Working From Home Megathread

limnam wrote:

I'm sure people don't state the only reason they want to work in google is free beer and pizza, but it is part of their culture and a companies culture can be a an important component to a potential employee.

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Apply for a job in Google, and tell them you want to work there for the free beer and pizza. Let us know how you get on with that.

Afaik, office can demand you back anytime, irrespective of Gov advice.

Wouldn't want to get in an argument with my employer if they told me to come back, and I said "no, the Gov say I should WFH".

You're in a fortunate position then, not everyone has the ability to up and leave a job.

Leo previously said that the WFH where possible advise would be lifted in September. I have not heard this line been mentioned in a few weeks which makes me wonder if it will still occur in September. Delta might be throwing a spanner in the works. WFH where possible is a restriction that has far less vocal opposition than other restrictions and hence easier for the government to maintain.

The government have said that the Civil Service will be phased back to to office up to March 2022. This might also be a clue that WFH where possible restrictions might have to continue in some form through the Winter. Perhaps the work from home where possible restriction will be replaced with a gradual and slow return to office advise i.e. low capacity indoors in offices until after Winter.

Thanks JTMan, sensible answer to my question. appreciate it.

Why would we still need social distancing and mask wearing if everyone is vaccinated?

Yeah, I remember a good discussion on here earlier in the year about how difficult it would be to reopen offices as you head into Winter, and Delta has made it even harder. Even if Covid is relatively under control, cases will rise in Winter & hospitals are going to be under pressure because of all the other illnesses at that time of year anyway. I expect there may be a "soft" requirement to WFH ("it's not mandatory but please WFH") as we can't afford not to be competitive as a country and impose restrictions on businesses which don't apply in other countries.

It's never been legally mandated by the government. But it has been requested.

And some companies have required it of their staff, along with imposing other rules like "No public transport" and "No sharing cars, unless with someone who lives in the same house".

Yeah, international reputation matters with this, so maybe, as you indicated, 'work from home where possible' will get replaced with some sort of soft middle ground strongly encouraging WFH or capacity restrictions or 'slow return' advise but soft middle ground runs the risk of a u-turn in the depths of Winter when the 'work from home where possible' might have to get re-enacted. Anyway, difficult to see WFH guidance getting fully lifted for Winter. With just 6 weeks until offices are due to return guidance is urgently needed. The government are going to have to make a decision soon.

Even if workplaces are allowed reopen, the mess in the UK with business places constantly having to close because one person tests positive, gives an indication of the challenges ahead, and will prove especially a big challenge to open-plan work-spaces with shared air. That's on top of the aforementioned social distancing (which will mean a cap of 50% in open plan offices with every second desk closed and meeting curtailment) and painful mask-wearing at desks (and some companies have being light on enforcing this because there were so few people in the office but if larger groups return enforcement will have to be greater).

I suspect that many companies will wait until after Winter before reopening indoor offices.

It absolutely has been mandatory for most state employees since the start of Covid, with no provision for those who don't have space or other facilities at home.

Once we finish the vaccination programme Covid should be reduced to "just another respiratory illness". It'll be very difficult for the government to justify continuing with social distancing, mandatory masks etc. if it is hospitalising people at no greater rate than flu for example. The hospitals then have a problem because they're already at 100% over Winter because of Flu, but I can't see Ireland inc. having social distancing restrictions while our neighbours are back to normal. I don't know what the answer is, but we'll have moved from a clear national emergency to a hospital capacity issue, and I can't see the latter being a strong enough justification for saying to employers you need to continue with restrictions.

Like you say I could see a push for a voluntary social distancing/WFH, and I think that would actually work quite well. People don't like commuting over Winter in particular. I could foresee actual restrictions on indoor venues, and the days of packing hundreds of employees into a Christmas party might be on hold - quite aside from the risk to employees, does a business want to take the risk of hundreds of employees having to quarantine because there was an outbreak?

So as wiser heads than me have said on here, it's Spring next year I think before we are back to "normal" work patterns, whatever they may be. And at that stage we'll be 2 years into WFH, and the "normal" will have changed in people's heads.

Agreed with the Spring 2022 comment.

The way I look at it there is too much *uncertainty* for most big businesses to plan to reopen offices in September or even during Winter:

• Will the government allow offices reopen in September? God knows.
• If so, when in September? God knows.
• When will the government advise? God knows.
• Could the government give some sort of middle-ground rules on office reopening? Possible.
• Will social distancing be needed inside the offices and gaps between desks? God knows. Some say yes for Winter, others say no after vaccinations complete. i.e. nobody knows.
• Will mask wearing continue to be mandatory indoors at desks in offices? God knows. Some say yes for Winter, others say no after vaccinations complete. i.e. nobody knows.
• Will everyone in the office need to self-isolate, who was in a shared airspace, if one person gets it? Probably and this might be a nightmare of open-plan offices.
• Will there be another surge of Covid in the Winter when schools, colleges etc reopen and the weather gets crap? Possibly. Could the government be forced to re-introduce WFH where possible if this happens? Possibly.
• If hospitals get overwhelmed this Winter could the government also be forced to re-introduce WFH where possible if this happens? Possibly.
• Will pressure to improve ventilation in offices lead to new indoor office ventilation rules like some are pushing for in the UK? Unlikely but possible.

Net result of all this uncertainty will be delays in reopening offices until there is certainty and that certainty might not arrive until Spring 2022 when Winter is over.

Hence, I would guess that the logical conclusion is that many offices will not reopen until after Winter.

This isn't some esoteric career development issues. Most people at 55 have substantial financial commitments, mortgage, kids at college, putting food on the table. 'Taking a hit' isn't an option for most.