Winnipeg Construction X

[GarryEllice]

Originally Posted by trueviking

On another note. That Portage Avenue shawarma place opened.

Apparently the cheapest pizza slice is $2; "99 cent" is just the name of the restaurant.

[esquire]

^ Hilarious. That said, I'm still looking forward to giving it a try, whenever I'm lunching downtown again.

Going back to the WFH thing, I have to admit I wouldn't have really been on board with it before. But (and this is a totally personal YMMV situation driven in part by individual circumstances) I have to admit now that I'm doing it, I like it. The convenience of being at home outweighs the appeal of being in my office downtown. And for what it's worth there is flexibility in the arrangements... I suspect someone who wants to work in the office every day as before will be accommodated. But a lot of people will probably embrace WFH to varying degrees, even if it's just one day a week. The whole concept has been normalized very rapidly.

[cllew]

How many of you have to "clock in and out" each day when working from home. Under our companies safety program each employee has to send an email to their manager when they start work for the day and finish. Apparently we are not worried about how much work you do, we just want to make sure you have not had an accident at home on company time.

This policy applies even if you have other people at home with you

[pspeid]

Here's a thought-if more people end up regularly working from home, how will that affect the profitability of all those surface parking lots? Though it would mitigate the need for more office towers, could we see some of those lots converted to some mixture of residential and retail?

[plrh]

Originally Posted by cllew

How many of you have to "clock in and out" each day when working from home. Under our companies safety program each employee has to send an email to their manager when they start work for the day and finish. Apparently we are not worried about how much work you do, we just want to make sure you have not had an accident at home on company time.

This policy applies even if you have other people at home with you

Not me. I don't have set hours, but it is understood that my job takes about 50 hours a week and my phone is to be answered during normal daytime hours. They also GPS my company vehicle so I can be located any time (assuming I don't ride my bike, which happens occasionally).

[bomberjet]

No clocking in. But we use teams so you can see who's online.

[bomberjet]

I should name a store "I'll pay you to come inside". Then tell you it's just a name. Wtf is that.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

I should name a store "I'll pay you to come inside". Then tell you it's just a name. Wtf is that.

Dollarama?

[oftheMoon]

Originally Posted by pspeid

Here's a thought-if more people end up regularly working from home, how will that affect the profitability of all those surface parking lots? Though it would mitigate the need for more office towers, could we see some of those lots converted to some mixture of residential and retail?

Or will the desire to live and/or come downtown decrease since people don't "have to" because they work from home in the suburbs?

[trueviking]

It makes me laugh when I have this discussion with people and they say they like working from home because it gives them a better work-life balance. That’s the exact reason if I was a boss I wouldn’t like it. Ha ha.

Will be interesting to see with warmer weather coming how productivity changes.

[Spocket]

Originally Posted by trueviking

It makes me laugh when I have this discussion with people and they say they like working from home because it gives them a better work-life balance. That’s the exact reason if I was a boss I wouldn’t like it. Ha ha.

Will be interesting to see with warmer weather coming how productivity changes.

That's exactly what I've always thought. As it stands, when I'm not working, I'm napping or doing something that has nothing to do with work. On the other hand, it also kind of proves how much "work" wastes your time. I can still do my job but I have plenty of free time I wouldn't otherwise have.

[trueviking]

Big news.

https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/?archive=&item=48237

[1ajs]

just noticed that my self as well tv

[Bdog]

Originally Posted by trueviking

It makes me laugh when I have this discussion with people and they say they like working from home because it gives them a better work-life balance. That’s the exact reason if I was a boss I wouldn’t like it. Ha ha.

Will be interesting to see with warmer weather coming how productivity changes.

I guess it really depends on the type of work, the quality of management, and the philosophy of the firm. The prevalent thinking over the last decade or so is that work-life balance is actually a boon to productivity. Especially in the faster-paced, demanding type jobs that can burn people out. Those also tend to be the types of jobs where workers are self-motivated and don't necessarily need a boss looking over their shoulder every 10 minutes to ensure productivity. The perception that staff won't be accountable or productive unless there's a taskmaster lurking around in the office, I think that's more of an issue with the management of that company, rather than whether or not a worker is at home or at the office. Modern professional firms have many ways to track productivity and hold staff accountable remotely. If work isn't getting done effectively, a competent manager is going to catch wind of that quickly, whether the employee is working at the office, at home, or at the local cafe where many churn out work from now.

[esquire]

Just eliminating the commute adds time to one's day for sleep, exercise, gardening, watching professional gamers on Youtube or whatever floats one's boat. Even if you just have a 15 minute walk to and from work that's still an extra half an hour a day. Plus less time getting ready... business clothes are replaced with a t-shirt these days, and I haven't shaved in over a month. So it all adds up.

Personally I think this could be OK from an urbanist perspective. It could make our cities a little less like Calgary where you have a very dense central sea office of office towers surrounded by surburbia, and more like Copenhagen where you have a collection of complete neighbourhoods scattered throughout the city. Obviously the change won't happen overnight, but perhaps we might start seeing some changes... maybe suburban neighbourhoods might have a couple of grocers and cafes on their quiet streets instead of forcing everyone to the ugly, car-dominated arterials on their peripheries.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by esquire

Personally I think this could be OK from an urbanist perspective. It could make our cities a little less like Calgary where you have a very dense central sea office of office towers surrounded by surburbia, and more like Copenhagen where you have a collection of complete neighbourhoods scattered throughout the city. Obviously the change won't happen overnight, but perhaps we might start seeing some changes... maybe suburban neighbourhoods might have a couple of grocers and cafes on their quiet streets instead of forcing everyone to the ugly, car-dominated arterials on their peripheries.

IMO some version of this sounds like a very workable vision for Winnipeg. Turning some of the downtown's empty lots into low-rise (3-4 story) residential units with a couple of storefront spaces, some trees and green space, could look quite nice and provide some much-needed density at street level. The city's current stock of taller buildings (existing and in the works) provides, IMO, a decent skyline, and avoids the Calgary model mentioned here. Of course for some folks that is the ultimate goal, but personally I am fine with a "less cluttered" skyline look. A couple more taller buildings, some expanded residential, and Winnipeg will have a very attractive and livable downtown.

On a side note, the potential for more people working from home after the pandemic is under control could leave Calgary with a Detroit-level issue of empty buildings in their downtown core. They already have something like a 25% office vacancy rate don't they? Sure oil prices will pick up a bit, and Elizabeth may was premature is saying oil is "dead", but it seems like it will never return to the heights of value it previously reached.

[buzzg]

Originally Posted by trueviking

Big news.

https://news.gov.mb.ca/news/?archive=&item=48237

It's great. Very interesting (and frankly shocking) that the province is actually down for a TIF program haha.

[oftheMoon]

Originally Posted by trueviking

It makes me laugh when I have this discussion with people and they say they like working from home because it gives them a better work-life balance. That’s the exact reason if I was a boss I wouldn’t like it. Ha ha.

Will be interesting to see with warmer weather coming how productivity changes.

My work day used to involve getting up at 7am and getting home around 4:50 - 5:00pm. My commute was a 17-18 minute walk each way.

My work day now means get up at 8am and am done and still at home at 4:30pm. So right off the hop, my "work day" is almost 90 minutes shorter and at the very least I gain 1 hour sleep each day.

I make up for my missed walking by a 30 min walk at lunch and an additional walk in the evening.

My gains in work/life balance are found by throwing in laundry or quick 'chores' like that vs. the time wasted with Sally and Mike leaning over my cubicle wall wasting my time with their issues. I am amazed how much I can get done without these time wasting moments during the regular in-office work day.

And it really depends on what you do as WFH will not work for everyone and all organizations. I can only speak to what I do - my job is 'case work' based and measured by completed cases within prescribed time frames. My turnaround time has increased in the 2 months I've been home and feel my quality has increased.

Come to think of it, just having windows open all days vs. the stale office air is life changing lol. Don't even get me started on the comfort of working in sweatpants or reading files from couch on my laptop.

I really do understand some people don't like it and it's a world where slackers can rule and bosses cringe. That's not me so if I had any say in the matter, I'd never see the inside of my office again.

[DirtWednesday]

^^ Damn straight.

[Wigglez]

Originally Posted by oftheMoon

My work day used to involve getting up at 7am and getting home around 4:50 - 5:00pm. My commute was a 17-18 minute walk each way.

My work day now means get up at 8am and am done and still at home at 4:30pm. So right off the hop, my "work day" is almost 90 minutes shorter and at the very least I gain 1 hour sleep each day.

I make up for my missed walking by a 30 min walk at lunch and an additional walk in the evening.

My gains in work/life balance are found by throwing in laundry or quick 'chores' like that vs. the time wasted with Sally and Mike leaning over my cubicle wall wasting my time with their issues. I am amazed how much I can get done without these time wasting moments during the regular in-office work day.

And it really depends on what you do as WFH will not work for everyone and all organizations. I can only speak to what I do - my job is 'case work' based and measured by completed cases within prescribed time frames. My turnaround time has increased in the 2 months I've been home and feel my quality has increased.

Come to think of it, just having windows open all days vs. the stale office air is life changing lol. Don't even get me started on the comfort of working in sweatpants or reading files from couch on my laptop.

I really do understand some people don't like it and it's a world where slackers can rule and bosses cringe. That's not me so if I had any say in the matter, I'd never see the inside of my office again.

Well said!

Its not overly surprising to see some (older/wealthier) people push back on the idea of work from home. Its the same generic excuse for no universal basic income - a couple of lazy people will take advantage so no one should get it. It's also similar to arguments against things like minimum wage, universal healthcare, etc.

Its weird seeing some people that are usually in favor of less car use, argue in favor people commuting to work...

I guess all the talk about using the covid19 lockdown as a starting point for changing our society didn't include healthier work/life balance and better working conditions? Seems like this would be the best starting point for moving away from office life to a whole new way of working.

But change is hard for some.