If employers were mandated to allow employees to WFH unless there was a clear reason to need someone physically in a workplace

10 years ago my DH took redundancy from his IT role as it was largely outsourced to Romania. Due to contractual reasons it made sense for him to take voluntary redundancy then, rather than trying to stick it out.

Completely agree!
I love WFH. After COVID we went hybrid and I think how on earth did I do 5 full office days...
But there's so much collaboration, networking etc things you just overhear and people you meet by chance, that contributes to stuff.
Also easier for new joiners to be sitting next to more experienced staff.

So many people looking for 'full-time remote' and these aren't the low paid either who are usually not so demanding. Will they sing a different tune when their jobs disappear?

Those who own and rent out thousands of sq feet of office space would lose out, so it’s not going to happen. As with most things it’s those with the money that decides. A full office is worth more than an empty one. That’s what I think anyway.

I’d like to see it compulsory that if you meet the essential criteria for a job and live within a 2 mile radius you are guaranteed an interview. An easy way to cut down on traffic and then shorter commutes, more walking and cycling and maybe even nip home at lunch. Much more flexible.

I've started a new role in a new work place and I am a very experienced professional who is taking a couple of steps back down the career ladder for health reasons (so I chose a largely remote role). It's so much more isolating than working hybrid /working in the office.

There's something intangible but important we lose when fully remote.

I felt much better once I'd had my first fortnightly office day (the very first day was an induction into the tech so I didn't meet the team for long)

If it's like that for me as an established professional I cannot imagine how it much feels sometimes for juniors at the beginning of their careers.

I also worry about the impact on women’s rights as it seems a lot of mums are taking on extra childcare while working to save on nursery. I rarely hear of dads doing it. My colleague is away from her desk 2-4 while she does school pick up and is then online with 6yo fully in her care. Not attending a meeting during your work hours for childcare reasons like that isn’t acceptable.

I wfh permanently and have done for 7 years now but I genuinely think the better option is greater flexibility on hours, where it can be accomodated.

Previous places I've worked have had core hours of 11 - 3pm, so everyone must be in for 7 hours that cover that period but outside of that, can work when they like. e.g. 7am-3pm or 11am - 7pm. That spreads out the commute and allows people to travel when suits them best and do other things, like school runs.

Combine this with more allowance to condense hours into 4 days (if you want) and I think it's a winner.

People take the piss when they work from home. I loathed speaking to people obviously at home with all the racket in the background during COVID. Just no.

People take the piss in general when allowed to work from home. Especially if Mumsnet is anything to go by.

You forgot to add that so many services are negatively impacted by WFH people taking the piss, we've all heard the boasting about it, not least on here. If people can't be trusted to do what they're paid for then yes a good thing to get people back to the workplace.

Or Portugal or Romania? I work for a British company but at least half the IT staff are abroad where they get paid much less but they still speak excellent English and are highly skilled.

It might be hard to translate some functions well to India but if you work on a computer then your job can probably be done just as well by a Romanian.

And from an employee POV it's not good for MH never to venture out particularly those who live alone. Those in abusive relationships need breathing space.

And it's not just the employee who has to be considered. It's the impact on the whole family.

There have been plenty of threads on here by women who hate having their husbands WFH full time. Occupying the main living room, loud calls that can be heard all over the house, rest of the family having to tiptoe around, husband always there and wife never having any time alone.

I'd worry for new recruits into businesses. They can learn a lot simply by working alongside more experienced colleagues, get quick answers to their questions, observe what goes on in the office and between staff, informal work shadowing, etc.

I think I'd prefer to see a little more flexibility in workplaces rather than everyone just working at home full time.

As a customer I don't think you always get improved service when the work's being done from home.

If nobody had to leave the house to work public transport would die off to an absolute minimum, for people like me who don't drive that would be a big problem. The people who have to go to work are often the people who earn the least so they'd suffer twice over.
Too many people have got very comfortable WFH because it costs them less, it's not really to do with a work/life balance, it's to do with their bank balance. Employers may say you can't WFH with small DC in the house but there seem to be quite a few people on here who do it on the quiet

It’s all circumstance dependent though, isn’t it?

I WFH FT. But I have an office garden which is private and well equipped. I’d hate it if I was stuck at the kitchen table.

I eat healthier because I have time to plan ahead and I don’t get involved with the office snacks/restaurant lunches/Friday takeaways.

I get more exercise because I have more time - dog used to get a 20-30 minute walk, since WFH it’s been 60-90 mins.

My mental health is better because I don’t have the stress of a 2-5-3 hour round trip daily, or having to sit in an office.

Im also more productive and do longer hours because I’m not rushing out of the door at 5 to beat the traffic.

plus my work/life balance is much better.

Producitvity dropped hugely with staff who were wfh at the last company I worked for in the UK, almost all were parents of young children who were choosing to dodge nursery and neglect their work. It took three weeks of being back in the office for everyone to be back at their normal lessons.

I could entirely work from home, I choose to go into the office instead, I would like to know how the calorie content of my lunch varies as to where I eat it.

That would be people tossing it off at home

Work productivity will go down massively. We are not robots. We need to see face to face to work together. Hybrid will work and working occasionally in the office will work but not fully remote.

There’s a few people who wfh at my workplace. We all know they take the piss and do fuck all. They don’t have enough to do at work so they go home to hide the little they actually do.

Companies should just do what works for them, but they should be upfront about it. Really pissed me off when I was job hunting to see 'flexible/hybrid working' advertised only to find out, after wasting time applying/interviewing, that they wanted you in 9-5, a set 4 days a week.

That said I do find it surprising just how illogical many employers (and employees) are about WFH. You see all these comments about the impact of WFH on productivity, MH, collaboration, etc., as if this is a genuine concern, when, in my opinion, it's really about trust and control.

Open plan offices are proven to reduce performance, productivity, morale and communication and yet it seems to be beloved by all employers (or at least every one I've come across). If employers were genuinely concerned about staff performance and wellbeing you'd think they'd target the things proven to negatively impact it first.

A thousand times this.

I agree I discovered deliveroo whilst wfh and this amazing donut shop that delivered within 20 minutes!

This is very true.

Full time WFH during covid nearly broke me. I ended up delressed, isolated and with a lower back issue.

WFH full time is not in my best interest.