5 ms·

This is a matter of time discipline. Start your workday at 9AM. Someone sending you a Slack message at 7AM - too bad - you are in the middle of your morning rou

• deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
• sascha_sl 6y ago
  >You are not using your personal user account and a work account during the day still, ARE YOU? In my defense, I'm on call a lot.
  • yladiz 6y ago
    On call doesn’t mean always available for anything, though. It should mean if something truly breaks you’re there to help fix it. If the former is the case, I’d definitely set some boundaries to reduce that over time.
    • jniedrauer 6y ago
      In an early stage startup with customers, you're on call 24/7/365.
      • ntauthority 6y ago
        And inevitably, when trying not to be, you are anyway. Fun times getting out a tablet to tweak firewall settings deflecting a DDoS attack while at a furniture store. At least at home, people won't look at you oddly when you take out a tablet out of nowhere because, yes, something is down, and people will want it to be solved right away.
  • papito 6y ago
    I mean, on call is on call. That's different. But do you have a sane rotation schedule?
• jrott 6y ago
  It's partially discipline but culture plays a role as well. If everyone at your company is sending slack messages at 7 and you aren't it becomes easy to be branded not a team player.
  • cheschire 6y ago
    The always-connected workplace is rarely efficient for production, just like open workspaces are rarely efficient. If you struggle with your branding, then manage your brand in a way that doesn't result in killing yourself with anxiety of missing out.
  • wolfgke 6y ago
    > it becomes easy to be branded not a team player. Which is not a bad thing in my opinion. :-) As they say in Germany: "Ist der Ruf erst ruiniert, lebt es sich ganz ungeniert." (When the reputation is only ruined, one lives pretty unbothered).
    • randycupertino 6y ago
      That is a pretty fantastic expression. I'm in IT, but I dabble in photoshop and was having fun making some silly photoshops for my coworkers. Word got out and suddenly I had a queue. They even asked me to do things that we were paying outside vendors to do (make logos). It got pretty aggravating until I finally put my foot down and closed the "Graphic Design Shop."
    • jrott 6y ago
      In many senses it's a good thing. The major fear is usually getting fired for it. However if you are in a position where that's not true or you can recover from it easily you should absolutely push back against that sort of nonsense.
    • therealdrag0 6y ago
      Hah. Reminds me of the Black Mirror episode where everyone is chasing upvotes, and one lady doesn’t GAF.
• tester756 6y ago
  >You are not using your personal user account and a work account during the day still, ARE YOU? I'm trying hard with this. I have 3 different PCs + Laptop at Home right now cuz of that Personal (Actually) PC School 1 PC, School 2 (Lap) Work PC all this shit sits in 2 different rooms
• Ysx 6y ago
  I think that's more applicable to remote work generally. Lockdown is a different and and new scenario, more akin to Groundhog Day. Work can be a relief.
• colinjoy 6y ago
  Of course it is "just" a matter of time discipline. Unsurprisingly it is harder to pull off when there are fewer significant external cues, such as physical separation of workplace and private space. At the office, I'm reminded about ttgtfo by the building turning dark and silent. At home, as Europe signs off, the Americas come online and the buzz keeps going until Asia takes over ... For people without kids or family and an existing tendency to work too many hours anyway, this is not helping. Also, communication feels a lot more time consuming now. More dedicated meetings to align, less time for craft: Either get less done or put in more hours. I'm glad we've already seen a controlled re-opening of the offices here. I don't mind remote being an option, but I appreciate not being forced to work fully remote.
• meritt 6y ago
  Sorry, this doesn't work for the many people who simply aren't equipped to WFH and are learning to work remotely. They lack the dedicated workspace at home, they have children/family/roommates who don't respect the "im at work" mentality, or they simply need a mid-afternoon nap, and as a result they have frequent and often lengthy periods of not working. Would be fair to the employer if those people still adhere to a strict 9-5 schedule despite the lowered productivity? I think most reasonable people simply adapt and that's why we have articles like this pointing out longer and different work hours. It's not unreasonable at all.
  • deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
• cvhashim 6y ago
  Agreed. If you’re workplace doesn’t let you set boundaries, it might be time to start looking for something else. I understand early stage startups can be a bit different with time demands though.
• II2II 6y ago
  I'm sorry, but answers like this have always struck me as unhelpful at best and usually feel like they are more of a person's expression of superiority than anything else. At the very least, it does not take into account the intended recipient's environment. My employer was very flexible but we still ran into times when there were conflicts between an employee's family and professional responsibilities. Many people were thrust into positions where they had maintained both their full time employment and had to fill the role of full time teacher/child care worker as well. Someone has to be available for the child at all hours. While a spouse can help divide up that responsibility, there is a high probability that one or both parents will have their workday interrupted. At the other extreme, you are also contending with people who had their lives upended and are having trouble dealing with things psychologically. If you're having trouble coping, chances are that discipline is not within your reach. Particularly in the latter case, it doesn't all come down to the self. In the early days of lock down, our team spent time during our staff meetings making sure everyone was okay and discussing what was going on in the world around us. It seemed to be helpful for most of us. I do some part time work for another employer, their response was, "here's a support line, but it is only available to people in these positions." Not only is the solution emotionally detached, but it instantly conveys the message that the excluded employees are not valued. None of this is meant to excuse a lack of discipline, but it is meant to point out that the circumstances play a strong role for many people and that it is quite often a matter that has to be facilitated collectively rather than fall onto the individual.
  • papito 6y ago
    Believe me, I know how it is. My productivity has been shot to absolute hell. I am talking about start/end of day discipline that does not make it worse.
    • II2II 6y ago
      Okay. I was reading too much into the last line and interpreted your comment as separating the work/personal parts of the day.
• accountinhn 6y ago
  This point, you really got to set your boundaries and communicate that with your team (calendar, slack status message etc). This is my first time working from home for a longer duration, and it was really harder to do this the first month. I was unknowingly working longer hours and was burning or stressing myself out. Now my setup is as follows: 1. Calendar has defined work hours, lunch time break, coffee breaks, spending time with kids break. 2. Slack has the status messages for the same hours and in DND mode 3. I shutdown my work laptop by 7PM and open it only by 9AM 4. My router cuts access to all connected devices by 7PM clearly as reminder. So if I'm to extend a call or continue working I have to do it consciously. 5. I create a two users in my Android phone called "Home" and "Work" and each has apps and accounts only required for each mode, but contacts are shared. If people need me from work, they can call or text me in case of SEV1s. 6. I sent this in detailed email to my team and other people I interact with in office.