The Off Topic Topic

[MadImmortalMan]

I just don't understand why our Baby Boomer bosses are still making us commute. Hell, all the infrastructure I support isn't even in Nevada anymore. 

[mongers]

I just don't understand why our Baby Boomer bosses are still making us commute. Hell, all the infrastructure I support isn't even in Nevada anymore. 

Yeah, it's a bit daft, plus in industries like the financial IT infrastructure , a lot of the people involve aren't going to be let anywhere near the hardware anyway. 
One of the senior guys I'm thinking of, doesn't even have what amounts to a desk, anywhere in the whole bank; he's like a nomad.

[Caliga]

I suspect if I wanted to work from home most of the time, my boss wouldn't care... heck, his office is in Chicago.  But a part of me thinks that it's important to 'be seen' around the office still.  Plus I get lots of free food and drinks here I wouldn't get at my house.

[Caliga]

I wonder if ditching the corporate executive schtick and taking a telecommuting job of some sort so I can travel and work from anywhere would be a good lifestyle upgrade at this point. Even if it meant less money, I might like it more.

I work with a systems consultant for one of our vendors who did exactly this.  He used to be CIO at some company in Austin and is now on the road or telecommuting 100% of the time.

[CountDeMoney]

I wonder if ditching the corporate executive schtick and taking a telecommuting job of some sort so I can travel and work from anywhere would be a good lifestyle upgrade at this point. Even if it meant less money, I might like it more.

It's a drag, man.  The novelty wears off after a while.  But if you could swing it once a week, or twice a pay period, it may recharge your batteries.
Personally, it drove me nuts working from home.  Couldn't stand it for more than a day.

[fhdz]

I wonder if ditching the corporate executive schtick and taking a telecommuting job of some sort so I can travel and work from anywhere would be a good lifestyle upgrade at this point. Even if it meant less money, I might like it more.

If you have any propensity at all toward procrastination - and I mean any - working from home can turn into an albatross pretty quickly.

[Malthus]

I just don't understand why our Baby Boomer bosses are still making us commute. Hell, all the infrastructure I support isn't even in Nevada anymore. 

I tried to suggest that during salary negotiations when management pointed out my overhead was a quarter of a million per year for an office smack-dab in the middle of downtown Toronto. Hell, let me work from a computer somewhere like I do anyway, I'll contribute to keeping the boardrooms and library and stuff, and pay me $100K more ... but no, that did not fly. 

Something silly was mentioned about the prestige of having a downtown office. As if my clients could care less ... I never see them and they never see me; we connect with emails and phone conferences 99% of the time. Anyway, one could keep the headquarters stuff downtown for prestige and just eliminate our personal offices which no-one from outside ever sees anyway, and are in any event generally stuffed with files and papers.

I agree working from home can be a drag, but I could get a cheapo office space away from the downtown core, pocket the difference, and be happy.

[fhdz]

Surely they could park you in a cushy conference room for the 1% of the time you and your clients meet face to face?

[Malthus]

Surely they could park you in a cushy conference room for the 1% of the time you and your clients meet face to face?

That was exactly my point! And I'd gladly pay my bit for conference rooms at the "prestige" location, plus the other services here.

I neither need nor want to commute downtown to my expensive office to work. But it was not negotiable.  Their point was that lawyers should be communial so that if someone wanted a quick consultation there would be no problem. Mine was that, as the firm takes up more than 4 floors of a huge offoce building, in practice lawyers usually actually "consult" with emails and calls anyway.

But as I said, not negotiable, so I shut up, and all that lovely money goes to paying property managers rather than me.   

[Caliga]

I just think old people are suspicious anyone 'working from home' isn't really working, and most of those guys would never dream of having a home office since it means their annoying housewives would bug the shit out of them nonstop.

[mongers]

I just think old people are suspicious anyone 'working from home' isn't really working, and most of those guys would never dream of having a home office since it means their annoying housewives would bug the shit out of them nonstop.

Little do they know that most of you guys aren't working whilst at the office, but posting here.   

[Caliga]

Ha.  No.  I post occasionally at work but I'm ALWAYS working on something else when I do it, or maybe on a pointless conference call where I'm being prevented from being productive anyway.

[Iormlund]

If you have any propensity at all toward procrastination - and I mean any - working from home can turn into an albatross pretty quickly.

Skype works like a charm for that. Wake up, prepare your breakfast and join the team's conference ... voilà!

It's what my brother used to do when he worked from home, 300 km from the office.

[mongers]

More fall out from 'Plebgate' ? :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-21522921

Police protection officer found dead in Camden

A Metropolitan Police protection officer has been found dead from a bullet wound at a property in north London.

The 43-year-old was discovered on Tuesday at King's Terrace in Camden.

He was subsequently identified as a PC who worked with the Met's Specialist Protection Command.

Police are not treating the death as suspicious at this stage and detectives will investigate whether a police firearm was involved.

The man's next of kin and the Independent Police Complaints Commission have been informed.

The Protection Command is made up of three units responsible for protection services for the Royal Family, ministers and public officials at threat from terrorism, including, visiting heads of government and other public figures.

[Josquius]

I could really imagine working from home being tough. It is hard to concentrate seated in the same place and at the same computer you normally do all your fun stuff on.
If however its a job where getting the work done rather than putting the hours in is the priority then it could be excellent.