Err…what? Thats a bit severe is it not? You are taking care of your basic needs, what the heck?
at the busiest times I have found it hard to have a toilet break if I have two or three meetings in a row people expect you to be present and correct for the whole meeting and on time for the next one!
Well I don’t agree with that, to be honest…but I’m not the one getting paid. I’m sorry you have to deal with this. 
5 minutes between meetings isn’t going to stop the world from turning 
That’s not good, are you a union member?
No, it’s just part and parcel of the job at my level.
My strategy is to avoid meetings whenever possible. I have found this strategy to be highly effective in getting actual work done! I only go to meetings I consider essential.
1 Like
In the office we used to have a tracker thing under our desk that would tell if we left the desk for too long. Was a bit silly given that we go to so many meetings. However, in those days you could leave a meeting and go to the loo and nobody would raise brows. But I was just trying to highlight that working from home isn’t quite what people think or maybe what it once was back in nineteen-canteen.
1 Like
It’s very naughty but one of the reasons I’ve been getting more work done working at home is Teams meetings online
I join and listen to the important bits of course but if someone is yammering on, I do a bit of work, answer emails etc while I’m listening! Can’t do that in areal life meeting ……
@ AnnieS , lndeed, and actual work is not what it used to be either imo ??
Donkeyman! 
In the office we used to have a tracker thing under our desk that would tell if we left the desk for too long. Was a bit silly given that we go to so many meetings. However, in those days you could leave a meeting and go to the loo and nobody would raise brows. But I was just trying to highlight that working from home isn’t quite what people think or maybe what it once was back in nineteen-canteen.
1 Like
No we do a lot more these days than in the days when people used to come in push a few papers around on a desk and swan off for a two hour liquid lunch or play with their exec toys or mini golf set!
1 Like
I’ve been to plenty of in real life meetings where people were answering emails on their phone or nodding off.
1 Like
with a very long piece of string…
Thanks, in my absence as the OP, all avenues seem to have been covered, historically there were some chancers, it has to be assumed, they ain’t disappeared, so, in this new reality, at home, what is the score?
That is certainly what is happening here.
I was talking to a lady a few weeks ago who had recently left Sydney because she could work from home and down here we have fibre to the home Internet. She worked at NSW Uni in HR and worked at home 4 days a week with one day a week in her office (90 minute drive away)
Office rents in the Sydney CBD have plummeted because employers don’t need the amount of space as they can rotate workers between office and home working. In Wollongong CBD office space is being converted to flats because it is just not needed any more.
This pandemic has certainly changed the way people work and the attitude toward work is rapidly changing too.
At my local railway station pre pandemic the station car park was full by 7am these days it is never more than a quarter full (and I might be exaggerating even then). As I said public transport usage has decreased by 85%, my own observation is that most buses seem to be empty and the trains would be lucky to have a dozen passengers in a four carriage double deck train travelling to Sydney.
I haven’t visited Sydney since 2019 whereas I used to go regularly (monthly at least) prior to that, I think you can assume this is typical.
CBD=Central Business District
1 Like
Covid has changed all our lives forever.
Working patterns, shopping, socialising ….
I don’t think things will ever go back to exactly how they were and we’ll have to build a new normal
It doesn’t feel it has led to a better place. Everything seems to be going wrong at once. Feels as though we lived through the best times.
Yes, I’ve always said the Boomers had the best of it and we shouldn’t get judgey about the Millenials and GenZ who are having it tough paying for it
I used to complain about being Gen X but I think in retrospect we had a better time of it than the Boomers in terms of quality of young life & life experiences. Travelling, disposable income etc. Lots of freedom as children and adults and career choices.
2 Likes