To feel sad that the world of work as we knew it has gone forever?

[Youngatheart00]

My work confirmed today we are moving to 100% remote working and will only get together a few times a year for team meetings. I find this so sad. I loved my working life - I know realise so much of that was down to the people. Now all I do all day is stare at screens and give myself a migraine.

They are justifying it by saying ‘most people’ want this despite me never seeing any such survey. It’s a blatant cost cutting exercise.

Anyone else fed up and lonely?

Wrong thread @Ravinoor?

@JeanClaudeVanDammit

I agree with every word. I like interacting with the people in my office - they range in age from 20 to 64. I don't necessarily want to do a full 2 hour one-on-one social thing with them. Little and often is good.

Absolutely! Some of my colleagues are people I’d never spend any time with socially. That doesn’t mean I don’t like them though, and I do miss them. There’s stuff on this thread about introverts and extroverts and I think it’s precisely because I’m an introvert that the little and often stuff suited me. Having to always make a specific effort to plan something and then be with a group for long enough to make it worthwhile sounds exhausting.

I think this is bang on. I’m not sorry we won’t go back full time, as I’m another one with a long commute and I used to spend a lot of time rushing around, but I am really missing a) my team and my good friends b) the small interactions with the other people in my office, most of whom are really sound

Meeting for lunch won’t work as I live a long way from most of them. Luckily it looks like the plan is to go back part time wfh and part time office, just not sure what the formal plan is yet.

YANBU op. I started a new job in October after being made redundant in the summer...the November lockdown started and we all went home and have never really been back in since. The office is now up for sale to make it permanent and all our systems/software are being changed to ones that are designed for remote working.

I really enjoy the job but it has made me question what to do going forwards - I like working from home some of the time but I would prefer a mix. I still go in to pick up post and payments (accounts manager) and they’re meant to be finding me and the office manager a cubby/small office in a serviced building. If this doesn’t end up happening I may look elsewhere.

And you say that like it's my fault @Kimye4eva?! So many businesses and people are suffering a financial hit, me and my husband included. So yes, I am pleased that we are saving money!

a robbery of internet.

What does this mean?! Are you on an internet meter @Blueberries0112 ?!

OP I so understand and identify. And I don't think your statement was hyperbolic at all. Covid has precipitated a rate of transformation rarely seen before. Both work and shopping are changed forever.

Definitely, the best part of work was the human interaction. I miss it too.

Usually, the company pay for the internet when they are at their building, but instead of that , they expect us to provide our own internet to work. What if we can’t afford it?

I get it. I really miss the office. I don't mind the idea of a couple of days a week working from home but to be stuck at home full-time would really depress me.

As someone who has worked from home for over 15 years I don’t see this way of working being forever. My company were very forward thinking with regard to agile working and first introduced it in 1999, ten years later we had 13000 employees working from home either full time or a few days a week. In the last decade they have slowly brought people back into the office as you just can’t stay ahead of the game without the level of collaboration you can have when getting together and working together in person.

When covid hit we were in a great position to shift people home in an instant because we had been doing this for years, but when it’s over there are plans in place to bring people back whilst retaining a certain level of agility for the good of all.

wFH was good to me when my children were younger and I could avoid a commute and wraparound care, I loved it for years, but after lockdown I want to scream. I
Miss social interaction so much.

How is this going to pan out for people who have, for instance, a baby/toddler at home (being looked after by a partner) and no dedicated office space? It was all very well when it was an emergency, no one minded that your kid might be yelling in the background, but I don't think people will be keen on that in general (and I wouldn't want to work under those circumstances either, myself).

I would LOVE to move to all remote working. They haven’t said what’s going to happen to us yet but looks to be a mix of both. To be fair at the moment it’s crap because you aren’t going out for other things but when you can go to the gym, out for lunch, see friends at the weekend, DO THINGS, it will be dreamy. Nothing better than sitting around in your dressing down for 2 hours before lazily getting ready for nine or checking your emails still in your PJs because your first meeting isn’t until later in the day

@Blueberries0112

Usually, the company pay for the internet when they are at their building, but instead of that , they expect us to provide our own internet to work. What if we can’t afford it?

Presumably you already have the internet at home for your personal use so I don’t see that “not having internet” is really an issue.

Lockdown came along just as my struggling relationship got worse. Going into work and being able to work extra hours as a key worker saved my sanity . My ex was shielding and we would have spent all day in the day in the same house. The extra money helped me move out. I have been offered the opportunity to WFH and declined as I want work and home separate. My colleagues will return part time in a few months.

Again, we could do plenty of this stuff over the summer. I went on holiday, continued my cinema membership, spent weekends at National Trusts, a theme park, went to visit long distance family. A large number of people still hated it.

To be fair at the moment it’s crap because you aren’t going out for other things but when you can go to the gym, out for lunch, see friends at the weekend, DO THINGS, it will be dreamy.

I think longer-term most people will have a mix of office and home. It is really hard for younger staff to develop and learn but I think there is a chance for a whole new set of inequality to develop. I think in lots of places the senior bods (generally older/earn enough to not have so many childcare issues) will go in and that will filter down. Those that are in will be seen more, given more opportunities and those who are wfh just won’t have the same visibility. No-one wants to be the one person on zoom if everyone else is in the office.

@Blueberries0112

Usually, the company pay for the internet when they are at their building, but instead of that , they expect us to provide our own internet to work. What if we can’t afford it?

In all honesty, I don’t think that applies to many people.

If you work in the knowledge economy, and therefore can work from home, you’re most likely going to have an internet connection already.

Presumably you already have the internet at home for your personal use so I don’t see that “not having internet” is really an issue.

It is an issue if you live rurally or in a house share with 5 people and they want you on hours long Zoom meetings.

I have five people using the internet. I don’t want to worry about internet causing problems for any of them. And if we can’t afford it which happened to a lot of people and they ended up their smartphone as their only source of internet, we don’t have that freedom to cut off the internet to save money.

Instead of being forced to be stuck for hours with colleagues you did not chose, you will have the time and opportunity to be with friends you chose, or people you are meeting through shared interests or hobbies.

This depends so much on individual circumstances, though. I live 15 mins from work (a very deliberate choice) so I have very little gained time. I have two small children and only have childcare during my working days. I don't see more of my friends when working from home so I just lose that interaction I got from colleagues and I've found it very lonely.

My company was asking about this and I was frank that if they forced us to wfh permanently I'd be looking for another job.

Teams has been fine for maintaining pre-existing close relationships, but far too formal for new relationships or contact with other teams. Work momentum is disappearing, it's all fine when things go well but you hit a problem and it takes days not hours to resolve.

I also don't know how companies can force it on employees who don't have a dedicated room for work, or the right set up - are they going to whack up pay so people can afford to move to a larger house with a home office?

@Windchangeface I think that’s a really good, balanced and objective view - thanks for sharing.

However what it does omit is that human desire to be social. I don’t buy that introverts never want to see another soul. That’s not where they get their energy from but many on this thread have said they’ve felt lonely.

The broadband point is another good one as whilst most people have a connection, not everyone has super fast and especially if there are 2+ of you at home all using video calls and/or streaming it soon breaks down.

Glitchy zooms and teams meetings are exhausting. Sometimes I’d rather just go back to the humble conference call if we can’t all sit in a room together.

@110APiccadilly

How is this going to pan out for people who have, for instance, a baby/toddler at home (being looked after by a partner) and no dedicated office space? It was all very well when it was an emergency, no one minded that your kid might be yelling in the background, but I don't think people will be keen on that in general (and I wouldn't want to work under those circumstances either, myself).

Most people I know who are now permanently working from home don’t have a dedicated office space. It’s difficult. Most work in their bedroom - also difficult as it’s shift work.

Also re childcare, there’s pretty much an assumption that (aside from lockdowns) staff will return to whatever childcare arrangements allowed them to be in the workplace.

If it’s a toddler in nursery, that’s one thing (as presumably that had already been budgeted for anyway) but interested re wraparound care and how many will stop using it.

Within my immediate team there are several who can’t / don’t log on until half 9 and then disappear around 2:45 for the school run. They’re pretty much non visible for the rest of the day. Resentment will build amongst those without kids if that becomes a long term thing.

I'm the total opposite and prefer to WFH. I'm dreading going back and my employers keep banging on that we have to get back to the office asap despite the fact we can work remotely. Ours is a large office of over 80+ and it's a huge employer.

My health has improved by WFH. Hardly any migraines as I can control the light coming through the windows and the temperature and even the smells (ie I had a colleague who wore strong perfume sit near me and another who sprayed her desk every Monday morning with furniture polish like it was going out of fashion despite asking her not to - I can't face going back to it). I moved away from her but could still smell it for hours.

I don't miss the small talk and prefer my own space. I know lots of people need the energy of others, but I am so happy working from home and wish we could be given the choice in the future to keep everyone happy.

Employers bang on about mental health, I wonder if they will update their policies to realise that WFH (where possible) improves mental health in some people.

I've not RTFT but we've had confirmation that we're expected to go back into the office full time once all this is over, and I'm dreading it.
I think it very much depends on your personality but if you're a strong introvert and are constantly surrounded by chatty, social people all day that you can't escape five days a week, then office work can be really stressful. I think businesses are going to need to be more flexible overall.