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Original poster

WFH civil service.. why wait for someone to get it??

63 replies

Nononoandno · 08/03/2020 14:44

I work in the civil service and we all have working from home capabilities...but the stance seems to be (not just in civil service but offices in general) wait till someone gets it then tell everyone to WFH!! The chances are by that time it will have already spread to other members of the team/office and be actually sick and not able to work....my pint is of all those people in jobs where you can wfh in the uk, why don’t companies just say to start now!!! It seems obvious to me rather that wait to catch it/spread if around ???

OP posts:
welshfishwife · 08/03/2020 14:49

That does make sense to me, OP. If you can do your role fully when WFH then it's a really easy way of reducing public transport numbers, large numbers of people etc, without adverse impact on the economy.

I can't work from home (healthcare) but if I could I'd be pushing for it right now.

Original poster
Nononoandno · 08/03/2020 15:58

Welshfish
It’s frustrating 😕

OP posts:
bellinisurge · 08/03/2020 16:00

Also civil service. My concern is that our cleaning staff are all agency staff on zero hours contracts. Many can't afford not to work. It's disgusting.

MeadowHay · 08/03/2020 16:03

My company allows people to WFH as long as they spend at least three working days in the office per week. It's not an area where everyone could permanently work from home, mainly because there are certain resources that need to be accessed sometimes there are in the office and cannot be removed for data protection purposes and also the office recieves physical post every single day. However home working could definitely be significantly extended e.g. everyone could come in say 1 day a week only, or only when necessary to use a specific resource, especially if a small number of admin staff remained in the office more often to scan physical post and email it to people (can't see how that could be gotten around). As of yet our company has not communicated any plans to do anything like this.

PutYourBackIntoit · 08/03/2020 16:04

Yep!
I work in an office role at a large hospital. I can easily WFH, and I will, but most people still going in due to lack of instruction to the contrary.

TheMemoryLingers · 08/03/2020 16:06

Not CS but position is the same where I work. My theory is that they don't want to tell those with WFH capability to WFH because it will disturb those who can't WFH or cause a walk out. Which I can sort of see, but it's surely about damage limitation and business continuity. If the office has to be shut it'll be those who can WFH who will be carrying on while those who can't will have paid time off.

Rockstar53 · 08/03/2020 16:16

CS here, I can work from home as can most of my team but I have one business admin asst who doesn't have a lap top and he's the one that uses public transport.
I'm going to work tomorrow to try and sort out what I can do with him, he's an apprentice so could potentially do some of that stuff at home but not months worth. It's really tricky! I don't want to send everyone home to work too early but obviously don't want to wait until someone gets infected either!

GallusAlice79 · 08/03/2020 16:20

CS here too and regularly WFH. Don't understand why they don't just say to people who can stay/work at home to do so in the first instance...then take a view on the rest if required.

GhostofFrankGrimes · 08/03/2020 16:24

Alot of office staff cant work from home whilst their colleagues can so it would be deemed somewhat unfair. Many public sector workers cant work from home at all.

TheMostHappy · 08/03/2020 16:51

CS here too and I was thinking the exact same thing myself. Surely if the people who can wfh are advised to do so, it would help reduce the risk to those who are unable to? Less people on public transport and in the office? I'm worried they're going to leave it too late.

Original poster
Nononoandno · 08/03/2020 16:54

This isn’t about what’s fair and not, if there was ten people in an office all day rather than 80 then there’s a smaller chance of transmission. If people can do their jobs from home then shouldn’t they start now??

OP posts:
Original poster
Nononoandno · 08/03/2020 16:55

The most happy
My thoughts exactly

OP posts:
Original poster
Nononoandno · 08/03/2020 16:58

By the time the first person in an office is tested positive the chances are they’ve already passed it on to a number of others in the office, so more folk will have time off sick (or worse) rather than just WFH

OP posts:
FantailsFly · 08/03/2020 17:02

The impact on small businesses (lunch places, coffee shops, drycleaners etc) also needs to be considered. Turning cities into ghost towns isn’t going to help the uk economy, and by all accounts, this is a mild illness for most people. And wfh doesn’t mean you won’t get CV anyway - presume you will still Be Exposed via shops, schools, socialising ...

Redredwine99 · 08/03/2020 17:03

Also CS in a team where half of us have laptops and the other half don’t mostly based on how far away you live. I’m one of the ones without and have put in a business case this week to get one just in case the school are closed.

GhostofFrankGrimes · 08/03/2020 17:06

So office workers who cant work from home are supposed to take the risks. There is either lock down or there isn't. A few people working from home isn't going to drastically stop the spread when sporting events and other large gatherings are still happening.

DressingGownofDoom · 08/03/2020 17:10

I can't WFM but the fewer people in my office the better as far as I'm concerned.

Original poster
Nononoandno · 08/03/2020 17:30

Do we prioritise health over the economy? I can wfh, I have an elderly parent that is recovering from blood clots on her lungs, personally that’s my priority over my local sandwich shop.

OP posts:
Original poster
Nononoandno · 08/03/2020 17:31

Just watching Pandemic on Netflix 😕

OP posts:
WokClock · 08/03/2020 17:34

I think it’s political. If you’re instructing Civil servants to work from home, what message is that sending...

I disagree though

GallusAlice79 · 08/03/2020 17:41

I don't think it should just be CS's...I just think the government could say at this time, IF you can WFH, do it. It might stop it spreading so quickly, it might not. But seems daft to not try.

LizB62A · 08/03/2020 17:45

I think it would be a sensible move, to reduce the chances of it spreading more than it already has.
We (the UK) don't really seem to have learnt anything from Italy, where they've now effectively had to quarantine 16m people.....

Containment only works if you stop/greatly reduce people moving around and mixing with other people.

EggysMom · 08/03/2020 17:48

Still, it's nice to see that the effort put into business continuity plans, is finally coming to fruition ...

Letseatgrandma · 08/03/2020 17:49

I think, as of tomorrow, they should...

Encourage WFH wherever possible.
Remove fines for any parents wanting to keep their children at home.
Bring forward the Easter holidays by 2 weeks.
Start testing anyone who is symptomatic, whether they’ve travelled abroad or not

MeadowHay · 08/03/2020 17:49

Tbh if I was one of the workers in my office for whom it would be impossible to work from home full time (although I reckon there would be no need for anyone to be in the office more than one day a week anyway) - I would still rather everyone else who can isn't there, because as PP said that massively limits the chances of exposure for you too. Less people about and also less people on public transport. Tomorrow I have to go via crammed bus both ways to/from work to work in a large open plan office, a job I could just as easily do from home (even have the equipment from work, as already do regular home working) but am not allowed to do so.