Scared about full time return to office. What are other places doing?

[Lizzie523]

Just that. Informed we must all return full time as before the pandemic although most of job fully doable from home. Ive been productive and have grown in the role even from home, excellent PDRs etc. Flexible working denied.

I will be travelling on public transport and am now more or less expecting to get covid unless im really lucky.

Looked at level 0 rules and it says a phased return to the office will be planned so it seems like my company is defying that? Are others all going back to the office full time or are most still working from home at least home of the time?

I think if everyone was as productive or more productive working from home as they are working in the office then the company wouldn’t be making you return. There is a commercial reason they’re doing it. I think once you’re back it will feel normal pretty quickly. Is there anything you can do to minimise your commute underground like riding a bike?

I'm going to try and make the case for a flexible arrangement one more time. May fall on deaf ears but I want to try.

No one should be forced to return but employer can’t be compelled to let employees wfh continuously. Realistically these are temporary COVID measure that have actually suited a lot of people. Some employees have a sense of entitlement that they want/hope to wfh forever
realistically there may need to be some stark choices
You return FT
You request mixed mode wfh and office
You request wfh it’s accepted
You look for a new job

Our (very large) employer is letting people work from home for now but is saying that it will be return to the office or get another job in the near future. Seems fair enough.

We're headed back soon, which is fine. I got the job on the basis that I would be working from an office and WFH is temporary measure through Covid.
I think if they deny your request again you need to look for another job or suck it up and head back. There's not much more you can do, your employer does not have to let WFH continue.

The anxiety will fade after a couple of weeks and you get used to going back to the old printing. I have asthma and I work in a secondary school with hundreds of kids. I was anxious at first but I don't even think about it now.

Old routine. Don't know where printing came from

I understand your anxiety and it would be great if all employers could operate hybrid models to suit their staff. But many won't want to, for good or bad reasons. And they are not obliged to. They may find they are less attractive employers compared to those offering more flexibility in the long run. I think a lot of businesses will experiment with different models in the coming years.

If your in Scotland the office rule is still to work from home unless your in a essential role. This is written into the covid law currently.

If your boss is bypassing this then you can report it to environmental health you can also do this anonymously who will investigate with your company.
Even tier zero is only some return to the office however with current numbers this might change.

EHO in our area have been doing spot visits on offices so far 20 have been ordered to return home of adapt to key personnel only and not the full workforce.

Can you go to a drop in clinic sooner to get your second vaccine? There are definitely quite a few surrounding london for the past few weekends, so I'd imagine they are running in london too. They're asking for 21 days+ since last dose. That might give you a bit of reassurance.

I've been in work for most of the time. It does feel normal again very quickly. I don't think I'd be overjoyed about the underground either. Hopefully it won't be as crowded as before though.

Some of us have been in work throughout, the chances of you being seriously ill from Covid are very very small. My asthmatic son has been in childcare throughout because we are frontline keyworkers and couldn't WFH we didn't get the opportunity to keep him at home . If you've had one vaccination the next one must be soon. This is about your anxiety/panic attacks rather than actual risk. If you want a WFH job you need to apply for one, most employers are going to want people back in the office.

Are you glasgow op and using the subway? It's not a massive route really so am sure there's many fellow Weegies who could help plot an over ground route till you feel comfortable?

I don't understand how they can force you back now, when Scottish directive is to wfh if you can still.

Also makes zero sense with the cases at current level, guaranteed within a week you'll be back at home due to contact with a positive person.

Sorry I didn't answer your question, we can go in if we have a health and safety reason to do so, but due to our office being refurbished we're unlikely to be in until Autumn and I suspect because of seasonal flu, not this year. I'd much rather be in - I'd started going in for the odd day, but as we can wfh I appreciate it being my choice.

@SylviasMotherSaid

I get what you mean OP although so many organisations spoke about hybrid working and never returning to normal it seems all of this is forgotten and no matter how well people have done their jobs at home the last 15 months has been forgotten . On the one hand you have Nicola Sturgeon saying home working should be more open etc then on the other most companies seem determined to have everything back to normal . I get that wfh doesn’t work for some people and others have worked outwith the home all through it but feel like we have all been sold a lie about everything in the world of work changing to get us to adapt to Covid and now we have to totally forget all that and go back to workplaces .

I disagree virtually all of the top 50 FTSE companies in the UK have introduced permanent hybrid working since the pandemic. It seems to be mostly the SMEs that are against hybrid working.

I’m public sector and nearly all employees will be doing hybrid to some extent. Frontline roles which include an admin element (social work etc) will also have that option. Most agencies I work with are taking a similar approach.

I can't see how they can enforce a return when you've not had a second jab and given is it 1/100 have covid in our cities. I'm not prone to health anxiety whatsoever but I'm surprised your firm has picked right now when our covid rates are so bad AND you've not had your 2nd jab.

I'd not panic til Tuesday as I'm expecting a slowdown in the relaxation rules - I agree with rookie wfh is still in place in Scotland so...

Your anxiety does sound a little disproportionate to the actual risk OP, but it's not surprising or unusual. This article is quite an interesting take and basically explains that those of us working from home exclusively for the last 1.5 years have adapted to it at a neurological level and will take time to readjust. I agree with others that you will readjust quickly and the anxiety will fade.

Having said that, there are strong logistical and environmental arguments for many of us to continue working from home at least some of the time. Your employer may feel more inclined to consider these, especially if you have proven you can be efficient, than COVID based arguments now that the emergency state seems to be coming to a close.

We are doing the hybrid thing. For those whose roles mean the work can be done at home (as there are a few things that need done in the workplace, like opening the physical mail).

Hybrid seems to suit most. I think we will have well under 50% of us in the office on any given day.

Which means fewer staff in the office who need desks etc. So for the employer it could be an opportunity to sublet part of offices they own (or lease when they have a long lease they can’t get out of) to other smaller companies and make some money, or downsize to smaller accommodation and make savings.

Perhaps you could put that in your business case. Along with better work life balance making staff less likely to be off sick and therefore more productive. Do some research and provide links (to those that help your case) on your paper to the employer.

Do you have a union? They’d be my first port if call to see if they could do a questionnaire on survey monkey to gather staff comments. And they can talk to others re the benefits of wfh.

I hate the knee jerk reaction to things and I particularly hate the ‘because it’s always been done this way’ attitude (in all things not just this). Really backward and pathetic when we have this opportunity to change and evolve.

I think there's a difference between not going back yet and not wanting to go back at alL
We have some staff back
Won't be insisting all come back until rules change and everyone double vacced
Astonished about EHO going round sending people home
Where we are council staff are hardly answering the phone

My office still shut
I'm wfh but go out on site visits twice week which involves going into various buildings and meeting with one or 2 other people
Been doing this throughout except for the 2 complete lockdown periods
Bit anxious at 1st but just feels normal now (apart from face masks!) Much happier last few weeks now I'm double jabbed
I am travelling by car

I'm amazed any company in Scotland reopening their offices at moment with highest rates in Europe
Sure way to have all your staff off sick
When do you get 2nd jag @Lizzie523 ?
If I were you I'd try and push to stay wfh until double jagged

It's a shame they won't agree to 1 day a week at home but I think more workplaces should be insisting on bringing people back - it's time that people start to live life normally and to be honest if you take precautions for yourself you will be fine.

@Wizzbangfizz yes but hardly fair to get people back in when - due to the high prevalence in Scotland - they're likely to be under house arrest for 10 days every time they get contact traced.

Re a pp saying it’s time to live life normally, why the rush to the bad old days of long commutes, packed lunches, carbon emissions from the unnecessary commute and the exhaustion it brings ( and resulting reluctance to play with the kids after work or take them to the park etc).

This is a golden opportunity to create a better future. About the only good thing that’s come out of the bastard that is covid.

Agree it is a great opportunity to change things, but we shouldn't assume everyone feels the same about commutes etc.. I have a short commute by foot or bike, make excellent packed lunches, enjoy the company at work and have no kids. But I can fully appreciate that colleagues have other circumstances.
Everyone's different, and some employers will want and be able to accommodate that, and some won't.