to not be liking being back in the office

[Ceci03]

so we are back 3 days a week starting this week. I'm finding it really tough. For instance yesterday I spoke to nobody all day - everything was done by email, but I still had the expense and tiredness of a commute. Today I'm in again, and have spoken about 3/4 words to colleague. We work in silence most of the time. Same again tomorrow. I think maybe it's becoming obvious that this job just does not need you to be sat at your desk for 8 hours per day.

How is everyone else coping with being back. And yes I know some of you have been back for ages, but for those just starting to go back now. How u finding it.

I like being in once im there but the effort of getting there is the hardest bit.
I'm fed up of people complaining about having to be in once a week - its not much of an ask!

Are you sure that you’re not deliberately sabotaging the ‘in the office’ days, eg by deliberately avoiding talking to colleagues or by claiming that silence is enforced, just because you don’t want to be back in the office?

I have a friend who has adopted that attitude. She was in the office full time pre-covid. Her employers wants staff back in the office for three days per week. She doesn’t want to go in at all and thinks that one day is enough. She deliberately goes in on Fridays, the quietest day of the week, for one of the three days so that she can whine that it was a wasted journey, none of her colleagues were there and she might as well have been at home, etc.

In reality, she doesn’t want to pay for train tickets and prefers an extra hour in bed. Something you refer to in your OP (‘the expense and tiredness of a commute’).

Don’t join the awkward squad. Unless you hate your job and are planning to leave.

Gen Z (or whatever they’re called, people in their early 20s basically) are already resentful that housing is out of their reach.

Now the people who live in and own that housing don’t even want to go into the office to help them learn their trade/ profession/ job.

Times are hard, undoubtedly. But being present and lending a hand to those on their way up would never have been an issue pre-covid. It’s older people taking advantage of the situation for their own benefit, without a care for those coming up.

(I neither work in an office nor have children old enough to be working, just an observation.)

@givethatbabyaname

Gen Z (or whatever they’re called, people in their early 20s basically) are already resentful that housing is out of their reach.

Now the people who live in and own that housing don’t even want to go into the office to help them learn their trade/ profession/ job.

Times are hard, undoubtedly. But being present and lending a hand to those on their way up would never have been an issue pre-covid. It’s older people taking advantage of the situation for their own benefit, without a care for those coming up.

(I neither work in an office nor have children old enough to be working, just an observation.)

🙄

@MrsSpooner

YANBU I’ve requested officially to be made a permanent home based worker. Waiting to hear back. Prepared to resign over it so I’m optimistic I will get it eventually.

@MrsSpooner do you mind me asking pls, should you not get the permanent wfh position, are you confident that you could find another ft wfh position quite easily? (I'm asking as someone who runs a small office.) Good luck with your request btw!

@givethatbabyaname

Gen Z (or whatever they’re called, people in their early 20s basically) are already resentful that housing is out of their reach.

Now the people who live in and own that housing don’t even want to go into the office to help them learn their trade/ profession/ job.

Times are hard, undoubtedly. But being present and lending a hand to those on their way up would never have been an issue pre-covid. It’s older people taking advantage of the situation for their own benefit, without a care for those coming up.

(I neither work in an office nor have children old enough to be working, just an observation.)

Agreed.

I’m loving it, even though it was weird at first. The time saved by just being able to ask someone “hey, was the blah blah blah project completed in 2010 or 2011 / who is the best person to ask about xyz / what do you think about this thing” rather than having to phone or message them all the time is excellent. I’d been in my role for just over a year when lockdown happened, still learning a lot, and I feel like I stalled during the year at home.

I'm happy to be back too

I think there is a process whereby you change from working at home to working in the office. I've had to block out time for my commute and I now deliberately block out time people can't set up Teams meetings. The problem with WFH is everyone assumes you're available all the time and that doesn't work when you're in the office and want to collaborate/talk to people.

I prefer having the boundary between work/home too like @Sandinmyknickers

I manage a large team and almost everyone thought they were more productive at home but 99% of them weren't. I'm now battling with staff members refusing to come back in as they gave up childcare and got a dog

@leotardrock

Oh it's bloody crazy! I hate being back in the office too! We're hybrid working which means everything is done on Teams so half at home half in, those of in who are in are all sat next to each other in noise cancelling headsets! You walk round the office to see who's in, same in every office, people sat in headsets! Absolute waste of time! Honestly if it's an important SLT meeting in person I'm happy to go, if I need to access a different system happy to go, for a training staff issue happy to go but just for the sake of sitting st my desk with my headset on or trying to concentrate on a spreadsheet while people pop in& out I'm not happy about that at all!

Yes this is my thoughts too. Genuinely don't mind going in, but it's absolutely pointless when people just sit on teams calls all day- such a waste of time.

I had the intention of going back to the office twice a week but it's more like once every two weeks now. Don't see the point. Waste of time and money.

I'm finding my two office days a week really difficult but for different reasons.

People in my office love to chat (so do I). I'm really enjoying being in the office but I get very little done. It's kind of like a social...everyone catching up, face to face group meetings that are technically about work but not really necessary.

Even when everyone has their head down cracking on I find the general sounds and bustle ridiculously distracting, I'm like a little magpie that's drawn towards sounds instead of shiny things. I get home some days with barely half of my necessary work done then need to log in from home and work all evening to catch up.

I think I've got so used to working from home in silence, alone, that I need to re-learn how to do it around people. I'm hoping it happens soon!

MN is very keen on the idea that wfh is bad for people in their 20s, just starting out. I hear a much more mixed bag from people in that age bracket irl. I suspect they're no more of a monolith on this issue than any other age group.

Our office space has been changed. We are expected to be in less, but use the time we are in more collaboratively - open plan, lots of spaces where teams can gather etc. Far fewer desks for silent or isolated work.

I like it. Teams are tending to try to settle on a day or so each week where they'll all go in, the atmosphere is bustling, and people are keen to make the most of the time in, it feels social in a good way. And the flexibility is working for everyone - we are going in when we need to.

Managers sonetimes say that staff were less productive WFH….I’d ask why this issue was not addressed and rectified over the last two years. It seems harsh to announce now that actually, Jenny wasn’t meeting her targets when there’s been silence on the matter since March 2020 and Jenny thought she was doing ok.

I’m not having a dig at anyone who’s posted here. It’s just a observation.

Hardybuckette

We have quite a lot of younger staff and I personally find that most are really good at working remotely. They get it. They are comfortable using teams for a chat and are used to expressing themselves informally in writing.

@OfstedOffred

Hardybuckette

We have quite a lot of younger staff and I personally find that most are really good at working remotely. They get it. They are comfortable using teams for a chat and are used to expressing themselves informally in writing.

Doesn't surprise me, same where I am too. I think a lot of it is because this is a generation that's grown up online and was very used to conducting things electronically well before March 2020.

We are supposed to be in 2 days a week and I generally do that but if I can get away with one, I will.

Most people generally go in on a Monday, so I tend to as well - it feels like pre-Covid and there’s a nice buzz around the place. The remaining days are hit and miss and you can often be in with just a couple of people - so a complete waste of time.

Certain departments tend to choose to go in most days but that’s their own choice and it makes their job generally easier.

As somebody said up thread, I genuinely get far less done in the office because of the constant interruptions and catch ups with people.

@OfstedOffred

Hardybuckette

We have quite a lot of younger staff and I personally find that most are really good at working remotely. They get it. They are comfortable using teams for a chat and are used to expressing themselves informally in writing.

Agree with this. I spent most of my teens on MSN messenger and various chat rooms - it’s the norm to communicate virtually for most

I'm torn on this. I have been WFH since the start of the pandemic, give or take the odd visit/meeting here and there. My workplace has made it really difficult to go back to the office - they have got rid of everyone's set desks and they are all desks you now have to book in advance, so you have no idea who you will be near. My commute is 30-40 mins each way and the cost of fuel is now ridiculous so for these reasons I prefer to be at home. However, I am a single parent so other than the teenage kids coming home from school, I don't have that much interaction and miss chatting to people. I also don't have the luxury of a home office so work from my kitchen/dining room.

I am actually going into my office for a bit today to collect something and as much as I am not looking forward to the drive or having to put fuel in my car, I have actually put on nice clothes and feel excited about seeing people and getting out of these 4 walls.

It sounds like a manager issue rather than an office issue.

As one who had to go into my workplace for every shift, haven’t had the “luxury” of wfh (despite its challenges), hasn’t had the benefit on saving travel expenses for the last 2 years, and has has to cover other people’s workloads due to illness, isolation periods, shielding etc, I’m very unsympathetic to all the whining about people going back to workplaces, when if they read their contracts of employment, it’s listed as their workplace. So many people just need to get over it, and get on with it.

I’d also add that while so many people have saved a fortune on travel, my dh’s travel costs have quadrupled over the last 2 years as he was in a car share with 3 others so only needed to use his car 1 week in 4 (120mile round trip, 5 days a week), but the people he shared with have been wfh whilst his manager required him to go into the workplace, so no zI’m not sad to see wfh ending

I'd be wary of employers realising all work can be rushed through by midday and start to doubt whether you need ft hours. I think too many took the mick with the whole wfh thing (childcare etc) and it's a bit of a shock to the system to work an 8 hr day and travel either side of that.

My job is permanently WFH. If they got us to go to an office I’d quit without a second thought. I would not spend hours of my week driving back and forth for no reason, and would not work in an office. It’s an employees market now, no need to miserable selling your labour anywhere.

I can please myself whether I go in or not. I’ve tried it a few times but it seems pointless, my team aren’t co-located anyway so it’s not like Im sitting with colleagues I really know.

@HardyBuckette

MN is very keen on the idea that wfh is bad for people in their 20s, just starting out. I hear a much more mixed bag from people in that age bracket irl. I suspect they're no more of a monolith on this issue than any other age group.

Agreed. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence that a lot of youngsters are happy working remotely. And can we please stop this nonsense that 20 somethings are all balancing their laptops on their knees in their bedrooms. That might have been the case in the first lockdown but there are plenty of other options now eg local co-working spaces, cafes, libraries, or just going into the office (one of our trainees worked in the office more or less full-time as she didn't have good working space at home).

Also people talk about WFH as if it were new. It's not. I've been working from home in some capacity since 2005ish.