So, when do you think ‘wfh if you can’ will end?!

[Hairybaker]

The only upside of COVID for me has been no commute! Do you think it’ll be when you get vaccinated or when every adult has been vaccinated....or later?!
I know no one knows but just interested!

My office were wanting people to work remotely more often anyway so covid has been a dream come true for them!

They have rjigged all our office space so there is fewer permanent work stations and more meeting rooms/laptop docking stations etc. Itll never go back to everyone in the office full time.

I've agreed with my manager to go in 2 days per week for meetings

Piece of string OP, piece of string.

Finger in the air...
January 2022.
i've been wrong about many things before.
I like my commute & working elsewhere.

I can’t wait to get back into the office!

Also been told not going back to full time in office but even the thought of a day or two a week of a two hour each way trip is just not tempting! Obviously not a good time to be looking for other jobs nearer home so will suck it up, and try and win the lottery in time for when the announcement is made!

Civil Service here, we are never going back full time! It’s all hot desking hubs now in the office now and only 50% of staff can be accommodated in the office at once. I imagine we will be in the office for 2 days a week.

It's possible some people never will I reckon. I've heard that the (large) organisation I work for is considering selling off some of its office buildings to save money. As a side effect, if lots of places do this and they're converted to residential accommodation, it could help the housing crisis. That might be a bit optimistic though.

I doubt we will be going back to the office 5 days a week. People seem to be able to work well from home so probably split time in office/ at home.

My employer didn't renew the lease anyway and is taking a smaller premises.

Then again, a lot of these work from home jobs will be offshored to cheaper countries.

Get me back in the office ASAP!! We always did half WFH/half office based anyway and my commute is 15 minutes. I can’t wait to get back in!!

We will be going back over the summer back to full time office work with some wfh flexibility which wasn’t there before.

@Donoteatthekittens

Then again, a lot of these work from home jobs will be offshored to cheaper countries.

I do wonder whether the London job market (and therefore its hugely inflated housing market) will be anywhere near as buoyant if companies can hire people elsewhere in the UK to do the job at lower salaries (never mind the prospect of offshoring).

Its all very well companies wanting staff to work from home but for a lot of their staff its not feasible in the long term. People are working from bedrooms and kitchens in tiny houses. Two adults working from home in a tiny house - nightmare. It can't be sustained in the long term for a lot of families.

The garden shed/office business will be booming!

We have all been back in the office since September. Working from home just wasn’t feasible.

@Windyone

Its all very well companies wanting staff to work from home but for a lot of their staff its not feasible in the long term. People are working from bedrooms and kitchens in tiny houses. Two adults working from home in a tiny house - nightmare. It can't be sustained in the long term for a lot of families.

Very true. It’s probably lovely if you have a big house and a study. Not so lovely if you’re working in the bedroom of your shared house.

My employer was making a push towards agile working/WFH pre covid because it can't afford the office space it needs for all it's staff. Covid had just accelerated the process. Beforehand, we were being told it would be a 2 days at home, 3 days in the office rota arrangement. Now there are five desks for 25 staff.

I won't be going back to the office all week. I have asked for WFH before the pandemic and as I have a child with complex needs and struggled massively with the stress of working and caring. I was told that WFH would not be possible. I have proven them wrong now. I was actually to take on more responsibility as I am much less stressed without commute. It has been a total game changer for me. I always have the option of carers allowance and universal credit and if the only alternative is going back to the office, I know what I will do. I need to login after myself so I can look after DC. But I hope very much WFH is here to stay.

I hope it's soon for my neighbours that seem ready to kill each other regularly or end up destroying their house with so much DIY (or end up killed by the other neighbours for doing DIY at ridiculous hours. 6AM continuing all day was bad enough, but they've tried a bit at 2AM at least once in the last month).

@ImEatingVeryHealthilyOhYes

The garden shed/office business will be booming!

All very well for those who have a garden and can afford a shed/home office!

Final decision? I don't think anyone can say.

It has been proved that I don't need to be in the office to do my job well but I'm desperate to go back one day a week for human contact.

@Donoteatthekittens

Then again, a lot of these work from home jobs will be offshored to cheaper countries.

No they won't. However, I think employers will be able to recruit from anywhere in the UK and pay less. But I am not sure that matters and that flexibility works both ways if eg you can live in Exeter but work for a London company.

I'd rather earn £30K in an area where I can afford to buy a house than £50K in London where I can't. Not that house prices in my example of Exeter are that low. But lower than London.

Its all very well companies wanting staff to work from home but for a lot of their staff its not feasible in the long term. People are working from bedrooms and kitchens in tiny houses. Two adults working from home in a tiny house - nightmare. It can't be sustained in the long term for a lot of families

It's difficult at the moment because people can only work from home. But once things open up again you can work in a library or a coffee shop or a co-working hub. Even if you have to pay to use a co-working desk, it may well be much cheaper and more convenient than commuting to an office - or investing in a garden office.

poppycat10 - even before Covid, I was working for a large bank that was offshoring its entire digital banking workforce to Bangalore. City companies outsourcing secretarial roles to Eastern Europe. You can work from anywhere in the world now.

I’m hoping my job will be safe as you need to be a British citizen and undergo vetting for many civil service jobs. And many of the jobs requiring DV need staff to be in the office for some of the time to access certain systems so that can’t be offshored.

My employer was making a push towards agile working/WFH pre covid because it can't afford the office space it needs for all it's staff.

Office space may get cheaper if there is less demand...

No idea, but I really want to continue to WFH. Much better work/life balance.