Nigel Farage calls for an end to working from home

Yeah, the piss-takers do exist, and they really annoy me because it damages trust in those of us who wfh and can actually be trusted to do our jobs. It doesn't affect me directly (work for a fully remote company, been there years and they know I don't swing the lead - I'm on annual leave this week, before anyone comments that I'm on MN at 10.30 a.m. 😄) but it damages confidence in wfh as a general concept.

I did not say you made claims.
I was speaking to somebody else who made
the claim and I asked them and then you chose to butt in the middle with your personal anecdote that I never asked for nor have any interest in.

See also Kent Council who have admitted their UK style DOGE failed to uncover any major savings

yes I think the young grads, especially during lockdown, had a terrible time.

They do need that time in the office I think, as PP have said above.

I'm the opposite case - I have a garden office with everything I need - and have been 100% wfh for ten years with no issues at all. I plan to see my remaining working years out wfh all the way, if possible. It does have downsides, but I'm grateful to be wfh and would choose it every time.

The woes of people invested in city centre office real-estate are not mine, and if that's who Farage is trying to help out here, at least that makes sense to me. A policy to help out his rich mates and donors is quite logical, and a better reason imo than just stoking up resentment.

Guy's an absolute chancer likes, but then we all know that.

Those who say they don't want to socialise with colleagues ... one of the huge problems in today's society is we're living in bubbles, increasingly no longer exposed to different people, who think differently to us, come from different backgrounds but STILL are often very nice and personable. It's good to realise someone who's much older/younger than you, votes differently etc etc is a human being just like you and you can rub along with them. Obviously it's ludicrous to ban WFH and won't happen but working with colleagues is so important in learning how to get along with others. Having said that, Mumsnetters generally don't believe in talkign to strangers, getting to know their neighbours, answering the door (maybe because a lot of them WFH) - so this won't wash here.

Amazingly enough it turns out that reform don’t expect their own workers to follow this policy.

Totally agree-my DC is mid 20s and living in a house share. He can WFH two days a week and loves it-gives that bit of extra flexibility and work life balance. Most of his friends at other companies seem to have a similar arrangement-I think it’s a good thing. He can go for a run in the mornings before starting work at 9 rather than spending an hour sitting in traffic or on a train.

My company (private) decided to enforce a strict return but didn’t do the maths and we didn’t have enough space, so now they spend millions each year for a floor at WeWork for a couple of departments 😂😂 So clever

No i wouldn't ban it. But for younger people starting out i think its absolutely shite.

I can see how WFH wouldn't suit you if you just live in one room, nor would it suit others in your position.

But not all young people are in this situation. We have junior staff in my teams, and they all like the hybrid model that allows some time to work from home.

But also, why should WFH be scrapped for those where it is preferred and suits their lifestyle. It can have equally negative impact on MH if people suddenly lose 10-15 hours a week and spend more money because they have to commute and spend of fuel/train tickets.

He wants a US style system where employers practically own their employees.

That way the rich get richer and men like Nigel get more totalitarian control.

I work for a Reform run local authority and there's no way there'd be anywhere near enough office space across all the buildings that are left in the council's ownership to house everyone ordered to return to full-time office working. There's quite often NO space available for my Team when we try to book desks for regular in-office days as it is.

@Tabitha005 how did this pan out for you? Was there a call to get everyone back in the office 5 days per week, and then management realised there simply wasn’t room? So did they back-track?

Presumably employers who don't like wfh don't offer it as an option.

If the likes of Amazon and Boots and Stuart Rose's companies are finding that wfh policies aren't working for them, then that is purely and simply an internal management failure. Either they've agreed to wfh contracts without ensuring the work required can be fulfilled properly by staff working from home, or they have been unable to effectively manage their staff. Their apparent incompetence should have no bearing on how another business chooses to operate though.

@Lifeomars this is already happening on a local level. A year and a half in and Reform are discovering it's not as easy as it looks and they will in many cases have to raise council tax. But are obviously blaming whoever was in power before them. £75k spent on flags in notts and millions spent on a waste consultant in leics! They know how to spunk money up the wall.

I vote Nigel comes to his end.

😪 I hope so

If Reform do win the next election (🤑) all Farage will do is whine on about is the how hard it is to achieve anything due to the mess they inherited. I wonder how long that will wash with his supporters who will no doubt be expecting all their problems to be over the minute as Nige kicks Larry the cat out of the way as he enters No10. He's got those ex Tories who have held cabinet posts who assuming they are elected as Reform MPs
will be jostling to have the same status again,Then there will be the likes of Lee Anderson who lacks any sort of brain and abilty to think strategically, but will no doubt be hoping for a cabinet post too. I sometimes wonder if Farage really wants all the stress of being PM and secretly prefers standing on the sidelines stirring up trouble. The only real appeal of being PM for him is that moment of glory on election night and the chance to get even richer, he has no care for this country and its people at all

Maybe not, but if private sector workers hear he’s against working from home generally, it’s not going to go down particularly well with a lot of them.

He reminds me of this sneaky, snakey guy 😬

Council workers aren’t voting for him anyway, he can afford to lose their vote

This is absolutely trying to appeal to the ‘pull the ladder up behind us’ generation! I bet there are loads of retired people (men!) ranting on Facebook in support of this and saying about how people should get back to the office.

I know so many people now though who either WFH or hybrid and it has transformed their work life balance. My DB used to spend 4 hours a day commuting. Now he doesn’t has to do that anymore, it’s transformed him-it was such a waste of time. Now, he can go to the gym, see the kids after school and have dinner with his wife!

To the op who posted earlier saying her son was unhappy wfh as a youngster, then he needs to find a job that’s in the office, if that’s what he wants!

I’d rather call for the end of Nigel Farage. The frog faced grifter.

I think it should be left to the employer to decide if they wish to allow WFH. Each business is different to the next and only the employer knows if a job role can be performed adequately remotely. It certainly shouldn't be for politicians to interfere with policies either in favour of WFH or blanket ban of WFH.

If Farage wants to tempt voters who aren’t his usual hotbed of support, he needs to bin rage baiting crap like this.

It’s not a vote winner, simple as that. It impacts women and disabled people particularly, and a lot of good people will simply move to the private sector, where presumably private employers can do what they like (and will continue with popular flexibility policies).