To ask where all those who said that WFH would be good for business are now?

[ChampagnePuppy]

Sorry, sort of a rant.
I work in a small local foodie business in the South West. I know there is a cost of living crisis, but I also feel that WFH culture is killing us.
So many said that they would spend more in their local high streets now they were WFH but that seems to have stopped.
People are online food shopping and then not leaving their houses. Three local businesses announced they were closing this week, two bakeries and one restaurant. I can count five since Christmas which have folded.
I know a lot are feeling the pinch from gas and electric but a lot of people are just WFH, squirrelling their money away, saving and then saying 'oh that's a shame' on the Facebook posts when a business announces they're folding. Why not support them? I'm not talking about those on the breadline but those who are financially comfortable.
If you want a diverse high street, you have to support local businesses or we won't be here in a years time.

Where am I? Working for a business I wouldn't have been able to work for without wfh. I would have had to move because there's no work where I live - not in my career anyway. Instead I can continue living in my village and keep using the village shops.

I’m sorry, it must be hard. I’m guilty of this too. Before lockdown I would easily spend £5- £10 a day on grabbing coffees/ lunch. When I couldn’t it made me realise how much money I was wasting. Now I WFH I eat the food that’s in the house.

@RebulahConundrum it's fair enough if you do. But there were so many customers who came in during lockdown, and then stopped when life 'went back to normal'. I guess it was to be expected, but businesses need support now more than they did then.

Ultimately nobody owes you a living. If your business model isn't profitable then it's time to change that, rather than complaining that your ex-customers don't see you as an option any more.

Bit ridiculous to blame WFH.

WFH saved me thousands in childcare.
I couldn't have done without it.

So sucks for them but many I've heard have been happier for it.

I don't work from home, but rarely go to town. I have done online shopping since it began, have not been in a bakery for over 20 years, and go out to eat every 6 months or so.

Can't blame everything on working from home. Sometimes lifestyles change no matter where you work, and some folks like us have always just gone for convenience.

I’m a bit of a free marketeer when it comes to this. No business deserves to go on forever, and if people like WFH then that’s the new environment to adapt to.

This is to do with there being a cost of living crisis and the country teetering on the brink of recession rather than WFH.

Put it this way, my utility bills have gone from about £100 a month to £350 a month. I’d be cutting back even more if I had to commute into the office 5 days a week (by bringing lunch in).

You're aware of the cost of living increases, right? And presumably these bakeries and restaurants are also seeing the insane price rises?

There's a tipping point of affordability and what is a luxury. For me, WFH is not the reason I'm spending less. The doubling of my gas and electric bill is, the cost of fuelling my car, the increase in my non luxurious food bill.... If people can no longer justify the luxury of fresh bread or eating out, that's the first kind of thing people cut.

It's a vicious cycle for your industry. Not WFH causing it.

Regardless of work from home, when the economy has high rates of inflation & cost of living is so high, footfall at non-essential shops is always going to suffer. Sorry your business isnt doing well but its misplaced anger to direct it at people who work from home.

Yes I WFH most of the time & did I used to go for coffee & cakes locally in the past but due to the current cost of living crisis that sort of thing is the first to go

Look at any of the COL threads about how people are cutting back and eating out, takeaways, coffees out and cafes/bakeries are the first things to be culled. I'm not surevwhy you're surprised.

I think rather than blame WFH which is here to stay, your business needs to be adjusted. People will spend on what they want. Not to keep a business running.

You can’t blame everything in WFH. There’s a cost of living crisis for many. Regardless of where they work.

I suppose all I see is the advantage for those who work from home and the disadvantage for those who work out of the home.
We have to work in businesses which are struggling, pay childcare, pay travel costs and pay all the utility bills that are increasing. Those who get to work from home save on all of those, but also can't be bothered to spend money on their high streets. They don't seem to see the link between the comment 'oh no that lovely cafe has shut down' and their lack of support.

The byssinosis that are affected by wfh are those based around offices that are now only partially occupied.

The rest that are struggling it's cost of living, inflation and recruitment that's doing for them.

I think this is a conflation of two issues.

People are WFH and it’s good for those it suits and for the businesses it suits - obviously not all job roles or all industries.

My local economy benefits from my custom during the week several times a week where previously I was in the next city & out of the house 0730-1830 M-F.

However, where previously I had a good disposable income on my salary my (3rd sector) pay hasn’t even vaguely caught up with our increase in costs so though I may now walk into town & do essential spending there (I like to use the refill shop etc), my luxury spending is pretty low now.

Businesses maintaining a premises have to cope with rising expenses for their estates bills as well as their personnel costs. They are probably increasing prices to try and cover this in a market where people have less money, so it’s biting all around.

Not sure why you are blaming WFH - if I was in the office I’d just have a worse quality of life and less money.

This is nothing to do with WFH and everything to do with the cost of living.

Also, nobody owed anybody a living. Businesses need to adapt with the times or shut up shop. Yes, it’s a shame when a business closes but ultimately it’s that simple.

I'm sure complaining bitterly about your target demographic will fill up your cafe seats in no time.

Shut up shop and get a WFH job if it's so much better.

Maybe spare a thought for burnt out nurses still working on COVID+ wards years after the pandemic peak.

I rarely spent any money in coffee shops / bakeries etc when I was commuting, so me WFH hasn't changed that. I won't be the only one like that either.

I won't repeat what PPs have said about the CoL, but I think you need to project your anger elsewhere.

It really would have been quicker and easier for you to simply say “I don’t like home workers” rather than this convoluted scenario of blaming them for something without presenting any actual evidence.

Alot more to do with the soaring cost of living than working from home tbh.

I am sorry to hear this. But like most people I have less money. It would not matter if I was working in the office, I still would not be spending that money.

I work from home most of the time but am expected to be available constantly on Teams. The pace of business and number of meetings are why I don’t go to the shops, but on the days I’m in the office it’s just noisier but no different. I don’t go to the shops there either. What you actually need are enforced 1 hr lunch breaks - and it isn’t WFH that have made those a thing of the past for many, it’s the pace of business.

It will be the "foodie" side of things that has you struggling. People are cutting back on food and unless you're very niche, this will have a huge impact on how many people will be able to support you rather than getting the same cheaper elsewhere.

The only small businesses in my local high street that seem to be doing well are those selling things you can't find in supermarkets. The rest look very empty.