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.

Council tax can only go up so much.
Losing many billions from the office based industry means drastically cutting public services.

And like I said, lots of people aren't 'desperate to cram themselves back into soulless office buildings' (plenty aren't souless btw) but access to a home environment suitable for WFH is a privilege many don't have.

A while back it was estimated the national economy would lose £460 billion from WFH.

How do we fund public services?
Nurseries, schools, libraries, sports centres, support for the vulnerable - the disabled, mental health care, domestic abuse help, public transport, park maintenance. All rely on the national economy. We cannot afford to lose billions.

We also shouldn't confine office work to the privileged minority. Getting a job should be based on skills, experience, qualifications. Not whether you have a suitable home.

@CrappyBirthday2Me

The genie is well and truly out of the bottle and it won't be going back.

Well it is in other countries. Including America.

@DogFacedWoman

I've been WFH since last March and I can't wait to get back to the office. I hate my work life intruding into my home. I want the 2 to be be completely separate from each other again asap.

I have to agree as best as I can I cant wait for DP to return to the office! Yes we have a room he is using as an office so hes all set, well he isnt cos the set up is causing him back pain cos its ad hoc and was ment to be temporary so all his employer has provided in terms of a safe working environment is a computer. My house is no longer my own. I cant do noisy housework during the day and I dont want to do it in the evening and lose time together, I can use my craft room as it was the only spare room we had so it now the office so haven't been able to have any downtime or been able to work on starting the business I've always wanted to start. My life is ruined by it and his employer is currently leaning towards making it permanent. Yay! Rant over.

I work in addictions and WFH has been terrible for people in that regard. There is less accountability so people are drinking more and we’ve never had so many admissions for out of control cocaine use.

My husband and I have both been working from home full time since last March. We moved house during the pandemic because we had a real issue with space and it was massively exacerbated by the two of us having to work from home (with two very small children under our feet).

We are lucky that we now have a home office. One of us works in there and the other at the kitchen table (we take turns in the office). Employers are both planning to adopt a hybrid model

I’m just not sure. I like that I can do the school run. I like that there is no pressure if one of the kids is sick or isolating - no childcare issues. I like that we are here and present and spending more time together has been surprisingly good for our marriage (I genuinely thought we would kill each other).

On the flip side - god, isn’t it so weird and lonely and isolating, working from home? I miss my colleagues. I miss bouncing ideas off people who sit near me, or asking for their views on things without interrupting them with a phone call.

I think a hybrid model would suit me. But actually both our employers seem to be in no rush to get back to the office. It astonishes me - my employer was so against WFH before and I genuinely believed when they sent us home we would be out for a matter of weeks.

I totally agree with you, op.

As has been mentioned for months on MN, what you consider working better from home is not in comparison as to your line managers looking at the numbers.

^

Hmm. Some numbers would show staff to be far more productive when WFH. And that's without considering the improvement in mental health, well-being and reduced costs for companies in office space, furniture, WiFi, heating, etc etc.

Flogging the horse to get it to the end of the field doesn't necessarily plough more furrows.

@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.

Some of us would love to WFH but impossible in my job, Yabu

I’d use this as an opportunity to put some pressure on - campaign!

Do a poll of staff if you can, contact HR, present a winning case, just keep up that pressure.

Also, at present covid hasn’t gone away so there is still the argument that no one should be forced back. If you can do your job just as well from home - as has been proved - then it is a better weapon for you to use.

Some firms are also being pressured by their own managers, or by real estate contracts (perhaps tied into rents etc) or just simply don’t have the mental imagination.

Your workplace has given you a contract, you go to work at whatever place you worked at before. Emergency services, shopworkers etc don't have a choice. For those who think they will just walk into another job, you are in for a shock unless what you do is very specialised. People are being made redundant everywhere and those who are looking for work are finding companies are employing younger people so they can pay them less. Im going to be unpopular, but you should be grateful for the job you have. My family would be glad to be moaning about returning to the office. There is no work in sight for them, so Im sorry Ive not much sympathy for people complaining about having to return to their place of work, which they are paid and contracted to do. Would you rather have no job?

Have been WFH since last March
Departmental sickness has decreased greatly
However, communications have declined
Some people seem to work less effectively
Some people are saving a considerable amount by not having a long commute

Expecting a request to return to the office soon

Employers must still be paying for their buildings, cleaners, maintenance, insurance etc

@Justanotherlurker.

Yeah, we don’t have offices up north. We all slave away in the mines

I would have been happy with one day per week from home as a compromise.

They don’t need to compromise. You took a full time job in an office; WFH was temporary due to the pandemic.

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

You don’t get a side of the argument. You don’t need to have been consulted. It’s their business and they get to decide how they want it to run.

Most WFH employees think they’re so much more productive but in the majority of cases it’s simply not true.

If you want a job where you WFH, find one of those. This one is full time office work so you show up and do the the job or you find another.

If you don't like it, find another job. There are plenty of people willing to take your place. WFH was only ever going to be temporary and some of us never got that privilege.

Your employer doesn't have to work round what you 'feel' is best for you.

Agree OP. It does seem archaic. There will be a choice of firms that are more progressive and the presenteeism firms will end up losing out. I'd assume most firms would go for a hybrid model where possible. Some firms have been back quite a while even when it makes no difference where people work (e.g. their "team" are all in various other offices etc). It sends a poor message to workers. I feel extra sorry for contractors in these scenarios, especially those that have been forced back during wfh if you can guidance period, before vaccinations etc - when they get ill, there's no sick pay etc. However, now wfh if you can guidance is going, firms are totally within their rights to have you back in office. People will vote with their feet at some point.

I understand where you're coming from OP but as others have said, there is no need for your management to consult staff on returning to the office.

I work in Local Government and we are having the opposite issue. The Council is saving a lot of money by us all wfh and we've been told that we will probably be able to go into the office one day per fortnight in the future. I really miss the "soft intelligence" you get from being in the same room as your colleagues. I would prefer a model of 2 days a week in the office, 3 at home.

One problem is that many people aren't as productive or efficient when working from home so it isn't always sustainable.

Whether that's due to distractions, laziness or a combination of things, who knows, but if firms are losing money having their staff wfh, then I understand and support the move back into offices.

That's without all the businesses that rely on commuters, etc. Eg, coffee shops, food trucks, etc.

Be careful what you wish for

My old job was off shored to a non EU country to a much cheaper work force, pre covid

I have mixed feelings about this.

I think many people have worked better from home. Just like some skive in the office, they will skive at home.

I think employers were starting to give people a better work life balance and seeing the benefit. Employees who are able to have that balance are usually more productive.

We have found wfh has really benefitted some Employees and not others. And it's a shame, to remove it from the ones it's benefitted if they are performing. Not everyone performs well in a busy office culture, that doesn't mean they are bad at their job.

We are reducing head office size and hybrid working. So we can accommodate both.

Its not going to work for everyone or every job. I do wish employers would actually look at wether a return to the office actually is a good business decision, I suspect most aren't.

Just like before the first lockdown. We were told wfh if you can. So many people still went to the office, because their employers claimed they could wfh. Then lockdown came and they absolutely could work from him. It was just because the employer didn't want to.

On top of that, I find it odd that the economy is so reliant people HAVING to travel into cities, when before this cities were implementing clear air zones and making it harder for people to go in. We rely on people spending 2 hours plus a day travelling, in a time we want people to travel less.

I also think everyone is going to be really shocked when customer service roles either don't go back or do go back and customer service levels do not improve and they realise wfh was not the main reason service was bad.

I am also dreading being sent back which is going to happen soon. Wfh is so peaceful, I get loads more done. In the office I spend so much time sitting it makes me feel ill. Also, the room I work in is pokey and small and has a really bad smell - it's like a cell. I really don't want to go back to it.

I need two screens. I hated wfh, my house isnt lovely, no doors to throw open, no room for a pet. I would like buses to not be as packed as they once were tho

Whilst I understand the trepidation- the current WFH was a necessity, not a choice for companies. It's not therefore fair to assume that it's a business model they have to continue because it suits you and your lifestyle better. Whilst it would be nice if companies did consult with their employees, they are not obligated to as the government, not the company, forces the current situation.

I agree with you OP and think flexibility where possible is key.

I work in the public sector but not in the UK and our employer is currently undertaking a consultation on this. In our department, some teams do work that is suitable for WFH and others unfortunately don’t. So I don’t think it’s as simple as finding a ‘one size fits all’ solution.

I personally found productivity for me jumped significantly WFH - mainly due to decreased interruptions. We have a small house, I have a little table in the corner of the living room as my desk, so not optimal. On the other hand, our employer put emphasis on well-being while WFH and encouraged us to take 15 mins for a little walk during the day (we had to put it into our calendar so others could see when we were offline in case someone wanted to get hold of us). This helped a lot to counteract not having a proper desk. So it’s basically about compromise all round, where possible, I think

Are you a Union member? This is one of the many post-lockdown issues that most unions are currently working very hard on for their members.

@Tealightsandd

A while back it was estimated the national economy would lose £460 billion from WFH.

How do we fund public services?
Nurseries, schools, libraries, sports centres, support for the vulnerable - the disabled, mental health care, domestic abuse help, public transport, park maintenance. All rely on the national economy. We cannot afford to lose billions.

We also shouldn't confine office work to the privileged minority. Getting a job should be based on skills, experience, qualifications. Not whether you have a suitable home.

What, money spent on pret and Starbucks? And rents which make their way to corporate landlords and banks? Also any calculations done during lockdown, I take with a massive pinch of salt because those losses were during a pandemic when things were shut down.

I very much doubt it benefits the general population.

People WFH will spend more money in their local economy. That’s a much much better way - our high streets need more footfall and vibrancy. Since things have opened up, people have more time to buy local because they’re not chained to an office.