Returning to work (no more WFH)

Both in our flat now perma wfh. The mood is gloomy.

An a serious note, if you're about to wfh long term, get a dedicated office space. We did without for a few years and it was a massive strain on our minds, relationship and general everything. 6 months ago we got our proper space set up and it's such an increase in life quality. Well worth spending a bit of money and effort on.

I sympathise - potentially a similar situation here but I really hope not. I work for a university where until a few days ago there was a big push to start getting people back on campus on a rota system. I'd done a few days and was going to start going in two days a week from this week. As of Monday the rota system has been dropped for our directorate, but I'm hoping that the fact the building needs to stay open for students means that using the office will still be possible.

Other half - who has constant conference calls all day most days - has been going into the office three days a week, mostly because we have a one bed with no doors and it's difficult for me to work when he's here and has a day of back-to-back meetings. He was told yesterday the office is probably closing again. He's quite senior so is going to push back as hard as he can, not just for him/us but they have a lot of junior staff with non-ideal home situations for whom the option of working from an office is helpful.

To be honest the prospect of us both WFH full time all winter fills me with dread. It's not just the noise issue but being stuck in the flat all the time. At one point we were thinking of putting a door in so might need to revive that plan if so. We want to sell our flat and buy a house but we're not quite ready to get it on the market yet so that's months off.

Eventual house will have at least one dedicated office space for sure.

My place is keeping the office open for those that do struggle to work from home for whatever reason which I think is the right move.

I'm not too fussed about working from home (have a reasonable office space set up) but I know others who were in one bed flats having to work and live in the same room which took its toll on them.

The hipster punk thing would be to look after one of the now vacated shops/offices by using it as get out of the house shared lfgss work space.

It feels a bit backwards that they won't let people in the office for compasionate reasons. Our guidance now is "you should only travel to office if necessary to perform a business critical activity or if you are struggling with working from home and you have had new approval from your manager".

the shared worksapce i use is my local hackspace. £20pm. no heating. it's a former nightclub in a former mill in a formerly great industrial city.

Well that developed quickly - other half has got them to agree to keep the office open two days a week. And email from our Principal this morning strongly suggests that we will still be able to go in if we want to which has been echoed by my manager. So bullet dodged all being well.

I think the problem is that especially smaller offices/organisations are under cost pressure, so the cost of keeping the office open (cleaners, security etc.) aren't trivial for them.

If I could get somewhere suitable in Hackney for £20pm I'd be interested, but seems unlikely!

but they have a lot of junior staff with non-ideal home situations for whom the option of working from an office is helpful.

A lot of the people who go into the office are younger staff who live in a house share with 5 other people and who cannot face living/working in their bedrooms 100% of the time. I absolutely cannot blame them.

My company has been silent since 31st July when they announced the office was open again 5 days a week from the 5th August 'with capped numbers'.

Not a peep since. And given their silence I don't expect anything given the latest announcement.

I won't be returning any time soon. With a 5hr a day (yes I'm mad) public transport commute making social distancing close to impossible I think I'll be one of the last back, if at all.

I think our London office staff who are mainly in the younger age group (sub 25) have moved back to their parents where possible due to the multiple occupancy thing. My daughter (25) moved to the south coast to be at her mums in the country for the first 3 months but moved back to her shared London flat. With this return to wfh I wonder if she’ll come back down.
Personally I’m hoping if we’ve worked from home for a year then we’ll never go back. We’ve created separate working spaces on separate floors and it’s ok. God knows how you guys in flats are coping. We’d be at then end of our thethers.

I’ve been a home worker for 15 years and couldn’t go back. I get into work once every 6 months. I have a proper desk & chair with a view onto the street. It’s good to watch the world go by. Work for an hour, wash up, work for an hour, Hoover, work for an hour, start cooking a meal. Go to the high street at lunchtime. Find a good radio station and enjoy home life.

100% this. Too busy now, but when things are at a normal pace I get all household chores done during work hours

after 6 months WFH I was due to be going into the office next week for a gradual return along with the rest of the non branch staff (Bank) Yesterday means that its likely I wont set foot in the office for a whole year now. Still awaiting exact full guidance from the company but informal notification appears to be that unless I have a difficult home working environment (I dont, its much comfier than most) then I wont get onto the list of people able to go in.

Am very much missing the face to face interaction with my team but as most of them will be reluctant to go in anyway, me going in alone wont be solving that.

Rumours abound that my place will be lifting WFH and will expect most to return for the benefit of the company.

Hoping I can pursued them to let me continue with my current set up (in the office maybe twice a month to complete specific tasks)
I am a sole worker so hoping it will be acceptable.

My place wants all staff back in as of the 19th, but with 50% WFH allowance going forward. I've liked working from home, and we had the best financial year to date while everyone was wfh, so the company definitely still operates.

Cycled to my office (Clerkenwell), Tuesday and yesterday, shit tired in the evenings. Was good though, to see London again via commute.

Also a lot more electric scooters out and about, some being fined around Mile End, scooting in the segregated cycle lane

Office which pre Covid had +400 staff plus visitors each day, now amounts to circa 20 on average mostly IT support for remote working.

I'm back in the office in mid-August for a mandated three days a week. Not loving the idea. I've really enjoyed working from home. I find it more efficient, less stressful, cheaper, healthier...

~I'm supposed to be back in Canary Wharf two days a week from the 4th week of September.

Can't say I'm looking forward to it although my fitness will improve with an additional 120 km a week cycle-commuting on the Langster.

EDIT: some footage of my cycle commute circa 2019

I think my company are mandating some days in soon. I'll be telling them to poke it.

I’m moving up north in the next couple of weeks and work is telling me I need to be in twice a week minimum.

They’re going to be disappointed if they’re really banking on that…

great video - also a great advert for getting into work / leaving work two hours earlier!

glad you enjoyed it. CBA to leave earlier in the morning and not interested in working late :-)

"Hot tip" (literally) for anyone returning...

1 Attachment