If employers were mandated to allow employees to WFH unless there was a clear reason to need someone physically in a workplace

[OptimismvsRealism]

All the trains and buses at commuter time would be so much less hideous

Infections would be down

Diets healthier

Work life balance more serene

Why do humans always work against their own interests?

I don’t think anyone here is saying it must be either fully from home or fully from the office - but that a hybrid works

people took the goodwill given over Covid and expect it to be the same now but there should be certain rules around wfh that should be respected - such as not doing childcare at the same time.

and yes it worked to companies advantage to have people wfh during covid but that goes both ways - if wfh couldn’t have happened we would be in terrible economic straits right now.

rigidity on either side is not helpful

@EBearhug you see the issue?
A legal right to flexible working could put women especially at a disadvantage.

If companies are able to accommodate a late start to suit working parents and kids drop off then fantastic. But it needs to be done willingly not forced with the arm of the law.

Forcing it could lead to resentment and forcing it once bitten, twice shy could mean employers avoid employing people who are potentially going to ask for flexible working.

That's your domestic decision. I spend my would-be commuting time doing yoga or in the sauna or meeting a friend for a drink.

Dream on lazy bones

Except the OP's whole point is that everyone should WFH and those that didn't like it she would work on to change their minds.

Flexible working is not a right the government proposes, just that anyone can ask and is entitled to a decision.

I agree it does not mean wfh necessarily, it could just be a different start and finish time.

Train and bus prices would rise, and the services would reduce.

I'm not sure about the diet either. Surely at home you snack more.

Also, working and living in the same place can have a major toll on mental health.

I will say that offices should advocate for a work/life balance.

My husband works partly from home and partly from the office (it has to be a minimum of 2 days a week), this seems to be a good balance. He really struggled WFH all the time during and post Covid, having a variety of people to talk to has massively helped him (and he doesn’t even like people very much).

you see the issue?
A legal right to flexible working could put women especially at a disadvantage.

Why especially women? At my last place of work, there was one man who got his contract changed so he could do the afternoon school run - he worked split days, so essentially had a later, longer lunch break. Other men went PT so they could share childcare better with their wives. In Sweden, parents together get more time off if the man does his fair share of parental leave.

If women suffer more, it's because we let them, and we don't expect fathers to pull their weight as parents. Women have to do pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding, but otherwise, there's no part of parenting men can't do.

Where they are possible, more flexible ways of working should improve life for everyone.