To find it annoying when people moan about being in the office?

[justfliptheswitch]

Pre covid I was in an office 5 days a week. Since returning it’s been 2 days.

I think this is a great balance. But I’ve had two colleagues moan about childcare and that they shouldn’t have to come etc and for the last year they’ve got away with doing one day but now have to do the same as everyone else … like how did they cope before when it was 5 days?!

I think it's stupid to waste money on office space, which in most cases could be turned into affordable housing in city centres and breathe life into them, when most roles can be done from home and the money saved could be spent on stuff that would genuinely boost morale, like extra pay during the cost of living crisis, bike schedules, away days AND would still offer the company savings.

Not a dig at you OP, but typically the people I hear moaning about noone wanting to be in the office are the people most people avoid at the office because they are annoying and only really socialise at the office.

well, people who had work that had to carry on (key workers) had a place to go to work, didn't they?

Everyone else was, for a long period, either banned from going to their office, or highly recommended not to. Many workplaces recognised that lots of people in one place all suddenly getting sick with a new, notifiable disease, would be bad for business and set up either complete WFH or hybrid with sectioned off teams etc etc.

Lots of people said at the time that they would much rather be at work in their office.

And lots of people like me said at the time they'd have been happier not losing their job because of covid.

Namby pamby is a bit strong.

Absolutely, but people often remain oblivious if it hasn't personally affected them.

I think most of us get that covid has totally revolutionised some things, but if we haven't had post 2020 direct experience of them we don't always think about that. So for example there was a thread the other day about people wanting hen weekends abroad for £300, without clocking that the era of sub fifty quid continental flights is over because it's a few years since they've been on one. Threads about used cars v leases usually feature people who bought theirs pre covid and haven't realised that they'd be paying double now etc. Childcare is just another example of this, and OP is making the same mistake.

People have ALWAYS moaned about being in the office.

Go no further than pre-pandemic threads on MN, and the flood of depression on Sunday nights, the the threads on politics, the temperature, the noise, the smell, the commute, the interrupting colleagues, the waste of time, the lack of productivity, the presenteeism, the office from hell most people experienced.

People moaned but had no choice.

The pandemic has pushed businesses to put the structures in place, has shown that people can work from home and in many cases work better and more efficiently.

Of course workers are allowed to moan when going back to the office when not needed is a complete waste of time and productivity, and it cost a fortune to get there.

Unless they are CF, for most parents the issue is not childcare during working hours, it is wrap around care during their commute. As soon as the children are late Primary school age, they are also old enough to entertain themselves for 1 hour or so when their parents finish their working days without interruption, but you need an adult in the house for safety.

Our entire department have discovered that we're all far more productive wfh. Only 2 people out of 35 actively choose to go in and push for more of us to go in.

I definitely won't be going in more unless it's compulsory.

Some people prefer WFH, some prefer the office. 2 days out of 5 seems a reasonable compromise, designed to suit both camps. So I agree with you, I don’t know what they’re moaning about.

If they’ve done their job from home before, it’s not surprising they’re pissed at having to go into the office and have a bit of a moan.

Travel time, wrap around care for older kids, travel costs etc are annoying when you can do you’re job from home.

Just accept that not everyone wants to be in the office and might say so. If it suits you, great. My partner and most of my friends haven’t been back in the office since covid. Some have changed jobs and their contract says fully remote working. Times have changed and thankfully a lot of employers are realising that remote working is something many people want now.

you are not wrong.. People who confuse their work life with their social life will never get on with the ones who just want to get on with their work efficiently, and have a life outside.

Many of them would also have had access to childcare or school places, which was not a privilege extended to millions of us who were expected to do our jobs and look after our children simultaneously. This poster's 68 year old mother was unlikely to have been affected by that particular problem.

The person I know who had the hardest time during the pandemic is a friend of mine who's a single mum to two then under 5s, not entitled to a nursery place, ex is abroad, forced to wfh suddenly and expected to do the same hours and produce the same output. The idea that anyone who didn't have to do that might think of her as namby pamby is so thick as to be amusing.

Yes, this is my experience too. It's the needy, clingy people who talk non stop and annoy the fuck out of you who want to be in the office because they are 'lonely' at home.

They need to go get a hobby or volunteer somewhere, not try to force their colleagues to socialise with them

I didn’t mind going into the office three out of three days a week but I had after school club in place. I also never took my work laptop home.

I don’t mind going in once a week but it’s more faff now I am not as used to all the logistics and I don’t get as much work done.

You may think 2 days in the office is a great balance, others disagree.

I would very much prefer WFH full time. No commute, no petrol costs, more time in the day. Why does it bother you so much if others have a different view if your employers hybrid scheme? 🤔

I’d agree that there’s much less wrap around childcare now. Lots didn’t re start after Covid.
Trying to get an aftercare place for a 9 yr old once or twice a week could be very tricky. Yet they are absolutely fine in house while mum wfh. Same with holiday childcare the 9/3 type is much cheaper and easier to find than 8/6.
I’d also say how awful public transport is currently too.
I’m an hour drive to office due to traffic (16 miles) I used to take train but they are totally unreliable (strike, no drivers, faults) and timetable changed meaning the connection doesn’t work.

But do you not recognise that 2 days is a fair compromise? People can’t expect to have everything their own way and the employers here have made an effort to accommodate everyone and are still getting moaned about.

But do you not recognise that 2 days is a fair compromise? People can’t expect to have everything their own way and the employers here have made an effort to accommodate everyone and are still getting moaned about

How do you know people's circumstances and what suits them. If people do their job well from home, why drag them in? My employer does this and productivity has dropped. Really stupid. But hey ho.

There's not enough information in the OP for you to be able to say that the employers have made an effort to accommodate everyone or that they've compromised. You seem to have assumed that because it's not a full time return to the office, but for all you know 2 days could be something that was imposed without any of those things happening. And why is it 'fair'? Your post is all assumption.

Not a dig at you OP, but typically the people I hear moaning about noone wanting to be in the office are the people most people avoid at the office because they are annoying and only really socialise at the office.

Ha. Yes, this.

why should they compromise? How is forcing workers to waste pretty much 2 days of their week benefiting anyone?

If you want to go in the office, accommodating you is allowing you to do so. Why do you are if others are home if you like the office so much?

If there are business NEEDS and people must be in the office, then fine. Otherwise, it's just childish.

I'm expected in the office two days a week. I understand one day because that's when I have my 1:1 with the CEO. The second day is just pointless. The rest of my team are either remote or work at a different site (far away, I go there ~once a month). I feel like I'm there to make up the numbers and resent spending two hours a day commuting to do exactly the same thing I'd be doing at home.

I coped fine with 5 days a week in an office for the 10 years I did it pre covid, but working from home has made me realise how much more of a life I have when I’m not getting up at the crack of dawn for a commute.

I can go to the gym/fitness classes before or straight after I finish work, I now socialise far more on weeknights than I ever did before because I’m not completely knackered, and I can get mundane tasks done in the week such as my washing and food delivery and even things like being able to get to the nail shop up the road before it closes. Being able to do all these things during the week means my weekends are mine now and not bogged down with errands.

So in my opinion, it’s not a case of people hating their job (I love mine) but just realising their life outside of work, which is most important for wellbeing, gets a lot more attention when not sat in the office.

How dare people moan and complain about dodging spending extortionate rates on childcare op! Lol those saying well they should have childcare in place either way WHY?!

Not a problem during covid was it when childcare wasn’t accessible but a phone internet and laptop still meant work could carry on as usual kids home or not… funny that!

I successfully wfh with kids in partial childcare which has had its moments but has saved me a small fortune alls well that ends well from September 3yo will be funded 4yo will be in full time school.

We officially work one day in the office a week - it tends to be less than that in reality. We are in an open plan office with very limited meeting rooms so we end up sitting in a shared space with headphones trying to attend online meetings - bizzare.

Thankfully we work with people with common sense - if your diary isn't going to work with this weeks schedule crack on at home.

WFH I get twice as much if not more work done, I also get proper breaks, walks and a lot less stress. When I go into the office it is very challenging to get anything done as there are those who are in pure social mode - yes I like a catch up / coffee break/lunch but it is the non-stop novelty aspect that means that day is a write off project productively but I appreciate it is good for company morale etc.

100%

I dont see a problem with it. The pandemic exposed that we don't need to be in offices to do good work. It was just a system used at the time, not a necessity. Lots of people are more productive and happier working mostly from home. For others it's the opposite.