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.

Some of our staff have absolutely taken the piss with this working from home lark. It hasn’t gone unnoticed and when the redundancies come later this year some will be in for a shock.

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

Speak for yourself. And no employer has ever said "Since we've recruited a few more people this year, we'll forego a pay rise shall we ?"

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

I think the fleeting minutes of nuanced debate disappeared ages ago.

And I hate all the sneering at ‘saving Pret’ or ‘saving Costa’
Those places provide employment. It doesn’t take a fucking genius to work out how bad it could be for this sector if nobody went to offices anymore.
Not to mention the other sectors that rely on people working in actual offices. You have cleaners, canteen staff and all types of different consumables as well.
Also - those that live in expensive housing outside of London and commute in.... If WFH becomes permanent, why would companies pay overinflated London salaries if they don’t need to?
Then you can start watching property value erode away pretty darn quick.

WFH meant saving a ner 2 hour daily drive and £50 of petrol every week. Plus I didn't have to see the toxic people I was working with - win win.

Lots of people prefer to wfh. It also would allow jobs to be distributed around the country, instead of clustered around the SE. What Rishi meant to say is that people who love the buzz of city living, and the companies that sell lunchtime meals and after work drinks don't like wfh.

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

Speak for yourself. And no employer has ever said "Since we've recruited a few more people this year, we'll forego a pay rise shall we?

Huh? I mean I don't want to sit at a computer, head down, no interaction with anyone, no laughing, no banter, no exchange of opinions about anything. Not sure where the payrise comes into it. I'm talking about not being happy in a job where everyone is solely focused in work. Judging from the amount of stories I hear about mental health issues for many working from home, I think it's pretty safe to say that many have struggled with the lack of proper, face to face interaction.

What Rishi meant to say is that people who love the buzz of city living, and the companies that sell lunchtime meals and after work drinks don't like wfh.

And the people who actually like the people they work with and for and want to see them in person rather than in a Teams meeting.

There is no one size fits all, and I agree that flexible working is definitely the way forward.

@RampantIvy

What Rishi meant to say is that people who love the buzz of city living, and the companies that sell lunchtime meals and after work drinks don't like wfh.

And the people who actually like the people they work with and for and want to see them in person rather than in a Teams meeting.

There is no one size fits all, and I agree that flexible working is definitely the way forward.

Yes not everyone finds screen interaction a hood substitute every day

I know a few people struggling wfh.

My employer has said we will be flexible when things go back to normal (whenever that is!) and we will do 1 day a week in the office and the rest at home. Or else 1 week in the office out of 6.

That sounds perfect for me

Good

What Rishi actually wants to do is get money moving again. He wants people to pump their money back into city/town businesses & transport etc.

So it’s a case of “please go back to town/city centres & spend your money!”

I don’t envy his job in the next few years!

That's interesting, @KOKOagainandagain.

Benefit tribunals have been done by conference call during lockdown, and the outcomes have been pretty much as expected. And because they take less time, the waiting time for a tribunal date has shortened noticeably.

I'm surprised that the SENDIST tribunals haven't adopted a similar practice, tbh.

It is definitely more efficient. No-one has to trek into the city to the tribunal centres, hang about for a while beforehand prepping the client, maybe hang around for ages beforehand, hang around for a while afterwards waiting for the decision, then trek back to the office again.

I prep the client over the phone beforehand, we have the hearing, they make their decision and send the decision letter by post. It takes about 1.5-2 hours, as opposed to 3-4 hours attending in person. The only downside is that the client has to wait 7 days or so for the outcome, but that used to happen even in normal times, if the tribunal was running late and they were trying to make up time.

@Sayamino

What Rishi actually wants to do is get money moving again. He wants people to pump their money back into city/town businesses & transport etc.

So it’s a case of “please go back to town/city centres & spend your money!”

I don’t envy his job in the next few years!

If he had any sense, he'd think of new, more sustainable ways of getting people to spend their money. It's very lazy thinking just to aim to get back to how things used to be, warts n all.

@emsyj37

Not everyone loves working at home. Not everyone has space, not everyone enjoys being isolated, not everyone likes the intrusion of work into their home, some people enjoy the social contact of the workplace. Not everyone has a long commute that they hate. Young people in house shares don't necessarily want to spend all day in their bedroom at a desk looking at a screen. If my job became 100% work at home, I would quit and find a different job.

That. All the people I know who are enjoying working from home have homes that facilitate it, and somewhere to work, out of the way of the rest of the family. My friend in a house share who has to work from his bed, needs to get back to the office NOW.

It's so arrogant to assume that everyone enjoys the same advantages as you, OP. And of course it's those further up the hierarchy who get to enjoy those advantages, while the less well-paid get to work from their bedroom or the kitchen counter.

...and that's without going into the different personalities' needs, and the different amounts of company. Some people living alone are desperate for the company of colleagues.

Transport/Costa etc provide thousands of jobs so the sneering about saving overpriced coffee shops and train companies just makes you look like a cunt, FYI.

While I agree some people want to go back, while others prefer to stay at home. I would be interested to know if his concern stems from concern for people's jobs and companies or whether he and any of his family are commerical landlords

Transport/Costa etc provide thousands of jobs so the sneering about saving overpriced coffee shops and train companies just makes you look like a cunt, FYI.

Agreed. It’s so fucking snobby. There are people whose lives matter outside the overpaid London commuter belt bubble some people exist in.

People feel very differently about this. My close friend is really unhappy that her office is closing and she has to wfh permanently.

But I thought the way Sunak put it was a bit disingenuous.

I like Costa.

On reflection, I particularly like their Almond bakes. And lemon muffins

Lemon muffins, almond baked & seasonal hot chocolates with lashings of whipped cream. I’m with you Rishi, our Costa’s need us!!!!

Everyone's situation is different, but many who aren't really enjoying WFH - or are neutral - might feel different in normal times.

WFH with an active social life, is different to WFH under practical house arrest or with piss all to do but go for the same walks.

Of course there'll be many who hate WFH regardless, as there are many who hated the commute into a busy office every day.

Hate working from home...
It's costing me a fortune in extra heating and when school is open, also double fuel as my DS school bus stop is beside my work as I do double school runs
Also, as a university lecturer, I want to see my students again.... so to the PP who thought it made my life easier etc.... it doesn't... it's rough on them and at least as bad on me.... the only thing that keeps me going is my boys and girls at the best of times

@Livpool

I know a few people struggling wfh.

My employer has said we will be flexible when things go back to normal (whenever that is!) and we will do 1 day a week in the office and the rest at home. Or else 1 week in the office out of 6.

That sounds perfect for me

Trouble is that it's not so "perfect" if your usual commuter train is no longer running at the time you want. That's the reality of what will happen if people only work 1 day per week or 1 week per month or whatever. Instead of your train running every 10 minutes, it may be reduced to every half hour or every hour. Instead of there being a fast/few stop train taking 30 minutes, the only one available may be a stopper that takes an hour. Doesn't sound so good now does it? The major cities have good public transport because of the commuters who effectively cross-subsidise the rest of the day when buses/trains are a lot emptier. We could end up with a reduced "Saturday" service on Monday to Friday that the remaining commuters won't be happy with if it means a longer commuting time.

@User133847 no I still won’t enjoy it. I can only maintain 75% productivity from home. It’s made me feel shit about myself.

Also despite claims of increased productivity from team members I haven’t seen any evidence of it by the way of extra output!