Reply to: Feeling the strain? WFH Experiences

[Fraidycat]

In thinking this over a bit more. I realised I've spent quite a lot more than I used to on chocolate and crisps since lockdown started.

I was eating extra 1000 calories a day from client's free vending machines (2 cups of coffee+2 chocolate bars, a can of coke and packet of mcoys crisp = 1000 calories).

Have been working from home 250 days in a row now, so have saved my body from 250,000 calories in theory.

In reality my consumption of tea and chocolate (and beer) has increased during lockdown.

So i have only lost around 5kg in weight, when i could have lost a lot more.

[ladymuck]

In thinking this over a bit more. I realised I've spent quite a lot more than I used to on chocolate and crisps since lockdown started.

I work through a lot of lunch periods as that's the sweet spot for calls with India and the USA. So I'll snack instead of make a proper lunch.

[vetran]

Do you have more up to date sources that aren't at least 7 years old?


We as a society expect our living standards to have increased since the late 20th Century.

When I was in primary school one of my neighbours - an OAP - only toilet was an outside one. Other people still had their outside one plumbed in even though they had one inside. Now people expect to have a minimum of at least two bathrooms inside their homes.

Why do you think the Tories have fixed all addiction issues and managed to get all long term unemployed into high paying jobs in the last 7 years? It has probably got much worse over lockdown, more worklessness and more opportunities to drink.

Most younger couples I know in private housing would like more than one bedroom so they don't have to sleep on the sofa.

Two bathrooms are not high on the list. We only got that on our third dwelling and I was well paid and good at DIY so fitted an en-suite.


As free insulation and reduced cost double glazing for those on benefits have been available for years heating should be less necessary than it was when we were younger.

[Gibbon]

Having been in enforced shielding since March 2020 (yes I know its for my own good) has hit me hard these last few weeks.

Sorry to hear about your cancer (I must have missed a post that mentioned it), wishing you well. Shielding is not enforced it is advisory, I still take a walk and get a paper when the shop is quiet, still go to M&S food hall again very early or late etc. Also some CEV staff out of lockdowns have been working in council care homes, but this is voluntary.

[SueEllen]

Maybe because they are seen as a significant cause in studies covering poverty, actually more common than I realised.

Figure 1 is available if you want pretty pictures.

https://assets.publishing.service.go...view_Print.pdf

Do you have more up to date sources that aren't at least 7 years old?

If a cold house wasn't rare when we were kids ,why a generation later is it totally unfair for people to not have their house the same temperature as Barbados?

We as a society expect our living standards to have increased since the late 20th Century.

When I was in primary school one of my neighbours - an OAP - only toilet was an outside one. Other people still had their outside one plumbed in even though they had one inside. Now people expect to have a minimum of at least two bathrooms inside their homes.

[Halo Jones]

BGG & I have worked through the whole pandemic and saved a fortune!

We are in the position of having no kids & plenty of space to work separately.

BGG as a stereotypical ICT nerd is loving it, no commute, reduced (work) social contact, the ability to focus without interruption.

Been totally different for me ☹

I am missing the site banter, I can do a lot of my job remotely, but I do miss the getting the boots on & actually seeing site first-hand.
But I think the big “emotional slap” has been having how I live dictated by my health, I manage my cancer & you would not even know I had it if you met me. Yes, I had to make adjustments, but I was always able to come up with a way of how to do what I wanted.

Having been in enforced shielding since March 2020 (yes I know its for my own good) has hit me hard these last few weeks.

And for a true 1st world problem, I can’t even get a motherboard to finish my PC build because of the impact of COVID, BREXIT (whit I did not vote for) Port Delays, snow, supply and any other reason you can think of!

So yes now fed up with it all!

[vetran]

Why do you think everyone on benefits is:
a. Not working, and,
b. A drug addict?

Apart from pensioners most people on benefits are working (or on furlough).

Also I lived in a cold house as a child. It wasn't rare.

Maybe because they are seen as a significant cause in studies covering poverty, actually more common than I realised.

Figure 1 is available if you want pretty pictures.

https://assets.publishing.service.go...view_Print.pdf

Try Table 1 conclusions below.

The main factor is lack of sufficient income from parental employment, which restricts theamount of earnings a household has. This is not just about worklessness, but also workinginsufficient hours and/or low pay. This in turn is often caused by:
• Long-term worklessness, increasing difficulties in returning to work, including skillloss, employer bias and changes in attitudes to work.
• Low parental qualifications limiting an adult’s level of wages. Executive summary 7
• Parental ill health or family instability which can both reduce the number ofparents whose earnings contribute to income, and may also mean the remainingparent is more restricted in terms of employment due to caring responsibilities eitherfor the child or the disabled family member.
• Family size, with larger families requiring higher levels of income to avoid poverty. Itcan also restrict parental employment due to caring responsibilities.
• Drug & alcohol dependency, although only a small number of children are affected,the effects for these parents and children are profound.

I have seen kids suffering with alcoholic and or drug addict parents many working but some not.

By small number of those on benefits are addicts they mean 7%, figures may be higher addiction for instance is easy to hide from a social worker who comes during the day once a year, especially if your spouse helps.

Child poverty: Take parental addiction into account, urges Duncan Smith - BBC News

According to official figures, 2.3 million children were below the poverty line at that stage - 600,000 more than Labour had wanted.
...
The Child Poverty Action Group said research conducted in 2008 had suggested less than 7% of those on benefits were problem drug users.

One in fifteen may need a fix that is an appreciable part of the benefit taking population. As above I suspect many of those will need to be provided with a device above other benefit claimants. Providing all of them access via a controlled device that is only usable for education seems sensible. Its not as if we want to let them on gambling or kiddy porn sites is it? We could create a training ecosystem so those on benefits can thrive and fix the other learning and development needs mentioned above.

with 2.3 Million apparently in poverty £50 a time makes giving them all a device a ~£200 million investment, with the device costing £1000 its 2.6 billion. Amazon would post it and provide support for £50.

Addiction is horrifyingly common admittedly the US but I was surprised the numbers were as high.

10 percent of US adults have drug use disorder at some point in their lives | National Institutes of Health (NIH)

A survey of American adults revealed that drug use disorder is common, co-occurs with a range of mental health disorders and often goes untreated. The study, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), part of the National Institutes of Health, found that about 4 percent of Americans met the criteria for drug use disorder in the past year and about 10 percent have had drug use disorder at some time in their lives.

Next time you are in a big meeting look around one of the attendees has probably suffered addiction.

We probably have all worked with people who are frequently taking class A drugs, it was rife in the city decades ago, I have definitely known people with a severe drinking problem both at work and socially.

If a cold house wasn't rare when we were kids ,why a generation later is it totally unfair for people to not have their house the same temperature as Barbados?

[TwoWolves]

I'm enjoying working from home, still make time for banter with the team and project is going well.

On the other hand, being at home means I'm also expected to help with cooking and childcare throughout the day. A four-year-old popping in every fifteen minutes is endearing but exhausting when you have deadlines to meet. With lockdown I'm getting very unfit and weak and even finding time to go out for a jog is hard.

It's a mixed bag and very much hinges on your personal circumstances.

Not enjoying the job-hunt under lockdown thanks to rolling out private-sector IR35; that was an unnecessary body-blow, thanks Sunak!

[SueEllen]

I can, so can the government instead of £1000 a laptop which is the current situation.

I would prefer a locked down tablet that can't be used for other things to a laptop that can be sold for a fix.

Heating when I was a kid we put on an extra jumper.


Yes I am serious we only had an open fire, wood to be collected by yours truly and an oil heater we couldn't afford to run. My Dad put in central heating and a boiler about 20 years after I left home.

Why do you think everyone on benefits is:
a. Not working, and,
b. A drug addict?

Apart from pensioners most people on benefits are working (or on furlough).

Also I lived in a cold house as a child. It wasn't rare.

[vetran]

You can afford £50 per child and £20.

You can also afford to keep your heating on during the day.

Other families are fighting to keep their £20 uplift for universal credit.

I can, so can the government instead of £1000 a laptop which is the current situation.

I would prefer a locked down tablet that can't be used for other things to a laptop that can be sold for a fix.

Heating when I was a kid we put on an extra jumper.


Yes I am serious we only had an open fire, wood to be collected by yours truly and an oil heater we couldn't afford to run. My Dad put in central heating and a boiler about 20 years after I left home.

[SueEllen]

Amazon were selling 7 inch fire tablets at <£50, we have 5 as all the online learning is web based and fairly lightweight these are being used for lessons by multiple kids in our house. 4G tablets are ~£100.

4g routers are cheap.

We also watch the youtube lessons on TV with a fire stick £20.

Seriously devices are so cheap.

You can afford £50 per child and £20.

You can also afford to keep your heating on during the day.

Other families are fighting to keep their £20 uplift for universal credit.

[vetran]

Amazon were selling 7 inch fire tablets at <£50, we have 5 as all the online learning is web based and fairly lightweight these are being used for lessons by multiple kids in our house. 4G tablets are ~£100.

4g routers are cheap.

We also watch the youtube lessons on TV with a fire stick £20.

Seriously devices are so cheap.

[SueEllen]

We were dirt poor growing up. So I have spoilt my own kids to compensate. They all have multiple devices each.

My 9 year olds sons gaming PC is far more powerful than anything i use for work.

He outgrew his Switch during the lockdown and wanted something more powerfull, he didnt ask for it directly, but i could tell he was dreaming about a gaming PC..

I dont know if im doing them long term harm by spoiling them, but i know growing up poverty really messed me up for sure.

When he's 30 and can't hold down a job, then you have known you have screwed up.

However when he's 30 and works in a shop (or equivalent of the day) you haven't screwed up he just doesn't want the tulip you have been through to have a good life.

[northernladuk]

We were dirt poor growing up. So I have spoilt my own kids to compensate. They all have multiple devices each.

My 9 year olds sons gaming PC is far more powerful than anything i use for work.

He outgrew his Switch during the lockdown and wanted something more powerfull, he didnt ask for it directly, but i could tell he was dreaming about a gaming PC..

I dont know if im doing them long term harm by spoiling them, but i know growing up poverty really messed me up for sure.

What has any of that tedious chuntery to do with WFH?

[Fraidycat]

I know a few families who experienced this. Even worse if there's one device between several of you (and that might be a phone not a laptop) to do schoolwork and other stuff, one table to share etc.

We were dirt poor growing up. So I have spoilt my own kids to compensate. They all have multiple devices each.

My 9 year olds sons gaming PC is far more powerful than anything i use for work.

He outgrew his Switch during the lockdown and wanted something more powerfull, he didnt ask for it directly, but i could tell he was dreaming about a gaming PC..

I dont know if im doing them long term harm by spoiling them, but i know growing up poverty really messed me up for sure.