Will we be asked to go back to the office soon now that things are going back to normal?

[ROZ12]

What does everyone think as on Friday we were told to wfh till November ?

No, I think WFH people will probably be able to carry on if it is possible.
DP has been approached by his company re: WFH indefinitely, saving thousands on office space potentially.

Those working from home should continue to do so if we’re serious about social distancing

Well it’s all up to the boss in our workplace, as soon as Boris says so I’m sure my govt office will push us back . I just don’t feel safe yet.

Our office will open once guidance is changed from if you can wfh do but capacity based on current social distancing guidance is hugely reduced so not everybody will be able to work from the office anyway.
As a single parent unless holiday club is open and/or yr4 go back to school before end of term I won't be able to do anything other than wfh til Sept anyway.

Nope- to be frank, I don't think officer will return to normal until we have a vaccine. Certainly not with public transport at 20% capacity.

I do think though that people will eventually tire of WFH all well and will want to be in the office sometimes if only for the social aspect.

Yes I miss the social side but have got used to being home, being with my dd, exercising more, eating healthily - it’s been a good time for me.

Been working from home most of the time for two years, so it'll continue. But for many, it's not possible if they need access to specific machinery, etc. I don't think a lot of jobs that can be done effectively from home, will return to office based anytime soon.

I worry about my daughter being called in to work - not just the virus but about child-care issues, unless holiday clubs reopen for the summer...? We can help out some of the time but not every day for 6 weeks (MOH is diabetic and is also living with renal cancer). She's a single mum who's doing brilliantly to balance stuff but this might prove insurmountable.

I think it's thought that some companies may take this moment to make fundamental changes to their working practices to encourage more flexible working and more working from home - to use what they've learned is possible during the pandemic and adapt it for long term working. This supports long term social distancing, eases pressure on public transport, better for the environment, etc.

I think the wait for a vaccine is a red herring: the WHO have already stated that we might have to get used to the fact that Covid-19 may be with us for the long term.

I don't like WFH all the time.
I can't stand being cooped up with DH WFH either. He's obsessed with working and all the heavy lifting with kids and house falls ro me, despite my job being even more demanding right now.

It's stressful and claustrophobic.

Plus, I miss my desktop and 2 monitors (laptop screen is too small and straining eyes). DH is working ten hours every day at dining table stooped over in an uncomfy chair.

I WFH 1-2 days a week usually. In the winter I've been known to work with an electric blanket, but if two of us are WFH and kids are at home in the winter this won't be possible - the heating will.be on and our house is not energy efficient.

So I hope we can get back, though DH firm seems in no rush. If that's the case, they should supply him with a laptop and work phone at the very least.

Wfh for people who can is quite an easy thing for the government to say without as many negative effects. For anyone who can wfh it reduces the number of interactions they have quite significantly with fewer negative effects than other things which reduce interactions (people not working at all, schools being closed etc). Obviously some people don't like it and particularly for people who live alone there is the social aspect to be considered, but it also reduces pressure on public transport, leaving it emptier for people who need to leave the house for work.
I imagine the request to wfh where you can will be one of the last things to go.

We’ve been told we’ll be WFH for the foreseeable but the office will be reopening eventually. My company signed a multi million pound, 10 year lease in Canary Wharf not that long ago and a smaller but still significant 10 year lease on our office in Yorkshire. The entire company could WFH full time permanently but they can’t get out of either of these leases & therefore we will be going back in 🙈

I’m lucky, we’ve always been able to flexibly work at home as we needed..

unless schools are fully back to normal I cannot see this happening. The majority of parents work and companies won't be able to just replace them with the childless. I don't expect to be back to the office until September.

I want to open my business again soon. I need everyone in. We’ve done our best working from home but it’s far far from ideal.
If I’m to ensure everyone keeps their jobs, we need to go in even if technically we could carry in like this.

DH’a business are going to continue to WFH for a bit longer.

We've been told that they're going to open up about a third of desks for those who want/need to be in (expectation that noone is in for more than 2 days per week) but that noone who wants to WFH will be made to come in. I expect that to be in place at least until the end of the year. Totally depends on your bosses though I think.

DH employer is big, and they've been told "WFH for 6 to 12 months" (that was communicated a few weeks ago)

I wonder if, having invested in the required IT infrastructure (laptops for everyone, VPNs, etc), a lot of employer will think "it makes more business sense to keep doing things that way" (smaller utility bills on their end!)