To think perhaps WFH might need encouraged again for a while

Unless you can’t buy enough fuel either because of fuel shortages or it becoming prohibitively expensive.
I can’t imagine there would be an actual ban on driving, so everyone should be able to carry on as they are until they can’t get the fuel from petrol stations.

I’m still confused about why we should get messages delivered by supermarkets. I didn’t even know there was the option of going to the supermarket to pick them up.

Mine get delivered straight to my phone or via a post it note on the fridge. Am I terribly out of the loop somehow?

Oh god the lockdown conspiracists have arrived.

How about another lock down, pretty long one, in order to "help the economy?", eh?

It will be a shame for some if there's too much panic buying, as those with holidays in the UK that were booked a while ago may not be able to get the fuel they need to travel.

We're still at the "all about me" stage, I see.

I think most of the negative attitudes are from people who have never really done it and don't know how amazing it is. (Or have some weird puritanical objection to workers being happy - why pay them if they're comfortable, damnit).

Oh I totally agree with you, I'm actively looking for fully remote jobs because I like seeing my kids 😂, and I work better from home. If Gov could make that proclamation I'd be over the moon! But I don't think they will because of the negative attitudes to WFH that came from covid.

Those who can work from home help by leaving the fuel and roads clear for those who must commute.

those who can charge an EV from solar (or at least from a greener energy plan) also help.

For those where public transport is an option, or a preference, excellent.

We always knew dependence on oil was a finite option.

They could say "employers are forbidden to compel anyone to go to a workplace unless there is a clear business need to do so".

I don't understand why anyone would want to sit compressed in an office like a battery hen just as I'm sure you don't understand why I want to sit in peaceful comfy quiet at home where I can concentrate.

I mean, some people do their shopping, send personal emails or even run their own businesses from their employer's desk in the office. So what? If the employer doesn't like these measurable things they can stop them. It doesn't mean the mode of working is the problem.

I WFH a couple of times a week. i still have to go out twice a day to look after and ride my horses though so it doesn't really help!

This is from Austrailian news where people are confused over WFH mandate but also Gov saying they have enough oil reserves:

Swinburne University organisational psychology expert Timothy Bednall says Australia cannot afford to waste fuel on avoidable commuting.

“We’re in a slightly unusual situation at the moment, where the costs of commuting are largely borne by employees rather than employers,” he told NewsWire.

The reason the government are hesitant about WFH is because it's still too closely tied to covid in our heads. There's people on this thread saying it won't work for them, it will be bad for mental health. A WFH mandate for oil presevation will not be the same as one for covid. If someone who works 5 days in office can drop a day to WFH, that will make a difference. If someone can switch from car to train, that will make a difference. If a workplace can say 'we want everyone in together two days a week for team working, then WFH the rest' that will make a difference. It's simply about reducing the amount of oil used, not making everyone sit at home and go mad.

We have approximately 15 people in our MDT... we have an office with 5 desks in. Makes for some fun days when people all try to come into the office.

I'm community NHS - I see people who can't travel to clinics in their homes (we also don't have enough clinic rooms to book out which is a whole other story)... in a rural area as well, so shitty rural public transport. I'm already WFH for admin (see the aforementioned desk shortage issue) as much as possible, and my car's electric with us having solar panels and a house battery as well to reduce peak time use from the grid - but I have colleagues really beginning to worry. For context, I cover a patch that's historically hard for us to recruit consistent staff cover for and covers approx 300 miles in total. Can't bus that and there's no way I'm biking it!

Why would they run out? The costs are increasing, but the supply is not under threat. Do you think Norway and the US (where we get most of the oil that we don't produce ourselves) is going to cut us off? We don't get any oil from the Gulf states.

There's hardly any oil left in the UK sector of the North Sea (over 90% extracted) but it still fills 40% of our needs. The rest is imported from Norway, the US, Nigeria and Libya.

We don't import ANY oil from the gulf states - so our supplies are not at risk. The problem is that oil prices are set on a global market, so even though our supplies are secure the price will rocket and there's nothing we can do about it. The oil companies are of course filling their boots.

It's far worse for Asian countries where most gulf oil goes.

Government meeting with businesses today, will need careful messaging to prevent conspiracy theorists going bonkers so I guess they’re hoping that businesses will lead on announcing suggested reduced fuel uses.

Havent rtft but I heard someone (possibly a spokesperson for fuel but cant remember exactly) several weeks ago on a news item, advocating people wfh.
My job doesnt really lend itself to wfh (the nature of the work varies and most is unsuitable to do at home) but i travel by train anyway.
By chance we have just switched to having one car so by default will end up walking/cycling more because we dont have the option of 2 people driving at the same time.

Do you think the government will say or do anything to try to help? I read that several other countries are putting things in place, but so far very little has been said here.

I live very rurally, it’s a 22 mile round trip to the nearest wee corner shop and to primary school, and a forty mile round trip to the supermarket. Public transport isn’t available.

I really wish people were less selfish.

They need to get a balance though as Rachel is getting so much money from the tax on fuel that they don’t want to discourage travel so much that people don’t spend and end up adopting habits that mean they are naturally more frugal.

Someone has to extract it then refine it. The oil would then be sold on the open market at whatever price that is. It's not our oil. Thatcher sold it off.
We will only have immediate shortages if we all go crazy filling up cars at every opportunity.

I agree . Starmer should be on this

Laughing at this... if you knew me (and what I went through in lockdown) you would very much have a different opinion!

I'm talking about using my car twice a week to go into the office twice a week 🙄