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> agricultural workers As a Canadian farmer, I would think working from home is the most common arrangement for farmers.

re-thc 4y ago
Good point. Lots of anti-WFH only know about "the office". Like you can't work without an office when a lot of the population don't.
- LoganDark 4y ago
  I think "working from home" is usually used to mean "working remotely" here, not literally "working from a residential house that you own". Though some offices are still used for remote work (i.e. software development), it's not exactly "working remotely" since you have to be present in the office. Farms wouldn't count as working remotely, since you're on the farm performing physical labor, even if it's at home. Software development in an office (or customer support in a call center) wouldn't count as working remotely, since you have to be in the office to perform that work (even if you use internet-connected devices to do so). But using your computer at home to do software development for a company, or having a phone at home to do customer service, etc. would be working remotely. IMHO it gets even more subjective around "software development from home wouldn't actually be remote if it's a startup that is based in your home, but it would still be working from home technically". But you get the idea.
luckylion 4y ago
Don't you still need to sit on the tractor even if can do most of the steering via GPS?
- simlevesque 4y ago
  I think that the parent was implying that the farm is their home in most cases. WFH does not only mean sitting at a desk inside your house.
  - luckylion 4y ago
    I think if we talk about WFH, then yes, it pretty much means "a desk inside your house". "Home" can have broader meanings than that, but if a mechanic owns the house his garage is in and lives on the first floor, I don't think most people would count that as "working from home". Farmers do office work too, and that's often done at home, but riding a tractor on a field (which is often leased) isn't, I think.
    - simlevesque 4y ago
      To me WFH means you don't have to commute to your workplace. A mechanic building his garage on his home is absolutely working from home IMO.
    - randomdata 4y ago
      > it pretty much means "a desk inside your house". Even for office-type work, needs of a pandemic aside, who staunchly works at a desk in their home? Working as a remote developer for 20-some-odd years, I've worked in coffeeshops, hotels, bars, libraries, parks, moving cars, other homes of friends and family, you name it. The freedom to work anywhere is the biggest perk. I have always called it WFH, even if not technically always done at home.
      - luckylion 4y ago
        I've done some of that, but I actually only work on my desk in my designated room now - I find I can concentrate much better when there are no distractions. But you're absolutely right, for those roles where work essentially only requires a laptop and your brain, it home is where your brain and laptop are.
afavour 4y ago
I’m not an expert on the situation in Canada but I grew up in a rural community, “the farm” that many people in town worked on was a pretty sizeable operation you’d drive to. I was definitely thinking more of the industrial-size agricultural operation than a small farm. I definitely don’t automatically equate “agricultural worker” with “farmer”.
- 3vidence 4y ago
  I think a more common situation at this point is agricultural workers being temporary foreign workers with their employer holding some sort of leverage over them that doesn't let them leave. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6534796 https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6534796 https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/mexico-mexique/fraud-fraude.aspx?lang=eng https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/mexico-mexique/... Whether being effectively human trafficked counts as WFH is up to definition I guess.
deleted 4y ago
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re-thc 4y ago

Good point. Lots of anti-WFH only know about "the office". Like you can't work without an office when a lot of the population don't.

LoganDark 4y ago
I think "working from home" is usually used to mean "working remotely" here, not literally "working from a residential house that you own". Though some offices are still used for remote work (i.e. software development), it's not exactly "working remotely" since you have to be present in the office. Farms wouldn't count as working remotely, since you're on the farm performing physical labor, even if it's at home. Software development in an office (or customer support in a call center) wouldn't count as working remotely, since you have to be in the office to perform that work (even if you use internet-connected devices to do so). But using your computer at home to do software development for a company, or having a phone at home to do customer service, etc. would be working remotely. IMHO it gets even more subjective around "software development from home wouldn't actually be remote if it's a startup that is based in your home, but it would still be working from home technically". But you get the idea.

luckylion 4y ago

Don't you still need to sit on the tractor even if can do most of the steering via GPS?

simlevesque 4y ago
I think that the parent was implying that the farm is their home in most cases. WFH does not only mean sitting at a desk inside your house.
- luckylion 4y ago
  I think if we talk about WFH, then yes, it pretty much means "a desk inside your house". "Home" can have broader meanings than that, but if a mechanic owns the house his garage is in and lives on the first floor, I don't think most people would count that as "working from home". Farmers do office work too, and that's often done at home, but riding a tractor on a field (which is often leased) isn't, I think.
  - simlevesque 4y ago
    To me WFH means you don't have to commute to your workplace. A mechanic building his garage on his home is absolutely working from home IMO.
  - randomdata 4y ago
    > it pretty much means "a desk inside your house". Even for office-type work, needs of a pandemic aside, who staunchly works at a desk in their home? Working as a remote developer for 20-some-odd years, I've worked in coffeeshops, hotels, bars, libraries, parks, moving cars, other homes of friends and family, you name it. The freedom to work anywhere is the biggest perk. I have always called it WFH, even if not technically always done at home.
    - luckylion 4y ago
      I've done some of that, but I actually only work on my desk in my designated room now - I find I can concentrate much better when there are no distractions. But you're absolutely right, for those roles where work essentially only requires a laptop and your brain, it home is where your brain and laptop are.

afavour 4y ago

I’m not an expert on the situation in Canada but I grew up in a rural community, “the farm” that many people in town worked on was a pretty sizeable operation you’d drive to. I was definitely thinking more of the industrial-size agricultural operation than a small farm. I definitely don’t automatically equate “agricultural worker” with “farmer”.

3vidence 4y ago
I think a more common situation at this point is agricultural workers being temporary foreign workers with their employer holding some sort of leverage over them that doesn't let them leave. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6534796 https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.6534796 https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/mexico-mexique/fraud-fraude.aspx?lang=eng https://www.international.gc.ca/country-pays/mexico-mexique/... Whether being effectively human trafficked counts as WFH is up to definition I guess.

deleted 4y ago

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