To think people who work from home don’t get it?

[Wfhwhat]

It’s not just the reduced stress as no travel, but it’s also the reduced sick days as it’s easier to wfh than go in if unwell. It’s being able to have a contractor at your home instead of booking a day off. It’s cheaper. You have more time with family.

I work in the nhs so there is literally no scope for me to work from home. I do love my job but had I known office jobs would turn in to work from home, I wouldn’t have gone into the nhs. I know I could change if I wanted to… but it’s not exactly realistic. I’m 48, two kids, trained in what I do.

just having a moan really after seeing so many wfh photos on Instagram out in the garden today.

You can concentrate on work in a garden.

But it’s also not on your absence record - which can be used against employees.

Well, it was pretty shit in lockdown when I was forced to wfh against my will and had no garden, wasn't even allowed to sit on a patch of grass outside as I could only go outside to exercise.

Now, I have a little balcony and if it's in the shade I can work from there. I never do though really.

I am a clinician working with patients with chronic conditions. Patients that are so unwell, they can't travel to medical appointments but are able to join virtual consultations and groups.
We have 30+ people in our service including physio therapist, psychologist, occupational therapist and nurses, most of whom work remotely. Each clinician offers 1-2 hospital days per week but uptake is non-existent so yes, we mostly work from home as it would be silly to clog up hospital offices which are in high demand to do the same work you would be doing at home anyway.
Prior to this post I was working between 7 wards carrying out functional assessments in preparation for discharge. Even then, I would do all the assessments back to back and then take a day of WFH to write up reports and attend discharge pathway meetings. I haven't worked full time on hospital site since 2021 despite working in a patient-facing role. So yes, these jobs do very much exist in the NHS.

Yes, of course it's possible to work in the garden, or in a cafe, at a friend's house, whatever. It does offer a certain flexibility.

However, I've also worked in offices that had gardens. Going out there was pretty rare, but it was possible.

Not really, if it were cheaper and easier for them to be hiring from abroad they'd do it. I'm an employer and we don't hire from abroad because the paperwork is too much hassle and there are no savings. A lot of jobs remotely aren't much different from UK salaries now, for example customer service people and tech people in Eastern Europe are the same salaries. Sometimes even more than where I live (not London).

They don't expect cheaper salaries these days, they expect to be paid at the same rate as the HQ of the company they're working for.

The only advantage really is that a lot of British people are lazy and don't want to work. So you get better value/more efficiency in that respect.

I work hybrid. There's Pros and cons to both. I don't have contractors in when I'm working as I've got to work and can't have noise when in meetings or on calls.

If I'm too ill for the office, I'm too ill to work from home.

It's not cheaper, it costs me more for gas and electricity to work from home than to drive in to the office 10 mins away and I've had to up my Internet speed.

I'm not spending time with family, I'm working.

I have, here is the summary:

-some people don't have a choice
-give an example
-gave the example
-ffs! that's not what I meant!!!

Teacher here. Cannot work from home but wouldn't want to. I like to be at work socialising and saving on my bills because I'm not at home.

@Catza I had no idea these sorts of roles existed I'm sorry for my sarcasm. It's great that modern tech means that you can reach patients who might have found it very difficult to get to you or were distance would made travelling take up a lot of your time meaning that other patients weren't seen

Companies have outsourced for years. I don't see why more people working from home some of the time, would make any difference.

Some firms in America have started reducing the salaries of those working from home. Less travel costs etc.

No problem. I didn't know these jobs existed either until I ended up with one. This is an example of how pandemic actually made an improvement in this respect. Previously, we were missing out on reaching those who were severely affected as our management was reluctant to transition (even partially) to remote services. Then we had to anyway due to Covid and we haven't looked back. It's been life-changing to our patients.

I hope you don't need a nurse or doctor at some point in the future. Because these threads always end up with those WFH telling people in the NHS to get another job.

OP, do you want all the doctors, nurses, dentists, shop workers etc to wfh ?? I mean thank fuck they don't, else we would all be screwed!

Work pattens are changing rapidly , particularly since covid times. It's great that there is a good mix of people wfh and on site. If the work can be done anywhere, who cares that it's in the garden!

By the way, I'm a TA and work on site daily. I've had one wfh job which tied me to a laptop for hours on end, my internet used to crash regularly ( many power cuts!) and it was stressful work.

Find a wfh job if you are feeling envious.

It's been revolutionary been able to WFH. That's why some business owners hate the shift in power dynamic. It's made to he Labour market more flexible, but with winners and losers in the corporate world. I know folk in London salary but doing it as digital nomads in other parts of the country.

The issues for nurses are overwork and underpay, not WFH office roles.

Anyone can be at risk for all sorts of different reasons.

I'm very happy if my team are out in the garden today working, quality of life matters. I think they'd be a bit more productive in an office, but I want to retain the team, and that's a far bigger concern in a relationships-focused industry. Because we're not paying for premises, I can spend on other things to enrich their lives, too.

This exactly. Some people even wfh on part time hours!

@catza generally I dont mind been dealt with remotely.. but.. I did draw a like when they offered me a telephone appointment for a smear test 😂

It's highly unlikely that people who wfh have always done so, and yes they do get it. I've wfh for about 10 years and it's one of the reasons I do the job I do, it's so I never have to work from an office because I absolutely do get what it's like to work outside the home .

@Nocturna
and why are they all out in the garden? Unless it's a lunch break they should be concentrating on their job
Go on, tell me why I can't concentrate on my job from my patio? My wifi reaches past my bi folds!! I have been alone, in my shorts and vest top with a jug of iced cordial writing up a review for CP meeting, recording notes from my shift last night and completed some over due on line training. That's work to me as I wouldn't do it in my free time.

It is possible please don't feel stuck