If you’re furloughed or WFH - when are you expected back?

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As the title. I’m so worried for my job, we’re crossing our fingers that when furlough ends things will pick up for us! So I’m curious, if you’re furloughed - when are you expected back?

Also if you’re currently working from home, when are you expected Back in the office?

Thanks x

Dh was wfh since March. After a month he was allowed in half a day a week to sort files, collect new files etc.
Since end of June/beg July he's been in the office 3 days a week. They have 50% staff in max a day. Rest is wfh still and likely to be that way until the end of the year as things currently stand.

I was wfh overseeing home learning for my school. Most staff work in school ft as we were full bubbles from very early on due to the number of key worker and vulnerable children we have. I was wfh mainly as I'm clinically vulnerable as well as my role in school being better suited to the HL management. I will be returning to school FT in September though.

All those WFH forever or for a long period, what will happen with new starters or new school leaver/ graduate starters - how will they be accommodated? I fear for our children and their prospects. They can't work from him not knowing how to do the job!

I started a new job during lockdown. Went in to get a laptop and to meet my new manager for half a day. It’s possible to do everything via screen sharing. Microsoft Teams, Skype, Zoom etc.

Many people will be going in one or two days a week in the future. Use those days for meetings and printing etc.

@bestbefore

All those WFH forever or for a long period, what will happen with new starters or new school leaver/ graduate starters - how will they be accommodated? I fear for our children and their prospects. They can't work from him not knowing how to do the job!

I imagine something like a delivery of equipment to your home with set up instructions and then lots of zoom / teams meetings for inductions. Remote take over computers to show how to do things and in depth training manuals created. You have to innovate to stay relevant and if the world is phasing to a wfh culture you have to adapt to a new way of working. “Fearing” for children’s futures is a bit of an over reaction. Surely you teach them to be resilient and dynamic and adaptable to take in new challenges and not just roll over at the first sign of change or something difficult.

I've been WFH. There has been no mention of returning to the office yet. I don't think we'll be back this year. There's talk about reducing office space and keeping that for client meetings/group working and having WFH become the norm. This would suit me fine, although I do miss the office banter. The only thing that I care about is I really want to be allowed back into the office to get some of my books cause I feel like I need them to do the work better! And all the other little things I have stored in my desk drawers in the office. I had it set up perfectly for working and never realised we'd be home for so long...I took what I could carry, but with laptop etc to take home, I couldn't manage all my books and I miss them! And engineer needs their reference material!

@JoeCalFuckingZaghe There's only so far that being resilient and dynamic can take you. I read a great article a couple of months ago arguing that many companies have been able to switch to working from home so easily because they have benefited from years of accumulated social capital, created by working face to face. So people understand their colleagues, know how they work, and how to best communicate. As soon as you start to get ~10% of the workforce in an organisation moving on and replace, that social capital weakens and working remotely as a team becomes much tougher.

I moved jobs in mid June, but still WFH and it's been a nightmare. I'm struggling to get to know the rest of the team, can't pick up on what the organizational culture is or get clear expectations of what I should be achieving. I had a pretty in depth online induction, but that only really covers process, not the indefinable social connections that make teams effective. I can't get a sense of where I should be fitting in the wider organization or even do something as basic as pick up quickly what all the acronyms are because I don't hear the snippets of conversation that I'd hear in an office setting that would give me more context for my role, or get the non verbal cues that help to gauge tone and meaning. I've tried to get involved at team meetings, asked a lot of questions and contributed to online social events. I still feel very isolated and overlooked.

I've got 10+ years of experience in this sector and I'm finding it tough, I can't imagine how challenging it would be for a grad joining for the first time without any office experience. From an employers POV, it's also going to be a logistical nightmare if they have to set up the usual grad intake virtually, and managers will have to spend much more time on training, development and working closely with new hires rather than focusing on their own work.

We've been told that management is looking at getting more people back in to the office from late August, but it will still only be a very small proportion of the whole workforce. Most people won't even be back on a rotation basis before the end of the year.

Thanks @witheringrowan - agree - it does depend on the job of course and how big a company is (eg able to produce training manuals etc) but think for smaller companies, creative industries etc it will be v hard for new waves of staff. Video calls are not the same as real life interaction. And dare I say the social side for younger staff is really important.

Of course kids will need to adapt, starting work is a huge change anyway but this will be very trying for them. Assuming recruitment actually happens of course...

WFH got technology company since long before official UK lockdown. They spent February upgrading the infrastructure then sent us all home to WFH.

A few people have been on site but estimates indicate that with social distancing rules, the capacity is down to 20% of what it was.

When I joined them, we all had big L shaped desks, separate offices and loads of space each. If that had stayed, we could all have been back by now. Instead they crammed everything more people into the space and here we are.

Anyone who thinks they should be back for any reason, business, project or just because you don't have space at home to work comfortably , has been encouraged to get in touch so arrangements can be made for them to go it.

The rest of us are hoping it continues.

We were obvious candidates to WFH, even before COVID. Most of my day in the office was spent in teleconf, because our teams are spread across sites and countries. Even if it was people from the same office, finding a free meeting room was always a struggle, so we could easily be sitting in the same office and still use Teams for meetings.

All good really.

We really didn't stop (online retail, some essential stuff), but what has happened is we now effectively have 2 shifts in the warehouse - it naturally fell that way and all 4 staff in there love it although I'm not so sure they will want to work earlies and lates in winter , everyone else does some wfh - but we did a bit anyway, and some from the office. It's nice, we have gone from quite rigid hours to lots of flexitime, all the work is covered (and we seem to be a lot more productive) and we all seem to have more free time when wfh despite the company being a lot busier than normal, so everyone is happy.

WFH and not expecting to go back before 2021.

Civil service. Home for the foreseeable as our office has been given away to essential office staff who need to socially distance . xx

Late September as possibly going back but on a rota so I'm expecting to only be allowed back once or twice a week.

DH is WFH (tech support - email and phone based) and has been told it will most likely be for the rest of this year, quite possibly into Spring 2021.

DH was furloughed and returns to the office full time, permanently on 3rd August.

I've WFH throughout, and we have just heard we're going back to the office in September. We'll be split in bubbles, working in the office alternate weeks and at home the rest of the time. Office will be shut Fridays for a weekly deep clean and allow 72 hours between bubbles entering the building. One way system for entry/exit and limits on numbers in the kitchen area for drinks prep etc. No rounds of brews allowed.

WFH, we've been told they are working on the basis of 15% of people in the office from September slowly working up to 50% by 2021 and everyone will be doing at least 3 days a week from home going forward.

WFH and likely to be so into 2021. We’re Head Office - call centre staff are slowly going back very, very carefully...they’re more likely to have more difficulty getting a satisfactory home set up.

WFH and have been since 19 March (other than 3 weeks of furlough in April). There are some people back in the office now, split half and half, week on, week off.

From 7 September they want us all back, despite the fact our office is - IMO - way too small to accommodate adequate social distancing.

They've not shared their risk assessment with us yet, so haven't complied with the Covid-safe requirements.

I thankfully start a new job in October, which is permanent WFH, other than a few necessary trips to the office on occasion. I have no intention of being squished into a small office / commuting by train for any longer than is necessary.

WFH for a high street bank. No likely return this calendar year and When we do it’ll be very much a rarity to be in the office.

They are revelling in how much money they are saving in energy, phone and WiFi costs plus trumpeting their big gains on carbon-nutrality.

Wfh office return in September was mooted looking increasingly unlikely

I am wfh since march, as is my dh. He has been told it's likely to be a permanent change probably just 1 day per week in the office. My office never fully closed but those who can wfh were told to. I have been in twice due to IT issues. We havent had formal plans for a return but not expecting anything until at least september. I would struggle with needing to be present as we are doing a lot of random hours due to juggling childcare between us. More doable when schools go back.

WFH. I've been in for an hour since March to collect papers. The office is now open for those who have a need to be there, but tiny numbers are going in. There is a plan for a bit more of a return from September.

I've enjoyed working from home and always hated my commute, so it's good to have got rid of that. I do miss the social side of the office and the buzz of the City though. I wonder if people don't go back in the same numbers if the City will ever have the same energy again.

I'm WFH and we are expecting to go back from September in a rota basis so probably 2/3 days a week. This will then be reviewed monthly. I'm dreading going back if I'm honest. I've enjoyed the lie in, no commute, being able to relax on the couch in front of the telly on my lunch hour, more control over my working day. Just love it!