Back in office

[namechangeaga1n]

So DP and all staff back in office from 12th inc those that work only with people in other offices. I think it's a bit shite and think firms that stick two fingers up to staff and don't have presence of mind to wait til more people are vaccinated will lose a lot of their decent players as time goes on. Hope not too many firms do this so that reopening doesn't get fucked.

The office opened up again last Summer - shut in jan for lockdown. Again firms like this will have contributed to cases rising in autumn. Masks and distancing don't really happen but staff were asked to test every 10 days. It just seems nuts to go against government guidance for the sake of a month or two for those that can wfh and help keep numbers down until vulnerable have second vax and working age get first vax. Many people can't wfh, so are now unnecessarily exposed to workers from firms that can wfh but are being asked to go in ahead of guidelines. For those in jobs where it wasn't possible to wfh saying everyone should do it because we had to - wouldn't that have made it even more unsafe for them as well as you? Should those that homeschooled and worked until the early hours every night say you should do it too when you're back home?!

@DrMadelineMaxwell

Shielding officially ended on the 1st April.

Although shielding has been stopped again cev (and to an extent cv) people are advised to work from home wherever possible, and should have risk assessments if they have to return to the workplace.

Going back now seems strange, unless of course it is truly essential. It looks like the advice to stay at home where possible will likely be dropped fairly soon, so it’s not like they’re making the decision in the context of the end being in sight.

I wouldn’t have much confidence in an employer who was doing this.

The situation of people who cannot work effectively from home is neither here nor there.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat - hopefully it will mean more choice for employees and not being forced to wfh. Fingers crossed for you.

End NOT being in sight.

Yeah just appalling that they have a job to get back to!
Think of all those who would give their right arm to be going back to the office but can't because of the shit show of the last year.

Thanks @ClafoutisSurprise. I'm ok about working from home while the government say we should but I can't bear the thought of this being how it is permanently.

@nordica

Why are so many on these threads so hostile now?

Fewer people mixing protects everyone. If you are a key worker and need to go to work, surely it's better for you if the trains, buses etc. are not busy? If you work in a supermarket, isn't it much safer for you if your customers haven't spent the week mixing with 50 people in an office?

If productivity in some teams/work places has really dropped due to WFH then fair enough but otherwise, why not wait another month or two when most of the working age population will be vaccinated?

I think the resentment comes from people saying they don't want to go back to the office because "it's not safe" but they aren't bothered about the safety of people who have been working out of the home throughout. They are happy for others to take the risk but do not want to take the risk themselves.

I work in a factory that makes furniture. I have to go out to work so that people get their online orders. And you wouldn't believe the amount of people moaning that their orders are taking "too long" to come when 20% of people in my workplace have caught Covid at work.

I completely understand that if you can work from home and you are productive, then you should work from home. But I struggle to have sympathy for people who just don't want to go in because "it's not safe", forgetting that many people have no choice but to go into work. I'm not even a key worker because what we make is not classed as essential.

[quote Whatisgoingon89]@Abraxan I’m on the shielding list and have been told to be back in tomorrow.

Should they be doing a risk assessment with me?[/quote]
Yes, they should.

What @bookworm1632 says makes sense to me.

I think the reason posters are a bring a bit hostile on this thread is because throughout the pandemic key workers have been expressing their fears about working, only to have been told they were whinging and work-shy.
Now, when rates are very low and many vaccinated, it is a bit galling to hear those same people who were working from home, complaining about having to go in.

I think the resentment comes from people saying they don't want to go back to the office because "it's not safe" but they aren't bothered about the safety of people who have been working out of the home throughout. They are happy for others to take the risk but do not want to take the risk themselves.

Yep. We were mostly told we were lazy for feeling uncomfortabl about having to go to an unsafe workplace. The one with no SD expected, no masks etc. So you know, I have literally no sympathy at all. You'll get over it pretty quickly.

Risk assessment, in the private sector of a small firm, are you having a laugh!

I’ve been back at work for a few weeks now, previously classed as CEV! We don’t all work in the public sector where health and safety and risk assessments are part and parcel (I used to work in the public sector so can compare). Nothing like that is going on!

I’ve had the first vaccine and I’m due to second one in a few weeks. I follow my own guidance, washing hands, keeping distanced from others (if possible) and wearing a mask but I can’t WFH even though I’m office based, there are many aspects of my job where it’s just not possible to do so.

*nothing like that is going on where I work, I should add!

I think it’s short sighted of firms to expect full time working in the office but a hybrid would be fairer.

I’m in the ‘can’t wait to go back’ camp though - MH is suffering at the moment and I need a sense of normality. I don’t care about going to pub or shopping. Just want office life back.

I also agree with people’s comments - us office workers on the whole have had it relatively easy (I say on the whole as obviously, there are exceptions)
And it depends on whether you’re actually scared of Covid or not. I’m not - I’m more scared about watching the massive change in who I am and how I behave. I’m a shadow of who I was 12 months ago.

We don’t all work in the public sector where health and safety and risk assessments are part and parcel

My risk assessment (FE college) basically said I wasn’t at risk, even though I blatantly was. It relied heavily on the magical properties of the classroom itself, hand gel and floor tape, despite the fact that 12 plus adults were in a room with no social distancing or face coverings. My age (late sixties) and heart condition (CV, not CEV) were deemed irrelevant. The run up to Christmas was particularly worrying.

@polkadotpixie

I've been working in an NHS admin office right through from March 2020 with over 30 people and zero social distancing (no room to) and although a handful of people have caught COVID, it's been from their home lives and it's not spread round the office at all so I wouldn't worry too much

Zero social distancing? So you aren't sat two metres apart with screens etc. (Fellow nhs worker, I'm just interested!).

I stupidly forgot that I will have a house full of adult DC this week which means if I want to do work I have to go to office (can't use their bedrooms & can do limited work on simple wifi in rest of house).

At office, I'm scared of the byzantine one-way system, the many weird rules, getting scolded for doing it wrong, upsetting anyone. The unfriendly atmosphere where no one chats. I'm not scared of catching covid, but I am scared of being told off (in person or via official channels) for being there at all & doing something wrong. Do I take involuntary holiday for a few days -- after that one of the bedrooms is free part time. Like there is anything fun to do with this enforced time off.

But ok, office workers have had it much easier. So I'm told.

I’ve been back at work for a few weeks now, previously classed as CEV! We don’t all work in the public sector where health and safety and risk assessments are part and parcel (I used to work in the public sector so can compare). Nothing like that is going on!

Then your workplace isn't following the rules laid out, particular;y for employees who are vulnerable. It's all stated very clearly and many private companies ARE doing this to protect their work force.

Private sector here. Our London HQ offices will reopen on the 12th April on a voluntary basis only for those who feel they need to go in as struggling at home or for business critical projects, but they have very strict rules for this that do want to go in.

They must discuss with their line manager first to see if there is anything that can be done to support then at home more, they then need to book a desk. Desks that will be used have been completely cleared of everything except for monitors. Every other desk has been closed off to ensure all are at least 2m apart.

You must wear a company provided face masks at all times except when sitting at your desk. If you remove your mask you should then put on a new one. When you leave for the day the desk must be completely cleared and desk and chair cleaned with spray/wipes provided.

Only 2 meeting rooms are open, the largest training rooms that normally hold 100+ people and numbers in those rooms are very limited to

I do feel for people being asked to go in now. As a secondary school teacher, I’ve been working school throughout and it has been a frightening and exhausting experience for much of the time. I completely understand the reluctance and anxieties of those now being asked to go back into an office environment. It doesn’t matter who else has been working throughout, they are now being told to put themselves into a position which they may perceive to be more risky than the one they have been working in for over a year. Of course there is anxiety and trepidation from some.

I don’t know what has happened to this website over the last year but we seem to have had an influx of people without empathy (amongst other attributes).

You soon get used to the rules and one way systems. Schools with hundreds of teenagers have as have supermarkets and manufacturing/processing places and hospitals. You'll have access to twice weekly LFTs now too so outbreaks should be quickly identified. Will you be wearing masks indoors?

If I posted I was having a large family gathering indoors, I'd be flamed as it's against the rules. My issue isn't about going back to an office or whether it's good or bad for mh or whether others who couldn't do their jobs at home had to go into work - it's about going back to an office when it's not necessary which is very much against the guidance! Windows don't open, there is air con.

It's about unnecessary risk to those that shouldn't be in offices yet and unnecessary risks to those that have to go to work as can't wfh as there is greater unnecessary mixing. It is only a short time before risks in general population are reduced - second vaccines for those most at risk, first vaccines for working age - why not wait a bit?