To hope this completely changes the way society works? (working from home/non-essential travel)

[MoonBabysMagicalKalimba]

Disclaimer: Obviously this does not apply to those professions for which WFH will never be an option such as healthcare, retail, tourism & hospitality, and teaching/childcare

In the last few weeks, hundreds of organisations have had to devise and implement full WFH procedures. Many of these organisations had previously told employees that WFH was not possible or permissible, yet when the need arises, it clearly is.

If companies were to continue to allow this going forward, when this mess is all over, this could drastically change how we all work. No more ridiculous traffic in the mornings and evenings, no more hundreds and thousands of Londoners cramming themselves onto tubes and trains from 7-9am and 4-6pm simply to sit in offices all day. We are already seeing a huge reduction in pollution. The majority of the commuter traffic would be taken up by those aforementioned professions who physically need to go in to work, many of which work shifts anyway so we wouldn’t have these bottlenecks of ridiculous congestion morning and evening.

We also need to take a good, hard look at the hundreds of planes that fly around the world every week, of which probably a very decent proportion of passengers are business men and women travelling to other countries for meetings, interviews and conferences that they could most likely very easily attend via video link. Obviously this will not be the case for all business trips and some will be crucial to attend in person, but I think we could lose a decent chunk of them.

These changes would also drastically improve workers mental health and work/home life balance, I’m already seeing it with some colleagues who by losing their daily commute are having an extra 1-2 hours in bed and feeling the benefits to their health. There’d be more time to exercise, and catch up on home chores and admin during lunch breaks. This would also enable parents to drop off/pick their children up from school more often. Obviously this would be when things are more “normal” and children are back in nursery/school and not at home!

I’m not saying everyone with a desk/office job should WFH full time, as there will be those who prefer to go into the office. But a balance could definitely be met. Some could WFH FT, some go into the office FT, and the majority do a combination of both on a rota system. Even these small changes could have a huge impact on the environment and our health.

If this shit situation has taught us anything, it’s that there is absolutely no need for thousands of office workers to travel to and from work, creating or contributing to pollution and congestion, simply to sit at desks behind a screen all day.

Thoughts?

Sorry I disagree. I’m an employer and productivity has plummeted. 2 of my staff are women in their early 20s and they don’t have children. Their productivity has still fallen off a cliff.

I knew it would. They need a manager there every day ensuring they do their work. I suspect they’re currently watching Netflix whilst balancing a laptop on their knees and half heartedly processing data.

The sooner they’re back in an office environment the better.

Totally agree, I'm in financial industries working behind the scenes to make sure everything works. We are, well were, totally paper based however we are all now at home and in the office one or twice a week.

Funny how you can make things work if you have to! To be honest I could happily do my job if I was in the office 2/3 days and work from home the rest.

It'll be interesting to see if the bosses allow that once/if we get over this madness.

@Escapeistheonlyoption I agree. While wfh is a good idea for many reasons, I think this will make a lot of people realise how much they need social interaction. I know a couple of people who are struggling already. I wfh usually, but I don't mind it to much, I enjoy being on my own, but I do get lonely sometimes.

@Wewearpinkonwednesdays

Again, as I say, going into the office drains me, leaving me with no time or energy for socialising with the people I love.

I teach in FE, and my employer has always been very resistant to the idea of people working from home. When we're not teaching, we're expected to be in the office, unless we have special permission. Suddenly we are all now working from home, using online learning platforms, and it's being applauded by senior management as a huge success!

I hope this gives us a bit more flexibility, and that we're trusted to work at home outside class times.

@thecatsthecats OK... I didn't say everyone would struggle. I'm not sure why you are specifically telling me?

This only works if you have a home big enough/set up to make it viable... Which is more likely if you're a high earner.

Younger, poorer employees will be stuck working from their bed (e.g. in a shared flat where every room has been converted into paying tenants, there simply isn't the "use your study / spare bedroom /dining room " option). Using their own domestic broadband. With crappy IT equipment and no actual office support.

It's easy to say WFH if you are in a role that can be done remotely... Because it assumes everyone has a bare minimum of a space to work at home!

That's not even accounting for stuff like other people in the house (children making noise, a partner who also WFH).. or if your home insurer will permit 100% WFH...

I mean, I agree with it on a personal and environmental level but it would have been a different story most of my working life, living in cramped, damp, precarious home setups that literally don't have the physical space or quiet to actually do work!

We have a virtual coffee morning once a week but I feel really self conscious!
(Plus of course I have the DCs home so I'm either looking after them, or need to get a wiggle on with work while DH takes his turn).

I agree, I've worked from home for years.

I also hope that this kills off a lot of unnecessary business travel. They've seen video conferencing works, no need for constant travel. I realise that less travel means a lot of job losses, but time change and people will get different jobs. They always say that we are educating the children of today for jobs that don't exist yet.

Those of you talking about children - in normal times they'd be in school, childcare or holiday activities wouldn't they.

The elephant in the room is that if your employer have just discovered you can work from home, they have also just discovered they can outsource you to somewhere cheaper.

It's true that the world of work tends to favour extroverts. Maybe it is time for it to reverse.

I'm not sure what the costs in terms of physical and mental health would be.

Yes
And hot desking has always been a hygiene disaster

Apparently ordinary colds etc can be reduced if you just wash your hands when you arrive at work. I’d like to see employers encouraging this.

It will be good for most but purgatory for some. I remember many years ago when I was with abusive ex and work was my only escape from the misery. For anyone in that situation wfh would be a dreadful option.

@Wewearpinkonwednesdays

And I'm not sure you're taking offence at me tagging you to make a point that refers to the conversation you're having - we can agree or disagree.

I would just find it interesting to hear your perspective, as someone who disagrees with the general principle of the thread, on my counterpoint that wfh is not necessarily a bar to social interaction. For me, it strengthens it - and makes it more easy in fact to increase valuable social contact.

Agreed. Even with corona anxiety in the mix, my DP sleeps an hour later, eats 3 balanced meals, bit of hoovering between calls, sorted some life admin for me whilst working. Got to be so much better for health

I hope so. Many bosse will see that it can work very well and will trust workers more. Some good my come of it.

Wouldn't the easy conclusion be that this might/should encourage companies to change their mindset so they can be more flexible and offer working from home for those who want it?

@Pollyputthepizzaon. I wonder if this is the truth that dares not speak its name? That WFH can lead to terrible productivity.

For me, I'd love some flexibility to WFH if (say) I'm recovering from a cold or have a fridge being delivered.

But this week has proven to me that I need some form of surveillance. Not in the form of big brother, but having colleagues around me motivates me. not having anyone here (and having to keep 2 kids occupied) has meant that tasks which previously would have taken me an hour now take a morning. It's like my brain is a monkey just chittering away and being fascinated by every tiny thing going on around the place. Oh, except for work!

I think WFH suits a certain section of us (probably there are Myers Briggs types who are ideal for WFH) but others of us it doesn't work well. But yes, some flexibility would be amazing.

I absolutely hate home working. I have never wanted to do it, and this has just confirmed my opinion. I love keeping my home and work life entirely separate. I like the commute and psychological and physical distance it creates between work and home. i bloody hate finishing work and being in my bloody house. I hate not having a laugh with my colleague (there is usually only one but we get on well). I like being a different person from mum and partner when I am OUT at work in work environment.

There is nothing I like about homeworking. Absolutely nothing. I am hating it.

Lots of people have friends at work though. That wouldn't happen any more. Not seeing people in person just isn't the same.

I get that staying in and having virtual coffee mornings with friends that exist would be lovely for some. What about young people, my work when I was young was great fun it was a real laugh, we'd go for lunch together and drinks after work and dance and be merry. Young people would miss out on all of that.

I do get that this lifestyle is appealing for many but I really wonder what the massive reduction in real life mixing would mean as a society. And as mentioned the MH and physical health impacts.

I hate wfh. Part of it is no Internet yet which doesn't make my job easier and limits what I can realistically do!

Aside from that though I like the routine. Up at 630,shower,dress,out. At the moment I'm struggling to get up of a morning because my office is my bed or my sofa so what's the point? It's much harder to gee myself up. I also walk more when working - to the bus stop from home and from bus stop to the office. I quite like it. It clears my head. I like actually seeing my colleagues as I do like my team.

Wfh is horrible. I've not got a home office or anything, and it feels far too laid back. I actually like going to the office, gets me in the right frame of mind

Oh shit - thoughts from pp - do we need to tell insurance that we are wfh full time?

I've worked from home for a year now and I would love for everyone to have the same amount of flexibility. Even just a day or two at home makes a massive difference for some people.

it could get a bit lonely, though, if you like being around people. But I am very much an introvert and I like my own company.

You'd also have a massive decrease in social mixing. Your friends are your school friends, local. Not meeting people of different ages, backgrounds etc.

I think it could make society much more polarised as people only have friends who are, essentially, like them.

I suppose we will see what happens over the next few months in terms of mental and physical health.