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so, before I took a CompTIA exam, I was on the site and was thrilled to see they offered an
at-home option, that lasted about 2 min, then I was thrilled there was a testing center close to me.
being failed for touching my mouth during the exam would have been likely… and upsetting.
I understand the challenges they face as certifiers, so no arguments there…

but this led me to the thought of at-home work expectations.

for those who have, or have had a remote job, can you share with me your experience of that?!
im interested in things like…
are you on-camera 100% of the time?
how do bathroom breaks work?
what if a cat jumps up?
what if the neighbors dog barks?
what if im using a vape?

the only person I have ever known with a remote job had a certain amount of things that needed to be done in a day
and the ability to complete that consistently was the only factor… he would stop to take his son to work, he would
stop to eat an early lunch with his wife etc. he was available via phone/SMS/email from 9-5 regardless.

what was/is your experience with the expectations here?
Thanks for sharing!

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I think it would depend a lot on the actual role you are taking remote. If you are part of a large helpdesk or MSP, I would expect there to be much more stringent monitoring than if you are The IT Guy™ for a company (or a specialty role). I know I am likely the exception here, but the times I am able to work from home, I pretty much always would rather be in the office. For me this is mainly a productivity thing than it is anything else.

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I think that it more depends on the company.
There are some companies that want to monitor every moment of every day for remote employees. My sister-in-law worked for a company that did that, and she would get in trouble if they heard a mouse farting.
Most of the companies that I know (including my own) do not really bother as long as you get your work done.

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Was a regional guy for a company in one of my 1st roles. Spent some time wfh but was out most of the time travelling all over the north east, north yorkshire, north west, scotland & northern ireland. Manager trusted us to get the job done and only ever looked at times logged against tickets. Could easily scam a few days off a week as most stuff could be done remotely, so was done on an evening when nobody was in an office, meaning the next day could be spent at home. Different job during covid but as long as tickets were updated with times then that manager also let us get on with it.

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It largely depends on the company expectations as well as what your manager says. I’ve worked remote and hybrid and as long as work gets done, my manager is happy. They’re very accommodating when it comes to work life balance. These types of managers are hard to come by and are awesome.

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I am almost never on camera. I’ve actually told the VP why. Most meetings I am in I’m there in case someone needs something. There’s a few small parts of a 1 hour meeting where I am actually driving that meeting. So during the rest I’m listening but doing other things. If I have my camera on, it looks like I’m not paying attention which gives the impression of being rude. I can certainly not do other things and turn a camera on, but then I’m less productive.

I will occasionally turn it on so people remember what I look like.

How do bathroom breaks work? The same way they SHOULD work anywhere. You’re an adult, if you need to go, you go. I’ve not worked anywhere where I needed someone’s permissions to go to the bathroom, and I’d find it mildly amusing if someone attempted to tell me I couldn’t.

What if a cat jumps up? If you’re on camera? This can be a major problem. People will want to see the cat. People will ask the cats name. They may even comment that it’s cute. It’s more problematic when I had dogs, and anyone who has ever had dogs know that sometimes they get speed. More than once I’ve had them race under my desk around my chair, get caught on my headset cord and rip it off my head. “Sorry everyone my dogs nearly decapitated me in a burst of speed catching my headset cord.” That usually gets a laugh.

“What if I’m using a vape”. On camera on a company meeting? Well then you deserve whatever happens. That’s completely unprofessional in my opinion. Bear in mind I’m in the USA, and cultural norms are different in other countries. I do not pretend to speak for the world. You are working at home not on camera not on a meeting and you want to vape at your desk? I don’t see it, I don’t care. Same if you are drinking a drink while you work. I don’t care that you eat at your desk. It’s rude however to be stuffing food in your face while on a video call.

How and when you work depend on your employers. Many of mine have not cared at all if I started later or worked later. In this job many things have to happen off hours or on weekends. That should lend to some flexibility. This is not always the case but it should be. If you work for me and you were working on some problem from 8am to 2am, I don’t want to see you in the office again at 8am. Sleep in. All I expect is an e-mail before you sign off letting me know what was up, and if there’s anything I need to worry about or follow up on for you. Again not all employers are the same here and some quite frankly need to be more flexible if they intend to retain staff.

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I’ve worked remotely for the past 5 years or so. In my case, this mode has offered quite a bit of flexibility to my day as long as everything got handled and I was always available during business hours.

I am on camera 0% of the time - even during meetings. Most meetings I participate in are audio only, with only a few folks turning on cameras at their option. A few of the regular executive briefings have hundreds of attendees and video wouldn’t be at all practical in any case.

As per @PatrickFarrell, bathroom breaks work as per normal. One handy feature of wireless bluetooth headsets is you can continue to follow a meeting while strolling over to the bathroom to take care of other pressing business. Just remember to MUTE you mike!

My cats have not been an issue at all. They don’t jump up, and in any case the camera is always off anyway.

The bluetooth headset I use has decent noise cancelling, and just about any collaboration software (Teams, Zoom, etc.) also have decent noise cancelation as well, so dogs, sirens, trash trucks, and the neighborhood lawn service crews - who always seem to congregate the leaf blower operators outside my window when I am briefing execs - get screened out very well.

Assuming you meant while on camera in a meeting - treat vaping or smoking as you would for an onsite meeting. Is this something you would do at the meeting table? If not, don’t do it at a virtual meeting table either. And as @PatrickFarrell says, use your discretion for food and drink ay your desk.

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Thanks everyone for your stories and input!

nothing here is unexpected or un-assumed by me, though before reading them,
that was only so much speculation on my part.
I might actually prefer on-site or hybrid in many cases but remote might even be
necessary since, for now, I live in a place without many opportunities.

I have also been fascinated by the intensity of the “get-your-ass-back-to-the-office!”
sentiments I have read and heard recently considering the fact its been 5 years.

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I have a unique perspective, in that I am the lone worker in a branch.
The 50+ cameras are setup by me, so while head office have access, in reality I could choose to ‘out-view’ myself or even use masking. The reality is though, that one of my workmates checking on me, could also be a saving factor in case of some incident & that I could also set up a network alert, to notify me of certain IP’s connecting if I was concerned…

It really depends upon who is watching & why. I know that board members would not be able to get a picture of the work I do, through spying on me for 5 minutes - whereas the reality of CCTV is that you are spying on your workmates in testing so often, that you become immune to cameras & being watched. Again, I work for a company who would not question me dancing around the office to trigger an alarm, we can bring animals in for testing purposes as well. The flexibility that I am afforded, does not make me concerned about the constant surveillance.

Here’s an image I made just for you, on 2 of the cameras viewing me - however, if they wanted to put some performance monitoring software on my PC, that would be too much - glad I do not work for THAT company!

image
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Great question! Working remotely has definitely brought unique challenges and opportunities. Here’s my perspective based on experience:

On-camera time: This depends on the role and company. For some jobs, you’re only on camera during scheduled meetings, while others may expect you to be visible throughout your shift.
Bathroom breaks: These are usually flexible. Most companies trust employees to manage their time effectively.
Pets and noises: A cat jumping up or a barking dog can happen to anyone. Companies today are more understanding, especially for remote roles. A quick mute during meetings usually solves the problem.
Vaping or other personal habits: If you’re not on camera, it’s usually fine as long as it doesn’t interfere with your work.

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