Office reopening but... no canteen, no kitchen...!!!!

[Sarah510]

Is this unreasonable....!!!

Cant help thinking it's a conspiracy theory to force us to go back to the Costas and Starbucks...

Lucky I have a couple of flasks!!! After wfh I realise how much money I was totally wasting on my coffees every day ;)

@melj1213

The cynical side of me says that those companies are probably secretly quite glad of an excuse to shut down staff facilities.

I could see that if they have excessive facilities, but I cannot see why anywhere would think that shutting off access to fresh drinking water- even if it is just by way of a kitchen tap - is acceptable.

Some employers are just bad employers who think staff should be grateful to have a job at all and that employee rights and health and safety requirements are an unreasonable inconvenience. No, a normal person would not think it is acceptable to deny staff drinking water. But not all companies are run by normal people, and not all companies value their staff!

@SerenDippitty

Sandwiches will be fine until lunchtime.

Or buy a padded cool/food box plus some ice packs (put in the freezer overnight then put in the top and bottom cool box with your lunch in between). I bought mine ages ago from Robert Dyas but there are loads if you google. 🌹

Packed lunch is not an issue. The thing I dislikes was nowhere away from my desk to eat. If it's a nice day then fine but it often isn't.

Dear god. I hope some of you people don’t have jobs that require creativity or problem solving skills. This is not rocket science. A flask, a bottle of water and a ham sandwich in a cool bag. Job done. What sort of jobs do you do that you have time for endless cups of tea anyway?

Lots of chefs losing their jobs because of workplace canteens closing.

I've been walking to work for years with my lunch in my backpack, plus all the other crap I have to carry round. Laptop plus thermos is going to more than double the weight I'm carrying, and I'll probably need a new backpack to fit the thermos in, which is more money I really don't have atm.

I’m sure you’ll manage the extra weight. As I said, children carry more to school. Ask your work to supply you with a bag for your laptop if you really can’t fit a couple of extra things in your existing bag. Or use a carrier bag. You really are looking for problems.

I’m sure you’ll manage the extra weight. As I said, children carry more to school. Ask your work to supply you with a bag for your laptop if you really can’t fit a couple of extra things in your existing bag. Or use a carrier bag. You really are looking for problems.

I have a backpack because carrying things in a carrier bag was causing me problems with my hands. My laptop fits in my backpack, most of the stuff I usually carry fits. A thermos flask won't fit as well. My work probably would buy me a laptop bag, but then I have my backpack with my stuff in, another bag with the laptop and I'd still have to carry the thermos. I clearly need a new job as an MP so I can walk while my car carries everything for me!

Maybe I carried more as a teenager (I suspect not though and none of the secondary school age children I see walking to school seem particularly weighed down, some have tiny bags - a lot smaller than mine), but I didn't have problems with my knee or shoulder then, and also didn't have to carry them for 40-45 minutes each way as the bus stop was less than five minutes from my house and dropped me off right outside the school gates.

Then I guess don't take a flask with you. A sandwich doesn't weigh a lot .

I do think it’s daft to shut canteens and kitchens if they can be opened in a safe way. An army marches on its stomach.

In relation to drinking water they must provide access to it by law. In some older buildings the water in the loos may not be suitable for drinking though so they may need to reopen the kitchen? www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg293.PDF

What would be the view of your remaining working from home if you asked? I don't blame shutting kitchens and canteens, largely because you probably have some people you work with who will forget social distancing whilst having a chat.

I have a backpack because carrying things in a carrier bag was causing me problems with my hands.

Jesus Christ 🤦🏻‍♀️ I just can’t.

Look, if you have genuine medical issues which prevent you from carrying a certain weight or a certain bag then you should speak to a doctor or your companies occupational health team.

I assure you that most secondary kids here walk about 30 minutes to school, with 5-10 books, art folders, PE kits and lunch.

I think I was right when I said you were looking for problems.

Alternatively why can’t we all just continue to work from home? Why make life unnecessarily difficult? Let’s say NO we’re not going in to the office when most of us can do what we need to do from home.

I'd be doing some frigging whinging if they tried that at my work

Dontmakemegoback2office

^^ Nice username

I have a backpack because carrying things in a carrier bag was causing me problems with my hands.

Jesus Christ 🤦🏻‍♀️ I just can’t.

^^

Class

Thread aside, how the fuck are there all these workplaces without basic kitchen facilities? Where do you all work? No kettle?! No kitchen?! No microwave?!

If there's no kettle in our office then I'll be fucking off home for a cuppa Nobody gets between me and my tea. (It'll only be a ten minute round trip, perks of working close to home.)

Or I could always drag my own kettle in. Getting a brand new one avoids the need for PAT testing, though I understand some offices might raise other safety concerns.

if you have genuine medical issues which prevent you from carrying a certain weight or a certain bag then you should speak to a doctor or your companies occupational health team.

Nightmare. They just have forms but don't do anything. And raising profile Might make me unemployable. I've had RSI on/off for 25 yrs I really don't want to draw attention to it. Mostly manageable and the official advice of how to sit etc. makes it worse (there's no provision for having elbows by my side which is very best position). They assume no one knows how to touch type and that everyone stares at their keyboard. Carrier bags are bad for weak hands. As for shoulders: physio didn't much help & xray says it's not osteo-arthritis yet. But best not to carry heavy loads to avoid aggravating the shoulders. I must park 20 minute walk from work,, so hence I want to cycle the whole 17 miles coz panniers are perfect, but not chuffed if I have to bring all my fluids for 11-12 hour intake. I will just fill up bottle at loo taps if all that's available.

My many DC in secondary rarely had heavy bags, btw. They ran for train/bus. They only bring in a small number of items daily. Nowhere to keep lots of stuff at school.

@managedmis laboratories- I work for a massive multi national, but our lab buildings are food grade and conform to several norms, so kitchens are s no-no (and given the state of the average office kitchen, the bathroom floor is a much much cleaner space to eat from!).
the cleaning regime to keep a communal kitchen even remotely clean is pretty mindblowing

Few schools have lockers these days, so kids have to carry everything to/from school, incl games kits, cookery ingredients, etc etc. It's not so bad for those on good bus routes, but in towns/cities, kids have to walk to/from school with huge, heavy rucksacks, often plus another bag on games days. And schools usually don't have cloak rooms either, so kids also have to carry their coats around during the school day, along with their rucksacks.

Carrying your own packed lunch and drink is pretty insignificant when you think what's expected of teenagers!

I may not be back in the office every day, just one or two days per week, and it may be a while yet (lifts are not enough for all given social distancing).

I'd be unhappy at no kitchen, especially as the local coffee shops are expensive.

Where I work, we run on tea 👍👍👍😎

@Dontmakemegoback2office

Alternatively why can’t we all just continue to work from home? Why make life unnecessarily difficult? Let’s say NO we’re not going in to the office when most of us can do what we need to do from home.

Trouble is that WFH is just a sticking plaster at the moment. It's NOT the same as working in an office, it's not as efficient, etc. Yes, it's keeping things ticking over, but business etc isn't firing on all cylinders.

I'm dealing with businesses, govt depts, local councils, etc., on a daily basis. Things are taking a lot longer to get done. Some services aren't happening at all. Lots of mistakes are being made. Things that are simple (in normal times) are now taking a lot more time and effort to happen.

Yes, say, call centre workers are WFH, but time and time again, they can't do things, as they can't just ask a colleague if they're unsure, or if they've got patchy internet at home. Many firms/organisations have stopped their online live chat facility etc.

Yes, I'm sure some workers are just as productive/efficient at home than they'd be in their usual office, but let's not pretend it's anywhere near as good for a large proportion of workers.