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.

We gave up our car years ago, it was a great decision - and we are not insular at all!

I will miss some aspects of the office but I'm.pleased I can look for housing more widely, not be bound by journey times.

@iveturnedintoachip the pandemic has just accelerated WFH etc.. DH's office had become paperless just before lockdown 1. I used to work for them a few years before and I was one of the few employees who mainly worked from home. I used to have to go into the office once a week to pick up box loads of files to work on at home.

DH also used to travel to other offices/clients to go through their papers.

Once they went paperless he would go to the clients and look at their papers on a screen! As technology improved surely it would have soon dawned on people that this wasn't necessary and you could share screen from 2 different locations. Inter office meetings could be done remotely. WFH made easier as didn't need a carload of paperwork. The pandemic just made this have to happen, and employers have worked out the benefits. £40k savings on mileage claims to start with!

The High Street was already changing. The pandemic has probably made quite a few people look at their non-essential consumer spending. Office space may change to residential space.

Less commuting, less non essential spending, less foreign travel all better for the climate.

...also I'm the opposite. I can't focus at home. I never have been able to. I need to be surrounded by a work environment.

I was a teacher, I'd get in at 7:15am and work without any breaks or lunch break, just ploughing on through until I was done. Because I'd achieve far more in those non-teaching hours at work, than I ever could at home. It meant that apart from a bit of weekend work, I didn't need to do all the stuff at home that teachers normally do.

If I was still working, doing it from home would be the end for me.

This has all shown how ridiculous and uncesseary offices are. They're just a feeding ground for meglomanics. And they're unhealthy. Those craving going back to the office mainly appear to be desperate to have their egos massaged and be validated.

I'd be far less insular if I was permanently wfh - I'd actually have the time and energy to take part in hobbies and see friends, rather than going straight home and collapsing at the end of the day because I'm exhausted from commuting and putting up with all the nonsense rules, meetings and hierarchies of office life.

I can't see a big return to shared office workspaces until next year now tbh. It's going to be so hard to drag most people back, and those companies who do will end up losing their best talent.

@ineedaholidaynow I don't disagree there are big benefits but some are going to lose out & I do think some form of tax rises are inevitable.

Before C-19, I would work (hang out) at a nice coffee shop on a couch, go to the library, hang out at the table at the local park...

Telephone meetings before Zoom were whilst I was walking on the treadmill at the gym or walking around the neighborhood

I'm intrigued as to what you do that means you can hang out at a park on your laptop and can have work calls without a pen or paper to take notes.

It sounds amazing!

I want to keep wfh going forward. But even now my company is saying that they won't support it. It's bizarre, we've been wfh for nearly a year, doing well despite homeschooling etc. the company has had remote connections set up for years and at the highest level they are talking about how great wfh has gone. and yet at middle management level we're being told that as soon as restrictions are lifted we'll be back in the office without any possibility of continuing to wfh even day or 2 a week. I don't think our place is the only one either..

wfh doesn't mean that you'll never leave your house. It just means no commute and no office distractions.

I didn't wait for the lockdowns to fight my corner to WFH as much as I possibly could.

As much as I actually enjoy it, my life is not defined by my job.

Commute is a waste of time, I am much more efficient at home, am less interrupted by random nonsense from the office, chose my work environment instead of putting up with air con and people I wouldn't necessarily chose to spend my weeks with!

I can focus on my "real" life and see friends, and have more free time.

We have proven we can successfully and efficiently WFH, employers are saving a fortune on office costs too, and we'll all shop more locally and might help the high street a bit.

It's the opposite of giving up.

@JaneNorman I think hybrid models will be most likely. DH firm are looking at smaller hubs dotted around the country.
Office sq footage in the city was already reducing pre covid & it will likely shrink further.

I can't completely WFH and need some face to face, but renting a meeting room for a day every couple of weeks would work just as well.

We've always used to do that with meetings in other countries, just rent some kind of office space for 3 or 4 days. It's absolutely fine.

What's insular about working from home? It frees me up. No commute, no having to make small talk. I can spend my lunch break catching up with real life friends or have a date with my husband, I can pick the kids up, be around after school..... what's not to like?

I've been doing a mix of wfh for 3 yrs. I'm still on site some of the week but I like the different environment & get on well with my colleagues.

Small local High Streets will probably benefit from people WFH, as they won't go out in the larger town/city where they used to have the office, and will have more time at home, so could even pop to the local cafe for lunch.

If offices are converted to flats, then residents will use the cafes etc that office workers used to use

I hate working from home, and it’s costing me in terms of energy as I would usually walk to and from work every day, and bring my lunch most days. Plus I really miss my colleagues and general work interaction. But I don’t see now as representative of what working from home would be like in “normal times” - I think you would get into a groove that works for you in terms of meeting up with people, working in coffee shops sometimes, exercise etc.

Currently I sit 9-5 in my chilly kitchen, hunched over a laptop at the table. I think most people who WFH as their normal job have a proper office setup which must be much better. I completely understand people who have a long commute and a good home setup wanting to continue it longer term.

Obviously, being MN there's a fairly small section of the population replying here - I can't work wfh, but I imagine if you're in a good relationship, nice house, have kids, it's fantastic. Maybe not so much if you're single, just starting out in your career having left school or uni, living at parents or in a one bed flat. I know I would have struggled in that situation.

Pros:

1. No commuting expenses
2. Causing NO pollution by not commuting and therefore I’m not contributing to more congestion on the roads.
3. Not wasting 2 hrs/day, 10hrs/week, 40 hrs/month commuting 😫
4. It means Seeing my family more
5. Cheaper healthier food for lunch.
6. I adjust my own room temperature.

Cons:
Not seeing other people that often, but I have a good circle of friends I see regularly ( prior to lockdown)

All together it suits me and I love it.

It’s a weird thing when you thing if it, people travel to sit at desk 20 miles away from the desk they could have used at home.

@FanGurrl the people who still want to work in the office where DH works tend to be single and/or young.

I think this time has made a huge difference to working habits going forward. As it's been proved that huge numbers of jobs can be done perfectly well from home, there is less justification for managers insisting on workers being physically in the office after lockdown ends. While some people enjoy being in the office, a lot of people would much prefer the flexibility to work at home, allowing them more time with their families and less time sitting on a train or bus. Not to mention the money saved not commuting.

DH used to WFH 2 days a week pre-covid he’s not been near his office since March 2020, I think going forward he’ll perhaps go in 1-2 days per week. I’m a teacher so no WFH option really. We have 2 cars currently and are thinking of cutting down to only one going forward.

Expenses make a huge difference. OH and I are saving over £200 per month on petrol and £800 per month on breakfast/ after school club fees for our two primary aged children,

@ineedaholidaynow my point is that will take time & investment, plus many small local high streets don't physically have the space to fit in all the retail space lost from the bigger centres.
Converting offices into flats again takes investment & it's difficult to see the appeal of an inner city flat if you could live further out. more than 800k jobs in hospitality have been lost they cannot all be replaced.
I just think it's important to mindful of the impacts on others.

@iveturnedintoachip I know, but things were changing anyway. The High Street was never going to stay the same. I love trying on clothes in a shop but it appears I am in the minority as more and more people were already doing much of their shopping online.

Some businesses have already diversified and others will have to try other avenues.

But many offices are seeing the benefit of WFH so many employees won't have a choice but to carry on WFH.

Our way of life will probably never go back completely to pre-COVID times.

I’d far far rather continue wfh than having to waste time commuting to a horrible noisy open plan office. I still talk with my colleagues anyway so hardly insular. I’ll be keeping my car though 😀

Work hubs cater for people who prefer an office environment that isn’t in their spare room. They will be popular once the pandemic has receded.

@bluebellscorner

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

What have theatres got to do with wanting to work from home when the lockdown restrictions end?

Nobody's choosing a national lockdown forever, they're choosing one of the few aspects of the last year that has actually suited/improved life for some people.

I swear people on this app don't read.