Nigel Farage calls for an end to working from home

[sally037]

Nigel Farage has doubled down on his attack on remote and hybrid working, calling it “a load of nonsense” and saying people are only productive when working face-to-face in the office. He argues we need an “attitudinal change to hard work” rather than focusing on work-life balance.

AIBU for thinking this idea is just bonkers and totally at odds with how most of the workforce actually wants to work now?

I can only think it appeals to the "pull the ladder up" generation. Don't give two fucks about anyone else as long as they are comfortable or those that are unable to wfh and want everyone else to be as miserable as them.

Private businesses can do whatever the fuck they want 😂😂

How is he planning to police this? Will he be visiting every business in the country and taking a register every morning? "Hooble?" ... "Here Mr Farage!"

Tw@t, I wfh home every other week as I have a child with SEN and DH works shifts, my boss trusts me to govern my own work and, as I'm the only one in my role, it's pretty obvious if I'm not doing it! He probably has never taken responsibility for his own children or can afford nannies to cover the gaps when both parents are working. He's living in his own upper class tit bubble as per usual.

Can someone explain to me what a ‘pull the ladder up generation’ is?

Surely it's public sector jobs rather than private sector

Bless them, do they find counting a struggle?

It would be puerile to suggest that is because they are thick as pigshit.

But I will anyway.

Complete fallacy.

For a start, when do you think WFH started? that's a very vague idea.

People working in the call centre industry in the UK are still subject to monitoring and supervision.

But the majority of call centres are outsourced to other countries because it's cheaper and this started years before 'WFH' increased in the UK post covid and those individuals aren't WFH, they're in vast call centres.

Some of my friends were helping to start them up in the Phillipines , India etc almost 20 years ago.

There's also staffing cuts, due to cost-saving but also because of an increasingly online world and use of AI.

If you're experiencing poor customer service or long call-waits there are dozens of reasons why before we get to the Reform idea that it's someone WFH and bathing their kids :)

Er, we still have "the law" in the UK. Even if it isn't to everyones taste..

This! We don’t even have an office anymore as a team - we have to hot desk. We all work in a highly confidential area and access information that people shouldn’t be reading over our shoulders or overhearing in calls.

I have 2-5 teams meetings a day. - again highly sensitive, we have to book a room for these a week in advance and there aren’t enough. Often meetings are in response to an immediate issue and not prearranged so can’t be confidential - unless I am at home, alone

it would cost money to take us back to pre-COVID times - and local authorities have none

Do you remember that Mrs. Thatcher was the first woman Prime Minister ?

Do you remember how in 11 years of government she promoted no women and never had a female minister.

Does that help ?

I don’t. But I can tell you it’s going to look like absolute shit! Scary

The informal ‘unionisation’ of workplace is also not possible WFH. I can recall many an uprising being organised and many a workplace injustice being resolved just through virtue of everyone being in the office together and tactical seeds being set - chat to Janet at the coffee station, speak to Rob at the printer. Room 5 has gone full on viva la revolution 😂

WFH does make the workplace vulnerable. In many ways. If you can’t see that I don’t know what to say.

That said I do prefer working from home - but I work for myself and don’t hire anyone. So no one to fire me, no training people, no grievances or injustices here.

Good luck employing the best staff for the job if your company only has office only jobs. Good luck making the best margins when your company is paying for offices in expensive centralised locations (due to tax and rent) which your competitor is not. It does not really work in practice even for the likes of Google though.

Its fine to a point - especially for public service departments such as councils - but realistically its not a reflection of the work place anymore. Skilled worked have a certain amount of bargining power.

This is an appeal to blue collar workers who are more likely to vote for Reform who are quite frankly jealous of homeworking and more to the point, are increasingly marginalised by more priviledged and middle-class homeworkers writing policy and providing services who are tone deaf to the idea that not everyone has the flexibility of home working.

I would agree that homeworking does reduce some productivity in some areas, but it also increases it in others - particularly in women who have young children. There is evidence to support this. Homeworking probably needs better management (but not intrusive survelliance) but that relies on individual employers not the state to implement. Its also not particularly appropriate for a number of public facing services such as GPs unfortunately as it reduces its effectiveness and efficiency where this is highly important to the functioning of that service.

Farage, as usual, is just poking the populist red meat policy on this which satifies a particular part of the electorate.

This shouldn't come as any surprise. He's a dickhead who doesn't do nuance and only really is interested ultimately in the interests of the oligarchs he sucks up to.

Farage pontificating about "hard work" 😂

I work at a global company which only mandates for us to be in the office 2 days but we have the option to come in other days too. Without exception all the younger members of my team do exactly the same and all seem to enjoy the flexibility. Saves them money on travel (this is in London so might not be applicable to all) and better work life balance.

He tells the thickos what they want to hear whether any of it could be implemented is another matter.
They would still be bound by UK laws the same as any Govt.

I can reassure you Nige people are perfectly capable of shirking when they are in the office...it makes zero difference!

Someone who’s now benefited from something taking it away

Well we are hybrid so there's still office days. Plus we can ask any questions on teams and someone will answer.

We dont even have an office anymore

You are very naive if you think the NHS does not waste money, hand over fist, I say that as an NHS supplier!
Your role, admittedly can probably be better done from home these days, now that your images are in digital form you can probably, I would think, perform better reviewing images in comfort with a nice cuppa that sat in the department - but I'm guessing its a rare specialism that can do that!

I hear anecdotally some the financial institutions are already strongly pulling people back into the trad office workplace. Bank of America in London being one example. So it’s happening in some sectors regardless. Canary Wharf also seems much busier in the week recently.

I work in the public sector and believe me, WFH doesn't increase shirking.

The shirkers can just as easily shirk when office based; always did and will continue to do so because shirkers and shirkers.

WFH could actually IMO reduce shirking because those people can no longer use the excuse that they did very little at work because they were caught up in important networking or case discussions or 'peer supervision'. AKA chatting for hours.

Where is it stated wfh has impacted young people’s mental health?

And what is stopping them going into the office more frequently if they wish?

This is such a MN trope - I have noticed no difference at all post covid and certainly never heard someone loading their dishwasher in the background.

That work-shy toad lecturing others on the meaning of hard work 😆