To be filled with panic about WFH culture becoming a thing of the past?

[themusingsofaninsomniac]

prefacing with please read the context before blanket responses 😊

I am stressing away as I tend to do lately on the same topic. I have WFH since the pandemic, with the odd day or so in the office I am lucky to have full flexibility with.

I have Autism. I also have ADHD. The combo together is quite the clusterfuck to navigate as a newly diagnosed female. Essentially the pandemic shone a light on so much and I'm so grateful that it enabled me to seek diagnosis, as much as it's an ongoing struggle.

From working remotely since the beginning I've never felt more stable and successful in my career. I was able to secure a promotion into a field I'd never have had the confidence to try in a non-remote setting in the first place, and I've been fortunate to earn a fair bit more as a result.

I feel completely at ease in my own environment and with the ability to tailor things to what works well for me. Having that commute time back has helped my wellbeing, as has having my lunch breaks in my own home. I am in a routine that I feel helps my mental health and the challenges neurodiversity brings me massively.

My current employer is great but they are the type of company that won't be around forever unfortunately. And from a lot of media and on here etc, it's becoming obvious that things are shifting to either back in the office or a hybrid with a good half your days expected in the office.

This absolutely fills me with dread. I feel like it would turn my world upside down. I'm sure people who don't relate to this will think I'm being dramatic but change and environments outside of your own control are so so hard especially once you've had several years of the opposite.

I guess I'm just wondering where this leaves me. I still have a few friends who WFH but not in my industry. I'm not sure if there would be more flexibility for me, but I also worry about how that will reflect towards my colleagues and I don't want to get anyone's back up. I guess I'm catastrophising that if I need to find another job I'll never be able to maintain what is working so well for me.

Not sure what I'm seeking here to be honest - reassurance maybe or just help to navigate this and whether it's best to be upfront with new employers from the start, or whether that might reduce my chances of being hired. I've been told I don't present as autistic, or typical ADHD but I guess the mix of both means it's a lot more blended. Either way I have generally got good feedback from interviews so it would likely not be known unless I was transparent.

I'd especially like to hear from someone in a similar boat too, if there is anyone? Probably not at twenty to one on a weekday though I imagine 😅

Thanks to anyone who has read this to the end as I know that got wordy!

IME social skills are a bit like a muscle. If you stop using them, they get weaker and waste away.

This is all very true. Some people take them Micky. Also those who moved further away during the pandemic who then declare themselves unable to come in…

I do recognise the need for people to be around to support new starters though.

However I think wfh at least a majority of the time in jobs that it works for - desk based jobs and the like - is a positive thing and a playing field leveller (mostly).

I agree.

They are skills. That's why some people are naturally better at them than others, but they can be learned...and lost if you don't practise.

We are now expected to be in 2 days a week after WFH for the past 3 years. I didn't enjoy WFH at first but now feel more productive.
My days in the office are strictly out by 5pm but at home will often stay on till later.
My team is based across the UK and none of my direct team are based where I am, but other teams that I don't frequently interact with are.
Bit pointless for me, and it is just presenteeism. It's hard to be on a teams meeting in the office when everyone next to me are on separate teams meeting.
I can see the benefits for new starters and the young initially coming in to the office, but the future of work just isn't going to be regular office attendance.

My commute is already free as work is down the road so I can walk.

I also appreciate the social aspect of my work and being able to interact with people in the flesh. I'd go clinically insane if everything was through a screen.

You haven’t worked in a call centre have you?

Any half decent call centre has systems that produce all that information. That’s exactly what their job is. To monitor.

and slacking on the office is definitely a big issue. Again, teams managers in call centres manage them. It’s not actually that much different if they are home.

You may even have people on your teams that don’t work your exact hours. They aren’t there all the hours you are working. But still manage

Calls are marked whether you wfh or the office. Call stats are produced whether you are at home or in the office. And many call centres had people home working before the pandemic.

If a company or manager hasn’t been able to adapt to managing people working from home 4 years after the pandemic started, that’s company and management problem.

My son and his girlfriend(mid 20s ) are the reverse- they won't consider jobs that aren't at least 3 or 4 days at the office.

I think there will continue to be a balance OP, so I wouldn't be catastrophing

@user1477391263 I exercise my social muscles along with the rest of my body during my lunchbreak exercise classes, which i can only do because I WFH. I've made some lovely new friends. And I see other friends on the weekend.

My job is HR. I haven't set foot in a physical office since 2019 and yet, I assure you, I use my social skills daily.

There seems to be a weird assumption that working from home means you don't interact with your colleagues. That certainly isn't the case in my experience.

Or indeed, with anyone. I heard a rumour that some people have social interaction with other humans who don't work for the same employer as them!

If anything, my social skills are much improved because I don't have to deal with a shitty commute, office background noise, uncomfortable office chairs and lighting etc, all of which makes me grumpy.

Surely not because everyone knows that WFH has made anyone who does it into a reclusive hermit.

My job is HR.

Say no more.

I mainly work with employers on improving their cultures and the wellbeing of their staff. I particularly specialise in ensuring that workplaces are neurodiversity friendly. Please do not stereotype me.

Absolutely, and if you're a proper good capitalist you'll prioritise above all others people who do their wage labour for the same employer as you.

Has "a business is there to make money, it is not a charity" been churned out yet on this thread, perchance?

I think this is a little snide if I’m honest. It certainly doesn’t seem to be the prevailing view on here that office working should be mandatory or that working from home should be banned. Throughout covid and after it seemed to be more ‘ewww colleagues, I just can’t bear to be around them, because I’m a quieter/deeper/cleverer person and I can’t stand the way they slurp their coffee/sneeze’.

The issue is we have to work with other people and while some are more productive working from home, some aren’t and will take the piss. And while some benefit from interpersonal interaction, others aren’t as fussed (usually those who have been there donkeys years and know everyone). So a compromise needs to be reached and I believe that is hybrid working. It’s not all about any one individual it’s how the employees work as a group.

The people who take the piss need to be individually performance managed, which is what should happen anyway regardless of being at home or in the office. An underperforming employee needs to be dealt with as an individual, there is no point in a blanket policy designed to address underperformance.

IMO those who want to go into the office should be allowed to go in, but those who don't want to shouldn't be forced to. Underperformance/piss taking etc is a totally different issue and irrelevant to WFH. If you have employees using WFH as an excuse not to do their work then you have much bigger problems you need to resolve.

Frankly, I don't think there's ever been a remote working thread on here that hasn't involved someone superciliously generalising about remote workers not socialising. It's invariably someone who's critical of remote work who raises the issue, as lo and behold it was on this thread. There's a reason for that. I don't think most people think remote working should be banned, but there's always someone who comes out with some variant of everyone back in/employers shouldn't create new remote working posts. There isn't an equivalent sentiment for pro remote working, however. One never sees someone suggest that employers should make everyone who can work from home do so.

Your second paragraph is a different point. Some people are indeed less productive working from home and take the piss. Some people are less productive working in an office and taking the piss. You're right about compromise, but hybrid working isn't that. It doesn't work for everyone, any more than fully remote or fully office based does.

I'm not stereotyping you!

Well, that’s your opinion. The issue is people are very good at getting HR to back off when they’re doing something they shouldn’t be (or not doing something they should be!). It’s not always that straightforward

There's some piss taking facilitated by people knowing they're harder to replace at present too. It isn't necessarily even bad management to let people away with things, the manager might have no reason to think they're going to be able to get anyone better.

I know quite a few underperforming people in government and private company roles and what often happens if they do this whilst WFH they think they’re untouchable and can get away with it. Depending on the private company some are managed out, made redundant etc but the ones who do WFH effectively tend to get tarred with the same brush particularly in professions like Legal Secretary which I used to do. It’s demanding environment in legal anyway so slackers are soon noticed.

if it's me with neurodiversity asking for more flexibility than others vs someone who's ready to match their working pattern and doesn't need special accommodations.. it's a no brainer to hire them in my mind?

Actually, if it's an organisation that's committed to equality and diversity, you might be pleasantly surprised OP. I realise that's more common in the public and 3rd sectors, but there are companies that have a good rep for being "disability friendly" and willing to make adjustments, including big firms like Aviva, Lloyds and (iirc) Sainsburys.

It's not the responsibility of HR leaders to performance manage individual employees; that's the responsibility of line managers. Line managers who can't actually manage are a key part of the issue here.