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Covid

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Original poster

Those of us who are currently WFH due to covid....

21 replies

BasinHaircut · 12/01/2021 10:22

How long do you think you will be doing this for at this moment in time?

Has your employer given any indication on when you might be expected to return to the office?

I had originally been told that it would be Easter before the start of a phased return. Although nothing has been explicitly said yet, I believe that is now off of the table. I can’t see the us returning to the office in any meaningful way this year just now.

OP posts:

Calmandmeasured1 · 12/01/2021 10:43

Everyone wfh in the company my DH works for has been such an enormous success that I don't think there will ever be a return to the office.

BringMeThatHorizon · 12/01/2021 10:48

We haven't been given any indication that WFH is going to change anytime soon. I work for a part of the NHS that is office based and in central London, so most employees would need to travel in needing public transport. We were told basically that it's irresponsible to go in and to put a strain on the system that we're working so hard to keep going. Even before this latest lockdown, anyone who wanted to go in to the office needed to make a case for it which had to then be signed off by senior management. When it is safe to go back, I think there's going to be a big shift towards WFH on a permanent basis.

Buzzinwithbez · 12/01/2021 10:59

My Goodman's hasn't been too his office since March. The company were ahead of the game getting everyone home before the first lockdown.. They aren't going to risk returning and losing two weeks productivity if there's another U-turn.
Things will have to look very stable.

EmmaStone · 12/01/2021 11:38

DH's company have permanently closed some offices, he was often very mobile in where he worked anyway, so although not out and about anymore, he's always worked hunched over a laptop anywhere.

I've been into my office twice since March, once just to collect some things. We have people working in the office (those who find it very difficult to WFH, or have come in for their mental health), but I'm taking the stance that by staying home, I'm helping to protect those who can't WFH. I really miss seeing my colleagues in person, but I'd be happy to WFH for as long as necessary - I can do the majority of my work as efficiently, and I like the flexibility of being at home too. Going forward, I'd probably aim to do a mix of home working and office-based working (my bosses have always been happy with me doing a bit of home working anyway - when I started I always did 1 day a week at home, but eventually went to the office FT for a variety of reasons).

Isolatedizzy · 12/01/2021 13:24

May was mentioned in a meeting I was in yesterday. The overall thinking though was that we will never go back to being everyone in, 5 days per week.

MadameBlobby · 12/01/2021 13:26

Not until the vaccine is rolled out

IPokeBadgers · 12/01/2021 13:30

Been WFH since 23 March 2020 and was rold via email that it would be reviewed at end of March 2021. No further information yet but imagine it will be a slow phased return and largely dependent on staff getting vaccinated.... Cant see it happening much before summer though.

Loncan · 12/01/2021 13:38

The rumour in my company is no sooner than August, but they haven’t yet released updated back to work plans. We’ll never go back to a typical 9-5 though/everyone in 5 days a week though.

Fleurty · 12/01/2021 13:43

The whole company has been WFH since a week before the first lockdown, we were originally told spring and now we've been told the offices won't be reopening before the middle of the year.

When we go back we will be expected to be in the office only 2 days a week, and it is up to us how many days we want to do at home or at work.

GlowingOrb · 12/01/2021 13:51

We have been wfh since last March and Neither my nor Dh’s companies has any plans to return this year. DH’s company downsized last month and he no longer has a desk and is now permanently wfh. If he needs to go in for a day he will be able to request a visitor office.

BlueBaubles12 · 12/01/2021 14:00

Summer I reckon. No earlier.

PinkSparklyPussyCat · 12/01/2021 14:02

Nothing has been said in our office but I'll be leaving if this becomes permanent.

soughsigh · 12/01/2021 14:13

I can't even remember what my company's current advice is. We probably wont go back to the office immediately when it is decreed safe to do so, there will be a phased return. We will not be permentantly WFH. Most of my team has expressed that they would like a 50/50 WFH/office split.

TheKeatingFive · 12/01/2021 14:16

Well we’ve been in and out, but we have a rota which is 30-50% office attendance and we’ll be back to that as soon as we’re at level 3 (Ireland).

Basically when non essential retail goes back. Which I imagine is mid February at the earliest.

ExeterMummaMia · 12/01/2021 14:28

Not due back in during 2021 at our office. When we closed late last Feb (before gov forced WFH on businesses) we were told not to expect to be back until after Xmas.... with this 2nd wave being worse we've been told to sit tight for rest of 2021. We are a global businss, with offices around the world though, and so we'll be home until globally all is well (there is typically a lot of travel between offices and countries in normal times anyway)

tootyfruitypickle · 12/01/2021 14:29

Would love to never go back! But was quietly doing 4 days wfh without any senior managers noticing so sure I can just make the very occasional appearance should it be necessary in the future .

BlairCorneliaWaldorf · 12/01/2021 14:33

I’m so bored at home. I don’t think I’ll cope with another year of this so really hoping we get back to the office by summer at the latest. I’ll be tempted to quit if it goes on any longer. As annoying as they can be at times, looking after my kids is way more interesting than spending all day sat in the same room, day after day

Waspnest · 12/01/2021 14:38

Everyone wfh in the company my DH works for has been such an enormous success that I don't think there will ever be a return to the office.

Same for my DH. Offices where the lease was up for renewal have closed permanently. They plan to keep some of the bigger offices open so that eventually people can go in one day a week if they wish. But it's more for the employees' benefit than the company's.

TheGreatWave · 12/01/2021 14:38

We have been in and out like a bloody round of the hokey cokey.

They will have us back in at the first opportunity. I do prefer to work in the office, but I would prefer for the ones that either didn't need to or want to to be given the chance to stay at home.

emmathedilemma · 12/01/2021 14:47

No mention of it yet. Our office opened for about 5 weeks in October just to get new staff started until the English lockdown and hasn't reopened since. I don't foresee us ever being back in 5 days a week unless we really want to. One of my clients announced months ago they wouldn't reopen before the end of March 2021 but I can see that being pushed back now.

IToldYouIWasFreaky · 12/01/2021 14:53

No, we've not been given an end date. I was working from home one day a week before all this anyway, and lots of our workforce are field-based, so as a company, we were well equipped to remote working and it seems to be going well. Offices are open if you absolutely have to use them but even over the summer when things were eased, the message was very much "come in if you want to/it works for you"

Long term, I expect I'll do a phased return back but I'm not sure if I'll ever get back to 4 days a week again. I really missed the office at the start but I'm getting used to it now. I do miss chatting to people and popping to the shops at lunchtime and just feeling like part of the world.

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