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.

@Mayaspecialist

Anyone who moved home to a remote location, expecting wfh to be permanent, without having that confirmed by their employer is an idiot.

I can agree with this 100% some of my former colleagues moved home and one spent £10k plus on a detached home office. In that role we were never going to be WFH permanently the boss was a control freak

I would be very upset if I was forced to work from home. My home is my sanctuary and I need a physical space between work and home in order to get that mental break. I think the option should remain for those of us that couldn’t manage our home environment also being our work environment.

Just because you are WFH and it works for you doesn’t mean it works for everyone. It’s probably easier to get people back in than trying to manage the ones who aren’t working well from a distance.

I’m so torn by this.

On the one hand, I personally am so much happier WFH full time. I don’t have the commute. I am in for parcels and tradespeople. I can put a wash on, do the veg for dinner, pop to the shop, etc. I can do a half hour yoga class at lunchtime and it does just take half an hour so it’s much more realistic (and I can be back at my computer within 30 seconds in case of very rare emergencies).

On the other hand, my working hours now start a couple of hours earlier and end at least an hour later (so yes, to the critics, I think I WILL take five mins to put a wash on when my employer is expecting me to be available at 7.30 not 9.30 in the morning). Junior staff, new recruits and job changers are all finding it so much harder. Our organisational culture (which is well known as being quite idiosyncratic - that has upsides and downsides to it btw) won’t last in the long term of people WFH most of the time. I suspect that I am missing out on contacts and discussions and the broader perspective - most people in my organisation feel chronically out of the loop, except for a small group of male senior managers who have been going in the whole time (all of whom have young children, and god only knows what happened to their wives’ careers last year 🙄🙄🙄).

Our management are flapping around not knowing what to do in the longer term. I suspect they’re waiting to see what other organisations do and will then offer the minimum change that they have to. Most staff have made it clear they want to be at home most of the time. I can understand in the long term why the top brass don’t think this is strategically viable. It is all rather difficult.

@RestingPandaFace that's unreal! And delusional.

I can't believe anyone who did that the only person I know who moved, did so to care for their mum after, their dad died. But her move closer to the office.

@OlympicProcrastinator

I would be very upset if I was forced to work from home. My home is my sanctuary and I need a physical space between work and home in order to get that mental break. I think the option should remain for those of us that couldn’t manage our home environment also being our work environment.

I haven’t heard anyone saying that WDH should be compulsory, only that there should be an option for those that want it. Some kind of hybrid solution where people can choose to WFH several days a week would work well in most cases.

What a ridiculous entitled op. Three quarters of the country haven’t had the luxury of working from home but have had to battle on business as usual. 😂Many would love to be at home listening to twittering birds but actually the mental health of others has suffered wfh. Being alone all day isn’t a positive, many don’t have good home working conditions.

I worry about data security and output. NHS wfh who don’t need to be has been a particular pain.

It’s nearly over and frankly I can’t wait for life to return to normal.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/may/17/home-working-doubled-during-uk-covid-pandemic-last-year-mostly-in-london

What a ridiculous entitled op. Three quarters of the country haven’t had the luxury of working from home but have had to battle on business as usual. 😂Many would love to be at home listening to twittering birds but actually the mental health of others has suffered wfh. Being alone all day isn’t a positive, many don’t have good home working conditions.

How does any of that impact people who can and want to work from home?

For many it' is positive. No one said people should be forced to wfh.

I don’t want my data in peoples houses. I don’t want any medical appointments online.

I haven’t heard anyone saying that WDH should be compulsory, only that there should be an option for those that want it. Some kind of hybrid solution where people can choose to WFH several days a week would work well in most cases

I agree in theory but I fear that once companies get used to their overheads being reduced or maybe they just prefer it for whatever reason, the jobs in the office simply won’t exist anymore.

@Jessop5

I don’t want my data in peoples houses. I don’t want any medical appointments online.

Definitely agree about the data. I also don't like giving out personal info including financial to someone whilst I can hear their family noises in the background.

I quite like virtual GP appointments. For some issues. It's nice not having to drag myself to an overheated surgery to sit waiting on an uncomfortable chair when feeling like shit. But it only works for certain problems. There definitely needs to be a return to more face to face once it's safe to do so.

@OlympicProcrastinator

I haven’t heard anyone saying that WDH should be compulsory, only that there should be an option for those that want it. Some kind of hybrid solution where people can choose to WFH several days a week would work well in most cases

I agree in theory but I fear that once companies get used to their overheads being reduced or maybe they just prefer it for whatever reason, the jobs in the office simply won’t exist anymore.

Thats true. But that couldn't be avoided. The was always going to be a natural consequence of sending people home. Some offices wouldn't open up again

Not sure how that could ever have been avoided.

It is of course, not great for those who struggle at home.

We are going back to the office later this year, flexible working. Some days at the office , some days at home. I'm happy with a balance. I'd hate to be going back every day. Sorry OP, is there no possible way you could discuss flexible working?

Also agree about the data implications and so is our company. So much so we have all had to sign disclaimers this year about ensuring we cannot be overheard by anyone in your house (and if this is not possible then you should be back in the office) as well as ensuring that all assistant things like Alexa are disconnected while working

Not entirely sure how they would enforce it but shows how serious they are taking it

I’d love to know how companies and the public sector is getting round data protection.

Are

Makes me laugh having to do data protection training. Utterly pointless if a quarter of the country are working from home with my data.

I haven’t heard anyone saying that WDH should be compulsory, only that there should be an option for those that want it. Some kind of hybrid solution where people can choose to WFH several days a week would work well in most cases.

Quite a lot of people have been unhappily working from home this whole time, and it wasn’t their choice. It’s only the knowledge we’re eventually going back that’s kept me in this job. Others have found that their employers have closed their offices, so yes they’re being forced to either wfh or get a new job.

I’m looking forward to things settling down so those who do want to work in an office can take the jobs vacated by those who don’t want to go back and vice versa.

@Jessop5

Are

Makes me laugh having to do data protection training. Utterly pointless if a quarter of the country are working from home with my data.

Same with H&S assessment thing about having a proper desk set up to avoid injuries - when a lot of the work force is sitting on a bed, sofa or even the floor!

Most companies already had data protection policies because most companies already had some staff who were laptop users and/or had the ability to work from home or other company locations.

But it would surely be restricted and only when necessary with as little data being taken off site as possible.

@Jessop5

But it would surely be restricted and only when necessary with as little data being taken off site as possible.

Nope.

I have worked for one of the big 6 supermarkets and had to travel to different sites all the time, but still have to access to the data I used. Customer data required a further sign on. Systems that had staff data, were part of my daily job. So I would be accessing wherever I was.

I left there 2 years ago.

There has to be a level of trust with employees. And the worst breeches I have seen have been from staff working IN the office, who only work in the office.

So your job needs travel with a laptop, others don’t. Data is not supposed to go off site unless necessary. Giving everybody the choice to work from home isn’t necessary.

@Jessop5

So your job needs travel with a laptop, others don’t. Data is not supposed to go off site unless necessary. Giving everybody the choice to work from home isn’t necessary.

Where did I say it was.

You said you wondered how the got round the data protection. I said that most companies had policies in place anyway, because most companies already have at least some staff that are laptop users and work from home or different sites.

So they didn't need to get round it. They made sure everyone had the policies, did the training etc.

It was already in place. No need to get round anything. And while people were at home it was 'needed'.

And if people get granted flexible working by their company (outside a pandemic), then it's classed as needed.

Not post pandemic if some just want to hear birds tweeting.

@Jessop5

Not post pandemic if some just want to hear birds tweeting.

You can put in a flexible working request for any reason at all.

Your reason for wanting flexible working does not form any part of the employers decision making.

People have been able to do this for years.