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?

I work for a large gov agency, where hot desking and partial WFH has been the norm for more than 10 years; partially to save on office space and partially to allow staff some flexibility, as we all have incident response roles in addition to day job, which can be very demanding in terms of additional hours we need to work and 24/7 call out.

I can’t see hotdesking coming back anytime soon. Since most people now have laptops, there is little rush to return to offices in a hurry. Our CEO is suggesting 6-12 months. WFH and video conferencing suits my work well, and in “Normal life” I am on site visits several times a week, and wfh etc before/after is more efficient than travelling to the office.

We do employ some lab chemists though, and are prioritising getting them back into their labs as soon as this can be done safely.

My work is about 50/50 indoors and out, and the outside elements never stopped, albeit they did slow down for a few weeks. The majority of my work has been classed as Nationally Critical.

A group of senior managers all shared their reflections on the last three months, abd the common theme was the realisation that they didn’t have to be in an office for the sake of it. We share a building with several other government agencies and the lease is up in a few years time. My feeling is that the replacement building will have considerably less desk space and WFH will became far more widespread. I’d certainly be up for it On a permanent basis (once the DC are back at school!) a d use offices principally for face time face meetings (much prefer face to face than teleconferencing).

If WFH does become the new normal, then a lot of people who don’t have enough space to create a proper, permanent home office area are going to be fucked. Suddenly what kind of job someone can do could become dependent on what kind of home they live in.

A home office is unlikely to be an unreasonable relocation.

Even if a “home office” means working while sitting on your bed in your rented room in a houseshare because you don’t have room for a desk and chair and there’s no decent WiFi?

Even if a “home office” means working while sitting on your bed in your rented room in a houseshare because you don’t have room for a desk and chair and there’s no decent WiFi?

Exactly. A few years ago I was a lodger in a house where I had a fairly small room and the wifi was crap. WFH simply wouldn't have been an option. Imagine the thread from the landlord's side - 'AIBU not to want my lodger having Zoom meetings in my living room all day?'

There is already quite a lot of movement from central london to further out as a result of the government's Estates Strategy. Certain departments and particularly regulators which is the sector I work in, are moving out or have already loved out to 'hubs' such as Croydon, Stratford and Canary Wharf. So office space is already reducing down.

Our London office currently based in Westminster is due to move to Stratford next year. For some that is a much easier commute as they live in East London or Essex for example. For others including myself it adds an hour to my commute and is more expensive. My office allows one day a week WFH but since lockdown they seem to be testing the waters for more WFH up to three days. This allows london based workers to still be in the office 2 days a week and retain their london weighting otherwise lost if we all become home workers. I think this is a good compromise.

It's hard to say, it's a long time before many people will be back there. I work for a built environment organisation so I'm seeing a lot of material about this at the moment.

I think business travel will decline massively - initially because businesses just won't be able to afford it (and it'll be extra expensive) and then over time it will just come to see wasteful except for occasional longer jaunts when, for example, there are trans-national teams.

People are talking about adapting offices so people can come in but I do wonder if, for businesses where people can basically work OK from home, it's going to be worth all the outlay for changed layout, screens, constant cleaning etc, for at most probably about 18 months (and you may still be talking about only getting a tiny % of your workforce in at that). I say that given the outer prediction for disruption with no vaccine seems to be 2 years, and we're about 6 months in. And if there is a vaccine before then you might spend vast sums getting offices safe and by the time they are, they're not needed.

You might as well keep the office closed the whole time, and give up your lease if you have a break, then take a much smaller place anticipating that no one's going to be in every day anymore. I think we might see more smaller, local hub offices so people are less dependent on commuting into a one big, central place.

I work in local government where we have large office spaces. We worked 1 day a week at home but there was a big amount of presenteeism. I think now we have all shown that we can wfh they will reduce office space and utilise the funds bridging the budget gap.

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

This.

I have no problem with increased flexibility for those who want it but i will never take a home working job if I can at all afford it and any workplace mandating it will lose my and many other peoples interest.

I hate the lack of home/work separation, the lack of socialising, not being able to just go tap someone on the shoulder, bounce an idea off them, then go straight back to work (because even with zoom calls there's the niceties of hello, how are you, goodbye ect which all take more time).

I also think it would lead to less loyalty between colleagues and also to businesses as people would feel no connections with the place they work.

The only thing I would appreciate is more 'off the cuff' home working - I.e. I am too ill to come into the office because I shouldn't be coughing on anyone and spreading my germs but I am fully capable of doing the technical part of my job so just wfh as a one off.

I also think companies that go fully wfh will lose the interest of graduates. Just look at the uproar from students about remote learning, I'm sure they would feel similarly about remote workplace training and would choose to go to companies that provide in person training, shadowing and mentor ship (I know I would), and then they also get the bonus of socialising with colleagues and managers and building networks and connections for the future.

I've been working throughout the past few months. We cant social distance to 2m however we are probably 1m apart and our desks are in use 24/7. Theres loads of hand sanitiser around and the desks are being cleaned roughly 7 times a day.

Out of a rotating system of 5 teams so approx 200 people NOONE has been off. Theres been a couple of people off self isolating but noone with the virus. Management had plans in place for the expected mass of people going off sick and it hasnt happened.

Its certainly made me question the 2m rule. The anticipated absences might happen yet but we seem to be doing something right

Anyone who thinks the work environment will change in a way that benefits the employee is probably deluding themselves in this recession. It'll be an employer's market with redundancies left and right.

"Since most people now have laptops"

Do they? Genuine question.

I also think companies that go fully wfh will lose the interest of graduates.

People on their first job (Graduates or otherwise) are also more likely to be in house shares which make WFH unfeasible.

Whatever happens it's exciting to be in a position to really think about how we work and how and why we do things a certain way. For example if large swathes of office and retail space become surplus to requirements, that may create an opportunity for more town and city centre residential, which could reduce the need to build out into green space and reduce traffic and transport usage. New builds could even include communal workspace to facilitate 'WFH' differently.

My organisation is looking at reducing our office space by about 50% but retaining touchdown/ meeting space for different teams to use while mainly WFH. We will need to save a lot of money in the coming years and this is one way that will be achieved.

I think things will go back to normal eventually in offices, managers do not like WFH!

I don't think good managers have a problem with it, tbh, but managers who lack confidence in their skills to monitor performance and meet targets don't like it. Or the control freaks who micromanage, they don't like it, either.

Early indications are that as an organisation, my employer shows every sign of being ok with it continuing where possible. My line manager says if it was up to her, we'd be allowed to WFH if we want or return to the office.

Otoh, DP's manager is already talking about "when" they're all back in the office, despite the fact that their office is now used as hot desk space so that teams who can't WFH can spread out enough to maintain safe distances.

DP is mega pissed off, he loves WFH and being able to get on with stuff without constant interruptions and has found he's much more productive at home. I'll be happy to go back, I'd quite like a desk to sit at and when (if?) things are back to normal, my job takes me out a fair bit anyway. And the office is only a mile away, so it's not like I have a dreadful commute.

@TazSyd

WFH full time in the winter will mean an increase in bills, mainly from heating. So whilst working from home means less money on petrol, in the winter it might not be so lucrative from a cost save perspective.
Are you able to offset the increased costs of WFH against tax? www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home

Sent

Currently working from home FT with 1 or 2 days in the office per week on a rota system which allows me to upload notes & update any paperwork as we don't have work laptops at the moment & to conduct client visits. Liasing with other agencies
& clients & emails all currently done via work phone & email. There is talk of us working like this for the next year which I am happy to continue doing as a tank of diesel is lasting me 6 wks as opposed to 3 wks & getting my work done in less time as less distractions. A work laptop would mean I could even more work done from home. For me, at this moment it works & I'm spending a lot less. I think a lot of companies will be giving serious thought to allowing working from home for the future.

i dont wfh but am concerned about the sickness policy, it needs rewriting imo

stay away if you are poorly, and no raised eyebrows about it and no sanctions.

As wfh becomes the norm, salaries will decrease as you dont need work clothes, petrol money etc. Also you'll be using your internet provider, electricity,
heating etc. Big business will be the winner as always

@EmpressLangClegInChair

Exactly! I think it will be a tiny minority of graduates willing to take wfh jobs for both practical and social reasons. This may be fine for small businesses but any big ones, especially those that run graduate scheme will need to stay attractive to candidates and I think wfh will take that away. I am currently working out of my bedroom in a house share and hate it, if this goes on any longer than necessary I will be looking for a new job and complaining to HR about lack of safe working environment (no desk, little light ect). I don't know anyone who would pick wfh in this situation over going into the office, it is a privileged thing to have the space to wfh in order to enjoy it.

Also although MN is quite diverse it does seem to be a bit of an echo chamber on certain topics, likes this one, and sometimes comes across as a hot bed of introverts (loath wedding invites, work functions, small talk ect). Whilst there is nothing wrong with this I don't think it's really very representative of the wider population and when it comes to the time a lot less people will be wanting to wfh than the replies on MN suggest. This is not to say that those who want to shouldn't be able to, or at least be afforded more flexibility in working, but I think changing the whole working system is a bit far fetched.

although MN is quite diverse it does seem to be a bit of an echo chamber on certain topics, likes this one, and sometimes comes across as a hot bed of introverts (loath wedding invites, work functions, small talk ect). Whilst there is nothing wrong with this I don't think it's really very representative of the wider population and when it comes to the time a lot less people will be wanting to wfh than the replies on MN suggest. This is not to say that those who want to shouldn't be able to, or at least be afforded more flexibility in working, but I think changing the whole working system is a bit far fetched.

Remember most MNers (and/or their partners) earn a 6 figure salary so having workspace wont be a problem! I fit into to some if the typical MN characteristics (not the salary bracket sadly) - I dont answer the phone if I dont know who it is, and sometimes the door....but I love wedding and party invites. I'm not an extrovert at all but now it looks like I will be wfh for the foreseeable future I will really miss workplace banter and colleagues. We dont work in an environment that has regular meetings so chat is mostly sociable (and therefore wont be a scheduled part of the day) but I often ask someones advice on the best way to do something which will be lost.

Offices are the most pointless, unpleasant places and I wish that we could get rid of them altogether.

I'm currently a full-time student but having worked in offices for a good portion of my adult life, I never want to go back to one, ever. I'm happier, friendlier and more productive when I'm in my own space, in my own home, with my own belongings. And commuting! Never again

Our estates and facilities people have done a survey of our head office, to see how many people can safely be accommodated while maintaining a 2m distance.

The building holds, on average, 140 people. With a 2m distance, it can accommodate ..... 12.

At one metre, because of some peculiarity of layout, that figure only goes up to the low 20s.

I don't think we'll be going back any time soon.

@LakieLady This is very interesting thanks. I work in Moorgate for a financial services company. We have 10,000 sq feet office space (spread over 2 floors and inclusive of toilets, meeting rooms and 2 kitchens), and over 100 people.In the best of times, it was cramped! The two microwaves were on full time work mode and the fridge was cramped.

Now we are all wfh but they wanted to get us back in the office by July. How are we to maintain social distancing? Your building sounds a lot bigger than my office!

@glisteninginkcap

That's all good for you and I hope you can continue to wfh if you find it better. However not everyone finds offices the same, many people struggle to wfh, enjoy the socialisation and don't actually have a suitable environment at home to work in. We absolutely shouldn't be abolishing them, they are not at all pointless and not all unpleasant (though some may be). Your kind of comment it the one that really gets people backs up, it's just as bad to insist on everyone having to be in the office as it is to insist no one should be. It's about balance and understanding different people situations.