So my company requires me to work from my country but I would like to travel around the Europe. All I want to know how to avoid them detecting me - I will work 8h, it’s not about me being lazy. So is there any work around that you know of? My initial thought was to using my private laptop to log into my work laptop remotely and leaving work laptop always at home.

Since COVID, I have been working at places that do not have an office to go to. During the pandemic, the office of my employer at that time simply closed and never re-opened. Then I got recruited by a company that paid well, so it was crazy to turn it down. I live in a major city, but they have no office to go to.

What I have noticed during this time is that my depression has steadily increased. This has accumulated over the years. What I have learned is that having a place to go to every day is so important. Interacting with humans outside of the home is so important.

This led me to looking for co-working spaces. I did find one to rent that was affordable, but hardly anyone is ever there. And the few that are there are obviously not connected to my work, so there is no forced interaction. Most days, I am the only person there.

For all the people I see demanding the right to work from home, I have a hard time identifying with this. I would give anything to have a place to go where I cooperate on work with coworkers in person.

I haven't bought myself anything in a long time but my wife convinced me to treat myself to a good computer.

I've been trying to figure out which Windows laptop model to pursue (I prefer the Windows UI to Mac), but the options are kind of overwhelming. My primary driver is an older Windows Surface 3 Laptop but it struggles with keeping up with everything I need to do (and the battery drains rapidly).

When giving nearly equal weight to things like snappy multitasking (multiple applications, multiple browser tabs), value for dollar, battery life/portability, port abundance, and future proofing, I think I've so far narrowed it down to this list:

• Dell XPS 15
• Lenovo legion
• Lenovo ThinkPad x1 carbon
• Lenovo yoga 7 / 7i
• Microsoft Surface Book 3
• Samsung Galaxy Book Pro

I've done so much googling, YouTubing, AI-chatting to arrive at this list but I'm not very confident in it and looking for recommendations.

Thank you in advance for any help!

And I'm not talking about the financial cost/time/inconvenience of the commute to workers either.

CEOs and other C suite members love to talk about the benefits of on-site collaboration and all being in the same room - I'm not here to argue about that, there are genuine benefits which you could use to support RTO if you felt so inclined.

But one thing that constantly gets ignored is that while offices may be better for face-to-face meetings, they are far, far, FAR worse for Zoom/Teams calls.

Picture the scenario - you're in an open plan office with dozens of other people surrounding you in nearby desks. You have 3 hours of virtual meetings today - some around you have more, others less. Either way, whenever you are on calls, you'll probably have a minimum of 4 or 5 other people around you also on other virtual calls, and the ones that aren't are often conversing about anything and everything. Either way, the background noise is horrendous and makes it VERY difficult to parse what other people on your call are saying. Not to mention if whoever you're on calls with is ALSO in office, there'll be a ton of background noise their end too.

This wouldn't be so bad if the office wasn't open plan or if there were more private meeting rooms. But there are far too few meeting rooms for the demand, and the open plan office battle has been fought and lost.

Yet whenever the RTO debate comes up, almost no one mentions this one element where office work is vastly inferior.

A common issue I see on here is that people aren't getting enough socialization. Socializing is so important in reducing depression/anxiety and has even been shown to help with PTSD! I wanted to create a list of ideas for hobbies that ideally (1) include other human beings and (2) involve leaving the house. Please leave your ideas in the comments! To get us started off:

Book clubs

Gaming clubs (a lot of game stores have evenings dedicated to board games, DnD, card games, etc.)

Community theater (even if you aren't into acting there is set building, lights, audio, stage hands, etc.)

Community choir/community band if you are musically inclined

Kite clubs (you might be surprised that a lot of places have clubs where people meet up on "good days" to fill the sky with beautiful kites)

If there is any sort of beautiful land mark around you, there are almost always volunteers dedicated to keeping it clean, helping guide tourists during the busy season, etc.

Big Brothers Big Sisters (can't recommend this one enough!)

Community classes (cooking, sewing, photography, 3d printing, gardening, etc.)

What else can we think of?

Hello,

I work remotely and would love to travel this winter and I'm looking for advice and ideas on where to go. I live in the rainy PNW so main motivation is to get some sun. Things I'm looking for:

- warm, sunny, beaches, fun outdoor adventures

- moderately inexpensive housing, car rental, general cost of living

- decent internet/service for my hotspot

I'm thinking somewhere in central/south America or SE Asia but open to any and all ideas. I imagine it'll be hard to get all 3 of these so let me know how the spot hits the mark for each category and any advice/tips/suggestions you'd make.

Edit: Company is fine with me working internationally for extended periods, I’ve done it before just not somewhere warm, that’s not an issue.

I’ve been working remotely for a new company for almost three months now. They require us to complete 8 hours each day, monitored through tracking software. Recently, I’ve been reaching about 6-7 hours during my 9-6 shift, and they’ve asked me to ensure I reach the full 8 hours.

The reason I sometimes fall short is that I take brief breaks—about 5 to 15 minutes—and occasionally walk around the garden for a minute or two since sitting for a full 8 hours straight is challenging for me. This often leads to me working extra hours later in the day to make up the time.

How do you manage to fit in 8 hours of work? Or do you even work a strict 8 hours daily? Previously, I worked in a hybrid setup with a 9-6 shift, but exact hours weren’t tracked.

What do yall do to stay awake?

I’ve been with my company for just over 2 years now. In the early learning days, I took over excel workbooks that were extremely manual and outdated. Since then, I’ve automated most and took on new responsibilities from coworkers being laid off. However, I’ve perfected these as well and am only busy during quarter end and a few days in the beginning of each month. Now, I just sit around waiting for ad hoc requests which don’t come as we just went through another lay off. I go to the gym daily and clean my house spotless but still find myself staring away at the computer screen for days, sometimes weeks. I know this seems like the dream but I feel I could be doing more. There is also no vertical movement as my company is small.. Any ideas?

Hey all! I’m fully remote and also have ADHD. I use a walking pad in off-camera, casual meetings, but most of my meetings are on-camera and with external parties. If I am not the one doing the majority of the speaking/presenting, my mind will absolutely wander to other things and I will tune out the meeting. Fidgets definitely help - but I’ve just literally destroyed my needoh cube and foam stress ball over the last few months.

What are your favorite fidgets to help you stay focused? Bonus points if they are small and quiet!

I’ve been working from home the past few years and I’ve been using a speakerphone (PolySync). I’ll occasionally have clients that say I sound a bit muffled so I’m hoping to enhance my voice for a better experience, mainly via the listener.

I was also considering a software called NEEP but had a very poor experience with a few of their representatives so I’m trying to see what else is out there. Your feedback is appreciated. Thxxx.

I just interviewed for a position that’s 30k less than what I’m currently making but it’s remote. I’m thinking it may be worth it.

Edit to add—I currently make this salary WFH, so I’m not going from in office to WFH. I am losing my current job in a few weeks.

I have recently moved to a fully remote role, I was working 2-3 days after the pandemic. I moved a bit further away from my office and the commute would take me an hour each way and it just got exhausting. I've been feeling burnt out just after 2 months of working remotely. We don't have an office I can go to either! How is everyone managing the burn out from wfh? It feels weird that for the longest time this is what I wanted, and now I feel like I am constantly tired, I can't focus, I find myself doomscrolling in the middle of workday and I just feel burnt out and exhausted by the end of the day. How do you manage this? Any routines you can share? Would love to hear how everyone else is doing!

I spilled my lunch on my shirt today, and I simply went upstairs and changed my shirt. It is quite wonderful to be able to have access to a whole closet full of clothes, for my clumsy self. Gone are the days of the Tide Stick!!!

I’ve been at my company for a long time and feel comfortable in my role, but lately, it’s become unchallenging and monotonous. Some days, I find myself with nothing to do, and with layoffs starting, it’s starting to feel precarious—one of my teammates has already been impacted.

I’ve been interviewing for a new position that offers a 25% pay increase and a lot more challenge, but it requires four days a week in the office. While I’m nervous about making a change, I’m also excited about the potential for growth. My current WFH situation has left me feeling isolated and lacking purpose, which has contributed to my depression.

I believe a hybrid role would bring back that sense of connection and motivation I’ve been missing. If you were in my shoes, would you take the leap into this new position? I’m concerned about job security in this market and with the election looming, but staying in my current situation feels increasingly risky.

Mods please delete if not allowed.

I started WFH 2 months ago and noticed a ganglion cyst forming on the underside of my wrist. I type on a laptop, and I want to cut down on applying unnecessary pressure and also stop constantly angling my wrists to type and use my trackpad which might be aggravating the cyst. Anyone have any suggestions or recommendations for how they deal with ergonomic wrist care? I was thinking to buy some padded wrist bands to support my wrists when I type but I'm not sure which would work the best so I would appreciate any recommendations for this. I also prefer using the trackpad more than a mouse, but if using an ergonomic mouse would be better I'm willing to switch over until this cyst minimizes.

There's another pandemic? WFH will return full force and all the RTO talk will die down again? It just seems crazy to me that there is so much push to RTO and the possibility of something else globally happening. Thoughts?

The person running the meeting controls the main center panel but there is a strip at the top that rotates through everyone else’s cameras which is distracting and annoying. When they’re not sharing it’s like the Brady bunch scene with a bunch a people’s cameras being displayed. I’ve tried looking through the settings and googled this but can’t figure out how to view only the main panel or turn off the ability to see everyone else’s camera sharing. Anyone figured this out?

Edit: I am not the person sharing my screen or running the meeting.

Do you prefer to work in smaller increments with frequent little breaks throughout? Or do you prefer to work for longer increments with less frequent breaks throughout.

I typically work for longer periods with less breaks although the breaks I do take may also be longer(typically when I eat). This especially matters when I feel like I’m in flow so stopping wouldn’t be worth it. I sort of play it by ear.

But curious what you found to work best for you. I do see the appeal to taking more frequent breaks.

Hey fellow WFHers,

I was talking to the IT guy the other day and he gave me a heads up that the company will be installing new VPN software on all laptops. This new VPN will not be able to be turned off.

I have my home internet set up where I have a main network and a network dedicated to work (its own separate SSID and all) on one router. I have a personal computer and a company-provided work laptop.

My question is: if I'm using my work laptop, connected to my dedicated network, running the always-on VPN, will my company's IT department be able to see what I'm doing on my separate personal computer that's connected to a different network? Or for that matter, will they be able to see what my partner is doing on their phone connected to the main home network during my work hours?

To be clear, I only do work-related tasks on my work laptop. I'm just curious if the company IT dept can see what I'm doing on a separate machine on a separate network because it's the same wifi router.

Thank you!

Please feel free to share tips that may make the experience less awkward for everyone (these may include your does and don'ts).

So I’ve gone through like three headsets and your girl is TIRED. They’ve all been pretty cheap, and they just aren’t working very well.

I need a USB wired headset, because my work program won’t work without it being plugged DIRECTLY into the laptop. I can’t have it have an adaptor or plugged into the headset jack thing.

I have sensitive ears so having something that covers my ears or has soft cups and doesn’t squeeze your head would be great, bonus points for noise cancelling or cancelling out background noise since my AC is pretty loud and my walls are thin.

I don’t mind it being more expensive since clearly the cheaper headsets aren’t working out very well for me

(╥﹏╥)

Walking pads, under desk elliptical/ cycle/etc, like, how?

My role is fairly detail oriented and I'm quickly going through tabs, entering a few things, rinse repeat. I don't have downtime or slow days, my work is "production based" and even when I'm on special projects it's putting together data from other resources.... how do people walk on a walking pad and work at the same time when they're not just talking on the phone/doing meetings/reading?

Lime can people actually navigate om screen/type/etc while walking?

I was thinking about re-doing my office and taking out a large built in desk and putting in a desk I have that raises/lowers and getting a walking pad... but I'm worried it won't work?

How do you do it if you use a walking pad?

I work for an all remote company but not a typicak corporation. In meetings where we are mostly just receiving info, people are walking on treadmills on camera. I've been working here for almost 10 years and this is a recent thing in the past two years. It doesn't really bother me. It's interesting though. Is this a trend at other places?

I totally understand the benefits of WFH from both sides of the aisle. Employers have less need for office space, lower utility costs, etc. Employees benefit from zero commute time, dress codes almost nil in many situations, lower stress, familiar environment. What prevents your employer from outsourcing it for cheaper as long as the employees don't have to be local?

I feel like this is a growing trend. Just because I see it as it hits home to me, the IT community is being hit pretty hard. Jobs 5 years ago making $100k, are being gobbled up by WFH overseas staff for fractions less. Now the market is saturated with very qualified applicants, and having to make real life decisions to either enter another field or take the pay cut. I imagine this is for many WFH capable jobs. Instead of 20 competing for a spot, 2000 are.

Is the WFH movement causing us to die by our own sword?

Hi all, me and my husbands lease is coming up in the next few months and were currently on the debate if its worth upgrading to a 2 bedroom unit VS renewing or finding another spacey 1 bedroom unit in another part of town.

For context, I’ve been a full time WFH since Pandemic and we were living at my moms house then, we recently moved out of state to the East coast and settled into a large 1 bedroom approx 980sqft. Currently I have my “office” set up where the dining room/living room area meets. Thankful for the large living room dining room combo, I was able to section off a small corner of the room using shelves to create a pocket corner office for myself. And still have a sizeable living room where we have our couch and tv as well as a small dining table. It works since were a couple with no kids but fur babies.

He works outside the home and its mostly just me at home but he does have odd days off where he is forced to stay in the bedroom where we also squished in our 2 gaming setup and bed. Again thankful the masterbedroom is large enough to accommodate all that.

Having been here for almost 2 years I am getting antsy at wanting to upgrade to a larger space - one where I can have a door to separate my home office entirely especially for when hes home and I have back to back meetings. I also feel this is a good way to “leave work” when I am done for the day I can walk away and close the door. Out of sight out of mind! I learned early on when I was WFH at the start of the pandemic that cohabitating my work space and bedroom space was detrimental to my health. (Hubs wasnt living with me at the time)

He doesnt seem to see a problem with our current set up and wants to keep things the way they are. I am feeling like I am the bratty one who wants this and that. In an ideal world, I would love a separate bedroom or office for my actual work and a space in the common area where our gaming set up can be and have the bedroom as it should be- an oasis, a place where you can really shut off and rest. Hubs is also adhd and needs like 500 screens on at the same time while gaming - tv show on bg and a 2nd monitor playing something else while his main screen is on a game.

Im the type who can zone out for hours working in complete silence if I really am concentrating. Were 2 Different spectrums!

Money wise, there will be an increase of approximately $200-400 more we will be paying for (rent and utilities included, this is a rough estimate) but we will be gaining so much more sqft.

Am I justified in my conquest for additional sqft? Please talk some logic into me as I do see where my husband is coming from as well.

I work from home and have many meetings. I want to sound as clear as possible and I don't really like the regular mic showing up in the camera feed, so I was considering either using a gun microphone or a lapel, but I don't see people using it in wfh setups. My budget is around $400 for the mic.

Recently spoke to friends who have been WFH for years and every one of them said WFH is growing more and more micromanaged. Managers whose mantra used to be “I don’t care what you do as long as the work gets done” have been replaced by managers who require daily (or even twice daily) one-on-ones where you’re grilled on what you accomplished that day, IT forcing you to download invasive screen monitoring software, and more.

Anyone else experiencing the same?

You guys were so great with city suggestions (thanks again), so I’m back again lolol. I WFH Four days out of the week, and after work I find myself doom scrolling. I’d like to find new hobbies or new ways to in my workday. After I close my computer for the day, I find myself just scrolling and scrolling until it’s time for bed. My vyvanse has worn off by this time also. Maybe that could be a factor? I also don’t want it to last toooo long because I’ll have trouble sleeping.

Anywho, I find myself admiring ppl who can just go and do whatever their little heart desires lol, especially if it’s during the week. I really forget I have free will and I don’t have to just sit here until it’s time to work again. I know what I enjoy and what I don’t enjoy but I’m also open to new things. This was a very long drawn out way to ask for new hobbies lol. what motivates you to start new things? What type of activities do you find yourself interested in? What do you do after work? I literally want to be that friend you call on a Tuesday after work and they’re climbing Mount Everest lolol ( obvi not literally).

Thanks!! 😊

Edit: I think im addicted to my phone

I have wfh full time for 3 years now. I love it and it's great for my family. Something I struggle with is the transition from work to off work. I just move from work to a home task.

I can feel that start to wear on me a bit. Is there anyone who has a good routine that takes them from work to home?