Get back to the office! But why?

There are some really sound ideas and well thought out, intelligent comments here. If only Boris would read them! But alas it seems our politicians rarely listen to the population they are supposed to represent or take on board a wider view and are merely ego driven, power seekers who lack any creativity and insight. Sigh!

My neighbour has really enjoyed working from home-he saves on fuel and travelling time and the occasional lunch out. He works 08.30-18.00. His firm is keen for that to continue at least till October. It saves on their heating, lighting, electricity and cleaning bills, though obviously not his. I don’t ask about their finances but I’m aware from my own circumstances that I can’t claim for work internet use if I’m using my home provider.
His family aren’t so happy.
They don’t have a spare room or even enough room in the bedroom to set up a desk, so the table in their living/dining room is the office and since a lot of his work is online meetings, it has meant silence for the rest of the family.
They’re desperate to go back to school.

Well majority of people in my area that are working from home and it’s a large amount of people, these people are now spending money in our community instead of large cities so the coffee shops sandwich bars etc are doing better in the local community instead. I think it’s the way forward to stay wfh.

Adapt to survive.

Looks like the thread is now dead. Negativity has taken over, but it was great while it was ongoing.

Not dead to the 50 or so who have posted in the past hour, with some very interesting informative points Furret.
No negativity that I can detect either, but then I have a very open mind where this topic is concerned.

Callistemon

Whitewave your family is very lucky to have separate rooms which they can set up as offices in their own homes.
Not everyone has a large enough home with spare bedroom or separate dining room (many houses have open plan kitchen/diners now anyway) and if more than one person is working from home then it can become impossible, especially when taking conference calls.

Yes that is true.

I have been working from home since March and going back into the office will save a sandwich shop as I never use them nor do I buy coffee to walk around with a cardboard cup in my hand. Perhaps we have too many of these type of shops, time for a change perhaps?

When people get together is that not when creativity and innovation get sparked. Does Zoom really allow that to happen? In the office environment do people not learn a lot from each other? Just by being there they see how others approach things and that extends beyond the actual office work into relationship approaches, parenting etc. I think we all learn from being around each other. With out that will things not eventually become pretty sterile and creative living and learning eventually come to an end? A balance of both home and the office is the most holistic way forward.

It was something mentioned to me - that it's impossible to make a cuppa when someone else is on a long conference call in the kitchen/diner. Children doing schoolwork in their bedrooms, someone else working in another bedroom, the dog asking to go out!

My adult children and partners, three out of four, have enjoyed working from home; (the fourth had to go into work regularly) but they were able to create extra/new desk space, or work in different rooms at different times. All appreciate the money and time saved on commuting and are happy to continue for the present at least.

On another issue I am slightly concerned at how much the economy and job market appears to rest on coffee/ food outlets for workers, and the amount people apparently spend on over-priced drinks and snacks. Don't people take packed lunches and have access to a kettle any more? We always did.

Don’t see the logic in it either. Except the governments agenda and that of the ordinary person are quite different! So from my family’s point of view, everyone wants to work from home and can do most of the time. The trouble is it shakes up society as we know it and that’s what they don’t want. They need to demonstrate with statistics that it’s ‘safe’ (which wouldn’t be hard to do, but they won’t do it) and they need to give up on the idea that town, city and business centres will go back to how they were. They won’t.

Fewer people commuting is good for our mental health and the environment. There was also a significant drop in premature births. Scientists have not finished their research but are speculating that it could be the decreases in air pollution during the lockdowns, as fewer people drove or flew and factories belched less. Another factor could be that the mums-to-be had fewer infections generally — and thus less inflammation in their bodies — as we reduced contact with people and germs and obsessively washed hands. I also wonder if less commuting and general rushing around contributed.

I watch lots of videos about tiny homes, homes on wheels etc.
The owners are incredibly inventive about creating little nooks where they work from home.

Failing that, I would invest in a summer house; if I could.

creating little nooks where they work from home.

It's a bit cramped under the stairs

Thankfully in Scotland people are not being pushed back into the workplace. The FM said it was still too soon for everyone to return to normal without the virus spreading. She is putting all emphasis on keeping schools open at all cost.

Good post Philippa111 and parenting groups, advocated by the Duchess of Cambridge, are a good example. Human beings need physical contact to grow, to learn and to thrive.

I totally agree with everybody’s comments but my young neighbour lives on his own being separated from his partner. He has been working from home since March. I worry about his mental health. People need interaction with colleagues. I retired from the NHS in March after 40 years & although I love not working I miss the camaraderie.

Managers should be sitting down and analyzing all this, team by team .....that is their job after all ......Questions to be asked ard who needs to come intl the office, why and to do what ....when that is sorted, will it still be necessary to reng all the offices, provide company cars for so many etc .... supporting local sandwich bars shouldn' t come into it ...they will have to adapt, as will cleaning services etc. This is where we should all demand management and HR skills of our employers. Blanket decisions show that they just don' t have any ...or no respect for their employees ......

People need interaction with other people, not necessarily colleagues.

Working from home - don't make me laugh! They realise how good 'retirement' is. Nobody wants to go to work unless their home life is worse than going to work.

Not all jobs can be done from home and it is a very valid point that not all homes are large enough for a seperate room for work.

During lockdown in Denmark a member of the government taking part in a meeting over Zoom had to ask her colleagues to wait while she helped her small child with something.

At the time it was funny, but if parents of young children work from home I doubt it will go on being sweet with these kind of interuptions.

Another point is that if people work from home they will lack colleagues or only interact over the internet with them.

Not everyone is mentally suited to working alone.

Everyone wants to stop the spread of the virus, but equally everyone wants to stop a domino-effect of bankrupties and consequent unemployment amongst the section of society that has jobs in firms that are losing money hand over fist at present.

It’s called “work” for a reason.
And I do feel sorry for the people who work in Costa or Pret who will lose their jobs.

Such an interesting thread, great to hear from those with experience on all sides and lots of great ideas. Also reassuring to see how positive, innovative and flexible we can be.
Obviously many jobs simply cannot be done at home but where they can it has to be a good thing especially for parents to be able to be flexible.
I do have some experience of working from home many years ago and as a night owl type it was perfect for me. I did lots of work during school hours. I could get chores done, greet my children at the end of the school day with a drink and a snack and listen freshly to news of their day. I then worked late in to the evening. Flexible and stress free. I met work colleagues in person regularly and we often combined social occasions with meetings which always seemed more productive as people were relaxed and more forthcoming with ideas.
However I do acknowledge that for those who need to be available on phone or other networks, hours would need to be respected.
I agree with Ellianne too that the high powered ideas type jobs probably need that interaction to spark off each other.
There seems to be room for all kinds of different working practices and it would be great to see employers and employees embrace change for the better.

Perhaps places like Costa could cater for people having work related meetings?

The problem with working from home with small children during lockdown was that nurseries had closed. Surely if working from home becomes a permanent feature of people's lives, they can book their children into a nursery or childminder, just as they have always gone.