When will offices be open again?

[Shopaholic100]

When will office workers be expected back in the office? Is it the 21st June or earlier?

They are going to carry out a review of long term measures once step 4 arrives successfully, until the outcome of that review the WFH instruction remains.

Gov.uk roadmap document states this.

www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-spring-2021/covid-19-response-spring-2021-summary

So, some currently unspecified time after 21 June.

My office has been fully open since September.

After hairdressers are open I hope!

Whenever companies want I expect.
It was never mandatory to close offices anyway.

Soon, I hope. I'm fed up of DH being home all the time. I need some space from him.

@cerealgamechanger

Soon, I hope. I'm fed up of DH being home all the time. I need some space from him.

I’m sure there are many posters who would agree with you😏.

My office has been open throughout but prioritising roles that really have to be in either FT or PT and the rest of us are WFH. They won’t rush us back anyway. Was always v flexible and there’s not enough space so likely to stay the same as they won’t invest in a bigger building now.

@user18467425798532

They are going to carry out a review of long term measures once step 4 arrives successfully, until the outcome of that review the WFH instruction remains.

Gov.uk roadmap document states this.

😊 Thanks.

DH has a very expensive commute, so was just wondering how long before his employer might ask him to come back in.

I have an expensive commute. We've been told that it's unlikely we will be in until September and even then p/t wfh and p/t office. Don't know how they've come up with that though.

I don't see how they can force people who've been successfully WFH for over a year to ever come back full time. Likewise endless travel for meetings that can be perfectly satisfactorily be conducted remotely.

Too many people will tell their employers that if they won't let them WFH, they'll leave for a more enlightened one that will. That genie is well and truely out of the bottle.

Far fewer people will be willing to spend the time and money on unnecessary commuting, or compromise on where they live for work when they don't have to.

@BarbaraofSeville

I don't see how they can force people who've been successfully WFH for over a year to ever come back full time. Likewise endless travel for meetings that can be perfectly satisfactorily be conducted remotely.

Too many people will tell their employers that if they won't let them WFH, they'll leave for a more enlightened one that will. That genie is well and truely out of the bottle.

Far fewer people will be willing to spend the time and money on unnecessary commuting, or compromise on where they live for work when they don't have to.

This is my argument. I have been wfh full time for almost a year. There is literally 0 need for me to go into the office. I will argue this if they want me back in ft

Too many people will tell their employers that if they won't let them WFH, they'll leave for a more enlightened one that will. That genie is well and truely out of the bottle.

Likewise some employers will realise they can remotely employ people anywhere in the world to WFH.

I suspect there is a difference between people who think they are wfh just as productively as they do in the office and those for whom that is actually true.

In the future I would not choose a solicitors firm where the staff are all wfh because it caused delays with a document and was used as an excuse for 'the other side' to miss a deadline just before Christmas. No doubt in a post covid world that delay would be factored in rather than be presented as a delay but given the choice I'd rather use a firm where I can drop documents in directly. I'm quite sure both sets of solicitors would have said that they are wfh just as productively but they are not from a customer service perspective.

I have also mentioned examples in my industry where I suspect my managers would argue that they are wfh just as productively but the longer it goes on the less and less they are in touch with how front line staff feel, what the issues are (not just covid related issues), what is going on on the ground so to speak. It is a pain for us, as we have to manage our time around the one day a week they are in and that will certainly not be tolerated for much longer.

I think it is likely that a lot of people will see a return to the office, but with more flexibility and some wfh where previously there was none.

What do you think will happen to public transport eg trains? will a 3 day ticket in 2023 cost what a 5 day ticket cost in 2019? will services will be reduced?

@Moonmelodies

Too many people will tell their employers that if they won't let them WFH, they'll leave for a more enlightened one that will. That genie is well and truely out of the bottle.

Likewise some employers will realise they can remotely employ people anywhere in the world to WFH.

I don't think that is a worry as much as employing people who can work remotely from anywhere in the UK, which will possibly have an impact on SE salaries.

I also think that mumsnet is full of people who defiantly declare they will say this kind of stuff to their employers, that they will not return to the office and will leave if they have to, but are not factoring in the demand for jobs right now. Doubtless there are plenty who are senior/experienced enough for it to be true, but it's not the case for everyone.

Longer term though, it will be a real positive if industries or roles to become wfh permanently or mostly, because it will allow people to choose a career knowing there is a way of working which will suit them.

I don't think that is a worry as much as employing people who can work remotely from anywhere in the UK, which will possibly have an impact on SE salaries.

Yes I don't see much more outsourcing abroad but definitely more within the UK.

I'm in Scotland so definitely going to be stricter. However my work has been saying since last year we won't be back to a minimum of August.

So who knows.

My employer has started employing people around the UK to WFH, which they never did before. They are redesigning a lower-density office and have established that 50% of us want to WFH permanently. We have a union, too. We'll see what happens, but people need to knock it off with all the bullying shite about how if you don't go back to the office right away unquestioningly you will be replaced by someone in India.

@BarbaraofSeville

I don't see how they can force people who've been successfully WFH for over a year to ever come back full time. Likewise endless travel for meetings that can be perfectly satisfactorily be conducted remotely.

Too many people will tell their employers that if they won't let them WFH, they'll leave for a more enlightened one that will. That genie is well and truely out of the bottle.

Far fewer people will be willing to spend the time and money on unnecessary commuting, or compromise on where they live for work when they don't have to.

It's a interesting one. I've always been in favour of flexible working and did a day or 2 a week at home pre covid.

My work have released a new WFH policy that is basically a 50/50 split between home and office for post pandemic. Seems reasonable to me.

I have a v junior member of my team who is adamant she wants to work from home forever. I can't give her that anyway due to the policy but even if I could I wouldn't. She needs to have some contact with the senior people in the team to learn. She's hardly progressed this year but I can't get her to see that. She keeps making veiled threats about leaving if she doesn't get what she wants. I like her but I'm ok if she resigns, there's plenty of people who would love the opportunity she's got and think catching a train 2 days a week was worth it. I'm beginning to think she just likes an easier life. Which is fine but for my team I need people who are more driven

I think a combo will suit many employees & employers.

Just from a London perspective the public transport infrastructure has been really creaking at the seams for the past five years. Tube trains departed literally every minute or two at rush hour, so there was no room to expand capacity, and yet the queue to get through the barriers and onto the trains was still out onto the street. Other stations were routinely shut because of dangerous overcrowding. It was a lottery whether you could squeeze onto the Overground trains or whether buses would stop for you or just sail past because they were too full. Two days a week routine WFH would strike a balance and make the commute on your remaining 3 days so much better although more expensive.

Yes agree the tube was overcrowded.