to be tired of the jealousy towards people who WFH?

Does it mean confidential information about a child is less secure on a home computer than in a business? I think that would be something that would worry me, everything from Ms X answering a phone call/someone at the door and her child having a nosy look about another child to internet connection not being secure.

My only bad experience with WFH was contacting the passport office about an issue with GCs passport (he lives with me) the call was clearly in someone's home and she couldn't understand the issue let alone answer the question. When I finally had enough of going round and round the houses I asked to be transferred to someone more senior and was told that wasn't possible as she wasn't in the office but I was promised a call back within 24 hrs. Two years later I'm still waiting. Obviously depends on the job but I do think that sort of thing needs to be addressed.

I'm not jealous by the way, I'm retired, tied to the house looking after disabled husband and miss being in the office.

Exactly this! ^ THIS is why many employers want their employees back at work - in the office, because many people take the piss.

@Bluebellwood129 I had no idea that all the people WFH had unique rare niche skills, commanding salaries while walking their dogs. To be honest, I think most of them work for customer services, probably HMRC, if the call waiting times are anything to go by!

Tell me you’re jealous without telling me 😂🤣

I agree with the pp who said you are paid to do what your employer wants you do do.
It's that simple.
I think some people lose sight of the fact that their employer buys a certain amount of hours of their time to fulfil a role.

PMSL at what a massive oxymoron your post is @WFHFan

You claim you work sooooooo hard from home and claim you have awards for your work (LOL) and yet admit to doing chores and shopping in work hours.

If you were in the 'office' you wouldn't be able to do this, so why do you think it's acceptable to do it when you 'work' from home?

No-one is 'jealous' love. People are just sick of other folk swinging the lead, slacking, not pulling their weight, and claiming they work sooooo hard, when they clearly don't, as you are proving by admitting you do household chores and shopping when you're being paid to WORK.

So they have to give out awards now to encourage people to work, rather than people just doing the job they are paid to do?

I wfh and honestly think it's win win for the employer and the employee. The employer saves on office space and parking and the employer isn't stuck in traffic jams every day. Also, long term, we need to start moving jobs out of the big cities. Wfh allows people to move out further into the countryside so it frees up space for other amenities.

I’ve lost count of the number of posts on here saying things like “my company wants me back in the office. How will I manage looking after my twin toddlers, boisterous pre schooler, 5 dogs, elderly parents, and my flourishing Vinted selling business , if I have to go into the office. It’s not fair”. Which just about sums it up. Not everyone who WFH is like that, but there enough of those people to open the concept up to criticism.

With all due respect though, that just doesn’t make sense. There is disparity in all walks of life. It’s up to you to change your position if you don’t like it. Eg many jobs I’ve had where I live much further away from my colleagues and so my time lost and expense was way more than theirs so should I have asked for more salary? I mean where would it end?!

But are you really constantly called a skiver?
As I said, I've wfh for four years and I have never once been called a skiver so struggle to believe the name calling is constant.
I think it's in some people's heads sometimes tbh

But lots of people do have that flexibility and are paid very well. The reality is that if you have expertise that's in demand, you can't just find someone else that's cheaper.

This is positive and I hope as you say this does happen.

WFH has MANY benefits (not just to the employee) but to their families / society as a whole and the economy.

Many parents who WFH would not be able to work / contribute to the economy if they had to work in an office.
Equally, at the other end of the spectrum, many have caring roles for parents too.

I am one of those - mum was hospitalized earlier in the year - dad has dementia. If I did not have the ability to WFH , he would have had to go into respite / short term care.

My job can be totally done remotely - I do go into an office 2 days a week to take phone calls (not related to my job)

I get my work done but in hours I choose (so long as I get a sufficient amount done ) I have never been questioned (well not to my face. Colleagues have made sniffy comments about not being able to WFH, but they could choose a role that enables it. Plus, they make sniffy coments about any/every thing !)

For work life balance this is ideal - I can get GP appointments easily etc if needed for myself / others.

So you’d be happy to be repeatedly told you were a skiver?

I don’t think correcting a misconception means you have a chip on your shoulder.

Yes this! sick of threads where ppl moan that the employer wants them back in the office, well if you started out as in the office working of course eventually the employer may want you back in, that's how it used to work!

I went from an office in the office job and then WFH during covid and then Hybrid, 1/2 days in the office and rest from home. I loved the day when I had to go in. I have now changed jobs and the job advert stated in the office only and the manager really stressed that in the interview as she was so worried about ppl not getting the fact that some jobs even though on paper they can be done from home is better in the office.

I am not jealous of WFH employers at all and my previous employer did it very very well and got people back without forcing them. I am worried about younger/newer work people who have never really experienced only in office working and their social skills within a work context. Yes I am actually

Do any of you WFH exponents have to call customer services for any companies ever? Do you not get frustrated when the agent you speak to is clearly looking after young kids? And unable to answer your questions because they don’t know the answer (probably due to inadequate remote training) and they can’t ask their manager, because they’re working 200 miles away? It pisses me right off.

Surely the solution to this isn’t to make all jobs more miserable so that people aren’t tempted away from the NHS? The solution is to pay people more for jobs which can’t be done flexibly, in recompense for the inconvenience.

I know that paying people what they’re worth and what the market demands is a radical concept these days but it’s the only solution that’s actually going to work and make people happier.

I think it's overly simplistic and a little childish to assume that anyone who points out issues with WFH must be "jealous". I agree with a pp that some of the reasons I've heard for people refusing to return to their contracted place of work are ridiculous. One I heard recently was "I get a lot of parcels delivered and my neighbours won't take them in so I need to be at home".

I've worked from home and didn't enjoy it. I choose to work in a role that involves a lot of face to face interaction with people. I'm certainly not jealous, but I am frustrated that some organisations and individuals I have to liaise with have become noticeably less efficient, slower to respond and much more prone to miscommunication and error since their staff have been working remotely.

I know everyone who WFH on MN is adamant that they're twice as productive at home but I know people IRL who openly admit to taking the piss. I suspect that people like this are not as rare as many on MN like to insist they are, and are probably the reason some employers are pushing a return to the office, which is a shame for those who genuinely do work hard from home.

@CreationNat1on being on call is different. If you’re on call, by definition you’re just “available” for work, if needed. Not actually working. You can get lucky and have no work to do at all during an on call spell, but your life is still on hold, waiting for that call.

But during contracted work hours, people should actually work. I’m a GP, I’m very experienced, I have hundreds of thank you cards, and multiple post graduate qualifications. I’m good at my job. It doesn’t mean I can pop to Tesco in the middle of my surgery.

Exactly! This is what people who just let their jealousy override their brain don’t acknowledge. Before COVID changed how we worked, I’d actually asked permission to move to a different office floor as my bank of desks had lovely people but they gossiped non stop and expected to you to make small talk in between calls with them and honestly made it difficult to focus when you hear people chattering around you all day. Also, just going for a loo break or ti go grab a coffe takes like x3 times longer than if you were at home. Hybrid working is bliss because I do care about doing the best job possible and better still I can take deliveries and make healthier cheaper lunches for myself whilst reducing environmental pollution. What’s not to love!

No one can post a thread about it without someone chiming in threatening if their job can done from home then it could be given to someone in another country or AI could take it.

Our work force is international and most of us work remotely (there is an actual office in Hong Kong). When we advertise new positions, anyone from any country can apply. The best person gets the job. So "given to someone in another country" isn't a threat.

I think there is some resentment in my sector, civil service, as even just the costs of going to the office are unfair on those who cannot do their roles from home. It costs around 40 pounds a week to park here. It should be reflected in salaries I think.

If you want that expert to be on call, available at the drop of a hat, and to prioritise you as a client, above any other. You ll pay them for their availability.

@CreationNat1on if I knew an employee was spending half the time pissing around with their mates, I’d pay them less. It would essentially be a part time role.

If I was paying an “expert” to shop, run errands, do school runs, chores and sleep, I’d probably see if I could find a cheaper expert who didn’t do all those things!