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

Im hybrid, 2 days office, I love the mix, we have a team day where we have to be in and can pick the 2nd day to suit ourselves. I certainly wouldnt apply for a role that was 100% office based.

I think its great for those already in great jobs that work like this (the middle classes that worked from home over covid for example) but how do people break into this?

I do think it will change a lot of things. Some of the old "mum" jobs I think are having trouble recruiting as they paid absolute peanuts but were often chosen as they were flexible/ term time etc. Now it is easier to stay in a role so I wonder whether these type of jobs will disappear or start to pay properly!

Best thing to ever happen to me. I am disabled and don't drive and only going into the office once a week is amazing.

Same regarding home schooling, my youngest son is absolutely thriving, different environments suit different people, lucky now that we live in an era that accommodates this.

I'm hybrid too but must admit to keeping my office my office days to a minimum to try & keep my petrol costs down!

That's got to be a huge advantage atm!

It’s also much more environmentally friendly to not have everyone commuting

Both.

For me WFH was great, especially when Ddog was alive. I had the dining room to work in, DH had the loft. We are both in our 50s with established friendship groups.

Some of my colleagues were working at the kitchen table with no quiet. Not ideal. They tend to come into the office more.

Also socially, lots of people in my office met their spouses at work, which wouldn't happen if they hardly ever came in.

I’m interviewing for a position this weeks that is 50/50 hybrid working, and honestly it will work wonderfully for me.
I am a single parent, and it means I’ll be able to condense my DC3’s nursery hours into 2 longer days (my office based days) and then pay for a couple of extra morning sessions a week on my home based days, and finish up my workload in the evening when the DCs are in bed. It will massively take the pressure off, and I’ve got everything crossed that I get the job!

I think more flexibility is good.
I think there are a lot of jobs that are not done as well remotely (however much people like to insist they are).
I think it's tough for people changing jobs or young people to learn new skills and get to know colleagues.
I think the people with bespoke office spaces in their home forget how many people are working sat on their bed with a laptop (or some other unsuitable space) so I would not like at least the option to work from the office to entirely go.

I'm looking for jobs at the moment. I'm not interested in fully remote for the reasons above.

We need a bigger house! Dh and I both need an office room ideally. Can't be in the same room due to lots of meetings (plus who wants to spend 24/7 with their partner?)
Good points are that commuting stress, cost and impact is reduced and can be flexible for dcs after school.

The question really is, are employers entitled to 10 hours a week of unpaid time from their employees? because that’s what employers who could enable employees to work from home but don’t are asking.

if a job can be done from home, it is better for the human beings doing it and the planet for it to be done there. If people want social workplaces, local walkable co-working spaces are far more sensible than commuting to an office.

yep!

Where it is possible and practical, then I favour it. With some face to face interaction with those you work with, which need not be in an office. Reducing the amount of travel (less carbon emissions) and the costs of things such as work clothes and lunches is a good thing in my view. Spending money locally not in city centres probably better too.

There should be respect and courtesy for those whose job means they cannot do this.

Having more flexibility, and having that seen as the norm is definitely great. A long commute made me desperately unhappy and exhausted in the past; having to squeeze onto a packed rush hour train and standing all the way, getting home late... and the irony was that sometimes I was the only one in the office anyway, sitting all day under harsh office lights barely seeing out of the single window that overlooked a concrete courtyard... not much mentoring or social interaction!!

My last job was fully remote and we had an amazing company culture with lots of online interaction so it never felt lonely, and we were good at working collaboratively and learning from each other even though we weren't physically in the same space. I'm now looking for a new job and would prefer a hybrid set up with maybe one day in the office with the whole team, and then flexibility and choice for the rest of the week so those who prefer to work from home can do so. WFH is also ideal for facilitating flexibility so you can fit the rest of your life around work - we had people who did the school run in the afternoon and then did a couple of hours of work later on, people who started late and finished late to fit in appointments and so on. And everyone was extremely committed and worked hard, not at all living up the usual MN stereotype of WFH being all about slacking and poor customer service...

Yes I suppose on this site you’ve got a lot of people already established in their jobs so easier to switch to wfh once you are already established and know others and know what your doing etc

i think it will be hard for you he people to leave school/uni etc then go straight into wfh

what a contrast form a noisy busy school environment

also o hasn’t thought about all the parents that have jobs as teachers will now be looking at other jobs that maybe more family friendly

so many different aspects to it all

There’s also the effects it will have in public transport and towns and city’s like bars restaurants cafes and shops etc
if the workers are not going in

but I guess it will be what it will be
covid has changed life forever
and less traffic and saving costs on petrol etc has to be a good tbh bf for the planet
Amd after all we only have one planet and that needs looking after

This is why I like asking these things as you make me think of thjngs I wouldn’t have

Everyone has described the benefits to them if wfh but what about the customers who buy their services?
Given by the number of problems I have from both public and private sector organisations, I think there’s a lot of people literally taking the piss ‘working’ from home.

Also of course not every job is social either

I’ve had some in the dom
and distance past where I was virtually in a large cupboard with no other people !! So there was hardly any socialising or human contact in that job

Do you think adults need to be watched like children?

I think hybrid/flexible is the way to go. Personally I hate WFH and would always take a fully site-based job (would not even consider a fully WFH one, hybrid might be possible but would rather not). There are simply no upsides to WFH for me apart from a bit of saved commuting time but it’s only 15 mins drive for me and I enjoy that time.

I’m also in my 50s and very experienced / am entirely responsible for own workload etc, but I love going into work and being with my colleagues, it’s the only place I get to regularly spend time with much younger adults and we learn so much from each other, all the ones around my age are great too. I can’t think of anything worse than being stuck at home on my own all day, virtual meetings aren’t the same at all. We would have to buy a bigger house too, I can manage the odd few hours at the kitchen table but we haven’t got anywhere that could be used as dedicated office space.

In fact you guys have me convinced me about wfh if only for the environmental factors

It was more the TA/lunch supervisor/school admin jobs that I think will get harder to recruit. And carer jobs.

But yes teachers are leaving in droves...

Isnt it hard to break into these jobs though?

Having worked in the customer service industry and knowing others who do, I find it hard to believe anyone in a contact centre/customer service role would be able to take the piss - or if they did, they wouldn't last long in the job! I've heard of so many horrible stories of workers being monitored constantly, having to ask permission to go to the loo (or not being able to at all because it's too busy), and having high performance targets to meet all for really low pay. It's just not feasible anyone would be able to watch day time TV instead of working really hard if they want to keep their job.

I worked in a customer service management role with an independent business and having a WFH customer service team actually enabled us to respond to customers really quickly and when they needed us - no need to stick to 9-5 hours when you can have a home based customer service agent working evenings and weekends easily.

If service levels have deteriorated it's mostly because the service don't have enough staff either because they're saving money or can't recruit for these roles - who would want to work for minimum wage being shouted at by customers all day long...

My husband homeworking was a nightmare- he had to work in our bedroom on the floor woth the bed as the desk qnd a good fake backdrop....

Not eberyone has private space! Especially young families.

I think hybrid is the answer to be honest, I do think a blanket WFH policy isn’t a great thing. Yes it suits lots of middle class mumsnetters but for wider society I think it creates division and inequality (and I say that as someone who could If I wanted WFH full time).