Anyone get telework approved at SEC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So how was the week for everyone - besides the spring breakers?

Horrible? Can you keep doing it as long as you need to - like you get a new job, get old enough for a VERA etc? Anyone thinking of just quitting w no job? Or was it NBD?

I’ve been in for a month+ by now. It’s not great, but let’s not pretend it’s horrific either.

And no, I am not kidless and/or living in NOMA. I have one elementary school and one middle and have nearly an hour commute.

People need to keep some perspective here.

+1. I thought it was fine too. I'm not saying it was soooo great or that I'd rather RTO than telework. But IDK it was doable and yes I have a commute too; kids are older so that likely makes it easier as they were still at activities when I got home daily and they are old enough that they do not want mom and dad at every practice anyway so I didn't feel like I missed anything.

I wouldn’t say it was no dig deal. I can do this for now. I have kids, two elementary. Finding care for longer hours with such short notice was a challenge and we had to cobble together coverage. We don’t always make sports practices that are earlier in the day like we used to. That may change for the next school year and beyond as we pivot to other things that work for our schedule.

Ask me again in 6 months, or a year and I might feel differently about whether it will drive me to look elsewhere. It is a slog. I also think it is a benefit that set us apart from private industry, especially now that so many are doing RTO. If RTO stays for the long haul, that might make it harder to compete for talent when we finally do hire at some point someday.

+1 on the difficulty of finding childcare for elementary school kids being really hard on such short notice in the middle of the school year. They could have done this starting end of the school year where people have summer camps scheduled and they could get in line early for after care options. I get it though, they really want people to quit.

So what did you do with elementary school kids before hand?

They presumably get home around 3:30. So did you just work the last couple of hours of your day with them home? (With school starting around 9, you presumably couldn’t start too early.)

If you and a spouse are both Feds and now both had to RTO, I can see where a problem arises because you could have previously staggered and had one person work early and do after school and the other do before school and work later.

But otherwise, you were spending the last couple of hours doing both child care and work, which you aren’t supposed to do, and which is part of what gives WFH a bad name. (Cue chorus of everyone who chimes in saying their Petunia, although only 7, doesn’t need any supervision and doesn’t distract from work at all.)

PP here and we staggered our schedules which is no longer possible to do with the commuting time.

[Anonymous]

People hate the billable hour, but this thread underscores why it’s so superior. Who gives a damn where or when you get work done as long as it gets done!? And who cares who else was in the house while you’re doing the work?

If doge were smart, they’d impose a billable hour model where employees account for their time in 15 minute increments (analyzed by AI), but also allow full telework where practical
and thus save billions in real estate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So how was the week for everyone - besides the spring breakers?

Horrible? Can you keep doing it as long as you need to - like you get a new job, get old enough for a VERA etc? Anyone thinking of just quitting w no job? Or was it NBD?

I’ve been in for a month+ by now. It’s not great, but let’s not pretend it’s horrific either.

And no, I am not kidless and/or living in NOMA. I have one elementary school and one middle and have nearly an hour commute.

People need to keep some perspective here.

+1. I thought it was fine too. I'm not saying it was soooo great or that I'd rather RTO than telework. But IDK it was doable and yes I have a commute too; kids are older so that likely makes it easier as they were still at activities when I got home daily and they are old enough that they do not want mom and dad at every practice anyway so I didn't feel like I missed anything.

I wouldn’t say it was no dig deal. I can do this for now. I have kids, two elementary. Finding care for longer hours with such short notice was a challenge and we had to cobble together coverage. We don’t always make sports practices that are earlier in the day like we used to. That may change for the next school year and beyond as we pivot to other things that work for our schedule.

Ask me again in 6 months, or a year and I might feel differently about whether it will drive me to look elsewhere. It is a slog. I also think it is a benefit that set us apart from private industry, especially now that so many are doing RTO. If RTO stays for the long haul, that might make it harder to compete for talent when we finally do hire at some point someday.

+1 on the difficulty of finding childcare for elementary school kids being really hard on such short notice in the middle of the school year. They could have done this starting end of the school year where people have summer camps scheduled and they could get in line early for after care options. I get it though, they really want people to quit.

So what did you do with elementary school kids before hand?

They presumably get home around 3:30. So did you just work the last couple of hours of your day with them home? (With school starting around 9, you presumably couldn’t start too early.)

If you and a spouse are both Feds and now both had to RTO, I can see where a problem arises because you could have previously staggered and had one person work early and do after school and the other do before school and work later.

But otherwise, you were spending the last couple of hours doing both child care and work, which you aren’t supposed to do, and which is part of what gives WFH a bad name. (Cue chorus of everyone who chimes in saying their Petunia, although only 7, doesn’t need any supervision and doesn’t distract from work at all.)

DP. I always wonder if posters like you just never had kids, or had a SAHP, or what. It doesn't take much imagination to understand the problem.

Scenario 1. There's no school bus, so somebody has to pick kids up at 3:30. Teleworking parent had a scheduled break (meaning, they worked longer to cover the time) to do pick up. Now that's not an option, so they need aftercare.

Scenario 2. Parent teleworked 7 - 3:30 and was off in the afternoon. But adding 2 hours of commute to that schedule would mean leaving work an hour earlier to pick up at 3:30 ... or finding aftercare.

Scenario 3. Kids - yes, as young as 7 - take the bus home, let themselves in, and don't need any attention until the end of the workday. But parents nonetheless want someone in the house for emergencies, plus the commute means that kid is alone an extra hour or so longer than if the parent was WFH. Kids end up in aftercare instead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People hate the billable hour, but this thread underscores why it’s so superior. Who gives a damn where or when you get work done as long as it gets done!? And who cares who else was in the house while you’re doing the work?

If doge were smart, they’d impose a billable hour model where employees account for their time in 15 minute increments (analyzed by AI), but also allow full telework where practical
and thus save billions in real estate.

But the billable hour changes nothing about accountability. If you trust someone to bill their 15 minute increments honestly, you can trust them to work 8 hours honestly. In both cases the correct measure is whether the work gets done. In neither case does it matter where you are or who else was there.

The only thing the billable hour does is elevate the time you spent (more = better) over the result (not necessarily time dependent). It's an inefficiency engine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So how was the week for everyone - besides the spring breakers?

Horrible? Can you keep doing it as long as you need to - like you get a new job, get old enough for a VERA etc? Anyone thinking of just quitting w no job? Or was it NBD?

I’ve been in for a month+ by now. It’s not great, but let’s not pretend it’s horrific either.

And no, I am not kidless and/or living in NOMA. I have one elementary school and one middle and have nearly an hour commute.

People need to keep some perspective here.

+1. I thought it was fine too. I'm not saying it was soooo great or that I'd rather RTO than telework. But IDK it was doable and yes I have a commute too; kids are older so that likely makes it easier as they were still at activities when I got home daily and they are old enough that they do not want mom and dad at every practice anyway so I didn't feel like I missed anything.

I wouldn’t say it was no dig deal. I can do this for now. I have kids, two elementary. Finding care for longer hours with such short notice was a challenge and we had to cobble together coverage. We don’t always make sports practices that are earlier in the day like we used to. That may change for the next school year and beyond as we pivot to other things that work for our schedule.

Ask me again in 6 months, or a year and I might feel differently about whether it will drive me to look elsewhere. It is a slog. I also think it is a benefit that set us apart from private industry, especially now that so many are doing RTO. If RTO stays for the long haul, that might make it harder to compete for talent when we finally do hire at some point someday.

+1 on the difficulty of finding childcare for elementary school kids being really hard on such short notice in the middle of the school year. They could have done this starting end of the school year where people have summer camps scheduled and they could get in line early for after care options. I get it though, they really want people to quit.

So what did you do with elementary school kids before hand?

They presumably get home around 3:30. So did you just work the last couple of hours of your day with them home? (With school starting around 9, you presumably couldn’t start too early.)

If you and a spouse are both Feds and now both had to RTO, I can see where a problem arises because you could have previously staggered and had one person work early and do after school and the other do before school and work later.

But otherwise, you were spending the last couple of hours doing both child care and work, which you aren’t supposed to do, and which is part of what gives WFH a bad name. (Cue chorus of everyone who chimes in saying their Petunia, although only 7, doesn’t need any supervision and doesn’t distract from work at all.)

DP. I always wonder if posters like you just never had kids, or had a SAHP, or what. It doesn't take much imagination to understand the problem.

Scenario 1. There's no school bus, so somebody has to pick kids up at 3:30. Teleworking parent had a scheduled break (meaning, they worked longer to cover the time) to do pick up. Now that's not an option, so they need aftercare.

Scenario 2. Parent teleworked 7 - 3:30 and was off in the afternoon. But adding 2 hours of commute to that schedule would mean leaving work an hour earlier to pick up at 3:30 ... or finding aftercare.

Scenario 3. Kids - yes, as young as 7 - take the bus home, let themselves in, and don't need any attention until the end of the workday. But parents nonetheless want someone in the house for emergencies, plus the commute means that kid is alone an extra hour or so longer than if the parent was WFH. Kids end up in aftercare instead.

Nope. Two kids. Two parents working full time.

Scenario 1 means you are working the last couple of hours when the kid is home. Same with scenario 3, but if you were wfh, why was there a need to have the kids let themselves in in the first place.

And BS that elementary, particularly early elementary don’t need attention and aren’t distracting over a two hour span that you are supposedly working.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So how was the week for everyone - besides the spring breakers?

Horrible? Can you keep doing it as long as you need to - like you get a new job, get old enough for a VERA etc? Anyone thinking of just quitting w no job? Or was it NBD?

I’ve been in for a month+ by now. It’s not great, but let’s not pretend it’s horrific either.

And no, I am not kidless and/or living in NOMA. I have one elementary school and one middle and have nearly an hour commute.

People need to keep some perspective here.

+1. I thought it was fine too. I'm not saying it was soooo great or that I'd rather RTO than telework. But IDK it was doable and yes I have a commute too; kids are older so that likely makes it easier as they were still at activities when I got home daily and they are old enough that they do not want mom and dad at every practice anyway so I didn't feel like I missed anything.

I wouldn’t say it was no dig deal. I can do this for now. I have kids, two elementary. Finding care for longer hours with such short notice was a challenge and we had to cobble together coverage. We don’t always make sports practices that are earlier in the day like we used to. That may change for the next school year and beyond as we pivot to other things that work for our schedule.

Ask me again in 6 months, or a year and I might feel differently about whether it will drive me to look elsewhere. It is a slog. I also think it is a benefit that set us apart from private industry, especially now that so many are doing RTO. If RTO stays for the long haul, that might make it harder to compete for talent when we finally do hire at some point someday.

+1 on the difficulty of finding childcare for elementary school kids being really hard on such short notice in the middle of the school year. They could have done this starting end of the school year where people have summer camps scheduled and they could get in line early for after care options. I get it though, they really want people to quit.

So what did you do with elementary school kids before hand?

They presumably get home around 3:30. So did you just work the last couple of hours of your day with them home? (With school starting around 9, you presumably couldn’t start too early.)

If you and a spouse are both Feds and now both had to RTO, I can see where a problem arises because you could have previously staggered and had one person work early and do after school and the other do before school and work later.

But otherwise, you were spending the last couple of hours doing both child care and work, which you aren’t supposed to do, and which is part of what gives WFH a bad name. (Cue chorus of everyone who chimes in saying their Petunia, although only 7, doesn’t need any supervision and doesn’t distract from work at all.)

DP. I always wonder if posters like you just never had kids, or had a SAHP, or what. It doesn't take much imagination to understand the problem.

Scenario 1. There's no school bus, so somebody has to pick kids up at 3:30. Teleworking parent had a scheduled break (meaning, they worked longer to cover the time) to do pick up. Now that's not an option, so they need aftercare.

Scenario 2. Parent teleworked 7 - 3:30 and was off in the afternoon. But adding 2 hours of commute to that schedule would mean leaving work an hour earlier to pick up at 3:30 ... or finding aftercare.

Scenario 3. Kids - yes, as young as 7 - take the bus home, let themselves in, and don't need any attention until the end of the workday. But parents nonetheless want someone in the house for emergencies, plus the commute means that kid is alone an extra hour or so longer than if the parent was WFH. Kids end up in aftercare instead.

Nope. Two kids. Two parents working full time.

Scenario 1 means you are working the last couple of hours when the kid is home. Same with scenario 3, but if you were wfh, why was there a need to have the kids let themselves in in the first place.

And BS that elementary, particularly early elementary don’t need attention and aren’t distracting over a two hour span that you are supposedly working.

I'm sorry your kids are so much trouble. Mine just do their homework and then read.

ES runs up to about age 12, btw. You're really arguing that a 12 yo cannot sit at home for 90 minutes without bothering their parents? That's silly. Now back it up - could a 10 yo mind their business for 90 minutes? Of course.
Younger than 10, it depends more on the kid, but recall that this generation got plenty of practice during covid closures when parents and kids went to their separate corners for the day. I would not try to WFH with a 5 yo, but I did with my kid when they were 7 yo during covid and it was fine.

[Anonymous]

Not an issue for me because my kids are in high school but anyone who doesn’t understand how a schedule can work with working from home and not with commute added is bad at math.

For example - one parent can drop the kids off at school on the way to work or before starting their day at home because their work day starts at 9. Other parent works from home and works eg 7-3:30 or 6:30-3:00 and can go pick the kids up when school lets out or wait for them to come home from the bus/walk home etc - by the time school is over/kids are home, their workday is done.

That schedule does NOT work if both parents work outside the home full time. It can work if both stagger their hybrid days or one who deals with kids who come come works full time at home and the one who drops off full time in the office or w/e.

(And that’s not taking into account places that allow maxiflex or tweens who may not be great to be left home by themselves for hours but are fine to entertain themselves when home or to be home alone for half an hour or so, or other situations where the extra added commute time has a major effect.)

Can people make it work? Sure, when my kids were little, we made it work without much of a hybrid schedule (tho even then I had one day per week of telework - and I’ve had that since at least 2009) but there is no reason to make people’s lives harder just because. When I had my kids, there was no paid maternity leave either but it would be ridiculous for me to object to people having it now because I didn’t get to.

[Anonymous]

So this again? One week was novel but by week 2 all adrenaline is gone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So how was the week for everyone - besides the spring breakers?

Horrible? Can you keep doing it as long as you need to - like you get a new job, get old enough for a VERA etc? Anyone thinking of just quitting w no job? Or was it NBD?

I’ve been in for a month+ by now. It’s not great, but let’s not pretend it’s horrific either.

And no, I am not kidless and/or living in NOMA. I have one elementary school and one middle and have nearly an hour commute.

People need to keep some perspective here.

+1. I thought it was fine too. I'm not saying it was soooo great or that I'd rather RTO than telework. But IDK it was doable and yes I have a commute too; kids are older so that likely makes it easier as they were still at activities when I got home daily and they are old enough that they do not want mom and dad at every practice anyway so I didn't feel like I missed anything.

I wouldn’t say it was no dig deal. I can do this for now. I have kids, two elementary. Finding care for longer hours with such short notice was a challenge and we had to cobble together coverage. We don’t always make sports practices that are earlier in the day like we used to. That may change for the next school year and beyond as we pivot to other things that work for our schedule.

Ask me again in 6 months, or a year and I might feel differently about whether it will drive me to look elsewhere. It is a slog. I also think it is a benefit that set us apart from private industry, especially now that so many are doing RTO. If RTO stays for the long haul, that might make it harder to compete for talent when we finally do hire at some point someday.

+1 on the difficulty of finding childcare for elementary school kids being really hard on such short notice in the middle of the school year. They could have done this starting end of the school year where people have summer camps scheduled and they could get in line early for after care options. I get it though, they really want people to quit.

So what did you do with elementary school kids before hand?

They presumably get home around 3:30. So did you just work the last couple of hours of your day with them home? (With school starting around 9, you presumably couldn’t start too early.)

If you and a spouse are both Feds and now both had to RTO, I can see where a problem arises because you could have previously staggered and had one person work early and do after school and the other do before school and work later.

But otherwise, you were spending the last couple of hours doing both child care and work, which you aren’t supposed to do, and which is part of what gives WFH a bad name. (Cue chorus of everyone who chimes in saying their Petunia, although only 7, doesn’t need any supervision and doesn’t distract from work at all.)

DP. I always wonder if posters like you just never had kids, or had a SAHP, or what. It doesn't take much imagination to understand the problem.

Scenario 1. There's no school bus, so somebody has to pick kids up at 3:30. Teleworking parent had a scheduled break (meaning, they worked longer to cover the time) to do pick up. Now that's not an option, so they need aftercare.

Scenario 2. Parent teleworked 7 - 3:30 and was off in the afternoon. But adding 2 hours of commute to that schedule would mean leaving work an hour earlier to pick up at 3:30 ... or finding aftercare.

Scenario 3. Kids - yes, as young as 7 - take the bus home, let themselves in, and don't need any attention until the end of the workday. But parents nonetheless want someone in the house for emergencies, plus the commute means that kid is alone an extra hour or so longer than if the parent was WFH. Kids end up in aftercare instead.

Nope. Two kids. Two parents working full time.

Scenario 1 means you are working the last couple of hours when the kid is home. Same with scenario 3, but if you were wfh, why was there a need to have the kids let themselves in in the first place.

And BS that elementary, particularly early elementary don’t need attention and aren’t distracting over a two hour span that you are supposedly working.

And you think from 3:30-5:30 in the office there aren’t any distractions? I’m distracted by others frequently and I don’t even have an assigned workspace.

[Anonymous]

Here is why it does. It work. My actual staff schedule of someone who works for me with two kids 3 and 6. Husband does not help out as full time in person. She shared as thinking of quitting

Get up get two kids dressed and ready. Make breakfast. Drop 3 year old off pre school. Log in at 8 am. Then sneak out to buss stop 7 year old. Back home, now at this point she is not showered, or eaten herself. So squeeze that in. Maybe squeeze in load of laundry or two, on and off work, pick up kid buss stop and kid day care around 3ish. Makes snacks, then logs off at 430 pm.

She gets basic job done but not an original thought or one bit extra bare bones

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here is why it does. It work. My actual staff schedule of someone who works for me with two kids 3 and 6. Husband does not help out as full time in person. She shared as thinking of quitting

Get up get two kids dressed and ready. Make breakfast. Drop 3 year old off pre school. Log in at 8 am. Then sneak out to buss stop 7 year old. Back home, now at this point she is not showered, or eaten herself. So squeeze that in. Maybe squeeze in load of laundry or two, on and off work, pick up kid buss stop and kid day care around 3ish. Makes snacks, then logs off at 430 pm.

She gets basic job done but not an original thought or one bit extra bare bones

Been awhile J1, J2, J3 guy how's it going?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not an issue for me because my kids are in high school but anyone who doesn’t understand how a schedule can work with working from home and not with commute added is bad at math.

For example - one parent can drop the kids off at school on the way to work or before starting their day at home because their work day starts at 9. Other parent works from home and works eg 7-3:30 or 6:30-3:00 and can go pick the kids up when school lets out or wait for them to come home from the bus/walk home etc - by the time school is over/kids are home, their workday is done.

That schedule does NOT work if both parents work outside the home full time. It can work if both stagger their hybrid days or one who deals with kids who come come works full time at home and the one who drops off full time in the office or w/e.

(And that’s not taking into account places that allow maxiflex or tweens who may not be great to be left home by themselves for hours but are fine to entertain themselves when home or to be home alone for half an hour or so, or other situations where the extra added commute time has a major effect.)

Can people make it work? Sure, when my kids were little, we made it work without much of a hybrid schedule (tho even then I had one day per week of telework - and I’ve had that since at least 2009) but there is no reason to make people’s lives harder just because. When I had my kids, there was no paid maternity leave either but it would be ridiculous for me to object to people having it now because I didn’t get to.

Dual fed family here. We have two kids in pre-K. I do drop off (school starts at 8:30) and then metro to Union Station. My wife does pickup (aftercare ends at 6pm). So far I’ve come home just after my kids finish dinner. Not a huge deal.

I will need to take leave when my wife goes on long work trips (which is a frequent occurrence). I’ve been told that for one upcoming trip I can’t ad hoc telework for “too many” multiple afternoons in a row to manage pickups.

RTO is manageable, but not adding value. I went three of the five days last week without really talking to anyone in person. On another day we also spent nearly minutes fiddling with conference room technology before just deciding to keep doing virtual meetings from our desks. I have a good boss and have a lot of vacation time so don’t really want to leave. However I’ve started to browse job listings given that the SEC isn’t as appealing as it once was with the pay increases being pared back, benefits cut/restored/cut again, etc, etc. I’m waiting to see what Atkins does, and what reorganization plans are in the works before deciding to go all out on job applications.

[Anonymous]

It doesn’t matter how much extra information you give these people, they have a narrative drum and they’re going to bang it whenever the subject of family life and RTO comes up. Just note the troll and move on.

[Anonymous]

NP - I have a nanny in the mornings and afternoons and my husband works three days a week from home on a fairly flexible schedule (he makes nearly $1M a year in the private sector). I also have a housekeeper who comes two days a week to handle laundry and cleaning. I am one of the fortunate ones who didn’t have a hard time making the change to RTO.

I didn’t need to be home to do childcare, pickups/drop offs, or household tasks and I’m still miserable just one week in. I just liked being around the house for my kids. In the mornings I’d run downstairs around 8:00 am to make myself a cup of coffee and kiss each of them goodbye. My daughter would come by my office to ask me if her outfit was okay or to help her with her hairbow. Sometimes my kids wanted a special lunch so I’d spent my 30 min lunch grabbing chipotle and dropping it off. I also would linger at my desk after my scheduled ended bc I was focused and wanted to get something done or bc something urgent came up. Without a long commute I picked my son up from daycare at 5pm and had a bit of time to spend with him before doing the dinner/bath/bedtime routine. It also made my travel days easier bc I didn’t feel like I was already away from my kids a lot.

I don’t understand why this has become such an insulting discussion. Some people just like to be around their families.

[Anonymous]

So Doge wants efficiencies? Who is gonna do it? Who is gonna flood the form with - we’d get more done for investors if we could log in after picking up kids or didn’t have to take the whole day off for a mid day doctors appointment or because the car needs to be taken to the shop. One person says it, they’ll dox you. 4300 people say it, are they going to fire all of us?