No Going Back To Work

[allenlondon]

Apparently, people who needn’t go back to work aren’t going back to work.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/10/no-rise-in-workers-in-uk-city-centres-despite-back-to-office-plea

Is this inevitable? So many office jobs are far from useful, involving moving bits of paper around, or making phone calls, that people just aren’t going to miss a few million office workers not turning up.

A bit like many hospital clinic consultations, just as effective done by telephone, people might be waking up to the tremendous waste of time that society indulges in.

[fiction-factory]

It's not a surprise. I think it's speeded up massively something that was already happening albeit slowly. Some companies want people back and some workers really miss the camaraderie and buzz of the workplace; but some employers see an opportunity and many employees love it. Any return will be slow and city centres won't ever be back to normal.
It'll change the high streets again- fewer sandwich and coffee shops is no great loss in the long run provided alternative jobs are found for the coffee shop staff- maybe part of the growing order from home services (not coffee but who knows- I've never seen so many parcels being delivered by white vans)

[fiction-factory]

>So many office jobs are far from useful, involving moving bits of paper around, or making phone calls, that people just aren’t going to

i think that's an incorrect statement though. You mean things like customer services, running payrolls, estate agents, administering systems. Most of these jobs are valuable and we've seen the awful customer service impact of not doing them properly recently, but with planning could be done differently using technology and home working

[emmie]

councils need their staff and not working from home, it's a pain to get anyone on the phone, same as hospitals just how it beneficial for those so called pen pushers to be working from home. All the businesses that rely on office staff shouldn't be made redundant, after all what jobs will there be to get them back into work.
not to mention that many of the office jobs could be outsourced to other countries, leaving millions more out of work. Which will have the knock on effect on a huge welfare bill.

[emmie]

i know what its like to be made redundant, its very painful, demeaning and knocks your confidence

[emmie]

i had occasion to phone the hospital about some urgent results, only to find the secretary was furloughed, her phone was diverted to her mobile, which was answered by her, but in the background you could hear a crying baby, that didn't bode well for the call or my results.

[naomi24]

//So many office jobs are far from useful, involving moving bits of paper around, or making phone calls, that people just aren’t going to miss a few million office workers not turning up. //

Unbelievable!

[MartinMillar]

Emmie if she was furloughed then she should not have been working.
Working from home and furloughed are 2 entirely different things

[Hopkirk]

It's all very well experienced staff switching to working from home, but how are new staff supposed to learn their job?

[MartinMillar]

I cannot comment on every office or department working from home just my situation.
The government has spent 3 years encouraging us to work from home going as far as building a new office building with only 6 desks for 10 staff.
Now they cannot have it all ways, we are working from home , taking calls exceeding targets and doing what is required.
So why would we return to the office.

[MartinMillar]

Hopkirk I have trained 4 new members of staff using screen sharing and phones

[Prudie]

Unless you've worked in an office you won't realise how the clichéd pushing paper around is a critical cog in keeping things going, as is face to face dealings. Apart from some niche occupations I don't think working from home is anywhere near as efficient as being in the workplace, I also don't know what these homeworkers are doing but I've spent more hours on hold trying to get someone to answer a phone in the last 6 months than I have in the last 6 years.

[237SJ]

Customer service has certainly deteriorated since people have been working from home (that's if you can actually get to speak to someone) There is no shared knowledge in the office whereby the call operator can ask a colleague the answer to your question. I also wonder how secure some home networks are as well and how well data is being protected.

[fiction-factory]

Yes, data security and file confidentiality is at risk with homeworking. Also I think health and safety will become an issue when companies won't provide adequate furniture. The move to homeworking is generally a positive move in terms of savings in commuting and and allowing flexibility regarding caring commitments but a lot more needs to be done to get it working properly for many organisations. I also think some will find it a very lonely experience.
The ideal may be something 3 days at home, 2 in work but that will cause problems for some.

[ParsleyDumpling]

I do wonder with WFH, especially in London, whether companies will start to look at what their employees are paid. I assume one of the biggest bonuses is that people will not be paying for their commute, either by public transport or cars, they don't necessarily need to dress the part now, will companies look to reduce salaries to take account of this?

[allenlondon]

Naomi’s succinct and irrefutable answer (“Unbelievable!”) is noted.

[naomi24]

That's a first, Allen. Well done.

[Mozz71]

//So many office jobs are far from useful, involving moving bits of paper around, or making phone calls, that people just aren’t going to miss a few million office workers not turning up.//

Utterly demeaning towards office workers everywhere. The reality is that phone based jobs can be done from home if necessary, so there is no need to return to work, and increase the risk of infection. Just because they are not in the office, doesn't mean they are not working.

[ichkeria]

It seems odd for the government to be asking people to return to work as opposed to work from home.
Surely it can only be the employer who can say whether it is advisable for people to return. Many offices now in any cases do not have the capacity to accommodate the same number of people due to social distancing requirements.

[AuntPollyGrey]

One of my daughters is working from her home. She works for a Government dept. Her job has not been compromised in the least as its computer based. She phones clients, sends emails as usual and have zoom meetings each morning. She is lucky in that she has a nanny and a home office so no one calling her will hear unruly kids.
I think this is the way forward. She had a 40 mile commute every day rain, shine and often snow. Now her commute is up the stairs to her Attic office -that can only be good for the environment if more people can work from home there wil be less traffic on the roads.

[naomi24]

//It seems odd for the government to be asking people to return to work as opposed to work from home. //

A workforce working from home negatively affects every other business around. Without offices there is no trade for anyone else, including shops, pubs, cafes, restaurants, cleaning and maintenance companies … etc. Additionally cabbies sit idle and public transport runs practically empty. The knock-on effects of working from home are horrendous - and that’s why the government needs to get office workers - and everyone else - back to work.