Get back to the office! But why?

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.

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.

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!

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.

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?

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.

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.

Adapt to survive.

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.

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.

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!

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

It is up to the business owners / employers to decide what is best for their Company.

They will be looking at a number of things - productivity, connectivity (WiFi, data safety etc) and the most important profitability.

In my opinion it is essential for some face to face contact whether that be weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.

No amount of ZOOM meetings can compensate for the instantaneous bouncing of ideas or problem solving which occurs in the workplace.

As a business owner and employer I make the decisions for my business, regardless of what the PM might encourage.

Someone did mention the problem of access to information working from home. Our son and his colleagues have to lock themselves in a secure room at the office. I don't know what he does, MoD stuff, impossible to work from home.
Our daughter was in the process of buying a house but the solicitor said land registry searches had a huge backlog due to civil servants not being able to go into the office. The house sales Rishi wanted to push through are starting to stall so office workers need to get back to their desks to stop the knock on effect. Many legal documents are off limits to home workers.
I know these examples might not be common, but that is two in my immediate family who are affected.

When the computer first became a part of our everyday lives many years ago the talk then was for more office based people to work from home and all the advantages that would give.
I often wondered why everybody was still battling the daily commute and expense of getting to work and when this home working would actually happen. Now Covid has forced the issue and on the whole it seems to work for many people so why should they be pushed back into the office?
I heard a young man on the radio the other day who said he's sick of acquaintances asking when he's going back to work. He is at work, he's never stopped! He also said that his parents, who live in India have been able to see the Himalayas for the first time in forty years due to the fall in air pollution. Surely that alone should make us pause and think.

X post with MawB
I thought one of my DC would be reluctant to go back to the office and some of the travel which his job necessitates but he did say he was looking forward to it.

Many people had to carry on going to work all through lockdown.

It seems there are advantages and disadvantages to those who could work from home actually going back into their workplaces. It would certainly not be advantageous to the country if many of the working from home jobs disappeared and were performed in other countries.

Lots of crossed posts aka “great minds thinking alike”

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.

I omitted to mention the additional emotional and MH effects of the isolation of WFH for some people, plus the costs of heating and energy, the pressure on space, as not everybody has a dedicated home office and using bedrooms and the kitchen table is not a viable arrangement in many families.
WFH is not a universal panacea - I can remember how, even though my job had its own stresses and strains, sometimes it was a relief to leave home issues behind me and spend my working day with colleagues who were not entirely aware of what was going on in my life and concentrating on other issues.

How fortunate are those whose jobs offer them the option of working from home! Not that working from home a bed of roses: I did so for 20 years and there were as many downsides as upsides.
Those of you who couldn't care less about Costa, Starbucks etc, remember that if they close the ones who suffer will be those employees who find themselves jobless.

Yes, it’s complicated Maw but things need to be readjusted. We couldn’t continue as before Covid anyway.

Ellianne Sat 29-Aug-20 08:01:13
Good post

Someone made a point about non-working older people being resistant to changes which will not affect them, but Ellianne's post is very good and makes some pertinent points.

Bouncing ideas off others in the workplace is often an essential of working life and having meetings online and conference calls does not always work as successfully. It could become a very lonely existence for many.

I think human beings, especially the younger generations, have short memories. They will forget about this pandemic and its restrictions very quickly and will want to be back out there again doing what they do best.... spending money and socialising. Doing these things within the communal workplace is how they like to function
Another good post

Human beings are, in the main, social animals.

A mix of going in to work and working from home on one or two days a week seemed to suit many people before lockdown and they and their employers may find that a good way of future working.

Just to be clear gilly are you saying that those who can and those who want to and those whose employers are happy with working from home should not be encourage to?

Or do you think that because some people have no option but to go into their work place then everyone else should,

Most of my family, teachers, doctors, a social worker and a bus driver have no option. But my son can and does work from home and has done for years. None of the rest of the family begrudge him this privilege.

Yes, I know that companies like Pret A Manger are feeling the pinch but as one commuter tweeted ‘horrifying to learn that if I don’t expose myself and everyone I care about to this virus then one of the five Pret A Mangers between the tube station and my office might become unprofitable

I think this shows a very imperfect understanding of the complex (fragile) network of our economy. It isn’t a simple case of one person’s commute to work affecting Pret’s profits but the complex interdependence of transport, hospitality, service, logistics, retail, and other services.
Take one or more out of the equation and like a house of cards, it can all crumble - as we are seeing now.
It’s like that old tale about how for the want of a horse shoe nail, a country was lost.
(For the want if a nail, a shoe was lost, for the want if a shoe, a horse was lost etc)
Everybody needs to be aware of the bigger picture.