Dh has been told to get back to the office

[SmiledWithTheRisingSun]

For a minimum of 2 days per week.
Is this an end to WFH?

@WilsonMilson

DH is a business owner. He has asked his staff to come back in at least 2 days a week, with a view to making it full time by the end of summer. He has found that wfh is not great for team working, for general productivity or for keeping track of what everyone is doing.

I think a lot of people who’ve expected to carry on wfh or being hybrid are going to be surprised by companies who decide that they want staff present in the office again.

I do think it’s ridiculous that a lot of people think it’s their God given right to wfh now.

And yet every single one of them on MN is convinced and just knows they are far more productive wfh, that they will be able to find a multitude of employers who want only full-time wfh and those who don't offer it will be able to recruit no one.

Amazing, how incredibly productive they all were with kids home full-time, homeschooling and FT work.

@SmokeyDevil

As much as I love wfh though, I don't understand the people last year who moved to the other end of the country in some cases on the basis that their boss said it was wfh from now on. What will they do if the bosses change their minds?

I'm looking to buy a bigger house, but the size will depend on needed office space. Not going to increase my mortgage just to be dragged back in again.

Oh, loads of them did and now assert they'll find loads of new employers as they are all such stars.

customer service hasn't changed

Oh, it very much has... for the worse!

If a company needs to make redundancies, it’ll be the people who are never in the office who’ll be first for the chop. Much easier to get rid of someone you never see versus the person who turns up every day. You have been warned.

@Geamhradh

Hopefully. Can't have it both ways. Can't go to football matches, fly to Greece for your hollybobs (or go to Cornwall with the masses) celebrate your sister's wedding, queue in Primark, send your kids to school and chuck your masks away then insist you want to stay WFH.

Yep, that. If you're back at a gym, going to eat in restaurants, in and out of friend's houses and so on, then it's fine to be back in the office.

The office is still officially closed but I've I've been going in for a 2 or 3 days a week and I'm so much happier.

When we go back they are offering flexible working but I've said I'm going in full time. I live in a one bedroom flat so have no office space and I'm not moving to get an office!

I'm not sure MN is reflective of RL.

Customer service has been atrocious for most of us, a lot worse in the last year. But all the threads insist levels are maintained.

Most MN'ers claim their productivity is the same, from wfh. But all studies dispute this.

Most MN'ers seem to be introverts, who don't want to go back to the office. Save on the big commute. Put on laundry and pick up kids from school. But none of these are business concerns.

I think we are in for a very wierd and unusual time re this whole hybrid/wfh area, in the next 3-5 years.

There was an interesting article in HBR this month that highlighted the risk of indirect discrimination with a hybrid model, because a recent survey highlighted the fact that the vast majority of people wanting to work from home were mothers of young children and being visible in the office leads to better promotion opportunities.

At the moment where a business has everyone working from home, everyone is equal. Once people are back in the office you’ll have a two tiered work force with those present more likely to get ahead.

The "work from home if you can" guidance is still in place.

And if the government have any sense they'll keep it in force after June 21st.

It does so much to reduce the R by reducing everyone's daily contacts massively.

Which will give us a longer gap until the next peak and the next lockdown.

My boss also sent me back last year when the advice was still "work from home if you can". Some bosses just don’t think the advice applies to them.

WFH should always be available. The bottom line is if your company doesn't want to offer it as an option, look elsewhere. It's the 21st century!!

WFH should always be available.

Why?

@Dongdingdong I mean specifically in our business it hasn't
We work independently so whether I'm sat at work on the phone, or at home, it's exactly the same
Some people might perceive its changed but that's not to do with covid, it's because it's our busiest time of year so it might come over as "customer service is shit" when it's actually "I couldn't get an appointment as soon as I wanted" (which is nothing to do with covid, or the actual customer service, we are just booked up!)
But the way we deal with customers, call answering times etc etc hasn't changed because it's physically impossible for it to!

I don't think some people get how monitored contact centres are. I log in on time and log out on time. Apart from my (timed to the second) breaks I am sat at my desk for 9hrs, ready to answer calls. I can't answer the door/put washing on/speak to a neighbour because I am wired by a headset to my computer

Oh and productivity again hasn't changed because it's physically impossible for us to not work due to above monitoring
We are monitored on call time, calls answered, calls audited, and a million other ways. I did 2245 calls this month which is pretty standard for me

@Oblomov21

I'm not sure MN is reflective of RL.

Customer service has been atrocious for most of us, a lot worse in the last year. But all the threads insist levels are maintained.

Most MN'ers claim their productivity is the same, from wfh. But all studies dispute this.

Most MN'ers seem to be introverts, who don't want to go back to the office. Save on the big commute. Put on laundry and pick up kids from school. But none of these are business concerns.

I think we are in for a very wierd and unusual time re this whole hybrid/wfh area, in the next 3-5 years.

I think you're making this overly simplistic.

Most people here from what I can see have said they'd like a hybrid set up, not fully WFH. I'm one such person. I'm also somewhat introverted and require quiet to focus which was difficult to come by in my place of work.

I am also somewhat extroverted and enjoy the company and camaraderie of being with colleagues. I also understand business needs and developing new employees means some in office time is required. Lots of people feel this way. But so many people can't see the shades of grey and just reduce it to one way or the other. Imo hybrid is the way forward and people who are saying it won't work will soon discover they are wrong about that. I don't have a crystal ball but that is my prediction.

@Mojoj wfh is not suitable for all companies or all people! Dp let staff wfh for a year, most were great, as productive as in the office but one person was lazy, barely worked and was recalled to the office last June to man the phones and receive mail so he actually did something. Nobody was furloughed and they even got pay rises. If companies want people back it's because some employees are struggling at home and they don't want to discriminate

@Oblomov21

So true!

@TheKeatingFive

WFH should always be available.

Why?

Why not ?

Why not ?

Because (most) people are contracted to work in offices. There is no obligation for companies to change that long term if they don’t want to.

There is a chance more women will choose to work from home than men.

It may keep women in work though too.

I will say in my circle at least we all had the option of wfh pre covid. It was normal in many jobs/sectors.

I thinknin many cases wages need to be reviewed.

If one person has to buy a £4000 season ticket to into Central Lonfon 4/5 times a week and an other is WFH permanently then adjustments need to be made.

Please don't talk about the extra costs of WFH, in many cases they're dwarfed by the cost of an annual train ticket.

@DolphinFC

And those season ticket costs are dwarfed by the savings someone who has decided to work from another country can make. We’ve had people on “London salaries” decide to relocate back to Greece, Brazil and Turkey.

Apart from the tax implications for us as an organisation there are real issues with equity of treatment.

@DolphinFC

I thinknin many cases wages need to be reviewed.

If one person has to buy a £4000 season ticket to into Central Lonfon 4/5 times a week and an other is WFH permanently then adjustments need to be made.

Please don't talk about the extra costs of WFH, in many cases they're dwarfed by the cost of an annual train ticket.

What about the saving the company has by not having person b in the office ? Or many people b? My company had two offices , quite close. We’ve got rid of one but of course we all now not fit in the main office. By me and a few like me not going to the office they’ll be saving some money (my desk was £300/month so that’s around 3.6k/year)