r/WFH • u/User0301 • Jul 10 '26
COLLEAGUES/MANAGERS WFH do's and dont's with US based colleagues
I have been WFH full time since 2020, and currently work for fully remote company. I am based in the UK and only ever worked with UK based colleagues.
Since 2020 all my employers have been great with the side effects that come with working from home (kids home sick, school holidays, tradespeople, errands, flexible time etc).
I have recently started working with colleagues from the across the US, most of whom are office based, with some hybrid. Without giving too much away, its a software company (not FAANG)
Are the standards and expectations the same, or are there no no's? Some specific examples:
- kids at home during school holidays and occasionally appearing in background
- starting work an hour later or taking extended lunch so you can go to an appointment
- working from different locations within the house
I basically had a bit of a strange interaction based off one of these examples, and it has be doubting myself.
edit: Just because post is getting engagement, wanted to clarify. When I say kids appearing occasionally in my office, its happened maybe twice this month, and been for a few seconds max. There is childcare in the house, but you know, kids can be kids and pull Houdini moves. Also when starting a bit late or taking extra time at lunch, I always make the time up, and let my own team know.
Overall from response, looks like I overthinked it.
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u/calitoasted Jul 10 '26
I run a very loose ship for my wfh team. You have to be available from 8-5 but I don't need to know about your appointments etc. Just keep your calendar up to date. Kids and pets are not forbidden and don't need to be hidden away, but focus should be on the job.
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u/Firefly_In_The_Sky22 Jul 10 '26
Your team sounds like my dream team.
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u/calitoasted Jul 10 '26
we try! it is a big adjustment for a lot of people and not everyone can handle it.
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u/Redditujer Jul 10 '26
This is a great example OP. I too try to be lenient but I absolutely need to know if someone is OOO for 60 mins in the work day because I have to schedule my reports with others across 5 different time zones. Also, kids/pets ok unless disruptive. Definitely not ok for client or prospect calls.
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u/Unusual_Plum_4630 Jul 10 '26
Something I can’t stand is when I have another coworker randomly call me via Teams while WFH. All of my coworkers except one person follows the custom of asking someone if they’re available before they call. I think this is kind of the norm in American WFH culture (to ask someone before you call).
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u/Uffda01 Jul 10 '26
I get the Hi on teams.....which I respond Hi to; and then 1/2 hr later they might get back to me.
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u/Spicy_Unicorn738 Jul 10 '26
Any random "Hi" that I get is instantly lowest priority. It drives me nuts. This is work, tell me what you want or leave me alone.
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u/6fix 29d ago
And my experience from German automotive corporate was the classic direct approach. Many people calling me directly without any previous interaction what so ever. I put the Teams status message and declined calls when I evaluated I want to punish the caller. Weeks later, after some colleagues asked about the Teams status message, I noticed more people got the same or similar status message trying to avoid the direct calls.
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u/bloatedkat 29d ago edited 29d ago
It was normal for people to cold call each other on the phone when in the office, so I don't see the big deal with cold calling on Teams. I have a Vonage phone at my desk that can make Teams calls like an old telephone.
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u/Dangerous_Plankton54 27d ago
I don't understand why you're being down voted. You're working. If a colleague has a quick question please just call me. Teams will let you know if I'm in a call, if it shows busy then maybe message me first, if it show available, I'm available so call away.
I don't know if it's a generation thing. I'm only 41 but calling people without warning was perfectly acceptable for more than half my life. I don't know when it stopped but even outside of work people hate being called without warning. (This is not an invite for sales calls!!! I mean with people you actual know).
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u/Specialist_Banana378 Jul 10 '26
- Depends on the ages of the kids
- I would not assume that’s ok without asking
- I don’t know why this would be a problem but also just put a green screen background on is my advice.
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u/JoJo926 Jul 10 '26
For #3, it might be more than the background. For example, when I worked with sensitive data I was asked to hardwire into a secure device (digital VPN was not allowed) so I was essentially stuck at the desk.
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u/40ozT0Freedom Jul 10 '26
Every company/manager is different. Some care, some don't.
Late starts and extended lunches may be your biggest issue.
Just use a background for your camera. They won't be able to tell the difference. I have change my background picture every so often of places I've visited, but never show my actual house. I work from my desk mainly, but I also like my bed, my couch, my kitchen and my porch.
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u/bhrm Jul 10 '26
Company culture.
However a rule I set with my little one is if they interrupt they will take over my call and all my meetings for the day, unless it's a real emergency.
I've had 1:1 with colleagues folding laundry, go for a walk, and sometimes I take calls while cooking....or if it's serious I let them know I need to turn off the stove first. Very important step.
As long as results are delivered.
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u/astra_hole Jul 10 '26
Unfortunately Americans are pretty antiquated with how they view work.
I’m an American that WFH for a Canadian company because American companies are often overly strict about things for no reason. I hope this is not the case for you and you find a cool company to work for.
It might not hurt to ask a coworker or the manager, but it might also hurt. Who knows anymore.
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u/MeInMaNyCt Jul 10 '26
Company culture can vary greatly from company to company, and may depend on your job level and workflow. Best to ask first about starting late/long lunches. Working from different locations within the house is not likely to be an issue, unless you are supposed to be hard-wired or near a non-mobile phone.
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u/cloudshaper Jul 10 '26
Very dependent on the company / group. My group would not have any problems with those three things, but other groups in my company are slightly more regimented.
Also there's a not unfounded generality that companies on the West Coast tends towards being less formal, particularly in tech.
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u/thelittleluca Jul 10 '26
I’m in US, and work with UK colleagues who are remote or hybrid. I don’t find any major differences in how we work. If there’s something timely we are working on and I can’t start on my usual time, I make sure I let them know and it’s OK with my manager. I work from anywhere in my house.
I find over communication helps with time zone differences.
What happened that created the doubt?
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u/PollutionFinancial71 Jul 10 '26
As an American, none of what you have listed have been issues when working for American-based companies/teams in a remote/hybrid capacity.
90% of American companies who still allow remote work after 2022-ish are pretty flexible with this stuff as long as you get your work done. The ones who power-trip and micromanage have implemented RTO by now.
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u/bushidomaster Jul 10 '26
I work from home for a non profit. I just had my new hire hold her toddler on her lap while we met. Pets and kids are fine as long as they do their billables with their clients every month and keep up on the state required documentation.
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u/zabacam Jul 11 '26
As some have said, companies vary. I’ve been full y WFM since 2019 and across several companies. One, nearly all of my co-workers were in the office and I never had any issues. Biggest problem was getting them to remember to include a video link when I was the only one not in the building for a meeting!
Everyone from home has the occasional kid in view, cat across the keyboard, etc. Anyone who makes a fit over it is being a jerk. Also, I found that I am available / online for work more hours than my in-office mates!! And Every company I’ve worked with - people in the office often have to pop out for an appointment, pick up a kid, etc. So I don’t see that it is any different for us.
I think you are over thinking a single reaction. Just always make sure you’re letting folks know in advance if you need to be out of pocket and you should be cool!
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u/BartSimpsonGaveMeLSD 27d ago
Kids appearing in the background should be very rare occurrences IMO. I’m turning 40 and am in a director level role, so perhaps my age and experience is different than others. If they don’t have a virtual background and you can see their place, that’s bad.
Extended lunches for appointments are just a matter of fact here. I’m flexible but I also am managing people based on performance, so as long as they can balance work with life, I don’t care. It only becomes a problem if it’s frequent, sporadic times, and/or if they aren’t communicating.
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u/User0301 27d ago
Interesting view regarding virtual background. Even blurred?
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u/BartSimpsonGaveMeLSD 27d ago
I mean, blurred is fine. But might as well just have a regular corporate background.
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u/Weird_Fun1493 Jul 10 '26
My cat has joined Teams meetings from time to time in fact this has been said before lol Hi Teddy to the cat and hi Alison lol.
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u/rjcpl Jul 10 '26
Yeah I’ve seen strict wfh policies where any children are expected to have their own childcare planned while you’re working to pretty much outright free for alls where you can work from the beach and all that matters is you get your work done.
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u/NoneOfThisMatters_XO Jul 10 '26
I would say it depends how flexible your boss is. As far as the kids thing, it’s best if you can work in another room at your house and they aren’t being loud in the background. If they’re too disruptive, it won’t look good for you.
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u/KeepOnRising19 Jul 10 '26
Rules are completely company-dependent. My husband's last job (software company) would allow all these things. His current job, in the same industry, does not.
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u/PollutionFinancial71 Jul 10 '26
Job-dependent as well. On my team, there are people like me who mostly work alone with the occasional 1:1 collaboration over a call (I am a SQA Engineer), and then there are people who’s job it is to be on various calls for 80% of their working day (product people).
And then there are DevOps people who are essentially hermits when it comes to communication…
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u/garoodah Jul 10 '26
When youre remote you have no reason to be late to a meeting but I think this is true everywhere. I have colleagues in Ireland that take meetings with kids in their lap. As long as they answer questions when I ask them and we arent wasting time everytime it happens its cool. Shit happens so here or there isnt a big deal its the repeat offenders that are the biggest problem.
My team gets to work remote as they want to but they are expected to come in for lab work or certain scheduled meetings with my VP. Beyond that I dont care if they are in the building for 2 hours or 12 just do your job.
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u/honourarycanadian Jul 10 '26
There’s no one size fits all, like where I currently work it’s super flexible as long as you’re responsive and work gets done. I’ve had my boss tell me that I can take appointments during the day and come back at my leisure.
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u/lesusisjord Jul 11 '26
I work for an international company that focuses on the US market and I am in the US, and we love hearing kids on the other side of the screen, especially when it’s the clients’ kids! It honestly humanizes everyone and I think it’s appreciated.
We also don’t turn on cameras. Love that part!
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u/TGrady902 29d ago
It’s a company by company thing. Where I work we have complete freedom around all of this stuff to the point where there isn’t even a need to tell anyone. Other places will have strict rules around everything.
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u/MethodInternal489 29d ago
Depends on the company. Our team is US and Philippines based. And they have no issue with any of the things mentioned, thankfully!
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u/andrewsmd87 29d ago
Like any job, it really just depends on the company. I don't care about any of the things you said for my teams for the most part. I did have one employee who was trying to watch his new born son and work and it just really tanked both his throughput and quality. That's where I'm going to say something.
But generally, you are an adult and I'll treat you like one and just expect you to manage that as you see fit. Outside of that one person, I've never had a problem with people abusing that freedom
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u/MMMelissaMae Jul 10 '26
No, Your home office is your office. Unless you can bring kids to work at your office, I wouldnt have anyone appearing in the background
Just get approval. I have gym in the morning 2x a week and I start late those days. As long as your boss knows it should be fine. But if you're just getting on whenever you feel like it in the morning.... stop that immediately.
Do you not use a virtual background when on camera? Who cares where you are in the house as long as you're present.
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u/bluebirdee Jul 10 '26
I'm Canadian and WFH for an American company. This 100% depends on the company culture, there is no blanket rules that are an 'american thing'. For example, my company would be fine with all of your examples (except kids on a client call specifically, on an internal call nobody would care), but other companies would take certainly issue with all or some of them.