'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?

I don't think I will be taking advice from a man who at the beginning of this crisis ignored warnings from other countries like Italy and said it was perfectly safe to go to concerts, football games and Cheltenham as long as you wash your hands and sing happy birthday. We all now how that turned out.

My dh wants his staff back in asap. Small office, plenty of space for social distancing etc. He made sure they could all work from home and never furloughed anyone. However, they are a sales dept and their performance has been bad since working from home but every time he’s mentioned about getting back in the office they come out with Boris says we should work from home if we can. If they were working well at home he’d be fine but they’re not and it’s frustrating. Totally understand people with kids but only one has this problem.

@Icantstopeatinglol I guess it depends on the job and industry. I am more productive at home doing certain things, less disruption and distractions but I also miss the social side of the office. I am less stressed and worn out by my commute, I save money and have more free time. I think a balance of WFH and office would be good. I also think the environmental impact is something they should consider carefully before leaping back to 'normal'.

@SunflowerProsecco

At least people in offices, shops, factories etc will get to wear masks and have physical distancing. Unlike teachers, TAs, school admin etc.

Can teachers etc at least wear the visors?

My impression is that it refers to people on furlough as more places are re-opening so that the Govt doesn't have to pay for them any more.

A workers health is worth less than their lunch money to this government.

but there are an awful lot of people out there who go to work to be out and to be around other people

And introverts have had to suffer all these years in open plan offices and just had to get on with it. Extroverts will have to adapt for a while.

Longer term we should all have the choice.

Sorry Boris. I think that ship has sailed. If someone can work effectively from home and has a better life with no stressful commute and are saving money on petrol or the cost of season tickets on overpriced trains then why on earth should they sacrifice their quality of life just to prop up overpriced sandwich and coffee shops. The old way of life has gone for a lot of people and isn't coming back. Employers have realised that they can save money by getting rid of expensive office buildings. Wfh is the way forward or so Matt Hancock said.

Even if compelled to return to the office I won't be increasing my potential exposure any more than necessary and I will continue to stay out of shops, cafes and definitely not going out to the pub, bars or restuarants with colleagues or friends. So benefit to economy is zero

I totally agree with this. Luckily my employer won't be calling people back to their desks next week, but even if they did I wouldn't be doing stuff like popping into Boots to pick up a snack then invariably buying more than I planned, or browsing the shops of Tottenham Court Road at lunchtime and making one or two small purchases. Not just becasue of wanting to avoid other people's potential germs, but because lockdown has made me acutely aware on how much money I've wasted over the years on nice but uneccesary frivolities - including takeaway coffees and lunches. I think most people's spending priorities have changed permanently.

A workers health is worth less than their lunch money to this government.

That does sum it up but I don't know if it's about overpriced franchise coffee shops or more about having to bail out TFL as people aren't using the tube and packing out trains into London. I know in my work normally most people tend to get a meal deal from the Tesco next door for lunch and Tesco will hardly miss that money.

But this is a government that are about to piss away more than 100 billion on HS2 to get from the Midlands to London quicker.

I think he meant 'go' as in 'do' - if you can do it at home, do it!

So the lunch you buy from someone else while working in an office is worth more than your health (potentially life), the pollution caused by driving, the extra pressures and crowding on public transport (certainly in London) and the inevitable rise in infections (masks and handwashing cannot actually stop 100% of transmission).

And it's all short-term because there will be a second wave in the autumn/winter according to the government's own SAGE advisors (one was on Sky a few days ago saying that a second wave is certain).

Normal life will return once there is a vaccine given to the vast majority of the population. The government should be redirecting a lot of its spending propping up the economy to getting us all vaccinated as soon as possible.

I will not be eating out or shopping except for essentials and only online until I am vaccinated, and I think many people who haven't had the virus already think the same. The problem is the decisions are being made by people who have already had the virus and survived. These people are likely to be willing to undertake more risky behaviour if they might have some level of immunity, even temporary.

In a few weeks we will all be ordered to remain home again as deaths increase. 🤷🏻‍♀️

As others have said - my office only has capacity for 25% of staff and the buses only take 50% of people.

Plus they are actively taking out desks to form new hot desking hubs. I imagine I’ll go in one or two days a week eventually. No more set desks, have to book a desk by the hour! They have realised how much money they can save not paying travel to work and electricity costs etc.

@FluffyKittensinabasket

In a few weeks we will all be ordered to remain home again as deaths increase. 🤷🏻‍♀️

As others have said - my office only has capacity for 25% of staff and the buses only take 50% of people.

Plus they are actively taking out desks to form new hot desking hubs. I imagine I’ll go in one or two days a week eventually. No more set desks, have to book a desk by the hour! They have realised how much money they can save not paying travel to work and electricity costs etc.

People are feasting on a prediction of second waves. Its sick.

Personally I think the biggest factor in the UK's spread was the insane cattle trucks into and out of central London during the peaks.

If there's one thing that would guarantee a second wave it's packed out trains and tubes every day (as they were before lockdown) before sitting down in open plan offices for 8 hours with the windows shut all day.

@Icantstopeatinglol

My dh wants his staff back in asap. Small office, plenty of space for social distancing etc. He made sure they could all work from home and never furloughed anyone. However, they are a sales dept and their performance has been bad since working from home but every time he’s mentioned about getting back in the office they come out with Boris says we should work from home if we can. If they were working well at home he’d be fine but they’re not and it’s frustrating. Totally understand people with kids but only one has this problem.

If they are not working and performance is down they need pulling in to the office. You will have the excuses they're too scared though.

The government's own SAGE advisors say a second wave in certain (Prof. Callum Semple on Sky a few days ago, also SAGE member). it is not sick, it is the statement of very qualified people.

If people have been furloughed, they haven't chosen it, their employers have, so no point Johnson telling furloughed staff "get back to work", if their employers still don't have any work for them.

If work premises are not open - or cannot hold all staff - as the employer is unable to make the place Covid-safe, with social distancing rules etc, no point Johnson telling people who have been wfh all this time "get back to your place of work", as the employers cannot actually take them all back into their place of work safely.

If the employers have been able to make their premises safe then the employers are already back on the premises.

Equally, there is no government power to mandate what people spend their money on and so far as I know there is no legislation stating "you will not bring a packed lunch into the office but must buy your work lunch from a designated food service provider, nor can you drive/walk/cycle to work but must spend money on public transport" either.

It's just Johnson shooting his mouth off in an attempt to be seen to be doing something, in the absence of actually doing anything. As Lilypond stated above:

"the only way the economy is going to recover is if people have confidence that the risk of contracting the virus when they go out and about is really low. The more the government rush into reopening everything without adequate safety precautions or a properly functioning test and trace system while the virus is still circulating at quite high levels, the more likely infection rates will shoot up again and the more damaging that will be to the economy. The government should focus on getting infection rates down. If they do that, economic recovery will follow."

It seems to me that there is a lot of people who don’t want to risk their health by going into work & will continue to buy goods etc online but are perfectly happy to put delivery drivers/pickers/packers health at risk by doing so.

The more the government rush into reopening everything without adequate safety precautions or a properly functioning test and trace system while the virus is still circulating at quite high levels, the more likely infection rates will shoot up again and the more damaging that will be to the economy.

As Trump found to his cost in Florida and Texas.

I hope that employers of delivery drivers and packing staff are keeping their staff safe, but customers are not risking the health of these staff by buying online. It is the employers' responsibility and duty to keep staff safe and any that don't should be prosecuted. I don't think anyone should risk their health to go to work if they can work at home. If everyone keeps their own personal risk as low as possible, the virus transmission and prevalence will be kept as low as possible.

It seems to me that there is a lot of people who don’t want to risk their health by going into work & will continue to buy goods etc online but are perfectly happy to put delivery drivers/pickers/packers health at risk by doing so.
Yeah, guess you think it would better if the delivery drivers/pickers/packers were on the dole instead.

I don't want to go back in. I don't miss the crowded and expensive commute which spread illness even before Covid.

I sleep better, I'm productive and

@ledbyasses - you know what employers should be doing but it generally isn’t the reality in warehouses.
You only had to go into any supermarket to see the pickers couldn’t observe SD. They are all on time deadlines made more difficult due to the increase in demand

Adding people who buy online into the mix inside supermarkets is really not going to lower infection rates.

@BlueBrian - at no point did I say or suggest that