Are you back in the office next week even if you can work from home?

[C1239]

The advice obviously changed this weekend to encourage more back into the workplace. What view has your employer taken? Even if you have been able to work from home well the last few months have you been asked to get back into office working from next week?

Been back for a while 50/50 for everyone and I love it rather than festering away at home. It's also been good to be able to support the more junior members of staff who are still learning, and have some routine. Some people were resistant, but everyone is settled now.

My office have said no one has to go back till Jan. I am thinking of going in a couple of days a week from sept if they open.

Office open for those that want to go. From September they are trying to get more people in. In London so lots need to use public transport. There are mutterings about making it mandatory.

I am pretty close to quitting. In between the childcare infrastructure collapsing, the inevitable need for loads of quarantining and the unclear messages regarding return, it all just feels too much.

Local government. No full return to office until at least January. They don't have covid secure space for us all!

I do wonder what'll happen when coughs and colds start spreading in autumn/ winter. Do employers plan to shut the office and tell everyone to isolate every time someone presents with a cough?

I do wonder what'll happen when coughs and colds start spreading in autumn/ winter. Do employers plan to shut the office and tell everyone to isolate every time someone presents with a cough?

I think they'll only need to do that if someone tests positive. You don't need to isolate if someone you've been in contact with gets a temperate/cough.
Our office it wouldn't be a problem either way, as we all have laptops we take home every day.

I’m desperate to get back to the office. I work at a uni in professional services. Being in the same four walls every day has sent my mental health down the shitter. Very reminiscent of having PND 2 years ago. I miss people, I miss having a change of scene and my home being a sanctuary instead of my workplace.

Office open tomorrow they are being very flexible ... I might do odd days here and there until October then see how it goes I have to go up there by train

My firm, financial services have most of us working from home for the foreseeable, no plans to go back full time but we do have a rota for people to go into the office as their job dictates. I go in twice a week, some people are in every day and some monthly and everything in between.

I'm enjoying my 20 step commute as opposed to 45 minutes in the car each way. Public transport is rubbish round here so cars are a must however it would appear decent WiFi is the way ahead!

If everyone carries on working from home, the economy is completely fucked and Johnson knows that. Public transport is knackered, retail shops are knackered, coffee shops, sandwich shops, petrol stations, restaurants (particularly in the City and the like), pubs, Markets, clothing manufacturers (suits/shirts/Office attire), Commercial property (which affects a lot of peoples pensions too). We will basically live in a world where everyone either works at an industrial site or at home and we have a visit to Tesco to look forward to at the end of the week.

People need to get back to a workplace at some point. Whether that is 25% or 50% or whatever initially but it has to happen.

@Cloudyroom

If everyone carries on working from home, the economy is completely fucked and Johnson knows that. Public transport is knackered, retail shops are knackered, coffee shops, sandwich shops, petrol stations, restaurants (particularly in the City and the like), pubs, Markets, clothing manufacturers (suits/shirts/Office attire), Commercial property (which affects a lot of peoples pensions too). We will basically live in a world where everyone either works at an industrial site or at home and we have a visit to Tesco to look forward to at the end of the week.

People need to get back to a workplace at some point. Whether that is 25% or 50% or whatever initially but it has to happen.

An economy built on people buying 'office attire' and coffee sounds a bit fucked to me anyway tbh.

Perhaps, rather than forcing millions of people back onto packed public transport and into crowded offices, businesses could diversify and adapt to the changing circumstances instead? Perhaps local areas could end up thriving rather than concentrating everything into city-centre hubs? The coffee shop down the road from me is busier than ever and people are socialising in local restaurants after they finish work rather than staying in town.

I don't recognise your vision of the future. I think those businesses that accept that things have fundamentally changed, and seek to adapt to that - even take advantage of it - will do fine.

yy "An economy built on people buying 'office attire' and coffee sounds a bit fucked to me anyway tbh."

Maybe we could build a more local, healthier economy. Not office based for the sake of it.

Thats nonsense @Cloudyroom

The economy is fucked if businesses don't adapt and adapt quickly to the 'new normal' which is working from home / flexible working. Its happening quicker than expected, but it was always heading this way.

More businesses need to get their products and services online. Shops can put their products online, restaurants can join just eat or deliveroo, you can arrange appointments through apps, order table service through apps.

Okay so people will need to post the products, cook the meals, but the point is - the reason many people cannot work from home is because society hasn't moved quickly enough to enable it.

We can access the internet and phones from home. If we can get our meals delivered here, our shopping, our groceries, we are pretty much sorted. Even hairdressers, beauticians, dog groomers can work on a mobile basis or from home (and my hairdresser prefers it as it gives her more control over appointments, number of people, hygiene etc)

My gym has moved all their classes online. They do weekly competitions and have been renting gym equipment to use at home eg treadmills, kettlebells etc. They have more members than they did pre lockdown.

My point is that many more jobs can be done from home than people think or are willing to try.

@Cloudyroom

If everyone carries on working from home, the economy is completely fucked and Johnson knows that. Public transport is knackered, retail shops are knackered, coffee shops, sandwich shops, petrol stations, restaurants (particularly in the City and the like), pubs, Markets, clothing manufacturers (suits/shirts/Office attire), Commercial property (which affects a lot of peoples pensions too). We will basically live in a world where everyone either works at an industrial site or at home and we have a visit to Tesco to look forward to at the end of the week.

People need to get back to a workplace at some point. Whether that is 25% or 50% or whatever initially but it has to happen.

Reminds me of that quote (paraphrasing ) we all work ridiculous hours in jobs we hate, to buy stuff we don't need, to impress people we don't like.

Maybe after all of this there can be some sort of happy medium found.

Yes I'm spending less on the bus but more on home stuff. I'm still buying clothes, just more home based things. I'll still spend money on fitness because that's important to me.
I'm still supporting local restaurants. Etc etc.

What sort of a shit life is that @britINscotland

The economy is fucked as it is never mind if people all stay at home forever.

Cuckoo land.

I'm a school administrator, for the most part perfectly capable of working from home but not allowed to.

Do some people not really want to see other people or spend much time outside their homes? Or have a change of scene, be in a different environment? I don’t get that. Wfh forever for me would feel like such a closed off life. I understand that’s not the case for everyone but then I’m an extrovert.

My point is that many more jobs can be done from home than people think or are willing to try.

Most of the examples you list there will be doing maybe 10/20% of the business they would be doing in normal times.

Gyms can only charge a fraction for online classes and their staff requirement plummets. Restaurants are ticking over by offering takeaway, but having done some work in the area, I’m being told that takings are about 15% of what they would normally be. It’s obviously far less cost effective for beauticians to go to their clients than have people come to them.

In the ‘new normal’ everyone is much poorer.

Wfh forever for me would feel like such a closed off life. I understand that’s not the case for everyone but then I’m an extrovert.

I’m am introvert but totally agree. The thought of WFH forever would drive me potty.

@LaurieMarlow same goes for my DH! He’s an introvert and happily worked 3 days from home prior to all this but he really misses his two days in the office, even just for the novelty of being somewhere different, being in the city centre and having a look around the shops if he wants to get a present for DS, getting a takeaway coffee, a bit of chat. A change of scene, really.

And it’s odd, I thought the way I felt was more rule than exception. I see a clinical psychologist and we were talking (via Zoom) recently about how hard I’m finding the current situation, the loneliness and cabin fever. She told me this was extremely common in people who have retired or SAHMs whose kids have started school and that she usually advises looking into volunteering in the first instance. It surprises me to see so many on here who would happily wfh for the foreseeable.

It surprises me to see so many on here who would happily wfh for the foreseeable.

I know. However I wonder how big a role fear is playing. I get that people don’t want to leave the safe bubble of home right now, but in the longer term, I don’t think this enthusiasm for wfh can last.

Reasons I'd rather wfh:

I'm an introvert. I work full time in a very busy environment, and can't choose my down time as work term time only.

Even pre-Covid that left me with very little left for outside of work. My social life comprised having my best friend for dinner a couple of times a months and half a dozen or so outings a year in the school holidays.

I'm vulnerable, but not sufficiently to be allowed to shield. I'm caring for my elderly and in my dad's case, very sick parents. We have no other family support. I'm a single parent to a teenage daughter. The vast majority of my friends are people I've met online that I'm perfectly happy to interact with via phone, social media etc. My hobbies are solo and home based.

I would feel much happier having the option to work from home for all of those reasons. Social distancing in a secondary school with 1300 pupils and 200+ staff plus the incessant stream of parents and visitors is going to be non-existent.

I will be putting a brave face on at the end of August and trotting back to work because I have no other option, but I'm trying really hard to keep a level head about the whole thing, but I'm really worried about the potential consequences.

I feel really sad for younger people starting out in their careers having to work from home. It’s so isolating, with very little meaningful interaction with others.

However, I can see how it’s helpful to work at home if you have kids and a long commute. Also if you are established, have plenty of friends and a supportive partner it must be easier to wfh.

I know working is about paying the bills, but I have also developed some great friendships at work and also met my DH. I would very much miss the social side of work.
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@AgentCooper

Do some people not really want to see other people or spend much time outside their homes? Or have a change of scene, be in a different environment? I don’t get that. Wfh forever for me would feel like such a closed off life. I understand that’s not the case for everyone but then I’m an extrovert.

I'm quite introverted but even I don't want to be completely closed off from life!!