Vermont Skier Visits Down Significantly Due to COVID-19

[deadheadskier]

The question is is does the loss of productivity with WFH add up to more than what is lost with commuting? Pretty common for people in major metros like Boston and NYC to commute 1.5-2 hours one way to the office. There's nothing more unproductive than that.

 

[dblskifanatic]

I know some people that have total taken advantage of WFH and recreate during the day where they could not before. If you can move close to the mountains and hit the slopes for a few hours who will know? People can answer email but smart phones or use their phones as a hotspot so technically you are available. One of our relatives bought an RV and has been traveling the country with his family and are doing home schooling. Basically, there are many who have taken advantage of the situation and got paid from work or unemployment.

 

[Harvey]

people having 2-3 different WFH jobs

We had a guy we fired for having sex in the office. Among other things.

We walked him out and snagged his laptop, it kind of freaked him out. On it he had a contract with another company for more than we were paying them and it was clear by his email he was working for them while we were paying him.

 

[cdskier]

The question is is does the loss of productivity with WFH add up to more than what is lost with commuting? Pretty common for people in major metros like Boston and NYC to commute 1.5-2 hours one way to the office. There's nothing more unproductive than that.

Agreed. I just did some quick math and so far I've conservatively spent 225 DAYS of my life in a car commuting to the office (and that's pretty much just assuming no real traffic on any of those days). Dealing with all that commuting (and the related traffic) certainly added a lot of stress to my life that has been gone the past year. I'm in a far better mood generally speaking now. I think that (at least for me personally) translates into being more productive.

The notion that someone else said about the harsh reality being that most people are more productive in the office I would disagree with as well. Sure there are some people that at home might be easily distracted or need that structure of sitting in a cubicle, but there are many other people that are perfectly capable of being productive at home. Again it does depend on your specific job and line of work. There certainly are some things that are easier/better from in the office. But to say that because some jobs need to be done in the office means everyone else should be in the office is just stupid (and perhaps a bit childish).

I could argue that I know numerous people that in the office they tended to spend a good part of the day BSing with other people instead of doing actual work. And as much as I like talking with people at work, there were plenty of times that I'd have stuff to get done and couldn't because someone had come over to my desk and would be going on and on and weren't leaving. Being remote it is much easier to just focus on something without distractions like that. Then you have people that routinely go out for long lunches at work. Even just walking down to the cafeteria and bringing food back to my desk would take longer than going to my own kitchen and grabbing something. My point here is simply that there's a lot of situations in the office where productivity can be negatively impacted as well. Someone that thinks everyone (or even most people) are more productive in the office is being rather narrow-minded. I think some people are more productive in the office, some are more productive at home, and others are equally productive in both places.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating that all companies and every job out there should be remote. Companies need to find the right balance and offer the right level of flexibility to cater to the individual job being done (and to the individual personalities of their employees). I do believe any CEO that says "I want every employee back in the office by such and such date" is a stubborn idiot though that didn't adequately take advantage of the forced WFH during the pandemic to learn anything. Companies that used that opportunity to actually learn and adapt will be the most successful ones in the long run.

 

[cdskier]

I know some people that have total taken advantage of WFH and recreate during the day where they could not before. If you can move close to the mountains and hit the slopes for a few hours who will know? People can answer email but smart phones or use their phones as a hotspot so technically you are available. One of our relatives bought an RV and has been traveling the country with his family and are doing home schooling. Basically, there are many who have taken advantage of the situation and got paid from work or unemployment.

There's always going to be people that take advantage of things unfortunately. If someone truly had that much time on their hands where they could actually get away with recreating during the day, then I'd say they didn't have enough work at work and that's a problem with either that company or that person's manager for not noticing it and addressing it. On the flip-side though if they're taking a couple hours during the day to hit the slopes and making up those couple hours in the evening, then maybe that's ok if the company knows about it and is ok with that. Some companies would be fine with people breaking up their day a bit as long as they're still getting the work done and putting in the right total number of hours.

As for people that are able to get away with working more than 1 job simultaneously, I'd suspect that is a rather small minority doing that. And honestly that could even happen from someone that works in an office (we had that scenario happen maybe 10 years ago where someone was running their own business while they were sitting in their cube at our office "working"...we eventually caught him and he lost his job).

 

[Smellytele]

The question is is does the loss of productivity with WFH add up to more than what is lost with commuting? Pretty common for people in major metros like Boston and NYC to commute 1.5-2 hours one way to the office. There's nothing more unproductive than that.

But the company doesn’t care about your commute.

 

[kingslug]

And if you don't commute to NYC..your pay is about half. I've looked into a million ways..its getting crowded in the city now. Within a month the trains are packed again.

 

[deadheadskier]

That's kinda industry dependent. Most of the time true, but not always

 

[thebigo]

It is beyond weird to me that people would hang around a new england ski forum in June and advocate for commuting?

We are all here for a very limited time. I choose my kids and the mountains over traffic.

 

[Harvey]

We have a young employee who moved to the shore during the pandemic, 90 mins away, will probably be 2 hours on a Friday night. She loves living there, now... but think she will quit when we come back.

 

[BenedictGomez]

I find it really odd that the people that don't want to come back to work are the same people that can't get me what I need and are always late to meetings and deliverables. They are also posting pictures about dinner with friends and at restaurants.

I find it really odd too, because it is entirely at odd with, at this point, more workplace studies conducted within the last year that I can count. In fact, productivity from WFH employees has generally increased, not decreased, and I for one am not shocked.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Morgan Stanley CEO taking a hard line on folks returning to the office. Sounds like a real prick

He did sound like a jerk in that interview, because it was clearly said in a threatening tone. That said, investment banking is one of the exceptions where I fully understand why he wants people in the office. Still, there's no reason for MS accounts receivable, accounts payable, HR, most IT, yada, yada, yada to be in the office. So to make it 100% mandatory regardless of position is not just being a jerk, it's being a non-evolving Boomer jerk.

 

[BenedictGomez]

Then you have people that routinely go out for long lunches at work. Even just walking down to the cafeteria and bringing food back to my desk would take longer than going to my own kitchen and grabbing something.

This is a big time give back to the employer.

Gone are the 1 hour lunch breaks, which let's be real, in the corporate world are often 1h 15 - 1.5 hours, replaced with taking 4 minutes to make a sandwich in the kitchen & eat at your desk while working.

 

[snoseek]

I selfishly want to see more people go back as real estate in nh has gone bonkers and this is definitely a contributing factor. Also as a midweek skier I dont want increased traffic

 

[JimG.]

My feelings exactly snoseek.

I hope everyone goes back to the office to work ASAP. Tired of the WFH crowd impinging on my retired space,

 

[Tonyr]

There's always going to be people that take advantage of things unfortunately. If someone truly had that much time on their hands where they could actually get away with recreating during the day, then I'd say they didn't have enough work at work and that's a problem with either that company or that person's manager for not noticing it and addressing it. On the flip-side though if they're taking a couple hours during the day to hit the slopes and making up those couple hours in the evening, then maybe that's ok if the company knows about it and is ok with that. Some companies would be fine with people breaking up their day a bit as long as they're still getting the work done and putting in the right total number of hours.

As for people that are able to get away with working more than 1 job simultaneously, I'd suspect that is a rather small minority doing that. And honestly that could even happen from someone that works in an office (we had that scenario happen maybe 10 years ago where someone was running their own business while they were sitting in their cube at our office "working"...we eventually caught him and he lost his job).

I think being successful working remotely during ski sesason depends on your job, the dedication/discipline towards it, and how creative you can get finding windows throughout the day. I stayed a month in CO and a month in UT this winter and kept on east coast time both stays while working full time. The 2 hour time lag made a huge difference opening up windows in my day. It allowed me to start work at 6 am and sort of end the day at 2 pm. I'd get 1.5 to 2 hours of skiing then I'd come back in and finish up anything I needed to work wise while I was out.

With technology being so good along with a majority of my job being spent on the phone it allowed me not to miss a single beat productivity wise. It was an awesome experience and now that I know it can be done I'll go back to doing it each winter once my son goes off to college. Unfortunately I have 8 years until that happens!

 

[BenedictGomez]

I selfishly want to see more people go back as real estate in nh has gone bonkers and this is definitely a contributing factor. Also as a midweek skier I dont want increased traffic

The people across the street from me just moved to New Hampshire last month.

#VeryAnecdotalEvidence

 

[BenedictGomez]

I think being successful working remotely during ski sesason depends on your job, the dedication/discipline towards it, and how creative you can get finding windows throughout the day. I stayed a month in CO and a month in UT this winter and kept on east coast time both stays while working full time. The 2 hour time lag made a huge difference opening up windows in my day. It allowed me to start work at 6 am and sort of end the day at 2 pm. I'd get 1.5 to 2 hours of skiing then I'd come back in and finish up anything I needed to work wise while I was out.

That sounds like paradise. I'm pondering a way to make this a reality. I agree with the, life's too short poster, and frankly I'm not motivated by money anyway.

 

[Tonyr]

That sounds like paradise. I'm pondering a way to make this a reality. I agree with the, life's too short poster, and frankly I'm not motivated by money anyway.

If you can stay on east coast time and ski mountain time it's really the best of both worlds, that 2 hour time difference is awesome. I honestly didn't miss a single beat in regards to work. Being in a sales based profession it is very easy for me to make that claim as my performance is measured on a monthly basis.

While I was away in December, January, and February I had 3 of my top 4 best months within that trailing 12 month period. That's why I mentioned if your dedicated, disciplined, and have flexibility you can really make skiing and work happen. Except for the weekends I never once blew a day off and skied all morning/afternoon. I stuck to my schedule every single day.

 

[BenedictGomez]

If you can stay on east coast time and ski mountain time it's really the best of both worlds, that 2 hour time difference is awesome. I honestly didn't miss a single beat in regards to work. Being in a sales based profession it is very easy for me to make that claim as my performance is measured on a monthly basis.

To make this work you must have lived right on top of the mountain though, right? Like Park City & Silverthorne or something.