[motorpsycho]

My company had closed down all offices last year, even the sales offices, since most of the sales team visited the customer offices, rest of our staff all work from home.


The concept is yet to be adopted in India, many counter that people do not have the same productivity as when they work from office. There is some degree of professionalism expected of an employee, one does not need to be supervised to do ones work, as an employee I should have accountability and work ethic.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by motorpsycho

There is some degree of professionalism expected of an employee, one does not need to be supervised to do ones work, as an employee I should have accountability and work ethic.

You said it man! I've seen so many 'people will not work sincerely outside the office and need to be monitored' concerns raised on this thread, that I was beginning to wonder if I've just been very lucky with the organizations I've worked for so far! I've had totally wasted days in the office, and I've had incredibly productive days sitting at home. (And vice-versa too.) With so many tools and status reporting processes, anyone not doing their job consistently over a period of time, whether physically in the office or not, will become pretty obvious. And some form of corrective intervention can happen for those specific cases.

But IMHO, if you need to be constantly monitoring your employees all the time, then either something is wrong with the people you are hiring, or more probably, something is wrong with the work culture of the org, or most probably something is wrong with the person's (micro) management style.

[am1m]

One question has been on my mind for a while:

On this thread I have also seen a few responses where one reason given against wfh for IT companies is employees not having laptops. Again, it may be just a factor of the companies I have worked with, but does a company really save a lot of money by using desktops instead of laptops? I may be truly ignorant of this, but I thought these days it really didn't make much of a difference cost-wise.

The last time I used a desktop was 2009.

Of course there must be niche jobs like advanced 3-d modelling and visual art that require the power of a custom desktop machine and high-quality monitor, but apart from things like that, what are the reasons/advantages for IT companies not moving to laptops a long time ago, not just for this covid-wfh-situation?

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by am1m

One question has been on my mind for a while:

On this thread I have also seen a few responses where one reason given against wfh for IT companies is employees not having laptops. Again, it may be just a factor of the companies I have worked with, but does a company really save a lot of money by using desktops instead of laptops? I may be truly ignorant of this, but I thought these days it really didn't make much of a difference cost-wise.

The last time I used a desktop was 2009.

Of course there must be niche jobs like advanced 3-d modelling and visual art that require the power of a custom desktop machine and high-quality monitor, but apart from things like that, what are the reasons/advantages for IT companies not moving to laptops a long time ago, not just for this covid-wfh-situation?

There are companies invested heavily in the thin clients which provide a substantial TCO saving compared to a traditional desktop tower or even a laptop. Yes the upfront cost may not be too different but the benefit is realised over the years.

If there is no sensitive information involved, people can be allowed to access their "desktops" from their personal machines too. Really depends on the business case.

All this of course before covid hit. Businesses will now need to evaluate their priorities - real estate, remote work, laptops, desktops, vdi.. etc.

[srini1785]

Glad to note that i am not working from home.

Work from home means pay more taxes

Read At :

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/77582687.cms

Tax experts can comment.

[nagr22]

Originally Posted by srini1785

Glad to note that i am not working from home.

I am not a tax expert but I feel it's just another click bait article from times of India. The article is factually correct but it decides to focus only on one side of the picture.

Case 1: Conveyance Allowance
Yes you will have to pay tax on it if you dont use the allowance. If you use the allowance, you spend 100% and got 30% back - a net 30% savings
If you don't use the allowance, you pay 30% tax and keep 70%.
It's now upto you to decide which is better.

Case 2: HRA
The article talks about someone who already owns a house in hometown but was staying in a rented house close to work. In this case as well, why focus on the 30% loss of tax when you can be happy about 70% savings in rent?

Case 3: WFH Allowance
If at all a company is paying this allowance, should we be happy that we are getting a new component in salary which we weren't getting before or be sad that we have to pay 30% tax on it?

I agree that taxes in India do not favour the salaried class, I never take any such finance and tax related articles published by TOI and few other websites seriously. They always focus on making a news more sensational rather than informational and factual.

[Eddy]

Need some information people.

There is a family I know where both the earning members have lost jobs during the current pandemic. One of them got infected but recovered. Now the problem is that their son - a post graduate student is looking for remote working options where he can work from home for 2-3 hours daily and earn some money. This guy has pretty good English speaking and writing skills. He has a computer at home that he can use.

Are there any reliable places that he can apply for work from home? He tried some of those survey filling websites but could not succeed. Given the infection to his father, he is not ok to venture out so it has to be a remote working option only.

Suggestions please?

[am1m]

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pinte...120013702.html

"Photo-sharing platform Pinterest (PINS) has terminated its lease for approximately 490,000 square feet of office space to be constructed near its current headquarters campus in San Francisco, California.

The agreement involved a one-time payment of $89.5 million in the third quarter of 2020.

However, due to the termination, Pinterest will no longer be subject to future minimum lease payments of approximately $440 million.

“As we analyze how our workplace will change in a post-COVID world, we are specifically rethinking where future employees could be based,” said Todd Morgenfeld, CFO and Head of Business Operations of Pinterest.

“A more distributed workforce will give us the opportunity to hire people from a wider range of backgrounds and experiences.”"

[DigitalOne]

JPMorgan Tells Several Employees To Return To Offices Next Week

JPMorgan's findings provide a data point in the debate over whether employees perform as well at the kitchen table as they do in the workplace, showing extended remote work may not be all it's cracked up to be, at least for some job functions.

Work output was particularly affected on Mondays and Fridays, according to findings discussed by Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon....

"The bank has noticed the productivity decline among "employees in general, not just younger employees," JPMorgan spokesman Michael Fusco clarified in an emailed statement, adding that younger workers "could be disadvantaged by missed learning opportunities" by not being in offices.

Source

[am1m]

Originally Posted by DigitalOne

JPMorgan Tells Several Employees To Return To Offices Next Week

Bold move. But given that it's a bank, I guess justifiable somehow.

But from a company point of view, what happens if several employees contract covid while in the office and it can be shown that one of the employees in the office was the source of transmission? Won't the company be open to legal action then, especially in a litigation-happy country like the US?

Have any of the IT companies in India/Bangalore started asking employees to return yet? Any IT employees on this thread started going in to work at the office?

My office keeps announcing dates for reopening (like lockdown extensions ) First it was July, then September, now October 15th (perhaps they know something about the virus or a vaccine that no one else in the World does!). It's pretty obvious that it won't be anytime this year for sure (and may be even first half of the next), so not sure why several IT companies are not seeing/acknowledging the obvious.

[DigitalOne]

Originally Posted by am1m

....it can be shown that one of the employees in the office was the source of transmission? Won't the company be open to legal action then, especially in a litigation-happy country like the US?

This would be the same for all companies/offices - manufacturing, government, retail, services etc, and manufacturing companies have been open for long now. Elon Musk famously fought against lockdown and opened his production during a lockdown. I don't think he was sued.

Another thing is offices have been open through flu seasons in past years. And one could get flu from a colleague. So unless the law says companies are liable only for Covid and not for other contagious diseases, JP Morgan should be okay.

Have any of the IT companies in India/Bangalore started asking employees to return yet?

My company is WFH till 31st Dec.

[Samurai]

WFH is really showing the difference proactive vs non-proctive workers. Proactive ones have found ways to make WFH effective, while the rest are using it as an excuse. This applies to both managers and individual contributors. I have amplified my observations in another post here.

Today morning I came to my work table to find this:



Yes, I know how to grate coconut. Little later, the work was in progress, I finished all four later. This is work FOR home, not work FROM home.



This happens when you WFH, so don't confuse FOR with FROM. It is up to each person to manage the time, find methods to remain as competent and productive as you were at office. Adapt or Perish, it is really up to you.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Today morning I came to my work table to find this:

Off topic question - is there an online site where I can get that grater? Would make my situation a lot better

P. s Same "wfh" duties every few days. Travails of marrying a coastal (girl). Sigh.

[gthang]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Off topic question - is there an online site where I can get that grater? Would make my situation a lot better

This is an automotive enthusiast forum.
Turbo charge your coconut grating with a motorized grater:

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B08FC79M2Y/..._zlCzFb3JQ199H

Cheers

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

Off topic question - is there an online site where I can get that grater? Would make my situation a lot better

I got it on amazon. Of course, you have to know how to grate. I have noticed that even cooks in Bangalore don't know how to use it. I learned because of my coastal background.

Here is another: https://www.amazon.in/gp/product/B07QBL9D9Z

Originally Posted by gthang

This is an automotive enthusiast forum.
Turbo charge your coconut grating with a motorized grater:

I don't know how well these electric ones work. The manual one works by applying the right pressure. It is a skill.