Do you think government will recommend return to ‘WFH if you can’?

[SophieH83]

Some of my colleagues (perhaps wishfully thinking) believe that gov will reintroduce ‘WFH if you can’ any day now.

Do you think it’s likely?

I think it’s pretty odd when people ‘enjoy’ being isolated at home to be honest! Is it really any good for people’s mental health only seeing colleagues on a screen?

I've found i'm less productive since being back in the office because i'm chatting away more to the person next to me, or someone nearby keeps asking me questions or chatting, after 18 months of being stuck in a room on my own getting on with my work.

I don't think it's good for mental health to be stuck at home all day every day though, i'd prefer a balance, In terms of this winter i'd rather bunker down at home because it's going to be a shitshow with Covid and potentially flu and other viruses. I keep picking up colds already since being back.

I'm going to be flippant and say hope so, so I can get a seat on the bus again.

I run tube stations so I can't WFH . I was glad too, I would have gone nuts staying at home.

DH's firm have already sublet part of their office, so they are offering part WFH permanently. Some colleagues have opted to fully WFH.

In the grand scheme of things does it really do much to drive down Covid numbers when many wfh people will still happily mix and socialise in bars, restaurants and gyms etc etc. Just because they are working 'safely' from home, doesn't mean they will stay there all day. It's just a piss take to all the working classes who have been going out to work throughout.

We have a booster programme in the works and really now, the elderly need to shield, not only from Covid but every other virus they can at least try and avoid. Everyone else needs to carry on.

@SophieH83

Some of my colleagues (perhaps wishfully thinking) believe that gov will reintroduce ‘WFH if you can’ any day now.

Do you think it’s likely?

Nope. It was made quite clear by Boris and others that once freedom day had passed restrictions would not be reintroduced.

Nope
It was made quite clear by Boris and others that once freedom day had passed restrictions would not be reintroduced

Then why have they developed and publicised their ‘plan B’, which involves reintroducing restrictions?

@jgw1 that's why they have mentioned plan B

And @jgw1 that is also why DfE and PHE have reintroduced some restrictions in some schools where cases are so high

They'll only do it if put under enormous pressure.
I've been going into work throughout so it doesn't affect me personally, but it seems to me that if people can work from home and want to work from home it wouldn't be a bad idea at this point

I think it’s pretty odd when people ‘enjoy’ being isolated at home to be honest! Is it really any good for people’s mental health only seeing colleagues on a screen?

@julieca

I think it’s pretty odd when people ‘enjoy’ being isolated at home to be honest! Is it really any good for people’s mental health only seeing colleagues on a screen?

Sorry was trying to reply to comment above, not post it. My workplace is very busy. I don't have time to chat to colleagues anyway.

@bellamountain

In the grand scheme of things does it really do much to drive down Covid numbers when many wfh people will still happily mix and socialise in bars, restaurants and gyms etc etc. Just because they are working 'safely' from home, doesn't mean they will stay there all day. It's just a piss take to all the working classes who have been going out to work throughout.

We have a booster programme in the works and really now, the elderly need to shield, not only from Covid but every other virus they can at least try and avoid. Everyone else needs to carry on.

Who is the elderly? Everyone over 50 is being seen as vulnerable and eligible for a booster.

@julieca over 50s are not elderly. Over 80s are elderly and will take up most the beds for respiratory viruses this winter. The next most vulnerable to requiring hospital beds are babies and very young children, not to Covid but to bronchiolitis etc. The winter has always been harsh to these age groups.

@bellamountain sorry but a lot of over 80s cant shield. A lot of over 80s depend on either care - formal or informal, or a cleaner. And a lot of over 80s live alone. It would be inhuman to expect them to spend all winter at home alone speaking to no one.

@Autumntwilights

I do think that WFH works well for the person WFH but not always for anyone else, tbh.

This.

My PA thinks she can efficiently work from home. I agree she should be able to. The reality is she’s pretty useless when she’s wfh.

Lots of people think they are as, if not more efficient wfh. That’s often their own personal judgement and their bosses may have a very different view.

@Milkbottlelegs I hate that superior attitude.
Like most people, I am measured on my work. That shows that I achieve more at home than in the office. Any decent manager can manage people wfh effectively. If you can't, the failure is with you.

I teach so for some of it I could not possibly work from home, but during lockdown#1 & lockdown#3 my HT & Exec Head accepted that for various complicated & challenging reasons I could not possibly wfh & I went in daily. I am sure that was best policy in offices too. The one time I tried to work from home I ended up having to leave the house & work on my phone in the car a few streets away. Not the best policy for an employer either ...

@freddiethegreat why did you have to work in your car rather than your home?

@julieca for the same reasons it was best I went into work. Teenage child with additional needs can’t cope with my attention being elsewhere & attacked me.

@freddiethegreat yes then you obviously can't work from home.
But many other people can.

"No - absolutely not
Employees already have a right to request FLEXIBLE working at the employers discretion. . You are paid by your employer, a business needs to have happy customers (civil servants excepted I suppose) - so it is their decision not one sanctioned/permitted by the Government.
Why should you have the LEGAL right just because you prefer it? very selfish."

I believe I hear the dulcet tones of an ineffective manager who likes to stand over their employees shoulders :D

@julieca yes. My point is that my experience & reading led me to believe that even during the tightest of wfh times where it really wasn’t possible, employers facilitated working in the office. So yes, I agree wfh if you can is likely to come back and where people can’t, well the get out clause is there.

I hope so - it really doesn’t make sense to pile people into shared offices and public transport when it’s perfectly possible for many to work at home.
I know that some managers are only capable of managing their staff when they have them sitting in front of them, or that some people don’t work effectively at home, or that some people enjoy a chat or three across the desk, but good managers and good employees are capable of working very effectively and productively from various locations - they definitely don’t need to be in the same office. There are obviously roles that can’t be done from home, but for the many that can - absolutely, work from home.

Not every job can be done from home and some people do not have the set up to wfh. But any manager that can only manage people by having them sitting in front of them is an inadequate manager.

Yes, I’m pretty certain that wfh if you can, is on the cards in the next few weeks or so.
Won’t be a case of everyone work from home, but if you can then businesses will be encouraged to make changes to allow for this. It would help bring case numbers down a little over winter.