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Microsoft Technology

Microsoft Develops a 'Virtual Commute' for Remote Workers (bloomberg.com) 45

Posted by msmash from the how-about-that dept.
Millions of employees now commute from their bed to a desk at home. After the initial euphoria of skipping smog-filled traffic jams and cramped train compartments, a new reality has dawned in which the work day blends into the rest of life, like a never-ending video conference call. Microsoft has a solution for this. From a report: The company's Teams collaboration software is adding the ability to schedule a "virtual commute." It won't start your car or ride the subway for you, but it will remind users about the end of the work day, suggest tasks to help workers wind down and create a little mental space before kids' homework, dinner, laundry and other obligations come crashing in. For example, Teams will prompt users to list tasks as completed or add them to tomorrow's to-do list, while asking workers to rate how their day went and suggesting guided meditation, through an integration with the Headspace app. Pandemic-related burnout and difficulty separating work and personal life has become a surprisingly common concern among Microsoft's corporate customers, according to Chief Marketing Officer Chris Capossela. "The thing we didn't predict that we've learned is now at the top of customers' mind is really the well-being of their employees," he said.
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Microsoft Develops a 'Virtual Commute' for Remote Workers More

Microsoft Develops a 'Virtual Commute' for Remote Workers

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  • Prior art... (Score:3, Informative)

    by Major_Disorder ( 5019363 ) on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @01:10PM (#60532294)
    I literally have the lights shut off in my home office at 16:30 every day. My normal quitting time is 16:00 so this allows me to finish what I am working on if I need a few minutes. This has helped me immensely in separating work and home life. I also do not use my work laptop for anything other than work.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rnturn ( 11092 )
      For ages now, I've had an alarm scheduled on my phone to go off at 16:30 to remind me to start finishing up for the day---save files, check emails one last time, etc.. Being able to schedule alarms like that was one of the reasons I got a "smart" phone in the first place. Sure, there are days when I've had to blow that reminder off but, most days, it helps control how much time I spend working. No more 18h days at work---unless we're recovering from some sort of disaster. Nobody wishes on their deathbed tha

    • 16:00? 16:30? At what time does your day start and how long is your lunch break?

      Every job around here, even desk jobs, are 8:00 to 12:00, 13:00 to 17:00.

      • 16:00? 16:30? At what time does your day start and how long is your lunch break?

        Every job around here, even desk jobs, are 8:00 to 12:00, 13:00 to 17:00.

        I start at 08:00 and I choose to not take a lunch break. This is by my choice, as I am not usually hungry at mid day.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      I find a short walk before and after work really helps.

    • Yeah except a few years ago they changed the patent system from "First to Invent" to "First Inventor to File."
      Reference: https://www.uspto.gov/learning... [uspto.gov]

  • sure it is (Score:4, Interesting)

    by yassa2020 ( 6703044 ) on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @01:16PM (#60532316)

    now at the top of customers' mind is really the well-being of their employees

    Teams will prompt users to list tasks as completed or add them to tomorrow's to-do list

    Just a coincidence that managers want to micromanage todo lists and that's why they hate WFH, right? It's for the workers to feel better...mmhmm.

  • Seriously, if you can't shut down your work computer at a reasonable hour, no amount of 'prompting' from software and no amount of 'team discussion' is going to stop it.
    You have to ask WHY that user isn't shutting down and switching from work mode to home mode.
    I'll bet it's deadlines for most people - the fear of not meeting them.
    It could be mountains of email to get through.

    The solution is better project planning, not software that 'monitors' your stress levels and how much you are working overtime.
    That is

    • Fortunately there are a wide variety of people in a variety of situations and a variety of ways of getting different people to do things.

      I am of course stating the obvious, but sometimes you need to.

      I'll give the example of staying in shape. It used to be a big struggle for me before. I was never obese, but it was a challenge for me to stick to anything. I never had the time. Work was always in the way. I could never be motivated. I got bored.

      I've been solid for almost a year now (excepting the covid break)

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Pascoea ( 968200 )
      I think the idea of a "prompting" in that it's similar to the boss walking around at 5:00 and saying "have a good night" to everybody. It's not like my manager is dismissing me for the day, it's just more of a gentle reminder that even though your buried neck deep in something it's OK to pull the plug and go home. I realize there are countless other ways of doing such a thing, but what's the problem with having one more tool in the toolbox? I, personally, have struggled with unplugging while working at h

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by rgmoore ( 133276 )

      I disagree. There is a real problem of separating work from home life that is separate from deadline pressure. Even before COVID and lots more people working from home, businesses were talking about "work life balance" and the need to leave work at work. That's many times worse when there's no longer a physical separation between work and home, so it's necessary to build an even stronger mental barrier between the two.

      I know when I was working from home, it was really important to have some kind of rul

    • Well, I don't think they need this but rather want this. Like, it's definitely handy. On the other hand, this could also be another effort for a large company to push the burden of burnout (which is rampant in our industry) on to the workers in the "We provided you tools, why are you still burnt out?" approach similar to the littering campaign in the US in the 1980's and 90's. I completely agree with you that better project planning, better management (not more management, *better* management), etc. is need

  • That's funny (Score:4, Interesting)

    by JustAnotherOldGuy ( 4145623 ) on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @01:35PM (#60532372) Journal

    That's funny in a stupid kind of way.

    I myself never ever have a problem with "work/life balance", and I never ever need "reminding" that my work hour, errr, I mean "day" is done.

    Half the time I'm done by noon and then it's just a matter of deciding what I want to do for the rest of the day.

    As a friend of mine said to a recruiter checking my references, "You would be very lucky to get him to work for you."

    They hired me in spite of that clear warning.

    • Indeed, that was good for a chortle.+1, Funny.

    • As a friend of mine said to a recruiter checking my references, "You would be very lucky to get him to work for you."

      "No one would be better at this job than he would."
      "I would recommend him with no qualifications whatsoever."

      What are some of the others?

  • Using HoloLens to simulate an autonomous vehicle, with a virtual radio, or virtual enviromental sounds if I decide to roll the virtual windows down.

    One day in the coast of california, next day in the french riviera, next day... you get the idea.

    Do one with a sunrise setting at the begining of the day, and another with a sunset theme at the end of the day. Boom! That's a relaxing commute. The crap about work to-do list shoud be doene in the last 15~30 min of the workday, on company time, not during the commu

  • reality even the bad parts.

    • reality even the bad parts.

      What that mean? Reality evens out the bad parts? If I have to read your comment three times to connect it back to your subject line, you've failed to communicate with me.

  • Myself, I don't really see much change between now and when I was in the office. If there are issues, I will be continuing to work on them from home in the evenings - that was true before and is still true now. If everything is going smoothly, I make sure I'm disconnected from the work-related stuff (e.g. email, Teams).

  • Won't fix workaholics (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ErichTheRed ( 39327 ) on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @02:03PM (#60532510)

    I definitely see this. I don't have an issue with work-life balance simply because I'm at the point in my career that I can't really be guilted into the 90 hour weeks tech companies want. I put in a full day and unless I'm really stuck on something I have a hard deadline to be done at quitting time; there will always be more to do. But I see this happening with plenty of other people, especially people without families or other hobbies outside of work. I'll pick up my phone in the morning and see messages from people at 2 or 3 in the morning, regularly...these are the people who can't or won't shut off.

    In the pandemic, tech companies lost that "all inclusive" workplace where they keep you on campus 14 hours a day by giving you free food, Nerf guns and a zany atmosphere that makes you want to stay. By contrast, someone living in an almost $5000 a month studio apartment in NYC or San Francisco only has work to fall back on when that "office family" isn't around. Some people will burn out from the isolation, but some will just throw themselves into their work. Micromanagers who love to look at productivity stats by the millions of DevOps tools everyone uses will wonder why some people are hyper-productive and others not as much, and the workaholics will raise the bar for everyone.

    That's kind of why I'm not sure Teams is doing any employee favors by offering a virtual commute feature. M365 already keeps tabs on employees by calculating an "engagement score" using the Graph API and edited documents. I can bet there's a "who uses the virtual commute" feature that micromanagers would love to get their hands on to see who's "slacking." I definitely think my future workplaces are going to be ones that at least offer some hybrid work from home, because it's great when it's not every day for months on end. I like working from home, but hate having to. There is a kind of sameness to the whole thing...not leaving your house, working in the same place every day, etc. So good idea Microsoft, way to provide a burnout fighting mechanism...but curse you at the same time because bad managers trying to justify their jobs are going to misuse the data you give them!!

    • Re:Won't fix workaholics (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Moof123 ( 1292134 ) on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @03:12PM (#60532824)

      Lots of parents are just trying to get their 8 hours in, and 10 PM-3 AM is prime quiet time in the house for that. I'm lucky if I can get 4-5 hours in of actual work during the day. Parents get to be IT, teachers aide, lunch lady, play mate, and daycare worker throughout the day. After the kids are in bed and the kitchen is cleaned up it is time to try and focus again to get the last 2-4 hours of needed work done.

  • and the Ticket Inspector?
    You can't have a proper commute without having your ticket to ride inspected and then punching a timecard...

  • A walk? (Score:3)

    by fluffernutter ( 1411889 ) on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @03:14PM (#60532840)
    If people need a separation that badly why not just go for a walk or something?

  • If you can work from Muncie, IN you can work from Mumbai, IN.

    • True. Of course, it's a lot more convenient for the person in the Bay Area at 1:00PM to contact the person in Muncie, IN, than to contact the person in Mumbai, IN.

  • Cortana: Hi there, Cortana here, I'll be managing your Teams Total Life Immersion Experience for you. What exciting Microsoft technology would you like to experience today?

    Joe: Errrr...hello, I'd like run my own life, thank you very much.

    Cortana: Hmmm...sez here you are not doing a very good job doing that. I've set up some appointments with your boss....and some family members, it seems they want something called an "intervention"....ya, I don't understand it either.

    Joe: Could you please leave me in peace?

  • Virtual commute session (Score:3)

    by sjames ( 1099 ) on Tuesday September 22, 2020 @04:31PM (#60533098) Homepage Journal

    Picture remote worker sitting at computer. Screen displays unmoving car in front, traffic creeping alont to the left and right.

    User presses horn button and shouts into the microphone: "STEP ON THE GAS YOU FLATULATING BUTT-HEAD!".....

    Letters rotate into position at the top of the display: "ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED!"

    The California edition includes a 9mm in the glove box.

  • What they should have is the ability to log into a Teams meeting where you are automatically matched with people who are also quitting at this time and live near you. Just like riding the bus home and seeing your Microsoft neighbors. It's a randomly generated meeting of 3-4 people who also decided to take some virtual time after work for "the commute".
    Sometimes you see the same people. Not everyone takes the bus home, though and maybe it's just 2 people.
    Fun!

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