SERIOUSLY??? People may quit if forced to work from home, Rishi Sunak warns ?

[R2221]

No Mr Sunak. Working from home saves me 2 FUCKING HOURS of daily commute + rush hour stress + travel costs.

I work from home now. I am more productive, less stressed and happier.

In this economy no one is quitting a job

Going forward it’s going to be a more blended approach to many workplaces, perhaps a mix of home-working & office days. It is true that the working world won’t return to what was; there is a clear move to a more agile approach with flexible opportunities to work remotely. IMHO this is a much more balanced way to live and work.

I never liked having to physically go into the office everyday when I can just as easily log on at home, but neither do I like working from home in entirety. Our organisation is recognising that things will be different going forward & are happy to accommodate some site-based working; meetings etc & some home working. This is a much healthier balance I think.

I don't really enjoy working from home. I wouldn't mind working from home some of the time, but I definitely wouldn't want to all the time.

If I was forced to work from home all the time I would be looking for a new job.

@PandoraP

John Lewis closing in Tonbridge? 😮I thought that would be there target market. Please let John Lewis survive it’s my favourite shop😩

sadly yes...

No one can seriously blames this on WFH! If nothing else, that would have boosted their sales massively.

The lockdown has destroyed the economy let's be honest, WFH has not.
The lockdown is really damaging people's mental health for obvious reasons, escaping the offices when WFH is not only possible but better.. is not.

@Theunamedcat I would seriously consider it. DH has told me to do it on several occasions when I've been crying and unable to cope

Personally I would love to work from home rather than pay the same amount as my rent in before and after school childcare and living in fear of a car breakdown or my ex letting me down I could work happily from home be way more productive too

I have hated working from home. Thankfully I don’t have to do it any longer!

For me, the disadantages of wfh outweigh the advanrages. Yes i save time and money on the commute, but that's it. The only place I can get WiFi is in my living room, so when I'm WFH my husband can't use the front room or WiFi (he's retired). I have to work from a small, fold out table, with not enough room for laptop, mobile, tea, diary, notepad and biro, anc ghese are often swepr off bg gghe dogs tail when she comes in. Im a community mental health nurse, when wfh i have to do phone assessments, which I hate....i much prefer face to face. I miss seeing other people. I get little fresh air when I'm WFH. I'd be happy to WFH once a week but that's it.

I don't get people who think their way is the only way.

Sorry for typos.

Everyone is different. Dh hopes he never has to go back to the office and practically, with a disabled child, this works so much better for us. Others for lots of reasons will feel differently.

For us it's been a bloody godsend. Twins were 3 months last March. DH has them whilst I do school run am before he starts, previously we were all out together. If I needed to go and get DS from school (two bad head bumps, one requiring hospital) I didn't have to get two babies into a pushchair and walk, I just called a cab for me. Hospital appts, terrible weather etc, I just leave the babies at home.
His best friend OTOH hadn't seen anyone really for months outside of his bubble and feels really isolated. My friend is bubbled with her Dad so when she's back at work and WFH she sees no one. If our house was smaller DH wouldn't actually be able to focus etc. Everyone is feeling it differently

Hot desking has been rebranded as "Agile working" by my employer.
My how I laughed.

If I don't have space at work to keep my personal stuff (running shoes, spare warm clothes, coffee mug, some food) then I will consider working for someone else. Suddenly my employer is in competition with lots of more prestigious employers who might offer same T&C, too.

I don’t know after a week in isolation with my family home 247 I’d do anything to go back to the office . 7 days in of 10 day isolation I can’t wait to get back .

This site is skewed towards parents so many people are going to say they want to WFH full time forever (although for context I do have 2 young kids myself). However, that doesn’t match what I hear in the real world.

Personally I’d like to be back in the office 3/4 days a week. It’s one thing if you’re job is writing a lifestyle blog so it doesn’t matter if people are looking over your shoulder but for security reasons I can’t work in a local cafe to get some company even when lockdown ends. I’d still be shut in my home office and l’m one of the lucky ones who had a spare room to convert into an office.

Yes, and the smug, shoulder shrugging "Businesses will just have to adapt. Happens all the time." Well yes, things change, and businesses have to move with the times, but it's pretty rare for whole sectors of the economy to be threatened with closure pretty much overnight. And it's not just about overpriced lattes at Costa.

The entire transport network is being propped up by massive amounts of government subsidy. It’s fucked

Yep. If people don't start getting on again, it won't exist

I agree.

@Spidey66 can I recommend that you buy a plug in TP Link Powerline adaptor. It means that you can use the internet anywhere in your home because it uses an ethernet cable. It’s far better than Wi-Fi. You just plug one into your router, and the other one into any power outlet in the house, then plug the ethernet cable into your laptop. It works off your mains.

the transport system has been shameful for decades, but no one seemed too bothered how unsafe and horrendous it was for clients. (renamed commuters, but basically still paying customers!)

It's great if some people enjoyed working away from home, there are countless industries and roles who will never be compatible with WFH anyway.

Having a handful of a few roles that CAN be done at home and that workers will be finally allowed to do at home is a massive improvement.

Why did it take so long to be socially acceptable to WFH! Workers have proven it's not all about watching daytime tv and lounging in bed.

The few who take liberties will get the boot, like anywhere else.

Good for you but surely you can see that other people might not feel that way? Big companies especially need to survey staff and decide whether to give staff the option of entering the office one day a week or more. My dh loves it and would go in one day a week if need be but a dear friend has found it so mentally tough.

I think Richie is worried about the loss of avocado on toast and cappuccino sales.on tbe run to work.

He needed to say that - he needs everyone to get back to buying their overpriced coffee in Costa on the way to work, their overpriced sandwich in Pret at lunchtime, their overpriced season ticket for the train etc etc

I’d love to WFH permanently. At the moment I’m in a job where it isn’t possible but I’d certainly look with interest in the future if it became the norm. All the office jobs I’ve had have been mostly crappy entry level roles where I haven’t been client facing but doing basic stuff like data entry and the managers always insisted on staff being there 9-5, no flexibility at all, even by an hour.

One role I had meant I had to travel over 2 hours from home to another site, deliver a project and then input the collated data. I asked whether I could WFH the following day as it was just data entry and feedback and was met with resistance until I put my foot down. Why though? What was the possible benefit to the company of me inputting the data at my desk, having travelled over an hour to get there, rather than doing it at my dining table?

I had a commute of 90 mins each way for one job because that was the closest I could afford to live to my work. I’d have loved to be able to afford London but it wasn’t possible. It meant I didn’t really have a life outside work as I lived in a small, coastal town where everything closed at 5, the same time I finished work. I couldn’t even get my hair cut, they shut at 5:30, unless I went to somewhere near work and got home even later. I wanted to do yoga classes but they were in the day (lots of retired people lived there).

I commute now, about a half hour drive and I do like my job. If I was to move back to an office role, I’d definitely want majority WFH. Bit like a pp though, I’d probably need to retrain as my current skill set doesn’t lend itself to that type of role.

Wfh is fucking shit. I can’t wait to get out. Glad it works for you tho 🤷🏻‍♀️

I had a nice mix before Covid - 3 days wfh, 2 commute to London. I miss my colleagues and want to go back to that.

Dh feels the same as you, feels more productive wfh and in no hurry to return.

Colleague has no family, lives on her own. Lockdown has been really damaging for her, she's used to walking a lot during her daily commute and feels that her mental and physical health has suffered wfh every day. She cannot wait to return.

Everyone is different. But ultimately, on the whole, humans are a sociable species and thrive on interaction to a greater or lesser extent. There has to be more to a job than just the work. The people are a huge part of it for me and most others.

I was so glad to hear Sunak say this. I hate WFH and my mental health is a lot worse for it. Worst year of my life

Why is it that people cannot seem to grasp that we all look at this differently???

YOU might be happier. I most certainly would fucking quit if they closed our offices. No chance do I want to keep WFH full time. It’s already driving me insane and badly affecting my MH.