WFH, suddenly taken away, are we really just going back to the old way?

[80caloriesofbiscuitplease]

Today my (public sector) employer announced we were all expected to be back in the office, full time from a months time, with home working only to be used in emergencies.
I know that response to WFH has been mixed from other professionals and some employees have frankly been less productive from home. I would have been happy with one day per week from home as a compromise.
My argument is that there should be a consultation period where we could put forward our rationale for being able to maintain an aspect of home working. Also are we really going to go back to the old way, packed buses, packed trains, traffic, pollution, all for presentism?
I feel that we've seen another way, with happier employees, healthier employees and an improvement in the environment. I work in a grey concrete wasteland where I regularly sit at my desk all day without a break. At home I can open my doors, hear the birds, stroke my cat. My mental health has improved so much and that makes me a better employee. Today two of us were in the office and four were working from home. They really want to go back to six of us coming to work all day, every day to answer emails and input data which we could do from home?
I know I could look for another role but I like my job and I'm quite good at it. I don't want a role which is completely home based, but I feel saddened by the whole world going back to the way we lived before.
And yes I know some have worked out the house the whole way through. It's not a 'my life is harder' competition.

@TheSunShinesBrighter

I’m also amazed that offices are still closed and people are still working from home tbh.

Why? Government guidelines haven't changed regarding wfh if you can

@mag2305

Those people in health care, education, food production/retail, social care, etc, haven't had the chance to work from home the whole way through this pandemic. So maybe those who have been WFH and have enjoyed it, should just count themselves fortunate for the time they have had.

But those jobs clearly don’t allow for wfh

Why should people be forced into offices for no reason other than that’s how it’s always been if there is no rationale reason for it.

Some employers apply a parent and child approach to their staff and much more traditional management style others are more mature in their approach and can see this as an opportunity to create a balance for their business and their staff whilst using technology to not lose opportunities for creativity and continue collaboration.
I know who I’d rather work for

As other pp's have said, I think we need to be far more considerate to anyone who has struggled with poor mental health because of having to WFH. My neighbour is a single, middle aged, semi retiring teacher who lives on his own and has no family we know of. He told us yesterday that he's got 2 days supply teaching and he's so happy to be out working after nearly 18 months.

The social aspect of work can be massively beneficial to some people's wellbeing.

@Tealightsandd

Your employer will lose employees, and find it hard to recruit from a wide pool of talent

Well not really. There are huge numbers of people perfect for those jobs - who can't apply due to being unable to afford the spacious comfy home environment suitable for WFH.

It's shit for customers and clients, and rubbish too for young just starting out in the world of work. Stuck working from their childhood bedroom or a crappy room in a houseshare.

And, the impact on the economy can't be ignored. Billions will be lost. We can't afford that.

100% this …young people in particular make many friends through work ,it is not mentally good for most people to be working from their bedroom…particularly a 21 year old who is social,friendly and enjoys interacting with human beings face to face !

Those people in health care, education, food production/retail, social care, etc, haven't had the chance to work from home the whole way through this pandemic

Again job specific, I know GPs, detectives, & teachers who have done more remote working then me.

So maybe those who have been WFH and have enjoyed it, should just count themselves fortunate for the time they have had.

Why should they count themselves lucky? By that logic anyone with a job should count themselves lucky or anyone who didn't have long covid or know someone who died etc.

Why should people be forced into offices for no reason other than that’s how it’s always been if there is no rationale reason for it.

They are not. If they don't like the business model their employer feels best works for the company, they are free to find another job. The employer doesn't need to give a rationale or justify it, the wfh was temporary during the pandemic.

I work for a public sector organisation and we've just been told that no-one is allowed to work from abroad any more due to the complications that arise, so I don't think your prediction of swathes of middle management being offshored is likely.

Offshored is completely different from a UK based employee working from abroad during the pandemic.

There will be more off shoring of many roles to cut costs.

I'm on the fence about this, I can't wfh, and others doing so only affects me when it comes to getting a service from companies I use.
I'm not really bothered where people are working from, but my time to deal with things is limited, because I need to be physically present at work. While everyone was wfh that could, it impacted on me in some ways as there just wasn't the service available for me to deal with, phones going unanswered or cut off and emails unanswered etc, and that was professionally too, it impacted on what I could do at work myself, even though I was there.
Some companies really did support their staff to deliver wfh and it showed, my ISP for example sorted out a couple of issues I had really fast and probably better than before.

However some of them were atrocious, and I'm still battling now to get things sorted. I still have commute time and the other things that go with a job outside the home and I just don't have the time to spend hours and hours trying to sort these things out.
While this was to protect the NHS etc, etc, short term it was do-able, but now things are easing up and more getting back to normal, we need service levels to return.

I do however think that employee welfare needs to be an important part of being an employer, and looking at the conditions people work under and how improving those could improve efficiency. But I also think that needs to be across the board and not just focussed on companies where they used to be office based and are wanting that again.

It's going to take compromise on both sides, and I don't like the attitude that people shouldn't have a say, work is where so many spend a majority of their time and it has a big bearing on someone's welfare in general. We're all far too much into "The needs of the business" and too little into the needs of the people that work in them.

@Tealightsandd

Your employer will lose employees, and find it hard to recruit from a wide pool of talent

Well not really. There are huge numbers of people perfect for those jobs - who can't apply due to being unable to afford the spacious comfy home environment suitable for WFH.

It's shit for customers and clients, and rubbish too for young just starting out in the world of work. Stuck working from their childhood bedroom or a crappy room in a houseshare.

And, the impact on the economy can't be ignored. Billions will be lost. We can't afford that.

This, times a million. Wfh is great for those in established jobs with pleasant homes and space for healthy working. That's only a fraction of the UK's workforce.

I hated wfh because I don't have a decent area of my house to do it, and DP is home all day making his own calls. Luckily I've been able to get back in the office for months now. I'll never wfh again if there's any choice at all.

Sorry not rtft but I do think if there's a demonstrable reason why being in the office is better for business that's one thing, but otherwise people should be treated like adults and allowed some flexibility. If they abuse it, or are less productive then back to the office they go. Patently there are some roles which can't be done from home, but there are many that can. My company has completely change working practices from very little wfh pre Covid to almost complete flexibility going forward.

I agree with the OP. I will not be going back into the office full time - no way. But then my employer isn't an arsehole.

For those of us who work for global businesses across timezones, the idea that being in the office is better for business is nonsense. I report to the west coast and all my team are there. If they want me to go to the office, I'll be logging off at 6pm every day to spend an hour travelling home, whereas if they let me WFH I can work till 7pm every day - maximising the time I have with a team who only log on at 4pm. It would make zero sense for them to be awkward about this, because they'll get less out of me.

It's a shame so many of these businesses don't have managers capable of independent thought, who can make case-by-case decisions based on the health, circumstances and productivity of their own team members.

@mullmara

Those people in health care, education, food production/retail, social care, etc, haven't had the chance to work from home the whole way through this pandemic

Again job specific, I know GPs, detectives, & teachers who have done more remote working then me.

So maybe those who have been WFH and have enjoyed it, should just count themselves fortunate for the time they have had.

Why should they count themselves lucky? By that logic anyone with a job should count themselves lucky or anyone who didn't have long covid or know someone who died etc.

Fortunate to have worked from home in terms of being more protected from getting Covid, especially in the early days.

@TheSmallAssassin

Hmm, *@Justanotherlurker*, I work for a public sector organisation and we've just been told that no-one is allowed to work from abroad any more due to the complications that arise, so I don't think your prediction of swathes of middle management being offshored is likely.

I think it's really short sighted of your employer OP :-/ We've been told we will be able to work from home up to 3 days a week if we fancy, but we've been making big strides on the diversity front and have good technology. I wish other employers were more progressive, I think they will lose competitive advantage (even the public sector has to compete for staff)

I work for a global company who already use a mix of offshore and near shore. (I'm UK, full time perm remote worker and have been for years.) However we still use local regional management because of cultural working differences. So no, I don't see swathes of middle management being offshored.

I moved jobs during the pandemic to one I was certain would allow me to work in the office going forward. My previous employer said full time work from home and as I don't have anywhere in my house suitable for that long term without giving up space that I want for other things, I decided to move on.

I cannot apply for WFH roles as I don't have suitable secure office space or super fast broadband. And no ability to get either of those without moving house which would uproot my kids schooling and many other things. It's not that easy just to move house.

I can see wfh has its advantages to many; I choose to go into work as I live so close to my work place and some of us have to attend in person, and my DH has bagged the office chair and study! He loves wfh and his office has just recruited someone from Newcastle (we're in the South East) as his work can be done remotely.

My ds has had an awful first year at uni. While students were on campus, many university staff were working from home; it was very difficult to get through by phone and speak with anybody. Even when lecturers could possibly have met students one to one outside this wasn't offered.

My ds was refused face to face counselling. Supermarket workers, health professionals, teachers etc were working in person, but students were refused help - just too keen to wfh when students needed help.

IMO anyone with a public service job or support role with people need to go back into work. Colleagues are needed in person to assist/help as a team especially when it's a service.

@Dutch1e

All the opportunities that got them to that position have been snatched away from young people which is pretty shocking and sad actually

I fully agree, although conflating pandemic lockdowns with out-of-office working is perhaps a mistake. The young people I've met in co-work spaces came from a far broader variety of backgrounds and had a much broader world view than those in a typical office environment. Their casual habit of jumping on a train to spend a week or two in a different city, working at a hot-desk during the day and exploring in the evening was lovely to see.

Without lockdown restrictions, wfh isn't always literally at home, and surely if anyone can do this well, it's digitally-adept young people

All of that exploring is well and good but if you’re actually in a career nothing replaces sitting next to someone or being able to just ask a question without having to ‘schedule’ an entire meeting. As a relatively young career changer who had moved to a new area WFH left me isolated for almost the entirety of the lockdown. Yes there were social groups in my area etc but I find social events draining and exhausting. Going to work, having a chat with colleagues etc filled my need for human interaction quite nicely in a very natural way. IMO unless really needed in the office companies should offer hybrid working but being fully remote is taking the piss. Not to mention that the costs of working (bigger house for office space etc) is dumped onto employees. All well and good if you’re a nice, middle class middle aged adult with a comfy home. Not so if you’re in a grotty flat, and realising that you either need to scrape together enough to buy a big house or spend the next several decades of your life on the kitchen table with a laptop.

Jeez o can't believe people left their jobs because they didn't want to go back to the office. Doesn't that sound a bit...entitled?!
I think we're lucky to be on jobs right now. So many lost theirs on the past year it seems crazy to me to jack in a job. But I work in oil and gas so maybe I know it's a risky move anyway.
I'm still WFH but when the time comes, I'll be fine if they want us back in the office. I can see the benefits of both tbh.

I wonder how it will work for school leavers/graduates joining the workforce. I think they learn alot from being with more experienced staff so could be an issue for the future.

@joystir59

Our council offices are only open to the public from 10 til 2 and almost all public facing staff are still WFH. That's not an acceptable service level.

You're doing well, our council offices are completely closed and I don't think there are any plans to reopen. It's shocking that people can't access face to face services.

@Roominmyhouse

To those moaning about customer service I think you underestimate how hard it’s been for the last year and how hard lots of people have worked! The company I work for are well under head count in our call centre, but that’s because when they needed to recruit last year they didn’t as they had no idea what would be happening and didn’t want to take people on then make them redundant later. They are now working on that but it takes time to train people and for them to be effective. It’s not just like companies have thought sod the customers we’ll just let our service go to shit. There have been non stop meetings and initiatives to try and improve service. But while the issues with schools and childcare remain its hard as lots of call centre staff have young families.

Yep but that’s still not the responsibility of the customers and they still shouldn’t be paying the price for the strategic decision taken by the company…..

This doesn’t say anything about how hard people are working. People are saying the service is poor quality. And that the excuse given by most is ‘it’s because of covid and wfh’.
So surely the answer is ‘stop working from home so we have better quality service’?

@LST It's about people's attitude. If an employer wants their staff to go back to the office then that's what happens as employees are paid to do what the employer wants.
If you don't like what an employer wants you to do then find another job.

@Horehound

Jeez o can't believe people left their jobs because they didn't want to go back to the office. Doesn't that sound a bit...entitled?! I think we're lucky to be on jobs right now. So many lost theirs on the past year it seems crazy to me to jack in a job. But I work in oil and gas so maybe I know it's a risky move anyway. I'm still WFH but when the time comes, I'll be fine if they want us back in the office. I can see the benefits of both tbh.

The fact that people can even do this adds more emphasis to the extreme privilege of the WFH crew…

I just think 2-4 days a week in the office is a perfect solution, with performance management in place to identify those who really aren’t capable of being productive at home. There is no need for 5 days a week. 2-3 days a week will allow the team and culture to continue and allow new hires to learn while continuing to benefit from mental health benefits of wfh 1-3 days a week. I work in consulting so we have zero clarity on what will happen as it will “depend on the client” - great for childcare not knowing if I’m going to be in London or Aberdeen or at home from week to week…

*people with disabilities non withstanding

In my experience the public sector workers 'WFH' are having a right jolly. The private sector ones are still working hard... but you try speaking to someone from the council. Covid is a constant excuse. If public sector workers can't work normally from home, get them back to the office.