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Post by partickpotter on May 11, 2022 7:53:24 GMT
It’s a big topic.
And one that quite possibly affects many of the folk that post on here.
What do we think?
All good, a major problem?
Should government get involved. If so what should it do.
What are the consequences and what do we do about them if anything.
Like I said, a big topic!
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Post by musik on May 11, 2022 8:05:12 GMT
When Covid-19 had peaked here in Sweden, I think it was during or perhaps just after the top of the second wave, a study I read and heard about as well, said the citizens of Sweden prefered working from home a lot more than other europeans.
It's still so apparently, when talking to people.
I wonder why.
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Post by stokeuk474 on May 11, 2022 8:12:51 GMT
I've done both since the start of the pandemic. Worked from home initially for 6 months, then went back to the office for 12 months. We moved house in January so I've been back working from home since then as we've more space now.
Personally, I don't mind either, although I think a mixture of 'Hybrid' system will happen around the country going forward.
There are definitely benefits of working from home, but despite being told by our superiors that they have not seen a drop in productivity, I don't believe them. There's certainly been days where i've struggled to motivate myself and focus. Going into the office would certainly change that. Quite a few people on my team have voiced concerns about covid in the office still, but that can't go on forever so the business will have to make a decision in that regard.
We currently have 4 years left on the lease of our building, and it's proving to be a bit of a dilemma in terms of what to do. It's only around 1/3 full currently, and so do they leave the premises after 4 years, make a huge saving, but then invest more in working from home, or renew some sort of lease or find an alternative office space?
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Post by partickpotter on May 11, 2022 8:14:24 GMT
When Covid-19 had peaked here in Sweden, I think it was during or perhaps just after the top of the second wave, a study I read and heard about as well, said the citizens of Sweden prefered working from home a lot more than other europeans. It's still so apparently, when talking to people. I wonder why. Could it be demographics. The older and more affluent you are the more likely you are to prefer working from home. Maybe Sweden has an older and more affluent population than other European countries.
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Post by prestwichpotter on May 11, 2022 8:17:23 GMT
Although I have a huge commercial property portfolio I swear to God it has no bearing on my opinion, I really believe everyone should get back into their daily commute and drag their arses into the office come what may. As I say though it has nothing to do with my huge commercial property portfolio, I'm simply passionate about people getting their work/life balance right and at the moment there's too much life and not enough work........
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Post by prestwichpotter on May 11, 2022 8:29:09 GMT
I've done both since the start of the pandemic. Worked from home initially for 6 months, then went back to the office for 12 months. We moved house in January so I've been back working from home since then as we've more space now. Personally, I don't mind either, although I think a mixture of 'Hybrid' system will happen around the country going forward.
There are definitely benefits of working from home, but despite being told by our superiors that they have not seen a drop in productivity, I don't believe them. There's certainly been days where i've struggled to motivate myself and focus. Going into the office would certainly change that. Quite a few people on my team have voiced concerns about covid in the office still, but that can't go on forever so the business will have to make a decision in that regard. We currently have 4 years left on the lease of our building, and it's proving to be a bit of a dilemma in terms of what to do. It's only around 1/3 full currently, and so do they leave the premises after 4 years, make a huge saving, but then invest more in working from home, or renew some sort of lease or find an alternative office space? I'm the same, currently working on average 3 days in the office and a couple from home which suits me down to the ground. However I know a number of people who work solely from home now and love it and their productivity has gone up not down so it's simply a case of horses for courses. And it might have affected the Pret a Manger or Starbucks in Manchester city centre but the local independent coffee shop in the village is flying, it's all part of a reset that is needed post-Covid it's a great opportunity to redesign the way city centres are used, tackle the climate crisis and for people to be able to work smarter which is a win for everyone (apart from the Middle Eastern/American property developers sitting in multi million pound assets of course but I'll get over that)......
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on May 11, 2022 8:34:04 GMT
Although I have a huge commercial property portfolio I swear to God it has no bearing on my opinion, I really believe everyone should get back into their daily commute and drag their arses into the office come what may. As I say though it has nothing to do with my huge commercial property portfolio, I'm simply passionate about people getting their work/life balance right and at the moment there's too much life and not enough work........ I agree with StokeUK474 on the whole, a hybrid system offers the best of both worlds. Hardworkers will be hardworkers wherever they are, lazy bastards just the same. If you have targets/objectives etc and a manager who manages you, why should it matter where you are? I get the social aspect though. Collaboration and in-job learning must be easier in a work environment. Aside from the rather mercenary approach which probably underpins the government and Tory Press campaign to "GET BACK IN THE OFFICE" as prestwich highlights above, if we are serious about doing something to stop our slow march towards extinction by way of climate change (1.5deg C warming is now 50/50 apparently, emissions are still rising) then reducing rather pointless commuting seems a sensible way of doing so.
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on May 11, 2022 8:39:30 GMT
When Covid-19 had peaked here in Sweden, I think it was during or perhaps just after the top of the second wave, a study I read and heard about as well, said the citizens of Sweden prefered working from home a lot more than other europeans. It's still so apparently, when talking to people. I wonder why. It's been pretty prevalent in Germany for many years too.
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Post by superjw on May 11, 2022 9:23:04 GMT
Done it since the pandemic started, it's done wonders for my work life balance at a personal level. I can quite happily get on with my work and not get distracted.
Even before Covid, I would commute to my office to sit in virtual meetings all day speaking to people outside of my office. I could easily go days without talking to anyone next to me. What was the point?
Productivity and absence has improved since WFH started, we are settling for a hybrid approach as most others seem to be. As with any workforce, those who aren't productive will be that way in an office or at home.
I really hate the view that some people have that compares ones work effort to whether they commute to an office or not. Drives me mad.
Plus, it has to be one of the biggest things we can do for the environment
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Post by stokeuk474 on May 11, 2022 9:27:51 GMT
I really do believe though that the environment you have at home for working is so important. I'm lucky enough now to have a little office space to work in which offers me some quiet and I don't have to keep arsing about moving equipment etc.
There's still too many people though sat on their sofas with a laptop, or sitting at the kitchen table whilst everyone is eating breakfast around them etc. Made a big difference for me as I was really struggling at the beginning as we simply did not have the space or setup for it.
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Post by prestwichpotter on May 11, 2022 9:55:41 GMT
I really do believe though that the environment you have at home for working is so important. I'm lucky enough now to have a little office space to work in which offers me some quiet and I don't have to keep arsing about moving equipment etc. There's still too many people though sat on their sofas with a laptop, or sitting at the kitchen table whilst everyone is eating breakfast around them etc. Made a big difference for me as I was really struggling at the beginning as we simply did not have the space or setup for it. I'm currently arranging for one of those fancy summer houses with bi-folding doors to be built at the bottom of the garden ("get you, twat" I hear them cry), but my missus works from home 3 out of 5 days as well but has commandeered the spare room for her office (she works in HR so has filing cabinets with stuff locked away and folders galore in there plays havoc with my OCD). But if you live in a small flat or have a pre-school kid or whatever it may be it is tough. I spend most of my working life on endless teams/phone conferences so it's it's impossible when there's 3 kids scrapping in the background at 16:00 in the afternoon. As I said earlier I appreciate not everyone can work from home and for those that can't employers need to look at ways of offering flexibility, a four day week or whatever it may be to help them but for some roles it will just be impossible. Ironically I was in the office 5/6 days a week at the heart of the pandemic working in retail transport and it's only now we're through it that I can spend a bit more time at home but it should be about what's best for both parties where possible
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on May 11, 2022 10:03:02 GMT
Some very sensible contributions, which do seem to reflect what most organisations are trying to do anyway and what most people seem to want.
Which does beg the question - why the anti-WFH campaign from some quarters?
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Post by partickpotter on May 11, 2022 10:04:42 GMT
I've done both since the start of the pandemic. Worked from home initially for 6 months, then went back to the office for 12 months. We moved house in January so I've been back working from home since then as we've more space now. Personally, I don't mind either, although I think a mixture of 'Hybrid' system will happen around the country going forward.
There are definitely benefits of working from home, but despite being told by our superiors that they have not seen a drop in productivity, I don't believe them. There's certainly been days where i've struggled to motivate myself and focus. Going into the office would certainly change that. Quite a few people on my team have voiced concerns about covid in the office still, but that can't go on forever so the business will have to make a decision in that regard. We currently have 4 years left on the lease of our building, and it's proving to be a bit of a dilemma in terms of what to do. It's only around 1/3 full currently, and so do they leave the premises after 4 years, make a huge saving, but then invest more in working from home, or renew some sort of lease or find an alternative office space? I'm the same, currently working on average 3 days in the office and a couple from home which suits me down to the ground. However I know a number of people who work solely from home now and love it and their productivity has gone up not down so it's simply a case of horses for courses. And it might have affected the Pret a Manger or Starbucks in Manchester city centre but the local independent coffee shop in the village is flying, it's all part of a reset that is needed post-Covid it's a great opportunity to redesign the way city centres are used, tackle the climate crisis and for people to be able to work smarter which is a win for everyone (apart from the Middle Eastern/American property developers sitting in multi million pound assets of course but I'll get over that)...... The city centre businesses affected by WFH are not just the big chains but loads of indie businesses. A bunch of great places I know have gone to the wall. Of course, the big chains in city centres are mostly franchises so it’s possible they’ll just follow the market and open up in competition to the “local” indies. Currently there’s no Starbucks on my stretch of Argyle St in Finnieston but there are a dozen or so indie cafes. I don’t think that will last. Anyway, as you say, a reset will take care of this thanks to market forces. I wonder what dynamic will produce the reset in other areas such as trains. Currently, for example, the “shuttle” trains between Glasgow and Edinburgh run every 30 mins; they used to run, pre pandemic, every 15 minutes. And that seems fine in terms of providing sufficient capacity. But it means, for arguments sake, Scotrail now needs half the drivers (give or take) as it’s running half the trains (ok - appreciate it’s a bit simplistic, but the principle is fair enough). In other words, the negative consequences of wfh are not limited to big chain companies and property developers.
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Post by prestwichpotter on May 11, 2022 10:19:53 GMT
I'm the same, currently working on average 3 days in the office and a couple from home which suits me down to the ground. However I know a number of people who work solely from home now and love it and their productivity has gone up not down so it's simply a case of horses for courses. And it might have affected the Pret a Manger or Starbucks in Manchester city centre but the local independent coffee shop in the village is flying, it's all part of a reset that is needed post-Covid it's a great opportunity to redesign the way city centres are used, tackle the climate crisis and for people to be able to work smarter which is a win for everyone (apart from the Middle Eastern/American property developers sitting in multi million pound assets of course but I'll get over that)...... The city centre businesses affected by WFH are not just the big chains but loads of indie businesses. A bunch of great places I know have gone to the wall. Of course, the big chains in city centres are mostly franchises so it’s possible they’ll just follow the market and open up in competition to the “local” indies. Currently there’s no Starbucks on my stretch of Argyle St in Finnieston but there are a dozen or so indie cafes. I don’t think that will last. Anyway, as you say, a reset will take care of this thanks to market forces. I wonder what dynamic will produce the reset in other areas such as trains. Currently, for example, the “shuttle” trains between Glasgow and Edinburgh run every 30 mins; they used to run, pre pandemic, every 15 minutes. And that seems fine in terms of providing sufficient capacity. But it means, for arguments sake, Scotrail now needs half the drivers (give or take) as it’s running half the trains (ok - appreciate it’s a bit simplistic, but the principle is fair enough). In other words, the negative consequences of wfh are not limited to big chain companies and property developers. There are always winners and losers which is sad, I suppose if I owned a coffee shop just off Buchanan Street say there would be nothing to stop moving into a (probably cheaper) building somewhere near Kelvinbridge for example, or to use my example move from the city centre of Manchester to places like Prestwich or Ramsbottom where there's a real revival of cafe's, bars and restaurants even after the pandemic has struck. If City Centres are reconfigured so that there's less large retail space and more living space by default those small independent businesses (and the chains of course) will naturally find a customer base again anyway, what it takes is local councils and government with real vision to look at everything as a whole, that's the bit that concerns me. Go to places like Amsterdam and there's so many small suburbs with thriving bars, restaurants, small music venues, independent record, clothes, book shops etc all within minutes of the main centre itself.......
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Post by partickpotter on May 14, 2022 5:57:23 GMT
I’ll give this thread a wee bump as it’s back in the news today.
So, accepting there are some people with a vested interest in having people working in offices (those who make money from those offices or the commute), there are good arguments why this makes sense…
Talking to a colleague today who was back in his office for the first time this week, he said only then did he realise the buzz he gets from physically being around other people. He said he’d completely forgotten that feeling while wfh.
We are social animals (well most of us, some more of the former than the latter of course). We need the company of other people. This is a real problem in wfh imo.
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Post by thehartshillbadger on May 14, 2022 6:15:16 GMT
I’ll give this thread a wee bump as it’s back in the news today. So, accepting there are some people with a vested interest in having people working in offices (those who make money from those offices or the commute), there are good arguments why this makes sense… Talking to a colleague today who was back in his office for the first time this week, he said only then did he realise the buzz he gets from physically being around other people. He said he’d completely forgotten that feeling while wfh. We are social animals (well most of us, some more of the former than the latter of course). We need the company of other people. This is a real problem in wfh imo. Same here re being around people. I found working from home mind numbingly tedious without the social interaction and piss taking that goes on.
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Post by cobhamstokey on May 14, 2022 6:18:42 GMT
this was my response to Huddys post re Boris wanting people back in the office on the I hate the government thread
“I don’t get the resistance from people about returning to the office
- It brings back some reality after covid and lockdown. - good for mental health to be meeting people in person again. - despite what people say it’s a better working environment and encourages teamwork / unity.
2 quotes one from someone in the adjoining office and one from a mate “Working from home gave me the opportunity to do my washing and get my chores done” and “first time i’ve met someone outside the school run in 2 years”
Additionaly what do the chief executives do when they realise they can pay someone in Mumbai to do the same job for half the money from there home. Also should they still be paying travel allowance when there’s no travelling being done?”
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Post by partickpotter on May 14, 2022 6:27:35 GMT
this was my response to Huddys post re Boris wanting people back in the office on the I hate the government thread “I don’t get the resistance from people about returning to the office - It brings back some reality after covid and lockdown. - good for mental health to be meeting people in person again. - despite what people say it’s a better working environment and encourages teamwork / unity. 2 quotes one from someone in the adjoining office and one from a mate “Working from home gave me the opportunity to do my washing and get my chores done” and “first time i’ve met someone outside the school run in 2 years” Additionaly what do the chief executives do when they realise they can pay someone in Mumbai to do the same job for half the money from there home. Also should they still be paying travel allowance when there’s no travelling being done?” Huddy sees the world as anything and everything the Tories say or do is evil, so he opposes anything and everything they say or do. Now you might think that is the behaviour of a remarkably stupid person. And you would be right.
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Post by telfordstoke on May 14, 2022 6:41:00 GMT
I'm on a hybrid system now and do 2 office 3 home though regularly it's 4 at home. I find the days I have bad days - do a lot of quite argumentative meetings with unions and external groups- I hate it and struggle to wind down. In pandemic I was more office based as part of the response but organisation has taken opportunity to use this as a way to offload valuable property and consolidate what we actually need rather than a historic property portfolio born of various mergers over the years where sites have just been added with alacrity. On a mental level, the winters are not pleasant at home and I'm bad at time management so don't ALWAYS make myself take breaks or go out for walks and I need to remedy that going forward. Found I've put weight on alot from WFH and that's food, I actually drink less alcohol than I did before pandemic. Had an epiphany in 2020 as I'd had some stressful periods ( was involved heavily with supporting care sector , NHS and support services like undertakers) where when I was at home or got home , I was sticking booze in freezer to chill quickly so I could drink every day and after a couple of weeks I made the call that it HAD to stop else I'd be reliant on it forever.
Reckon I'm probably 12-13 years off retiring and I suspect WFH will be it for me from now. We try and have monthly team meetings face to face but timescales slip and more like 8 weeks really.
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Post by xchpotter on May 14, 2022 6:56:57 GMT
Hate working from home. Too many distractions and I miss people around me. This is by no means aimed at everyone who works from home, but I find the lazy sods who would normally do the least or those that are frequently sick at work, tend to be the ones who love working at home.
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on May 14, 2022 7:05:04 GMT
Hate working from home. Too many distractions and I miss people around me. This is by no means aimed at everyone who works from home, but I find the lazy sods who would normally do the least or those that are frequently sick at work, tend to be the ones who love working at home. I find it's the other way round - the people who hate homeworking are the ones you see at work wandering from conversation to conversation, coffee/fag break to coffee/fag break, but still "present" so therefore still feeling like they're "working". In other words, the location makes no difference, it's the individual. So, ultimately, it's down to their managers to ensure they're doing what they should be doing and the hybrid system is probably the best way forward on a number of levels, not least getting traffic off roads and cutting carbon. Places like Germany have been homeworking for decades. And as everyone knows they run Europe so it can't be that bad!
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Post by hotterpotter on May 14, 2022 7:19:36 GMT
Very sensible thread with loads of valid points. I just wanted to add that a lot of people who go into the office don't use the retail outlets around the office. For me it's tea breaks and lunch in the building or on a nearby green (packed lunch to save money).
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Post by neckender78 on May 14, 2022 8:19:20 GMT
Another issue that divides opinion based on an individuals own viewpoint or circumstances. I work in construction so little opportunity to WFH. Similar to other sectors Engineering, Manufacturing, Health Care, leisure and retail etc. There is little these industries can do with WFH and when there is further push for WFH and 4 day working weeks a lot of people will want to do that and these industries will be even more struggling for bodies. There is a massive shortage of experienced skilled tradesmen or women in construction at present. And the only way to attract new blood or keep existing is through increased money which presents its own problems.
From my own experiences WFH is solely to suit people's needs and not the companies. In my social group are plenty of work from home types who openly rejoice in their daily routine of fitting some work in around cracking open a can/bottle at 11am sitting in the garden doing jobs around the house, watching box sets, haircuts, school runs etc. All of which they couldn't do when they had to go into the office. A few I know had to go back in the office the odd day recently and were apoplectic in rage about it and couldn't wait to get back home to their normal work routines.
Not every WFH person is like this I know and am sure there are benefits for some companies with the arrangement. The social aspect I would struggle with as I believe a human needs separation from home and work environment.
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Post by cobhamstokey on May 14, 2022 8:56:09 GMT
Hate working from home. Too many distractions and I miss people around me. This is by no means aimed at everyone who works from home, but I find the lazy sods who would normally do the least or those that are frequently sick at work, tend to be the ones who love working at home. I find it's the other way round - the people who hate homeworking are the ones you see at work wandering from conversation to conversation, coffee/fag break to coffee/fag break, but still "present" so therefore still feeling like they're "working". In other words, the location makes no difference, it's the individual. So, ultimately, it's down to their managers to ensure they're doing what they should be doing and the hybrid system is probably the best way forward on a number of levels, not least getting traffic off roads and cutting carbon. I don’t think it’s down to the individual being necessarily lazy or not but If someone’s got distractions or unsupervised they won’t function as well even if they were the hard work type. t’s natural especially if it goes on for a while and people get used to it unless tyeyre paid on commsion and nothing would stop them coming in. It’s like in footy a good team needs leaders and isn’t made up of individuals which you get when there’s no base. Plus it’s not good for moral for those working in the office who naturally think if we’re doing it why aren’t they? One thing that really does cheese me off is certain occupations like social workers and other “front” line workers who’ve got used to working from home in lockdown and are now choosing to meet people that they should be supporting on teams or skype because they started doing it in lockdown and it’s become comfortable for them so it’s now become the norm that is just taking the easy route. There’s no way in the world that’s going to be as effective.
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Post by xchpotter on May 14, 2022 9:10:22 GMT
Another issue that divides opinion based on an individuals own viewpoint or circumstances. I work in construction so little opportunity to WFH. Similar to other sectors Engineering, Manufacturing, Health Care, leisure and retail etc. There is little these industries can do with WFH and when there is further push for WFH and 4 day working weeks a lot of people will want to do that and these industries will be even more struggling for bodies. There is a massive shortage of experienced skilled tradesmen or women in construction at present. And the only way to attract new blood or keep existing is through increased money which presents its own problems. From my own experiences WFH is solely to suit people's needs and not the companies. In my social group are plenty of work from home types who openly rejoice in their daily routine of fitting some work in around cracking open a can/bottle at 11am sitting in the garden doing jobs around the house, watching box sets, haircuts, school runs etc. All of which they couldn't do when they had to go into the office. A few I know had to go back in the office the odd day recently and were apoplectic in rage about it and couldn't wait to get back home to their normal work routines. Not every WFH person is like this I know and am sure there are benefits for some companies with the arrangement. The social aspect I would struggle with as I believe a human needs separation from home and work environment. Exactly. How very dare an employer have a say in how their business is delivered. I knew from the off with Covid that once normality returned we would see a load of people moan about returning to the conditions of their original employment. Its human nature I guess, give some a bonus or someway of helping out and then they assume its a right. I do feel sorry for those who had no chance because their job could not be done from home whilst others have had a great time and now bleat about going back in.
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on May 14, 2022 9:22:22 GMT
It's very interesting that it's very much the Tory papers that are going heavy on this issue.
"Rees-Mogg's war on 3-day week for the civil service" is the headline in today's Telegraph.
It's funny that when people were working from home during Covid they were still considered "hard-working" and doing their bit for the country. Now, suddenly, they're work-shy dossers is the implication.
I think it's a combination of several factors - fear that the looming recession will be made worse by not forcing people to commute, thereby spending money on travel and town centre shops, a loss of revenue for city centre landlords (Tory donors?) and the fact that we can't let the peasants have what they want (which, as every survey shows, is more working from home). There's an element of control that is necessary in any rigid, semi-feudal social order.
Shame about the environment but that has always been way down the list for the Tories and their press friends. Just not important to them.
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Post by cobhamstokey on May 14, 2022 9:31:13 GMT
Another issue that divides opinion based on an individuals own viewpoint or circumstances. I work in construction so little opportunity to WFH. Similar to other sectors Engineering, Manufacturing, Health Care, leisure and retail etc. There is little these industries can do with WFH and when there is further push for WFH and 4 day working weeks a lot of people will want to do that and these industries will be even more struggling for bodies. There is a massive shortage of experienced skilled tradesmen or women in construction at present. And the only way to attract new blood or keep existing is through increased money which presents its own problems. From my own experiences WFH is solely to suit people's needs and not the companies. In my social group are plenty of work from home types who openly rejoice in their daily routine of fitting some work in around cracking open a can/bottle at 11am sitting in the garden doing jobs around the house, watching box sets, haircuts, school runs etc. All of which they couldn't do when they had to go into the office. A few I know had to go back in the office the odd day recently and were apoplectic in rage about it and couldn't wait to get back home to their normal work routines. Not every WFH person is like this I know and am sure there are benefits for some companies with the arrangement. The social aspect I would struggle with as I believe a human needs separation from home and work environment. Exactly. How very dare an employer have a say in how their business is delivered. I knew from the off with Covid that once normality returned we would see a load of people moan about returning to the conditions of their original employment. Its human nature I guess, give some a bonus or someway of helping out and then they assume its a right. I do feel sorry for those who had no chance because their job could not be done from home whilst others have had a great time and now bleat about going back in. bang on.
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Post by westlandstokie on May 14, 2022 9:33:07 GMT
It’s a big topic. And one that quite possibly affects many of the folk that post on here. What do we think? All good, a major problem? Should government get involved. If so what should it do. What are the consequences and what do we do about them if anything. Like I said, a big topic! I work from home all the time as I’m an Area Manager for a company in the North East of the country. Luckily I’m out most days visiting customers or I would go mad.
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Post by cobhamstokey on May 14, 2022 9:37:33 GMT
It's very interesting that it's very much the Tory papers that are going heavy on this issue. "Rees-Mogg's war on 3-day week for the civil service" is the headline in today's Telegraph. It's funny that when people were working from home during Covid they were still considered "hard-working" and doing their bit for the country. Now, suddenly, they're work-shy dossers is the implication. I think it's a combination of several factors - fear that the looming recession will be made worse by not forcing people to commute, thereby spending money on travel and town centre shops, a loss of revenue for city centre landlords (Tory donors?) and the fact that we can't let the peasants have what they want (which, as every survey shows, is more working from home). There's an element of control that is necessary in any rigid, semi-feudal social order. Shame about the environment but that has always been way down the list for the Tories and their press friends. Just not important to them. The sad thing is this isn’t even about politics or slamming the Tory’s (and yes they are poor). it’s about getting the wheels in motion and getting this country up and running again and getting things back to normal like they were pre covid. If covid hadn’t happened do you think people would be moaning about working away from home? I doubt it. I guess having a workplace is another thing to cancel.
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on May 14, 2022 9:41:33 GMT
It's very interesting that it's very much the Tory papers that are going heavy on this issue. "Rees-Mogg's war on 3-day week for the civil service" is the headline in today's Telegraph. It's funny that when people were working from home during Covid they were still considered "hard-working" and doing their bit for the country. Now, suddenly, they're work-shy dossers is the implication. I think it's a combination of several factors - fear that the looming recession will be made worse by not forcing people to commute, thereby spending money on travel and town centre shops, a loss of revenue for city centre landlords (Tory donors?) and the fact that we can't let the peasants have what they want (which, as every survey shows, is more working from home). There's an element of control that is necessary in any rigid, semi-feudal social order. Shame about the environment but that has always been way down the list for the Tories and their press friends. Just not important to them. The sad thing is this isn’t even about politics or slamming the Tory’s (and yes they are poor). it’s about getting the wheels in motion and getting this country up and running again and getting things back to normal like they were pre covid. If covid hadn’t happened do you think people would be moaning about working away from home? I doubt it. I guess having a workplace is another thing to cancel. People have been moaning about pointless commutes and worklife balance for years before Covid. They've been homeworking for decades in Germany and other European countries. I suspect it makes very little difference and that the real reasons for banging on about this now are little to do with productivity and actual work. As the likes of Rees-Mogg and the Tory supporting press probably realise only too well.
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