Do you think that now a lot of jobs are working from home, it’s a good thing or bad ?

[LovelyYellowLabrador]

I know it’s like most thjngs has it’s pros and cons
but Us humans are fundamentally social animals
so can’t help wondering what the long term impact of this will be ….

just wondering about your thoughts on the subject

It's good for disabled people like me. I would be retiring on ill health soon if I had to commute. As it is I intend to carry on working.

My son's GF is looking to change her admin job and said she's now competing against 3 or 4 times the amount of applicants, due to distance being no object.

I hadn't considered that.

Good thing. I get to see more of my partner, child, and friends who live in the same city as me, as well as being less tired from commuting so having more time to socialise at weekends.

It also saves me a huge amount of money - I'm not sure we could afford for us both to commute into London anymore, due to the rise in the cost of living.

Another bonus is that as a company we can recruit from anywhere in the country, rather than only having people who can live in London.

Pros and cons.
I think training and networking skills are going to be lost for those who are new in their careers which will be a massive shame. For many people it's much easier watching someone demonstrate something than doing it via Teams.

My son found it really hard to do schoolwork when school was online and said he missed other people being in the same room and chatting while he worked. I suspect many adults feel the same and work better and are happier in an office.

It is more inclusive but yes it will increase competition (good and bad depending on how you look at it.)

I have wfh at least a few days a week since long before the pandemic and I do think more companies moving towards permanent wfh will be better in the long run.

I think it is mostly a good thing, a lot of jobs seem to be wfh but with some contact days, which seems a good balance. Better for work and home life balance, more affordable, less pollution by people commuting, space to focus and less time wasted on general distractions. Training works well online, but again with some days face to face here and there to support that. I think he future will be more of a hybrid style than just one r the other.

I’d have left my job had they enforced office attendance. But some important points,

I’m old and experienced and don’t need to be mentored
I’m really good at building virtual relationships
I make a big effort to have conversations I would have in an office so how are you, how are your kids etc
I’m judged on delivery not presenteeism

I completely love not having to commute, wearing my slippers, being able to stop to chat to my children, not wasting time in the car.

I will never go back to an office and I’ll never take a job that isn’t 100% remote

I don't think a definite answer exists. There are benefits, even if it's just the armour to challenge employers on unfairly restrictive working conditions.

Do I think the amount of screen time and time spent alone when I now WFH is healthy? Probably not. But it depends on the workplace, I've experienced many toxic office environments that are just as damaging.

I do think that better work / life balance is a bit of a WFH myth. Or simply applied to those who are able to afford to facilitate a good WFH routine. I work in an open plan ground floor and often really struggle to switch off having my work space prominently in my home 24/7.

Totally agree with Legallyblonder. Love remote working and for my role there's no downside. I'll never go back to working in an office.

For me it’s easier as I have two disabled children and no access to any childcare. So working from home means I can put them onto transport to their specialist schools and be here when they get home. I’m in admin and looking to move jobs but I do think remote working really increases the competition.

It's terrible. We wanted flexibility so that if we were ill but not TOO ill, traffic was bad or waiting for a delivery/plumber/childcare that we could WFH semi-regularly, but overall its a disaster.

Employees never had to pay for their own workplace before and now we do. Most people would turn down a job where the workstation was a camping table and chairs next to a clothes horse...but now we're in it.

The human need for social contact isn't fulfilled by spending 9-5 in an office, with an hour-long commute each end of that. Whilst I acknowledge that WFH doesn't suit some, it does suit plenty of us, and we get our social contact in other ways.

Lots and lots of people who were fully WFH during the pandemic are now doing some kind of hybrid working anyway. Plus, there are still plenty of jobs (or managers) that require full on-site / in-person presence. And WFH doesn't mean 'never leaves the house'.

I really can't get too het-up about the potential future consequences for humankind of a shift that for many people is hugely beneficial.

I had a minimum hours long commute each way and work three days a week. So by WFH I have automatically gained at least 6 hours that I can use to spend time with family/friends.

Its definitely good for equality (disabled workers, carers, single parents).

Hybrid is probably a good compromise for many people.

For me it’s more social as my dh is wfh most of the time (I have always wfh). I love spending so much more time with my dh and it’s lovely for him that he can come along for most of the morning school runs (yes we even do that together!) and it means he is completely involved with our ds and knows exactly what is going on his life as he is around more. Otherwise his commute was 2 hours each way and although he will often work earlier and later than standard hours it still gives him more free time with us.

Good thing. DH and I both hate the days he has to go into the office - it’s a pointless expense, waste of time as well as money (commute) and he finds socialising with people all day absolutely knackering.

I don’t get why this is a problem - it’s your own house? Where you live?

I could have more or less written this. Am also older, don't need close supervision or mentoring, get on with work, am judged on what I do, not how long I spend with my bum on a seat.

I save a lot of money and time not commuting, and it will also be good to be around when my husband has an operation early next month; I will be at home so can keep an eye on him inbetween working, whereas if I had to go into the office I'd be out of the house for 8 hours and would have to take leave.

If you don't want to work at home, you can go into the office, or there are co-working hubs which vary in price, but are usually cheaper than an expensive train commute. Downside for me is that I need a big screen and wouldn't want to be squinting at my small work laptop screen (not sure if co-working hubs provide big screens to dock onto).

I work in tech so it's incredibly competitive at the moment and having lush offices but flexibility are some of the main things people are looking for. We each have full tech setup and home and they bought us these really fancy task chairs as well.

I wouldn't consider a job now that was office based only. It's given us so much as a family to have this level of flexibility. The only day I HAVE to be in the office is a Monday.

I've experienced many toxic office environments that are just as damaging

Yes it's probably better for some people to work from home away from office bullies and micro-managers, although I guess some of them still find ways to make themselves objectionable, even from afar

Yes. People like to threaten dire things about jobs being offshored to India. I don't think that will happen, and I don't think I would be sacked and a replacement recruited in India, but if I left, someone could very easily do my job from Galway, Plymouth or Glasgow. That's not a bad thing. It opens up jobs to the whole of the UK and Ireland, and it also means that people don't have to live in the overcrowded south-east of England.

Good for both employers and employees.

I disagree that we are fundamentally social creatures. Some, possibly most, humans are fundamentally social creatures. The rest of us are tormented by working in offices and have had huge improvements in mental and physical health by working from home. I made the switch long before Covid and would have to be pretty desperate to agree to an in-office employment situation ever again.

It will make it so much harder to recruit nurses and teachers and other jobs where you cannot work from home

amp.theguardian.com/education/2022/may/07/number-of-male-teachers-in-england-at-all-time-low-as-pay-levels-drop

www.teachingpersonnel.com/tp-posts/2022-3/tackling-the-teacher-recruitment-and-retention-crisis

Teaching has been a female dominated profession for a long time but mums who teach do not want to stay in a profession when there are more family friendly jobs elsewhere.

Having different possibilities is great