decent stuff that isn't too expensive.
 
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RenegadeMonster said:
Latest indications are my company might be working remotely until mid to late next year now.

Because of this, we are getting $400 to make improvements to our home office in our next paycheck. Yawn, taxes will come out so it's not really $400 but still good.

Since I already bought a new chair this past spring because I could physically not sit in mine 8 hours a day, I think I'm going to use this money to upgrade my desk.

I currently have an sub $100 desk from Staples that I have had since High School. It's got to be getting close to 20 years old now if not older. The fake wood finish is peeling off the partic board and the keyboard tray keeps collapsing. The desk is also too small for my needs.

I currently have a iMac and 27" display sitting side by side. No room for my printer since I got the second display. On top of that, working from home I also have my MacBook Pro, which I have to sit in front of my iMac because the second display is also connected to my MacBook Pro.

I'm looking for something where I can have more space, possible an L shaped desk. I have about five feet of space along the wall to fit the desk into, but plenty of room for an L that juts out. I could also potentially re organize my whole living room to make room elsewhere.

I noticed most desks these days don't have a keyboard tray. I guess that's fine, but then I'd kind of like the ones that have the section in the back to sit a display on to get it higher.

Does anyone have any good recommendations on desks?
Click to expand...
First, I'm happy your company has taken all of this seriously and is indicating that remote work will be in place into 2021. For the safety of all the employees I think this is a sound move, though possibly a further adjustment for the line-level staff.

In terms of desks, I prefer standing the majority of my day. I am a pacer and utilize standing and moving to think, process ideas, and generally create increase my communication methods when leading meetings or something. So my recommendations will be desks with the option to raise and lower. I have tried our 3 or 4 different stand desks and finally landed on two different ones.

UPLIFT Desk | Office Furniture that Benefits You

UPLIFT Desk has "Wirecutters best standing desk". Over 200 desktops & 40 frame choices. The most stable, highest quality standing desk! 15 Year Warranty. Ships same Day!
www.upliftdesk.com www.upliftdesk.com
The first I utilize at the office whenever I am there (we implemented stand desks about 2 years ago specifically because I cannot handle sitting all day). This desk is functional, albeit a bit small for my liking as I too have multiple screens and devices running on top of it at any given time. However, it is well-made and functionally effective. Plus the cost can be lower than some of the other options.

www.fully.com

Jarvis Bamboo Standing Desk

A popular favorite among our craft- and earth-conscious customers. Customize your workspace with our beautiful, eco-friendly bamboo on our best reviewed, customer-adored Jarvis frame.
www.fully.com www.fully.com
This second desk is the one that I actually bought with my own money to place inside my home. It is extremely customizable and comes in multiple sizes to fit pretty much any spacing needs. They also have an L-shaped stand desk available. This desk fits all of my needs and comes with some very handy features like cable management trays, multiple power connections, memorized stand/sit positions, and fully articulating arms (optional). Plus, I feel like they just higher quality wood and components than other stand desk brands.

Also, since you're straddling both iMac and Macbook platforms I would suggest checking out some of TwelveSouth's offerings for mac specific desk solutions. I've used them extensively and recommend them highly.
 
Browsing around on Wayfair and Amazon most of the desks I like are either out of stock or don't ship for 8 to 20 weeks. I was like this seems a bit unusual.

This morning on the Today show they are talking about just his. Between work from home due to Covid and remote learning for many college students this fall the demand for desks are at record high. And availability of affordable desks are near non existent or don't ship for months.

Fun time to get in the thick of this.

But if I want a $3,000 to $12,000 solid hardwood executive desk there is immediate availability.
 
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RenegadeMonster said:
Browsing around on Wayfair and Amazon most of the desks I like are either out of stock or don't ship for 8 to 20 weeks. I was like this seems a bit unusual.

This morning on the Today show they are talking about just his. Between work from home due to Covid and remote learning for many college students this fall the demand for desks are at record high. And availability of affordable desks are near non existent or don't ship for months.

Fun time to get in the thick of this.

But if I want a $3,000 to $12,000 solid hardwood executive desk there is immediate availability.
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Lifetime 4' Light Commercial Fillet Table, Almond Lifetime 4' Light Commercial Fillet Table, Almond - Sam's Club

I used this for about 10 years until I splurged on custom office furniture for myself. It’s not pretty but it works.
 
Kris said:
Lifetime 4' Light Commercial Fillet Table, Almond Lifetime 4' Light Commercial Fillet Table, Almond - Sam's Club

I used this for about 10 years until I splurged on custom office furniture for myself. It’s not pretty but it works.
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For some reason that link is pulling up a 65" Vizio Smart TV for me.

1600347571244.png

But I think I might be being hijacked. I uBlock Origin is blocking the link saying it's tracked and when I proceed anyways I get the TV.

Now I need to figure out which Chrome extension I have installed has gone rouge.
 
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RenegadeMonster said:
For some reason that link is pulling up a 65" Vizio Smart TV for me.

View attachment 66531

But I think I might be being hijacked. I uBlock Origin is blocking the link saying it's tracked and when I proceed anyways I get the TV.

Now I need to figure out which Chrome extension I have installed has gone rouge.
Click to expand...
The link from the sams club app was a .ip extension which I’ve never seen before. I’ve also used the lifetime banquet table. It’s bigger and makes a nice deep workspace. I kinda miss that aspect of it.
 
My current set up:

  • $12 hermann miller office chair from goodwill
  • $10 tabletop from ikea that I put legs on
  • In order to not go insane from family noises interrupting, I picked up decent noise-cancelling headphones
  • and a schiit modi2/magni2 combo to go along with that
Word on the work grapevine is that we're WFH for the foreseeable future, at least into Feb/Mar and even when we return, it'll be heavily biased to WFH now that there's been concrete proof that WFH is feasible.

Re: earlier comments in this thread:

  • Earlier in the thread (like, way, way early in the thread, like March or something) someone was asking about chairs; I have nothing personally useful to recommend (other than "check goodwill and be lucky") but a friend of mine wrote this article on Ars Technica about Gaming/Office chairs. Those chairs look awesome, but $400 for a chair is more than I can justify right this second. I am waiting for some black friday deals on chairs.
  • 2nd monitors -- work has sent one home with me so NBD for me, but a friend recently picked up a decent 27" curved monitor from Walmart for $100. YMMV but it seemed decent to me.
 
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As the year has progressed, and WFH home has expanded in many industries, so too has my personal situation morphed and evolved. For those that don’t know, I was laid off in September and spent 2 months in an intensive job hunt to find a good match for me. I landed at a company in mid-late November (hooray).

My new job has me overseeing 3 teams with 40+ people. 98% of the team is fully remote and I must say it has been an adjustment to modify my leadership style to ensure I’m keeping staff engaged while remote. I haven’t led a team of this size for a few years. The one beneficial experience point I have to draw from is that the last time I led a team this large they were spread across 5 separate locations. So I only got to see each team about once per week. Somehow this translates fairly well to WFH.

I have been doing a ton of reading on effective ways to lead, manage, and motivate during this time. I’ve instituted some of the skills I’ve learned and many I’ve found to be effective for my industry. Emotional intelligence is paramount. Meeting your people where they are and letting them know you understand how hard this year has been on them helps to foster the sense of caring and compassion that is so important as this year draws to a close. I figured I would share a few tips I’ve used recently, not only with my own team but also with my executive leadership team.

Things I found helpful during this time:

1. Set baseline expectations for the entire dept and for each team in particular
2. Ensure they have the tools and resources they need to do their job
3. Trust your staff enough to give them the space they need to perform to their highest level (don’t micromanage)
4. If they aren’t the right staff, it will become evident fairly quickly
5. Increase transparent communication so issues and wins are identified early and often
6. Institute regular accountability checks for them and for you (don’t let their issues/concerns fall through the cracks)
7. Ensure that staff has access and buy-in to the larger departmental/organizational goals so they know what they’re working towards
8. Give credit and praise where it’s due early and often
9. Engage your mid-level leaders in meetings and projects that are beyond their job scope (allow them to learn and grow)
10. Invest in your people’s personal success and development

If you’ve had successes this year I would love to hear them. I’m always curious to hear different approaches and methods to use in the time if COVID.
 
Those are some really good and helpful points - and especially relevant for my situation, although with a much smaller team.

Not sure if I've shared my experiences from this year. Forgive me if I ramble.

I've been WFH full time for nearly 2 1/2 years, working with the same team for over 6 - basically since I graduated from college. My immediate group is 3-4 people (1 floats) and we've always worked quite well with each other. In June, one of our team leadership was let go and I took over a lot of roles and responsibilities that she held, including overseeing the day to day of my immediate group.

Now, this was an exciting and extremely challenging task, first because the person who was let go was a rock star and we, including our client, were shocked and angry at the sudden cut, second because we were going through a botched migration at the time and the client was extremely unsatisfied with the rollout, and third because I was up to then the least senior person in my group so it presented an awkward social/professional position with my colleagues. Within a week I was in leadership meetings with folks higher up than I'd ever spoken to in the corporate hierarchy - oftentimes feeling completely out of my league. In many ways I still feel this way.

On top of this, raises and promotions were frozen due to COVID financial impacts, so I was added to leadership while keeping my previous title that gave me little to no clout with anyone in the corporate structure who didn't know the internal situation of our team. Now, I'm not one for titles, but it's made internal escalations a nightmare.

6 months in now and things have gotten much better. Our platform has stabilized and the client is satisfied again. My group is a machine and I am proud to work with my colleagues. To @Tyr's point, I've definitely had a crash course in management and have learned a lot of the same things listed. I think points #3, 5, and 8 have been my focuses this year. #3 because I have the tendency to take on tasks myself that could be delegated because I can do them (and faster) - trusting that they can take ownership and being hands off when I can has been an adjustment. #5 because of all the platform issues we had at the beginning - I feel like I spent weeks writing Root Cause Analyses documents this summer. And finally #8 because my team really has brought our platform back from the brink and there have been many long, late nights to get where we are now. They all deserve a long vacation and I hope they know how appreciative I am of their work. Gratitude has become a staple of my daily meetings.

Agree that emotional intelligence is so important. As a first time manager/leader in any capacity and someone who can get very heads down on my particular tasks, it's been an adjustment to reach out individually and make sure that they're all doing ok too. My mental health struggled just as theirs has this year, and it's important to me that they know that I understand if they need a mental health day.
 
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wokeupnew said:
If I had the space in a spare room I’d definitely want to get a proper standing desk but I’m sat at my kitchen table right now. I have a friend who works at wayfair and was able to get me this chair for $50 cheaper than that price listed. I’d love one of those ergonomic chairs that go for $1000 but that’s only a dream 🙏

www.wayfair.com

Wayfair.com - Online Home Store for Furniture, Decor, Outdoors & More | Wayfair

Shop Wayfair for A Zillion Things Home across all styles and budgets. 5,000 brands of furniture, lighting, cookware, and more. Free Shipping on most items.
www.wayfair.com www.wayfair.com
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How is your office chair holding up?

The arm rests on mine are crumbling and breaking off in pieces.

I couldn't find the instruction manual that came with my chair so I emailed Wayfair and asked if they could provide me with this information so I can contact the manufacture.

Only a couple hours later I got a shipping notice for two replacement parts for my chair. Wow, that's not what I asked and is going above and beyond. A+ to Wayfair.
 
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RenegadeMonster said:
How is your office chair holding up?

The arm rests on mine are crumbling and breaking off in pieces.

I couldn't find the instruction manual that came with my chair so I emailed Wayfair and asked if they could provide me with this information so I can contact the manufacture.

Only a couple hours later I got a shipping notice for two replacement parts for my chair. Wow, that's not what I asked and is going above and beyond. A+ to Wayfair.
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Whoops. I saw this notification on my phone, meant to give you a detailed reply on my computer but then forgot.

It was definitely getting tiresome. My butt was sore at the end of the day, I was putting a pillow on the seat but it wasn't helping. It was still in decent shape so I sold it on craigslist for $80.

My company has a discount with this company, and I ended up getting this chair based on the recommendation of a coworker.

shop.sitonit.net

Novo - Midback with Arms

Novo for the win. Modern and made to be the best seat in your house. Bring the elevated design, features and comfort of Novo® from the corner office to your home office. Clean lines and subtly rounded corners give a contemporary aesthetic Midback and highback with adjustable lumbar support...
shop.sitonit.net shop.sitonit.net

I think that link should have the discount, I tried in in a private window and still showed. It's a little pricer but it has been much better. I don't even notice any pain or if I do, it's just because I've been sitting for like 2+ hours straight and should probably stand up. The main issue with the other chair was that I couldn't even focus and get things done it was too uncomfortable. It was good for about 8 months but then stopped being as comfy.
 
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