No one has yet mentioned the other up-side, I have saved a fortune in the last 8 months, no holidays or weekends away, no restaurant meals, far less fuel for the car.
Quote: Originally posted by badger54 on 07/11/2020
No one has yet mentioned the other up-side, I have saved a fortune in the last 8 months, no holidays or weekends away, no restaurant meals, far less fuel for the car.
I totally agree! We have also saved a fortune since March on holidays and eating out. However, we have spent quite a lot more than usual on DIY, stuff for the garden and home decorating!
On the balance of things though, we have still saved quite a bit. Now, where is that new door catalogue I was looking at!
Now retired, I used to work from home occasionally - for example, if I had a report to finish. I can honestly say that I didn't like it much. There are too many distractions, too many things to do that aren't work (hanging out the washing, planning dinner and so on). I much preferred the atmosphere of an office. After all, I went back to work after having children partly because I didn't want to be stuck in the house all day!
------------- Freedom is a light caravan and an open road.
Quote: Originally posted by Francais on 27/10/2020
So if all these office workers don’t need to work at an office anymore, why the heck were they employed to work in an office in the first place.
I think technology has made it easier or possible for a lot of companies to get rid of their offices. It will be more cost effective in the long run. I now have office set up in spare room with laptop and phone getting access to secure servers, meetings done online - wouldn't really have been possible years ago. My office used to hold 42 workers. Now we go in in bubbles of 14. Office 2 days per week, home working for 3. For me it is a good balance but can be a it lonely. I can see a massive saving for local councils who will eventually get rid of their big very expensive to run buildings. And I'm sick to death of hearing that working from home is a 'jolly. I'm as busy as I ever was, but without the camaraderie or instant availability of peer support from my co-workers in what is a challenging and stressful job.
When I worked for DEFRA as a temporary agent for about 3 months, most days all my work was completed by about 11am. I would then go around to collegues asking if I could assist in anyway and not once was I given any extra work! I wonder why? On more than one occasion I was told to take my time and slow down.
If your job can now be moved from an office to home, then that is the start of the slippery slope for your job to be outsourced to India etc.
My job can’t be done from home, although I am home based and have been since 1980, and there is a good chance that this COVID-19 nonsense could well be the end of my job, although at 60+ maybe that would not be such a bad thing to happen.
Quote: Originally posted by saxo1 on 07/11/2020
I have not only saved on expenditure but have made over a £1000 selling stuff on ebay that has been cluttering up my attic etc for years!
saxo1
I think my wife is up to about £1700 now, it is amazing what sells for good money on ebay.
From what I am reading on here I am beginning to understand why lock-down is hitting many much harder than me. I spent most of my working life alone. I have never been office-based. I spent a little time working in factories, and absolutely hated every minute of it. Being a coach driver, or as I later became a train driver, is probably the nearest you can get to being your own boss. There are no colleagues to turn to, and you could be hundreds of miles from base, so if you run into a problem you have to deal with it on your own. Very, very rarely is there anyone looking over your shoulder, or even close by. I am very used to my own company, and now that I am retired my wife and I spend most of our time at home together. Covid has therefore made very little difference to our normal way of life. Ok, so we have missed out on a few family get togethers in the summer, and it doesn't look like we will be all getting together at Christmas as we normally would, but we will still keep in touch on Zoom, I'm sure. Not the same, but better than nothing. I can't help but think how much worse it would have been had Covid struck in the 1980s or earlier.
I don't think we have saved a great deal, our money has just been spent differently. Much less has gone on diesel, but we have spent it on the house and garden, and other things we had been putting off buying to save for holidays. We have been getting Sainsburys deliveries instead of doing most of our grocery shopping in Aldi, so our food bill is way up on normal. Maybe next year will be different, who knows.
Quote: Originally posted by Francais on 08/11/2020
If your job can now be moved from an office to home, then that is the start of the slippery slope for your job to be outsourced to India etc.
My job can’t be done from home, although I am home based and have been since 1980, and there is a good chance that this COVID-19 nonsense could well be the end of my job, although at 60+ maybe that would not be such a bad thing to happen.
Many compnies are regretting outsourcing to the Far East as it has cost them customers. Now before entering a contract we check to see where the customer servcei is based. If not in the UK we look elsewhere even if it costs a bit more. At least then we do nto suffer the frustration of repeating yourself and you are understood do less stress!
Quote: Originally posted by Pixie_Hez on 07/11/2020
On the balance of things though, we have still saved quite a bit. Now, where is that new door catalogue I was looking at!
Ditto. And we are a step ahead in the 'door catalogue' stakes. We are getting ours fitted Wednesday onwards. Its been a struggle to find anyone to do the job though. Round here we have a mix of charlatans, time-wasters, and honest traders. The problem has been sifting through them to find a trader were happy with.
If you have a skilled job you'll be fine - there are shortages of skilled computer scientists, engineers, etc everywhere - I dont think the language and cultural barriers should be underestimated either. Closing offices doesnt mean transferring jobs abroad - there may have been the case a few years ago but organisations have been burned as they ended up losing money.
Quote: Originally posted by Pixie_Hez on 07/11/2020
On the balance of things though, we have still saved quite a bit. Now, where is that new door catalogue I was looking at!
Ditto. And we are a step ahead in the 'door catalogue' stakes. We are getting ours fitted Wednesday onwards. Its been a struggle to find anyone to do the job though. Round here we have a mix of charlatans, time-wasters, and honest traders. The problem has been sifting through them to find a trader were happy with.
There is a company near us who use some sort of digital measuring device to measure your doors and track the shape of the frame for any bits that are slightly out of shape or bulging etc. They then feed the data into a computerised cutting machine which cuts the door to exactly the right shape and size. They charge about £10 a door more than a standard fitter but they do all the work before they come to you so they claim to be able to fit up to 16 doors in a day. I think we might give them a try, however, as you say, it can be very hit and miss whether you find a good tradesperson or not. We had a really dodgy plasterer a few years ago who was a friend of my husband but who made a right dogs dinner of the plastering!
Best avoid so called friends doing stuff - we have over the years restored our house and every time we have used a "friend of a friend" - roofer, electrician, plumber - its been rubbish and cost more.
A day of all things motorhome and campervan. The show is held both in the main indoor arena and across the grounds. Catering, hot drinks and food options are available. Easy access to the site and free parking included. Win one of five pairs of day tickets
Topic: Upside of Covid
via mobile 08/11/2020 at 9:05am
