[News] Return to the Office ... what's your company doing ?

[Easy 10]

I wouldn't dismiss taking it off the table off the table at all, in fact I'd prepare for it.

If you come ready with a spatula and tupperware, it is both an element of surprise and preparation that will disarm and impress your opponent. (1)


(1) My Story So Far - Richard Branson (Virgin Press) Chapter 5, p323.

Life hacks from a billionaire. Who knew ?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Life hacks from a billionaire. Who knew ?

Regarding the 'photo it and sue (if you'll forgive me) the shit out of them' stratgy, this is what I should have done last December, when promised a safe day at work to have some teaching filmed, only to find a student rushing past me on the stairs without a mask, porters not wearing masks and the lab tec wearing a Milky Bar Kid (easily lowered) bandanna as a mask and mumbling covid denial.

 

[Tokyohands]

Still working in the office every weekday over here which I've been very grateful for really, once the initial unease early last year subsided. We have some precautions in place of course, perspex dividers, temperature checks, hand sanitizers everywhere and the room gets some kind of mist cleaning twice a week. I keep my mask on all day too.

 

[Gwylan]

I've only just joined a company so I've not an office to go back to. It has been announced that the office will be opening from 1 June but no-one is being forced back; in fact, there won't be enough space as the office will be operating at much reduced capacity and you have to book in advance for a desk.

Talking to some of my colleagues, there are plans to meet up on a Friday to go to the pub but that will be just once a month - I can live with that

 

[zefarelly]

No Change here, been to work in an open plan office throughout. numbers were hugely reduced last year but pretty much back to normal now. I was told I couldn't work from home.

masks are a token gesture by most when not at desks.

To be fair, everyones been seemingly sensible and we haven't had a single case.

 

[Notters]

No Change here, been to work in an open plan office throughout. numbers were hugely reduced last year but pretty much back to normal now. I was told I couldn't work from home.

masks are a token gesture by most when not at desks.

To be fair, everyones been seemingly sensible and we haven't had a single case.

I think I would have told them to feck off. What gives them the right to ignore government advice?

 

[zefarelly]

I think I would have told them to feck off. What gives them the right to ignore government advice?

The governemtn doesn't heed its own advice so they were hardly quaking in their boots.

I'd only been in the job 4 months, I'm still here and like it.

Having been self (un)employed nearly 12 years, it wasn't easy getting a job, and TBH I was glad to be out of the house. . . . I didn't want to lose that.

I do think the company pushed their luck and got away with it, although, in their view did everything to the letter of the law . . . . which is/was as vague as our leader and its creators.

I would still be happy with working a few days a week at home just to save time/money commuting. Or find a job closer to home, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

 

[Yoda]

The lease on our office expired a year ago and as the current NHS CSU has lost the bid for the area I cover, meaning they cannot find anywhere on a short lease until the contract expires before we are tuped, we shall be remaining working from home until the new CSU's contact starts on 1st November. Just waiting to hear from them what the new office arrangements will be (probably won't hear anything for a few months on that front yet).

 

[Napper]

Many have been ordered back already.

Still a lot who are being invited to asses how their working week will look but the unofficial push from the top is to get everyone back.

I think in time things will be as they were before at my place

Hasn't helped you get the keen ones pushing for it which makes no sense to me but some people must have awful home lifes

On the plus side those ordered back prob safeguarding jobs. Can see lots of changes and redundancies if things do go that way

 

[Soton Seagull]

Started a new job this week. Had to travel in the office on Tuesday to pick up laptop and be shown around. Now back home for next few weeks and once office fully open again looking likely to have to go in a couple of days a week. Hoping to limit it to 2 as job is in Basingstoke and only took it on understanding that hybrid approach was normal from now on.

 

[BBassic]

We've not been told anything as yet so still WFH for the foreseeable.

I personally love it. I didn't at first, really had to adjust to the situation and it didn't help that my living room became my office and gym overnight. But I've since moved, I've got an office at home and it's all much easier. My work hasn't suffered (even bagged a promotion during the last round) and I genuinely can't see how management could swing forcing us back into the office without some sort of data to back that decision up.

Needless to say if they do try and have everyone back in I shall be asking for their data and making my objections heard as loudly as possible.

 

[Marty McFly]

I'll be distractedly working from home until the end of the project in September. It's quite frustrating as I am the only one in the office anyway, and I am much more productive there. The office is also a mere 90 second walk away.

 

[Brian Potter]

We were all surveyed and the majority voted split home/office. Those that want/need to work in the office full time will be doing so, and the rest of us will be able to book desks when we want to get together as a team now and then. My employers have already closed a couple of the smaller satellite buildings situated in a business park down, and if we go in it will be to the main office in Norwich. We will only be going in once or twice a month.

 

[Beanstalk]

My office is asking all managerial staff to return to the office at least one day a week from the 17th. All non-managerial will be WFH permanently unless they want to come in.

The majority of publishing is doing a 3/2 split for all staff with days being flexible for all staff as a permanent measure. Seems sensible when normality resumes. WFH has saved me around £2,500 on Oyster fare alone.

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

Office and factory employees all been working on premises as normal since day one. In a way Im really glad, as its kept a massive sense of normality to life for us all.

 

[Spiros]

Good question. I work for a FTSE 250 company and we were almost entirely office based pre Covid (multi sites in the UK). During Covid we have switched to 90% entirely home based and 10% mostly office based (I am talking UK here - we have large offices in India where things are very bad).

Personally I continued to work in the office apart from a couple of weeks. I think most of the 90% who have been working from home largely want to continue to do that. We have already permanently closed our central London office in Broadgate.

However, we have a new CEO and he did his first presentation to staff today (via Teams). They are proposing a 'flexible' working policy with individuals working from home and in the office . However they have not defined an exact split leaving this up to 'local management'. In other words a free for all. I thought the most interesting thing said by the new CEO was that productivity had suffered whilst people worked from home. Now I know there are people who can work productively from home but my instinct and common sense tell me that there are large numbers of people who do not work productively from home. Lets face it, for those who work in offices, we all know that there were lots of individuals who did very little when we were all in the same building with someone actively managing them. Why would those people be doing more now when they are a t home with all the distractions?

I suspect that for many office based companies, they will initially will be lead by the lure of saving rents and giving employees what they see as a better work/home life balance. As time goes on we may see that productivity issues force companies to move staff back into offices more permanently. Anyway its a good question.

Looks like you work for the same company as me (I'm Worthing based BTW). As I live less than 2 miles from the office I'm OK to go in but when we started lockdown I was working with a team that were largely Worthing based and have moved onto other projects since where the team is spread all across the UK with a few in Poland as well. My own boss would put me on a WFH contract if I asked for it, so no pressure at all to go back in.

Our office is allowing up to 50% back from 17th May but I can't see why I would go in - not much point if all my contacts are with people who are elsewhere anyway. However some of the teams I work with are developers who really do seem to work better when they're actually in the same room rather than all scattered across southern England, so hopefully they'll go back in when they can

 

[loz]

Office and factory employees all been working on premises as normal since day one. In a way Im really glad, as its kept a massive sense of normality to life for us all.

Same as.

I and all the service engineers have worked as normal throughout, Service manager has been in throughout and so have office managers, we have taken on two new admin staff last summer and they also have chosen to be in full time, that leaves 7 still working from home and two of those have been asking to come back ASAP ( small houses and young kids) 3 have said they will continue working from home and one other in IT is flitting in and out.

As you say the sense of normality in my life has really helped, and seeing other people still hiding behind the sofa scared out of their minds makes me glad I have a near normal manual job.

The isolation of walking from the kitchen to a home office and back and seeing no one in person would do my head in. I mean who can you bounce off the cuff ideas , jokes and general banter against ? and please do not say a zoom call cause it aint the same.

 

[Baker lite]

Office and factory employees all been working on premises as normal since day one. In a way Im really glad, as its kept a massive sense of normality to life for us all.

Indeed, working throughout has kept a sense of normality about things, would hate to be someone who is petrified of getting back to work. Going to be a strange experience for a lot of people.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[zefarelly]

Office and factory employees all been working on premises as normal since day one. In a way Im really glad, as its kept a massive sense of normality to life for us all.

Thats kind of where we are, you can't fabricate steelwork, pipework and tanks etc in the front room

When I got told I couldn't work from home ( I'm office design/projects) it was interesting that those that told me could do a few days at home when it suited.

It also said a lot about who would rather be in the office than at home!

 

[zefarelly]

. I mean who can you bounce off the cuff ideas , jokes and general banter against ? and please do not say a zoom call cause it aint the same.

Banter in the canteen with the workshop lads is the highlight of the day.

Mrs Zef has barely left the house in 18 months, she's gone stark raving mad.