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?

Yes technology is well known for standing still and not evolving and companies rarely take advantage of opportunities to reduce their costs.

Why do humans always work against their own interests?

Not everyone is working against their own interests - there are many people for whom WFH does not work for them at all for financial, social, health and other related reasons. But yet again we have another thread where the OP assumes their reality is everyone’s reality

Just like there are people where it does work well

Its the people who don’t have the choice that it’s not great for

I think mental health issues would rise even higher if this was put in place.

In the long run, that sort of thing ought to work out due to market forces; if it's harder to get people to work on site, employers will have to pay more.

I wonder whether any employers have started offering an extra component in pay for those working in the office.

Some people do actively prefer to be in the office, perhaps either because they live alone and want some contact with people, or because they don't have any quiet space to work in at home. I realise that doesn't apply to most of the mumsnet demographic! When some people began to return to offices, only one of DH's colleagues (who lived alone) returned regularly, and DH used to go in sometimes just because he knew that he appreciated having some company.

If you want to work from home then find a contractually remote role.

This

Its not up to you to tell employers how to run their businesses

It’s not the offshoring that’s the risk. It’s the near shoring to places like Spain or Portugal. It’s already happening

i would much rather wfh but there are benefits being in the office in terms of picking things up from others, training people, building relationships

@Radiatorvalves exactly- young people is a prime reason.

During the early days of covid. My boss asked me to check up on one of graduates, She was working from the top of her bed. Mum, Dad and Sister were ALL trying to work from the house.
Really that cannot be healthy for young people.

I was going to say the same about school leavers and grad trainees. Not to mention the parents trying to cut their childcare costs and failing to put proper childcare in place for babies, toddles and wrap around care.

Full time WFH during covid nearly broke me. I ended up delressed, isolated and with a lower back issue.

WFH full time is not in my best interest.

This is very true.

I agree I discovered deliveroo whilst wfh and this amazing donut shop that delivered within 20 minutes!

A thousand times this.

Companies should just do what works for them, but they should be upfront about it. Really pissed me off when I was job hunting to see 'flexible/hybrid working' advertised only to find out, after wasting time applying/interviewing, that they wanted you in 9-5, a set 4 days a week.

That said I do find it surprising just how illogical many employers (and employees) are about WFH. You see all these comments about the impact of WFH on productivity, MH, collaboration, etc., as if this is a genuine concern, when, in my opinion, it's really about trust and control.

Open plan offices are proven to reduce performance, productivity, morale and communication and yet it seems to be beloved by all employers (or at least every one I've come across). If employers were genuinely concerned about staff performance and wellbeing you'd think they'd target the things proven to negatively impact it first.

There’s a few people who wfh at my workplace. We all know they take the piss and do fuck all. They don’t have enough to do at work so they go home to hide the little they actually do.

Work productivity will go down massively. We are not robots. We need to see face to face to work together. Hybrid will work and working occasionally in the office will work but not fully remote.

That would be people tossing it off at home

Producitvity dropped hugely with staff who were wfh at the last company I worked for in the UK, almost all were parents of young children who were choosing to dodge nursery and neglect their work. It took three weeks of being back in the office for everyone to be back at their normal lessons.

I could entirely work from home, I choose to go into the office instead, I would like to know how the calorie content of my lunch varies as to where I eat it.

It’s all circumstance dependent though, isn’t it?

I WFH FT. But I have an office garden which is private and well equipped. I’d hate it if I was stuck at the kitchen table.

I eat healthier because I have time to plan ahead and I don’t get involved with the office snacks/restaurant lunches/Friday takeaways.

I get more exercise because I have more time - dog used to get a 20-30 minute walk, since WFH it’s been 60-90 mins.

My mental health is better because I don’t have the stress of a 2-5-3 hour round trip daily, or having to sit in an office.

Im also more productive and do longer hours because I’m not rushing out of the door at 5 to beat the traffic.

plus my work/life balance is much better.

If nobody had to leave the house to work public transport would die off to an absolute minimum, for people like me who don't drive that would be a big problem. The people who have to go to work are often the people who earn the least so they'd suffer twice over.
Too many people have got very comfortable WFH because it costs them less, it's not really to do with a work/life balance, it's to do with their bank balance. Employers may say you can't WFH with small DC in the house but there seem to be quite a few people on here who do it on the quiet

I'd worry for new recruits into businesses. They can learn a lot simply by working alongside more experienced colleagues, get quick answers to their questions, observe what goes on in the office and between staff, informal work shadowing, etc.

I think I'd prefer to see a little more flexibility in workplaces rather than everyone just working at home full time.

As a customer I don't think you always get improved service when the work's being done from home.

And from an employee POV it's not good for MH never to venture out particularly those who live alone. Those in abusive relationships need breathing space.

And it's not just the employee who has to be considered. It's the impact on the whole family.

There have been plenty of threads on here by women who hate having their husbands WFH full time. Occupying the main living room, loud calls that can be heard all over the house, rest of the family having to tiptoe around, husband always there and wife never having any time alone.

Or Portugal or Romania? I work for a British company but at least half the IT staff are abroad where they get paid much less but they still speak excellent English and are highly skilled.

It might be hard to translate some functions well to India but if you work on a computer then your job can probably be done just as well by a Romanian.

You forgot to add that so many services are negatively impacted by WFH people taking the piss, we've all heard the boasting about it, not least on here. If people can't be trusted to do what they're paid for then yes a good thing to get people back to the workplace.

People take the piss when they work from home. I loathed speaking to people obviously at home with all the racket in the background during COVID. Just no.

People take the piss in general when allowed to work from home. Especially if Mumsnet is anything to go by.