About the level of fear over returning to the office?

[Hilyie]

We all currently WFH, our employer has said that this is the way forward, and we won't go back to working even weekly in the office - indeed we can't as our building has been partly sold off so there's only room for a limited number at any one time . The suggestion by our organisation is that within our teams and workgroups we try to attend the office 'a few times a year'. Apparently the ideal is once a month but there's no hard and fast rules.

As a department, we're currently trying to make arrangements to get people in the office a couple of times before the end of the year. But the level of anxiety is unbelievable.

Most people are vaccinated (personally I'm not, but the majority are), under 50, and with no underlying health conditions, not carers for those who are high risk etc. Very few have had Covid (that they know of)

Yet so far we've had some refusing outright to come in at all because they don't feel safe, others saying they would come to the office but refuse to use public transport as it's too dangerous, some saying they would come in if everyone had done a LFT beforehand (this is not required by our employer, though they are doing other checks) some saying they'll come in but want to sit 2m apart from anyone and if we get together for a meeting insist on everyone wearing masks or that we'll have to sit outside. Someone else wants to go home at lunch because 'its not safe to eat in the office' and so on. There are probably even more examples of what people won't do.

These people all worked side by side 18 months ago, ate lunch at their desks, chatted by the water cooler etc, all very normal. Yet now it feels like they're scared to leave the house.

Are we just unlucky or are other people this concerned? It feels like any semblance of our work environment will never return!

Funny how the teachers are ignored completely. No acknowledgement at all.

Ignored by who?

I did have sympathies in the early days of people returning to work, but it's all getting on my wick a bit now.
FFS plenty of people went out to work throughout, before the vaccines, without pooping themselves.
There's 3 options imo with these people. They're needing help for anxiety and are genuinely struggling which I have great sympathy for. Or they're lazy. Or they think their wellbeing is more important than anyone else's.
Obviously if someone is particularly vulnerable that's a different thing.

Has your company done a Risk Assessment? Where I work there is an over arching one which lays out mask usage, social distancing, meeting room usage, air flow etc. Then people who are vulnerable has personal ones. Might this reassure people?

Are you not vaccinated or did you mean your not under 50? If unvaccinated then people like you are not helping the situation

I think you have to put yourself in their shoes.

I have to use public transport, like 99% of my colleagues.

Any mitigation's made in the office are cancelled out on the tube.

I'm bound but not all all comfortable with it, when I know the only reason I'm in 3 days a week is for presenteeism sakes.

Teachers seem to be ignored by everybody who is not a teacher. I think thats the answer. The fact that those in schools are living a completely pre pandemic life with out any restrictions whilst the rest of the country insists on wfh or complex rules and regulations has to be ignored because there is no sensible explanation. And how can people explain the unexplainable.

When all their jobs are threatened to be outsourced cheaper abroad they will soon find it necessary to go to the office.
Frankly as someone who has carried on working in a hospital throughout I find it downright offensive that people can get away with this shit. Yeah it’s not safe for them but sure they were happy to get their Amazon deliveries and supermarket shopping. Let us plebs carry on taking all the risks while they hide away at home in their nice middle class jobs.

@Whitecushion

Teachers seem to be ignored by everybody who is not a teacher. I think thats the answer. The fact that those in schools are living a completely pre pandemic life with out any restrictions whilst the rest of the country insists on wfh or complex rules and regulations has to be ignored because there is no sensible explanation. And how can people explain the unexplainable.

This

I think it’s ridiculous. I’m a teacher and I haven’t had a day wfh (I know some have) since I qualified last summer. Currently I have positive cases in my class and honestly… I haven’t actually given it a second thought. We have in person staff meetings, no masks in corridors, mixing of bubbles etc. It’s actually mental to me that people are kicking up a fuss about returning to work. It’s like a different world.

I think WFH for so long has made people realise just how horribly uncomfortable and claustrophobic open plan offices are.

I'm not too bothered about Covid but it's all the other illnesses and viruses you pick up as well, whether in the office or from commuting.

I wasn't keen on WFH before the pandemic but having been doing it for 18 months or so now it's become normal and I can understand people not wanting to readjust. I know colleagues who've saved loads of money on petrol, after school clubs etc. and got a couple of hours a day back they spent sitting in traffic. My employer is trying to be very flexible, genuinely doesn't want to put people at risk and is very gently encouraging people to be in the office at least occasionally. My (small ) team is going to do a day every other week and see how we go, I've picked a day that suits everyone and we'll be seen to be in. Other colleagues are much less keen and essentially refusing to go in at all, which ultimately is a breach of their contract.

@User135644

I think WFH for so long has made people realise just how horribly uncomfortable and claustrophobic open plan offices are.

I'm not too bothered about Covid but it's all the other illnesses and viruses you pick up as well, whether in the office or from commuting.

This.

Before covid I was constantly sick and expected to come in sick.

In the month before covid really kicked off, our office was rife with people clearly in hindsight with covid, infecting hundreds of people a day!

@Whitecushion

Teachers seem to be ignored by everybody who is not a teacher. I think thats the answer. The fact that those in schools are living a completely pre pandemic life with out any restrictions whilst the rest of the country insists on wfh or complex rules and regulations has to be ignored because there is no sensible explanation. And how can people explain the unexplainable.

Er, I work in a factory and it's been business as usual throughout. We have no safety measurements.

I'm still WFH as are about 3 or 4 of my colleagues. Another 8 of my colleagues are in the office full time - their choice.

One of my WFH colleagues really is worried. She hardly goes out, not even to the supermarket.

The rest just don't want to. The commute is a huge waste of time. Instead of logging in at 8.15 I'm getting in the car. Similarly I'd be logging off on the dot of five rather than at 5.30. I'm clearing many more cases per day than I was in the office because people don't keep coming up and yapping. We have done trial days at the office and I know our manager would like us there but he just can't argue with figures. So for the moment he is leaving us alone.

We’re back in two days a week… all except someone who is too anxious. Except they still manage to be out and about at cinemas, public places, holidays etc. Its a joke.

@Waxonwaxoff0 exactly.

Please can we not start the “poor teachers are the ONLY ones who are exposed to risk” thing again!

My husband works outside the home and has done throughout.

It's certainly not just teachers.

But he understands my anxieties as he drives to work and works in a small team of 4.

I have 300 people on my badly air conditioned floor.

300 people all using different packed tube lines.

@lanthanum

It's very difficult to work out what's best for everyone. Most of DH's (small) office are very happy to continue working from home (probably regardless of covid). However the one person who needs to be in the office lives alone, and he's going out of his mind because he's on his own all the time. I think they may organise a rota for being in the office largely to give him some company!

Most on average would much rather work from home.

In our large office we've been open throughout but until recently were running at 25% capacity. That more than accommodated everyone who wanted to be in the office and also included those who needed to be in the office, either because they weren't working effectively from home or they needed to be in the office to do their job.

We now have to be back in this month because the capacity has gone up. So be it, if that's what management want,, i'm not going to complain, but none of us actually want to have to go back.

I Hever said teachers are the only ones exposed to risk, did I?

But the teachers on this thread had all been ignored by all other posters.

Yes absolutely. It’s not all about teachers. Plenty of people have been back in for months now or never actually stopped going in. They’ve been back pre vaccine, with minimal safety measures. It’s a bit much to hear people banging on now about not feeling safe.

Never ffs

@Invasionofthegutsnatchers

I Hever said teachers are the only ones exposed to risk, did I?

But the teachers on this thread had all been ignored by all other posters.

I did not ignore teachers and I specifically mentioned them in my first post on this thread.

@Invasionofthegutsnatchers I didn’t read the thread like that. Not every post gets responded to - I didn’t personally interpret that was being deliberate 🤷‍♀️