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Original poster

Millions of people's jobs can't be done from home

55 replies

Annoyance · 29/04/2020 16:28

I'm getting so fed up with all of this "working from home is the future" stuff, which seems to me to be extremely privileged.

What is going to happen to your support staff like receptionists and admin/filing people, most of whom cannot do their job from home?

What about all the people working in the cafes near your office? The venues nearby you sometimes hire out? The retail staff?

Do you not realise that for every office worker who starts to permanently work from home, someone else loses their job because of it?

It seems like a very privileged point of view to think oh surely everyone can work from home these days. I realise the possibility is there, but I'm getting sick of the way people are talking about it as if it's a given fact. Just stop and think about it please.

OP posts:
Original poster
Annoyance · 29/04/2020 16:29

I've been very lucky to be furloughed so I have some money coming in, but it won't last forever.

OP posts:
eurochick · 29/04/2020 16:35

Eh? I think everyone with more than two brain cells realises there are many jobs that can't be done from home. However many can and we are likely to see more home working in future.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 29/04/2020 16:36

Yep. I'm on furlough, my job can't be done from home. I do admin in an office, I'm not allowed to bring the files home as they contain personal information about customers. We also used specialised printers which we only have in the office. We manufacture goods which we sell through retailers and the majority of our staff are factory workers.

I'd hate a "work from home" culture myself as I need to be around my colleagues to keep motivated.

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Original poster
Annoyance · 29/04/2020 16:38

Eh? I think everyone with more than two brain cells realises there are many jobs that can't be done from home.

That's not what it feels like from reading through some of the posts here.

OP posts:
Fatted · 29/04/2020 16:42

I'd be seriously interested to know who is still doing filing nowadays.

When people say about working from home, it is in recognition of the fact that their particular job can be done from home and there is no reason why it cannot be done from home. Nobody is suggesting everyone should work from home. More like there are more people who could and therefore should.

I am working from home just now. There is no reason why I cannot work from home in the future. DH on the other hand is a driver and will never be able to work from home.

Original poster
Annoyance · 29/04/2020 16:44

I'd be seriously interested to know who is still doing filing nowadays.

Wow.

You have no idea.

OP posts:
Parky04 · 29/04/2020 16:45

We still have paper files therefore employ admin staff to do filing amongst other things.

Poppyfr33 · 29/04/2020 16:45

I work in a small team of 4, 2 are shielded and not able work from home as employer does not have equipment for them. I work part time, I work from home one my own laptop but one day a week I have to go into the office to access programmes not on my laptop. My boss found it impossible to work from home so is back in the office full time.
I can’t say I like working from home, I prefer the office environment as when I get home I can switch off.

Lochroy · 29/04/2020 16:46

I think it's a bit harsh to call it privileged. A lot of people normally work in an office and are currently able to work from home. For them, the future is likely to look very differen.

Not all posts on mm apply to everyone, so I'm not quite sure what you're getting at?

Raccoon2020vision · 29/04/2020 16:47

It is possible to do some admin work from home including reception/phone answering work but you need very robust IT systems in place. Some employers already do this. That helpdesk person you're talking to about your phone bill/gas bill isn't always based in a big open plan office. Some are virtual assistants working from home.

Or do you mean physically meeting and greeting? In which case that will probably go to an AI system at some point in the not-too-distant future, although initial experiences at hotels in Japan have not been exactly encouraging...

Filing could also be done from home but only if a decent scanning system with good security is set up in the first place as soon as documents arrive. There is a lot of keywording and records management, for instance, that could be done online, but the caveat above applies.

I'm not looking forward to seeing physical cash disappear, which is looking more and more likely, and will make several groups within the population even more disadvantaged than they already are. And I'm REALLY not looking forward to the transition period to the New World from what we've been used to since, well, Roman times (bar the Internet, electricity, cars, air travel and computers, obviously! But the Romans were masters of bureaucracy as well as road building....). And all right, there was that Dark Ages thing in the middle.

But no, you're absolutely right. Not all jobs can be done from home. Though we've been in a similar place many times before as a society - the Industrial Revolution, for instance, when the world was turned upside down for many.

We're all about to see the world transformed - what's that curse about interesting times again?

Original poster
Annoyance · 29/04/2020 16:50

I think it's a bit harsh to call it privileged. A lot of people normally work in an office and are currently able to work from home. For them, the future is likely to look very different.

It is because these people haven't stopped to think about what will happen to all their support staff.

Not all posts on mm apply to everyone, so I'm not quite sure what you're getting at?

People are writing them as if they do apply to everyone. That's how it comes across to me.

OP posts:
ReceptacleForTheRespectable · 29/04/2020 16:50

admin/filing people

I've worked in a range of industries, and while admin is still a core function (and will remain so), most filing is automated these days, or done electronically e.g. When I send an email, the system asks me where I want to file it.

We hardly use physical paper at all anymore, and it's just as easy to electronically file a document yourself as to send it to someone else to be electronically filed. Filing isn't a full time job for an office junior like it used to be.

Inconnu · 29/04/2020 16:50

I totally get that not everyone can work from home, but I'm surprised you picked admin staff as an example (now that most things are online and have replaced paper files). Our admin team is currently all working from home.

ReceptacleForTheRespectable · 29/04/2020 16:51

We still have paper files therefore employ admin staff to do filing amongst other things.

I'm really interested to know what industry this is?

Waxonwaxoff0 · 29/04/2020 16:52

We keep a lot of paper files, we are required to keep 5 years worth of hard copies in case anything went wrong with the computer systems.

Original poster
Annoyance · 29/04/2020 16:54

@Raccoon2020vision Only large organisations have this sort of technology in place. There are thousands of places like small, local accountancy firms who do indeed use physical files.

OP posts:
Original poster
Annoyance · 29/04/2020 16:55

Law firms, numerous other professional services. Signed documents are needed and computers are not failsafe.

OP posts:
ExpletiveDelighted · 29/04/2020 16:55

It's not just the case that not all jobs can be done at home, not all homes can support WFH properly. Poor rural broadband, lack of space for desks/office chairs/printers etc, lack of privacy for teleconferences. People are managing all this short term by perhaps working at the kitchen table and keeping their family members out of the way but it really isn't suitable long term for many, especially if more than one family member is trying to WFH.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 29/04/2020 16:56

@ReceptacleForTheRespectable it is for me! It's exactly what I do at work. I do filing and labelling all day. Small/medium size family business in the manufacturing industry.

Lochroy · 29/04/2020 16:57

Seems like poor business planning either way - either support staff are needed in which case if they can't work from home that needs to be recognised or they're not needed in which case why do the roles exist? (Please note I don't mean that to sound as harsh as it does, I just think I can't have seen the posts you're referring to). If anything surely the current inability to work from home will highlight the value these staff add?

Original poster
Annoyance · 29/04/2020 16:58

If anything surely the current inability to work from home will highlight the value these staff add?

I certainly hope so.

OP posts:
ToolkitQ · 29/04/2020 17:03

Once wfh is shown to wor, I think it is entirely likely that a lot of those roles will move offshore to places where wage costs are lower. Not all jobs obviously but in some it could be a concern.

YogaPantsSavedMyLife · 29/04/2020 17:12

It seems like a very privileged point of view to think oh surely everyone can work from home these days

I've not seen a single post on here that has said that, OP. It would, of course, be a daft thing to say. If anyone had said it. Which they haven't. Some people have, however, suggested that a move to working from home more often, for those whose jobs can support it, is highly likely and may be beneficial for a variety of reasons.

What about all the people working in the cafes near your office?

I really, really like the felafel stall next to my office. The guys who work there are great and their felafel wraps with extra halloumi are absolutely delicious.

But I'm not going to carry on commuting into London on three separate modes of overcrowded transport, paying inflated fares to be packed in like a sardine in order to keep buying their delicious halloumi wraps if my boss says I can work from home 3 days out of 5 instead. I guess that's my 'privilege' talking though Hmm

toothfairy73 · 29/04/2020 17:12

DH is a self employed driving instructor. Have no idea when he will be able to go back to work

ReceptacleForTheRespectable · 29/04/2020 17:18

Law firms, numerous other professional services. Signed documents are needed and computers are not failsafe.

I work in professional services. In my area (finance related) everything is online. I imagine smaller firms are maybe more paper based? (I'm big4)