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Norm In Norman

1/9/2006, 08:45 AM

Anyone ever been through this? This sounds all messed up, but here's what they are doing:

They've decided to stuff half the floor into 1/4 of the floor on the opposite side of the building while they work on the half we're in. I don't see how this is going to work. For instance, they have about 6 DBAs that are going to work from home and they are going to put 15 or so of us in that space. They are going to stuff 17 people into our training room, which has like 10 computers in it right now. And then our conference room, which has 20 chairs around the table if the chairs are touching each other, is going to have 20 people or so in it (depending on who can't fit into the other rooms). Nobody will have a phone except MAYBE the managers. We have to TAKE ALL OF OUR STUFF WITH US (in boxes) TO OUR NEW SPACE OR TAKE IT HOME, because when we come back we will have cubicles instead of the 25 year old metal desks we have now.

Keep in mind that my allergies never bothered me consistantly until I started working here. It's REALLY dirty and nasty here. The construction workers will be wearing masks while they tear stuff up, but we won't have that ... luxury. Well, I'm not going to wear a mask and type on the computer at the same time.

I don't know how long it's going to take for them to finish, but it took them 3 months to finish the floor below us.

Oh, and they are going to start working on the restrooms on our floor starting Wednesday or something. They are currently working on 2 other floors restrooms. So 3 out of 7 floors' restrooms will be out of order.

It would be so much easier for me to work from home.

Okla-homey

1/9/2006, 08:51 AM

Luck-o-the-Norm. 2006 version.

sorry.

As an aside, if people develop (or claim) bronchial difficulties, they'll have to do something. Maybe issue dust masks, but more likely let you guys a) work at home or b) lease temp space somewhere else. The times I've been thru this, they opted for B, but that was the government and they had to observe those pesky OSHA regulations.

good luck with it.

Norm In Norman

1/9/2006, 08:55 AM

Well, an email went out asking who could work from home but then they only let DBA do it. Those bastards.

I think I'm going to have my doctor write a note or something. Besides the fact that it's winter and people are going to start getting sick soon (can you imagine 1 person with a cold in a room packed to the brim?), I think there are probably fire codes or something that tell you how many people you can have in one room, right?

sooner_born_1960

1/9/2006, 08:58 AM

They redid our office, but in seven phases. About 10 employees at a time had to relocate. It was a mess, but managable. They should allow more people to work from home.
I always thought government agencies were the ones who could ignore OSHA regs.

Okla-homey

1/9/2006, 08:59 AM

Norm In Norman

1/9/2006, 12:11 PM

Like they care about productivity.

They could have waited 3 months and we might have had a new place to go, but they decided that they didn't want the construction people to get other jobs so we get to suffer instead. It's pretty sad when the construction people are more important than the people trying to get the work done. If I'm still here when it's done it should be pretty nice, although I'm sure they will have done something majorly wrong.

OklahomaTrombone

1/9/2006, 12:14 PM

Make sure to keep the chair.

http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/images/icons/chair.gif

Norm In Norman

1/9/2006, 12:19 PM

Oh man. I'm starting to panic now. I wonder if I can take it?

It's got old man cooties on it though.

Ike

1/9/2006, 12:22 PM

I went through something similar to this last summer...but on a much smaller scale. instead of re modeling, they decided they were gonna change the carpet in our little trailer building where my office resides. This meant that for a week, I couldn't use my office or my desktop which would have to be removed.

luckily though, a great number of the people that work here were in canada at a workshop, which meant that in the other buildings there were plenty of offices that were not in use. I moved my crap that was on the OU machines onto a machine that I knew had enough space that resided in another building, and then squatted in somebody elses office for a week.

but the bottom line about that week was that you had to make your own arrangements...other people didn't do it for you.

IB4OU2

1/9/2006, 12:28 PM

They had to repaint my bathroom in my office a few months back.....kinda of hacked me off that day.......

RacerX

1/9/2006, 12:32 PM

Dude, your main boss is an Aggie. What were you expecting?

I'm guessing all the aggies he hired get to work from home.

RacerX

1/9/2006, 12:33 PM

Oh man. I'm starting to panic now. I wonder if I can take it?

It's got old man cooties on it though.

Purrell.

I'd love to know when they surplus that chair.

Mjcpr

1/9/2006, 01:30 PM

They had to repaint my bathroom in my office a few months back.....kinda of hacked me off that day.......

If you can peel paint, you might want to get checked out by a gut Dr.

Just sayin'.....

Norm In Norman

1/9/2006, 01:36 PM

Dude, your main boss is an Aggie. What were you expecting?

I'm guessing all the aggies he hired get to work from home.
Nope. But I think it's just a publicity stunt, because they are all supposed to scrunch into the smallest room of the bunch. "Well, there's not enough room, so they'll just have to work from home." And they're supposed to be "team programming".

RacerX

1/9/2006, 01:39 PM

Maybe they can rotate which house they work at.

Rhino

1/9/2006, 02:37 PM

Well, I'm not going to wear a mask and type on the computer at the same time. You should wear it, hunched over your computer while you type furiously. Every once in a while, look over your shoulder like you see someone staring at your work. Throw in a maniacal laugh every so often too.

Mjcpr

1/9/2006, 02:38 PM

http://images.acco.com/SWINGLINE/S7074740/S7074740-8282.jpg

Sooner_Bob

1/9/2006, 02:52 PM

Check out OSHA's general duty clause (http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=OSHACT&p_id=3359) . . .

SEC. 5. Duties
(a) Each employer --

(1) shall furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees;

(2) shall comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act.

29 USC 654
(b) Each employee shall comply with occupational safety and health standards and all rules, regulations, and orders issued pursuant to this Act which are applicable to his own actions and conduct.

If you can get a doctor to sign off on your need to work from home due to allergies, asthma or some other respiratory problem that could be triggered from poor Indoor Air Quality then you might be able to swing working from home.

IAQ and ergonomic issues (real or perceived) are probably the #1 "problems" in office settings (based on worker opinions).

There might also be some Life Safety Code issues with cramming so many people into a small space. I can't recall where I heard this, but I think it is recommended that each person have a minimum of like 100 sq. ft. of office space, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

1stTimeCaller

1/9/2006, 02:54 PM

the general duty clause is the 'we might have missed it in the other sections so we're gonna make a catch-all clause to bust your *** with'

Sooner_Bob

1/9/2006, 03:02 PM

Yep . . .

Norm In Norman

1/9/2006, 04:28 PM

100 square feet? Shoot, I probably have 50 square feet.

Sooner_Bob

1/9/2006, 07:45 PM

That's the number we recommend when we conduct inspections and stuff.

GSA actually recommends 230 sq ft/person . . . (http://www.gsa.gov/gsa/cm_attachments/GSA_DOCUMENT/spaceuse_2002_R2P52_0Z5RDZ-i34K-pR.pdf) (PDF)

Here's another spot with some info:

The following comparisons are offered to put 35 SF per child in perspective: (http://www.whitehutchinson.com/children/articles/35footmyth.shtml)

* Minimum standards for prisons require more than 35 square feet per prisoner.
* The average child's room at home is about 120 square feet. Allowing 40 SF for furniture leaves a remaining floor space of 80 SF for play.
* The typical amount of office space allocated for moderate size offices and circulation is 100 SF per person.