Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Honestly - why are you not going back to work?

204 replies

SpaceOP · 14/09/2020 12:23

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?

OP posts:
ritzbiscuits · 14/09/2020 15:25

We have been told we'll be at home until at least next year. After that, our division are using as an opportunity to have us at home/remote first. I'm generally happy with that as I can be around more for my son and we can cook dinner/eat as a family much more easier. I hope long term I might be in the office a day per week but no more.

bumblingbovine49 · 14/09/2020 15:25

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

What a strange way of putting it. People are going back to work if they are told to. Yes there may be a very few who are trying to WFH and not wanting to go in despite being asked to by their employer but the vast majority are working in the office or at home depending on what their employer has decided or asked them to do.

It isn't about people not planning to come back. It is about employers deciding what will work best for their business

BarbaraofSeville · 14/09/2020 15:30

@Deliaskis. What l mean is, say someone has a sprained ankle and they can't drive or manage public transport, they're perfectly capable of doing office work at home and many would be happy to do this.

Of course there will be plenty who are happy to use this as a reason to take a few days sick leave, but a lot of people would rather keep up with their work and not leave it for others to do, plus if this is how your work deals with such occurrences, you're less likely to have to pick up a colleague's work when they're at home with a sprained ankle.

BikeTyson · 14/09/2020 15:31

I’m desperate to go back to working from the office instead of from home. Was supposed to be going back in part of the week soon but that’s been shelved due to rising cases. We won’t get back this year. I hate it.

NothingIsWrong · 14/09/2020 15:34

I'm desperate to be back in the office but they won't let me. WFH does not suit me at all.

Couchbettato · 14/09/2020 15:35

I feel like DH and I are just both better at our jobs and better at parenting when we're both in the same house.

We're not travelling for an hour a day either, and my maternity leave finished as lockdown started so it's nice knowing I don't have to go back into the office and miss my son.

Saving a fortune on lunches as well as we'd spend upwards of £10 a day some days and now we can eat what's in the freezer.

1304togo · 14/09/2020 15:37

Honestly, WFH is much nicer.

And I am getting SO SO SO much more done. It's so obvious that i'm less stressed, more productive, and my output is greater (volume AND quality/error rate).

Personally i hope i don't go back to the office any time soon - i suspect i may need to for specific things (big team workshops, key "all staff" sessions or the social stuff).. that's fine.

But for my day to day, it's a win-win-win if i mostly wfh 95% of the time until whenever.

(I'm winning because i am less stressed; work wins because my output is undoubtedly higher; family wins because I'm seeing DC and DH so much more)

i don't like the suggestion that i'm not working in the OP title though - i can assure you, i really am (and have been - none of that lockdown baking stuff for me!)

Scbchl · 14/09/2020 15:40

I went back last week and my boss was in the office with me on Thursday then told me on Friday he was contacted by track and trace. So I had a nervous 48 hour wait to see if I needed to isolate for two weeks. Decided it was safer just staying at home as I cant keep isolating for two weeks if I come into contact with someone who is positive. We have engineers from two businesses in and out all week who are in peoples houses all week. I just feel its better to wfh.

HeyMicky · 14/09/2020 15:42

Social distancing measures means only half the office can be in at any one time.

But I manage a team in the US and work with colleagues globally. Virtual meetings can be done anywhere, and I'd rather do it from home and save the time and money on commuting. I doubt I'll go back more than one day a week again

Inkpaperstars · 14/09/2020 15:42

Dp is still wfh. His office has not reopened. He prefers working in the office in many ways, we are in small open plan flat so it's not easy here. If the office reopens then the main will would be travelling into central London, tube or train. Defintely if he did not go back it would be due to covid. Longer term if we were in a bigger place, it might be because he prefers working from home!

They have said if they reopen this year it will only be 15% of staff in at any time.

Emmmie · 14/09/2020 15:45

I will be going back when the furlough scheme ends in November (this is what the boss wants).

I will also be 6 months pregnant at the time and no one at works knows anything about this. My boss has been firing people right, left and center and I just know that had I told her about the pregnancy she would have fired me too, but blame corona.

I have emails from her stating that they absolutely need me back at work, so if she fires me upon arrival I will know it's because I'm pregnant.

MildlyMiserable · 14/09/2020 15:46

Maybe some companies businesses have suffered and are not yet reopened or don’t have enough work for a full workforce?
Maybe some bosses are protecting their workforce for the future?
Maybe some staff are very vulnerable?
Or maybe, like me it’s a combination of all three and they’d love to go back to work because being in your own house for 6 months is very boring!

hollieberrie · 14/09/2020 15:47

I am off sick with long covid (6 months and counting) but my office isnt open yet anyway, looks like it'll be 2021 before we are asked to go back in

Thecobwebsarewinning · 14/09/2020 15:55

People working 40 hours a week in a building a long way from their home is a comparatively new situation. It only became possible when reliable, affordable public transport became widely available, so in the last 120 years or so. Somehow we quickly accepted it as a non-negotiable norm. City centres became the money centres and local shops, high streets and businesses died off.

Covid has showed us that a daily commute is not essential but was a temporary blip in social history. Hopefully high streets and local shops and restaurants will gain where the cities are losing out.

I find it fascinating that throughout my working life we have tolerated massive delays, over crowded trains, gridlocked roads, sky high rail fares and parking charges etc. It seemed inescapable and the only way to improve things was to build bigger car parks, longer trains, wider roads, run more buses. I used to get to work 90 minutes before my official start time just to ensure a seat in the train. We’d got so caught up in the belief that commuting was essential we failed to see that it actually isn’t essential anymore.

I’m retired now but my husband and adult D.C. are all WFH. They’ve all been into their respective offices a couple of days over the last few weeks and they loved it. They enjoyed seeing their colleagues, feeling the camaraderie, going out for a sandwich/drink after a work etc but none of them have any intention of going back to a 5 day 9-5 commute again. A few days a month in the office and the rest WFM is working very well for them and their employers.

herecomesthsun · 14/09/2020 16:00

I am not going back to work because I am in a pause between being fully retired and going back semi retired. Also because I am ECV and work is very ahem public facing so would be high risk right now.

1304togo · 14/09/2020 16:21

I have emails from her stating that they absolutely need me back at work, so if she fires me upon arrival I will know it's because I'm pregnant.

Make sure you fwd these to a personal/non-work account, or print screenshots or something.

First thing I've seen happen is email lockout, then accidental "automatic" deletion of people's inbox when that happens.

make sure that doesn't happen IF you need it.

amieejust · 14/09/2020 16:22

Because I don't have a job to go to and neither does DH Sad

AhNowTed · 14/09/2020 16:28

Love how the OP focussed on the "lifestyle choice" and ignored the majority, who are furloughed or forbidden to go back to the office.

Emmmie · 14/09/2020 16:28

1304togo Great advice. Thank you! I will do that.

maddiemookins16mum · 14/09/2020 16:31

Our office is back, but only a third. We’ll never have a full office again as 2/3 are WFH. We’re even moving to smaller premises.

CleverKnot · 14/09/2020 16:38

All of mine are Covid reasons:

I have enough equipment to work at home
Work doesn't want me, I'm strongly encouraged to not be there
There are lots of uncomfortable rules (due to covid control) that I don't want to be stressed out trying to follow

Love how the OP focussed on the "lifestyle choice" and ignored the majority, who are furloughed or forbidden to go back to the office.

^ That.

Thegirlhasnoname · 14/09/2020 16:40

I honestly don’t mind working in the office but I’d be worried about the public transport getting to the office (a view that seems to be shared across our department). We worked at home a couple of days a week anyway.

Very much enjoying not having to pack onto cramped rush hour trains it has to be said! I’m pregnant too so work is in even less of a rush to get me physically in

HazelWong · 14/09/2020 16:42

Working from home has been really nice - especially as I have a breastfed baby who refuses a bottle, so I have been able to feed him at bedtime every night without rushing home from the office.

My main reluctance to commute into central London is not so much about covid as the likelihood of catching other winter bugs, passing them on to the kids and having to keep them off nursery and get a test etc

Fortyfifty · 14/09/2020 16:48

Public sector role. We've been told to keep wfh until March. Not custoner/client facing and I often work alone when in the office so all my job can be done from home. I'd rather know of I'm every going back so I can invest more in a decent chair and work space at home. I don't miss my office but would prefer a mix of wfh and office. I wouldn't want to be in the office now as there are no windows that open, there's an awful air conditioning system which blows cool air on me all year - projecting droplets from others pretty far I'd say. The breakout areas can be bottlenecks and there's nowhere to go at lunchtime near the office.

Oblomov20 · 14/09/2020 16:50

I think people are taking the mick and using covid as an excuse to wfh.