Dogmuck
VIP Member
I’m guessing a fair few people here are female and mums (soz @ExhaustedDad) WFH and flexible work is great as we’ve already done the making friends and chatting to our colleagues so don’t feel we need that anymore. As older workers/mums etc our needs and priorities change but I’ll not be convinced that everyone begins work with the sole intention of the daily grind “going to work to work” and hasn’t experienced some form of friendship/camaraderie or base human interaction. Yeah hearing about Shelia in accounts {pantomime mouthing} “women’s problems” or what a genius Sarah’s son is, becomes pretty dull pretty fast, but there’s more to working life than that. Its interesting that people have hung their coats on that one element, that they are beyond work/office gossip or small talk.
Being at work I met people from all walks of life, it exposed me to some great people and also some real dicks. Before work I’d never sat and talked with a Muslim about fasting at Ramadan, to a Hindu about Diwali or a Sikh about Gurdwara. I interacted daily with people from poor backgrounds and people with real family money. I met these people at work, engaged, became friends (made enemies of some) and was invited to weddings and family events which opened new worlds and foods to me. They were amazing and new and really something so special I felt honoured. I believe it helped me to understand people better and I see that as a skill as it allows you to navigate your way through life with real insight rather than accepting the tales you are told or the information that was put out in the media. I honestly believe I’m a more rounded person for those experiences and I’m thankful I had that opportunity.
As a graduate you’re often in a different city from your home/friends or even uni mates, you’re starting from scratch, WFH won’t be conducive to building a social life/ meeting your future partner/ human interaction. My concern is for the younger generation, who already struggle with social aspects of life because they’ve spent far too much time living their life on SM. I think it’s too easy to look at our own personal “current” circumstances and assume that’s what everyone wants. I remember my early working life with fondness, meeting new people, going out, getting to know a different city and basically learning to grow up and manage. I wouldn’t want that now, god no, I don’t want to be arsed with that because I’m sorted for all those things. I don’t want to be packed on to a busy commuter train or stuck in a traffic jam at 7am, I don’t want or need that because I’ve experienced it and I’m done with it, I’ve done my time. However, if you consider your 20s would you really be happy to be WFH every day? I know I personally wouldn’t and I know the current situation is not good for my grown up kids who want their time in the world, who want to be out and not stuck in their apartments/rooms dealing with their work and life through teams and zoom.
As for the effect of the economy, it’s huge, whole cities and industries have grown up based on office work. I’m not talking Starbucks and Pret, who are already sinking, but think about Julie’s Baps, the little sandwich shop who relies on those office workers. All the bars and restaurants, who’s main income isn’t people’s personal cash but the corporate dollar of executive lunches, work events and backdoor deals. All the shops who’s window displays lure us in to buy that new seasons attire for work or going out. The bus drivers, the train drivers, the taxi drivers, the office cleaners, the security guards? They are dying, cities are turning into ghost towns and what will happen to all those people that currently work in those industries, the low paid, low skilled industries? We may all want to WFH because it suits us at a particular point in our lives but what we, but more importantly future generations, will lose is frightening for me.
Sorry to ramble, I really do want to get off the WFH issue and get on to other aspects of MP. I think WFH is a case of horses for courses, some find it brilliant whilst others are struggling.
Being at work I met people from all walks of life, it exposed me to some great people and also some real dicks. Before work I’d never sat and talked with a Muslim about fasting at Ramadan, to a Hindu about Diwali or a Sikh about Gurdwara. I interacted daily with people from poor backgrounds and people with real family money. I met these people at work, engaged, became friends (made enemies of some) and was invited to weddings and family events which opened new worlds and foods to me. They were amazing and new and really something so special I felt honoured. I believe it helped me to understand people better and I see that as a skill as it allows you to navigate your way through life with real insight rather than accepting the tales you are told or the information that was put out in the media. I honestly believe I’m a more rounded person for those experiences and I’m thankful I had that opportunity.
As a graduate you’re often in a different city from your home/friends or even uni mates, you’re starting from scratch, WFH won’t be conducive to building a social life/ meeting your future partner/ human interaction. My concern is for the younger generation, who already struggle with social aspects of life because they’ve spent far too much time living their life on SM. I think it’s too easy to look at our own personal “current” circumstances and assume that’s what everyone wants. I remember my early working life with fondness, meeting new people, going out, getting to know a different city and basically learning to grow up and manage. I wouldn’t want that now, god no, I don’t want to be arsed with that because I’m sorted for all those things. I don’t want to be packed on to a busy commuter train or stuck in a traffic jam at 7am, I don’t want or need that because I’ve experienced it and I’m done with it, I’ve done my time. However, if you consider your 20s would you really be happy to be WFH every day? I know I personally wouldn’t and I know the current situation is not good for my grown up kids who want their time in the world, who want to be out and not stuck in their apartments/rooms dealing with their work and life through teams and zoom.
As for the effect of the economy, it’s huge, whole cities and industries have grown up based on office work. I’m not talking Starbucks and Pret, who are already sinking, but think about Julie’s Baps, the little sandwich shop who relies on those office workers. All the bars and restaurants, who’s main income isn’t people’s personal cash but the corporate dollar of executive lunches, work events and backdoor deals. All the shops who’s window displays lure us in to buy that new seasons attire for work or going out. The bus drivers, the train drivers, the taxi drivers, the office cleaners, the security guards? They are dying, cities are turning into ghost towns and what will happen to all those people that currently work in those industries, the low paid, low skilled industries? We may all want to WFH because it suits us at a particular point in our lives but what we, but more importantly future generations, will lose is frightening for me.
Sorry to ramble, I really do want to get off the WFH issue and get on to other aspects of MP. I think WFH is a case of horses for courses, some find it brilliant whilst others are struggling.
She doesn’t even have an “office job” so how can she tell what it’s like at the moment? Read the room- I just want this year/pandemic to be over and then I might have the energy to care- at this moment in time I’m working extra hours for all those on furlough, i’d actually like a pay increase but I realise I’m lucky to even have a job. She’s so out of touch. As for the “ im really struggling” - get a grip, you can heat your house, you can afford food, you have 2 parents at home, your not getting the shit kicked out of you by an abusive partner- she really thinks she’s hard done by- trust me she’s got it pretty good by what I can see.
just wanted to add that announcing your depression on psychosis on tv crying and then announcing a new book the next day was what got me here. Also telling us that we should always take our maternity leave only to be back 6 weeks later with a new mental health issue, book and ads. Liar
.Do they ever consider the harm their business as an influencer does to the public? There needs to be a sensible discussion over influencers, their impact on society and members of the public freedom of expression on people that have turned their personal life into a commercial commodity.