Will this fundamentally change the way we work?

[beebijobes]

Now I know not every job can be done at home but many jobs can be & reluctant companies have now been forced to embrace this change. Im sure some of them will find it works pretty well. Once this is over do you think companies will change permanently to embrace remote working in some capacity?

DH & I feel in love with a property whilst visiting some friends in the countryside last year but the cost of rail fares & commute times just made it unrealistic. Currently DH can wfh 1 day a week max but if this was increased we could defo reconsider, he could easily do this but his company prefer to spend millions on shiny huge offices in Zone 1.

[beebijobes]

just me then ☺️

[SorrelBlackbeak]

I think companies would be foolish not to think about it. They've been forced to spend a lot of money in a short period upgrading IT and have realised that people can still work somewhat productively from home, in many cases while their children are with them. The minor drop in productivity set against huge office rents mean it's a bit of a no brainer - or so it seems to me.

My boss had always been dead set against WFH. There are issues with IT etc, but at the moment he doesn't want anyone back in the office until there is a vaccine, even if people are allowed back beforehand.

[MaybeDoctor]

I think it does permanently put to bed the idea that lots of office-based jobs 'can't' be done from home.

[RunningNinja79]

My fingers are crossed. When all this is over I am going to ask if there is a possibility. Truthfully I'd love to WFH on a regular basis - in fact all week would work for me, but I dont think that would for my team or employer. They might consider a regular once or twice a week, but I'm going to certainly request I can WFH on occasion. Would certainly help in some situations (snow days, deliveries etc)

[SleepyTiger39]

I can assure you that wfh full time isn't as great as it sounds having done it for three years. 2-3 days is great though.

[MaudBaileysGreenTurban]

I hope so. I hope it will lead to greater acceptance and understanding of the benefits of flexible working practices, that can lead to people having a better quality of life and a better work-life balance. A continuing insistence on office-presenteeism after this will be counter-productive imo.

Like lots of people I've been working from home for three weeks now. There's not a single thing that I've not been able to do, no meeting I've not been able to have, no decision that hasn't been made when it should. When things return to 'normal' I estimate that I could still easily spend 3 days a week wfh with no negative impact on my work, productivity or relationships with my colleagues.

And I'd be happier and more relaxed, and richer too

[TARSCOUT]

@runningninja. Your second last word just lost you the argument and for that very reason I think most people will still be back in the office. Tbe 'office's itself is a major marketing boost also.

[MaudBaileysGreenTurban]

I will be talking to my manager about a consistent 2-3 days wfh once this is over. DP and I would like to move much further away from London and this would make it do-able.

[Qasd]

I think not. So many working from home have a) had their kids home affecting productivity b) Had work which has even if indirectly been impacted by covid, so uni lecture puts stuff online students struggle to manage..stressed given the currebt situation, qed lesson didn’t work but obviously more complicated than that.

I actually think that a longer term move to back to the office as as response to a lot of the problems ..many caused by covid not by home working... will result in a mind set home working does not work!

[beebijobes]

I already wfh or remote work as I have a small business. Realistically DH would need to go to meetings 1-2 days a wk but he does not need to be in the office 5 days.

[beebijobes]

This pandemic is making me want to leave London even more than before to have more space, less pollution etc

[Ellmau]

I suspect some employers will be more reluctant to allow it for parents.

[Squiz81]

I wondered this. If my husband could wfh full time it massively increases our options for where we live, and he hates his commute. He has been able to work perfectly well from home and the company must save a lot of money doing it this way

I'm hoping it curbs a lot of unnecessary travel for meetings that could just be done over zoom etc. That would be an environmental win out of all this.

[beebijobes]

But normally parents who wfh have childcare, it's just because schools & nurseries are closed currently.

[beebijobes]

@Squiz81 One reason DH left his previous company because he had to fly to the US every 6 wks as they preferred face to face meetings, crazy!

[NellMangel]

Oh I hope so. It's just confirmed to me that i hate office environments, even before this i would work from home if i needed to concentrate. I'd love to find a job that was 100% home based.

[safariboot]

Maybe I'm a pessimist, but I doubt it.

Indeed I think in some companies it will go the other way. Covid-19 has for many forced rushed, buggy, and problematic home working systems and I'm sure some employers will point to those difficulties to argue against any home working.

[DropZoneOne]

Our company introduced monthly wfh about 9 months ago, and increased it to 2 x month in January. I hope after this they'll extend it to weekly on the basis that meetings still go ahead, decisions still get made.

I wouldn't want more than that because I'm missing the interaction, but once a week would make a difference.

[Puppybum]

DH isn't bringing his welding home

[MaudBaileysGreenTurban]

The only thing I miss about not being in the office is that I've only got one screen at home. Having two is more useful.

But tbh that's about it!

I'm more relaxed, more productive, can focus better and I LOVE not having a commute.

[foofooyeah]

I’m getting used to it but miss my work colleagues. Yes we have online meeting but it’s not the same. We are working quite effectively though.

[Doggybiccys]

I wish governments and big companies would see the bigger picture and encourage WFH. The roads are a mess, commuting is so stressful, hours spent in traffic/on trains and buses, accidents, pollution etc. If those who could WFH were able to, it would free up the roads for those who can’t. Less traffic would mean less pollution and less wear and tear on the roads. people with hellish commutes would improve mentally.

[Flowersforpowers]

I think it'll prove the concept for a lot of people - if they can work from home (to a reasonable extent) in this time, then why should they be prevented from working from home in normal times? Working from home is already popular where I work, this has forced those managers who do not let their teams do it to realise it does work.

[Fortyfifty]

I hope so. It would be a positive for many reasons if all office based staff could work from home at least once per week. I already sometimes work from home but always feel I have to beg and act extremely grateful, when there is no difference whatsoever to what I can and do achieve.

[MeadowHay]

My company is a leader in its sector I think for permitting WFH even for most of the most junior staff members. The rule pre-covid was that you had to be in the office for three days a week. So if you are FT you can WFH 2 days a week. We all had laptops and headsets and all calls made via Skype etc so it was all set up ready. I am hopeful they may increase this post-covid to say requiring people to be in the office only twice a week. I don't think the work would be as productive or efficient if people were in less often than twice a week for a prolonged period of time. We are managing ok so far as a team but there is a small drop in workload as a result of the pandemic so people can afford to be less productive overall which offsets it. There are also some resources and some work that cannot be done from home so we do have a skeleton staffing system, but this isnt very efficient as often people don't know who is going to be in the office when and may forget they need to access a resource until the person has left the office etc so it is causing delays with some things. Which is less urgent now as everyone is understanding of the situation but that wouldn't be acceptable in normal conditions.