Anyone surprised at how long they will be wfh?

[reallythislong]

DH's company finally ordered some office equipment for the staff, delivery date in 8 wks time! He & I never expected to wfh this long & lots of our friends have been told they won't be going back till the NY.

Anyone else in the same boat?

Who thinks that in 5 yrs time the cost of travel for 2 days will be what it costs now for 5

Me. So if after a while WFH might not save the employee travel money any more, WFH might slowly become a permanent requirement to recruit to lots of jobs because regular WFOffice might become unaffordable to do, on a lot of wages.

It’s kind of annoying because apart from possibly saving on travel, in itself WFH is not free- there are still costs to heating, lighting, and having computers on all day, printer paper etc and employers won’t be covering that. Back in the day in some industries they used to provide a small allowance for that. I wonder if they’ll change employee tax arrangements if we WFH permanently?

I wish! We have been told the office is opening in June and we need to start all making plans to go back in.

I'm loving working from home!

Of all the people in my team, it's the youngsters who are struggling the most. Generally because they live in shared, rental accommodation and don't have a lot of space and miss the social aspect of the office.

I love not commuting and would happily work from home forever but apparently need to start doing a few days a week back in the office from June :(. And that will be on a long commute on London public transport unfortunately (80 mins door to door, walk train walk)

I'd be surprised if we are back in the office before 2021. It's grim.

My DH works for the government. Told 12-18 months to wfh

I don't understand how employers can make such long-term predictions. So WFH until winter of next year? What are they expecting to magically change next November?

Dateloaf You can claim a tax rebate for WFH, it's £6 a week from this April but it's only if you Have to wfh not if you choose to so it won't help if you change jobs and the new job if wfh. We've been advised to wait and claim when we get to the point where we're back at least part time or we'll be be making multiple claims and it'll get complicated. I'm assuming it's £6 for full time. I have virtually no travel costs so it's all extra electric etc. while we're all home all day and I need to buy a desk.

I’d happily wfh indefinitely but not with the dc also here!

how does one claim that tax rebate? is there a link? What evidence is needed?

((www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home))

Messed that up a bit but the link works.

Thank you MrsLindor

I’ve been told I don’t have to go back into work for the rest of the year. Civil Service. Is this a civil service thing now?

I’m choosing to go back but I don’t have to.

I'll be wfh till at least September / October. I like working from home, although I don't enjoy trying to do it at the same time as childcare. We don't have an office and I am a bit worried about work documents being scribbled on or a child spilling a drink on my laptop. But overall I think the benefits outweigh the inconvenience. I like having zero commute, and less distractions (when the children aren't there). I like being able to work according to my own schedule. I think that less cars on the road would be great for the environment. The flexibility of working from home could benefit parents, who need to work around school runs etc.

If I had the choice I would probably go into the office about once a week and work from home the rest of the time.

We've been told nothing at all. I wish they would say something, even if it's that we WFH until "X" month and then we will review. But I don't know if it'll be June or November. I think they are waiting for the government to say more. I wish they would give me some kind of ballpark date...

We’ve been told we won’t be leading the charge going back and may (read ‘will’) take a more conservative approach than the government & scientific / health advice

We were also one of the first to be tools to v WFH and the office to be shut

I think it will be really patchy who does and doesn’t work from the office, because so much depends on the availability of public transport to get to work which is very variable.

The lease on the building where I work ends this summer, and I think that most of us will end up WFH for the foreseeable future. The company needs to save every penny it can to stay solvent, and not renting office space will be a massive saving.

@nuttymomma. You have my sympathies as that describes my situation too!

Now told we have to continue WFH, probably until Christmas! The military can choose to do one week in, WFH the next week from Monday, but they don’t have to go in.

But civil servants are being told they can’t go in unless signed off by LM and head of establishment. So unless they HAVE to be in basically.

I’m praying it’s WFH until the end of the year then as DH has a short notice posting until Christmas and we are going with him! As long as I continue to WFH it’s fine. Going to be tricky if told to go back full time in September after all as we will be a 3 hour drive away from the office!

🙈

Part of the problem is how people will travel. They don't want an increase in car travel and capacity on bus & rail is down to 10%. The only alternative is to keep those that can wfh doing so for the foreseeable future.

I'm not expecting to be in the office until the new year or even next summer. By which point, there is probably no need!!

I've just noseyed at a skype meeting entry in my manager's calendar where she tells the other person "as we are not likely to be doing any face to face work for the rest of the year".

So it looks like remote working and no customer contact until the new year, unless the government do some radical change.

I think my actual job will change. Its a bit of a bullshit job anyway although I like it (not my colleagues though). I think there will be less demand for what I actually do so I fear being moved into another team or role that is less exciting, unless I find a role elsewhere.

I'm actually really pissed off at the lack of communication. I've had to guess and go digging for the information I need.

For some WFH is becoming permanent!
ING in Spain have announce today. However not yet in Luxembourg as there are tax issues for cross border workers
luxtimes.lu/business-finance/40938-ing-staff-to-telework-for-good-in-spain-back-at-desks-in-luxembourg

My work have said they will reopen the office soon for those who really want to work in the office - eg young professionals who have no space to work in house-shares but it will be on an exceptional basis.

I am happy to WFH indefinitely, DH would like to maybe go in one day a week. His boss said September at the earliest.

I want to work from home indefinitely because I do not enjoy my job although it is a secure public sector job.

I'm confused though. Managers have indicated it will be WFH for some months yet, meaning until potentially next year, but I believe that may change in light of how fast the government is lifting lockdown measures.

Thanks to Boris, we may all end up back at our desks working as normal by autumn! H&S be damned.

I have loved the time with DD and DH, the improvement to my mental well being (although I'm getting fatter lol) and the lack of stress because I'm not physically at work.

I want it to continue although I know not everyone is as fortunate.