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.

This is from last year but still hugely relevant.

The importance of office based economy is why in the US the Bank of America and other major companies are returning to the office. We face the same issues.

www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/30/no-return-workers-offices-could-cost-uk-economy-480bn-pounds-cebr

WFH won't help the environment when train and bus companies can't afford to keep running, due to lost passengers revenue. And then everyone has to drive everywhere instead.

Public transport will not disappear but some services will reduce & prices will go up.

It's also going to be devastating to so many little businesses dependant on the office based economy. All those lost livelihoods.

Lost too will be the hundreds of billions that the office based economy brings to the national economy.

That's too simplistic, yes auxiliary businesses will lose out & disappear largely because the switch was too quick to evolve. However all those billions will not disappear, people will spend locally or put it into the housing market, home improvements, etc.

The key thing about that article was "if home working continues in its current form" which it won't.

You absolutely cannot replicate the office based economy WFH.

The sheer number of livelihoods reliant on the office based economy is huge.

Just a few examples (of many). Office maintenance, office cleaners, postroom operatives, reception staff. And, and it's a biggie, public transport - buses, trains, taxis.

WFH might be good for affluent people with spacious comfortable home environments, who are in a settled stage of life. Everyone else, less so.

"The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said about a quarter of people (25.9%) had worked at home at some point in the week before they responded to officials conducting its annual population survey. It said that this compared with 12.4% of workers in 2019."

And we are talking about most offices going to a hybrid model - which many already did.

@Tealightsandd I agree with you regarding standards of customer service since WFH, the companies I have been dealing with through work have been appalling. Some have outsourced their calls to a third party message service which do their best but when you need a quick answer like they were able to provide pre Covid it is ridiculous having to wait days for a call back that never happens.

WFH might be good for affluent people with spacious comfortable home environments, who are in a settled stage of life. Everyone else, less so.

I'm not denying that but that doesn't mean we ban home working. Companies will do what's best for their workforce & there bottom line.

When DH wfh he had food and tea that we got on the Tesco delivery, he didn't go to our local high street shops for coffee and lunch, don't most people just eat food they buy at the supermarket, surely they don't all rush to the local cafe at lunchtime, it's not like on Eastenders.

I’m jealous of those that can get out during the day to walk the dog, have lunch in a local cafe or go and get their kids from school.

My wfh experience has been 10+ hours a day of calls which was certainly not the case before all this. Previously it would be a quick chat over the desk to get advice or get something resolved, now it needs to be a scheduled call.

We have had loads of messages about putting your out of office on to get out during the day but in reality the amount of calls getting put in the diary just to ensure things keep moving, means that can’t happen or you don’t have enough time between calls to get outside for a decent amount of time

One good thing is we don’t have Zoom or Teams so no need to have cameras on (unless we want to, which after a year nobody does). Will actually be grateful for my commute when I go back to the office next month

*The sheer number of livelihoods reliant on the office based economy is huge.

Just a few examples (of many). Office maintenance, office cleaners, postroom operatives, reception staff. And, and it's a biggie, public transport - buses, trains, taxis.*

So some of us are expected to waste 5-10 hours a week to keep transport workers in a job and polluting our air?

As others have said, the money will still be spent but on different things - more lunches on local high streets, more home cleaners, for example.

@mullmara Once the emergency situation is over customers will vote by taking their business elsewhere. There is no longer an excuse for service to be less than it was pre pandemic.

Also why do so many think office jobs = customer services jobs? Plenty of office jobs never talk to the public.

It was temporary, most have had two jabs and employers don't find it productive enough to wfh. I worked in retail and had no choice so you've had your time and normality must return.

When DH wfh he had food and tea that we got on the Tesco delivery, he didn't go to our local high street shops for coffee and lunch, don't most people just eat food they buy at the supermarket, surely they don't all rush to the local cafe at lunchtime, it's not like on Eastenders.

I think it depends where you live. My area has a number of eateries & many office workers would chose to eat lunch in one of them when they were in the offices around them. So more wfh meant more people, the coffee shop around the corner has expanded & has a constant queue.

@Womencanlift Me too, I seem to be less disciplined WFH eating into my own time and take less breaks. I feel like I have to work twice as hard to make up for others on the team that are walking dogs or pegging out washing.

@peppermintpat

It was temporary, most have had two jabs and employers don't find it productive enough to wfh. I worked in retail and had no choice so you've had your time and normality must return.

But that makes no sense for the many of us who don't work in retail. Presumably you must also work weekends, should I have to as well??

Once the emergency situation is over customers will vote by taking their business elsewhere. There is no longer an excuse for service to be less than it was pre pandemic.

I don't disagree with you but you do realise thousand of office jobs have nothing to do with working in a call centre?

[quote SilverGlitterBaubles]@Womencanlift Me too, I seem to be less disciplined WFH eating into my own time and take less breaks. I feel like I have to work twice as hard to make up for others on the team that are walking dogs or pegging out washing.[/quote]
Same. At the office I could go to the gym during the day as we had one on site, now I am a 20 minute drive away from my nearest one so can’t realistically go during the day and by the end of my daily Skype marathon the last thing I feel like driving to go on the treadmill

The office normality will be a welcome return and I can’t wait

A deli opened up in our village recently, serving lunch and breakfast only. There has never been a deli in the village before. The queues have been out the door. Lots of people now working from home eager to walk down the road and grab lunch. Money transferred, not lost

It’s your job, they want you back if you don’t like it leave. I’m sick of this whinging.

@BoxHedge yes, it seems that is what’s expected. In my case I work on a business park that has no real options for lunch or snacks, let alone dry cleaners and the like. The only businesses that have missed out on me commuting have been the likes of shell and texaco. Funnily enough, they are never mentioned in these examples.

I refuse to shop at the small number of shops open at lunchtime that are within a five to ten minute drive of the office as the food they offer is awful. They think they have a captive market and I refuse to be part of it.

So some of us are expected to waste 5-10 hours a week to keep transport workers in a job and polluting our air?
and this is the crux of the selfishness apparent on this thread.

You're all right jack - so not concerned about anybody else.

If transport services are cut - what about those who cannot afford to drive or the fact that people now have to drive everywhere and will pollute the air somewhere even if not on your commute route.

I totally agree - what a shame employers aren't thinking that they can learn from this period and implement more flexible working where possible. Clearly it will benefit some staff hugely; I know it's not for everyone, though.

One thing I've been wondering is what will happen with pregnant women. A recent, massive study showed that there appears to be a heightened risk of still birth among women who've had Covid while pregnant. Are we just supposed to go back to work and risk catching it? What if the employer puts us at risk in some way; wouldn't they be liable?

You're right OP. What's annoying and upsetting is the cynicism of employers, who expect staff to be flexible and accommodating and keep the business running by working from home when it suits the company, but not returning the favour when the employees themselves need support and flexibility. Everything sucks these days.