Who is looking at increased wfh long term?

[jorgeous]

Hello all,

The plan at both mine & DHs company was to go in on a rota basis from September. This is still going to happen but far less frequently than we anticipated eg 4 days a month in the office. Plus it's completely voluntary. Companies are making noises about this becoming the norm, reducing HQ space & competitors are acting similar & some have made the switch.
There are lots of benefits to wfh although I do like the social aspect of the office. However because we are not allowed meetings of more than 2 people, gyms, canteens, coffee stations etc are all closed very few are coming back so there is little social aspect.
If this is the norm we really need to rethink our home environment & have a proper office for both of us.
I feel a little sad tbh, anyone else in the same boat?

Me. I worked from home due to the nature of my job anyway but I did often get opportunities to hot-desk at organisations I was working for and I did quite often take up the offer because of the social and networking aspect. But I know without asking that there will be no more hot-desking. It is a shame, I'm going to miss it.

@user1497207191 I guess it depends on the company. We are in finance & law so customer service is meetings in nice board rooms/dinners etc which companies will retain in some form.

We're going to do an average of two days a week. Most people are supportive of this in my work.

For me this change is welcome:
Save a fortune on commute
Hated public transport
More productive
See friends and family
Actually have an evening
Reduce pollution
Support my local town's shops and jobs

I notice the daily mail are running daily, sometimes twice daily articles on how it's our civic duty to resume the trudge to work or the economy will collapse (won't someone think of pret - the Luxembourg based tax exile paragon of virtue!). I suspect some of the mail's friends have very expensive London property which is about to free-fall in value.

My office is open for anyone who wants to work from the office. For me, WFH has been a joy and I plan to continue this for the long term.

DH is also WFH full time in a role that doesn't have an office base, whilst he misses the bustle he gets a better work life balance without a commute.

The big Aldi shop can now be done on an evening, DH can do breakfast for the children and gets to put the baby to bed every night. We're saving a fortune on petrol and our car lease is going to be considerably cheaper next year as the mileage will be minimal. Dinners are now eaten at 6:30pm with our older DS rather than 8pm with just the two of us. DH can slope off at 4pm once a week for a round of golf, previously this would have been a weekend activity that ate into family time.

The amount of hours we have clawed back due to HW has been phenomenal.

The lease on our office ran out last month and it wasn't renewed. For now the company can rent desks in a nearby mixed office space but most people haven't taken up the offer. Our work is quite solitary so the main perk of going in would be the social side and that's not really the same with the rules on social distancing, masks etc. I think maybe in the new year we'll start looking at a more permanent space but it will be much smaller than what we had, with people coming in maybe once every few weeks unless they don't have a suitable space at home.

I personally don't mind it this way - I work quite long hours so with the commute I used to be out of the house for almost 14 hours a day. When I got home I had just about enough time to rustle up dinner (usually something quick rather than nice), tidy up a bit and then maybe 30 mins of downtime before bed. Now I've just got so much more time back with DP and for exercise, to make better meals, to keep op top or chores etc. I also think it will be a lot more doable if we come to have children in the next few years. But I do feel sorry for people without the space (we are crammed into a tiny study but I know that's not so bad) and/or struggling to get childcare at the moment.

We have 5 teams of 8 (in our part of the business) plus support staff etc. They are going back in once a month on a rota basis. Out of 130 people, only 90 remain sine March and no more than 25% of staff will ever be back in the office. Lots are WFH ft.
We’re even looking for smaller premises.
It will never be the same again.

We've been told Jan 2021 at the earliest and even then it'll be a maximum of 22% in at one time. Realistically I get the impression it'll be much longer. Given I've been sheilding due to currently undergoing chemo and I work in Central London (about an hour door to door on public transport) I highly doubt that I'll be going anywhere work wise until there's a vaccine or the risk is deemed practically none existent. I also work at one of the big name bodies who are all over the news telling people what they should and shouldn't be doing, so I'm assuming that the press would have something to say if they didn't practice what they were preaching.

Husband also works for a big name company and they're also doing wfh indefinitely. Again given my situation, he will be one of the last to be asked back. We've also got an 18 month old who will be shortly starting childcare so it'll be nice to not to have the stress of "will the trains be kind and get me back in time" everyday.

@Hollyhead interesting you say the shift won't be big. I didn't think it would & assumed we would back to normality sooner rather than later & didn't think about any long term plans but our companies just don't seem that bothered. I keep hearing loads of people are moving out (my small road has 5 houses for sale) which seems crazy until you know the long term impact.

We’re not going back until Jan 2021 earliest and then I believe it will be part time in the office/rota, maybe 2 days a week in office.

To be honest if my company mandated working from home forever, I’d look for a new job. A lot of people have been very positive about WFH so far but as someone who was self employed for a couple of years with colleagues all over the place, it gets old and the downsides start to kick in. There will be an initial productivity uplift which will bottom out and drop as people start to feel isolated. I never want to work from home full time for any lengthy period again.

All the tech in the world cannot replicate regular face to face contact between colleagues. We don’t have to be there 9-5 everyday but at least 2/3 days a week for things to move forward, for people to stay motivated, to keep the team bonded and fully aligned to objectives and the brand.

As a line manager, I’d also side eye any of my team who were a little too keen to WFH full time permanently.

I also see larger dangers to a full WFH model. If the employees never see eachother and are disconnected (Zoom and Teams can’t replicate true team work) and not really connected to the same values and work culture/brand then does it matter who’s on the the team? Why have Sarah on £50k WFH in Oxford when you can have Nicky on £30k in New Zealand? There will always be a few hours a day when you can combine schedules for a Zoom meeting.

Be careful what you wish for especially as Brexit is about to kick in and we will be truly global opening up our labour markets to for colonial countries who all speak English. It will be easier to replace you with people on those countries than from EU countries and it will be even better if they don’t have to leave those countries to do your job and can be paid less.

@Mindymomo I really don't think the employees should be given a choice to come in, more like get your arses back in here ASAP. I'm sure there are plenty of people who are enjoying working from home but that wasn't the job they signed up to was it.

I agree with your son, I've been office based throughout this and dealing with people who are WFH has been frustratingly say the least, the most basic task is taking an age to complete.

I think some of the main issues are going to occur in those offices which relied on hot desks in over populated offices. I can’t see there’s any choice but to have a rota basis until
Covid has gone.

Added to this the substantial savings employers can make with employees wfh I think it’s going to be a long term shift for many. It’s going to be a big selling point for houses to have a home study and good broadband.

I wonder what will happen to London weighting long term? Will this cause a fall in London property prices as people can work from anywhere?

Currently I'm in one day a week. I think that will go up to two days a week in the autumn, which is how it will stay long term imo. I like it - best of both worlds.

In terms of saving on the commute, if this does continue 1 day will probably end up costing the equivalent of 3 days!

I notice the daily mail are running daily, sometimes twice daily articles on how it's our civic duty to resume the trudge to work or the economy will collapse (won't someone think of pret - the Luxembourg based tax exile paragon of virtue!). I suspect some of the mail's friends have very expensive London property which is about to free-fall in value.

Ha, I've noticed this!

My employer has just confirmed that people will be able to use the office from 1st October. Unfortunately in order to comply with social distancing and allow for cleaning, only 20% of normal numbers will be allowed in each day with priority given to people who cannot wfh to do their jobs or who need to be in the office for personal reasons.

Neither applies to me, so my line manager has confirmed that I'm still in the position where I would be disciplined for going into the office without authorisation.

Latest we've been told is that the office won't open again before the spring. I'm really pleased as WFH suits me. I've found it a nightmare during lockdown, but once schools are back it'll be much more convenient.

Everyone in our team has responded differently to WFH - some want to return to the office full time, some as needed and some not at all. Given we can conduct all our business online, all of those different patterns can be accommodated.

We've been discussing it and agreed that one day a month we should meet as a team in person, which seems to work for everyone.

My work (Financial services in city centre) is starting a very phased return from September but prioritising customer service/call centre staff or those that can’t really work from home due to circumstances. Suspect I’ll be one of the last to return by Jan. All staff now offered a permanent wfh policy where you can if you want wfh 50% of the week which personally suits me fine and staff can claim £500 expenses in setting up a suitable home office. We were going to be taking on additional office space but this is now cancelled.

DH work are even talking about it yet.

Me. My company has mandated no return to offices until at least January and then it will be with a 30% reduction in people in offices (still working out how that will a really work). Everyone will be given the option of increased wfh as permanent option and very, very few people will be 5 days per week in the office. My boss has already said my contract will be changed to be wfh permanently *but I do go to offices for meetings so works perfectly for me.

All the tech in the world cannot replicate regular face to face contact between colleagues. We don’t have to be there 9-5 everyday but at least 2/3 days a week for things to move forward, for people to stay motivated, to keep the team bonded and fully aligned to objectives and the brand.

I agree some context is necessary particularly for more junior members & new staff.

I think it’s going to be a big shift. A local firm have just pulled out of a large office and the owners have put in planning to turn it into over 60 2+ bed apartments. Another site just moments down the road from it has planning to become a super market the formally known office industrial area is moving towards a residential area.

I also see larger dangers to a full WFH model. If the employees never see eachother and are disconnected (Zoom and Teams can’t replicate true team work) and not really connected to the same values and work culture/brand then does it matter who’s on the the team? Why have Sarah on £50k WFH in Oxford when you can have Nicky on £30k in New Zealand? There will always be a few hours a day when you can combine schedules for a Zoom meeting.

Um I'm not so sure about this, DHs firm have support staff in another part of the country which could have been outsourced abroad but it wasn't. Many people already wfh before Covid.

*aren’t even talking about it yet.

We are able to go back in from sept but they have limited space and you have to book to go in. They also can't gurantee you can sit with your team which kind of takes the point away for me.
They did a survey and showed most people want to do 50/50 in office and at home so can see that becoming the norm.

My office is likely closed until at least 2021. I think long term I will work from home more but need to go in for some projects.

My dh's office were planning wfh forever but have u turned because more junior people arent being developed properly as need proximity to learn and gain confidence.

I also saw in the news I think that pwc are keeping offices as a large number of their staff are new graduates living in small flats and houseshares where home office is impractical.

We have been told that we won’t go back this year. We’re a university and priority is the stuff that needs to be done on campus and, as I’m not involved on the student side of things, nor is what I do particularly people-facing, that doesn’t include me. Which I’m fine with.

Long term we’ve already been told there will be a shift; people will only be in the office 2, maybe 3 days a week - while I miss a lot of my colleagues and the office sociability, WFH is so much more productive both in terms of work and being able to fit life around it more. I can use my lunch break to do house stuff, pop to the supermarket etc - I couldn’t do that before and everything had to be done in the evening or weekends.