Working From Home Megathread

They've probably just stated they'd review it in 3 weeks time in line with when the government is going to review its guidance but in reality that WFH guidance is staying at this level until at least January. It may get stronger but not weaker.

We got the mail today, only business critical presence to be in the office. Happy days

I work in the funds industry. Our employer has said we're still to come in to the office every other day because "we provide an essential service and respect the Work Safety Protocol".

Can someone point me towards any advice or legislation on this "essential service" part?

To clarify, office attendance is NOT essential and there is nothing I can do in the office that I can't do at home.

Just because a service is essential does not mean that you need to be in the office. Once the work can be done effectively at home. We also are considered an essential service and have yet to return to the office.

I work in the fund industry as well and, as I've stated above, our employer has followed govt recommendations since the beginning. they're eager to bring us back, believe me, the owners of our company are from continental europe and the mentality is far from modern with regards to allowing flexibility to employees. but local management, Irish CEO and Head of HR, dont want to take the responsibility of forcing people to commute in, share office space and bring whatever you may or may not catch back at home and the local communities. Tbh, from a productivity perspective they've all agreed that it has increased over the last 18 months so the idea of bringing us in for 3 days a week was to 'foster team work, help new recruits integrate, maintain company spirit'. part of that I can understand but part of that is just that the mother company wants the same standards that apply in other continental locations (where there is a culture that if you dont see your employees at the desk it means they're in their pajamas watching netflix) apply everywhere

Can't see the 'WFH unless absolutely necessary' restriction going in mid February. February is the coldest month of the year, with indoor activities at a peak. It is also normally the busiest month of the year for hospitals.

I bet that the lifting of 'WFH unless absolutely necessary' restriction and yet another attempt of return to office will be linked to the completion of the booster program. It is becoming clearer that the vaccine is a 3 dose regime and efficacy is more than restored with the third dose. I bet that staff will only feel comfortable returning to indoor offices (2 weeks) after they have their third dose. Only 9% have 3 doses right now, I suspect it will be April or May before the booster program completes and return to office attempts start all over again.

I'm hoping the efforts to open the office where I work will continue, I doubt they will but I was starting to enjoy the couple of days in.

Felt less stressed, confined and was just as productive.... Poxy COVID.

It's not worth it - there long enough to know if say black they'll say white!

I'm a man in my mid-40s and most of my front office team in fund management are men in their 40s/early 50s... 99% of us prefer to work from home. the only exception are ppl that dont have the space/connectivity/peace[children] to work productively.

the fact of the matter is, i went in to the office for a total of 6 days in October and did not have a single face to face meeting. everything is done on teams/zoom/skype anyway.... we're a multi-location company and always had VC facilities on even when some of us met physically in a meeting room for the benefit of colleagues in other countries. now, since you cant be in a meeting room in more than 2 ppl, you end up doing all meetings from your desk, camera and headphones on. so what's the point? yes, you do have the occasional face to face interaction in the hallway... yes, you'll have a coffee/lunch with a collegue, maybe somebody you dont meet with regularly and that may bring some professional or personal value but for the most part, you're sitting in front of your PC with your headphones on just like you would at home. but at the cost of 1hr of commute a day (and I have a relatively easy one)... 5hours a week, 20 hours a month... that's half a day of productivity lost just there. and then time wasted getting your lunch given the reduced local options, longer queues, etc.

i've heard that stereotype before of the 'late 40s/50s who cant let go of the office'... in my field, that's not reality. most of us have massively gained in terms of productivity and quality of life. i'm not necessarily advocating for 100% WFH permanently but I think pp should be given the flexibility to decide when to go in, not a mandatory x days a week

just my 2c

Yup, or my personal favourite....2 or more will do a zoom call with someone outside the company and do it in different rooms so it looks good in the call but then when it's over, all go into the one office to discuss the meeting!!

So say white!