(no subject)

[greenstorm]

Ohmygosh, just talked with my supervisor and I'm going to get the accommodation of an available standing desk (which I'm not supposed to be allowed) and being able to work from the couch at work when I need to, which is what I requested (it really is sitting in a chair for 8 hours that kills me). He suggested there's now precedent for full-time working from home except for meetings/fieldwork if we need to rework that. This feels... ok? Like I'm being cared about.

Comments

[donnaidh_sidhe]

I'm so glad you're being granted something that can help you. It's infuriating that you wouldn't be allowed something that would improve your general health.

[yarrowkat]

this is awesome! i'm glad you are going to get some of the accomodations you need, and i hope they really make a meaningful difference! i love working fully remotely - it lets me focus better and manage my time better on every axis. (by which i don't mean sitting down and doing 8 hours of university work all at once, basically ever, but instead a balance of house stuff, animal care, farm stuff, university stuff, in bursts depending on what is needed and what my capacity is.)

[greenstorm]

The Employer and The Union are both exceedingly hostile towards flexible timing on work, so if I'm working from home I have to be signed in and responsive the entire time (and definitely not expected to work outside my set hours. As an example, my set hours are 8:04 - 4:30 with a lunch from 12:10 to 12:50 because I must work 7.78 hours per day). I don't really get supervised to single minutes, but an hour is a Big Deal. I work best in bursts as you describe, but I don't believe it's an option here. It really is just working from home.

And my one coworker and I do have great synergy, and I learn about what's going on by overhearing the person in the cubicle one over talking on the phone, so a day or two in the office is very useful for me. But do I ever wish I could go in when I'm able, and flex from home as you describe when I'm able. It would also make fieldwork so much easier, to do a long field day and then a short next day, but The Union Died To Protect Your Work Hours or whatever.

Such a dinosaur. I heard someone say of the Indian forestry part of the government, "we're have a really good system, it's just 30 years behind" and I feel that way about where I work.

I am super glad you've been able to find something that suits you in that way, it's encouraging every time I hear of someone else who has that kind of situation. I want it normalized everywhere!

[yarrowkat]

aaaaaaaargh omg that is so frustrating, i'm sorry. 8:04 seriously. what bullshit. i mean, there are definitely days where what i need to do, is sit at the screen and give my job my full focus. but there are a lot of days where that is simply not the case, and doing the minimum to look responsive (often from my phone) when somebody asks, is absolutely sufficient. i hope you can get a work-from-home situation that is more like mine at some point! i would also love to see flexible work hours, fewer overall work hours, better pay, and overall better working conditions normalized across the board!