For any project where you are working with a new team then a few face to faces at the beginning really helps. I used to drive / fly to other sites to show a friendly face to the end users at the start of the project, a firm handshake is a good start.
I did build good relationships with people I never met in the USA/Australia/Germany etc. But it took longer.
Where you work with another team then getting together is a great way to move things forward.
pre-dominantly remote can work if you have decent managers. Imagine that happening!
I realised the other day that with a fully remote job I had spent more time talking to the receptionist than my boss (his choice I pestered him for 121s).
- Visitors can check out the Forum FAQ by clicking this link. You have to register before you can post: click the REGISTER link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. View our Forum Privacy Policy.
- Want to receive the latest contracting news and advice straight to your inbox? Sign up to the ContractorUK newsletter here. Every sign up will also be entered into a draw to WIN £100 Amazon vouchers!
Reply to: Do People Still Stay Away?
Collapse
You are not logged in or you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:
- You are not logged in. If you are already registered, fill in the form below to log in, or follow the "Sign Up" link to register a new account.
- You may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
- If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.
Logging in...
Previously on "Do People Still Stay Away?"
Collapse
-
Originally posted by agentzero View PostI'm not so sure. I hear complaints from friends that managers are struggling to align the senior manager demands with office reality. Expenses aren't liked. An acceptable hotel, forgetting London, is £150+ in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester. Getting the team together is costing a fortune and people prefer working remotely.
If you mean people prefer working remotely in a hybrid model I'd agree. If you mean people prefer working 100% remote then I'm really struggling to find much evidence of that in professional circles.
Leave a comment:
-
I've been 100% WFH for around 7 or 8 years (as contractor and as permie), but now actually miss going into an office. Life flies by so quick and it's a little sad to think I've spent so much of it sat at home on a laptop. Though to be fair my 20s and 30s were spent consulting and travelling, and working in the City (London) and that was fun.
I would think a hybrid model is best, so that people can learn from each other especially if they are new joiners. People need work in groups sometimes, it's better for mental health.
Leave a comment:
-
I'm not so sure. I hear complaints from friends that managers are struggling to align the senior manager demands with office reality. Expenses aren't liked. An acceptable hotel, forgetting London, is £150+ in Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Manchester. Getting the team together is costing a fortune and people prefer working remotely.
I think that we will reach a happy medium where the contractor pays the expenses out their own pocket the team get together is once every 3 or 4 months. Covid is striking people this Christmas already and our planned team event is down by 50% already due to covid taking out some of the families.
What are we trying to achieve when meeting up? A plan for the next 1/2/3 months of work? If so, we can still do it remotely. Looking at the commercial property market, I think we are at a tipping point downwards and the coming bloodbath will see a lot of the temporary offices empty due to disputes.
The current rend is probably geographic, but if you are out living in the sticks and 2 to 4+ hours from a major town or city, I don't think you should be disadvantaged from a role. In a way geography is prejudice. We need people to fill up the countryside and rural areas, to make them worth living in for others. Times are changing, but slowly.
Leave a comment:
-
Originally posted by edison View Post
One of my recent clients are based in a swanky high rise office in Canary Wharf. They're in the process of more than halving the office space they have. I'm wondering if they're going to get a similar shock next year.
It seems that a lot of big companies (at least in in London) are in the process of consolidating offices as leases run out and moving to offices geared more towards collaborative working. Might make having to go into the office occasionally bit more bearable.
Leave a comment:
-
Originally posted by Zigenare View Post
About a month ago we had a "Planning Session" where all minions attached to the project were mustered for 2 days in the office - senior management got a shock when they saw that there wasn't enough room for said minions on the same floor!
Thankfully I am outside IR35 but it was still 6 hours of driving that I'm not going to recoup!
It seems that a lot of big companies (at least in in London) are in the process of consolidating offices as leases run out and moving to offices geared more towards collaborative working. Might make having to go into the office occasionally bit more bearable.
Leave a comment:
-
Originally posted by vetran View Post
I think home working is here to stay until at least the next recession. The PHB's love the sight of minions running around. Though at the rate the bean counters are closing all the offices it may be a moot point.
Thankfully I am outside IR35 but it was still 6 hours of driving that I'm not going to recoup!
Leave a comment:
-
Originally posted by agentzero View PostHypothetical Inside IR35: completely remote or a very short local commute.
Outside: Preference for remote, meet up for a couple of days maximum once a month.
Think for the amount of time commuting wasted in your life, add in London as a preference for company meet ups and the expense and time wasted on that. Even if the client is paying for travel, they can't reimburse you the time wasted. Covid working has shown that remote can work very well in a professional environment. The time wasted is time you can spend with family, friends, doing things you enjoy. It is evident now that the workaholics, also those that don't contribute much but think being present in an office are a substitute for work, are easily identified and sidelined. I am enjoying the new ways of working. I only work outside IR35 and 99% of work is remote. Long may it continue.
A figure of office attendance of 60% mentioned sounds like civil service mandates. Civil Service and other some other industries want people in at least 3 days a week. Don't cave in, these mandates will pass.
Leave a comment:
-
Hypothetical Inside IR35: completely remote or a very short local commute.
Outside: Preference for remote, meet up for a couple of days maximum once a month.
Think for the amount of time commuting wasted in your life, add in London as a preference for company meet ups and the expense and time wasted on that. Even if the client is paying for travel, they can't reimburse you the time wasted. Covid working has shown that remote can work very well in a professional environment. The time wasted is time you can spend with family, friends, doing things you enjoy. It is evident now that the workaholics, also those that don't contribute much but think being present in an office are a substitute for work, are easily identified and sidelined. I am enjoying the new ways of working. I only work outside IR35 and 99% of work is remote. Long may it continue.
A figure of office attendance of 60% mentioned sounds like civil service mandates. Civil Service and other some other industries want people in at least 3 days a week. Don't cave in, these mandates will pass.
Leave a comment:
-
Originally posted by SussexSeagull View Post
Funnily enough I have just finished a contract a couple of train stops away in St Neots and, like Peterborough, they struggled to find local contractors and to extent permanent staff. Peterborough was pre lockdown and on the day I started there were two contractors from Manchester and me from the south coast. They had permanent staff coming in from Leicester and Boston.
My recent contract was mostly remote so less of an issue but we still had to go in one day a week and they had contractors from Norwich and Reading, while I imagine they would have preferred people nearer.
To be fair to Peterborough, it's a relatively cheap area with good transport and economic growth. Not too dissimilar to a few places that go in a rough arc from Swindon in the west towards Milton Keynes/Northampton and on to Peterborough.
Leave a comment:
-
Originally posted by WTFH View PostOne of my first contracts when I moved to England was in Peterborough. Used to stay at the Holiday Inn in Norman Cross, but that's 20 years ago and I suspect it's no longer there.
Well the roundabout that was in the middle of the A1 isn't there. That stretch has been Morotway'd so there is now a massive roundabout that you come off of the main drag for. The Hotel may or may not be there (and even more may/may not be Holiday Inn)
Leave a comment:
-
One of my first contracts when I moved to England was in Peterborough. Used to stay at the Holiday Inn in Norman Cross, but that's 20 years ago and I suspect it's no longer there.
Leave a comment:
-
Originally posted by edison View Post
Peterborough and the surrounding vicinity has some big companies including a few IT services companies. A few years ago I worked for a very large conglomerate that had several large companies there, including some of my team.
There was real competition for IT staff but as far as I remember, few employees actually lived there, they tended to commute from one of the many villages nearby, especially towards Cambridge.
Thankfully I never got to see the town itself and I don't think I missed much.
My recent contract was mostly remote so less of an issue but we still had to go in one day a week and they had contractors from Norwich and Reading, while I imagine they would have preferred people nearer.
Leave a comment:
-
Originally posted by Dactylion View Post
Dear Lord - A year in Peterborough that must've been... errr "fun"
What the hell do you do in Peterborough?
The AirBnB I found had a kitchen so I could cook for myself so didn't rely on takeaway.
Not a place I am likely to visit again but perfectly serviceable.
Leave a comment:
-
Originally posted by Dactylion View Post
Dear Lord - A year in Peterborough that must've been... errr "fun"
What the hell do you do in Peterborough?
There was real competition for IT staff but as far as I remember, few employees actually lived there, they tended to commute from one of the many villages nearby, especially towards Cambridge.
Thankfully I never got to see the town itself and I don't think I missed much.
Leave a comment:
- Home
- News & Features
- First Timers
- IR35 / S660 / BN66
- Employee Benefit Trusts
- Agency Workers Regulations
- MSC Legislation
- Limited Companies
- Dividends
- Umbrella Company
- VAT / Flat Rate VAT
- Job News & Guides
- Money News & Guides
- Guide to Contracts
- Successful Contracting
- Contracting Overseas
- Contractor Calculators
- MVL
- Contractor Expenses
Advertisers
Contractor Services
CUK News
- Micro-entity accounts: Overview, and how to file with HMRC Yesterday 09:27
- Will HMRC’s 9% interest rate bully you into submission? Nov 5 09:10
- Business Account with ANNA Money Nov 1 15:51
- Autumn Budget 2024: Reeves raids contractor take-home pay Oct 31 14:11
- How Autumn Budget 2024 affects homes, property and mortgages Oct 31 09:23
- Autumn Budget 2024: Reeves raids contractor take-home pay Oct 31 09:20
- Autumn Budget 2024: Umbrella companies hit, Employer NICs hiked, and BADR heading for 18% Oct 30 16:54
- Autumn Budget 2024: chancellor’s full speech Oct 30 16:34
- RecExpo got told this about Labour’s Employment Rights Bill… Oct 30 09:10
- A limited company just got one over HMRC on VAT; here’s how Oct 29 09:24
Leave a comment: