The Last Poster Wins [v28]

[C0L0R3D]

I have no chance of winning but I might as well.

[Chakramaster]

And those are exactly the kinds of reasons I need to justify just working from home. XD

But yeah, no one likes this new arrangement, but facilities are going with it since "it's the new trend." You know, lead paint and asbestos use were a trend at one point, too, but we certainly put an end to that, now...

Yup. My dad said the same thing while I was visiting them last night. His office is about to swap over to the same new way. Where it's really not "social distance" friendly. Especially when you're sharing pretty open work space or sharing desks.

I have no chance of winning but I might as well.

Everyone has a chance of winning. Everyone. =D

[Noblejanobii]

What kind of new trend??? Bro this is just weird.

[Neo Emolga]

The justification they're trying to use is that it "promotes collaboration." By having no separate cubicle walls, no space to call your own, and by having everyone out in the open (no privacy), it fosters "closer communication."

No, it fosters distraction instead. Noise will carry, people engage in more non-work chat, and instead of being able to buckle in, focus on your work, and just push through it, nah, you're constantly getting interrupted by Bob, who talks about his kids, and then Jim joins in with Ann a minute later talking about the weather and what they did last weekend, and Tom who sits across from you now overhears the conversation wants to add in his opinion and what he did with his wife and kids, and boom, next thing you know almost an hour has passed and it just mass-murders everyone's time. Everyone around me works on different projects anyway. We don't collaborate on them. If we needed to, we'd set up a formal meeting because chances are good there's other people that would need to be in on that conversation that don't sit in the immediate area.

That and let's talk about sickness, too. You'd think we would have pulled the plug on this with COVID, but nah, sharing is caring and everyone gains experience by going through it at least once, right? Susie comes in with a cold, sneezes all over the place, and oh goodie, because everyone's swapping work stations, that carries around too, so now you, Bob, Jim, Ann, and Tom can now talk about how sick you all got!

Oh, and let's not forget that since no one has a permanent work station, if suddenly a computer stops working, well, instead of someone calling IT to get it fixed because it's their computer and theirs alone, nah, they just won't use that station anymore and they'll go to another one. But then a second one goes down. Nah, again, no one wants to go through the time and trouble to let IT know, they'll just pick another one. #3 goes down. And it goes on and on like a game of musical chairs until people just work from home anyway because they can't find a working station or all the usable ones have been taken.

Ugh. Not looking forward to any of this. At all. They've done studies that prove this system FAILS but nah, we've got to see why that is for ourselves rather than do the research! But hey, losing money, slashing productivity, and sharing illness is trendy! /endrant

Sorry, I had to get that out.

[Pokemon Trainer Sarah]

Hot desking where you don't even get a permanent spot is so lame and not safe during pandemics. Our office is open plan which I hate, but at least we have permanent desks. It's definitely still difficult to concentrate though. Hopefully your workplace sees the light and lets people continue to work from home if they can, Neo!

[Chakramaster]

The justification they're trying to use is that it "promotes collaboration." By having no separate cubicle walls, no space to call your own, and by having everyone out in the open (no privacy), it fosters "closer communication."

No, it fosters distraction instead. Noise will carry, people engage in more non-work chat, and instead of being able to buckle in, focus on your work, and just push through it, nah, you're constantly getting interrupted by Bob, who talks about his kids, and then Jim joins in with Ann a minute later talking about the weather and what they did last weekend, and Tom who sits across from you now overhears the conversation wants to add in his opinion and what he did with his wife and kids, and boom, next thing you know almost an hour has passed and it just mass-murders everyone's time. Everyone around me works on different projects anyway. We don't collaborate on them. If we needed to, we'd set up a formal meeting because chances are good there's other people that would need to be in on that conversation that don't sit in the immediate area.

That and let's talk about sickness, too. You'd think we would have pulled the plug on this with COVID, but nah, sharing is caring and everyone gains experience by going through it at least once, right? Susie comes in with a cold, sneezes all over the place, and oh goodie, because everyone's swapping work stations, that carries around too, so now you, Bob, Jim, Ann, and Tom can now talk about how sick you all got!

Oh, and let's not forget that since no one has a permanent work station, if suddenly a computer stops working, well, instead of someone calling IT to get it fixed because it's their computer and theirs alone, nah, they just won't use that station anymore and they'll go to another one. But then a second one goes down. Nah, again, no one wants to go through the time and trouble to let IT know, they'll just pick another one. #3 goes down. And it goes on and on like a game of musical chairs until people just work from home anyway because they can't find a working station or all the usable ones have been taken.

Ugh. Not looking forward to any of this. At all. They've done studies that prove this system FAILS but nah, we've got to see why that is for ourselves rather than do the research! But hey, losing money, slashing productivity, and sharing illness is trendy! /endrant

Sorry, I had to get that out.

Maybe introduce them to me. I'll help them learn about technology issues and how quick they can happen.

=)

[Neo Emolga]

Hot desking where you don't even get a permanent spot is so lame and not safe during pandemics. Our office is open plan which I hate, but at least we have permanent desks. It's definitely still difficult to concentrate though. Hopefully your workplace sees the light and lets people continue to work from home if they can, Neo!

Oh man, I'm soooo hoping for that. Really, with the stuff I do, I don't need to be at the office. I just end up burning time and gas commuting and being there in person doesn't offer any advantages and only puts me at risk of getting sick for really no good reason. I heard the basis of trying to get everyone back in the office was to have face-to-face interactions again, but is that really worth the risk? Even when half of our faces are covered up with masks anyway?

Just seems like pure nonsense, but yeah, I hope they see the light, and soon!

Maybe introduce them to me. I'll help them learn about technology issues and how quick they can happen.

=)

I want you by my side when we're fighting robot armies. You're the Pikachu R2D2 and C3P0 have nightmares about. XD

[Chakramaster]

Yup xD. The cursed Pikachu that'll be useful in that time.

[Bulbasaur]

Busy week, sorry about not being around. Got my valentines out though!

Yeah, there was a minor outbreak at my work and I was getting really nervous for a bit. Thankfully it seems to have resolved itself, and there haven't been any new cases for two weeks. But it's scary, because one more case could mean one more outbreak, maybe even bigger...

[Neo Emolga]

Yeah, I heard of a few cases of infections at my office, but that was back during the summer of last year. Not sure if anyone else got hit with Covid recently, but if they did, I haven't heard.