| For office workers that have worked from home... 10:50 - May 6 with 1920 views | clive_baker |
Over this crazy period, has anyone had any direction on what things might look like post Covid by way of office time vs. WFH?
Seen a few examples of companies closing offices altogether, a notable FTSE company is trialling a 4 day week, various businesses I've heard are saying 'we work better together', so it's back to the office 5 days. Many taking an approach somewhere between the 2.
We're trying to figure it out now at my place, and as an SLT we've landed on 3 days in the office as an expectation, and 2 days WFH if people want to. Feels like a fair enough compromise position to me, but wondered what other experiences people have had? |  |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 10:53 - May 6 with 1567 views | BlueandTruesince82 |
Similar dpt depending but all flexible depending on discussion.
I don't anayicpate being in the office more than a day or 2 I the office ever again |  |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 10:56 - May 6 with 1550 views | brazil1982 |
We have been advised it's a minimum of 2 days / week from end of June. Could increase later in the year. I am expecting a 3 days in / 2 WFH as the norm. |  | | |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 10:56 - May 6 with 1553 views | homer_123 |
Hybrid working is going to be the norm. Whilst the likes of Goldman are telling everyone to come back, that won't be the norm.
My question to you, as an SLT, have you consulted and asked what your people actually want? |  |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 10:57 - May 6 with 1535 views | Lamp |
Our SLT has also gone with the 3 day site/2 day WFH option. We're a hospitality company so felt a little off to go full home working when the team on the ground have to face the public every single day |  | | |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:00 - May 6 with 1497 views | Steve_M |
I think we're heading towards a 3 days in 2 WFH split as well, that despite one senior manager being very keen to see a full return to the office. Within that the expectation would be that there are core days for the wider team I work in (20 or so in London) and remote the rest of the time, we're already used to dealing with a Singapore office so that provides enough flexibility for most people I think whilst retaining plenty of overlap with other people.
This is energy trading, BP set the benchmark a few months back with a clear flexible option so we, and others, will follow that. I suspect BP are big enough to see big savings in office space by that approach but I don't see that having as great an impact for smaller entities. |  |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:01 - May 6 with 1489 views | clive_baker |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 10:56 - May 6 by homer_123 |
Hybrid working is going to be the norm. Whilst the likes of Goldman are telling everyone to come back, that won't be the norm.
My question to you, as an SLT, have you consulted and asked what your people actually want? |
We have, we've got an anonymous feedback tool and posed it as a question a few weeks back, which got a huge variety of answers and some interesting thoughts. That was to be expected really as everyone's circumstances are different. It's a tough balance to strike between what's right for the business, what's right for its people, and an agreement that's fair on everyone.
Personally I work best with a balance (I was doing that pre Covid). The social interaction of an office is good for me, and WFH gives me a couple of days to avoid a commute, and a chance to focus on the tasks that require less distraction. I'm happy with the solution, but it's hard to keep everyone happy. | |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:02 - May 6 with 1475 views | eireblue |
For things that have been working when WFH, keep working from home.
Only going to an office if absolutely necessary seems sensible, or if it is a preference for an individual.
In my current company I have new work colleagues I have never physically met, and there has been no downside, apart from not knowing how tall people are. But we do have a new management team just joined.
They are looking at new office space.
I am looking for a new job.
My wife’s company really don’t allow people to WFH even if they could. They are struggling to recruit office staff, when that policy is made clear.
Office based employees, may drive what happens for office based roles in the future, not employers. Well, hopefully. |  | | |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:02 - May 6 with 1440 views | lowhouseblue |
it's going to end up as another social divide. professionals will work ever more flexibly and get greater freedom and choice - anyone doing manual work of in direct customer facing roles will still have little flexibility, restricted working patterns, direct supervision, travel costs and all the rest. the pandemic has shown how unequal working lives are - i suspect we're now going to see that inequality expand even further. |  |
| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:04 - May 6 with 1447 views | clive_baker |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:02 - May 6 by eireblue |
For things that have been working when WFH, keep working from home.
Only going to an office if absolutely necessary seems sensible, or if it is a preference for an individual.
In my current company I have new work colleagues I have never physically met, and there has been no downside, apart from not knowing how tall people are. But we do have a new management team just joined.
They are looking at new office space.
I am looking for a new job.
My wife’s company really don’t allow people to WFH even if they could. They are struggling to recruit office staff, when that policy is made clear.
Office based employees, may drive what happens for office based roles in the future, not employers. Well, hopefully. |
That will almost certainly be the case. It's going to be very hard to attract talent if your policy as a business is out of kilter with, and less compelling than competitors. It'll fast become a hygiene factor IMO. | |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:04 - May 6 with 1444 views | footers |
We're starting to go back as of next week on a voluntary basis in department working groups. Then, from September I think, we'll be back in for two days a week with the rest from home. Though that is for those of us who don't need to be on site.
People can arrange to go in for meetings etc whenever they like but they must book ahead and complete a risk assessment Q&A within three days of arrival.
Pretty strict but I'm glad they've taken precautions seriously. |  |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:06 - May 6 with 1426 views | SaleAway |
For us, its about flexibility. We're a software services company, based in uk and poland. For me personally, my whole team is in poland, so I work remotely with them normally. Being in the office would make no difference to my day to day work. That said, I'm probably going to start going in one or 2 days per fortnight, just for the social, and to keep abreast of the wider corporate landscape.
Our general corporate view though is that people can work from home unless there is a specific business need for them to be in the office. They can also be office based, if its hard for them to do the job from home. We're trying to empower individuals to do what is best for them to be productive, and that is definitely not a one size fits all approach. | |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:12 - May 6 with 1365 views | eireblue |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:04 - May 6 by clive_baker |
That will almost certainly be the case. It's going to be very hard to attract talent if your policy as a business is out of kilter with, and less compelling than competitors. It'll fast become a hygiene factor IMO. |
It has also been interesting interviewing new staff, a common question I am getting is “what did your company do for you during lockdown?”
The honest answer would be, we had one company meeting, where one of the founders reminded everybody to still have a shower and shave, even if you are working from home. Not many people turned up to the second meeting. There wasn’t a third. | | | |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:12 - May 6 with 1369 views | giant_stow |
I'm just a one man band, but I had a drink with my banking buddy and he was saying that despite their office being open, only him and one other (out of 20 he manages) have actually set foot there since lockdown started to ease. [Post edited 6 May 2021 11:13]
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:14 - May 6 with 1343 views | footers |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:12 - May 6 by eireblue |
It has also been interesting interviewing new staff, a common question I am getting is “what did your company do for you during lockdown?”
The honest answer would be, we had one company meeting, where one of the founders reminded everybody to still have a shower and shave, even if you are working from home. Not many people turned up to the second meeting. There wasn’t a third. |
Pah! The Captain Caveman look is in! | |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:15 - May 6 with 1335 views | artsbossbeard |
Our office is now closed with everyone working from home.
I've worked from home with customer & office visits as the norm for years now and I'm ok with it but it's not for everyone. |  |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:15 - May 6 with 1332 views | RobTheMonk |
Currently on site 3 days and WFH 2 days.
Loving it. Much less tired and have an extra £20 a week from not commuting. Still get the social aspect too. The majority of people I work with feel the same.
It's flexible too - if it's quieter we can work from home more and vice versa if it's busy.
I can see there being a divide, especially as we have staff whose job requires them to be on site. From a purely selfish perspective, why do I need to spend 90 minutes travel and extra money going in, to in essence sit at a computer each day. The 3 days on means I can sort out any in-face issues and save my admin stuff for the days off. |  | | |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:19 - May 6 with 1313 views | StokieBlue |
I think 3/2 is going to be very common although I wouldn't be surprised if it was 4/1 in a lot of places. I think people are going to get a shock in about 6 weeks time when Boris says social distancing isn't required as then all the work rules go back to what they were in 2019 with regards to acceptable numbers in the office at the same time.
There are still quite a few people who seem to think they are going to WFH forever and whilst some certainly will I don't think that'll be the case for the majority. Quite a few people seem to be moving quite far away from their places of work as well which seems a bit premature.
My team is already doing 3/2 although thus far for me it's been 4/1.
SB [Post edited 6 May 2021 11:20]
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| Avatar - IC410 - Tadpoles Nebula |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:20 - May 6 with 1310 views | borge |
We are going to downsize our offices and I will tell people they can go in as infrequently as they like as long as they make themselves available in the office if we have specific meetings that would be better if everyone was there in person. Some people want to go in most days which is fine, but I am equally comfortable with people going in once or twice a month if they so wish.
Lockdown has taught me that people can and do work very well from home. Although I 'allowed' people to occasionally work from home prior to COVID, I was always suspicious of their motives. Since COVID hit we have taken on four new people, three of whom will always be remote - this certainly wasn't something I would have considered before, but COVID has opened my eyes to the possibilities of a more flexible approach and this now means I can recruit people regardless of location. Clearly additional effort will have to be made to ensure people are happy working remotely once the world gets back to being 'open', but for now people seem to have embraced it.
I have also considered switching to a four day week but with a mix of full-time and part-time workers, can't see a fair way of making it work. | | | |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:22 - May 6 with 1281 views | StokieBlue |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:04 - May 6 by footers |
We're starting to go back as of next week on a voluntary basis in department working groups. Then, from September I think, we'll be back in for two days a week with the rest from home. Though that is for those of us who don't need to be on site.
People can arrange to go in for meetings etc whenever they like but they must book ahead and complete a risk assessment Q&A within three days of arrival.
Pretty strict but I'm glad they've taken precautions seriously. |
With regards to your last two paragraphs, all the C19 rules for workplaces will surely be gone in the middle of June if social distancing is abolished and people can have whomever their want in their home and pubs and restaurants are full capacity indoors?
At the moment I have to take a lateral flow test in the morning before I head in which seems a reasonable precaution.
SB | |
| Avatar - IC410 - Tadpoles Nebula |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:24 - May 6 with 1255 views | Steve_M |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:12 - May 6 by eireblue |
It has also been interesting interviewing new staff, a common question I am getting is “what did your company do for you during lockdown?”
The honest answer would be, we had one company meeting, where one of the founders reminded everybody to still have a shower and shave, even if you are working from home. Not many people turned up to the second meeting. There wasn’t a third. |
The regular, quarterly I think, whole company events are far better WFH. I can mess around on the internet or wander round the flat whilst being bored rather than having to sit still and behave. Don't get the free breakfast this way though. | |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:26 - May 6 with 1242 views | footers |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:22 - May 6 by StokieBlue |
With regards to your last two paragraphs, all the C19 rules for workplaces will surely be gone in the middle of June if social distancing is abolished and people can have whomever their want in their home and pubs and restaurants are full capacity indoors?
At the moment I have to take a lateral flow test in the morning before I head in which seems a reasonable precaution.
SB |
That's just a temporary precaution I think as people have been going in for a while but just not the majority. They also have to take a lateral flow test too but obviously that won't be needed in the future once it's all cleared up.
Not sure what our position is on international staff visiting the office though. Not sure that would be a wise idea at present. | |
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| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:27 - May 6 with 1236 views | JakeITFC |
I think we will continue to be majority of the time WFH, with an emphasis on collaboration when we do go into an office. Hoping that our offices will transform to be more hot desks and meeting spaces than just banks of desks.
I think it'll be utterly bizarre to go back to an office full of noise and meetings face to face with people after this. I've been recruiting throughout and think it is much more efficient to interview people over video conference than in person. |  | | |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:29 - May 6 with 1224 views | UB9Blue |
Personally I am back to attendance four out five days. Luckily I work for a small business and can pretty much determine my working hours but generally find being in the office more productive.
Over recent months I have noticed how poor the level of Customer Service has become when contacting financial or insurance companies due to them working from home. Previously if an individual couldn't answer a query they could ask someone nearby, this no longer happens which can be frustrating for all. I think businesses are going to have to improve their outsourced arrangements because blaming CV19 for any delays in answering telephones and emails won't wash for ever. | | | |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:31 - May 6 with 1215 views | Ftnfwest |
Looking at 3/2 with company taking a flexible approach. As i work in town I'm waiting for Train company to offer a reduced ticket on something like that basis, but they haven't yet, and I don't know how feasible it would be to do. Been going in once a week anyway pretty much since lockdown. |  | | |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:40 - May 6 with 1181 views | StokieBlue |
| For office workers that have worked from home... on 11:27 - May 6 by JakeITFC |
I think we will continue to be majority of the time WFH, with an emphasis on collaboration when we do go into an office. Hoping that our offices will transform to be more hot desks and meeting spaces than just banks of desks.
I think it'll be utterly bizarre to go back to an office full of noise and meetings face to face with people after this. I've been recruiting throughout and think it is much more efficient to interview people over video conference than in person. |
Easier to interview but much harder to train them remotely I would think?
SB | |
| Avatar - IC410 - Tadpoles Nebula |
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