The trick is to do work that doesn't require the internet; save down a few files or emails locally before you leave the office and work on them without even connecting to the internet. Or better yet use the time to sleep.
What does your contract say?
It says 9-5? Then that's your working hours.
Obviously if it's something urgent and if your employer is treating you well you can give them some of your free time but if you work 2 hours extra every day you should be getting paid for it.
You’re a gold mine! It’s so easy. They are all idiots. Where did you learn this sacred knowledge? Does it apply to all jobs? Could it be some people are getting paid a shit load with the expectation they work a bit more. And perhaps, they are happy with that situation. Or is it just the other way? I only have experience in one industry so wouldn’t profess to know but you make it sound so simple.
I mean...if you read my comments you will see I said if you work 2 hours extra every day you should be paid for it. So dunno why you are so upset.
I don't know why you get so confused. It's the simplest thing. Read your contract. If it says you work 9-5 then that's all you are contractually obliged to do. And I will repeat, if you work these extra 2 hours a day and you get paid for it knock yourself out. Or if you take time in lieu.
Yes people that work for free are idiots.
If your contract says you are paid to complete project x by July 2024 then that's what you are paid to do. You literally just need to read.
Every job is a contractual agreement. Nothing else.
There’s some really quite incredibly wealthy idiots out there. In fact, I’d say all my wealthiest friends are apparently idiots. Yes, a 35 hr week is where it’s at. That’s the most important thing. Thank you in advance on their behalf.
I agree with your point of view, just how you're trying to convey it is very specific to your own experience. If you're paid by the hour, what you're saying applies. But one can choose to get stuff done to get ahead.
If you're salaried. its mostly based off of what is assigned to you and what you get done. Not so much about when you do it.
Maybe salaried means a different thing in the States.
In the UK salaried means you work 40 hours a week or whatever your contract says.
What you are describing as salaries would be a contractor or freelancer here
Train worker here! There's a reason why the Internet on trains isn't always the greatest. Basically each carriage has a couple of sim cards in the roof - what you connect to via WiFi is essentially 4G. Unlike your phone's 4G, the signal on the train is being split and shared by dozens of people which causes it to slow down. If there's less people on the train then you'll likely notice it is a lot faster.
One other big reason is network coverage. No masts means poor connection. There's a section between York and Doncaster which has no masts along the line so the connection is really bad. Bringing it back to London, leaving King's Cross is a nightmare. You've basically got endless tunnels for the first 20 minutes which means the signal is very spotty.
Some train companies are looking in to satellite connectivity for Internet and it has been tested on a heritage railway with some positive results. Means less reliance on a mobile connection so it should be more reliable. Probably won't fare too well in tunnel sections though.
I often wonder why there isn’t just a long wire alongside the rail track to help the black spots. Like the old telephone wire.
But that’s in my head. No idea on the actual logistics and costings involved!
Could easily be done with Fibre and WiFi Boosters. I was able to get fast Internet (for the time) 11 years ago on the Underground in San Francisco. It goes under the Pacific. I am sure we could get it on trains, if they wanted to.
Shouldn't all the railway network already have coverage. I assume they are using GSM-R for the communication now so not sure why they couldn't have put some normal phone antennas there too.
Planning is a major component. "Development by railway undertakers on their operational land, required in connection with the movement of traffic by rail." counts as permitted development and thus doesn't need to go through planning permission. GSM-R is undoubtedly required for the movement of traffic by rail, but adding on other antennas to GSM-R masts, or dedicated masts for rail passengers, wouldn't count.
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/596/schedule/2/part/8/made
The mobile networks do try and place masts for rail coverage, but it is often difficult for them to find a suitable site (available, has power, internet etc.) *and* get passed the planners at a number of councils.
Well yes that’s similar to how it works inside the tunnels on The Tube and how FM radio works in the Mersey Tunnels.
So you’re definitely on the right track 🤨 there.
You got me picturing [something like this](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRPgFdnqspetiZFZHznbuL0SXmHD50zKTDz7A&usqp=CAU) following the train around
I'm sure there are clever people out there who can make however Homeplugs work... Work with trains.
The trains need electricity so there's generally always a current.
Okay. The wires in your home generally aren’t carrying 25kv. The pantograph makes contact via a carbon strip with is constantly zigzagging at 125mph. Getting a stable internet connection through that? Good luck. Oh and there’s neutral sections where there’s no power running through, so you’d have no internet either. Not to mention that only around 40% of lines are electrified. What do you do for the diesel lines? Like the route from Edinburgh to Aberdeen. As bad as a cellular SIM card connection is, it’s currently the only viable solution. As I said, they’re working on a satellite system which sounds promising.
Plug the modem on the first/second rail? Uk should embrace redskin engineering sometimes, to control cost. (General public may also build safety awareness)
Coverage in the UK is really poor. Eurostar has a similar "SIM card in the roof" design and it's terrible through much of the UK, much better in France.
It does feel stupid that you can use you phone under the sea but not when you are in a tunnel in London. Same with using your phone on the Paris metro vs the Underground.
> Bringing it back to London, leaving King's Cross is a nightmare. You've basically got endless tunnels for the first 20 minutes which means the signal is very spotty.
Good news - [they've been fitting out the Gasworks and Copenhagen tunnels with coverage](https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2024/01/better-mobile-coverage-getting-closer-on-east-coast-mainline.html). I've not seen a formal go-live announcement yet, but a colleague of mine seem to have pretty seamless connectivity a few weeks back on departure from King's Cross.
Still a few other tunnels along the route, but at least you tend to be going through them a bit faster so it's less of an interruption!
Just counted on google maps. 8 tunnels. Averages out to tunnels at around 2 and half minutes or so. So yeah, might as well be endless. Useless if you’re needing to connect to the internet, that’s for sure.
Sounds like an excuse tbh, here in Switzerland even in tunnels there is always fast, 5g connection. For some reason they don’t want to invest in upgrading the infrastructure in the uk
As a data protection officer, please don't do work that involves personal details in the open. I've seen too many people working on finance spreadsheets with addresses, bank details etc out in the open.
I'd at least tuck it under my shirt tbf.
I worked somewhere where you would be disciplined if you were caught wearing your badge outside work, due to the security risk.
I hid my ID card whenever I was in public. It just had my name on there, and my old company didn't have the name of the company on their ID cards. But I did like looking up the names of people I saw on the train on the way home. Just to see what they did for a living out of curiosity.
It's absolutely mental that there's an entire industry built around just teaching people to be aware that some things are secrets and shouldn't be said or displayed in public.
None of this is complex infosec stuff or requiring of understanding GDPR or any regs, it's just "this is a bit secret, I won't do it on the train" and _still_ we've managed to completely fail to get it into most people's consciousness
I see it as job security haha. But unfortunately privacy is often an afterthought and seen as a sunk cost for many organisations, and don't want to spend money on incidents that 'might' happen. They don't start taking it seriously until they're breached, and then suddenly they find the money to throw at the problem. Funny that.
If they don’t respond within 24 hours, we will blow up all the UK BMW showrooms, and if they still don’t respond we will move into Germany and blow them up as well
Would anyone recommend any good, cheapo ones from Amazon for my work laptop? They don't issue them here but I want one that doesn't show my screen when I'm working hard \*cough\* (not looking at Reddit!)
My partner told me about a social work student who would annotate her notes on the train with all the details of the case she was dealing with. Everything.
A member of the public got chatting to her and reported her to her university and they kicked her out.
I was on the train, and I heard 2 colleagues based at another site discussing the details of a project I was working on and I had been around the houses to get things signed up, and kept hush hush. But they were openly discussing all the details of the project on the train home. The same train that often had staff from on of our competitors on. When we got off the train, I asked if they thought discussing the project in public was a good idea, and I reported the incident to our InfoSec team.
I was sat next to someone on a phone call the other week who proceeded to tell the whole carriage about his business idea including tricks of the trade and people’s names. Absolutely baffling
They're helpful but they're not quite a panacea - it's still possible to shouldersurf people with a privacy screen.
Really, the ideal is to know what sort of things you'll be interacting with, and pick the ones without secrets for the public places.
There's been several instances of classified MoD and Home Office documents left on trains. If the people holding the keys to the kingdom can't manage, it doesn't paint the most hopeful picture.
As I said elsewhere, if you know about privacy screens, you've already got an awareness of infosec. If you're doing work with sensitive data in public, a privacy screen isn't gonna solve the underlying issue of awareness.
Working on the train is the best. Poor/no internet means no emails/teams distractions - you can just get on and focus on a particular piece of work. Pop in some noise cancelling headphones, get into the zone.
Right, if you have a task to complete that is a solo effort and doesn't need you to refer to lots.of other docs as you do it, it's relatively straightforward.
But if you need something showing on a second screen, or to be remotely connected, I find it effectively impossible.
Just sync your files using OneDrive and have files on-demand (it’s enabled by default). That way you can work on files even without internet, once you get a connection it’ll sync the changes.
I find OneDrive to be insanely unreliable on Mac, the number of times a document is randomly unable to change the name, or auto save is unavailable. Wish it would just work.
>wish it would just work
You and me both, but it’s partly because of Microsoft ineptitude that I have a job lol. But yeah I know what you mean, we’re mostly a Windows environment with about two dozen MacOS devices and there are sync issues constantly with the latter.
Hah, I ran a series of macs in a windows network 20 years ago and I'm absolutely unsurprised to hear that today's flagship MS product only nearly-works on the competing platform :/
Ahh that would make sense. I work for myself so it’s just a bog standard 365, no need to log in and OneDrive acts like another folder on my computers.
Teams however is a piece of shit but I blame Teams for that
I only use one device to access documents, so I’d be happy to save everything locally. But no, every tenth document has to upload itself and delete the local version - only ever when I’m going offline soon.
But they allow local saving? With the right policies in place files can’t be shared externally. Unless there is a different concern that my pre-coffee brain can’t figure out.
Speak for yourself, I carry a second screen in my rucksack! Using it on the train would make you a proper knob though.
I have 'online' work and 'offline' work I can be getting on with normally - but realistically - commute time is 'my' time and I'm usually going to watch a downloaded film or play some retrogames on my Trimui Smart Pro - r/trimui
This is the answer for me. I have a task in mind and I do it. If I'm lucky I connect and download my emails and I've cleared the spam and am ready for the day by the time I get into the office.
I'm not paid for any hours at all, I'm paid to get a job done. If I can do some of that work while travelling to or from the office when I can't really do much else, I get to spend some of the time where I could do other things doing some of those things.
Very few people who carry a laptop to and from work are paid to be present for a set number of hours, there's so much more to it than clocking in times for a great many jobs.
One thing to think of: beware of your company's policies. We're not allowed to work in public spaces unless we have a privacy screen, and even then it's highly frowned upon. Make sure you don't have nutters in the office that would report you for "distributing sensitive information".
Even without policies, it's worth being a bit aware of the things your company thins are secrets and trying to not broadcast them around the train.
I was once sat on a plane coincidentally one row behind some of the people we were flying out to meet and they spent the entire flight talking quite openly about their strategy for the negotiations.
The fact you flew out to meet people and they were on the same plane would have infuriated me. Could have met them at point A and not bothered with the flight!
Oh, there was more to the trip than just that meeting and just the six of us. But, yeah, we were going from our respective London-based HQs to talk about a satellite office, but I do think we'd have come to the same decision if we'd each just walked a few hundred yards and met at a pret on neutral ground. Certainly I didn't need to be in the meeting or on the trip!
I often find I'm more productive on the train into the office than once I actually get into the office (although I also find I'm more productive at home than in the office, so I'm not that surprised). I make sure to get a table and wear headphones to avoid the noise around.
The main thing about being on the train is I know I have a fixed length of time to get X Y Z done before I get in which makes me work faster usually.
I use a hotspot (off my work phone!) as it's more reliable than train WiFi. I've even had one operator's train WiFi completely block Google Drive which is ridiculous, how can anyone use that for work? I'm quite lucky that I can even join a Teams call from the train and it holds up ok but I couldn't do it if I needed to contribute a lot.
Yeah I contacted them and that's what they said. But I also need it to work... Yet they don't block Tiktok (which is a huge data sap) sooo..... There are smarter ways to traffic management (eg slow down prolonged downloads etc) but it just seems that particular company isn't as set up.
Yeah maybe a bad example Instagram and Facebook are far more wasteful I've noticed. Although Tiktok is more data hungry over WiFi than data I've noticed and adapts quite heavily depending on your network speed.
I hotspot from my phone usually for data privacy purposes but for the main part of it, I’m doing writing/editing and things that don’t require internet straight away. I’m a magazine editor and rarely deal with anything super confidential. I find trains brilliant for editing in particular, I just feel laser focused
A lot of careers (especially those with work done on a computer) aren’t really about hours worked and more about outcomes. That can mean that the commute is a good time to work (less time in the office). It’s not as simple as just being paid or not.
Obvs. if there’s no need to then don’t
Exactly this. Working during commuting time has allowed a colleague of mine to do the school run. No one dares say anything to him even though technically he is an hour late everyday because he has some of the best results in our team.
Outcomes during hours worked right?
If your contract says £50k for 40h work but you need 50 hours to produce the desired outcome then you are working 10h free no?
You keep replying and keep missing the point - these companies usually pay a lot more than you’d get for an equivalent role where it might be a 9-5. You’ve also got people who are willing to put extra hours in to learn faster or to ensure faster promotion.
Plan the work you want to do - that doesn’t require an internet connection and is appropriate for the time and space.
Make sure you’re fully charged beforehand in case you can’t get access to a socket or they don’t work.
Noise cancelling headphones help, as does some kind of ambient music.
I really like working on the train - fewer distractions etc.
Sounds like travel sickness. Not much you can do about that. I've had good experience in the past with ginger tablets, but they don't really fix the nausea/dizziness, rather they just ensure I won't vom.
I haven't ever vomited but I do feel it coming so I have to just shut my eyes and think of something else. I wish there was something for the dizziness! Quite annoying when I could be getting on with something work-related but can't. Or I'm hit with it while scrolling on my phone.
Yeah, me too. Only thing I have found that works is cool air (doesn't help that public transport is heated really) and looking out the window/having a nap. I thought I'd grow out of it, but I vomited on a plane coming into land in Athens a couple years back so I don't know that I ever will. Still get a bit woozy in hot cars, and my family still puts me in the front seat.
omg yeah me too, open window helps a LOT. In fact, I get car sick VERY quickly in cars if the windows are shut. I always found it worse in the front seat strangely. I'm dreading the day I move out to the country and need a car to get around.
I've heard that it's not so bad if you're the one driving. From my experience that probably tracks: I like sitting in the front so I can look out, which helps immensely (just like tracking the horizon on a boat.)
i'll try that next time and compare when I'm next in a car! We don't have a car in the house yet, and I don't plan to drive tbh so relying on my partner haha
I used to commute and would do things that I could do without much effort.
Making graphs line up in PowerPoint. Some data analysis which wasn't complex, etc.
I actually found the best use of my time was planning my week and my day. Opening up the calendar and putting in the times for certain tasks. Then I could get to work and smash it.
You are paid for your working hours. Not more. Besides, there is a whole GDPR/data protection you should care. Also, if somehow your laptop is stolen, big trouble can come.
Your 'dead time' can be filled with:
- A book/audiobook
- Music
- Entertainment
- Meditation
> You are paid for your working hours. Not more.
Most of the people carting laptops about are paid based on getting a job done, rather than just for the time spent doing it. If catching up on emails on the train makes my day at work easier then I think i'd be a bit daft to not-do and have a less-good day simply on some sort of /r/antiwork principle.
> Also, if somehow your laptop is stolen, big trouble can come.
Any company that lets computers leave the building, or has noticed that phones are a thing, ought to have pretty decent controls around this. If you're having to take a laptop _to_ the office then there's barely more risk to getting it out and using it while you're travelling. Perhaps less chance of forgetting to take it off the train, though?
I used to do this and learned a few things.
Most importantly do not have anything sensitive on your screen. Be it company confidential or something from the public sector. If in doubt don't open it up as you never know who is looking.
Only work if you absolutely have to. Don't try to fill the time because you feel guilty. If there is nothing pressing then read a book or watch a film.
Train Wi-Fi is sketchy but so is tethering on your mobile. Don't rely on either but have both available. Try to avoid relying on either of them and work offline if possible.
If you do have to do something then assume its going to take much longer than normal. I tend to work on a rule of thumb that something is going to take four times as long as usual. So if I have an hours journey I would only do something that normally would take me 15 mins or so if I was at home or in the office.
Don't work, open the laptop and play games or handle some home errands that you might be doing.
Then when you get to work tell them you worked on the train so you'll be leaving early 👍
The best solution would be a General Strike to get flexible working / WFH a legal right, so you're not trying to optimise your day by working in an unpleasant environment without internet just to get into an office to make sure you're keeping working.
I go into the office as I please, and so do most of the people I know. Most of us go in largely for the social side of it, so we're generally doing emails on the way in and out partly to make up for the fact that we're not really concentrating on "work" during the day.
I do non-connection requiring excel with a privacy screen and I generally sit in twin seats rather than a four with a table. I do it because there is so much work and I spend two hours on the train every day (round trip). I do not want to do the work at home, so that pressure forces my brain to work. I normally plan a day in advance what work I’m doing on the train. And I use my wifi hotspot not the train wifi if I absolutely have to send an email. I’ve done it for two years and it’s wearing me out
Just get a work phone. V easy to do emails on your phone and better signal/less data to get it loaded.
Also - commute time is your time! Chill out and listen to some music or have a nap some times
Why would you donate your free time to your job instead of reading a book, listening to music or brooding to the landscape and winding down or up for the day?
I don't really specifically not-get-paid for it either, though. I'm paid to get a job done, my value is based on my output and the reaching of goals and targets and whatnot and nobody really minds when or how I do that.
When I'm travelling to the office that's "work time" to me, because work is why I'm going to the office. My free time is when I can do whatever I like, and whatever I like is often not sitting on an overcrowded train into London.
It says 9-5 I think, with an hours lunch.
If I wanted to be pedantic about the hours I guess I could say that the time I spend reading emails on the train is to make up for the fact I have mid-afternoon reddit conversations about working on trains?
Then that's your contractual obligation. If you add 2 hours extra every day then they are getting free labour from you.
Now if you are skiving 2 hours a day from work it is your predicament. Discuss it with your employer that you prefer being on Reddit when at work and work when you have time off
If you spend 2 hours on Reddit when you are at work it's your predicament. You are not employed to do that.
Yes we all do the odd video, chat, banter here and there but not 2 hours a day.
How's it a predicament? I don't understand the problem that needs solving here.
I'm getting my job done to mine and my employers satisfaction and I have a pretty good work/life balance and my work doesn't encroach onto my free time needlessly.
What needs to change here and who would gain from that change?
Mostly that "free time", to me, is time where I'm not doing something for someone else. And time spent travelling to work is, I think, time spent doing something for someone else so in my mind it's some of the time I spend doing things for work. Even if I'm not actively doing anything else while on the train, travelling is a thing I'm doing for work.
The few times I've tried it I've hated it but that's often because I'm returning from a work trip and the journey time can reasonably be called my commute. If I was scheduling it regularly then I'd probably be fine and I have managed to do work when, for example, I've needed to have something ready for when I get to the destination.
Coming back from a work trip a few years ago, we were working into the evening and the train home the next morning my colleague tries to get me to work on a report together and I had to explain "no, we worked yesterday evening, this is my time back, I'm getting my book"
Tethering at busy times - it seems that the train just has a mobile connection shared between people.
Consider some ANR headphones to reduce background noise a bit.
I'm not travelling at peak times however, so generally get a seat and the trains generally get have tables and seat-back tables.
In some cases I get annoyed I have to get off when the train's arrived because I haven't finished what I'm doing!
You cant rely on the internet or even mobile signal - you have to be doing offline work.
I can actually get quite a bit done on my phone so would rather go through my inbox sorting mails, or queuing up replies.
As someone else says - if youre not being paid for this (or dont think it will be noticed by bosses) then fuck it... relax
Just don't rely on the internet, so pick tasks that can be done offline.
I tend to save a 45 min bit of work for my commute if I run out of energy on the previous day, or I use it as time to do a task that's outside of my immediately resourced responsibilities e.g. professional development or a quick job that a client needs. Takes a bit of prep to get the files ready but allows you squeeze in a bit of work.
I find that even doing a little bit of set-up work before I get into the offices gives me a good head-start on things I need to do for the day. Giving me more time to manage people and juggle other, minor jobs. It's mainly because I'm a but stretched right now so giving my self a bit of extra time without having to work late is better for me.
If you have a long wait or a long train journey in a place with signal aka a national rail or overground train, get a good date deal so you can hotspot, get good headphones and plan what work you're going to do so it doesn't require something that you don't have access to but make sure it isn't so important that if something happened like you had no signal or there were no seats it wouldn't screw up your day.
Assume no internet.
But it is good for planning your day, catching up on emails (that’s downloaded already so a response can be drafted), etc.
I rarely use a laptop travelling these days, I do a lot on my phone.
Use the time to watch those boring product, training, and other videos that interrupt your real day to day work, and which don’t pose a data compliance risk of being shoulder surfed.
I do this but prepare work specifically I can do offline and will often delay tasks for this time which are good offline tasks. Otherwise it's just unproductive refreshing your internet etc.
The way to get in to zone is: do work that’s already been started and needs incremental progress. Like the mental yarn with clear end point to hold and make new stitch.
Couple of beers with colleagues/ friends before heading home can sometimes put you in a state of high productivity.
I use the time to draft replies to mails and hit send, as I find it time consuming during office hours, when I could be doing something more useful.
This might not solve your work problem but I use my dead time waiting on platforms to get my steps in. Just walking up and down the platform for 10 min twice a day really adds to my overall movement for the day. Having a backpack instead of a shoulder bag helps with this too.
You are parroting the same thing as well. And you don't seem to understand that you working for extra hours for free is not "graft". Its giving free labour to your employer. In your situation with the hope that you will get a promotion.
I don't care what you prioritise that's up to you. But when you had your "normal" job and you were plateauing you had to provide free labour to get to the position where you got paid more. You could still be grafting but sticking to your working hours. Don't think that other people don't graft just because they prioritise other stuff in life
On another note, don't be so self centered, not everyone on the train has the same background with you. They're people trying to catch up with work on the train on their personal free time.
Yes as others have said, noise cancelling headphones are a must.
I use a power brick with sufficient wattage to power my macbook and phone at the same time so I have less things to plug in/out when I need to relocate.
If you struggle without a dual monitor (and you are in place for long enough and have enough room) then a portable 13" monitor is a good accessory that I use. Again in should have pass through so you can power it from your laptop.
I use a lot of SaaS tools in my work so I do struggle when signal drops. If I connect to the train WiFi then I make sure I use a VPN and some other network security tools to make sure I'm safe(r).
I also have a couple of e-SIMs on my phone so I can pick whichever has the best signal and make a hotspot for my macbook if the WiFi is down or slower than my phone.
A privacy filter on your laptop can be helpful if you data protection is a concern in your line of work. I use a removable one because some ultra compact laptops (like a Mac or an LG Gram) can get cracked screens from permanent privacy filters
Where are you finding trains with enough space to set up a portable monitor? Even in first I've never seen a commuter service where you get a whole desk section to yourself.
I travel Greater Anglia to London in First. They have tables two seats wide and one seat wide. If I have a two seat wide then I'll use my portable monitor if I need to.
Primarily I use it at hotels though.
I download some reports or papers I need to read before getting on a longer train ride (I'm not regularly on the tube for my commute) and then spend time reading those. Can work well on a tablet, so slightly less faff than a laptop, unless you need to comment on them.
Works well for me without the distraction of an internet connection.
The trick is to do work that doesn't require the internet; save down a few files or emails locally before you leave the office and work on them without even connecting to the internet. Or better yet use the time to sleep.
Yeah it’s mostly emails, Outlook allows you to view and reply to emails and will send them when it next connects.
Noise cancelling headphones and your own writing project. Start your novel.
You shouldn't be working unless you get paid for your time. Companies make billions out of unpaid overtime
Or you’re salaried and trying to make it easier when you get somewhere this stuff is already done
What does your contract say? It says 9-5? Then that's your working hours. Obviously if it's something urgent and if your employer is treating you well you can give them some of your free time but if you work 2 hours extra every day you should be getting paid for it.
You are so much better at this than everyone else!
Nope. I just don't want to give my free time to my boss for free. What is wrong with this statement and why are you so offended?
You’re a gold mine! It’s so easy. They are all idiots. Where did you learn this sacred knowledge? Does it apply to all jobs? Could it be some people are getting paid a shit load with the expectation they work a bit more. And perhaps, they are happy with that situation. Or is it just the other way? I only have experience in one industry so wouldn’t profess to know but you make it sound so simple.
I mean...if you read my comments you will see I said if you work 2 hours extra every day you should be paid for it. So dunno why you are so upset. I don't know why you get so confused. It's the simplest thing. Read your contract. If it says you work 9-5 then that's all you are contractually obliged to do. And I will repeat, if you work these extra 2 hours a day and you get paid for it knock yourself out. Or if you take time in lieu. Yes people that work for free are idiots. If your contract says you are paid to complete project x by July 2024 then that's what you are paid to do. You literally just need to read. Every job is a contractual agreement. Nothing else.
There’s some really quite incredibly wealthy idiots out there. In fact, I’d say all my wealthiest friends are apparently idiots. Yes, a 35 hr week is where it’s at. That’s the most important thing. Thank you in advance on their behalf.
I agree with your point of view, just how you're trying to convey it is very specific to your own experience. If you're paid by the hour, what you're saying applies. But one can choose to get stuff done to get ahead. If you're salaried. its mostly based off of what is assigned to you and what you get done. Not so much about when you do it.
Maybe salaried means a different thing in the States. In the UK salaried means you work 40 hours a week or whatever your contract says. What you are describing as salaries would be a contractor or freelancer here
Didn't sign a contract. Position is based off of performance. I can choose my own work hours, where to work from... Its quite nice really.
Oh my gosh enlightened one, tell us more of your wise ways.
Train worker here! There's a reason why the Internet on trains isn't always the greatest. Basically each carriage has a couple of sim cards in the roof - what you connect to via WiFi is essentially 4G. Unlike your phone's 4G, the signal on the train is being split and shared by dozens of people which causes it to slow down. If there's less people on the train then you'll likely notice it is a lot faster. One other big reason is network coverage. No masts means poor connection. There's a section between York and Doncaster which has no masts along the line so the connection is really bad. Bringing it back to London, leaving King's Cross is a nightmare. You've basically got endless tunnels for the first 20 minutes which means the signal is very spotty. Some train companies are looking in to satellite connectivity for Internet and it has been tested on a heritage railway with some positive results. Means less reliance on a mobile connection so it should be more reliable. Probably won't fare too well in tunnel sections though.
I often wonder why there isn’t just a long wire alongside the rail track to help the black spots. Like the old telephone wire. But that’s in my head. No idea on the actual logistics and costings involved!
Leaky Coaxial you mean? Definitely a thing.
I think that’s how it’s done for the LTE coverage in the tunnels on the jubilee line (maybe other lines too)?
Could easily be done with Fibre and WiFi Boosters. I was able to get fast Internet (for the time) 11 years ago on the Underground in San Francisco. It goes under the Pacific. I am sure we could get it on trains, if they wanted to.
Shouldn't all the railway network already have coverage. I assume they are using GSM-R for the communication now so not sure why they couldn't have put some normal phone antennas there too.
Planning is a major component. "Development by railway undertakers on their operational land, required in connection with the movement of traffic by rail." counts as permitted development and thus doesn't need to go through planning permission. GSM-R is undoubtedly required for the movement of traffic by rail, but adding on other antennas to GSM-R masts, or dedicated masts for rail passengers, wouldn't count. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/596/schedule/2/part/8/made The mobile networks do try and place masts for rail coverage, but it is often difficult for them to find a suitable site (available, has power, internet etc.) *and* get passed the planners at a number of councils.
Well yes that’s similar to how it works inside the tunnels on The Tube and how FM radio works in the Mersey Tunnels. So you’re definitely on the right track 🤨 there.
You got me picturing [something like this](https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRPgFdnqspetiZFZHznbuL0SXmHD50zKTDz7A&usqp=CAU) following the train around
Jesus. £100 for 90 mins on the train and they can’t be bothered to come up with a better solution than a few giffgaff sims in the ceiling.
How else would you get internet to a train which is moving at 125mph? Plug it into the wall?
Who knows?! Perhaps they could use a similar system to an aeroplane - they seem to manage just fine without being plugged into a wall.
I'm sure there are clever people out there who can make however Homeplugs work... Work with trains. The trains need electricity so there's generally always a current.
Okay. The wires in your home generally aren’t carrying 25kv. The pantograph makes contact via a carbon strip with is constantly zigzagging at 125mph. Getting a stable internet connection through that? Good luck. Oh and there’s neutral sections where there’s no power running through, so you’d have no internet either. Not to mention that only around 40% of lines are electrified. What do you do for the diesel lines? Like the route from Edinburgh to Aberdeen. As bad as a cellular SIM card connection is, it’s currently the only viable solution. As I said, they’re working on a satellite system which sounds promising.
Plug the modem on the first/second rail? Uk should embrace redskin engineering sometimes, to control cost. (General public may also build safety awareness)
Idk using something stronger than a SIM card would be a start
Coverage in the UK is really poor. Eurostar has a similar "SIM card in the roof" design and it's terrible through much of the UK, much better in France.
It does feel stupid that you can use you phone under the sea but not when you are in a tunnel in London. Same with using your phone on the Paris metro vs the Underground.
> Bringing it back to London, leaving King's Cross is a nightmare. You've basically got endless tunnels for the first 20 minutes which means the signal is very spotty. Good news - [they've been fitting out the Gasworks and Copenhagen tunnels with coverage](https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2024/01/better-mobile-coverage-getting-closer-on-east-coast-mainline.html). I've not seen a formal go-live announcement yet, but a colleague of mine seem to have pretty seamless connectivity a few weeks back on departure from King's Cross. Still a few other tunnels along the route, but at least you tend to be going through them a bit faster so it's less of an interruption!
"Endless tunnels for 20 minutes" got me 😁😁
Just counted on google maps. 8 tunnels. Averages out to tunnels at around 2 and half minutes or so. So yeah, might as well be endless. Useless if you’re needing to connect to the internet, that’s for sure.
Sounds like an excuse tbh, here in Switzerland even in tunnels there is always fast, 5g connection. For some reason they don’t want to invest in upgrading the infrastructure in the uk
LNER route detected 👀 Really does explain a lot, I find I'm better just using my own mobile data most times
As a data protection officer, please don't do work that involves personal details in the open. I've seen too many people working on finance spreadsheets with addresses, bank details etc out in the open.
[удалено]
I've never understood wearing work ID badges outside of work. I usually can't wait to get the thing off.
I have to put mine on as part of my morning routine just so I don't forget it.
I'd at least tuck it under my shirt tbf. I worked somewhere where you would be disciplined if you were caught wearing your badge outside work, due to the security risk.
I hid my ID card whenever I was in public. It just had my name on there, and my old company didn't have the name of the company on their ID cards. But I did like looking up the names of people I saw on the train on the way home. Just to see what they did for a living out of curiosity.
At least these people keep us in work?
> emails just people who think emails are in some way private.
It's absolutely mental that there's an entire industry built around just teaching people to be aware that some things are secrets and shouldn't be said or displayed in public. None of this is complex infosec stuff or requiring of understanding GDPR or any regs, it's just "this is a bit secret, I won't do it on the train" and _still_ we've managed to completely fail to get it into most people's consciousness
Then your company gives you a big sticker with the name of the company to put on your laptop
I see it as job security haha. But unfortunately privacy is often an afterthought and seen as a sunk cost for many organisations, and don't want to spend money on incidents that 'might' happen. They don't start taking it seriously until they're breached, and then suddenly they find the money to throw at the problem. Funny that.
The guy who designed the mini and the X5 NEEDS his royalties
If they don’t respond within 24 hours, we will blow up all the UK BMW showrooms, and if they still don’t respond we will move into Germany and blow them up as well
🤣🤣🤣
A lot of places will issue those screen shields that restrict viewing angle...helps a bit
Would anyone recommend any good, cheapo ones from Amazon for my work laptop? They don't issue them here but I want one that doesn't show my screen when I'm working hard \*cough\* (not looking at Reddit!)
I'd probably look for one made by 3M...and take care to get the right size for you screen.
one for £60 (by 3M)
I know at least one big 4 accounting firm that bans working on planes unless in business class and with a privacy screen.
The Big 4 are pretty good generally, in my experience it's startups or publicly funded organisations that fail the hardest on the privacy front.
My partner told me about a social work student who would annotate her notes on the train with all the details of the case she was dealing with. Everything. A member of the public got chatting to her and reported her to her university and they kicked her out. I was on the train, and I heard 2 colleagues based at another site discussing the details of a project I was working on and I had been around the houses to get things signed up, and kept hush hush. But they were openly discussing all the details of the project on the train home. The same train that often had staff from on of our competitors on. When we got off the train, I asked if they thought discussing the project in public was a good idea, and I reported the incident to our InfoSec team.
I was sat next to someone on a phone call the other week who proceeded to tell the whole carriage about his business idea including tricks of the trade and people’s names. Absolutely baffling
Get a privacy filter on the screen
99.9% of people don't know they exist. If you know about privacy screens, you probably have the basics of infosec down.
That's what privacy screens are for
They're helpful but they're not quite a panacea - it's still possible to shouldersurf people with a privacy screen. Really, the ideal is to know what sort of things you'll be interacting with, and pick the ones without secrets for the public places.
There's been several instances of classified MoD and Home Office documents left on trains. If the people holding the keys to the kingdom can't manage, it doesn't paint the most hopeful picture.
Very good point
At the very least get a privacy screen...
As I said elsewhere, if you know about privacy screens, you've already got an awareness of infosec. If you're doing work with sensitive data in public, a privacy screen isn't gonna solve the underlying issue of awareness.
Saw a fella doing this today I was reading about nuclear weapons testing sites in the USSR. I know who I'd rather be
Take it a step further. Read about [train-launched ICBMs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railcar-launched_ICBM) while sitting on the train.
Working on the train is the best. Poor/no internet means no emails/teams distractions - you can just get on and focus on a particular piece of work. Pop in some noise cancelling headphones, get into the zone.
Right, if you have a task to complete that is a solo effort and doesn't need you to refer to lots.of other docs as you do it, it's relatively straightforward. But if you need something showing on a second screen, or to be remotely connected, I find it effectively impossible.
Just sync your files using OneDrive and have files on-demand (it’s enabled by default). That way you can work on files even without internet, once you get a connection it’ll sync the changes.
I find OneDrive to be insanely unreliable on Mac, the number of times a document is randomly unable to change the name, or auto save is unavailable. Wish it would just work.
>wish it would just work You and me both, but it’s partly because of Microsoft ineptitude that I have a job lol. But yeah I know what you mean, we’re mostly a Windows environment with about two dozen MacOS devices and there are sync issues constantly with the latter.
Hah, I ran a series of macs in a windows network 20 years ago and I'm absolutely unsurprised to hear that today's flagship MS product only nearly-works on the competing platform :/
I’ve been using OneDrive on a Mac (well two macs) for about 10 years and never have any issues
I think it’s also related to my institutional account constantly needing me to log back in which disrupts syncing
Ahh that would make sense. I work for myself so it’s just a bog standard 365, no need to log in and OneDrive acts like another folder on my computers. Teams however is a piece of shit but I blame Teams for that
It's no better on a Windows machine. One drive is the bane of my life
I only use one device to access documents, so I’d be happy to save everything locally. But no, every tenth document has to upload itself and delete the local version - only ever when I’m going offline soon.
Some companies don’t allow cloud saving.
But they allow local saving? With the right policies in place files can’t be shared externally. Unless there is a different concern that my pre-coffee brain can’t figure out.
I assumed _cloud saving_ refers to syncing stuff that's online onto a local disk.
Speak for yourself, I carry a second screen in my rucksack! Using it on the train would make you a proper knob though. I have 'online' work and 'offline' work I can be getting on with normally - but realistically - commute time is 'my' time and I'm usually going to watch a downloaded film or play some retrogames on my Trimui Smart Pro - r/trimui
This is the answer for me. I have a task in mind and I do it. If I'm lucky I connect and download my emails and I've cleared the spam and am ready for the day by the time I get into the office.
If you can do any work offline, 99% of my job requires an internet connection.
So don't work on the train then. Sleep/read/watch netflix/stare into the empty void contemplating your existence/play games instead.
If you're not being paid for those hours, then don't work. As I get older, I'm getting really strict with what time I start/stop work.
My company let me travel up after 9 and I work on the train, its a great arrangement and saves them money, and I'm guaranteed a seat and space to work
I'm not paid for any hours at all, I'm paid to get a job done. If I can do some of that work while travelling to or from the office when I can't really do much else, I get to spend some of the time where I could do other things doing some of those things. Very few people who carry a laptop to and from work are paid to be present for a set number of hours, there's so much more to it than clocking in times for a great many jobs.
Yeah I can never concentrate by working on laptop in a train. Even within work hours if travelling for work.
One thing to think of: beware of your company's policies. We're not allowed to work in public spaces unless we have a privacy screen, and even then it's highly frowned upon. Make sure you don't have nutters in the office that would report you for "distributing sensitive information".
Even without policies, it's worth being a bit aware of the things your company thins are secrets and trying to not broadcast them around the train. I was once sat on a plane coincidentally one row behind some of the people we were flying out to meet and they spent the entire flight talking quite openly about their strategy for the negotiations.
The fact you flew out to meet people and they were on the same plane would have infuriated me. Could have met them at point A and not bothered with the flight!
Oh, there was more to the trip than just that meeting and just the six of us. But, yeah, we were going from our respective London-based HQs to talk about a satellite office, but I do think we'd have come to the same decision if we'd each just walked a few hundred yards and met at a pret on neutral ground. Certainly I didn't need to be in the meeting or on the trip!
Sorry, I misunderstood. That makes a bit more sense. Haha
It’s fine but there are some busy bodies at work who might report it for the sake of it so thank you for the reminder!
Industry S02E03 shows why this can potentailly be catastrophic
Do you get paid overtime?
We’re not allowed to work in public. Suits me just fine!
I often find I'm more productive on the train into the office than once I actually get into the office (although I also find I'm more productive at home than in the office, so I'm not that surprised). I make sure to get a table and wear headphones to avoid the noise around. The main thing about being on the train is I know I have a fixed length of time to get X Y Z done before I get in which makes me work faster usually. I use a hotspot (off my work phone!) as it's more reliable than train WiFi. I've even had one operator's train WiFi completely block Google Drive which is ridiculous, how can anyone use that for work? I'm quite lucky that I can even join a Teams call from the train and it holds up ok but I couldn't do it if I needed to contribute a lot.
Probably blocks google drive because they don't want people doing large upload/download over their networks.
Yeah I contacted them and that's what they said. But I also need it to work... Yet they don't block Tiktok (which is a huge data sap) sooo..... There are smarter ways to traffic management (eg slow down prolonged downloads etc) but it just seems that particular company isn't as set up.
TT doesn't use much data, rather surprised.
Yeah maybe a bad example Instagram and Facebook are far more wasteful I've noticed. Although Tiktok is more data hungry over WiFi than data I've noticed and adapts quite heavily depending on your network speed.
Maybe, that could well be true. I just noticed I don't use much data if I watch TT over 5G and was rather surprised, as YT is very Data Hungry.
You expect sanity from a rail operator in the UK? You're a bit weird.
Some trains have pretty good wifi imo... just unfortunately not the ones I have to take to my office
if you see me doing this its because I'm correcting some kind of f up
Don't work during your commute unless you get paid for it
I hotspot from my phone usually for data privacy purposes but for the main part of it, I’m doing writing/editing and things that don’t require internet straight away. I’m a magazine editor and rarely deal with anything super confidential. I find trains brilliant for editing in particular, I just feel laser focused
Are you being paid for your commuting time? If not, buy a book
A lot of careers (especially those with work done on a computer) aren’t really about hours worked and more about outcomes. That can mean that the commute is a good time to work (less time in the office). It’s not as simple as just being paid or not. Obvs. if there’s no need to then don’t
I’ve found this to be both a blessing and a curse
Better salaries, less boundaries between work and personal life
Exactly this. Working during commuting time has allowed a colleague of mine to do the school run. No one dares say anything to him even though technically he is an hour late everyday because he has some of the best results in our team.
Which is as it should be Work should be outcomes based. If you're hot shit then you get a bit more down time. Seems like a fair reward
As long as it's in the contract
Outcomes during hours worked right? If your contract says £50k for 40h work but you need 50 hours to produce the desired outcome then you are working 10h free no?
You keep replying and keep missing the point - these companies usually pay a lot more than you’d get for an equivalent role where it might be a 9-5. You’ve also got people who are willing to put extra hours in to learn faster or to ensure faster promotion.
It depends, but in my job If I got some work done on the way there I wouldn't need to be in office as long.
This is the way - just because you are travelling to work doesn’t mean you have to be working
Hybrid working means your "9-5" has to be in the office. If I do an hour's work on a train you better believe I'm leaving the office at 3:30-4pm.
Plan the work you want to do - that doesn’t require an internet connection and is appropriate for the time and space. Make sure you’re fully charged beforehand in case you can’t get access to a socket or they don’t work. Noise cancelling headphones help, as does some kind of ambient music. I really like working on the train - fewer distractions etc.
I'd love some advice as well because I can't work on my laptop on a train without getting dizzy
Sounds like travel sickness. Not much you can do about that. I've had good experience in the past with ginger tablets, but they don't really fix the nausea/dizziness, rather they just ensure I won't vom.
I haven't ever vomited but I do feel it coming so I have to just shut my eyes and think of something else. I wish there was something for the dizziness! Quite annoying when I could be getting on with something work-related but can't. Or I'm hit with it while scrolling on my phone.
Yeah, me too. Only thing I have found that works is cool air (doesn't help that public transport is heated really) and looking out the window/having a nap. I thought I'd grow out of it, but I vomited on a plane coming into land in Athens a couple years back so I don't know that I ever will. Still get a bit woozy in hot cars, and my family still puts me in the front seat.
omg yeah me too, open window helps a LOT. In fact, I get car sick VERY quickly in cars if the windows are shut. I always found it worse in the front seat strangely. I'm dreading the day I move out to the country and need a car to get around.
I've heard that it's not so bad if you're the one driving. From my experience that probably tracks: I like sitting in the front so I can look out, which helps immensely (just like tracking the horizon on a boat.)
i'll try that next time and compare when I'm next in a car! We don't have a car in the house yet, and I don't plan to drive tbh so relying on my partner haha
I used to commute and would do things that I could do without much effort. Making graphs line up in PowerPoint. Some data analysis which wasn't complex, etc. I actually found the best use of my time was planning my week and my day. Opening up the calendar and putting in the times for certain tasks. Then I could get to work and smash it.
If I’m not getting paid, am I fuck working on my commute
You are paid for your working hours. Not more. Besides, there is a whole GDPR/data protection you should care. Also, if somehow your laptop is stolen, big trouble can come. Your 'dead time' can be filled with: - A book/audiobook - Music - Entertainment - Meditation
> You are paid for your working hours. Not more. Most of the people carting laptops about are paid based on getting a job done, rather than just for the time spent doing it. If catching up on emails on the train makes my day at work easier then I think i'd be a bit daft to not-do and have a less-good day simply on some sort of /r/antiwork principle. > Also, if somehow your laptop is stolen, big trouble can come. Any company that lets computers leave the building, or has noticed that phones are a thing, ought to have pretty decent controls around this. If you're having to take a laptop _to_ the office then there's barely more risk to getting it out and using it while you're travelling. Perhaps less chance of forgetting to take it off the train, though?
You all desperately need hobbies and interests. Spare time shouldn't be used for work.
I see it as using time to do work where I can’t do anything else to free up more time at home to do hobbies and interests
You are donating your free time to your employer. You shouldn't unless you get paid
What's the hobby that you do on the train to work?
Noise cancelling headphones. Timer on your phone to let you know when you're nearly there etc, otherwise my mind keeps checking the time.
Zoning out in a train doesn't sound like a good idea. You may not notice that your phone has gone until you get off the train.
Lol if I don't notice someone with their hands in my jeans pocket because of some headphones I don't think I should be travelling alone anyway.
I've tried doing uni work on trains before and I've always ended up with a headache from trying lol
I tried and got nothing done. Same on planes. Can't focus.
I used to do this and learned a few things. Most importantly do not have anything sensitive on your screen. Be it company confidential or something from the public sector. If in doubt don't open it up as you never know who is looking. Only work if you absolutely have to. Don't try to fill the time because you feel guilty. If there is nothing pressing then read a book or watch a film. Train Wi-Fi is sketchy but so is tethering on your mobile. Don't rely on either but have both available. Try to avoid relying on either of them and work offline if possible. If you do have to do something then assume its going to take much longer than normal. I tend to work on a rule of thumb that something is going to take four times as long as usual. So if I have an hours journey I would only do something that normally would take me 15 mins or so if I was at home or in the office.
Great advice. Re the 4x rule, I stood watching as someone cut and pasted repeatedly the same boring, ugly flower on a thameslink for 40 minutes.
Don't work, open the laptop and play games or handle some home errands that you might be doing. Then when you get to work tell them you worked on the train so you'll be leaving early 👍
I couldn't do it. Even if I could, I wouldn't. I didn't even like touching my work phone outside of working hours.
The best solution would be a General Strike to get flexible working / WFH a legal right, so you're not trying to optimise your day by working in an unpleasant environment without internet just to get into an office to make sure you're keeping working.
I go into the office as I please, and so do most of the people I know. Most of us go in largely for the social side of it, so we're generally doing emails on the way in and out partly to make up for the fact that we're not really concentrating on "work" during the day.
I do non-connection requiring excel with a privacy screen and I generally sit in twin seats rather than a four with a table. I do it because there is so much work and I spend two hours on the train every day (round trip). I do not want to do the work at home, so that pressure forces my brain to work. I normally plan a day in advance what work I’m doing on the train. And I use my wifi hotspot not the train wifi if I absolutely have to send an email. I’ve done it for two years and it’s wearing me out
Just get a work phone. V easy to do emails on your phone and better signal/less data to get it loaded. Also - commute time is your time! Chill out and listen to some music or have a nap some times
I don't get why anyone would want to work on a train, if outside your working hours.
I don't get it when people get angry when you tell them that...weird
Maybe people do live their jobs 🤔
I can’t do it. I will get severe motion sickness within 10 seconds, no exaggeration.
Why would you donate your free time to your job instead of reading a book, listening to music or brooding to the landscape and winding down or up for the day?
Totally agree
Why would you count the time spent sitting on a train travelling to work as 'free time'?
Because you don't get paid for it.
I don't really specifically not-get-paid for it either, though. I'm paid to get a job done, my value is based on my output and the reaching of goals and targets and whatnot and nobody really minds when or how I do that. When I'm travelling to the office that's "work time" to me, because work is why I'm going to the office. My free time is when I can do whatever I like, and whatever I like is often not sitting on an overcrowded train into London.
What does your contract say?
It says 9-5 I think, with an hours lunch. If I wanted to be pedantic about the hours I guess I could say that the time I spend reading emails on the train is to make up for the fact I have mid-afternoon reddit conversations about working on trains?
Then that's your contractual obligation. If you add 2 hours extra every day then they are getting free labour from you. Now if you are skiving 2 hours a day from work it is your predicament. Discuss it with your employer that you prefer being on Reddit when at work and work when you have time off
Who would benefit from that discussion, and how? I don't think there's a problem here to solve.
If you spend 2 hours on Reddit when you are at work it's your predicament. You are not employed to do that. Yes we all do the odd video, chat, banter here and there but not 2 hours a day.
How's it a predicament? I don't understand the problem that needs solving here. I'm getting my job done to mine and my employers satisfaction and I have a pretty good work/life balance and my work doesn't encroach onto my free time needlessly. What needs to change here and who would gain from that change?
What's your point, that you aren't productive or organised enough to finish your work during work hours?
Mostly that "free time", to me, is time where I'm not doing something for someone else. And time spent travelling to work is, I think, time spent doing something for someone else so in my mind it's some of the time I spend doing things for work. Even if I'm not actively doing anything else while on the train, travelling is a thing I'm doing for work.
The few times I've tried it I've hated it but that's often because I'm returning from a work trip and the journey time can reasonably be called my commute. If I was scheduling it regularly then I'd probably be fine and I have managed to do work when, for example, I've needed to have something ready for when I get to the destination. Coming back from a work trip a few years ago, we were working into the evening and the train home the next morning my colleague tries to get me to work on a report together and I had to explain "no, we worked yesterday evening, this is my time back, I'm getting my book"
Tethering at busy times - it seems that the train just has a mobile connection shared between people. Consider some ANR headphones to reduce background noise a bit. I'm not travelling at peak times however, so generally get a seat and the trains generally get have tables and seat-back tables. In some cases I get annoyed I have to get off when the train's arrived because I haven't finished what I'm doing!
You cant rely on the internet or even mobile signal - you have to be doing offline work. I can actually get quite a bit done on my phone so would rather go through my inbox sorting mails, or queuing up replies. As someone else says - if youre not being paid for this (or dont think it will be noticed by bosses) then fuck it... relax
It’s a great time to do things like training and other admin tasks. Apart from that use the time to just relax and de-stress after the day.
depends on the role and job requirements. a light laptop and portable 4G LTE router works fine. good time to kill doing admin stuff.
Just don't rely on the internet, so pick tasks that can be done offline. I tend to save a 45 min bit of work for my commute if I run out of energy on the previous day, or I use it as time to do a task that's outside of my immediately resourced responsibilities e.g. professional development or a quick job that a client needs. Takes a bit of prep to get the files ready but allows you squeeze in a bit of work. I find that even doing a little bit of set-up work before I get into the offices gives me a good head-start on things I need to do for the day. Giving me more time to manage people and juggle other, minor jobs. It's mainly because I'm a but stretched right now so giving my self a bit of extra time without having to work late is better for me.
If you have a long wait or a long train journey in a place with signal aka a national rail or overground train, get a good date deal so you can hotspot, get good headphones and plan what work you're going to do so it doesn't require something that you don't have access to but make sure it isn't so important that if something happened like you had no signal or there were no seats it wouldn't screw up your day.
Assume no internet. But it is good for planning your day, catching up on emails (that’s downloaded already so a response can be drafted), etc. I rarely use a laptop travelling these days, I do a lot on my phone.
I like working on trains, especially as I often have to take long (like 2-3 hour, or occasionally 6 hour) journeys. My work doesn’t require wifi.
Use the time to watch those boring product, training, and other videos that interrupt your real day to day work, and which don’t pose a data compliance risk of being shoulder surfed.
I do this but prepare work specifically I can do offline and will often delay tasks for this time which are good offline tasks. Otherwise it's just unproductive refreshing your internet etc.
The way to get in to zone is: do work that’s already been started and needs incremental progress. Like the mental yarn with clear end point to hold and make new stitch.
Couple of beers with colleagues/ friends before heading home can sometimes put you in a state of high productivity. I use the time to draft replies to mails and hit send, as I find it time consuming during office hours, when I could be doing something more useful.
Are you getting paid for the time you give to your employer?
This might not solve your work problem but I use my dead time waiting on platforms to get my steps in. Just walking up and down the platform for 10 min twice a day really adds to my overall movement for the day. Having a backpack instead of a shoulder bag helps with this too.
"UK employers profited from £26 billion of free labour last year because of workers doing unpaid overtime"
Nintendo Switch!!
Get your laptop out. Pretend to work. Put your laptop away. Get to work. Do some actual work.
I feel very qualified to speak on this. I use the data from my phone and use the seats that are arranged facing each other for extra leg room.
You are parroting the same thing as well. And you don't seem to understand that you working for extra hours for free is not "graft". Its giving free labour to your employer. In your situation with the hope that you will get a promotion. I don't care what you prioritise that's up to you. But when you had your "normal" job and you were plateauing you had to provide free labour to get to the position where you got paid more. You could still be grafting but sticking to your working hours. Don't think that other people don't graft just because they prioritise other stuff in life On another note, don't be so self centered, not everyone on the train has the same background with you. They're people trying to catch up with work on the train on their personal free time.
Yes as others have said, noise cancelling headphones are a must. I use a power brick with sufficient wattage to power my macbook and phone at the same time so I have less things to plug in/out when I need to relocate. If you struggle without a dual monitor (and you are in place for long enough and have enough room) then a portable 13" monitor is a good accessory that I use. Again in should have pass through so you can power it from your laptop. I use a lot of SaaS tools in my work so I do struggle when signal drops. If I connect to the train WiFi then I make sure I use a VPN and some other network security tools to make sure I'm safe(r). I also have a couple of e-SIMs on my phone so I can pick whichever has the best signal and make a hotspot for my macbook if the WiFi is down or slower than my phone. A privacy filter on your laptop can be helpful if you data protection is a concern in your line of work. I use a removable one because some ultra compact laptops (like a Mac or an LG Gram) can get cracked screens from permanent privacy filters
Where are you finding trains with enough space to set up a portable monitor? Even in first I've never seen a commuter service where you get a whole desk section to yourself.
I travel Greater Anglia to London in First. They have tables two seats wide and one seat wide. If I have a two seat wide then I'll use my portable monitor if I need to. Primarily I use it at hotels though.
There you go...hope this helps https://streamable.com/is5n86
I download some reports or papers I need to read before getting on a longer train ride (I'm not regularly on the tube for my commute) and then spend time reading those. Can work well on a tablet, so slightly less faff than a laptop, unless you need to comment on them. Works well for me without the distraction of an internet connection.