Work from home if you can should stay in place, surely?

[Ninefeettall]

Just thinking about June 21st and Boris said as recently as yesterday or the day before that 'Work from home if you can' will be scrapped from 21 June. Surely if the Indian variant is a problem (which we don't know for sure yet) then this is a really, really, really easy win? 'If you can' doesn't have to include people who need to be in the office for mental health reasons or who can't work properly from home, but there are vast numbers of young, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated office workers who have now been working from home for a year, doing their jobs perfectly well if not better who could just keep doing that and not add to the commuters or office workers spreading the variant about.

Of course it should.

Everything that cuts transmission should be kept in place.

People who can working at home makes it safer for those who can't.

I can't fathom why Boris would even consider lifting this (aside from his mates owning the office buildings) if there's any risk at all. It's this huge, totally free measure that he's currently planning on abandoning.

It might be a wise course of action but it’s not totally free if you look at the billions the government has paid to support the rail networks or TFL in the last year.

Of course it should. They were making back to the office noises in September and that ended well...
There are plenty of things that cost little but have a big impact that can be maintained but they want to boost business and pretend everything is fine so they drop them.

Allowing a third wave to engulf us again would cost far more than keeping the NPI "work from home if you can" in place.

Aye it's utter madness! all the bigwigs have decided that working from home is more productive. Less time commuting equals happy staff. I don't ever want to go back to the officey. It's not been easy but the work life balance has been immeasurable!

And yet Boris literally said 2 days ago that he expected to lift the WFH restriction on 21 June. He must have known about the Indian variant concern then so why not be a little more circumspect (because he's a twat, yes I know).

Just never stop being baffled by the stupid decisions of this government. Bring in Indian quarantine because of a real imminent danger - but do it in a few days' time, even knowing what we know about how Covid spreads in the meantime. And then turn around and stop face masks in schools and probably home working, despite the minimal/no cost of these actions and the transmissability in schools and offices. It just beggars belief.

WFH should definitely stay in place. Its win-win. Also better for the environment.

@Lillipops

Aye it's utter madness! all the bigwigs have decided that working from home is more productive. Less time commuting equals happy staff. I don't ever want to go back to the officey. It's not been easy but the work life balance has been immeasurable!

In no way on earth has it been easier - but my whole family is happier and healthier - even the cats.

Even family that don't live with us, because I can be a bit more available to do caring responsibilities.

But most importantly it cuts transmission which is even more vital with a variant they think might be 50-60% more transmissible than B117 which was 50% (?) more transmissible than original covid.

Original covid wasn't very good at infecting humans but B1617.2 sure is.

I was due back in London office on June 1 but my boss has already emailed to change that to 2nd jab plus 14 days.
I hope Most decent companies will adapt to this new threat.

The minutes of the SAGE emergency meeting from yesterday say that there isn't enough people vaccinated to stop transmission without NPIs like working from home if we can.

"At this point in the vaccine roll out, there are still too few adults vaccinated to prevent a significant resurgence that ultimately could put unsustainable pressure on the NHS, without non-pharmaceutical interventions"

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachmentdata/file/986709/S12377SPI-M-OConsensussStatement.pdf

It depends on how much of a threat this Indian variant turns out to be - we just don’t know yet. If it has no significant impact on hospitalisations then I don’t see why we shouldn’t return to the office from 21st June.

@peasoup8

It depends on how much of a threat this Indian variant turns out to be - we just don’t know yet. If it has no significant impact on hospitalisations then I don’t see why we shouldn’t return to the office from 21st June.

SAGE think it's 50% more transmissible and will lead to a "significant resurgence that ultimately could put unsustainable pressure on the NHS, without non-pharmaceutical interventions"

@Mintjulia

I was due back in London office on June 1 but my boss has already emailed to change that to 2nd jab plus 14 days. I hope Most decent companies will adapt to this new threat.

You'd hope so wouldn't you?

My brother thinks there are 3 people older than him in his office who may have been jabbed.

And several dozen younger who probably haven't.

He hasn't been able to book his first yet and is probably looking at a September 2nd jab.

But he's going back to work on May 17th.

It just seems really wrong to me.

Don't we have health and safety at work in this country any more?

(Of course we don't - ask a teacher.)

If there is any doubt on the current infection situation. you would think it’s a no brainier. I’m not sure on stats, but that’s a significant number of people you can remove from daily public circulation with minimal economic impact.

@PrincessNutNuts no - there’s a “possibility” that might be the case. As I said in my previous post, nobody knows yet, we just have to wait and see.

[quote peasoup8]@PrincessNutNuts no - there’s a “possibility” that might be the case. As I said in my previous post, nobody knows yet, we just have to wait and see.[/quote]
SAGE seem pretty confident

I guess if you are a cafe owner in central London, dependent on office worker trade, that’s the last thing they need? So many people impacted by what might seem a “no brainer” decision.

@feckwit

I guess if you are a cafe owner in central London, dependent on office worker trade, that’s the last thing they need? So many people impacted by what might seem a “no brainer” decision.

How is the inevitable fourth lockdown going to help your cafe owner when we don't nip this in the bud?

I suspect things like back to the office advice won’t actually happen on 21st June , but Johnson will faff until around 18th before actually making a decision on it.

I hate working from home full time, can’t wait to get back to the office. There will always be variants of the virus, we can’t keep cowering in our homes.
Have none of you got teenagers, have you seen what this shit is doing to their mental and physical health?

Tbh I got the impression that the road map goes ahead unless the data over the next few weeks says otherwise.

So there is every chance that if the data goes the wrong way then work from home will stay in place after the 21st June.

They basically have absolutely no idea what will happen.

Even if he does lift it surely it will be down to your employer to decide if/when you return to the office. If the business is running effectively by working remotely what's the incentive to cause disruption and cram everyone back in the workplace. There will be some businesses that may completely change the way they operate and make wfh a permanent feature in some way.

In contrast to pp I am not “cowering at home” and my teenagers have been affected very little in the last year. Perhaps it’s all perspective and how individual families have coped.
I work in teenage mental health and you’d actually be surprised by how many have had improved mental health by not being in school.
My teenagers have absolutely benefited from a parent who is at home more through wfh/ office split and less tired by no commute. They have never eaten as healthy since i was on mate leave.

@Wellbythebloodyhell exactly! Companies don’t have to return all workers to the office it’s up to them not Boris! A lot of pension funds are against the office buildings, if companies decide to stop letting buildings it’ll have a knock on effect to these. The hospitality industries around these office blocks will also suffer.
Times change,things adapt. I think we’ve been fast forwarded to a time we would have got to eventually by working from home. City centres would be revived if empty office blocks that are no longer needed are converted into affordable housing-no second home owners allowed,schools,gp surgeries etc This would bring people back into city centres and cafes,restaurants etc around these new housing areas would have to adapt to the clientele.