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!

Do something productive with that panic energy.

Speak to your employer about a WFH contract as a reasonable adjustment for disability.

My workplace is default minimum of 3 days in the office. If you want anything different from that you need to agree a separate WFH contract, just as would have been the case before covid.

That is better for you as well as it means your working arrangements would be contractural rather than just based on the goodwill of your employer.

Yep; we have a huge workforce in India. For the latest roles I hired for there, the pay differential isn’t significantly behind the UK atm, prob only approx 30-35% lower, once you factor in local allowances etc. The job market in the 5 cities we have offices in is booming, enabling people to negotiate much higher salaries than 3-5 years ago.

Well some will, many won't. Roles that require any kind of specific experience or specialist expertise will continue to be done by the best people a company can find to do them. The company I work for has been forced to adopt some off-shoring of work because we can't find enough people to do the work... But much of the work we do really needs people with the specialist expertise to do it, which we can't find anywhere else in the world. We also have client relationships and they want a team in their timezone who can get to a meeting in Europe or the US relatively quickly. I really don't agree that off-shoring is a threat to all 100% remote roles, probably only to the process driven type roles, e.g. data input, call centres, claims processing etc.

We're also not forcing people back to offices.... Work is a thing you do not a place you go, and where we have good people doing great work, we don't care where our even when they do it a lot of the time.

I suppose the broader point is it's very industry specific and sometimes company specific. But we would probably go out of business if we forced office returns because half our workforce would go and work for the competitors.

Well firstly, not all work can be quantified I don’t suppose. Helplines for example - yes you can monitor how many calls someone might have taken, but unless you listen to all their calls, you can’t gauge how useful they’ve been. One of the common features of customer services since covid is helpdesk staff not actually helping. They often say they can’t help, won’t help, can’t do anything else, can’t “ask their manager” etc - so having waited on hold for 30 minutes the caller gets nowhere.

And also, how can you manage people when they’re miles away. You might suspect that they’re watching a film or having a nap, but you can’t prove it if they’re logged on.

The biggest labour shortage we have is for jobs that are very much not work from home, teaching, nursing, care workers, hospitality etc etc

From what I can see, most companies don’t care if their offices in India are chaotic and don’t know what they’re doing. DP works for a huge successful retail company who have outsourced a lot of work to India. It saves the company a fortune, and the managers don’t see any of the down sides. It’s the frontline staff who bear the brunt of ineffective working from the India offices, having to pick up the slack and take over when things go wrong. The employees in India aren’t stupid, but their training consists of a couple of weeks in the UK when they start, and that’s it. And often there’s a significant language barrier.

Well, onshoring is also a thing. But sure, there are companies who are already doing it and who got in a while ago. Sometimes it works much better than you describe here, sometimes it works exactly as you describe here! My point was more about the idea that there are companies who could do it now but for whatever reason aren't, yet are going to in the near future. By definition those are going to be companies who have a reason not to, and risks like those you describe may well be part of it.

I came to the end of a contract. My previous employer had reduced office space during pandemic so most WFH/hybrid. I only ever went to the office 3 times in 2 years.
However now I'm looking at new jobs, every job I've come across appear to be office based and specify WFH is not an option.

I have done a mixture of office and working from home for nearly 15 years now. I don’t think you should panic - there will be wfh jobs for a long time yet, but maybe you need to consider making sure you move towards an industry where wfh is more common. I don’t know what your skills are.

I can understand why some companies are keen to get their workforce back in. There is value in having teams together. From my own experience, I learned so much from being around people in other departments - seeing what they do, listening to them, meeting people in other departments and knowing who to ask for more help, and building up the social relationships that are necessary to deliver my work. I could not have learned my job in isolation. Companies have to look at the big picture - not just “can Wendy, Fatima, Alejandro and Sean do their jobs better at home?” but also “can Fred learn his job without working alongside them?” and “will Imogen be able to do her job as efficiently if she isn’t spending her day saturated by the knowledge of the experts in her field?”

but unless you listen to all their calls, you can’t gauge how useful they’ve been.

Call centres in my experience randomly sample and assess calls for just that reason; they'll also check for any patterns such as calls being unusually long or short compared to peers, which might suggest someone is struggling and needs training.

This is true, but it doesn't tell us anything about recruitment in roles that can be done remotely.

Our labour shortage is very much not confined to just face to face jobs, and we've already had examples in this short thread of organisations not being able to enforce office working in roles that can be done remotely. They come up in every thread on the issue, too. I was in one the other week where someone who was in call centre management explained that they haven't been able to pay as much as they'd need to get sufficient staff to do the job in person. Their recruitment issues probably aren't as bad as, say, the care sector, but that doesn't mean they don't exist.

Off shoring, that old chestnut. The UK isn’t even a particularly high wage economy.

The idea you can outsource everything to the third world is utterly laughable, you’ve clearly never worked anywhere where off shoring has been attempted. It’s an absolute nightmare even for simple roles.

With the housing market meaning that people are priced out of cities and tourist areas plus childcare costs mean families need to live near grandparents l don't think it would be easy for firms to go back to full time in the office.

I’ve only read the first and fourth pages, apologies - will go back. I’m most of the way through a combined autism and ADHD diagnosis. It’s a complete headfuck and I agree OP that creating or arranging a work environment to suit someone with this kind of profile is incredibly difficult - I can’t speak for you or anyone else but I thrive on chaos one day and need monastic silence the next.

I burnt out of corporate life. I now run a small organisation (a charity), doing very well. No small irony, a lot of our volunteers seem to have ND traits - so I’ve apparently set up something that works for a particular kind of person.

I posted the other day, unsuccessfully, about how sad I feel about being locked out of so many workplaces - being smart and high achieving but becoming a diminished version of myself if the environment isn’t right. So I don’t have any advice for now, but I empathise.

Reading some of these posts about people who WFH sound like they have pretty poor management.

The industry I work in, there is no way you can just abscond to sort out your washing or go settle a debate between the kids. More flexible yes, so they may allow school pick up and drop off but the time is made up the same day. If your productivity is low, it's very simple you go on a PIP.

In terms of promotions, penalising the ones who choose to WFH surely that is discriminatory. Our job description is described as hybrid but they let the staff choose where to work, although training is to be in the office. A few choose to work full time in the office, others choose to fully WFH whereas others prefer more of a hybrid role. Those who WFH are not penalised in anyway shape or form when it comes to promotions. If a company chooses the right applications to communicate with each other there is no reason why a homeworker is hidden away and seem less involved.

They can, mine is doing this. Might even be the same one.

Companies have to look at the big picture - not just “can Wendy, Fatima, Alejandro and Sean do their jobs better at home?” but also “can Fred learn his job without working alongside them?” and “will Imogen be able to do her job as efficiently if she isn’t spending her day saturated by the knowledge of the experts in her field?”

They also need to think about whether having Wendy, Fatima, Alejandro and Sean in the office is actually one of the options available to them. The wider labour market is very much part of the big picture.

The fact that an organisation wants staff there in person, even if backed up by solid evidence, doesn't mean those people are prepared to do it. Or that the organisation can pay what would be needed to buy their physical presence. So they may need to also think about, how are we going to ensure that Fred and Imogen are able to learn their roles remotely even if we'd rather they didn't have to.

No push to go back to the office in my sector (legal) In fact we are still selling off more offices.

There were WFH roles before Covid and there will be far more going forward. You now have the advantage of knowing this will work for you and can apply for wfh jobs only.

If your current job moves away from wfh, ask for an occupational health assessment and see if employers will provide a Reasonable Adjustment under Equality Act for you. Please try not to worry. 💐

The government clearly don’t think disabled people working from home is the exception rather than the rule though. They’re basing their whole policy on welfare reform on exactly that principle.

In the Autumn Statement Jeremy Hunt announced plans to compel the very most disabled to look for work - these are people who have previously been exempted from job search because they are considered too ill/severely disabled to work.

Now that exemption will disappear along with the extra allowance paid in respect of the inability to work, the work capability assessment will be modified so that categories offering exemption will be taken out, and the WCA itself will eventually be scrapped - the PIP assessment will be used instead. The plan is for DWP assessors and work coaches to decide the level of disability and compliance/sanctioning.

All of this is predicated on the governments’ opinion that it will be easier for disabled people to work because they no longer have to venture outside to do it - they can WFH 100% of the time. No mention of where these jobs will come from, no plan as to how they will persuade employers to take on sick and disabled people, many of whom will not have worked for years, and many more who will be in long term and ongoing treatment.

In view of that, this is a really interesting and timely thread, and one which Mr Hunt would do well to heed.

People need to think also though about the younger generation. They need to come in and learn about face to face interactions, negotiation and team-working. Need to socialise after work. Meet friends and partners etc.

Life cannot be lived entirely on a screen at the start of their careers. they need role models and mentors they can talk to face to face. And many don’t have the privilege of nice warm private homes with decent tech etc to work in.

Consideration needs to be give to those with disabilities. But we cannot become
a nation of people working in their homes all week.

I agree with others that WFH could easily come under the "reasonable adjustment" provision of the DDA for you, OP. You have a diagnosis and both conditions are recognised as ones that can require adjustments. If you're in a union, they would support you with this.

My employer is now applying hybrid working, but they're very willing to relax the requirement for coming in to the office where there are adjustments required or where there's a business case for it. Office attendance is absolutely not required for my team, as most of our work was done out in the community anyway. Covid required us to stop meeting clients face to face, and doing stuff over the phone. That has meant that we've increased our caseloads by 50% or more, as we're not wasting time travelling to see clients.

If they did require us back in the office, I think we'd all make sure that we had community appointments on our office days, so we wouldn't be there anyway!

My point is that managing people who aren’t in the same building as you, must surely be quite a challenge. Yes a manager can monitor productivity, listen to calls, record data etc, but chances are they’ve got their own work to do, and haven’t really got time to spend hours remotely monitoring suspected slackers. Office workers whose manager is in the next room, or even the same room, are clearly going to take fewer liberties, so are therefore easier to manage. They’re not going to hang the washing out, pop to the corner shop, catch up on last night’s Eastenders and so on.
It’s not as simple as saying it’s all down to effective management.

WFH allowed to get me a job that just isn't available in my sleepy Welsh town. And now I'm somewhat trapped, as all the better paying employers in my industry have gone hybrid and are based in London/Birmingham/Manchester.

Agree.

This is insane: you cannot discipline someone for not putting in 3 days in the office when they are on holiday. You really have to wonder about the management of such an organisation if they are prepared to waste management time on this fruitless task and discipline employees for taking their statutory holidays.

I agree with what you say, but if you have a look at the welfare reform plans, the government are holding disabled people to an entirely different standard, in that it’s OK for them to work entirely from home with none of the interactions or socialisation you mention. And this is going to impact people in similar circumstances to the OP.