How much longer wfh if office based

[EagleFlight]

Do any of you have any minimum date that you will be wfh or date you expect to start returning to the office?

Company has been completely wfh since March and has said will continue until at least March of this year. They are understandably non committal at the moment about anything further into the future because who knows what will happen but I’d be surprised if it isn’t extended (because wfh is going well).

Now we’ve had the latest lockdown announcement has anyone had a wfh extension or expectation of when looking to return to the office?

@Dongdingdong

As soon as the vaccine is rolled out, all the WFHers are going to be hauled back to the office pronto. Tick tock, tick tock!

Not so simple, especially in places that rely on public transport or are high rise so include lifts, plus most offices these days you don't have an allocated desk so they were never designed to have everyone in - there'll be a tilt towards more flexibility, but the key is in the word flexible, what works for some won't for others, neither is right or wrong

Most people wfh can’t wait to get back to the office and if anyone prefs wfh then I don’t see the issue if their work is not affected in anyway, they aren’t affecting anybody by doing so.

DH is going back next week. In a different state. But some of team is crying hypocrisy as they sent everyone home to work when cases were 100/day, it’s now 50,000/day and they want them in the office. There is a limit of how many so plenty of room to SD.

Plenty I know are not going back until the summer minimum, some not at all.

@EagleFlight

I suppose the success of the vaccination plan will have a lot to do with it but also whether Chris Whitty’s prediction about restrictions in place this winter are correct. I’m assuming, possibly incorrectly, that one of these restrictions will be social distancing which will have an impact on the numbers in the office.

I would hope companies ask employees if they want to return and make a plan based on that. There are many people, of all differing ages, who prefer to either be back in the office or else stay at home for longer. Whilst wfh suits some people, it’s very isolating and lonely for others especially if people are working from their bedrooms.

My employer has said it wants to do a combination of wfh and office working once we are back although no idea how that will work in reality. I’d be quite happy for those who want to wfh to do so and those who want to return to the office to be given the priority to do so.

Given the under 50s won’t be vaccinated before May I think it’s important that those who wish to continue WFH at that point are allowed to. It’s likely the virus will rage through this age group when the government orders a return to “normality”. Given a recent ONS study showed 10-20% of people develop long covid, most of these people in the 30-50 year old group, I think it’s important people are given the chance to protect themselves where possible.

2022 for us and even then I don't think we'll ever do five days in the office again. I don't want to do five days but I really miss going to work, in work clothes, with no kids about, in grown up mode. How I long for a glass of wine after work.

If we're told we're working from home permanently I'll leave and look for something totally different. My set up will fail every risk assessment so I don't see how the company could allow me to work from home in normal times.

@EagleFlight

I suppose the success of the vaccination plan will have a lot to do with it but also whether Chris Whitty’s prediction about restrictions in place this winter are correct. I’m assuming, possibly incorrectly, that one of these restrictions will be social distancing which will have an impact on the numbers in the office.

I would hope companies ask employees if they want to return and make a plan based on that. There are many people, of all differing ages, who prefer to either be back in the office or else stay at home for longer. Whilst wfh suits some people, it’s very isolating and lonely for others especially if people are working from their bedrooms.

My employer has said it wants to do a combination of wfh and office working once we are back although no idea how that will work in reality. I’d be quite happy for those who want to wfh to do so and those who want to return to the office to be given the priority to do so.

I can't see SD going on then if vax is being rolled out covid is bad yes but so is mental health a lot can't take much more and business cabt keep running with SD measures

I started a new job at the end of July and I've only met two of my colleagues in person. I've had to learn my role over zoom and by email. I work for a wonderful organisation who have looked after all of us so well and my direct colleagues are lovely people and I count some of them as friends now.

It is still absolutely soul destroying working from home. It's isolating, makes the role itself harder, I really like my colleagues and would actually like to meet them in person. I feel like I'm being robbed of so much, just thinking about work never mind the rest of life, right now. It's affected my confidence, my motivation. I've never even been to our office. I miss the social side hugely. Two years ago I escaped an abusive marriage and going back to work helped me so so much, it was an escape from my stresses and I felt like I was building a life again, making friends, enjoying being at work and in the office. It's all gone and it's destroying my mental health. I'm 32, not young young but still 'young' and it's sucking the life from me. We were supposed to be going back to the office this April but can't see it happening.

We got told at the start of the first lockdown they expected it to be at least 18 months before we were all back in the office FT. We can't do all of our job at gone so generally go in once a week. With current guidelines and SD etc I think we can only have 30% of the usual staff in at the same time.

One in five people, when polled (or questioned, if you prefer) have said they are hesitant about being vaccinated so might not have it. That could impact on employers if a fifth of their employees are unvaccinated especially if they employ greater numbers in the typical age brackets who are less likely to be vaccinated.

That could impact on employers? Again, an incredibly naive comment. Generally speaking the jobs market is extremely competitive at the best of times - and it’s going to get a heck of a lot worse when many lose their jobs this year due to the wretched virus. If an employer wants someone in the office and one person has been vaccinated and the other one has refused, guess who’s going to get the job.

@Dongdingdong

One in five people, when polled (or questioned, if you prefer) have said they are hesitant about being vaccinated so might not have it. That could impact on employers if a fifth of their employees are unvaccinated especially if they employ greater numbers in the typical age brackets who are less likely to be vaccinated.

That could impact on employers? Again, an incredibly naive comment. Generally speaking the jobs market is extremely competitive at the best of times - and it’s going to get a heck of a lot worse when many lose their jobs this year due to the wretched virus. If an employer wants someone in the office and one person has been vaccinated and the other one has refused, guess who’s going to get the job.

What are you doing on about?

I asked when people were going back to work in the office, if they knew. You replied saying:
As soon as the vaccine is rolled out, all the WFHers are going to be hauled back to the office pronto. Tick tock, tick tock!

So I asked if
By rolled out, do you mean everyone being fully vaccinated? That’s anticipated to be about a year away and still one in five in polls say they are hesitant to have it. Will that be included in your tick tock?

Do you understand that some people can’t be vaccinated or that some people will have to wait months for it? Those who are going to be vaccinated first aren’t office workers or primarily young enough to still be in employment. You cannot fire somebody because they haven’t had a vaccine (I don’t agree with many views against having it, but that’s my personal view).

Despite what you think, lots of companies are actually doing fine in the pandemic and will come through the other side with their employees (vaccinated or not) still working for them. Some companies are already saying wfh or blending working will be their future.

The impact I am talking about many not having the vaccine is that an employer in general cannot make them, has no right to know if they are vaccinated or not, and cannot dismiss them for it. However, if many are not it will impact if back at the office in a way it won’t if still wfh. The vaccine has only been trialled to prevent severe covid; so even vaccinated people can get it (hopefully only) mildly and pass it on. That means self isolation is likely to stay in place for a while and so will social distancing. It is less disruptive to employers to continue wfh rather than having employees off work because of close contact and not having their computer systems etc there. That’s why I don’t think the vaccinations will be the “tick tock” you believe as there is more to it. If anyone is being naive, it’s you thinking otherwise. The vaccination is just the next step. There is longer yet to go.

Civil Service - no end date. Our office has changed forever and there are no fixed desks and only room for a quarter of the workforce at once. We’ve been told “hot desking hubs” are here to stay and you’ll only be expected to go in once or twice a week once restrictions are lifted.

They’ve saved loads of money not paying the military travel to work and electricity in the office.

There’s a bit of a misconception upthread! I didn’t say I was old. I’m not particularly. I’m happier working at home. I appreciate others might not be for me it’s been (possibly the only) plus of the pandemic.

I'm never going back. They've downsized the office and I don't have a desk anymore.

I’m a lecturer, and have been timetabled for remote teaching for the entire academic year. Some staff have been on campus - prioritising practical courses - but that has been paused since the new lockdown.

Open ended atm I can't see me being back in the next few months. There also a fairly substantiated rumour our company are renegotiating our lease and only taking 1/3rd of our current office space in the expectation many people will WFH permanently or only go in once or twice a week.

I’ve been told not till Sept. will have been the oddest 18 months of my life. To be honest I don’t think we’ll go back to normal. My boss reckons we’ll be allowed to work from home permanently if we want. That online meetings will be the norm for ever. 🤷‍♀️

Was supposed to Jan 2021, now probably not until 2021.

As a relatively recent joiner to the workforce it’s soul destroying! A video call with 20 people results in only one person speaking ... but a face to face networking event would have several separate conversations and you could meet a lot of people in the space of an hour! It takes a lot more effort to meet and connect with people - you can naturally catch up when you run into them at work but sending a random message to say ‘hi’ seems forcedzzz

Sorry meant to say 2022!

I feel really bad for those starting out. My memories of the first 10 years of my career are mostly around making friends and having an incredible social life in the heart of a city. I have young kids so working from home full time suits me fine right now but I hate that those fantastic early years are being taken away from so many. And of course, the same for anyone who wants to be in the office for whatever reason.

General belief in the office today is that we are looking at least another year, maybe closer to two. That seems incredible to me but then offices have already been closed a year so perhaps not.

Not going back at all. I was already mainly WFH before but now it's permanent for me and several others who are all able to do 100% of jobs from home. I love it so not complaining.

My company moved to fully flexible working in September forever - expectation is that when in a lockdown situation and assuming some semblance of normality has returned eg like being in a tier 1 then WFH will be 2-3 days per week, days in office is up to the employee and should tie in with any boss/meeting requirements or an employee can go in for mental health reasons Eg so they don't feel isolated at home

I keep reading about companies switching to working from home permanently - what are they doing about employees who can't? Many of us are making do as our homes aren't suitable so I suppose we're out of a job if it becomes permanent.

I work in the living room, I don't have an office or spare room to convert to one. My set up doesn't meet DSE requirements and never will. We've also been told to remember some calls are confidential, well that's tough really as I'm not telling DH to leave his home!

September tentatively at this point, but the plan is that people will be able to split their time between wfh and being in the office which sounds ideal to me!