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!

I think May/June time for the ‘work from home if you can’ message to be dropped.

My office remains officially shut since March last year. However, they did allow some of us to go in if we applied to our line manager and had a good reason - one of which being mental health. So I am hoping they will do the same this year, let those of use who really need to go back from maybe Easter and then open properly in May/June.

I remain hopeful.

I think the government advice will remain until the end of the year or maybe even later (Easter next year). The current plans suggests every adult (who wants to be) will be have received one vaccine by the end of August. So you need to allow time for immunity to build and then for a second jab, plus the vulnerable having boosters and a third (small) wave over the winter.

When it does end, I think many companies will have to work on the basis of allowing those who want or need to be back to return first of all with the others trickling in/if when possible.

My employer has sold off several buildings and is turning other offices into mainly meeting areas which says to me they anticipate us to only return on occasion. I’m keen to remain wfh but I know it’s not for everyone.

I can only do 60% of my work from home, so I can't wait to go back.

As soon as possible please! It definitely has not improved my work/life balance. My home is my home, not an office and for me it’s not healthy to have no separation between the two

I had a 30 minute walk to work which I loved. In the morning it set me up for the day, on the way home it let me de-stress so by the time I got home it was done and I could enjoy being at home

I miss my colleagues and random after work drinks. Miss going to the gym in the afternoon to break up the day. Miss having spontaneous chats with people about work topics and not having to schedule a call just to speak with someone. It just slows down productivity

When HR asked us how many days we would want to be back in I happily ticked the 5 days a week box. Hopefully it’s soon but realistically I am preparing mentally for another year of this rubbish

Never going back. Hooray!

Can’t imagine why anyone ever wants to be in an office. Stupid, soulless places.

Vaguely off-topic but I've noticed at least two PPs commenting that their legal services are delayed due to WFH. I work in the sector and we are working pretty much as normal and meeting all our deadlines as we were when we were office based. WFH has been a success such that our company is looking not to renew some leases and likely working towards more WFH long term. Having said that, we were almost all able to WFH up to 2 days a week pre-Covid anyway so have always had infrastructure for it and a culture that promoted it, although many colleagues chose not to and those same colleagues have now chosen never to visit the office in almost a year even when we were being encouraged to attend.

Re working from home, happy to but think we should get some form of remuneration. We’re effectively taking on the real estate cost for our employers! And the additional bills that come with it. I didn’t have commuting costs before so it’s not as though these cancel out additional utility costs etc.

I think the government advice will remain until the end of the year or maybe even later (Easter next year). The current plans suggests every adult (who wants to be) will be have received one vaccine by the end of August. So you need to allow time for immunity to build and then for a second jab, plus the vulnerable having boosters and a third (small) wave over the winter.

Yep I think the government are going to be more cautious about the whole 'get back to the office if you want to keep your job' thing this time round. There has been lots of talk of social distancing continuing until at least autumn so that more things can open up- they will focus on getting schools and hospitality open over the next few months and trying to keep these running during the inevitable autumn/winter 2021 spike.

Kitewoman was right. I wanted to WFH 4days a week (we were 'allowed' a max of 2) because apparently the 'business need requires an office presence'. Well they have well and truly been proved wrong as we are working perfectly well. If people WANT to go in fine, but those that don't? Don't force them.

@Ahmnotacat

Never going back. Hooray!

Can’t imagine why anyone ever wants to be in an office. Stupid, soulless places.

Maybe because we are all different? Maybe some of us like our workplaces and interacting with colleagues?

And before anyone starts with the introvert/extrovert thing, I am definitely and introvert. Still miss going to work.

If the government try keeping offices shut for that long then I will need to find alternative work.

@Wherediditgo completely agree with you. Another introvert who has hated wfh and miss spending time with my work with

But in the world of MN it is absolutely unthinkable to actually be friends with colleagues

[quote Womencanlift]@Wherediditgo completely agree with you. Another introvert who has hated wfh and miss spending time with my work with

But in the world of MN it is absolutely unthinkable to actually be friends with colleagues[/quote]
I do miss my colleagues and agree it isn’t the same as being in the office but we do have a fixed half hour each day where we have a Teams meeting to just have a chat and feel involved which goes a long way to making me feel like we are working together.

My cat is now my PA and he’s very agreeable about keeping me company. Must admit, he needs to work on his tea making skills.

@Allmyarseandpeggymartin

I work for a large financial services organisation and just before lockdown one of our major offices was moved to another part of the city, in the new office everyone is hot desking, you’ve got to “book” to come into the office and you had to WFH at least 2 days a week. Think they were ahead of the curve tbh and most of the organisation will go the same way. The pandemic just acted as a catalyst.

In some ways I feel like it could be a good thing for my career - a lot of the best jobs were London based, now we can work from anywhere and “go in” a few times a month for key meetings. Opens up options for me.

I was made redundant last April and everything has changed in terms of options. I probably wouldn’t have accepted my new job beforehand as they only liked wfh one day a week and it’s pushing it a bit commute wise but they are reconfiguring the office space for team days and collaboration now. I interviewed for other roles whilst I was looking for the right one and it was pretty much the same in each case, I was able to consider roles all over the country.

Not in U.K. but we are asking people to come back 1-2 days a week from the beginning of March. Most people have been in the office at least for part of the week throughout, like the IT people, and finance (can’t do payroll from home), but two teams haven’t been seen since last March. It will be interesting to see what happens when we ask people to come back, as I know of at least three people who have completely relocated to another part of the country, and won’t be able to commute from where they are living.

Of course, some employers don't care as long as the work is done, but those kind of employers probably already had staff working from home/flexibly.

That's what all employers should be like. I would not apply for any job that had stuff like "flexible working considered" as though it is a "perk" or something you get if you behave yourself. No. It should be standard.

@PinkTonic That’s really good, hope you’re enjoying your new role

I am dying to get back to the office. In fact I am dying to stand on a packed tube with smelly sweaty people people who don’t brush their teeth in the mornings. Will be bliss😍

Oh and people having loud private convos on their mobiles on the train. Miss it😭

@PandoraP

I am dying to get back to the office. In fact I am dying to stand on a packed tube with smelly sweaty people people who don’t brush their teeth in the mornings. Will be bliss😍

Oh God me too. The other day I found myself fantasising uncontrollably about being on the Central line at rush hour. Also fantasise about crowded pubs where you have to wait 10 mins to be served then spill half your pint fighting to get back to your table.

My boss is packing up our office, we will all be working from home for the foreseeable.

Know some people who have loved working from home but its noticeable that especially those living alone are the ones who volunteer when we have to go in or who are choosing to still get to the office at least a day or two a week. I plan to do the same when case drop a bit more.

Simply put its the social interaction, that colleagues can be friends, building a team who know each other properly, and being at home isn't always healthy mentally. Can be brilliant of course - sister has a toddler and enabled her to spend more time together - but it really shouldn't be everyone forced in five days a week or forced to be at home five days either. Hoping for a balance between the two

We've all had our contracts changed to home working and company are shutting offices globally, just keeping a few hubs for meetings in central locations.

I've found it much better since I re-jogged my set up so I can pack my laptop, keyboard, riser etc away in a cupboard at the end of each day.only takes a couple of minutes at beginning and end of day but gives a definite 'end of work' feeling and stops me from dipping back in, in the evening.

Does anyone here saying WFH is great, and gosh how wonderful if it continues for a long time.. have any of these situations:

• inadequate equipment or had to pay out of own pocket for suitable equipment
• iffy access to work IT support
• (if computer user) inability to do any admin changes yourself on the poota
• iffy access to work files or work software
• iffy/expensive wifi/ethernet
• noisy/crowded worksite environment you can't control or has to be shared with sporadic household members

?

Funny thing is, a friend has none of those problems & I still think WFH is bad for her because she gets lonely.

I wonder if people will feel less of a need to be back in the office when social spaces open up again. If you can meet friends in the pub or even outside it may offset the missed interaction of the office.

In my case, we already WFH 3 days a week pre-covid and have a number of permanent home working staff. There is absolutely no value to us being in the office while there is social distancing. Our workload is our own, we don’t function as a team other than for admin purposes. The only reason to be in the office is to bounce ideas around with colleagues - getting heads together around a screen to discuss a thorny issue, asking someone to glance over a contentious email before you send it, grabbing five minutes in a meeting room to talk something over, that kind of thing. If I have to screen share with a colleague sat at a desk 2m away, can’t sit with them at lunch, and can’t easily discuss anything of a sensitive nature because of the physical distance, there is no point being in the office. And I lose 3.5 hours a day commuting when I could be being productive. When SD ends, then the office regains some value and people will be more likely to want to come in. Even getting into/using the building will be a logistical nightmare with SD - very large building housing multiple unrelated organisations with shared facilities.

As an organisation management are looking to change the way we work off the back off Covid but haven’t let us in on the plans her