Last week, my company announced that if your job could be done from home, then we should WFH. My wife's company is not allowing her group to work from home even though all of her job duties could be done remotely. She's in a manufacturing company, and the executive team doesn't think it's fair that the office folks should not have to come in like the rest of the manufacturing employees. I think it's just plain dumb. Why wouldn't you want to limit the number of folks in the building if you can? Is anyone's else in a situation like this?

This seems more like a general board discussion than one for this board.

Because your VPN server or internet connections can't handle the number of users?

Go ahead and start looking for a lawyer for when your wife gets coronavirus.

At our company of over 400, everybody has the technology to WFH and our systems can handle the traffic. But our president is requiring us to alternate weeks with half the staff in the building each week. We are not supposed to meet together in conference rooms or eat together in the company lounge. This is in Dallas where all restaurants are closed. So basically we are required to drive to the office and sit at our computers and do the same work we could do from home with a lower risk of transmission.

Why are we putting more people in danger of contracting the virus including first our families and then anyone else we or our family cross paths with? It does not seem wise to me.

Office if about 50 people here. Field crews go.out in the morning so there have to be people at the office. No field work, no work for the office. We have about 9 working from home right now. Most from my dept. I would rather be at work to be honest. Am I taking a risk? Yes but our VPN can't handle all the traffic and I am one of the ones who keeps the machine running. If the machine doesn't run then we are all.out of a job. This week.i have seen employees or their spouses "bug out" . Are we all stressed. Of course. Is productivity down. Of course. We are all human and have our fears but we also have to show some strength. Strength to show this stupid crap show what's up.

This isn't the case for me, but I could see some leadership argument in not asking your team members to do something you're not willing to do. Like in the case of manufacturing "ok, all you assembly line workers still have to show up each day as to not disrupt supply chains, but the management and office types, well we are all gonna work from home. K thanks bye."

The fairness argument just sounds stupid.....poor leadership.

Alternating coming in the office doesn't sound well thought out, but I get trying to create some since of normalcy and camaraderie.

For our small start up company of 30, we've been working remotely since last week, except the plant guys that are keeping normal hours for 24hr facility. We have restricted access to the facility and encouraged plant guys to social distance as much as possible when not at work.

For us office guys and especially my commercial team, it's become surreal. Communication has dropped significantly and sense of team is suffering. Of course, discussion with counter parties has dropped to near zero as most of those development type discussions and market chatter occurred over meals and drinks.

One thing I started yesterday was a video conf of all commercial and few of the engineers at the end of each work day, around 4, just to bs. Have to bring a beverage and it's open forum.....lots of personal talk, how are people coping etc and some brainstorming....work agenda is deemphasized. Not sure it will help but trying to create an office like forum where communication is open, information flows freely, and there is a sense of community and team. I've also encouraged my team to reach out to counter parties regularly not to talk deals but just stay in contact, ask about family, how they are coping and use FaceTime more often etc.

Trying to stay connected even on a personal basis will be tough. Would be interested in what others are doing with their teams

PS; thought I would mention, we are using Microsoft teams for meeting and we are requesting people use the video if they have the bandwidth, again just to feel connected. It's pretty amusing where people have set themselves up in their homes. One of my guys is in the laundry room, only place he can get away from the kids all staying at home. Another is on the balcony of his condo with a great backdrop of downtown Houston. It's made things more interesting

We have a manufacturing business and an outside service business. I could work from home, but I'm not going to ask my employees to come to work and potentially be exposed while I stay at home.

AustinAg2K said:

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Go ahead and start looking for a lawyer for when your wife gets coronavirus.

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This mindset is the exact reason everything is being shutdown.

AustinAg2K said:

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Go ahead and start looking for a lawyer for when your wife gets coronavirus.

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And this thinking right here is why a lot of things are being shut down that probably don't need to be.

This was a classic argument every time we had a situation like this (hurricane, freezing in TX, etc) that craft labor workers didn't get the day off, so the office workers shouldn't get the day off.

"I'm sorry that I chose a career path that allowed me to utilize today's technology for communicating remotely and they didn't"...was always my response to that.

This seems like a case of leadership still not taking this seriously to me.

I agree that perhaps some executives should still be in the office (in their offices, which would likely keep walls between them and everyone else), but it is to EVERYONE's benefit - even the line workers that have to be there - to have those that can WFH do so.

This isn't about "fair", this is about protecting folks - and making an environment more dangerous for everyone, for the sake of appeasing folks who don't seem to be actually taking it seriously, seems like a bad idea.

The Fall Guy said:

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I am one of the ones who keeps the machine running. If the machine doesn't run then we are all.out of a job.

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User name checks out!

Quote:

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One thing I started yesterday was a video conf of all commercial and few of the engineers at the end of each work day, around 4, just to bs. Have to bring a beverage and it's open forum.....lots of personal talk, how are people coping etc and some brainstorming....work agenda is deemphasized. Not sure it will help but trying to create an office like forum where communication is open, information flows freely, and there is a sense of community and team.

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What a beating. Don't be the bad boss who thinks he is a good boss. Mandatory, daily meetings at 4 just to "shoot the bull" seem like a total waste of time.

expresswrittenconsent said:

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Quote:

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One thing I started yesterday was a video conf of all commercial and few of the engineers at the end of each work day, around 4, just to bs. Have to bring a beverage and it's open forum.....lots of personal talk, how are people coping etc and some brainstorming....work agenda is deemphasized. Not sure it will help but trying to create an office like forum where communication is open, information flows freely, and there is a sense of community and team.

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What a beating. Don't be the bad boss who thinks he is a good boss. Mandatory, daily meetings at 4 just to "shoot the bull" seem like a total waste of time.

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Agreed! Your employees do not want this.

expresswrittenconsent said:

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Quote:

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One thing I started yesterday was a video conf of all commercial and few of the engineers at the end of each work day, around 4, just to bs. Have to bring a beverage and it's open forum.....lots of personal talk, how are people coping etc and some brainstorming....work agenda is deemphasized. Not sure it will help but trying to create an office like forum where communication is open, information flows freely, and there is a sense of community and team.

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What a beating. Don't be the bad boss who thinks he is a good boss. Mandatory, daily meetings at 4 just to "shoot the bull" seem like a total waste of time.

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Way to judge a guy after knowing nothing about him, his office or their situation.

I've worked at places where this would be a beating.

I've worked at places where this would be great.

It depends on the place, the people and the way he holds it...

At least the guys is trying and considering the actual people at the office.

Found another Michael Scott.

They should definitely be staggering lunch times so not everyone is in the cafeteria at one time.

Do ya one better......

Officer on my shift at the PD called in with a fever.

They told her since it was only 100.3 and not 100.4 or over, to come on in to work. So now she's on shift working with all of us.