To think some people are ‘enjoying’ the pandemic

[Flynnqwer]

I’ve noticed an attitude amongst some people where they’re nothing short of praying for a new, more lethal, variant.

I’ve noticed it amongst people I work with and people I do a hobby with. Any discussion about going back to our workplace (we can work from home but not easily or particularly effectively) once the Government ends the restrictions on waiting from home, or back to our hobby in real life instead of on Zoom (the hobby is controlled by a central board who are following the WFH advice until it is lifted) are met with cries of ‘No! We can’t do that! It’s dangerous!’ and it anyone points out that, thankfully, it looks like the vaccination programme is working and Omicron is less severe, they come back with ‘but what if there’s a more lethal strain that appears and kills millions?’

My workplace has one element which has legally got to be done in person. I have had emails today from managers begging us to cancel said work thing and do it online. We cannot do it on line lawfully (it’s along the lines of witnessing signatures). We have told them no, we must go into the building for an hour to fulfil this function. They are saying that that is breaking the working from home directive, that it’s unsafe, and what if a deadly variant is discovered? Then we’d have to find a way around the law.

AIBU that some people are actively hoping that the situation worsens and we are locked back down? Why would anyone want this to happen?

I welcome plan b ending and reverting to more choice - wfh or not, masks or not but no longer mandated or advised

This is because you clearly do not understand anything about viruses and contagion, @MarshaBradyo.

@LoveaStatementNap

There are things the pandemic has brought about that I enjoy: people staying away from me and working from home.

That does not mean I want a virus to continue spreading. So YABU.

This I love wfh ( long may it last) ....i have a shorter commute, I prepare dinner, sort the washing, ironing and general cleaning during the day ( time I would have spent chatting at work) .... the lockdowns didn't really bother me....I still saw my daughter and GC as we minded the girls ....I still saw my Mum as she lived alone and bubbled with us....and my son was living with us....I liked the quieter pace of life for a while....I liked spending lots of time walking and in my garden....I saved lots of money .....my partner had the first 6 weeks off on full payand also x 3 lots of self isolation due to close contacts...he got loads of DIY done with this time....my eldest grandaughter loved being one of only 9 people in her class... her reading improved a lot.... I loved food deliveries ( I still get them now) .....the dog was never left alone.... but that said I don't want the virus to continue but another lockdown would not bother me at all

@mathanxiety

I welcome plan b ending and reverting to more choice - wfh or not, masks or not but no longer mandated or advised

This is because you clearly do not understand anything about viruses and contagion, @MarshaBradyo.

Oh dear. Are you feeling angry about life

I can’t help you. I’ll just not engage and hope you feel better soon.

It will end in here soon and people will get angry ie you, but there you go. Are you in the U.K. btw? I connect you with US but maybe not.

@mathanxiety

Okay, some reasonable points. How long does everyone stay at home for, then?

@Flynnqwer
Until the virus turns into less of a threat to society? Until it loses its capacity to grind all workplaces to a halt?
How efficient is a workplace when half the workers are off sick?
What happens when that workplace is a school or hospital or a prison?

I've read the whole thread and I don't see what you are seeing in the comments.

You feel lonely stuck at home, you like a good natter. Fair enough. Join a walking club? Join a local outdoor yoga group? Join a zoom book club? Start some local club yourself?

Mocking the concerns of others because you have a problem with working form home is an entitled stance.

Don't make people risk their health taking the train to work or staying there unnecessarily so you can manage your feelings.

The virus has come less of a threat to society. That is where we are now, thankfully, at.

Why in God’s name would I join a Zoom book club? I’ve got hobbies. My problem is that (a minority) of people want them to stay on Zoom despite the wishes of the rest of us.

Whose health am I risking by forcing them on a train? People who are and can WFH can continue to do so. The rest of us should be free to go back (when Government advice changes). But the WFH people (or, again, more accurately, a couple of them), want blanket policy to be for everyone to WFH.

Someone I know admitted he wanted the numbers to go up 'just a bit'. This is so he can wfh. I hate wfh and all the other restrictions so I don't share his opinion, but I have to admit that my main thinking is that I want restrictions to stop rather than concern about people dying.

"They want to speculate on what terrible new variant could be discovered

But they are entirely reasonable to talk about something scary that could well happen.

And could well not happen (and given the nature of viruses is to develop weaker, more contagious variants probably won’t.)"

It's important to be aware that there may be worse variants and to hope that politicians plan for that. I don't think there's much we can do as individuals though, except maybe buy HEPA machines for our homes.

"Just wants free time off!"

Well, I can't blame him for that.

Oh dear. Are you feeling angry about life

No she, isn't she's expressed a point of view about the plan B, you liked the one translates as do what the fuck you want to.

@Gwenhwyfar

"Just wants free time off!"

Well, I can't blame him for that.

I think you might be quoting me!

But, my point was that he would get the time off and then may not have a job to come back to as I don't know if the business would survive another lockdown. But he cares more about the free furlough than he does about having a job in the long run. Which is really stupid imo. He is dying for another lockdown and I think he's bonkers

"I remember having an argument with someone on here who said the world is finally geared towards introverts and you don’t like it, how do you think we’ve felt having to do things your way and work in busy offices all these years? And I was like Good God, there’ll be plenty of introverts not enjoying this."

One of my friends is an introvert. He already worked from home by choice, but lockdown made him completely depressed. He needs a large amount of physical exercise to feel OK and for that he needs to be able to leave the local area. He missed being out in the hills so much. He was totally desperate.

@echt

Oh dear. Are you feeling angry about life

No she, isn't she's expressed a point of view about the plan B, you liked the one translates as do what the fuck you want to.

Oh you too. Joy. Are you in the UK or commenting from o/s on a change which doesn’t actually impact on you. Odd.

Yes I welcome the change.

Choice and lack of judgement on others - I know that will be hard for some but so what.

Is it key that you get to call people selfish for longer?

So much anger… not sure why.

Overall wfh has been good for some but not all so I’ll be happy to see more flexibility and I hope people get the set up that works for them best.

"All the research shows wfh is more popular than working in the office"

ALL the research?? Most of the people I know don't want to work from home 5 days a week. Have you got a list of all the research in the world on this?

The virus has come less of a threat to society. That is where we are now, thankfully, at.

OK, I'll use difference words to explain it all. Maybe you can try joining the dots here?

Can schools function when half the students and teachers are off sick?
Is there any point trying to teach half a class multiplication of fractions when the other half is sick at home?

Can hospitals function when half the staff are out sick? Maybe you don't know enough about how hospitals function to answer this one.

@RestingMurderousFace

My Granny enjoyed WW2, it was the most exciting time of her life. It's similar to that I guess, people with mundane lives relishing the excitement and uncertainty of the pandemic.

There's a famous Spanish novel where the female protagonist talks about how much she enjoyed the Civil War.

MarshaBradyo

"Overall wfh has been good for some but not all so I’ll be happy to see more flexibility and I hope people get the set up that works for them best."

I totally agree here. But why is the rest of your post rather vitriolic and seemingly full of repressed anger?

Some people are enjoying it as they get to be lazy.

Choice and lack of judgement on others - I know that will be hard for some but so what.

Still no hint of understanding what the term 'public health' means.

Persistent mistake of putting feelings (sorry you feel judged, as they say) ahead of facts and science.

Sad.

I think a few posters are rather angry omicron hasn’t taken off the way they predicted…

@Lifeisnteasy

I think a few posters are rather angry omicron hasn’t taken off the way they predicted…

Somethings going on

I’m not for or against wfh but yes welcome next stage so it can work better for people

For some reason pp have become angered by this.. and I’m not sure they even live here to see the change

No idea why so angry as I haven’t been against wfh as others have. But hey ho it will change and hopefully the angry will divert it elsewhere.

"It really wasn't likely at all that a virus would spring up in China and be brought all over the world, causing the deaths of millions, but look at what happened."

People who know about these things say it was predictable. The last pandemic was about 100 years ago so we were due one. And there was a previous SARS epidemic also starting in China before, just that that one didn't become a global problem.

@mathanxiety

The virus has come less of a threat to society. That is where we are now, thankfully, at.

OK, I'll use difference words to explain it all. Maybe you can try joining the dots here?

Can schools function when half the students and teachers are off sick?
Is there any point trying to teach half a class multiplication of fractions when the other half is sick at home?

Can hospitals function when half the staff are out sick? Maybe you don't know enough about how hospitals function to answer this one.

Okay, I’ll engage with you one more time. I imagine you don’t get too much real life engagement.

The possible closures of hospitals and schools due to staffing difficulties are indeed worrying, and were clearly a factor in asking us all to begin working from home again in December. The vaccinated not needing to isolate if in close contact, and the reduction to five days’ isolation if positive has also been to tackle that issue.

Numbers of cases appear to have peaked and are now falling, hence the speculation that the Government may lift the WFH instruction in late January. Clinical absences were troublingly high in early January (and still are), but they are decreasing. It seems very, very unlikely that absences caused by a more or less unrestricted Christmas will be topped by those who want to return to their offices in February.

@TheReluctantPhoenix

This love of WFH is selfish.

Ultimately, it suits the middle aged middle classes, but few others. It kills the social life that goes with work, prevents meaningful mentoring of young staff and destroys all the local businesses that depend on office staff.

I think that maybe the future is a more flexible working environment with some WFH, but we must not forget that many have no choice.

I am middle aged and middle class but YANBU.

I agree, but as I've said before most of the people I know pushing for wfh want a combination of both and not wfh 5 days a week. I find commuting to be a bad excuse as well. They knew the distance between home and the office when they took the job, it's only a valid complaint if the office moved.

Many of us don't care about work social life. It is bosses that push that.