One thing that I find curious about the initial chart of data from Canadian workers (percent who worked some hours at home by income group) is that while the trend is clearly more hours worked at home with more income, I'm not so sure that's an unambiguously good thing.
"Are you able to work an entire day of your 40-hour workweek from home?" is a very different question from "Are you able to work your 45th through 60th hour of work from your home?"
Pre-pandemic, if I'd been asked whether I could work some of my scheduled hours from home, I'd have answered "yes, absolutely" despite additionally spending 40-50 hours per week in the office.
Sometimes, I think it would be refreshing to do something like airline pilot where I'd probably enjoy the job overall but that it was pretty clear there's no expectation that I'd fly an airliner in my non-work time.
> Sometimes, I think it would be refreshing to do something like airline pilot where I'd probably enjoy the job overall but that it was pretty clear there's no expectation that I'd fly an airliner in my non-work time.
Yeah, I've only had jobs that can be done anywhere, which is both good and bad. It gives me flexibility but also expectations.
Sometimes I envy my dentist friends. They make great money, but when they leave at 5:30pm, they are done for the day. Even their continuing education is scheduled into their in-office work day, as one of their benefits. On the flip side, they have to be in that office every day from 8:30 to 5:30. There is very little flexibility.
I sometimes -- well, I used to, heh -- share an office with a labor rep (i.e. someone who works for a union). I sometimes over hear their calls, and one of the last conversations I overheard before the pandemic really stuck with me.
In reference to some kind of changing circumstance that was going to compel their rank and file to spend more time doing some work-related task, the labor rep said, "They're entitled to their time" with a kind of finality I envy.
Absolutely no wiggle room around the question of, "should they be paid for every minute they spend on the clock for someone else's business." The ubiquity of salaried work really gets me sometimes.
That's a very common situation in a shipyard. It always makes me a little envious to know that the trades get paid every single minute here and often work 6 days a week. I do some work items that require a start 2 hours after sunset. The pay is the same 40 hours or 60 hours. You can guess how many engineering hours are post-40....
OTOH, would you rather be paid for every single minute at $40/hour and time-and-a-half for hours over 40 per week, or paid $3000/wk no matter how many hours you actually work? There are tradeoffs on both sides.
I know it's a common refrain when people defend being salaried that they get some wiggle room if they need to take off, or something, but me? I'd prefer the trade-off on something as precious as my time being very explicitly spelled out.
I have a feeling that the trade-off works in favor of the employer vastly more than the worker, in the general case, and probably even in the case where people think they're getting an okay deal.
Conversely, I’ve never once had to punch a time clock at any of my salaried positions.
None of my employers would ever be able to tell the difference between 38, 39, 40, or 41 hours in any given week (nor has any given any indication they'd care even if I told them the difference).
I have worked primarily for the prime contractor on Department of Navy work. Either at a prime ship repair yard or an AIT. They take time cards very seriously. I'd suspect you might get some wiggle room in the public realm/software, but as someone mentioned below I'd prefer my time/money trade to be explicitly laid out.
> no expectation that I'd fly an airliner in my non-work time.
This is how life is for most of us in Scandinavia, specifically Norway. Overtime is frowned upon and discouraged by the state (do too much of it and you and your employer have committed an offence) and also local culture is to leave the office on time.
"Are you able to work an entire day of your 40-hour workweek from home?" is a very different question from "Are you able to work your 45th through 60th hour of work from your home?"
Pre-pandemic, if I'd been asked whether I could work some of my scheduled hours from home, I'd have answered "yes, absolutely" despite additionally spending 40-50 hours per week in the office.
Sometimes, I think it would be refreshing to do something like airline pilot where I'd probably enjoy the job overall but that it was pretty clear there's no expectation that I'd fly an airliner in my non-work time.