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I know someone at HP who suddenly had to go in to work. This put him in a situation where he had to pay thousands for day care and he threatened to leave until

I know someone at HP who suddenly had to go in to work. This put him in a situation where he had to pay thousands for day care and he threatened to leave until they finally let him work from home again.

doublescoop 10y ago
So, an employee was doubling as a full time care giver for his children while remote working? That sounds like exactly the kind of practice that gives remote work policies a bad name in the first place. If I found out one of my employees was taking care of his kids while working at home, you better believe it would result in a conversation and a possible revocation of his use of the remote work policy.
- scott_karana 10y ago
  You're ignoring their effectiveness. Maybe they work better without coworker interruptions and in a familiar space, which offsets any negatives of caregiving. And even still, who cares?! Do you actually have a good handle on how many of your employees just read HN or Reddit for half a day? Unaccounted for smoke breaks? Having to make personal calls while on the clock? Humans aren't automatons.
  - Nadya 10y ago
    >And even still, who cares?! Do you actually have a good handle on how many of your employees just read HN or Reddit for half a day? Unaccounted for smoke breaks? Having to make personal calls while on the clock? Don't need a handle on it if you block access to them. But my work found that blocking Reddit/Facebook actually made less work get done: people couldn't spend 5-10 minutes to unwind and then plug back in and work. That policy lasted a single week.
- Salgat 10y ago
  I'd love to hear the explanation for how checking up on a toddler every so often is akin to him grossly neglecting his job.
  - sangnoir 10y ago
    > I'd love to hear the explanation for how checking up on a toddler every so often is akin to him grossly neglecting his job. If we generalize that to "what is wrong with frequent distractions" - open plan offices would fall into that category. For an answer, I would direct you to read any one of the many well-articulated anti-Open-plan rants on HN. Toddler care has all the downsides of an open plan office without the (possible) upside of increased team-productivity.
  - fibbery 10y ago
    Do you have a toddler? I'm not a parent but my understanding is that you can't expect them to just play quietly by themselves for any more than short stretches.
    - marcosdumay 10y ago
      Depends on the toddler, and on the age.
- hellofunk 10y ago
  So, an employee was found at their desk chatting with the office mate all afternoon while working? That sounds like exactly the kind of practice that gives on-site work a bad name. If I found out one of my employees was using their office as a social lounge while working at my company, you better believe it would result in a conversation and possible revocation of their on-site privileges, forcing them to work in solitude at home instead so I could see real results.
- ajamesm 10y ago
  Would you care to share where you work, so I can mark it down as a nightmarish hellhole I should forever shun?

doublescoop 10y ago

So, an employee was doubling as a full time care giver for his children while remote working? That sounds like exactly the kind of practice that gives remote work policies a bad name in the first place. If I found out one of my employees was taking care of his kids while working at home, you better believe it would result in a conversation and a possible revocation of his use of the remote work policy.

scott_karana 10y ago
You're ignoring their effectiveness. Maybe they work better without coworker interruptions and in a familiar space, which offsets any negatives of caregiving. And even still, who cares?! Do you actually have a good handle on how many of your employees just read HN or Reddit for half a day? Unaccounted for smoke breaks? Having to make personal calls while on the clock? Humans aren't automatons.
- Nadya 10y ago
  >And even still, who cares?! Do you actually have a good handle on how many of your employees just read HN or Reddit for half a day? Unaccounted for smoke breaks? Having to make personal calls while on the clock? Don't need a handle on it if you block access to them. But my work found that blocking Reddit/Facebook actually made less work get done: people couldn't spend 5-10 minutes to unwind and then plug back in and work. That policy lasted a single week.
Salgat 10y ago
I'd love to hear the explanation for how checking up on a toddler every so often is akin to him grossly neglecting his job.
- sangnoir 10y ago
  > I'd love to hear the explanation for how checking up on a toddler every so often is akin to him grossly neglecting his job. If we generalize that to "what is wrong with frequent distractions" - open plan offices would fall into that category. For an answer, I would direct you to read any one of the many well-articulated anti-Open-plan rants on HN. Toddler care has all the downsides of an open plan office without the (possible) upside of increased team-productivity.
- fibbery 10y ago
  Do you have a toddler? I'm not a parent but my understanding is that you can't expect them to just play quietly by themselves for any more than short stretches.
  - marcosdumay 10y ago
    Depends on the toddler, and on the age.
hellofunk 10y ago
So, an employee was found at their desk chatting with the office mate all afternoon while working? That sounds like exactly the kind of practice that gives on-site work a bad name. If I found out one of my employees was using their office as a social lounge while working at my company, you better believe it would result in a conversation and possible revocation of their on-site privileges, forcing them to work in solitude at home instead so I could see real results.
ajamesm 10y ago
Would you care to share where you work, so I can mark it down as a nightmarish hellhole I should forever shun?