To wonder whether office work environment will change?

[Cam2020]

Once we are all back in offices and things are relatively 'normal', will anything really change?

I'm in two minds. On the one hand, people have got used to working from home and mangers may trust employees to get on with it where they might have had doubts before and allow some more flexible working; people will initially be more mindful of not coming into work when they're sick - but will these good intentions last? I have a feeling once we're back in the swing of things they'll fly out the window. What do people think?

That’s the way the world is going. They’ll be a sort of UBI I suppose. The elite won’t care, they’ll still have their billions even if nobody buys their products or services.

Either UBI or we go back to being peasants as in the medieval times, scrambling around for food in the dust.

If firms decide everyone can work from home all the time, what is there to stop them outsourcing wfh jobs to cheaper labour overseas?

It's a good point. But I suspect many jobs can be done from home but are better if they are done with people in the same place, at least some of the time. How do you replicate that corridor conversation with a more experienced colleague that sparks a good idea?

I’ve just completed a questionnaire from my work on flexible working going forward. I would like to do condensed hours 8-6 four days a week and wfh for 1-2 of those days rather than 9-5 in the office every day. Since they have asked for preferences I take it it’s working.

I work in advertising and WFH was already pretty well established but I don't think it will become the norm in my industry as young people want to be together and socialise after work. It's also harder to stand out if you are ambitious and WFH. And given that commercial property development is a big driver of UK pension funds I sincerely hope that the bottom doesn't fall out of the commercial property market

I think you have to consider the impact on new starters and training. A lot of my relatively new job relies on me learning how things are done at the moment and that's really hard remotely.

Just a few hours, sat at a computer with a colleague talking me through the systems and practices would make a lot of difference at the moment. We have graduates and apprentices regularly rotating through our department and that general understanding of what we are trying to achieve is virtually impossible without very good systems and communication channels.

I feel for all those moving into new roles in the next 6-12 months.

The other half’s job is in a field that went office based for everyone to home based almost industry wide about a decade ago.

The result was wages almost halving in that time but propped up now by a complete absence of entry level jobs as with almost no office jobs there is nowhere to learn the ropes. Fortunately it is still possible to live comfortably, but not as comfortably as ten years back.

My company has said they're going to be flexible with regards to what time people arrive in the office in order to miss rush hour traffic.

The company I work for is permanently closing all six offices and everyone will have to work from home. This is the new normal.

I hope it will be my new normal as I'm saving so much money, but I doubt it will be.

Being sexist, but as most managers are men, they prefer working from an office as, let's face it, it gets them out of having to help with the children or housework. Of course they want to go back to where they can hide.

Being sexist, but as most managers are men

And fit in lots of blokes banter about football etc

My work are closing offices and we all work from home now

My work are talking a lot about much more flexibility going forward but I think the old culture, where a lot depended on getting your face seen in the office and in meetings, will creep back pretty fast.

I'm on furlough but will prob be wfh when I do go back. In one way it will help in regard to doing school runs etc (my kids are teen/tween so I can wfh while they are around) but I will really miss work banter and seeing other people.

If my place went to full WFH I’d be looking for another job. I’d far rather be in the office.

I wouldn’t be to keen either. I already do 2 days a week from home and have missed the social interaction on the 3 days I should be in. I’ll have worked from home full time for 6 months, when we go back in September.

For the company I work for, I think they’ve realised the cost savings by closing all the offices - no expensive city centre offices to rent, heat, light, etc. No engineers to pay to fix the air con/fridge/coffee machine yet again. No need for receptionists or security. Etc.

I am interested to see how wfh affects new starters, it is very difficult to grasp the role and company without seeing the people who are a part of it.

I took a new job last year. I got fairly competent at it but took many weeks of in person training.

That job & job I have now, IT are very hot on security & there's simply no way my home router is half as secure. We often had work IT guys come over in person to install stuff or do things; somehow I'm managing without the in person visits, but it's a matter of time before I badly need something doing by IT-admin and it's simply impossible without them getting hands on my equipment. There is no replacement computer that will be sent out with all the same software. I know other senior professionals struggling with home equipment. Doesn't help that my (enormous, entire) industry is in financial crisis due to Lockdown & nobody knows what the financial position will be in near future.

@BearySad

I am interested to see how wfh affects new starters, it is very difficult to grasp the role and company without seeing the people who are a part of it.

The other half has moved several times in work from home roles. Pre Covid this would usually mean being flown somewhere for a week long induction, this time it has been a fortnight of teleconferences with different people.

They key however is that the job has always been pretty much the same but with different companies (essentially a regulatory role). Fine if you have the experience to transfer but how do you get anyone into their first job in the role?

I took a new job the day lockdown began, the company has continued working with the office open throughout, essential manufacturing business, I can't do my finance job from home as it's closely linked to the factory, so no change here, and much easier to pick up the routine in the office

Originally told we weren’t going back to the office this year...now saying that by September we can go in 2 or 3 days a week.

I’m currently going through induction in a new job and it’s not great. I went in to meet my new manager and get a laptop and pass and I had a couple of hours there. Now I’m WFH largely forgotten about. I used to work for this organisation in a different department and location so thankfully I have a vague idea!

So it's a bit of a mix. Some companies are moving towards more work from home and some staff have a preference for working from home. Some companies are bringing staff back in and some staff don't want to work from home. It will be interesting to see how this all works out, over the next 6 months or so.

Step one is reducing office space cost. Not just yet - social distancing means even 30-50% occupancy will need the same floor space, but once that's relaxed they can potentially halve rental costs, or look to relocate from city centres. For those who've got a WFH survey, your company is keenly looking at this.

Step 2 is to relocate jobs. Why pay someone London wages to WFH in Clapham when for a fraction of the cost you could have someone doing it from home or and office in Kolkata, or at least from Birmingham (and anyone who wanted to could still commute up for team days or a weekly in person session). I think lots of the people on here saying that they love wfh and are so effective that they'll never need to go back to the office will get a rude shock.

@Stuckforthefourthtime I think that a lot of people may be happy getting Birmingham wages if they can relocate up north for cheaper housing. However what a lot of people forget is that housing is 1 cost(and a cost that ends once the mortgage is paid up, as well as a predictable cost as long as interest rates stay low); food, utilities and council tax are also costs and are fairly even across the country. Also these costs would only go up over the years at an alarming rate, esp food due to climate change and council tax due to aging population. But for higher earners, food and council tax are a low percentage of outgoings so it doesn't matter as much. So this would shrink disposable income and I would be very surprised if there is a state pension in 20 years so lower pay would mean lower pension and less chance of retiring at a sensible age.

There’ll be more WFH but it will only be a day or two a week. Most people I know would like the flexibility to WFH but also like going in to work to see colleagues. Project work is best when teams regularly see each other face to face. Many people don’t want to work to blend with their home. Many people also don’t want the ‘new normal’ to last much longer and enjoy the after work drinks, socialising and lunchtime coffees etc.