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Level 1 and level 2 support is not equipped to handle work from home scenarios. There was comfort in managed edge devices and managed networks. WFH introduced bring your own device and bring your own bandwidth. L1 and L2 want checklists and decision trees for supporting users. WFH does not fit that model.

That's where training should come in to play, IMO. We're dealing with similar issues, and have been training the service desk to do a little more before handing off tickets and calls.

Definitely support aspect of things

Completely agree with you @Nick Panaccio about raising the skills of those people. But then there is execution... 🙂

It’s a bit of a quandary; it definitely seems as though this is a shift that’s here to stay, so figuring out how to make sure it’s working for everyone (end-user as well as support) is a big deal.

Yeah, but in the end, they learn some better troubleshooting skills, and my team gets fewer escalated tickets that we shouldn't be getting in the first place. I'm not involved in the training they currently get, but there's a new initiative here where we may be able to setup training sessions with them to show them what they can do. Documentation and job aids are going to be vital.

Given what we do, it’s something we talk about all the time, so was just curious to see where people were with all of it. It started, in 2020, as a mad scramble, but now this is the way it is. A tough nut to crack, you know?

It was an issue before the pandemic with remote workers. I haven't seen it change yet. Hopefully that trend changes.

Everyone I work with is willing to do whatever it takes to keep ourselves remote. Not a single person on my team has any desire to return to an office.

Same here. I know lots of people who have said that if they’re asked to return to the office, they’ll just flat-out quit and go somewhere else.

My wife's work just went back to hybrid and are staying that way for foreseeable future. Everything they do is SaaS based and she does majority of her job from home.

I think companies are going to need to make office work more appealing to draw workers back and recruit new employees. I think that there is a social aspect to work that has been missing (this coming from an avowed anti-socialite). But it cannot be a forced 'you must come back to the office.' It needs to be 'we have great new ways for you to interact with your colleagues whether it is in our office or remote or combination of the both.'

I reverted from remote work back to office full time. Going to work and going home closes off a chapter in our minds, making it easier to let things go. At this time I am only one of few working full time in the office, enjoying the calm environment 😛

Some people like it, for sure. I hate it. Losing 2+ hours of my day commuting, losing time with my family... no, thanks. I can manage Citrix from anywhere.

Teams meeting and such is great but does not work for everything, sometimes being together having a look at stuff or talk about subjects you normally not handle via Teams is way better. I personally think that a lot of ppl are abusing remote work to do private things. Not everyone ofc!

I’ve worked remote for years and years, so none of this changed much for me, but I agree with @Nick Panaccio; I have no interest whatsoever in working in an office again. Happy to go in from time to time (though my office is in Israel and the commute from Philadelphia is kinda brutal 😛), but on a day to day basis, there’s just no reason for it.

I live in the Philly suburbs... hard pass on going back in to center city.

small side note, my office is 10 minutes from home.. otherwise yes I would work from home.😉

LOL @Nick Panaccio. That’s funny, and no, not a chance. We are in Pottstown; that’s plenty close for me. 😄

I’m going on eight years remote/WFH. I can't imagine going back. I do occasionally travel for meetings but nothing has changed for me work wise other than not traveling and balancing remote learning with kids while working last school year. Everything here is back to normal for me except my wife is home two more days a week now during day. Before pandemic she was only home one day a week. She does like getting back to office two days a week to socialize with more people than just me. 🤣

My wife had a management position created for her before covid, then turned it down because the Sr. Director wanted his managers in the office 4 days a week. Nearly 2 years later and he has finally changed his stance and is allowing everyone to stay remote 100%. So she's reapplying for that position that was literally created for her. 😄

LOL @Jarian Gibson. We have sequestered offices in the house so, except for lunch, we barely see each other all day long. And then we make tacos and pie. 😛

Similar here. Unless I come down to the house to eat or use facilities, I barely see my wife unless I work from the house.

WFH for 12+ years and wouldn't work in an office full time again. I think it's a bit backwards, especially for Citrix admins. I will occasionally see postings that say no remote work and I think how antiquated of a mentality that is when your role is to enable others to work remotely. As far as how things have to change - I think security teams that had no choice but to accept risks from WFH during COVID are having to accept those risks full time now. It changes the design dynamics for a lot of things now - is there really a "secure workspace" or "clean room" if the user is remote?

Despite working with Citrix for over 15 years for some reason I never got to work from home. I changed career paths slightly and suddenly found myself working from home full time. I found though I did prefer it I did miss the office interaction so I was glad when I got a new project that required me to be in the office again. For 1 week, then COVID hit and I did not see my colleagues for the rest of the 4 month project... I have concluded that for me hybrid is ideal. Work from home, be in the office 1 or 2 days a week. I think different people have different needs in the way they work, people can figure out with their teams what combinations of remote and in the office works best for them workwise and in their personal lives.

If the office were within 15 minutes of my house, I would accept having to occasionally go in. And even then I'd complain about it, probably.

So here is my opinion. My company went from in the office to Remote and has been this way for about two years now. Level 1 and Level 2 support struggles around the gap of understanding "Citrix" and other parts. But that is the companies fault due to the culture they developed. Remote work is 100% doable my humble opinion. There are some cases where it may be hard, like Hospitals, etc. Some folks like the interaction with people. I am ok with virtual meetings or going into the office. Typically I would have to drive 1.5 hours a day because of going into the office. Working remotely has opened my eyes, and I enjoy it a lot. I hope many companies keep embracing remote work and not returning to the situation's "legacy" ways. Again, I understand that some big companies might not see it this way, and I am not challenging that :). During this time, we purchased a lot of Technology ( Nutanix, Expanded Citrix footprint) during the remote work to support users' efforts remotely in CVAD. My view is that it's about the type of culture around this aspect and what value the company sees in remote work. Some people didn't know it was possible at my organization. Even though we had the (Technology), and it was there. I get to see my wife every day. I can take care of personal things. I can write up my blogs, and most importantly........... I can get the work things completed without all the drive-bys. I plan to continue to work remotely and do the EUC stuff I do now. However, if I had to come in, I would. But then that path might take me to another opportunity to allow this to happen, then so be it 🙂

@Nick Panaccio I used to think hoteling was an OK idea, but after working in a call center environment and seeing how disgusting desks and equipment get so quickly, it's a hard no from me. I've seen things you wouldn't belive. Add in all covid stuff, knowing that they are not cleaned regularly/properly, and it's even more disgusting.

Oh yeah, I have concerns about that. I have no intention of utilizing any of that space. My home office works just fine for me.