To think I’ll never be going back to the office again?

[BirdieFriendReturns]

I’m in the civil service and we’ve been told we aren’t going back this year? You CAN go into the office if you can’t work from home but we are meant to be WFH.

I keep reading on here that people are being told they are never going to back to the office.

Is this the end of offices then?

I'm civil service too and we have not been told that.

I have some new Hobbs dresses from the sale that I really want to wear!

I know of some military personnel in one building who are being told they can do one week in the office, one week WFH. But they don’t have to go in at all. And this is the military who generally do not care at all about things like this! That building is made up of small offices of 4-10 people, only half in at any one time.

HQ is all open plan, they’ve been told they aren’t to go in yet.

Civil servants are being told they should only go in if they can avoid public transport AND their LM and head of establishment agree.

NRTFT sorry

Both DH and I wfh. Both on laptops, stooped over dining table on dining chairs etc.
I've been told it would be a "hassle" for IT to take my two desk top screens, my keyboard, port etc. (Would like chair too) in case there was a health and safety issue unplugging them etc. FFS!

But realistically how long can I work on a laptop every day? I still think that using a laptop for hours everyday for several years when I hit 40 took its toll on my eyesight.

Do I have any 'rights' to asking for suitable equipment?

Not looking to wfh everyday if the heating has to go on for hours. I previously wfh one to two days a week, but would work in cold house under electric blanket!

I think this is a really interesting question that could address lots of different issues in one go.

1. Commuting in and out of city Centers is bad for the environment, bad for our physical and mental health, bad for our pockets, bad for the strain on infrastructure that wasn’t built for our current (pre-covid) numbers and usage. A few days wfh, part of the workforce wfh could help this.

1. Many many many families struggled with childcare, especially those commuting. Wfh could help with this, even if it’s a few days per week

1. We all know that presenteeism is rife in almost any workplace. I don’t know what wfh might do to solve this, or improve workers’ efficiency generally, but I imagine employers will have to come up with new metrics to manage performance, especially for new joiners.

1. It’s a generalisation, but nonetheless true, that in many families women feel a heavier burden of earning and caretaking. Eliminating a commute might cut out previous alone time, but could also offer families an opportunity to rethink lifestyles. I know this is extremely naive, and that there’s so much more to this, but cultural shifts take time to happen. Perhaps this could be the beginning.

I mostly think it’s becoming apparent just how insane it has been to spend so much time and money, at such environmental cost, with so much stress and hassle to adults, children, grandparents etc to commute to a job for 8hrs per day that can just as easily be done in fewer hours at home. Why would we go back to that if it’s not necessary?

We've been told July at the earliest but our office isn't a priority. (We have offices throughout England and Scotland).
I had been trying to convince my boss to let my wfh one day per week as standard for the past several months but never wanted to do it full time. I'm an introvert but miss the 1:1 chats I had with people in the office. Gatherings of multiple people on Zoom are really not the same.

My employer has provided online DSE desk assessments. I've got my chair ftom the office. I out the laptop on a pile of books and have a USB keyboard (they aren't expensive if the employer won't provide). My employer has paid for desks, chairs, laptop risers, keyboards etc for staff.

You have every right to request that your employer takes action to protect your health and safety. Are you in a union?

I work in a call centre and they have already opened up the office last week to people who can’t work from home and were furloughed as a result- poor internet, no room for a desk Etc.
From last Monday anyone that doesn’t want to work from home can go back to the office. Desks have been arranged with correct spacing and there is an abundance of signage with 1 way systems in corridors communal areas. My friend phoned me today and she says it’s been weird being back. The canteen is closed, no tea coffee making facilities on department, communal fridges taped off so they can’t be used. Toilet passes so if someone else is in the toilet you have to wait until they are back at their desk before you can go. Only people with disabilities or a genuine need are allowed to use the lifts (4 storey building) and only 1 at a time.
I talked to my manager the other day and they don’t expect people back in the office who are able to work competently from home back in the office until November. Although he has threatened several times that if performance dips we will be forced to go back whether we like it or not

I'm fully set up to WFH but I will be moving my work space into our spare room once ikea is open as we need to do a bit of rearranging first.

We've come to the conclusion as a team that we will meet up in the office once or twice a week, but the remainder of the time we'll wfh; corporately this has been supported too.

I didn't ask anyone's permission to bring home office equipment (2 screens, desktop, cables, etc.). I couldn't be productive at home without this set up. Little screen on my 2013 work laptop wasn't going to suffice for more than a day or 2.

I can't move all the equipment back & forth daily or even weekly. There is other spare equipment I can probably move to my existing desk in the office if I have to go in to work for some reason... but right now I'll be among the least wanted person to return to (open plan shared) office. Officially there will be a one-way system and other unclear measures, but mostly they just want us to stay TF away.
Good thing I appreciate the fortunate I'm saving on commuting.

I've wfh for two years, but like popping into work now and then.
As for lockdown again, can't see it. The stats will show no need for everyone to keep locking down.

My employer has someone in the office shipping out monitors and ergonomic aids. They will let you come take your chair if you ask. My husband’s employer had him come in to pick up some networking equipment. Employers should be getting needed equipment to employees.

DH and I were already pretty well set up, but people do need to evaluate their workspace. I added a laptop arm to my desk and a privacy curtain so my conference calls don’t show the craft room where my desk occupies a corner. We had to redo where dd does school work since it is now all day. She now has a better laptop(we were trying to make her old one last just 3 more months, but it couldn’t limp along with the increased demand), lighting, and chair. We Also had to make sure she had a good Setup for video conferencing. There have been adjustments, but they are mostly manageable.

If everyone is going to work from home, hopefully this will mean the end of London weighting as “London” based workers could be anywhere in the country. Or even abroad.

And London civil servants will be able to work a full week rather than the 36 hours some work to allow for commuting.
(In my role, for the same job, London colleagues are paid more and work less, which is obviously unfair)

The cost of living is higher in London though

Our HR team announced there would be no return this year and then maybe a staggered return from next year. Each employee has been given additional budget to buy what we need for our home office. There are around 35,000 employees globally and any kind of social distancing in our open plan offices is impossible. I was delighted. Despite the challenges of WFH with small DC I love not going in. I'm fine with never seeing my office again.

Everyone is different though. One of my colleagues was weeping as she misses office life so much

I do an office job at a university. They've started logistically planning our return to the office but haven't said when it will be

No offices would kill the city economy (shops, pubs, bars) I don’t think that would happen if I’m honest. I think life will just slot right back to normal eventually.

Most people will go back I think. Perhaps there might be more people working from home part time but not full time.

I work for one of the Big 4 and we’re making plans to go back in July, across all UK offices. A lot of my Western European colleagues started going back in two weeks ago on a rotation in three groups, so only 30% of staff in at any one time. This is how they approached it in our China offices, seems to be okay so far. I do miss London but don’t miss the tube

@maranello4 how do they manage only 30% in at a time? Is it different shifts/different days?

I wonder if anybody would notice if I moved to Australia for a few months and worked from home there?!

I know somebody who has done it the opposite way round, so it could work.

We've been told we won't be going back until possibly next year.

I could have cried with happiness.

Breathless thanks. Not in a union, but I haven't really pushed hard for the equipment - so I will try again with a higher boss.

I work in education (offices) so expect they are aiming for September, but that's still a way off. I'm not sure they realise lots of private firms are providing the office equipment (although DH's isn't. They are a massive employer and DS is using his old laptop and own mobile).

I went into the office today. It was great. I was the only one there.

We’ve been given the option to go in if we want. But no more than one person to a pod of desks so have to liaise with colleagues if planning on going in. We’ve all been working really well from home so I suspect this will continue for the moment.

I love wfh and we have been told we won't be going back this year

@Mnthrowaway20202

The cost of living is higher in London though

But you won’t need to live in London if you are working from home, you could be living in Truro or Huddersfield yet work in a London office. Or you could live in London but work for an office based in Skipton. Regional pay variations will go