In the news

Outrage in the Gruniad as some people who have jobs are expected to actually go to work!

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jan/03/uk-workers-on-being-forced-back-into-office-cut-hybrid-working

Studies have shown people to be more productive and happier not working in an office environment. I can totally understand their anger.

Plus there are four epidemics to gamble with if you go back to the office. I think it's four, there are so many it's hard to keep track.

productive and happier

this goes against British core values.

The whole idea of working in an
Office sat at a screen pretending to be busier than you are seems outdated. Surely AI can do this now and people can do more productive things like going on bike rides. I worked in an office for several years, sometimes I was busy, sometimes I did fuck all and pretended I was busy. Could’ve done it just as easily at home. Maybe all the office blocks could be turned into houses.

I quite like going to the office. There are people to chat to, some I like enough to see at weekends. I can ride to the office and call it a commute. I can run at lunchtime and it is different to running from home. I can go for a swim on the way in and arrive feeling good. I can consume all the provided food and drink. There are hundreds of lunch options that aren't available at home. I could go on.

I say what I said above as someone who runs a team of 80 people and is in the office at least two, usually three days a week. I love being in the office when there's a reason to. Most of time, there isn't a reason to be there and people are happier, better off financially and time wise.

I don't mind going in a couple of times a week, but that would sour really quickly if I had to go back everyday like I used to. Its been such a beneficial lifestyle change I can't understand how I used to commute everyday anymore.

I've run at least two distinct dev teams since the pandemic, and never met (in person) at least half a dozen members of those teams. It's been fine, we've been high performing.

I imagine they're going to chip away at hybrid working in the next few years.

I quite like going to the office so I can chat to people, but I also hate being in the office to do actual work because of everyone chatting around me.

Office life is how I met almost all my girlfriends.

Being in the office is considerably less productive. Having to talk to people, Loss of about 30 mins a day having to factor time in to walk between meetings in different buildings/floors. Loss of 2 hours of the day in commuting.

Like others have said, its nice being in the office a few days a week but the issue is when its forced or when silly people try to imply that people can only work properly in an office.

I’ve never worked in an office, or with people whose company I actually enjoy. Sounds wild to be happy to get up and go to work :/
I’m doing it wrong huh

Being able to WFH also helps disabled people and neurodiverse people.

I was in FT, then hybrid after the pandemic as I like a bit of company and we always had some social and charity events.

But being forced back in while hotdesking, nah, that can f off.

I hate WFH. I can't concentrate. I stuff my face with snacks. It's harder to just ask a colleague a question. There's much more nuance and information in face-to-face conversations and meetings than another fucking Teams call. I am mandated to do 2 days in the office but I nearly always do 3, and sometimes 4. The only downside is the £30 train ticket :(

It's also made a huge difference in childcare and family life for full time and young parents.

Fully understand the resistance to returning to 100% back in, as I fall in that category. I don't mind going in a few times a week. A lot of work is easier to do in person or around people that you work with to pick things up easier but I like the ability to put a load of washing on in the background whilst at home working, having my full kitchen to make lunch and being home immediately when I finish so I can get on with stuff straight away (though I also enjoy my cycle commute, couldn't bare it if I had to use the train each time).
I do think though that there is quite a big difference between younger people and older and it's quite common for younger people to want to be in the office due to shitty house shares with no space for working meaning they're stuck in their room and then also the social side of life meaning people want to meet their colleagues and stuff so having offices open and available is also important in my eyes to allow people in whenever they want to be in, if someone wants to go in all days, the allowance and space should be there for them, but we shouldn't go back to an expectation of everyone being in all the time.

I do not miss working in an office. Or WFH for that matter. Hopefully behind me forever.

Also people have been hired based on a hybrid work pattern. To have that taken away arbitrarily changes people's desire to actually have that particular job

How does your wife feel about that?

I'm on a WFH contract, but am looking to find a new job with 2/3 days in the office. I miss the socialising with people in the office, the commute on the bike, the ability to just ask a question and not have to go on a teams call.

I go into the office once every 2 weeks, but I won't go anymore than that because the commute is 3 hours+ round trip to get to Stratford, and I get more done at home, and I don't like a lot of the people I work with and hate the job!

But if I do get a new job in London with 2/3 days in the office, my life will be getting a lot more expensive as currently my travel costs are covered by my company.

You sound like you've just talked yourself out of it.

Human Resources must find you an absolute nightmare. Having a relationship with a colleague turned into a clusterfuck when it finished - they were discussing our relationship using internal emails with co workers and one of them reported the gossip to HR.

My favourite denouement to a workplace romance involved my boss at the time fighting his ex-mistress's new boyfriend on the dancefloor at the Savoy at our Xmas party and the police being called, and then everybody involved leaving the organisation.

I think three marriages were wrecked in one go, it was spectacular.

I've never been friends with people from work and the thought of it makes me shudder. Unfortunately never had the chance to work from home.