To want to know when WFH will end ?

[fizzypop100]

Because this has dragged on for so long

A cafe is also not a creche for your toddler while you spend the morning drinking cappuccinos, while others are trying to do actual work.

How mean spirited. Drinking a cappuccino with a friend and a toddler is an extremely normal usage of a cafe. There is probably a reason why they invented offices. And libraries.

A cafe is also not a creche for your toddler while you spend the morning drinking cappuccinos, while others are trying to do actual work.
This is a joke, right?
Drinking and socialising are Exactly what cafes are designed for, certainly not for working.

Due to the nature of my job I can't wfh, so reading this thread is fascinating. I really can't imagine sitting on my own all day on a computer. But I guess everyone is different.

A cafe is also not a creche for your toddler while you spend the morning drinking cappuccinos, while others are trying to do actual work.

The only people who have any right to have their 'actual work' respected in a coffee shop are the baristas! For everyone else it isn't a work space and no one has to treat it as such.

Who said she was using the cafe as a creche?

I assure you sitting at a table with a brew with my toddler, chatting to them or showing them their book is the complete opposite of what I'd get if I used a creche!

@BeachTree raising children in a community is also actual work, and is definitely more what cafes are for than for your actual work

I love WFH but I know I'm lucky in that I have a dedicated home office with good wifi etc. I get a great balance as I also need to go in a couple of days a week at the moment (although this requirement changes throughout the year)...but I must admit I prefer my WFH days!

I always think it's interesting on these threads that people who are less enthusiastic about WFH tend to be the ones who have quite rigid, traditional views on the working day and are quite wedded to presenteeism etc. Whilst I agree that some jobs don't lend themselves terribly well to WFH, plenty do. There are lots and lots of jobs that could allow people to have flexibility in their working day (getting little jobs done around the house, picking the kids up from school etc) whilst not compromising quality or productivity, and that should be encouraged wherever possible.

A cafe is also not a creche for your toddler while you spend the morning drinking cappuccinos, while others are trying to do actual work

Although I agree this is a ridiculous comment!

I always think it's interesting on these threads that people who are less enthusiastic about WFH tend to be the ones who have quite rigid, traditional views on the working day and are quite wedded to presenteeism etc.

You have absolutely no idea of any of that. You're just applying your own prejudice.

I always think it's interesting on these threads that people who are less enthusiastic about WFH tend to be the ones who have quite rigid, traditional views on the working day and are quite wedded to presenteeism etc.

I think one of the reasons I'm more wary of a massive shift to WFH than many other people is that I've actually worked in very flexible environments in previous jobs. I'm the only one on my current team who has. In my experience total flexibility always ends up the same way eventually: with staff working all hours and competing over how long they can work. I know the 9-5 can feel like a straitjacket if it's all you've ever done but I think there's a lot to be said for strong boundaries about work and non-work time and that there's a lot of baby that could be thrown out with the bathwater here.

I always think it's interesting on these threads that people who are less enthusiastic about WFH tend to be the ones who have quite rigid, traditional views on the working day and are quite wedded to presenteeism etc.

Defo not in my case.

I'm hoping for long-term hybrid. I live alone, and have missed the camaraderie of seeing people. As I work in Higher Education for healthcare students, we've been in 2-3 days per week for quite some time. I enjoy the mixed approach, as it's easier to get dedicated time at home, but easier to have a quick discussion with a colleague about things, in the office.

I'd quite like to get my dining table back, and it not be my home desk -but that's a different issue!

I can’t do my job from home and tbh, going out to work all through the pandemic has kept me sane. I see my home as a haven to relax and sitting on a laptop all day working is not what my home’s for. My husband enjoys it-but we have got separate office space thank goodness-if I had to listen to furious tapping or meetings droning on it would be divorce I think!
My son lives in the city centre and his job is home based-but he has all the buzz of the city on his doorstep so really enjoys home working. For many young people though, I can see them missing out on learning from colleagues and stopping off at a desk to chat over a problem etc. and personally, I have noticed a drop in the service if I have to speak to a company over the phone. Line quality is sometimes poor and it takes an age for calls to be transferred.

@TheKeatingFive

I always think it's interesting on these threads that people who are less enthusiastic about WFH tend to be the ones who have quite rigid, traditional views on the working day and are quite wedded to presenteeism etc.

You have absolutely no idea of any of that. You're just applying your own prejudice.

It's simply my observation from reading two years' worth of these threads. Clearly touched a nerve with you though!

It's simply my observation from reading two years' worth of these threads.

But it can't possibly come from anywhere other than the lens you put on it, as people are not writing essays on their work approaches or practices on here and even if they were, you know absolutely nothing about how their workplace functions. It's just classic confirmation bias.

Clearly touched a nerve with you though!

Chalk it up to that if it makes you feel better, no skin off my nose. 🤷‍♀️

@TheKeatingFive

I always think it's interesting on these threads that people who are less enthusiastic about WFH tend to be the ones who have quite rigid, traditional views on the working day and are quite wedded to presenteeism etc.

You have absolutely no idea of any of that. You're just applying your own prejudice.

I live on my own. Overall, WFH doesn't work for me mentally - I don't see anyone. Now most of my office is hybrid, except me, I STILL don't see anyone. That's my problem with working from home.

Now most of my office is hybrid, except me, I STILL don't see anyone. That's my problem with working from home.

I would argue, though, that a work place is not there to give you social interaction. If you aren't getting enough interaction at work, that's on you to remedy elsewhere.

I used to work with a couple of people who thought colleagues were there to provide social stimulus, and it drove me nuts.

I live on my own. Overall, WFH doesn't work for me mentally - I don't see anyone. Now most of my office is hybrid, except me, I STILL don't see anyone. That's my problem with working from home.

I have full sympathy with this but why is everyone hybrid but you?

Can you change this

I had a full time WFH job and hated it. I switched roles within the company to an operational one.

It should have been bliss as a singleton but it was very easy to become isolated, especially as the job required some weekend work so I wasn't always available when my friends with traditional 9-5 pattern were.

I think if you don't like your job much, don't have any particular interest in your company or organisation other than as a source of a paycheck, and are at a settled stage in life with a partner and children then WFH is perfect for you. That's a lot of the Mumsnet demographic.

That's a lot of the Mumsnet demographic

Absolutely. As well as having a spacious house in the suburbs and a commute they hate.

I would argue, though, that a work place is not there to give you social interaction. If you aren't getting enough interaction at work, that's on you to remedy elsewhere

I used to work with a couple of people who thought colleagues were there to provide social stimulus, and it drove me nuts

We've got this issue rearing our its head at my work. Some colleagues think that wfh should end for everyone because its not fair they don't have people to hang out with in the office.

@MajorCarolDanvers

I would argue, though, that a work place is not there to give you social interaction. If you aren't getting enough interaction at work, that's on you to remedy elsewhere

I used to work with a couple of people who thought colleagues were there to provide social stimulus, and it drove me nuts

We've got this issue rearing our its head at my work. Some colleagues think that wfh should end for everyone because its not fair they don't have people to hang out with in the office.

I think it's a problem for some people who took a job thinking it was going to be social and it has turned out to be stuck at home in your bedroom and we recruited people who wanted to be sociable and build work relationships as it's part of their job - so would listen to those who missed socialising - because enot listen would be to lose our best people.

@TheKeatingFive

That's a lot of the Mumsnet demographic

Absolutely. As well as having a spacious house in the suburbs and a commute they hate.

I'm always amazed at how many MNers ended up saddling themselves with absolutely ludicrous extreme commutes that ruined their lives and then, it would seem, passively sat back and waited for a pandemic to come along and solve the problem for them.

@BeachTree I’m sorry? Can you read properly? What part of my post suggested I was using cafes as a crèche? I’m a customer using a cafe for its intended purpose.

I’m glad that you’ve been pulled up on this by others too. What a ridiculous point you were trying to make.

@TheKeatingFive

That's a lot of the Mumsnet demographic

Absolutely. As well as having a spacious house in the suburbs and a commute they hate.

Agreed! The amount of people saying they don’t want to go back to the office because of the long commutes, but that was their choice to either buy a house a long way from work or take a job a long way from home. Moaning about a 3 hour commute a day is only your own fault for choosing those locations.

I think it's a problem for some people who took a job thinking it was going to be social and it has turned out to be stuck at home in your bedroom and we recruited people who wanted to be sociable and build work relationships as it's part of their job - so would listen to those who missed socialising - because not listen would be to lose our best people

The challenge is you can't please everyone.

Group A - happy wfh
Group B - want to work in office but unhappy at lack of socialising

Forcing Group A to return to the office to keep Group B happy is just going to make Group A unhappy (and hardly a good prospect to meet Group B's needs).

Good people in both groups.

Is it the responsibility of Group A (or the employer) to provide Group B with socialisation opportunities?