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Working from home: Perks and policies?
Wondering how other organizations are supporting / controlling working from home?
Do you guys get your internet reimbursed? Do you have to use a company-controlled wifi router? Do you get a cellphone (with data) so you have a back-up connectivity? Allowances? Are you surveilled?
We get no reimbursement from the company for Internet as they provide an office we can work from, however the saving from fuel and transport bills more than out weighs the cost of internet provision.
We also all use our mobiles as back up connection devices.
I suspect you are probably American and asking this question (prepared to be wrong) so it may help if I factor cost into this
My internet is £30 ($38) and my SIM card with 20Gb Data is £8 ($10) per month for both. My router is a BT supplied one (UK ISP). Zero surveillance and flexible working hours (start between 7am and 10am, finish between 3pm and 7pm)
Travel to the office works out at £25 ($31) per day as I have to pay either train or toll charges and car park fees.
Therefore working from home is a benefit to me. Also there is no track on my work time, I can do what I like as long as the work gets done, a 2 hour lunch break to go shopping with my wife is accepted, I just work a little later.
As a manager of my department I also make sure that the people who are on my team are concentrating on their projects but as long as they deliver, then they can do it in their own time. Some of my team start early, have a three hour lunch and then come back for work.
Does this work? As a result we are five years ahead on the current corporate roadmap.
Also I do not micromanage as I find that stifles innovation and many things that we as an Exec team had never even considered as value have been created and delivered as an "oh and we thought of this"
I have suddenly realised that this was way off topic and didn't answer the original question but I hope this answers your question
I work from home everyday. I work in IT in higher education. My department does not deal with teaching, we're a business unit, so there is no need for us to be on campus to perform our jobs.
Working from home is nice, but I have learned over the past 3 or 4 years that I do need some level of human interaction outside of my family. I miss some amount of face to face interaction at work. I also live very close to my work, so I would not be opposed to going in a couple days a week if asked. I would not want to return to the office full time. The worst part is paying to park - $18/day if you do hourly parking or $100/month if you get a parking pass.
To answer your questions:
No. We used to get a reimbursement for internet if it was required for our jobs (being on call as IT counted) but they took that perk away a few years ago.
No.
No. If our internet goes out we generally just don't work. If it were a long term outage (more than half a day or something) we would probably be asked to go in to the office. I am not aware of this happening. My internet has gone out a few times and I just text my boss and let them know it's out.
HA no
No. One nice thing about higher ed is there is a real aversion to tracking too much or monitoring too hard.
I'm technically hybrid but work/manager is flexible about not coming in at all (or coming in a lot for those who prefer), so that probably influences my responses. Also, not American.
Hardware: Issued a laptop with a vpn-type connection; monitor (other assistive devices can be requested). No phone or special router. But, also no pressure to use personal phone data if power goes out (just text manager for awareness).
Reimbursement/allowance? Hahahahahahaha (nope)
Surveilled? For infosec purposes; Not activity/time tracking to my knowledge. My team cares more about completing work and respecting work-life balance/flexibility than about micromanaging or busy-work.
One thing you didn't ask about but I find interesting is the different social/cultural practices that can develop remotely.
I work for a really small company (15 employees) so it's pretty lax.
I think we're legally supposed to have our internet reimbursed, but they haven't. I should bring that up again.
Technically, there is software they could use to watch us, but the IT guy just uses it to install and fix anything.
I do have a work cell phone, but I'm not out and about much so it's pretty pointless. They just had an extra phone.
I'm the office manager and do a lot to keep the company running smoothly. The owner's son knows I'll start looking for a new job as soon as they force me back in the office, so I don't see it being brought up again. It's nice to have that kind of sway, but it also goes to my head a bit lol We are required to be in the office once per month just so we all see each other and that's about enough for me.
I love the freedom of working from home. I have ADHD, and love that I can pace around the apartment when I need to think or just get the wiggles out. I don't have to think about what to wear and getting all done up everyday. I can nap and shower during lunch. Most of my chores are done during work hours so all my free time is for me. I love WFH!
We have a number of one-time & recurring stipends targeted towards WFH:
One time:
Recurring:
Nothing in terms of "control" regarding privacy / surveillance. We need to connect to a VPN for most things, and system/software updates are performed via Jumpcloud installed on our work computers.
That being said, during the height of the pandemic, the company was very proactive in trying to cultivate a healthy remote culture. There were a lot of teambuilding activities, surprise bonuses/gifts every once in a while, and a general sense that effort was being taken to build company morale. Cue the economic downturn and two rounds of layoffs, and all that disappeared nearly overnight. Most of our domestic, full-time engineers have since been converted into Eastern European contractors, and all our formerly-popular social channels in Slack have gone nearly completely dark. I think that's partially because there are fewer people, but also because there's a heightened anxiety about further headcount reductions, so nobody wants to be perceived as the person who's got time to idly chit-chat on Slack all day.
I work fully remotely as a software engineer at a decent sized company. I am very spoiled by their WFH policies honestly and I really hope they keep them long term.
We don't get Wi-Fi reimbursements, just a one time $1000 stipend for work-from-home equipment that you can use for anything. I just use my ISPs provided router, company had no say in what ISP or plan to get.
My company didn't provide me with a phone but they automatically add $75/mo to my paychecks to pay for a phone plan. This $75/mo is basically free money as they don't really check what you use it for, it's rolled into your regular paycheck. I could've just set up my work stuff on my personal phone but I wanted some separation so I bought a Google Pixel 7 Pro. Being a long time Android fan that's been thinking about switching to iPhone, I deliberately bought an Android phone to use as a "work phone" so I can switch my main phone to an iPhone and get the best of both worlds. Currently using the Pixel on visible, a Verizon MVNO and I've been pretty pleased with the service and the cost is pretty low.
We get some wellness allowances, its $600 but can't remember if its yearly or just a one time thing. Haven't touched it yet lol. We also have a separate equipment ergonomics allowance. There's no set amount but we can take a survey that judges how bad our WFH equipment is and the system will recommend us new equipment. We are then allowed to buy either the equipment listed in the survey's report OR buy something similar that doesn't cost more than 20% of the recommended equipment. Very generous.
We are not surveilled. My company really champions freedom and work-life separation so they don't care about what you do as long as you get your work done on time. They really push for having proper work-life separation so that's why they don't just give everyone a work phone. You aren't expected to always be online and respond within 30 seconds. Work phones are there if you want it but it's not strictly needed.
Overall, I feel very lucky to work here.
I work remotely full time and it's pretty lax. We have flexible schedules, a small stipend that just about covers internet, mobile device for back up connectivity, and company issued computers. There's not really any monitoring either.
We have pretty small teams and regular evaluations, so if you're not hitting deadlines or goals, it's caught pretty early on. Other than that, the company treats us like adults and gives us leeway to work how we please.
I've been working a hybrid model, partly from home and partly at the office, at my current company since 2018 (pre-pandemic). Since the pandemic, other people have been allowed to work from home (obviously). However, as the pandemic recedes further in the rear-view mirror, the company has been gradually increasing the required in-office days for full-time workers; a couple of months ago, all full-timers were told they have to be in the office 4 out of 5 days. We part-timers continue with our own individual arrangements (so, for example, my manager and I, who both work only 4 days a week, each continue working 2 days in the office and 2 days at home).
I do get my internet and phone reimbursed, but that's a special favour to me, as a result of my particular circumstances (very long story which isn't relevant here), rather than company policy. Nobody else gets this reimbursement.
Everyone who works from home uses their own personal internet connection, their own personal router, and their own personal mobile phone. (Except for a couple of executives.)
There are no work-from-home allowances.
Nobody is surveilled. Most people take their company laptops home for working on, but those laptops don't have surveillance technology installed. In my case, I use my own personal computer to work at home (I've set up a work-only user account on my computer), so I know it has no surveillance technology installed.
"Oh what a long strange trip it's been..."
Pre-pandemic, I was CTO at a smallish, specialized private firm. We were "hybrid" before there was a word for it; anyone that wasn't handling controlled on-prem materials could work from home at will. There was no reimbursement. The only mandatory days were sprint boundaries and all-staff meetings.
I'm now rounding out my career in a government spot, where the pace is a lot more sane. In this spot, the hybrid arrangement is a peculiar policy. It's not really aligned with any operational requirement - it was an attempt to come up with a one-size-fits all arrangement that ended up poorly fitting everyone.
Aaanyway: no reimbursement, no allotment. Endpoints buttoned down tight, but employer-furnished and maintained. Surveillance is tooled up, but access to any information coming out it is strictly controlled.
I work for a large fortune 100 company. We are hybrid and our CEO says that that's the long term vision. We were somewhat hybrid prior to COVID as well, but more people have taken advantage of remote work since COVID.
A small portion of it. We used to get all of it reimbursed years ago, but they took it away with the justification that pretty much everyone would have internet for personal use anyway.
It's not required, but they do offer it if you want hardware VPN and a dedicated wifi for work. It also comes with a desk phone. I do use one.
I do have a corporate-paid phone plan with lots of data and hotspot features, but not for this purpose. I am on call for escalations so they pay for a cell plan for me.
I think it's something like $300/year for misc stuff, in addition to being able to order a monitor, mouse, headset, keyboard, and webcam.
No. It's not in our company's culture. They don't care when or where people get their work done. But they are results-driven. So if you're not delivering, there's a long path from "you need to improve" to being laid off.
EU resident. The company pays my phone bill, and I get a fixed monthly allowance that covers my entire internet + electricity bills. I don't use a company provided router, but I use a VPN obviously.
As for surveillance, I don't know. I think that in EU an employee needs to be informed of any surveillance, but I might be wrong on that.
Work from Home in the defense sector. Have to work from a government laptop.
No internet reimbursement, cellphone, allowances. Base pay is generous however. I know some other companies that do give an internet reimbursement. I don't believe we are being surveilled - though I believe they likely have the capability to.
I don't get my internet reimbursed, but I'm okay with that since the vast majority of my internet usage comes from streaming, downloading games, etc. My work-related internet usage is usually pretty light. I also don't have to deal with data caps in my area, so there's really no incentive for me to push for reimbursement.
My WiFi router is my own and there isn't any need for a company-provided phone as all of my communication happens via Slack, Zoom, and Meet (and I have no idea why we use all 3). As far as allowances go...sorta? We have a program called the Level card and we get like $50/mo put on it that we can spend things with some limitations. Like certain retailers it's anything goes, but others, like Amazon, it's on a per-purchase basis whether or not the card covers it. It's meant for like office supplies, gym memberships, home repair stuff, etc. It's honestly kind of random.
As for surveillance...I honestly don't know. There are a number of IT-provided programs on this computer that I don't fully understand the purpose of (Cisco Umbrella, Crowdstrike Falcon) that I just kind of assume phone home with the basics. No idea if they actually do. We also have a VPN for accessing our AWS services, but I don't think there's any snooping going on there. I can freely disconnect it and it's project-specific, so I doubt it. In general I just don't do anything questionable on this computer. I freely browse, youtube, stream music, etc. all day while I work and haven't heard a peep from IT about it. I did get bold and play Minecraft on here once while I was on vacation, and never heard about that either.
I work as an IT consultant so I track hours daily, that's as much surveillance as I have. I'm sure people would ask questions if I missed meetings.
I VPN into the office network, and just use my phone if my internet chokes. My phone bill is $20, usually, with a Ting flex plan, so I don't blther with reimbursement, but that's an option.
My only complaint is the teams I've been on were all in the midwest, or out of state, so I've been the odd man out.
The home network is our ISP's modem into a router/AP, into a switch after the previous modem died and they tried to charge for wifi.
I'm in the US and my US company went full remote back in May, after doing 50/50 hybrid/full remote at times since 2020.
There's certainly no reimbursement for Internet, electric, or even personal cell phone use. While we have VOIP and most of us have the app on our personal phones, some of us still use our personal numbers for work stuff. There's no stipend or reimbursement for that (at least no blanket policy for it).
There is no employer-provided Internet connectivity backup. Most of us can hotspot via our personal phones, so that's what people do if needed. Also, people can go to Starbucks or a library. We actually still have a tiny one-room office (most of us are still in the area), so that's also an option.
Obviously we provide all employees with a laptop or a desktop. And any peripherals or cables (even power strips) they need are covered by us. I encourage people to tell me, as the IT manager/purchaser, what they need, since I don't know their home setups. I recently bought a 27" monitor for a coworker when I figured out he didn't have a second screen, instead only using his laptop screen. Provided he doesn't leave in like a few months (highly unlikely), that's pretty much his monitor now. No one is going to ask for that back; where would we store it?
I think we even cover a reasonable amount of office supplies. Like if you have a work printer, we'll buy your toner. Need paper? We'll buy it.
When we transitioned to full remote earlier this year, some people didn't have office desks and chairs and such. So we ended up either giving employees their office furniture or buying them new stuff for their home office. For example, I went to IKEA earlier this year to pick up a small side table for one of my coworkers who needed one.
As far as surveillance, I am not aware of any. And I would think I would know as I'm the IT guy. I know some people look at Teams statuses. But beyond that, no one is looking at anything. If our leadership distrusted us, I don't think we would've gone full remote. It certainly helps that we're a small company of like 14. It's easy for all of us to keep in contact and "keep tabs" on each other, so to speak. If we were a much bigger organization, I suspect we'd want some level of tracking.
Even with timekeeping for payroll, it's just assumed that hourly employees are working their 40hrs, unless they've marked on a shared calendar they're taking vacation or sick leave. And we're pretty flexible on workday start times and end times and when people work. Some of them out of practicality; we have one person who works out of Europe 7+ hrs ahead of the rest of the team. I sometimes work over the weekends to fix things, since no one else is on, so then I'll just take off early during the actual week in exchange.
So far it's been pretty good and chill. Our CEO has been pretty effusive in his praise of how well things are going. Our leadership overall seems pleased or at least don't see problems. So it's good.
I’m now working with my third WFH/remote company since 2020. The first was originally a traditional company that embraced WFH. They would reimburse you $50 for internet. No allowances and no surveillance. It was pretty laid-back, but you were generally expected to be working 9-5(ish). I did have a cell phone as a backup for connectivity, which they did reimburse us for (this existed prior to WFH).
Second company was a “remote first” start-up in California. No internet or phone reimbursement, but they did provide a $1000 tech/office allowance for buying things you needed or wanted (headphones, office chair, etc.). No surveillance and pretty laid-back. You were expected to be available for their core hours 9-3. Other than that, we were expected to respond to outages on a schedule and meet sprint deadlines. I received a company-owned Mac, but was allowed to BYOD.
Interestingly, the Feds are going remote. I’m now working for a federal contractor in a large organization - “remote first”. Another $1000 tech/office allowance, but no internet/phone reimbursement. No surveillance. You’re generally expected to be available during core hours, but otherwise you’re just expected to meet deadlines and get the work done. There are some additional security concerns, but to my surprise they’re handling most of those quite well.
Having done this for a few years, I took the initiative to ensure I could use a hotspot for backup connectivity and got set up with a second ISP (dual WAN). I also implemented some cheap power backup plans (a collection of UPS, a small backup generator for the house, etc.). I moved to the middle of nowhere, so it seemed prudent.
Overall, it’s been a great experience. I’ve not yet been pressured about returning to an office. I can tell the job market has slowed down a bit. Some places are less friendly towards WFH. But at this point, even more pay wouldn’t get me back to an office (I’m sure there’s a number that would convince me, but I doubt anyone would offer that). I prefer my hermit IT lifestyle.