to think a lot of people are going to look for any excuse not to go back into work when restrictions start to be lifted?

[wakeupitsabeautifulmorning]

Already seeing it on a few threads this morning. I think a lot of people have quite enjoyed being off work and will try their best not to rush back. Or am I being sceptical?

@cantory but what if they can't find a vaccine that works, it may never be 100% safe, life never was before, children in other countries are going back to school ,France on 11th May, we are 2-3 weeks behind them so that would be about 1st June. They won't be going back in USA as school finishes for the year at end of May.

God I'm going to be up and ready by midnight ,with a full face of makeup and a nice blouse, the day I'm allowed to go back

Am I the only one who's fed up, over eaten, not worn anything other than stretchy waisted garments, not worn makeup or brushed hair in a stylish way?

You’re not the only one! I’m the same!

I also wish people would stop saying that the government are paying people’s wages. That money comes from tax payers.

My kids are not going back until it is safe to do so. That will be based on evidence, but not the cherry picking of science that the government do

So, you know better than SAGE then??

I am also surprised at the level of fear

Outlier deaths seem to be always reported. (understandably that's what the news does) but for young healthy people it's not a big deal the vast majority of the time, especially children

I agree, but I’m not surprised.
There almost HAD to be a lot of fear spread about the virus and how is kills ‘indiscriminately’ because people won’t stay at home in lockdown otherwise. People are very individualistic. If you try to make them stay at home in order to stop infecting others, the message won’t get through. Make them think they’re at risk personally and you’ll have to pry them out of their houses when the time comes.
And therein lies the problem - how to reverse the scare tactics to then convince the nation that it IS relatively safe to go back to work and start paying their taxes??

My money is on a run of reporting in main stream media aimed at convincing people that CV isn’t so bad after all and that the economy tanking is a massive threat to them personally - change the direction of news stories to change the perceptions and feelings of the public. Easy.

I WFH anyway but I can't wait for my DH to bog off back to work and my son to bog off back to nursery!

The economy tanking IS a massive threat to most people personally.

Most people I know are very keen to get back to work, whether they've been furloughed or are WFH.

We are both WFH and while I've loved it (I already did two days from home but have loved doing it full time) my husband can't wait to go back in. I can't wait for him to go back in too.

I travel on packed public transport for work so I'm hoping that being as I've demonstrated that I can do my role from home perfectly well, that I won't be forced to go back to the office straight away while the risk is still moderate.

The economy tanking IS a massive threat to most people personally

I agree - I’m not saying it isn’t. In fact, I would think it’s quite likely to be a much worse threat that Covid.
I’m saying that there will be a run of stories bolstering this fact to try change public opinion about coming out of lockdown and the risks they face.... far too many people are disproportionately scared of this virus for the govt to just be able to lift lockdown without trying to change the general mood of the public.

oh I see Ethelfleda, apologies I misunderstood what you were saying.

I do think there are a great many members of the general public who are v naive about the economy and think the government will just pay their wages until there is a vaccine. I would be frankly surprised if they were even able to do that for individuals who have to shield, let alone everyone else.

oh I see Ethelfleda, apologies I misunderstood what you were saying

No bother

And, I agree!

I am one pf the people you describe.

Always thought I could never envisage life without work degree and professional qualification worked hard for. Worked through 2DC.

Shut down has been a revelation for me! How much easier life is when I am not trying to do it all.
In normal life DH works away a lot so i have the children and work. I had a cleaner and good childcare support.

Now I see how easy life is when all i have to do is the house and kids and how enjoyable. There would be even more time for myself if they were at school and pre school. Making decent meals, no stress, less worry so much time to engage with DS3 and DS5.
My whole mindset has shifted and if someone would pay me the pocket money of €1500 a month the government is giving this Is a much easier and more enjoyable way of life than working AND trying to keep on top of everything else at the same time!

(My husband is brilliant at helping when he is here but normally away 3 nights a week minimum. )

I think it might come down to how much people like being paid. It isn't reasonable to expect an employer to pay people indefinitely just because they don't want to come into work for whatever reason (no matter how reasonable you think that reason is!) - same as employers are not obliged to retain people who are absent for long periods of time through sickness.

It will be fine for those of us who can wfh - my employer isn't going to force anyone back into the office ever I shouldn't think - but for people who can't but are currently getting a lot of leeway because it's all new and we're in crisis mode (eg factory workers, shop workers) will have to make a choice themselves in the not too distant future as to whether they go back to work at all.

There will soon be a lot of posts from people who are up in arms about the fact that their employer won't let them remain on the payroll forever and not go to work/won't furlough them indefinitely/etc.

Kids being off school will complicate things even more. Even when schools go back - I've lost my grandparent childcare for the foreseeable, it was only one afternoon a week but it made my schedule work and I won't be able to replace it. I'm sure there are many people in the same situation. Again, I can wfh but if I worked in a shop I'd be screwed.

Also those who are shielding - employer isn't obliged to pay them and many of them will lose their jobs as a result.

Long a short if it - I don't think there are many people who long term want to be off work just for the sake of not having to work, but there are a lot of people for whom the decision is not that simple.

I thought I would be excited to go back to work but I am dreading it. I currently get up at 8am instead of 6am. In my old life I had to take three trains to get to and from work, running between connections on the way home to get back in time for school pick up. It was touch and go every day as to whether I would make it in time for 6pm. I was too tired to cook in the evenings and had to buy fairly expensive lunches. I had to spend a load of money on afterschool care. And my partner was working nights so would be out when I got back, come in around 3 or 4am and then he would get a few hours sleep before having to take our DD to work. I only saw him for a few hours a week when he was grumpy, exhausted and horrible. The lockdown has fixed our family life. We all eat together, play games in the evening, watch films together, cook. And our DD is so happy that her parents are being nice to each other. Something needs to change in our old lives as it was broken. I have learnt a lot from this experience. And I have been working hard from home - much harder than at work as my partner is furloughed so can focus on the home schooling. So I have no distractions.

Mummadeeze I can understand why you’d feel like that, your life sounded hard. I hope you can find a way to make changes so it’s easier. I don’t blame you

I am hoping I'll be able to continue working from home a few days a week. I normally work in an office full time. It's so nice not having to get up so early and do the commute and I'm loving spending more time at home with my family.

I find I’m working more hours, but I’m not going to lie: I’m not missing the commute! I would be very happy not to go in, as I expect it will be harder to commute if there are going to be restrictions on the number of people on the trains and staggered shifts, so more rules to follow, and I doubt we’ll have the benefits of being in the office like the canteen, so it will be annoying to have to take a packed lunch with no refrigeration facilities.

I don’t care about the virus per se, just the extra inconveniences to my daily life TBH and I am in an at risk group.

Studies have found that most people are more productive working from home, not less. And all those wasteful commutes aren’t doing the planet any good. If people can wfh, they probably should!

Yeah everyone I've spoken to has said they're working more hours and doing more work from home than they usually do in the office

Definitely op, I know people who are furloughed on 80% which isn’t much less than they were making working who are loving not having to work

I think people who can work from home employers will be encouraged to let them, but many many jobs can’t be done from home, and yes, I also agree, some folks are genuinely scared. But obviously a lot are enjoying this and wish to stay home as long as possible and be paid for it.

Half of me can't wait to go back. I love my job and get on well with my colleagues. I've only been in the job since September so still felt like I was just getting to grips with it before lockdown. But the other half of me is terrified. I work in a school, not teaching staff, but still a lot of contact with children and am pretty sure that if I caught it I'd come off very badly indeed. So much as I am climbing the walls at home, I feel much safer here. But I am going stir crazy.

I think COVID has caused quite high levels of anxiety and fear amongst the population and I think that will be a massive problem in itself. We started lockdown to flatten the curve and not overwhelm the NHS, I think the public’s objectives have changed and have moved well beyond flattening the curve and it will have a devastating effect on the economy. If you thought austerity was bad for people’s health (the word that Boris now does not want to be used anymore) this economic crisis will deliver stay at home hell for the whole country.

I have much better work life balance now I am with so I would like to do more like that once the lockdown is over. I work 3 days a week and key worker so still worker, but approx half is from home now