Honestly - why are you not going back to work?

[SpaceOP]

I've spoken to a lot of firms, read lots of news reports, all saying that the UK workforce are not going back. I know many firms are doing internal surveys and the feedback is universally that people aren't planning to come back yet.

My question is, genuinely, how much of this i because of covid and how much is because quite frankly, WFH is nicer? Or if there's a list of reasons, is Covid number 1 or number 5?

Certainly, in my case, I have worked from home for years but I admit that I am enjoying barely ever having to go into town. It's time consuming and painful and often means I lose out on time to do other work and/or home stuff. So the more my clients continue to work from home, the better it is for me. I'm not staying away because of Covid as the main reason, although I would say it's a consideration - I feel like the risk doesn't feel that worth it but if I had to go in, I would?

Anyone else?

We've been told WFH until at least Christmas (NHS back office). Much of our office space is being converted into space that can be used for clinical purposes, so that we can see community patients who really need a face to face and have a shot at getting through our backlog. I'd like to be in 2 days a week, but realistically it isn't happening.

Partly because I have a better work/life balance working from home, and partly because the fewer people I’m in contact with the lesser the chance of getting told I have to self-isolate. Having done it once when I was ill previously (no tests available then unless you were hospitalised) there is no way my sanity will take 2 weeks shut in the house alone. There’s a reason why solitary confinement is used as a punishment.

Office is shut and probably not reopening until next year.
Daughter is in the category that shields so need to minimise risk.
Pregnant so don’t want to put myself at increased risk.

I can 100% do my job from home, why should I pay a fortune in time and money to commute unnecessarily?

I'm wfh because the work I was doing, I can't anymore, our work places closed..
We have our own business though, couldn't work to make fat cats rich.

I work in factories (regional support role) there are roles that have to be physically in and therefore any roles that can be done from home are being done so to reduce congestion and aid distancing.
There are some tasks I need to be onsite to do, I have done probably a dozen or so days onsite (split between 2 of my 3 sites... can't fly to the other one 😁).
We have been told this way of working is until 2021.

In all honesty it's saving me commuting time, mileage and money (one is 35 minutes drive other is 55 minutes drive). It's easier for the new custody schedule with exH.
It's proven I don't always have to be in.
I think I'll probably end up doing something similar to this forever.... 2-3 days on site a week will suit me fine if I'm not travelling (was every month prior to COVID).

Well I can't go back because I've always worked from home.

Rules are different in Scotland, where all non-essential offices are still closed. Even the essential ones are operating on a skeleton staff. DH is in a safety critical industry, and they are being very, very strict about "bubbling" shifts and keeping different watches entirely separate. If one watch goes down with Covid, the others won't be "contaminated". Management are staying out of the office altogether, he's been told definitely working from home until Christmas. After that who knows, they're going through a huge restructure and redundancy programme so he may well have a different job this time next year.

The other thing that I think long-term may affect my office time/WFH preference, is that I think when we talk about 'back to the office', it sort of assumes that the benefits of the office (face to face meetings with colleagues, team chat and morale kind of social stuff, internal training and networking opportunities) will be part of it. But for a long time, they won't be, and if everybody takes the more flexible approach (as our company look likely to do), then the reason for being in the office continues to diminish.

My role is as an expert in a specialist field that forms a small (but growing) part of our business. I used to gain a lot of work (thus showing my value) from chatting with different people and networking internally and identifying where a team could benefit from what I do. If everybody chooses to work at home more, those opportunities will diminish....I have found ways of doing what I do remotely, and why go into the office to 'be visible' and meet people, if those people WFH the days you are there (or all the time)?

Why go into the office for social banter if the rest of your team or friends aren't there?
Why go into the office for meetings if most people dial in remotely?
Why go in for trainings if half the cohort attend remotely and you have to workshop with them virtually anyway?

The fewer other people go to the office, the fewer reasons there are for me to go. I would say in fact the only real reason for me to go is that 100% solitary working doesn't suit me mentally.

Mainly because I’m lazy and like to be able to lie in until 8.45 rather than getting up at 7 to get the train.

Plus I’m saving about £10 a day on travel and when I close my laptop at 5.30 my evening can begin straight away rather than having to do an hour long journey home.

I could quite happily never go back to the office again

I am currently going in one day a week.

Reasons I will mainly WFH:

• Save money travelling
• Better work life balance
• I can do my job from home just as well, if not better
• I can finish work and be in the gym in 15 minutes
• Office is strictly social distancing so, while it is nice to see some work acquaintances, it is mostly people I do not know
• Lots of time saved and not wasted commuting

Reasons I go back once per week:

• Breaks up the week (single)
• I eat food prepared and cooked by someone other than me
• Part of my work involves the running of the office so it helps me to keep my oar in

This is very interesting.

So positives (for jobs which CAN be done from home 90% of the time) =
Saving money on travel.
Less pollution.
More time with the kids.
More time with partner.
Less rush to get house work done.
Less money spent on food for lunch (?)
Less wear and tear on the car (if you use one).
Money spent leasing workspace saved and ploughed into profit.
Money saved on work clothes/grooming?

Negatives?

Your lecy bill goes up?
Fed up with being in the house?
Hard to find peaceful space to work?

What have i missed?

1. School day is shorter and all my childcare plans for before and after school have fallen apart, so even if I wanted to go back to the office, it would be impossible for me to do so unless DH was WFH.
2. Although I'm not worried about catching Covid-19, I think it is utterly irresponsible to encourage people back to work if they can effectively do their job WFH. The gov't should trying to prevent a second wave (and the entire economy shutting down again) so keep things moving for people who can't do their jobs properly if WFH - people like me going back just increases the risk of the second wave for negligible net benefit.
3. If I did go into the office, I couldn't have a meeting of the sort that are better face to face (i.e. big groups, external people, long meetings) and there is nothing worse than a meeting where some have dialled in, and some haven't, so I'd rather keep it that everyone dials in.
4. If i did go into the office, because capacity is reduced, there will never be enough people there to make it worthwhile. And put in social distancing where you're sitting 2m+ from colleagues, there will be none of the informal interaction/eavesdropping/chatting that makes being in the office worthwhile.
5. I don't want to go back to driving 25miles a day (DH 50miles a day) for environmental reasons.

If it were not for all the above, I'd quite like to go back to the office.

Everyone is just as productive at home right now, some are more productive. The fun of crowding together in an office is about spending time in company, not sitting a few metres apart. It's preferable not to have to spend loads of effort making places covid secure and risk people getting unwell, so only limited spots are being opened for those who are really desperate to go to an office.

One company I work with is going a step further that there have been many new requests to go and work from a range of other countries, so they're assessing the legal, HR and tax implications to decide which to open up as possibilities. They're actively considering a lot more than I would have thought and plan to offer that individuals can cover the extra country cost through salary reductions if anyone is desperate and they would otherwise decline. Only a few countries will never be allowed on security grounds. It's really great for the staff.

I'm sick of being asked if I'm "going back" when I've been working pretty well flat out for months. I could go into the office and a couple of my colleagues have chosen to do so. Personally, I prefer not to follow a one way system or sanitise my desk before I start getting things done, and I enjoy being able to have a cup of coffee whenever I want without standing in a socially distanced queue. My boss doesn't care where I work as long as the work is done - which it is. And the flexibility and lack of commuting time is great.

I'm also continuing to minimise contact with others, not so much because of worries about getting sick, but because having to isolate due to track and trace would be a pain in the backside. So if I can stay away and still get things done, I will.

So another negative might be not mixing with the team enough.

My employer is being very cautious and only opening the office to 30-40% of staff max - just those who need to be in or are struggling to WFH.

I dont particularly want to go in as I dont fancy the public transport getting there or the stringent rules on mask wearing, social distancing and not using the kitchen when you are in. Plus I get to see a lot more of DC when WFH. I miss the social aspect and the idea sharing though in the office.

My employer is looking to move to more WFH in the future. Which means hotdesking which I hate, but oh well.

I already did wfh for 75% of my week because it allows me to avoid the commute, is less tiring (chronic illness) and work more hours. I was on the shielding list and I am quite happy to never go again. So 90% because I like wfh and 10% Covid.
My office is letting some people who are keen to go back one day a week but with strict controls.

Because my colleagues aren't going back. I'd love to go back to the office and have friendly adult company again!

I'm in NYC, so my office is still closed. BUT what would stop me going back is the commuting on public transport. I really don't fancy getting on a packed subway...

it's really great for the staff

And for the company, cheaper workers abroad.

I went back last week. We are trying to ventilate the office, but on Friday we were freezing. Warmer this week, but we very quickly started talking about returning to wfh, as there are only so many layers we can wear to keep us warm!

There are people in my office that are vulnerable and want to keep it ventilated.

I would like to have a couple of days in the office a week (previously probably 4/5). I am not going in at all because:

1. I have to get the train. I have no control over how many people pile onto the train and where they have been (one of my stops is a major airport - how does the government think people who need to quarantine are going to get home!)

2 Our office isn’t open because (a) everyone has to get public transport and (b) it’s an old building with small rooms and narrow corridors, not great for social distancing. We don’t want our entire team to be ill at the same time (and would rather they weren’t ill at all).

If I could drive to my office and it was open I would go.

The government should be pleased we are staying at home - when I think back to my train journeys in early March I shudder. The likelihood of infection must have been huge.

I've returned once a week. I'm more productive at home as are my team. Our offices are "Covid secure" but there have still been outbreaks.

The social distancing and wearing masks is a faff and I'm now actually arranging meetings to take place remotely as it's a lot easier than having meetings in person.

There are no advantages to being in the office with the current social distancing measures.

It’s just become very apparent that being in the office is actually not necessary for 90% of the work I do. We also will likely make a staff or office space decision - we’ve actually already served notice on the lease of our very expensive London office and it seems unlikely we will take out another.

I'm not going back because I don't have a job to go back to thanks to covid. So I'd say covid comes at my number 1 one reason sure.

Mainly because I dont fancy getting on a packed tube when cases are rapidly rising again. Our company have changed their whole ethos and now wfh will be much more the norm with minimal time in office.