'Go back to work if you can' - any idea what Boris means by this??

[labyrinthloafer]

So today the PM said people should go back to work if they can, rather than stay at home if they can.

But if people can do their jobs from home, why would this be a good idea in amongst all the other things opening up?

I feel so drained at the moment, have got into a very decent homeworking situation, now potentially disrupted, and then all winter it'll be 'oh Sue's coughing, has she had a test' and then people going home while they wait for results.

I suppose my question is - do you think this is just rhetoric or will the home working now start to change?

Seems pretty straightforward to me.

Time to go back to work.

It was time about 4 weeks ago if you ask me.

Yet another unclear message from Johnson.

What’s unclear about it?

I think this means that if there are people still staying home and not working , then, if there is a job for them to return to they should return to it.

I don't think he's saying people who are working at home should return to offices

@TheMurk

What’s unclear about it?

It is not clear to whom it applies, does he mean go back to work as in start working again if you are not currently working, or go back to work as in return to your office/workplace.

I don't think it is clear at all. He never is clear!

Great. No wrap around care at the DCs schools or indeed any schools around here in Sept. We were banking on DH being able to do drop offs & pick ups as he was WFH but now he's going to be back in the office to save Costa et al. Wonderful

@Mnhealth202020 I am sure it does, I don’t envy you this early career experience At All. Not sure if it is any consolation, but I have had the same conversation with many senior-exec level people now, and while all of them are happy to have better work life balance, and I think would be extremely reluctant to return to 5 days a week in the office, all of them feel their teams work better in close geographical proximity, substantially because otherwise the newer and younger team members are not able to work as well as they otherwise would, in terms of learning from the rest of the team, networking, building relationships, even though they are putting in the hours

I think lockdown has changed some drivers of the economy irreversably, especially in the hospitality sector. Many companies, mine included, have had to admit we are more productive at home, and many of us don't intend to go back to a 1.5 hour schlep each way, fork out on drinks, snacks and food when we'd be better off and more productive at home.

I tell you why it isn't clear. It is clear that the prime minister wants us to go back to work. My employer has said up until now that they aren't expecting me in. So are they now expecting me in or what? What Boris says doesn't automatically translate to what I am supposed to do on Monday.

Every business needs every business. Paying rent for an office pays cleaners, bus drivers, taxis, fuel, electrician's, plumbers, cafes, workwear, cleaning supplies, fire alarm engineers, fire extinguisher manufacturers. No need to wait till schools go back nit everyone has kids at school.

@TARSCOUT Yy I have been thinking about this interdependency between businesses and how you can't easily remove one piece of the system.

But... all the stuff based on want not need - we can't easily create the desire for that, because people have to feel like going for a meal or a cruise (when allowed again).

Do we know if wfh has definitely been scrapped? My boss has sent a message in our WhatsApp group saying he expects our team to be back in work by the end of next week.

www.gov.uk/coronavirus-employee-risk-assessment is definitely still saying if you work in an office ("none of these" option) you should still WFH. Personally I'm lucky to work only 15 mins walk from my office (so much better than the hour's commute I used to have) and have been deliberately walking into the sandwich shop I usually go to (small independent) a couple of times a week and buying for the whole family so they're actually making more money out of me! DH is frequenting the local coffee shop instead of the Costa in his office and often pops into the butcher next door at same time. So we're doing more than usual for the local economy!

My office has opened up for people to return if they want to (max five at a time - 25% of usual 20 people) and a few are going in 1-2 times a week as they are finding it harder to WFH. But most of us think the main advantage of the office is the interaction with others so no point if there's only a handful of people in. I think come September, assuming DCs back to school, more of us will go back if it's possible. But many certainly think they will WFH for some of the week and boss is thinking of downsizing office as we've shown that WFH for at least some of the time works well.

I suppose the thinking is that the guidance will change in the next few days after what Boris Johnson said? That’s what my boss seems to think anyway.

Going back to full public transport is no great shakes.

I think he blundered by the sounds of it answering a furlough question, but guidance still same. That’s why it is unclear (to answer pp).

Basically Bozo has fecked up, he didn't mean people WFH need to actually go into their work places he meant people need to get back to work whether it's at home or at work.

I hope you are right @BlueBrian.

The thought of having to go back to work, when the last few months have proved that I am more productive at home and having to get public transport again is not a prospect I am looking forward to.

Employers should now always offer working from home as option, Matt Hancock says
Working from home where possible should continue beyond the Covid-19 pandemic and become the new “norm”, health secretary Matt Hancock has said.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/health-secretary-matt-hancock-employers-working-from-home-coronavirus-a9611836.html

Two close people to me who working in banking and building have their offices shut until Jan at the earliest. Boris can say what he likes, but it's up to company policy what a company chooses to do. WFH right now is less of a hr pain right now

Go back to paying for overpriced transport and pret sandwiches. No thanks.

I had everyone WFH. It was carnage. One was completely unaccountable and took the piss, others had to do a lot of extra work to support some staff (one bring the piss taker) and to make up for being at home (not in the same place as much needed stuff with no way to set it all up for everyone). It was SO DIFFICULT for everyone except the ones whose life became easier.

Communication between the team members was impossible (I tried with slack etc) and the constant, constant emails drove us crazy. Our suppliers, bank, accountants WFH and it made everything so much more difficult and it took a lot longer. A simple thing took hours or days.

So while WFH might be easier got some employees sometimes it then makes other employees lives harder.

I think if your employer is asking you to return they aren't doing it for the hell of it. They are doing it because they need you to all be there.

Others don't and won't ask you to go in. Because it's easier etc and will give up office space.

Empty offices are killing our town centres, warns Boris Johnson: PM orders British workers to return to their desks to help save the economy as homeworking wreaks havoc on nation's finances

Boris Johnson will next week tell office workers to start returning to their desks to help save the British economy.

The Prime Minister will use an update on virus strategy to press employers to start ordering their staff back to the workplace – if it is safe.

He and Chancellor Rishi Sunak are said to be aghast at the impact empty offices are having on town centre shops and restaurants – and worried that widespread homeworking is wrecking Britain’s productivity.

Government sources say Mr Johnson told Whitehall chiefs this week to set an example by starting to return civil servants to their desks. On a conference call with 200 senior civil servants, he said it was ‘more efficient and productive’ than working from home.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8511629/Boris-desks-offices-killing-town-centres-warns-PM.html

It’s a pure reflection of our economy that we need to tell people safely wfh to needlessly go to the office to keep shops pubs and cafes afloat.

I’ve been saying for years our economy is fragile because it’s all based on finance and services.