Some people have just gave up?

[lovioli]

On our daily teams meeting many colleagues are declaring how they never want to return to the office . They are very adamant they want to continue to work from home and are even talking about selling their cars

Why are so many people embracing this insular life ? Giving up their independence of having a car ? So they can be chained to the house working off a laptop.

I've been WFH for 10 years and bloody love it! Certainly haven't given up and still use my car pretty much daily.

I can't imagine a world where my life revolves so much around being in an office that it loses meaning by me no longer being in that office n

I love working from home. Under normal circumstances I would spend about an hour and a half each day negotiating traffic, getting up at the crack of dawn to secure a space in a horrible multi-storey car park that smells of wee, all to sit in a noisy, fusty open plan office. Before Covid I did all this and managed a team who were located all over the country - so I had to come to the office even though my team weren’t there. Working from home is more relaxed. I can get up later. I see my family more and I don’t have to hot desk or deal with city centre traffic. And I can use what would have been commuting time to go for a lovely walk near where I live every day. I’ve been wanting to work from home permanently for years.

I do think many companies will not move back to 5 days in the office.

Saving 5 hours (2.5 each) on commuting time.

5 hours a day??

That sounds soul destroying!

[quote XelaM]@JaneNorman I can. My employer couldn’t care less where I am physically as long as my wifi works.[/quote]
Apologies if you have already cleared this with your employer, but working overseas can create a permanent establishment for a company which can have significant tax implications.

I just think there is a danger that lots of people assume they can do this without discussing with their employer and they may well be disappointed. So even if not relevant for you this may help someone else avoid an expensive mistake!

Can I just say, I feel sorry for OP, not for anything specific they have said that I object to, but because they are so short sighted!!! Oof!!

@willFOURbagsbeenough that's for 2 of them. so 1 hour 15 each way. That's pretty normal I think.

On grammar?

DH and I are enjoying working from home. He is saving a fortune on travel and we are both saving money on coffee’s, food, work clothes etc.
I am also far more productive at home and we both have much shorter working days so a better work life balance. Its lovely not wearing make up or getting dragged into any workplace drama.
If I could choose I might go into work 1 day a month maximum.

I agree! This has been the most baffling discovery during this pandemic. How can so many people be ok with this? No theatres, restaurants, libraries, socialising, and the economy is tanking. I am stressed! And bored

I'm saving around 10 hours a week on travel and £130 a month on transport fees. I've used some of that spare time for exercise and doing couch to 5k - I've never done so much exercise as I have since March. I cook from scratch more because I have time and I'm less exhausted now I don't have to travel on one of the busiest transport routes in the entire country to get to and from work (often witnessing arguments). I can use my own toilet (I have IBS and this has been significantly better since I don't have to worry about needing to run out of meetings or having to 'go' in the work loos). I have a comfy office chair and I can control the heating. I have a small, head-down team, so I'd often be going to a huge amount of trouble to get into the office only to sit in silence except when I was being interrupted and suddenly asked to do something.

That said, I would be happy to return to the office 2 or 3 days as I find I have less collaboration with other teams when wfh and it is nice to have a change of scenery. It also makes it easier to do stuff in town after work if I choose, or to browse in the shops/cafes during lunch. It's probably good for new starters to get to know the company and other employees too.

Well having two cars is expensive if one of them isn’t needed. We’re a one car house for financial & environmental reasons.

@lovioli
You can if it’s just a week or 2 here and there on a holiday or staying with family

I went to Ireland for the whole summer and worked from my mums house before returning to London

Who would even know anyway as long as you are doing your work

No more hour long traffic jams at 8am.
No more packing a naff lunch because the work kitchen is unusable.
No picking and ironing workwear for the week.
No office air con all winter.
No having to make chit chat with colleagues in passing that you don’t really like.

More time with my DH and DS.
Eating better and healthier.
Getting to do my work without unnecessary interruptions.
So much less office politics.
I can do an online shop, pop the washing on etc on breaks to free up my days off for actual fun things.

I don’t feel like I’m a robot leaving home in the dark and getting home in the dark anymore. I face my window so can look out at the lovely gardens in the road rather than a view of a car park.

I’d happily never go back there!

Also my boss did know I went to Ireland to work all those months and was supportive of it - thought it was a great idea to see the family!

They wouldn’t have any issues if I was anywhere on the world for short periods once I’m doing my work

I have worked full time from home for ages (self employed), but it has significant disadvantages and is crap for career development, networking and getting promoted. If one parent works from home and the other does not, you have to be really assertive to make sure you do not end up doing all the housework stuff. People assume you are "at home" and ask for favors with stuff a bit too much. I work in a rather niche role, but in a lot of fields any job which can be done 100% remotely is vulnerable, long-term, to outsourcing. None of these things are obvious when WFH is a novelty and everyone else is in the same boat, but they are likely to become apparent after a bit!

It takes over the house though, DH worked in the spare room but I could still hear his calls, luckily he is retired now as well, I don't think we could have put up with it much longer, we didn't buy our house to use as a workplace

Is no one else worried about the knock on impact?

I read that the shift will cost around 400k retail jobs.
TFL needed a 1.7bn bailout due to lost fare revenue.
Less occupancy in city offices which affects loads of other industries & pension.

We are going to have to pay for this in other taxes unfortunately.

Why wouldn't I want to continue WFH? I'm saving £400 a month on after school club.'I get to spend around 50% more time with my children every day. My petrol costs are tiny. I get more time with my husband. I go for a walk in lovely countryside when I want. My parents can pop over for a coffee while I have a break. I can get some gardening done the minute I switch my laptop off, or play football or take the kids to the park. Or have a glass of wine with my husband.

Why would I want to go back to my commute just to sit in a shitty office with two people i can just as easily pick up the phone to?

The old 9-5 life has little to recommend it.

@bluebellscorner but once things are open again, you will be able to do those things even if you WFH. We live in walking distance of restaurants, so wouldn't drive anyway.

For us, DP working from home permanently might mean the chance to finally own a home. I think it would be better for him to get some time in the office, but commuting say, just twice a week, would give us the option of living somewhere where we could afford to buy. At our age we need to! So it would be a massive boon.

Things will of course adapt & local high streets may be busier, fitness industry growth etc however it's a very rapid change which is hard to keep up with.

[quote iveturnedintoachip]@willFOURbagsbeenough that's for 2 of them. so 1 hour 15 each way. That's pretty normal I think. [/quote]
Ahh right! I thought it was just one persons commute!

I do think many companies will not move back to 5 days in the office.

This is almost certainly true for many companies. But I think most won’t go fully wfh and will operate hybrid models. I worry that once enough people go back to the office it becomes difficult again for those who want to remain wfh full time. The dynamic of meetings may change again once some attendees are all in the room together.

@Aquamarine1029

Why does your life become insular just because you work from home? It won't if you don't allow it to be. I know loads of people who hate office culture, dealing with co-workers and managing a commute. Never mind the money you save not having to travel to work.

I'm guessing you don't live alone?