I don’t want to go back to the office

[Dontmakemegoback2office]

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?

@Baaaahhhhh

The reality is though, surely, that most people do not have dedicated office space at home. Wherever you are set up you have to deal with others in the house passing by/through, kids wanting attention, cats, dogs, telephone going off in other rooms, hoovering, washing machines, next door cutting the grass etc etc etc.

The best interruption DH had on a call recently was a colleagues 92 year old mum coming in to ask why he was talking to his computer! She wouldn't leave, so he had to. DD had a very distressing call when a conference leader left her baby crying in the background for 20 minutes, it upset everyone on the call.

I find there's far more disruption in the office than at home. More background noise, densely populated, people disturbing you, people around you having conversations all day. Office work can be horrible if you have sensory issues or are just introverted.

Obviously it depends on your home situation. I'll take next door cutting the grass over constant football conversations or having to sit right by someone with a cold all week.

Going forward there should be more of a mix of office/wfh.

What I find odd in this thread is the lack of acknowledgement of how interconnected the economy is. If we let certain sectors fail or say they just 'have to adapt' (which takes time) then our own jobs could be eventually at risk.

We have been told we will be WFH for the foreseeable, then it will be only working in the office if essential and a workspace is safely available, I understand the reduced footfall in town centres will have an impact on sandwich shops etc but I've found WFH much less stressful, more productive and work life balance far better.

Why do you feel like cannon fodder?

I work in a care home (thankfully covid free so far) but we seem to be the scapegoats.

That was an over exaggeration perhaps to make a point. Not everyone is wearing face coverings on public transport.

I hate working from home and can't wait to get back in the office as much as possible.

@applesandpears33

I miss the camaraderie of being in the office. We bounce ideas off each other and I think we all benefit from that. Being at home can be a bit isolating but I like the peace and quiet of working at home too. I think I'd like to work in the office about 50% of the time.

I think that’s fair enough I accept that some people prefer it or would like a balance. I guess some businesses may decide not to have an expensive office and that will remove choice.

There are ways of boosting the social side with more virtual team events etc. I have a friend whose workplace has started doing online coffee mornings for all staff.

@DrManhattan

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

Exactly. Sick of hearing that the economy is the most important thing.

Without health and well-being there is no economy.

Without health and well-being there is no economy.

It’s a tricky balance. Both are important.

You can flip this, without a functioning economy there is no health and well-being.

I'm absolutely dreading the future for our kids. I work for social care admin so I've been at work during lockdown but ivery been happy to do so as I like seeing my coleagues. My husband has worked from home and I hate it. I.want my home to be home not an office. I think it mportant for mental health to mix with different people. We're now going to have an insular society where everyone just lives in their own.in little world. You can already see it in the way you're all quote happy for people in sandwich shops lose their jobs so you can save commuting money. The world is going great to be more segregated.

That was an over exaggeration perhaps to make a point. What point were you making? Not everyone is wearing face coverings on public transport. Ok?....

You can already see it in the way you're all quote happy for people in sandwich shops lose their jobs so you can save commuting money.

I don't buy lunch, I take my own. Me being at home won't affect these shops.

In the end it will be down to what your employer believes is best for the business - and if they're a responsible employer then employee mental and physical health will be part of that. Hopefully you'll have an engagement exercise as part of that assessment and get to have your say.

One thing's for sure though, this has proved that many of us can be just as productive from home and for some the benefits of that can be huge. Every organisation is going to be reevaluating their office space need - even if it the end they decide the positives of retaining a 9-5 office scenario overweigh the negatives. The whole point of capitalism is the market dictates which businesses survive or fail. If there is no longer much of a need for city centre hospitality then so be it. Jobs will have to come from elsewhere. We can't seriously expect great swathes of people to trudge pointlessly to offices just to keep Pret and so on in business.

@WaterOffADucksCrack

That was an over exaggeration perhaps to make a point. What point were you making? Not everyone is wearing face coverings on public transport. Ok?....

That we’re being made to take unnecessary risks to save Starbucks. Basically.

It’s a tricky balance. Both are important.

It’s always seemed a chicken and egg question. You need healthy people to work the economy. You need the economy to generate health.

But I think these last few months have really shown us that without health there is absolutely no economy. If everything shuts down then that’s it. I think we have our answer.

That we’re being made to take unnecessary risks to save Starbucks. Basically.* Totally lost now. I made a point about you over-exaggerating going into an office by claiming it was the same as people being sent to ww1 and ww2. I also said about care homes being in the position they are in. You've replied about public transport and starbucks?? I don't get it.

Don't you think using the term "cannon fodder" is disrespectful to those who fought for our freedom?

There is going to a huge amount of poverty and loneliness on the future with all the jobs being lost and everyone stuck at home.

Forcing people onto overcrowded trains is potentially higher risk than a lot of the key jobs that have been carried out over the last few months. For example, I'd guess the risks for a post(wo)man (other than being bitten by a dog) are lower than being crammed up against someone's armpit on the tube.

Absolutely. I’m very grateful to the keyworkers who’ve worked outside their homes for the last four months, but this isn’t about us pampered office workers being wusses. Spending 90 minutes a day on a busy, unventilated, dirty train is a pretty high risk activity - and forcing people to do it seems like a perfect recipe for a second wave to me, which is in noone’s interests.

I’m pretty certain I caught my covid 19 on the last train out of my work on the second or third Monday in March - shortly before lockdown rush hour train out of London. An hour’s commute. Several coughers and sneezers. At one point I changed seats to escape.

@Dontmakemegoback2office

I don’t want people to lose jobs either. But things change. We have to adapt somehow. Build a slightly different economy. Spend the money we save in different ways creating different jobs.

Let’s all stick together on this one. We have to make our feelings known to our employers when the time is right. There must be many of us feeling this way and we can all be saying the same thing.

Strength in numbers!

Sorry OP I won’t be sticking with you. These last 4 months WFH have been the most demotivating of my career. I just couldn’t imagine doing this long term it feels so claustrophobic.

I cannot wait to get back to the office and have my home back as my home and not a makeshift workspace

I'm with you OP, am loving working from home. Company always claimed before that WFH wasn't possible but suddenly it is and a lot of us are enjoying it, it's what I've wanted for years. Sure, some will prefer to be in more often but there should definitely be a choice. Local businesses booming here too.

If workplaces attempt to insist everyone returns every day then definitely now is the time to make a stand against that

WFH during a pandemic and lockdown isn't the same as WFH post pandemic and lockdown will be.

You wouldn't be trapped in your house all the time, wouldn't be frightened and under pressure, and would have balance from going out and about.

@user9274672893 I certainly don’t feel trapped or frightened and I have been out every day so I don’t see a difference at all between pandemic and non pandemic wfh.

I just know it’s not for me as I had to do 2 days at home in a previous job and it’s the main reason for leaving and getting my current role.

I’m grateful and fortunate that my employer has said as soon as it is ok to go back in, likely October, then we can but similarly we can stay wfh if we want. They are happy for us to do what we want which our whole team is grateful for, regardless what side of the wfh fence we sit on

Same , I love working at home

Will the London Weighting be scrapped or amended? If people are not working in London full time surely firms will expect to make savings on their wages bill?