Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[Granny Danger]

1 minute ago, Dons_1988 said:

I agree.

I was referencing the PTTGOYN thread that had a pages long, very binary debate regarding the use of cash or card a wee while ago.

It was very boring but also intriguing how riled some people got about it.

Compared to some of these ‘Lockdown Threads’ I bet it was intriguing.

[Genuine Hibs Fan]

I've been right fed up working from home, but then it's a shitey call centre job and sitting answering emails and waiting for 2/3 calls a day is no fun regardless of where you are. 

The last couple of days had a taste of what it's like in other lines of work as part of the application progress for another job (fingers crossed) and I now see why so many folks here are loving it.

Just realised this is a dreadful humblebrag

Edited May 27, 2020 by Genuine Hibs Fan

[Gordon EF]

23 minutes ago, Inanimate Carbon Rod said:

Its a big spike in the rate of infection.

In a certain sense. £2 is a 100% increase! on £1. It doesn't mean you're rich though.

The Ally McCoist School of Data Analysis.

[Dee Man]

59 minutes ago, Bonksy+HisChristianParade said:

Paying with cash is shite and for boomers. Get it to f**k.

 

52 minutes ago, Bonksy+HisChristianParade said:

Zero credit cards maxed out actually.

I do use a credit card for day to day spending though, as it accumulates points. I then pay it off at the end of the month. Sometimes I’ll use a debit card for certain things. Carrying cash is a hassle, as well as being extremely unhygienic tbh. 

@Gaz FFC

[WhiteRoseKillie]

On the work from home/go to the office thing - all the anecdotal evidence I'm hearing is that yer actual workers are not only happier working from home, but at least equally, if not more productive than they were working in their traditional workplace. Surely this is an opportunity for businesses to modernise their practises? Everyone's a winner here (well, almost, but I'll get to that)

Employer: staff more productive, likely reduction in sick absence, no need to pay high rent/rates utilities on large premises.

Employee : Better MH, more free time without daily cmmute, no travel costs, healthier eating with no snatched takeaway/sandwich lunches.

Everybody else: Quieter roads/PT, breathable air due to this, reduction in costs passed on to consumers (yeah, I know, but we can hope)

Ah, I did say almost, didn't I? Well, here we go from the anecdotal to the personal experience - although Im sure my experience is far from unique. A lot of our more senior staff (supervisors/Junior management) are WFH at the moment, and my inbox is bloody infected with emails, some from people I have no dealings with in my Function, which basically boil down to, "Hi, please don't forget me while I'm not tipping up at four meetings a day! I hope you're managing OK without me! You do remember me, don't you?". While these are pretty amusing, reeking of desperation as they are, I reckon they back up a theory I've had for a while, which is that every organisation/business over a certain size has at least one level of management which it would operate quite well without and the bigger the business/organisation, the higher paid and more numerous these levels are. Sensible businesses rebuilding after this shitstorm will be looking at the middle of their structure, not utomatically cutting from the bottom.

Meanwhile, I'm copying the occasional needy admin grade into emails, referring to documents they haven't been sent and meetings they've missed*. It's cruel, but then revenge can often be a dish served a couple of years down the line. Keeps me amused, anyway.

*Said Documents and meetings having the same existential status as Oaky's business and degrees, obvs.

[WhiteRoseKillie]

22 minutes ago, Granny Danger said:

Neither my gardener or window cleaner takes cash.  I could pay with card at the car wash but doubt any tip would be passed on.  The Big Issue seller (who I trust is OK at this time) doesn’t have a cash machine.

Cashless is a great idea but not always practical.

Another group who are being overlooked at this time. You can still subscribe and support though.

[welshbairn]

14 minutes ago, Dons_1988 said:

I agree.

I was referencing the PTTGOYN thread that had a pages long, very binary debate regarding the use of cash or card a wee while ago.

It was very boring but also intriguing how riled some people got about it.

I find it weird that some seem to take the continued existence of cash transactions and print newspapers as a moral and personal affront. 

[WhiteRoseKillie]

24 minutes ago, Snafu said:

I've seen the state of Ally McCoist when he played for Kilmarnock.

Bastárd! I'd tried to wipe that from the memory banks!

[Wee Willie]

14 minutes ago, Gordon EF said:

In a certain sense. £2 is a 100% increase! on £1. It doesn't mean you're rich though.

The Ally McCoist School of Data Analysis.

Christ that brings back memories

[Gordon EF]

10 minutes ago, WhiteRoseKillie said:

On the work from home/go to the office thing - all the anecdotal evidence I'm hearing is that yer actual workers are not only happier working from home, but at least equally, if not more productive than they were working in their traditional workplace. Surely this is an opportunity for businesses to modernise their practises? Everyone's a winner here (well, almost, but I'll get to that)

Employer: staff more productive, likely reduction in sick absence, no need to pay high rent/rates utilities on large premises.

Employee : Better MH, more free time without daily cmmute, no travel costs, healthier eating with no snatched takeaway/sandwich lunches.

Everybody else: Quieter roads/PT, breathable air due to this, reduction in costs passed on to consumers (yeah, I know, but we can hope)

The move to have more people WFH where possible has been a no-brainer for a long time. The benefits are obvious. Without coronavirus it would probably have taken a long time to come though mostly because a large proportion of the people ultimately responsible for these kinds of decisions are utterly lacking in vision and 'doing things the way they've always been done' is an attitude that's been beaten into the 'management class' and it's been actively selected for.

It would probably have been employee power that shifted most companies. Once a critical threshold of employers offering it was passed, those that don't would find it too difficult to compete for decent employees and so they'd have been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

It'll certainly be interesting to see if the lockdown shifts many employers position on it once it's been proven not to be the end of the world and a large number of employees have gotten used to it.

Edited May 27, 2020 by Gordon EF

[Granny Danger]

4 minutes ago, WhiteRoseKillie said:

Another group who are being overlooked at this time. You can still subscribe and support though.

Aye I’ve done that.  Not sure if the vendors will get the same as before i.e. nothing over the cover charge.

One of the few things I’m proud of from my days in politics was helping get the Big Issue up and running in Scotland.

[Todd_is_God]

8 minutes ago, WhiteRoseKillie said:

On the work from home/go to the office thing - all the anecdotal evidence I'm hearing is that yer actual workers are not only happier working from home, but at least equally, if not more productive than they were working in their traditional workplace. Surely this is an opportunity for businesses to modernise their practises? Everyone's a winner here (well, almost, but I'll get to that)

Employer: staff more productive, likely reduction in sick absence, no need to pay high rent/rates utilities on large premises.

Employee : Better MH, more free time without daily cmmute, no travel costs, healthier eating with no snatched takeaway/sandwich lunches.

Everybody else: Quieter roads/PT, breathable air due to this, reduction in costs passed on to consumers (yeah, I know, but we can hope)

Providing everyone is able to set aside a spot at home to designate as a workspace it's hard to argue with any of that.

[Shandon Par]

30 minutes ago, Snafu said:

I've seen the state of Ally McCoist when he played for Kilmarnock.

He was well enough to waddle through our defence to to tuck away the decisive sixth goal in a 0-6 mauling.

[Gordon EF]

Wether it's said or not, the main sticking point to offering WFH is that employers don't trust employees to actually get the work done at home. It you've hired a team full of people who can't be trusted to do any work then you're an idiot who's completely failed at your own job.

[WhiteRoseKillie]

22 minutes ago, Genuine Hibs Fan said:

I've been right fed up working from home, but then it's a shitey call centre job and sitting answering emails and waiting for 2/3 calls a day is no fun regardless of where you are. 

The last couple of days had a taste of what it's like in other lines of work as part of the application progress for another job (fingers crossed) and I now see why so many folks here are loving it.

Just realised this is a dreadful humblebrag

It's certainly not a job I would fancy doing, but surely it's better when you haven't got a knobhead/bitch* who's on about 50p/hr more than you are hanging over your shoulder all day, timing your bog breaks, deciding when you can have lunch, and generally getting on your tits? Personal choice of music/volume level must be a plus, as well. Admittedly, I was climbing the walls when I was wfh for a couple of weeks earlier in lockdown, but that was because most of my work is site-based. Now I've got the reasonably acceptable situation of being at work while my immediate manager (who shares the office) is shielding. I'm getting on with my work fine, and she's getting the reports she wants. Win-win, imho.

*Delete as applicable.

[Turkmenbashi]

35 minutes ago, WhiteRoseKillie said:

Yes. Yes you are. Now you have learned, this mistake you will not again make.

In fairness almost 8 weeks without speaking to anyone in real life outside the supermarket/frituur. It did start to get difficult. Now that I have got my social life back to an extent, I don't feel the need to be in work.

[HeartsOfficialMoaner]

If office workers continue to work from home the offices can be turned into flats. 

[Distant Doonhamer]

Had a weird experience yesterday - paid for something using cash. Handed the bloke a ten pound note, he handed me change, along with a square sausage & tattie scone doubler, a coffee, and a five min chat at his excellent roadside cafe in sunny Cumbernauld. Unbelievable how enjoyable doing something so normal was.

Careful you’ll have folk on here suggesting you need to self isolate [emoji6]

[WhiteRoseKillie]

11 minutes ago, Granny Danger said:

Aye I’ve done that.  Not sure if the vendors will get the same as before i.e. nothing over the cover charge.

One of the few things I’m proud of from my days in politics was helping get the Big Issue up and running in Scotland.

..and for that, every poster on this forum should give you a pass on your, er, less-amenable days. Well done, Sir.

[Wee Bully]

6 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

Providing everyone is able to set aside a spot at home to designate as a workspace it's hard to argue with any of that.

This is a fairly key point.  We won't be going back to what he had before, as there is in theory no need to be in an office.

However, in our Return to Work planning, the first people we "want" back are those who are struggling either because of their home circumstances or the impact on their mental health (which is different for everyone).  

I'm lucky I have a home office and can use that without disruption.  However, for a lot of our (mostly) younger colleagues who may be in shared flats or the like, working while sitting on your bed all day isn't ideal, and they would most benefit from a return to the office.  We are envisaging no more than a 10% occupancy rate in phase 1 which will last at least 3 months.  Phase 2 will be a max of 50%

We've been very clear in our messaging however that no-one will be required to return to the office as there are no jobs that need to be office based.

We're already considering whether we need as much office space once the distancing requirements are loosened.