I work in an office and I'm presently looking for a new job. The agency was scheduled to be sold but the buyer couldn't get the financing so it's back on the selling block. My job search is for a work at home position, has been since I started looking and that was way before this virus. My husband was on the road 60% of the time and that is why I wanted to work from home. I have more to take care of and being home gave me more time to do things. I've given this a great deal of thought going forward though. I chose to stick this job out for a couple of reasons that as of now I am glad I did. I am not happy in the office, it's toxic to me and I know it. The neighbor on the other side of our shared wall is a crematorium and I hear that furnace running all the time. I've shared this in the past. I won't say anymore however given the nature of the original post I will say that if my boss expects me to return there will have to be some changes to keep me safe. I haven't completed my list and they are not expectations that cannot be addressed. The one caveat is the crematorium. We can't do anything about that but I do wonder if there are additional safeguards in place should he be caring for people that had the virus. That scares me and it scares me more because I don't know enough about it yet and I'm not comfortable with what I might be told. My husband is out of work for now, he was one of the first to see work end. He is in the travel business.

Yes, I've worked from home since Illinois went to shelter at home and there's been no glitches however the corporation requires agents offices to be staffed and operating 5 days a week under normal circumstances. My boss lives 5 minutes from the office but he doesn't want to be there if he doesn't have to. He is retiring and has been in that mode for quite some time now.

I do think that because of the work from home experience many employers may give it a chance. It may open a door for me going forward and that would be exciting.

Many years ago IBM hatched a plan for more employees to work remotely. It all made sense, but it never got traction. All I remember is that some employees felt that they were 'out of sight, out of mind' -- not observed to be working hard, so at risk of missing out on raises or promotions. It could be true. I remember employees in other places who came in early and stayed late because it made them *look* more dedicated. I doubt they accomplished more, but many things in life are subjective.

IBM historically was a peculiar company in many ways. Not least of which because it was such a leading force driving its technology for customers and the world into a new and unforeseen future yet culturally very conservative and old fashioned. You can be sure that that changed markedly long ago.

Careful, Two Acres Plus ... if you get a bit forgetful and should happen to walk in the wrong door going to work - that'd pretty well get your retirement all burned up!

o j

@two25acres - I know you say that when you're in the office you "hear that furnace running all the time." But have you ever smelled anything from the crematorium? Those furnaces run at an extremely high temperature - 1,600º F to 1,800º F - and most crematories require the bodies to be contained within a box/casket of some sort. I would think the risk of exposure to the virus would be negligible.

Not an office per-say but am balancing work from home/work from school. Efficient? IDK but there is a lot of STUFF one does that takes time that just doesn't need to be done right now. Paring your job down to the absolute essentials does not mean what you were doing was unnecessary--when less people are around, less business coming in to do, things get done faster. We were told to pare down curriculum to the tightest State standards. Require no more than half hour of work--per subject each day. Are students getting ALL the need to compete in the world? Are they going to be ready for next year and the building of knowledge, were the necessary prerequisites laid this year for learning next? We will see but no because it is pared down I would not say what is gone is not needed.

I'm retired, but have talked about this with my daughter. She is now working from home, but misses the direct contact with her co-workers, both for work coordination and for social interaction. As soon as it's safe, she wants to go back into the office. Important consideration for her is that she's only a ten minute drive to her office. Actually, she said she wants to go back into the office most days but be able to work from home once in a while ... when feeling sick, when having to wait for a workman or delivery, stuff like that.

She works for a small company and there is plenty of office space for all the workers. If the company grows, she could see the need for them to arrange desk- or space-sharing, and coordinating days at home.

That's just one person in a smallish city with a minimal commute. Thinking off all the long-distance commuters that crowd all the big city roads ... well, one hopes this inspires a change.

Lindsey_CA, no I've never smelled anything and yes, this furnace is supposed to burn at a very very high heat level. He specializes in obese people. When it was first installed and running my boss was on vacation, I ended up with a horrible upper respiratory infection, I was very sick. Was it related, I don't know as I just don't know about crematoriums. I do know he has had it serviced a few times. From the front door I see technicians and people picking up ashes. The bodies are brought in from the back and I don't see that.

Elmer, you nailed he IBM culture vs. technology leadership dichotomy. I never thought about it in those terms, but I had a front row seat to the play with my very conservative step father who fit in with the culture, actually loved that culture, but could not handle to real business.