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?

what the client wants the client gets

Any business that puts the heath of their employees below the needs of a client is not a business I’d work for. Unless they are unable to meet the scope of work they are giving for the fee, the client has absolutely no say on where the work is done.

I cannot bloody wait to see my work colleagues and get back into the routine of getting up and going to work every day

But YANBU. Although I do blame some sections of the media for scaremongering rather than reporting facts. May make people a little less scared

Yeah, because many people are realising that their job can easily be done from home by they just aren't being allowed to.

I am wfh, as is DH. Both of us already did this part of the week anyway, but neither of us will willingly go back into the office until schools are open or at least until our holiday club provider opens, if schools haven’t opened by the summer.

I must admit, I love wfh, and I love DH wfh too - having to homeschool a five year old as well isn’t the highlight though.

@missyB1 Yes I think there is a minority of people who will find any excuse to stay off work, not just now, always been the case.

Public transport is the main issue, and it is obviously not possible to suddenly double the number of trains or halve the number of people on each train. Can you imagine to miles long, socially distanced queues waiting to get a place on a tube train that would normally be rammed like a sardine can but can now only take half the passengers. And that's with tube trains already running every few minutes (sometimes only 2 minutes between trains).

Most people are NOT being lazy.

Personally I’m dreading the return to work for fear of catching the virus and bringing it home to my one year old and catching it myself.

I’m pregnant with underlying health conditions (heart and liver) and don’t have childcare even when I am expected to return. Also work in a job with exposure to other people constantly and no way to social distance while working.

It’s very unfair to say people don’t want to go back just because they’re enjoying the time off.

SSD “ I want to stay in till there's a vaccine.“

There’s no guarantees. I’ve had pneumonia twice after vaccine. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I have anxiety but at some point, in spite of feeling sick with it every time I went to work, I had to go, because it was that or starve and not pay rent.

I am wfh but there are people working in my office. I'm desperate to go back I feel very out of sight out of mind at the moment

YABU, mostly. There might be some who are "lazy" but I think most are just cautious.

Today saw NSW loosen some restrictions - mostly visiting families - and I had to go to the supermarket later in the day.

Seems that some people have taken that as a green light to go back to their usual ways, "social distancing" has been forgotten, people letting their kids run around again (where we are, kids were never actually banned from coming to the shops but we were advised to go alone where possible) and even the supermarket itself have loosened the rules by allowing side by side use of the self-service tills, instead of every other one (as it was). What was funny, if you like, was that some people didn't realise that all the self-service tills were open - and some others, like me, did realise but didn't WANT to stand that close to anyone else!

I know our numbers are still massively lower than the UK but that's no reason to become complacent.

On 11th May, schools will be going back, one day a week for the kids on a rota basis (but not the teachers, they'll be there most of the time) - DS1 normally travels to school on the train and I don't want him to. Trains are hotbeds of disease spread - last place I want him to be! So I'll have to drive him instead, which will be awkward as DS2 will also be going to a different school on the same day, but I'd rather that than have DS1 come down with something.

Some parents are not going to allow their kids back to school yet, because they've either got vulnerable people in the home, or they're still scared themselves.

Doesn't make them lazy, workshy or anything else - just wary.
And if the "second wave" does hit worse than the first, then we will suffer from it.

I agree with you tbh OP. Probs not the majority of people but a sizeable minority definitely.

Also the government have been pretty up-front that a recommendation for wearing face masks in public is just a gimmick to 'make people feel more confident' going back to work, rather than in any actual effort to reduce transmission of the virus. As there's a lot of research that compared to other EU nations, our population seem the most anxious, the most supportive of lockdown, and the least eager to get back to any semblance of normality. My DSis works for a group of GP practices and they are struggling to get hold of even basic surgical masks, so I really fear for healthcare workers' supply chains if even more of the public start buying masks. Clearly health and social care workers need PPE most.

I work in an office, already used to WFH one day a week but we weren't allowed to do more than that unless there were special circs, at the discretion of our manager. My manager doesn't micro-manage at all and our team are usually well ahead of the other teams in performance/output which I'm sure is partly to do with his excellent management style. I'm not concerned about returning to the office say half the time, ensuring less people in the office and ensuring reasonable distance between colleagues at desks. I consider the risks there to be very low assuming everyone also follows good hygiene practices and follows isolation guidance when someone in the household is symptomatic. But I AM concerned, and would not be happy with, commuting on a crammed bus there and back again. As I don't drive, I have no other option. At the moment I have to go in occasionally on a rota but the bus is mostly empty so I don't have to sit near anyone. I would feel uncomfortable if I had to sit right next to like 4/5 people on the bus if it was busy. So I would feel differently about going into work if I could drive, it's not work that would be an issue, it's the travel.

I know a couple of people who are working from home and aren’t in any rush to go back to early morning commutes into London and the associated costs but they are still doing the required work from home.

I work longer hours since lockdown I found, and there is nothing in my job that can't be done at home. My office is one hour each way (on a good day) on the tube. Not only is that guaranteed contagion, but incredibly anxiety provoking to never feel like you are safe.

People are scared to go back to work, it's natural. Of course people have enjoyed being off work, you don't go because you want to, unless you are a bit dim, you go for the money to pay bills.
maybe those who have enjoyed it might be looking at if it's essential for them to go back, some have tightened belts already and with savings of childcare, commute, lunches etc it's not necessary for everyone to work anymore.
It's good because we don't need to all be little worker bees, chasing around all day juggling like a clown.

speak for yourself, i will be the first with bells on!!

If I was furloughed on full pay I would happily stay at home. As it is, I’m doing a full time job as well as trying to Home-school my Dd. I am desperate to go back to work.

I'm fortunate to be furloughed on full pay.
When the time comes to go back to work I will have to despite the fact I'm in the shielding group. I don't think my employer would be happy for me to stay off on full pay until there is a vaccine available, I can't work from home and I can't afford to take unpaid time off.
Not exactly sure how I'll manage for childcare yet, but I am working on the basis it will be available again by then.
Unfortunately the risk catching covid 19 poses to my health versus the consequences of losing my job/taking months of unpaid leave means I have little option but to go back to work and cross my fingers that I avoid becoming seriously ill.

Everyone has a choice, but you can't have it all (being paid to stay at home indefinitely) so decide what's best for you and live with the consequences.

I'm WFH and dont want to go back

I miss the social interaction but otherwise I’m happy to be wfh. I dread having to get on the tube again. As for working efficiently, I’ve been churning it out and so have the rest of my team! In fact it’s been busier if anything, so it’s great to be able to focus on what I’m doing.

I’m also not a morning person so being able to get up just in time to start at half eight is wonderful!

My main concern when we go back will be the commute, definitely.

I’ve worked from home for 14 years, and I would actually love to go into the office and get away from
These four walls. I would also love for everyone in the house to fuck off back to work too and stop
Leaving their shit everywhere.

Just a change really, any change at all.

I expect people are scared with the constant diet of unmitigated horror promoted by the BBC

I am lucky I have a full size corner office desk (actually bigger than the one in the office!), chair, monitor and keyboard at home in a room where I can shut the door on dh and ds and get on with work. It sounds grand but it is really the garage converted, its cold and I have the tumble drier, freezer and various boxes of crap for company.
Normally I work at least 1 day from home and it is a nice perk, but being at home 5 days a week for so long I miss the contact with colleagues and I am keen to get back. Some colleagues don't have a room to work in which makes it difficult to work with children, spouses in and out of rooms and they are getting shoulder and neck pains sitting at the kitchen table etc. They are desperate to get back too.

But absolutely noone is desperate to get back while this virus is still rampaging through the population and the impact of a 2nd spike is unknown.

Allowing those who can WFH to WFH until treatment/vaccine is found makes sense as it reduces the risk for those in work/commuting.

For those that need to go in, they must be given every possible precaution to allow them to do so as safely as possible. Including masks, contact tracing, testing, massively reduced numbers on transport, robust social distancing in work etc, I would go as far as saying priority delivery slots at supermarkets for times when they are not at work etc.

A lot of Mumsnetters will be very disappointed when they are told to go back to work.

@MintyMabel That's alright, I think we can live with you not working for us - you come across rather aggressively...that wouldn't go down well with the clients either. 🤣

There needs to be a proper plan to do it safely. And childcare, obviously.

Honestly, I think I would love working from home if my son were in school, so I hope we have the option to WFH for longer.

As it is, I would take almost anything over attempting to work a full time job with an autistic child in the house all day.