Will Those Who Have Insisted On Continuing To Work From Home Be Having Second Thoughts In The Winter?

[dave50]

After all, they will have to keep the heating on all day at home.

[naomi24]

It’s actually detrimental to other businesses in city centres. That said, I read the government has plans to turn unused office space in London into residential accommodation. God knows how much those properties will cost in London but presumably only the wealthy will be able to afford them.

[fiveleaves]

Nothing wrong at all with working at home if it is a viable option. I will continue to do so for at least part of the week. I am liable to fall foul of the woke culture in the office, so if I go in less, I have less time to upset people

[Togo]

Put the heating bill on your tax returns like businesses do... sorted.

//turn unused office space in London into residential accommodation.//

Interpretation. We need somewhere to put the illegal immigrants pronto.

[naomi24]

Could be, Togo. Sold off - and then rented … by the government. :o/

[nailit]

I insisted on working from home but was told
that it wasn't possible....
Hey, worth a try ....

[Redhelen72]

AH //Everyone who worked in an office, government employees especially,//

Where would you like us to work? The government have down sized their office considerably there are now only 4 desk for every 10 people!

[naomi24]

RH, you can only speak from your personal experience which isn’t the experience of all government workers. We’ve been here before.

[MissTerious]

It depends on the type of workand the personality of the worker. My son worked between nhome and company long before COVID. He says he gets far more done on his home days without continuous interruptions. His work also means working away. His wife also works from home running her own business.


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[sanmac]

"... there are now only 4 desk for every 10 people!" Well, obviously, the Government hired 6 too many people:)

[Ellipsis]

> This level of home working was forced on the population because of Covid, it was a necessary evil

Yep, well it may be become a necessary evil again if businesses can't afford the energy costs of their premises.

[Redhelen72]

Ok let me clarify for HMRC there are not enough desks.
Is that better for you Naomi?

[Ellipsis]

How does the Government pay the energy bills. Does it get a special rate? I guess it can hedge like big business, but you can only hedge so much. How will we have tax cuts if the energy costs of every government building are increasing on a grand scale?

[andy-hughes]

Untitled - // you might enjoy interaction at the office but many people despise it and find it distracting. It is important to provide the choice where possible… i do not think it is reasonable to insist everyone else should come in when it is not necessary for them to do it so that people who like office environments can feel more comfortable. //

I did enjoy the interaction in offices I worked in, I am retired now.

But my point is nothing to do with my personal choice.

Almost all clerical and admin work has been centred around the office system for hundreds of years.

If ways of doing things are not successful, they don't last, that's now society operates.

Offices have been the centres of clerical work for so long because the system works, and continues to work.

So my proposal that people return is nothing to do with whether or not people like it or not, and should have a choice, its because experience demonstrates it to be the most efficient and effective way of working - which is why it is still in operation.

[davebro]

as Bowie sang - CHCHCHCHCHANGES!

[bednobs]

but andy, the nature and instruments of work have changed over the last couple of hundred years. Typists didnt have a typewriter at home, so they went to the office to do the typing, and the typewriters belonged to the typing pool. Nowadays, there really arent that many people who don't have the facilities to carry out adin wor at home and then send their work electronicallly wherever it needs to go. There is no longer a need for the copy-writer to take their work to get typed up by the typing pool, approved by being physically looked at by the manager, then filed along with hundreds of other sheets of paper

[Untitled]

andy, technology has made an awful lot of office time redundant… this does not mean that offices will or should disappear - they won’t - but it does mean they should change to factor in modern realities like they always have.

[Untitled]

bednobs said it better than me!

[MissTerious]

All true Bednobs. My son is a director of a young successful company where working between home and office works extremely well and was in place long before Covid. He tells me he gets more done at home than work where there are continuous interruptions. The company is thriving! Catch up meetings are held at base frequently.

[MissTerious]

I didn't think my post yesterday actually worked. Sorry for repetition!

[jno]

I would have thought it depended on the work and the office. I found office work congenial and it was constantly useful to have colleagues to bounce ideas off. I'd have missed a lot (in fact most) human contact if I'd had to work from home.

As for my employers, they were rather keen on having everyone at HQ so they could keep an eye on them: other employers may indulge in less control freakery.

But those sufficiently motivated may well get more solitary work done better at home.

As for heating costs and the like, that too will depend on the individual.