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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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?

316 replies

wakeupitsabeautifulmorning · 01/05/2020 11:40

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?

OP posts:
Drama123 · 01/05/2020 12:45

I have mixed feelings. I want to go back because I'm a teacher and honestly, it's just nicer to teach with a class rather than online.
But I'm scared to get it, again! I have no idea if I have immunity, if it's still in my system and if I can pass it on. So many unknowns, it's too risky for my liking.
I have been part of the 'lungs' thread which has been very supportive, but it's scary how many people think they're ok then it comes back or get it again (no-one knows how it works for sure). This scares me.

Hingeandbracket · 01/05/2020 12:45

the majority of people don’t work efficiently from home
Utter bollocks

BlueGheko · 01/05/2020 12:46

I think a lot of people have quite enjoyed being off work and will try their best not to rush back

And? Are we not supposed to enjoy a bit of time off work? Oh sorry forgot we're all meant to be sat at home miserable as sin self flagelating Hmm
Too right I'm enjoying it, I've been working non stop for 30 years. I do actually love my job though and will be happy to go back when my furlough ends especially as I have 3 weeks off in the summer holidays Smile.

WaxOnFeckOff · 01/05/2020 12:47

My team have been working from home since the beginning. All doing our full hours and I think achieving the same level of work more or less. Some tasks taking longer but less time wasted on office gossip I guess :)

We are all older though and no-one has young children and about half either live alone or have partners who are out the house working.

Our boss has said that he's happy for us to be some of the last the go back into the office given the above and also that in the main we are in the slightly increased age group (most 50 plus)

Whilst I understand that folk who are furloughed will have other worries and other folk have children for whom childcare is likely to be an issue, it's difficult not to feel a bit jealous about folk who are getting paid to do nothing.

puffinandkoala · 01/05/2020 12:47

We have a number of staff working from home whose output has dropped like a stone since WFH. One woman didn’t answer a phone or email for 2 days

And did you find out why? Or have you just assumed laziness?

Meredithgrey1 · 01/05/2020 12:50

I prefer being at home because I can get stuff done which frees up my evenings/weekend. NOT stuff that interfers with work, but hoovering on my lunch break, cleaning the bathroom in the time I would normally be commuting etc etc. Plus I save money on commuting. And I personally work just as well at home as I do in the office - plus my company is one that is spread across multiple UK (and global) sites so a lot of the time the people I'm talking to aren't in the same office as me anyway.

At the moment I'm not getting any extra housework done because 10 month old DD takes up my time but when she's in nursery, I just prefer to be at home at least part of the week. I'll be annoyed if they say we can't, because the lockdown has clearly proved that we can (for my company anyway).

Thymelord · 01/05/2020 12:50

Why are people thinking that everyone is being sent back to work soon? Genuine question. Have I missed something?

puffinandkoala · 01/05/2020 12:50

There's one other big advantage of letting people WFH either all, or most of, the time, and that's that you don't restrict your talent pool by geography. If you are based in London everyone who works for you has to be within commuting distance of London. But if you only require someone to come in one day a week, someone may be happy to do a longer journey one day a week. And if eg you only have a monthly face to face team meeting, they can live even further away.

OK London and its environs has a lot of people so a large talent pool. But the same principle applies if you are eg based in Cardiff. Anyone could work for you if you don't require constant attendance in the office.

trappedsincesundaymorn · 01/05/2020 12:51

I can't wait to go back to work. The lack of routine and the boredom is dragging me down more than work ever did.

jasjas1973 · 01/05/2020 12:52

How can public transport get people into work with risk of infection? & our roads certainly couldn't cope.
Plus office space will need to be completely re worked, there won't be enough space for everyone.

WFH is here to stay until a vaccine is available.

Mammyloveswine · 01/05/2020 12:54

I think SOME people are totally taking the piss and expect to just sit and home and do no work yet still get full pay...

But then my husband and I are both still going out to work and juggling working from home with both kids too...

Covid isn't going to just go away, we are beyond that...so we will just have to live with it I'm afraid... yes it is terrifying, yes people are dying BUT most people will survive!

MintyMabel · 01/05/2020 12:55

I will be pushing my boss to allow me to work from home more. I did one day a week previously but would like to do two or three. Partly because I’m more productive but also because I don’t want to use public transport. It suits my work life balance too. It’s been great being able to spend more time with DD whereas previously I wasn’t getting home til 7pm.

It has nothing to do with being lazy.

Apixiee · 01/05/2020 12:56

@puffinandkoala, yes we have asked why.

  • They aren’t au fait with certain technology and it’s been covered up with access to other people in the office who would help/do it for them
  • Finding it hard to concentrate
  • “I shouldn’t be doing this X should”
  • I haven’t done much today because I had to x/y/z (things they shouldn’t be doing during lockdown)
  • Some of it is general laziness. But these are people who needed constant monitoring at work to make sure they stayed on task
MintyMabel · 01/05/2020 12:57

We have a number of staff working from home whose output has dropped like a stone since WFH. One woman didn’t answer a phone or email for 2 days

That’s a management issue, not a WFH issue. If you have to have staff in an office to ensure they work, they probably aren’t very motivated to work even in the office anyway. It is also worth bearing in mind that people have other responsibilities at this time and we are not all just working from home, we are trying to complete our work whilst juggling caring responsibilities too.

puffinandkoala · 01/05/2020 12:59

COVID can kill and a fit and healthy person who has never taken risks in a matter of weeks

Well it can, but it's vanishingly unlikely, if you look at the stats. And more likely that there is some underlying condition or that you work in the NHS and have a high viral load (and have worked so hard your immune system can't cope).

Younger healthy people "with weight in proportion to height" to coin an airline phrase are vanishingly unlikely to die of this.

I think even for the 80+ the death rate is "only" about 15% (assuming prompt treatment and not being left to rot in a nursing home). If you had an illness and you were told your survival chances were 85% you would think they were pretty good. So it's not a death sentence for the elderly either.

What I am more worried about is lasting effects. I would not want lifelong lung damage which then makes me vulnerable to other illnesses in future or more importantly had an effect on my quality of life. THAT is what concerns me most and that is why I would not want to be up against someone's armpit on the tube or a packed bus.

Roads need to be reconfigured to give cyclists and pedestrians more space so that it is genuinely feasible to cycle and walk to work.

OneandTwenty · 01/05/2020 13:00

A lot of people have always asked to work from home. Now the infrastructures are in place to do so, why shouldn't they carry on? Many jobs can be done just as well at home. Many of us are so much more efficient at home than in the office.

The issue is more about people who can't function if they are not in an office, and who confuse their work life with their social life.

bonbonours · 01/05/2020 13:00

I think that a huge amount of employers will no longer be able to insist that people have to come in the office every day, since it has now been proven that a lot of jobs can be done perfectly well from home. I know from personal experience a lot of managers just like to be able to see their employees which is a control and trust issue rather than anything to do with business need. Hopefully companies will now embrace this and enable a lot more home-working on a long term basis.

YouJustDoYou · 01/05/2020 13:00

I just want a job to go back to. But looks like both DH and I will be out of work. No one I know is talking about "looking for any excuse" to stay at home, we just want to know we have a fucking job to go back to but with no money coming in looks like most of us won't have that luxury of stable employment.

puffinandkoala · 01/05/2020 13:01

WFH is here to stay until a vaccine is available which may never happen. Oh dear what will all the micro-managing managers do?

KipperTheFrog · 01/05/2020 13:01

I've never stopped working. DH was working for a while then furloughed, his job is impossible to do at home. He's not enjoying being stay at home parent so looking forward to getting back to work. Our only potential issue is childcare. DD's were given school places, but not used them due to DH being at home, I dont know if their place is still available.
Yes there are people who are scared and wont want to go back, but if people can work from home I believe they should continue to do so. Even once restrictions are reduced, we will still need to distance to some degree till there is a vaccine.

puffinandkoala · 01/05/2020 13:02

The issue is more about people who can't function if they are not in an office, and who confuse their work life with their social life

So they can go into the office to work.

ifonly4 · 01/05/2020 13:04

Many people are still working (and aren't comfortable but have been doing it). I think if an employer requires you to go back, then unless you have a health reason, you can't really argue it if they've taken reasonable steps to keep you safe.

DebbieDoItAll · 01/05/2020 13:04

@HerLadySheep, I don't envy the industry you work in. Hospitality and the Aviation industry are going to take years to recover.
Best wishes

Gwenhwyfar · 01/05/2020 13:04

" it’s just not true that most people are less efficient working from home it’s the old “if I can’t see you you must be skiving” trope. Many businesses have shown that they are as productive if not more so if their staff can do their job with no restrictions from home. I find going into work more distraction"

If you consider talking to your colleagues a distraction. I find it very important.
No way am I more productive with my shit wifi than with the work wifi though. Luckily I have a work laptop - if I had to rely on my cheapo one...

Waxonwaxoff0 · 01/05/2020 13:04

I can't work from home as my job is not possible to do from home. So until school reopens, I don't see how I can go to work.

I WANT to go back to work, I'm on furlough on 80% of my pay right now.

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