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?

Our organisation has realised we work better when we work as one with everyone wfh than 9 offices working in a semi autonomous way. It is also saving a fortune in office overheads and travel expenses. Employees are happier because they get to do the housework in 5 minute bursts while waiting for a kettle to boil rather than saving it for the weekend. Commuting time is not wasted which improves work life balances at no productivity cost to the organisation.

What has made it a successful is having IT that allows us to replicate office interaction - joke across the office, assimilation of soft information, etc. Our organisation encourages us to keep this going as they recognise it is important to maintain and feeds into our overall productivity. If you enjoy your working environment you choose to spend it there and aren't clock watching.

I would love to have a job to go back to. Maybe a number of people who refuse to go back will free up some jobs so I can get one?

My office in London is already gearing up to get us back in. I've been in on some of the calls and it's being thought through very logically with staggered returns etc.

We have all wfh since lockdown began but it's not sustainable and having chatted to my colleagues most of us are looking forward to being back in the office.

I already wfh two days a week anyway and I like the balance I had pre lockdown. I can't think of anything worse than wfh 5 days a week. I need interaction with adults and being outside the home quite frankly.

I can't wait to go back. I've worked from home effectively but miss seeing my colleagues. I'll be back as soon as I can.

I have been working From home full time throughout lockdown frequently under far more pressure than I would normally expect to be under in the office. I do appreciate I’m lucky to still have a job and to be able to wfh.

I also have underlying health issues which make Covid more likely to be a problem for me although thankfully I’m not unwell enough to be in the shielding group.

I absolutely will not be rushing back to commuting on public transport to a busy open plan office as soon as the restrictions are lifted. I will continue to wfh as long as its necessary. I would rather be in the office, but I’m not willing to risk my health.

Thankfully my manager and employer are supportive. And any reopening of the office is highly likely to be phased and I’m not going to be high on the priority list to go back in.

Surely it’s better for everyone if those of us who can keep wfh do so, so that public transport and workplaces are less crowded and it’s easier for those who have to physically go to work to maintain social distancing.

I'm working from home, and really missing my colleagues, and my students. But honestly, I am nervous of going back to work and think there will need to be some big changes because the building is very, very crowded in terms of offices and lecture rooms. I am lucky that I walk to and from work so don't have to worry about public transport. We have been told we won't be back in the building in this academic year.

My work have always been very anti-working from home, and you practically had to beg for it if you had eg a tradesman coming or similar. I hope they will be more flexible going forward.

"I'd like some evidence for the claim that the majority of people don't work efficiently from home

There isn't any, it's just a claim made by lazy incompetent managers"

It might not be true for the majority, but it's true for SOME people. I'm definitely less motivated when I'm working from home.

Depends if you are being paid or not. If you are not within one of the government schemes for lost income, I doubt you'll be looking to stay at home any longer unless you are very scared and have savings. Will also depend on whether you job can be done at home. Tons of jobs cannot be done at home. Alot of those jobs either on the frontline currently or within leisure & hospitality, the latter of which are likely to be among the last businesses to re-open, if indeed they do re-open. It very much depends on your circumstances - the more money you have coming in at present, the less incentive there is to "go back to work" where work involves leaving your home.

Surely one of the key issues with effective working from home relies on management making it clear what should be done? When I last had an office job, I was allowed to work from home from time to time, as needed. But I'd have a clear set of things that I was going to do, and I'd be expected to be able to demonstrate what progress I'd made with them at the end of the day. This worked fine, even when I had to go home and look after my dad for three weeks after he had a heart op and couldn't do much around the house.

DW, meanwhile, was asked to work from home for a short time before her employer put staff onto furlough. It was difficult to understand what she was supposed to be doing - she has a public-facing role, not an office job - and her managers weren't good at assigning clear tasks. It was all a bit vague, and thus frustrating. I suspect her employer was really trying to find a way to ensure they didn't have to simply close down and make people redundant (prior to the furlough scheme), rather than believing that staff could WFH.

In most cases, I'd argue, lack of WFH productivity stems from an inability to clearly articulate what work needs to be done at home.

The company that DH works for has sent out a questionnaire asking 1) if people would like to continue to WFH 2) if they have the facilities to do it for the foreseeable future. The CEO has been impressed how well WFH is working in many circumstances and, as he only wants a maximum of 50% of the workforce back until they find a vaccine (!!) he's sounding out those who prefer the office environment and those who work from home.

DH is hoping he can be in the WFH cohort as he has to travel to the other end of the country for his work (market conditions unfortunately). He WFH in his previous job for five years and had his contract with them renewed three times during those years so he must have been doing something right.

It'll be great from my point of view as I work in a school and, if DS's year is not amongst those to go back, I at least know he's safe during the day. He's 12 years old so perfectly OK to get on with his own work but I don't relish the idea of both me and DH being out of the house all day whilst he's home alone all the time.

I was a bit concerned about going back with the risks involved but I'm now getting the attitude of 'use common sense, give it a go'. Our school has got some experience now as it's a HUB school for key workers children and that's working well from teacher, kids and parents point of view. So I've got my fingers crossed...

Yes it's completely true!
My work hasn't stopped as it's key worker designated but not NHS or food chain....anyway we have had in our office the people that take the piss usually,
be the first ones to go off, you could have written down the names a month before the pandemic and got 95% right.

As brutal as it sounds the country needs to get back to work. While I sympathise over child care issues, or other caring responsibilities some people are just not pulling their socks up and trying their best. You have to be creative, you have to accept we are in unusual times and try and go with the flow.

I'm sure I will get flamed for this but in our society there has always been the shirkers the people who put so much effort into not working in their jobs or not doing what they should be that if they just actually did their job it would be easier.
We also have the try hardest who without fail turn up, get on and keep things moving. This has been a time of really seeing people's true characters, not just in work but among friends and family.

I get really annoyed reading these posts from people who want to find an out so they can continue being paid to be at home. When I was on Mat leave I had a n acquaintance through baby group who was faking PND so she could be off for long with her baby. It's shocking to me but for some people they will always want something for nothing. I had severe PND and used to come home and cry that she was able to be in my eyes "normal" if she wanted.
There are a lot of people that need to get a grip or need to get help. I've had two people I was close to pass away from Coronavirus. I understand the risks but I also understand that people cannot stay home and be paid indefinitely.

How do you social distance on public transport once restrictions are lifetd? Love to hear anyone who would tell me how it will actually will work practically.

I wfh full time and i love it, i really dont want to be back in the office, i am just as if not more productive working at home. I dont want to go back to the office at all and if i have to i will have to.

I'm much more efficient working from home generally, with no distractions from other people.

I think the overcrowding public transport bit could be helped by allowing one then two days a week in office on rota basis not everyone starting at same time the norm being to work from home at least 2-4 days week
I think lots of businesses will realise they can save money too by not flying people around world so often etc needing less office space and maybe open plan office areas with hot desking will seeem less good

maybe folks will stop wanting open plan living spaces at home and think actually being able to go to dining room and shut door is really good for WFH

People are scared.

Not only that but people who's young kids are at school normally use grandparents over summer holidays etc - this is no longer an option.

You have people who have vulnerable people in their household - they will be thinking what if I bring it back to my family what if it causes their death.

You have people who have worked their arses off whilst WFH and have been more productive than if they had been at work.

If lockdown is lifted on a Sunday evening and employers are expecting everyone at their desks on a Monday people will think f that I want to see my family.

People moaned and groaned about having to adjust to working from home. Then moan that people say they need to adjust to go back to an office environment. It's the same thing just flipped.

Basically you are being majorly blinkered that it's a simple switch back to normal working life

My husband is worried about going back. His job can't be done from home and there is no way they can keep a 2m distance with the way the place is set up. I am shielded so his concerns are valid

Jux it'll certainly be worth keeping your eyes on temporary jobs if nothing else. If people can't go back for health or childcare reasons, some employers will have to employ other staff to cover them (guess those with children will have to take unpaid leave, hopefully freeing up money for people like you who could cover).

@TeacupDrama that wouldn't work for the millions of us who can't do our jobs from home.

lack of WFH productivity stems from an inability to clearly articulate what work needs to be done at home

Or an inability to manage your own workload - I've WFH'd for years but I was expected to manage my own workload so when it came to reviews of my case load, everything was up to date. If I wasn't managing it then it would have showed up pretty damn quickly. So maybe not a case of employees needing to have their tasks set for them, but managers training staff to set their own? Of course, the micromanagers won't like that, but they're the ones who are going to be left behind when the working world moves on.

This is something the government should have factored in from the start.

If anyone’s employer offers good sick leave - congratulations- you have now unlimited sick leave every time you have a cough.

I think the point about social distance on public transport is one reason why as many companies as possible should continue with WFH for those people who are proving it's working AND are happy to continue with it.

A lot of the kids will eventually go back to school, PROBABLY those who are older but not in critical education years (like the year 7 and 8s) may be the last to go back. I say probably as I'm not one of the planning teams in a school so I've no idea yet. But it would make sense to get the younger kids back - that frees up the most parents.

As I say DS, who is year 8, is more than capable of getting on with work - DH and I barely know he's home at the moment TBH (I know we're lucky). DH could easily carry on WFH even with DS home for a few months.

Otherwise DH is flying every week. That's one extra body on the tube then the plane. And it's not necessary as he is, as I said, experienced working from home, finds it doable (not as easy as popping upstairs to see the boss but his equivalent of zoom is working very well - they had a huge global meeting on it yesterday with no wifi drop out).

His, and others, working from home would mean the public transport is less full which can only be a good thing for the people who have no choice but to leave the home to work - like me!

I’m desperate to go back!!!

Katherine “ How do you social distance on public transport once restrictions are lifetd? Love to hear anyone who would tell me how it will actually will work practically.”

They can’t. That’s why they want us to wear masks, to stop droplets spreading. I know MNers complain that people with masks on get too close - I am not one of them btw - but that’s the point of a mask!

Am I in the minority that I love wfh! I do what I need to and then I'm free to do what I want. No travelling has made a massive positive difference - more time to read, go for walks, just to do stuff, and hang out with my kids. I'm dreading getting back into the treadmill. Where often I would be sat staring into space watching the clock waiting til the clock strikes 5 so I can go. I'm actually more efficient at home - I get on and do the work so I can be done, rather than dragging it out over the day so as not to be bored in work. I'd be happy to go in one or two days a week to see people - would be perfect actually! Best of both then