Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

I don’t want to go back to the office

180 replies

Dontmakemegoback2office · 17/07/2020 19:06

Certainly not most days. I’m enjoying the improved work/ life balance and I can do my job perfectly well at home. Meetings, research, reports, emails. The lot.

I’m angry at the thought of being forced back on to that horrible commute for no reason other than cannon fodder for the city centre economy. Just no.

AIBU?

OP posts:
Xmasbaby11 · 18/07/2020 00:28

I'm looking forward to going back when it's ok to do so. I prefer being around people when I work. Love having a workplace and leaving work at home.

Fairybird · 18/07/2020 00:55

Completely agree OP. I’m saving £260 a month in train travel and almost 3 hours commuting time each day. I can stay up later in the evenings, eat healthier lunches, am always in to sign for parcels, my skin is make-up free and thanking me, I have less laundry to do, can be more flexible with working hours and lunch break and can bring the washing in instantly when it starts to rain instead of being the other side of the county when it looks stormy!

PinkiOcelot · 18/07/2020 10:33

You think you’re cannon fodder because you’re being asked to go back to the workplace now? Bollocks to those of us who haven’t had the choice to wfh?

DrManhattan · 18/07/2020 11:21

I know exactly what you mean op. Its not about people anymore it's all about saving the economy

pointyshoes · 18/07/2020 12:17

The flip side of wfh is of course that your job is opened up to many more people. There is a chance that people from other parts of the country, or overseas, can also do your job. They may be able to do it more cheaply, or better, or both. We need to accept that this could easily happen. Even having to be present in the office say one or two days a week wouldn’t stop this

WeAllHaveWings · 18/07/2020 12:18

There are some roles long term that can easily be done from home, mine is one. In the office I spend most of my day in zoom calls to colleagues in Ireland, Amsterdam and India, my boss is in London, there is no benefit to me being in the office in Scotland where I speak to noone about anything work related. Some days when I am on back to back calls I barely speak to anyone.

Conversely I can see there are teams in the office that do the same work and it is more effective they work together, they need to be able to support each other, build relationships, cover each others workloads. It is especially required for junior members for on job training to have help right there when they are struggling.

The problem in our workplace is they want to go for a one size fits all as they struggle to say it is ok for me, and others like me, to WFH full time but not effective for some teams.

I am, selfishly, hoping they now identify who is just as effective WFH and tell us to stay at home so those that need to get back in can use the office space to spread out as much as possible.

Oysterbabe · 18/07/2020 12:28

Our company is trading our big office for a little one we can pop into for the odd day but we will be mostly WFH from now on. Lots of companies will be doing this I think.

annabel85 · 18/07/2020 12:31

@makingmammaries

YANBU. Never heard anything as stupid as sending people back to the office because the sandwich shops are complaining.
The sandwich shop nonsense is a red herring. It's about Tories worried about commercial property prices.
mornington2020 · 18/07/2020 12:32

I agree with the OP. My concern at there being no work/home boundaries turned out to be unfounded, and modern communications are such that we can speak to work colleagues easily. At least one of our three offices could easily become housing, something desperately needed.

tenterden · 18/07/2020 12:33

YANBU

I absolutely love wfh.

Luckily my employer is happy for us to continue for the rest of this year at least.

If I need to bounce ideas off a colleague I just facetime them on Teams. We all do it every day. It must be difficult if your tech isn't up to much though. For me it's no different to being in the office, aside from no commute and being able to catch up on housework during breaks etc.

mornington2020 · 18/07/2020 12:33

The sandwich shop argument does seem strange, as most are staffed by people from the EU, so why would this Brexiteer government be concerned?

maxdash · 18/07/2020 12:35

I'm loving WFH too. I have full functionality and a better work life balance. I'm really hoping we'll have the choice as to whether to return or not. I work for the NHS so from a cost perspective, it's cheaper for them if I'm home working but whether they see it that way I'm not sure.

DHs company have completely closed his office and they'll all be home workers from now on! He's quite please though it means no nice work day lunches in the city centre.

XjustagirlX · 18/07/2020 12:42

My company has said we can WFH if we choose to but we can go into the office if we want. I will probably go in once a week to see my colleagues.

In my opinion if the job can be done at home then the benefits of WFH greatly outweigh the negatives.

  • less pollution. Helping the climate change cause.
  • less commuting
  • time saved from not commuting
  • better work life balance
  • I can fit in exercise
  • I am getting more sleep
  • I can see my family more as I have time in the evenings
  • I am not too tired to clean the house
  • if I had children then I would be able to do pick up and drop off without rushing around
  • saving money on lunch
  • saving money on petrol
  • freeing up the roads and trains for people who actually need to go to a place of work
  • businesses with old fashioned bosses who force people to be seen in the office (when they could easily WFH) will not last, as anyone looking to move jobs will not be attracted to that type of firm and they will be forced to come up to the modern standard of working.

The negatives are

  • not feeling part of a team and not seeing my colleagues. We can overcome this by going into the office once a week and also going in if we have a social event.
  • the economy and businesses in city centres will decrease. This could be a benefit for local towns. These companies will need to evolve and set up in local towns, offer delivery services etc.
  • not leaving the house all day. I think it would be a good idea to have towns set up working hubs like a library where you can book out a desk if you want to leave your home.
crosseyedMary · 18/07/2020 12:44

Tories worried about commercial property prices
Even so, surely they know that ship has sailed...there must be numerous companies who are now rubbing their hands at the thought of being able to sell off valuable commercial real estate?

LakieLady · 18/07/2020 12:45

Get more people living in town centres. Convert offices to homes

Spot on.

Not only are more homes desperately needed, if more people actually lived in city centres, there'd be week-round trade for some of the shops, cafes etc and maybe other kinds of business would become viable.

wizzbangfizz · 18/07/2020 12:46

I can't wait to go back - and if you worked for me I would expect you back. Happy for 2 days wfh 3 days in the office!

crosseyedMary · 18/07/2020 12:46

Working hubs like a library
I like the idea of local hubs, but perhaps small self-contained units might be a better way to go?

crosseyedMary · 18/07/2020 12:49

If more people actually lived in city centres.....
You're dead right it would increase economic activity whilst at the same time retaining all the benefits of not having large numbers of people commuting everyday!!
what's not to like?
why is the government not trying to encourage the trend for working from home?
what's in it for them, why keep us all locked into this harmful and dysfunctional pattern of commuting into city centres for work?

SengaStrawberry · 18/07/2020 12:49

God there’s a lot of moaning on here. Just be glad you’ve got a job and get on with it.

Waxonwaxoff0 · 18/07/2020 12:50

I can't wait to go back into the office. I wouldn't want to WFH. I'm a extrovert and I feel incredibly isolated spending my whole day alone.

RaskolnikovsGarret · 18/07/2020 13:00

I’m relieved. I am one of only ten people back in the office in an organisation of 4K people, and I love it. Can’t wait for my colleagues and friends to return, even if it’s for only a day or two a week. Miss the camaraderie. And I do feel immensely sorry for the local businesses that benefit from the office crowds. Must be so worrying for them and their staff.

And I think a lot of these comments are quite ignorant - all our key workers who have had no choice but to work - if they had considered themselves to be cannon fodder, who would have kept our hospitals, refuse collections and supermarkets going?

I do find some of the views here a little thoughtless.

annabel85 · 18/07/2020 13:20

@LakieLady

Get more people living in town centres. Convert offices to homes

Spot on.

Not only are more homes desperately needed, if more people actually lived in city centres, there'd be week-round trade for some of the shops, cafes etc and maybe other kinds of business would become viable.

In my normal workplace on the edge of the city centre, there's a lot of commercial units within the block. The shops and the pub do a great trade for 8 hours a day Monday to Friday (and the bars are packed on a Friday evening till about 8pm). Outside of that it's a ghost town. Another bar in this area closed for this reason (it's now a Pret). If it's more residential than local businesses are more viable.

WFH is actually good for towns and villages, that have struggled in our centralised economy that is about packing as many commuters into London (and other big cities) as possible. It's a big part of why high streets in town centres are ghost towns.

annabel85 · 18/07/2020 13:21

The shops and the pub do a great trade for 8 hours a day Monday to Friday (and the bars are packed on a Friday evening till about 8pm).

When I say 8 hours I mean early morning and lunch hours.

SmudgeButt · 18/07/2020 13:35

Our very large company fully supported WFH asap in the lockdown, rolling out lots of equipment to make it possible. They are now asking how we want to continue to work, which is great. I personally don't really like WFH but also realise it make home life much easier as a family. So I'm opting for a mix of half weeks in and out or similar.

The two big worries though are that it's obvious that as this has worked the company will still to get rid of more office space making WFH a necessity even for those that don't want to. There's lots of mental health issues acerbated by isolation. If managers are then given a quota they may start to insist that people do one or the other even if it isn't in that individual's best interest.

worzelsnurzel123 · 18/07/2020 13:39

I think the vast majority will end up having to go back to office work. Most employers like to micro manage their staff and it’s not their preferred option to have staff out of sight, where they might be able to duck out on a school run/ answer the door. Gradually it will start to return to normal I think. Clearly there will be the odd exception, but most employers want to know exactly where you are and what you are doing I’m afraid. I can see it suits most employees better as it cuts out commute and gives better work life balance. It should technically be cheaper for businesses not to have huge rents, but what happens to all these empty office spaces in city centres and peripheral areas?