What's Everyone's Work Status?

[ricko]

I'd like to know how everyone is doing these days. Just curious and concerned. How has this pandemic affected your work or personal lives?

Are you still working: from home, still on the job, laid off, furloughed, being overworked in an 'essential' industry, feel vulnerable at work, retired, fearful that your company won't make it?

[zippy]

Currently WFH for Fiserv (First Data) since March 16.

[Omaha Cowboy]

Working from home, 2 weeks now..

Thankful to still be working/employed during these unprecedented times...

Ciao..LiO...Peace

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Working form home. I technically work for a collaborative of two different medical centers and a research hospital which aren't exactly strapped for cash at the moment so I'm not too concerned about furloughs or layoffs, but the planning arm isn't exactly essential so... I dunno.

[Louie]

WFH (Flywheel) since March 16th. We were just given the affirmative that it will last until April 27, at the very least. I suspect longer, of course.

[lisanstan]

My last day at work was March 18th. My two weeks company paid furlough ends today. I am applying for unemployment. Hoping I have a job to go back to if we ever get to reopen. We were closed through today, but Iowa just extended closure to April 7th. I think it will be much longer than that. My husband works at Offutt and he is still working. He can't work from home due to his type of job.

[skinzfan23]

WFH since March 17th. Everything has been going pretty smoothly. I know that we were a little concerned at first having 300 or so in our office working from home all at the same time with only a few days of testing the remote system, but it seems to be working well.

I will echo Cowboy's sentiment and I am glad to have a job that I am able to work and still get paid. My wife is a teacher and thankfully she has been able to stay home with our kids and teach them during the day. She is getting paid and doesn't have to work since the CB school district had a teaching program already set up.

[bbinks]

Hours are reduced. So that rules out partual unemployment from what I've researched

[Original]

Been WFH since March 6th by choice, directive went out the 20th or so for all employees who could to do so (team I am on was already WFH-capable and some employees WFH on a weekly basis already). Been told that business is still good and order volume is not down, we are B2B manufacturing to some industries that will be hit by how shutdowns are manifesting, some that will be helped, so we will see. No one has officially said or anything, but I don't expect to be back into the office for at least 8 weeks, maybe longer.

Not a WFH fan but if it's what helps my community and family, I'll keep at it.

[BRoss]

This is the third week I've been working from home.

[Coyote]

Still working out and about, no word of what comes next.

[Omahacritic]

Have been WFH for 3 years. No changes.

I have never in my life been overworked. And I’ve worked 24 shift. I’ve been paid less than my worth. And been paid more than I was worth. I’ve done physical labor, I’ve worked worked sunrise to sunset. Been the first to arrive and the last to leave. Never felt overworked.

[NEDodger]

Week 2 of WFH.

[Omababe]

Stable. As long as receivables continue to come in, that is.

WFH mostly the past couple of weeks.

[Uffda]

I retired last May after 39 years of teaching. Kind of glad I am not teaching right now.

[Jason4225]

I work over at MidAmerican Energy in CB. They split our workforce into two groups. Four 10 hour days per week, with people called in only for emergencies on the weekends. Second crew comes in the next week, so you get 10 days off. Basically a skeleton crew to get by and avoid cross-contamination. They have campers leased and cots purchased in case it gets worse and they decide to quarantine us at work.

[TitosBuritoBarn]

Is anyone getting cabin fever working from home? Maybe the pro-work-from-home crowd is more vocal than those who are not fans of it, but I feel like one of only a few who is ready to go back to an office and see my coworkers again.

[ita]

Business survey: Remote working in Nebraska may be leveling off

Cindy Gonzalez
While remote workers have multiplied since the pandemic hit, a new survey of Nebraska businesses signals that the trend locally might have leveled off.

“Remote working has grown, but managers don’t expect it will grow further in the next year,” said economist Eric Thompson, who led the study. “The flip side is they don’t think it’s a temporary thing. They’re expecting this increase to hold.”

More growth than shrinkage planned

Another interesting twist: Half of the businesses surveyed want to maintain office space not only for in-house workers but for remote workers on the occasion they report to the office.
...
The share of those working at home at least part of the time jumped from nearly 11% pre-COVID to, at the close of the survey a few weeks ago, about 17%.

There is a presentation on the study completed about remote work in Nebraska next week. Interesting data points. Honestly, the jump in people working at least part time from home seems pretty mild. 4/5 still go work exclusively at the office. Note that this study was limited to certain industries:

Types of businesses involved in the survey included finance, information, professional, educational support and technical services.

Not covered by the survey were goods-producing businesses, retailers, transportation or health care businesses.

With business owners not looking to further expand remote work, it seems like, at least in Nebraska, office vacancies should stay relatively low. This also is a good sign for future office projects; businesses still want them.

[nativeomahan]

I’m basically retired since 2018, from the legal profession.

[mcarch]

Fiserv is Report to work 4 out of 5 days... probably returning to work totally after the 1st of the year... (idiot) CEO's mandate for "collaborating" when everyone (50,000 employees) work in offices around the US and almost never see each other's team members (unless they travel - which is forbidden currently).

[Omaha Cowboy]

Fiserv is Report to work 4 out of 5 days... probably returning to work totally after the 1st of the year... (idiot) CEO's mandate for "collaborating" when everyone (50,000 employees) work in offices around the US and almost never see each other's team members (unless they travel - which is forbidden currently).

Good ‘ol Frankie B strikes again…

Ciao..LiO…Peace

[jogerb]

I have been working from home for about 3-4 years. Since I am an IT specialist, the pandemic had almost no effect on my work.

[S.O.Boy]

The wife has been working from home 30 months. Her company has gotten rid of space, hired more employees locally, hired truly remote employees. And now is saying they will bring everyone back to the office.

[Busguy2010]

This is sure to ruffle some feathers, but as someone who worked out there through the entire pandemic, I say anybody who got to work remotely ought to be thankful they had the privilege to do so for this long. Pandemic is practically over, now we can get back to normal. Unfortunately, physically going to work was part of that normal, and it seems like its (unsurprisingly) the last thing to go back to normal.

[damonhynes]

On-site at EcuritiesSay MericaAay, have been since the plandemic started, coincidentally that's when our new office opened. Never been any higher than 25% occupancy.

Only reason I don't WFH is that I have two grandkids and four dogs. I come to work to relax.

[ita]

Interesting article about employees going back to work:

CBRE survey: The return to the office taking shape

Dan Rafter
Interestingly, the survey identified commuting as a significant factor influencing companies’ choice of office buildings. The top two amenities preferred by companies, out of the top 10, were directly related to transportation to and from the office.

What are the most desirable building amenities for occupiers?

Access to public transportation: CBRE said that 59% of companies responding to its survey prioritized this perk. This amenity topped CBRE’s list.
Car parking: 54% of responding companies cited this as a priority.
Onsite café or food-and-beverage service: A total of 53% of respondents pointed to this as a key amenity, third on CBRE’s list.
Shared meeting space: Shared meeting space was ranked as an important amenity by 47% of respondents.
Sustainable building features and operations: Bringing up fifth place, this amenity was cited by 39% of respondents.

[Athomsfere]

Interesting article about employees going back to work:

CBRE survey: The return to the office taking shape

Dan Rafter
Interestingly, the survey identified commuting as a significant factor influencing companies’ choice of office buildings. The top two amenities preferred by companies, out of the top 10, were directly related to transportation to and from the office.

What are the most desirable building amenities for occupiers?

Access to public transportation: CBRE said that 59% of companies responding to its survey prioritized this perk. This amenity topped CBRE’s list.
Car parking: 54% of responding companies cited this as a priority.
Onsite café or food-and-beverage service: A total of 53% of respondents pointed to this as a key amenity, third on CBRE’s list.
Shared meeting space: Shared meeting space was ranked as an important amenity by 47% of respondents.
Sustainable building features and operations: Bringing up fifth place, this amenity was cited by 39% of respondents.

Access to transit. Makes sense.
Access to parking. I don't like it but it makes sense.
Onsite caferia *spits diet rum*

Re-he-heally? Man, If there's transit and it's in a good location I'd rather be walking to lunch. That was a HUGE perk in Aksarben. The cafe in every place I've ever worked in has been I guess a decent backup if I'm fighting fires all day though I suppose.

[ita]

Interesting article about employees going back to work:

CBRE survey: The return to the office taking shape

Dan Rafter
Interestingly, the survey identified commuting as a significant factor influencing companies’ choice of office buildings. The top two amenities preferred by companies, out of the top 10, were directly related to transportation to and from the office.

What are the most desirable building amenities for occupiers?

Access to public transportation: CBRE said that 59% of companies responding to its survey prioritized this perk. This amenity topped CBRE’s list.
Car parking: 54% of responding companies cited this as a priority.
Onsite café or food-and-beverage service: A total of 53% of respondents pointed to this as a key amenity, third on CBRE’s list.
Shared meeting space: Shared meeting space was ranked as an important amenity by 47% of respondents.
Sustainable building features and operations: Bringing up fifth place, this amenity was cited by 39% of respondents.

Access to transit. Makes sense.
Access to parking. I don't like it but it makes sense.
Onsite caferia *spits diet rum*

Re-he-heally? Man, If there's transit and it's in a good location I'd rather be walking to lunch. That was a HUGE perk in Aksarben. The cafe in every place I've ever worked in has been I guess a decent backup if I'm fighting fires all day though I suppose.

I am happy to see transit at the top of that list. I think it bodes well for Omaha's downtown office market with the addition of the streetcar and possible additional BRT routes and protected bike lanes. It's going to look more attractive to office users as these are added/expanded upon.

[Garrett]

In New York, while there is a lot of empty office space in the city right now, all of the brand new buildings are full. Basically it’s just the older, amenity-less office buildings that are emptying out.

[Athomsfere]

In New York, while there is a lot of empty office space in the city right now, all of the brand new buildings are full. Basically it’s just the older, amenity-less office buildings that are emptying out.

What other amenities, I wonder. Seems a retrofit for a decent kitchen wouldn't be out of the question. Same with a small gym somewhere (That's a perk I've always loved)

[zippy]

CSG has announced that their West Dodge office will be closed in November. They'll retrofit a few desks into their print facility at 144th and Chandler for those who require a physical space.

[nativeomahan]

What is CSG?

[Brad]

What is CSG?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CSG_International

They have those twin buildings north of Dodge on 180th.