I have been working from home since the16th March, and have not had any problems. Do you think people will want to return to the office? I just love it, no decisions on what to wear each morning, no make up, I have not worn a bra in 3 months! No 2 hours commute, those 2 hours I have been online and working! Having said that I feel desperately sorry for people who will lose their jobs and businesses, heartbreaking. What do you think?
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I was really lucky in that I'd just completed an office at home the week before we were advised to work from home (as I'd been doing it more in my new job)so I have the perfect set up. I love it and can't imagine going back, think other people at work will annoy me more than ever 
Our work have said it'll become the new norm and whilst offices will be there to work for people who need them, primarily they're going to be used for meeting space and offices set ups will be changed to support that
Our work have said it'll become the new norm and whilst offices will be there to work for people who need them, primarily they're going to be used for meeting space and offices set ups will be changed to support that
I am absolutely dreading it. I'm not usually a hypochondriac, but I'm petrified of having to take the tube into the office again when coronavirus is still a thing. Since March I've only been going out to walk my dog and I was going to Aldi every 2 weeks when it was impossible to get grocery deliveries. I am so scared of being packed in like sardines again on the tube.
I know my company is gunning for me to return to the office in August, even though we've been doing our jobs perfectly well from home since March, and I only share our London office with one other person.
I know my company is gunning for me to return to the office in August, even though we've been doing our jobs perfectly well from home since March, and I only share our London office with one other person.
I returned to the office at the beginning of June, I think I was in the minority of people who hated working from home. I'm quite introverted but still found it very isolating and struggled to not work all hours so the distinction between work and home was blurred.
We are quite lucky we have a large office so social distancing is no problem, I'm sat in my own indidivudal office with the air con blowing which is bliss, but have got colleagues I can go and see if I need to which definitely helps with the stress levels.
Plus I put on over half a stone working from home!! I am much more disciplined with myself in the office.
We are quite lucky we have a large office so social distancing is no problem, I'm sat in my own indidivudal office with the air con blowing which is bliss, but have got colleagues I can go and see if I need to which definitely helps with the stress levels.
Plus I put on over half a stone working from home!! I am much more disciplined with myself in the office.
I’m not made for working at home. I’m grateful for having a job throughout all this that supports home working but I can’t wait to get back to the office and social side (I live alone with my young son so miss adult conversations). My work don’t anticipate us going back in for many months though according to my last leadership update.
Whilst I’ve enjoyed not having to put proper clothes on and spending time making lunch rather than eating a sad sandwich, I really miss my colleagues. The people I sit with at work I don’t have day to day interactions with and I really miss their banter. Cats just don’t have the same sense of humour.
I think the trouble is companies are seeing this as a way to cut costs, i.e. no rent, canteen services, maintenance contracts etc. but I do worry about employees wellbeing in the long term. People assume that everyone has got enough space at home to have a separate home office space but unfortunately the reality for many is the sofa or dining room table. A friend of mine works for a IT company with a quite young average age and lots of people either live in small flats or with their parents so not ideal for home working, and the company has just said they will not be returning to the office ever.
I agree. I’m working at my dining room table which isn’t good for my back without a proper desk chair but I’ve no room for an office here. I think my company hope that we work flexibly in future so they could downsize office space/rent out excess space.
People were quick to spell this as the end of the office in the first few weeks because they were enjoying the change of working from home but the reality is there is a need for offices and most people will go back to them. Working from home 100% of the time doesn’t suit many people. If you don’t have space, live in a house share, have kids at home then it can be incredibly difficult to have a productive setup.
This will have pushed more companies to adopt a more flexible working style and they will now be better set up for people to work from home the off day or when they or their kids are sick. People and businesses still need the collaborative and social aspects of an office.
This will have pushed more companies to adopt a more flexible working style and they will now be better set up for people to work from home the off day or when they or their kids are sick. People and businesses still need the collaborative and social aspects of an office.
I'm one of the rare one that prefers to be in the office- I work in design so have a biiiig mac setup with tablets etc and had to move around the lounge to be able to work from home for about 4 weeks. Also ate my way through every cupboard in that time.
I'm in Nottingham and have noticed that a lot of really big offices have kept people working at home- and want to do so- they aren't paying for power/internet/canteens etc for staff, it seems to be working for a lot of people.
There are only 4x of us now in our office, and work are looking to make redundancies- not fair, but not a surprise!
I'm in Nottingham and have noticed that a lot of really big offices have kept people working at home- and want to do so- they aren't paying for power/internet/canteens etc for staff, it seems to be working for a lot of people.
There are only 4x of us now in our office, and work are looking to make redundancies- not fair, but not a surprise!
I love working from home, saving so much money on petrol and less miles on the car!
My work are due to start going back to the office in mid August (we are in Scotland) but our office is quite small and I believe they are having issues with putting the distancing guidelines in place. They are talking about doing phased returns and having so many working from home still and so many going to the office. Just need to wait and see nearer the time.
I'm dreading going back, the thought of using shared toilets / microwaves / kettles etc
My work are due to start going back to the office in mid August (we are in Scotland) but our office is quite small and I believe they are having issues with putting the distancing guidelines in place. They are talking about doing phased returns and having so many working from home still and so many going to the office. Just need to wait and see nearer the time.
I'm dreading going back, the thought of using shared toilets / microwaves / kettles etc
Id like to go back to the office but maybe a few days a week instead of Monday-Friday, with a couple of days to work from home! I really miss the office chit chat with the work girls but it’s also nice to be able to save on petrol and spend a bit longer in bed
We’ve been told we’re not back for 3-6 months 
. Im definitely more relaxed not running from school to work etc, but I do miss the social side and I spend all day on video calls. I hope to be back a couple of days a week.
but I won’t be sending my children to wrap around breakfast clubs anymore at school (if they can even run) and will save £5 a day per child and they aren’t being shipped off at 7:30am everyday
. Im definitely more relaxed not running from school to work etc, but I do miss the social side and I spend all day on video calls. I hope to be back a couple of days a week.but I won’t be sending my children to wrap around breakfast clubs anymore at school (if they can even run) and will save £5 a day per child and they aren’t being shipped off at 7:30am everyday
I work in a very small office in the City. I’m going in on Sunday as I can drive and park but I have no plans to go in any time soon. Working from home is a pain but I can’t face the 3 hour daily commute on a packed train.
We had always planned on leaving London at the end of the year but we have no choice now.
I work with my Dad and one other employee who has caused nothing but issues during lockdown and I do not want to see her face any time soon!
We had always planned on leaving London at the end of the year but we have no choice now.
I work with my Dad and one other employee who has caused nothing but issues during lockdown and I do not want to see her face any time soon!
I think when we go back around Autumn it will be a case of some go to office some days and the rest on the others with a day to overlap for team meetings.
I miss the office chats but I don't miss having to use the disgusting kitchen shared by 40 people.
My colleagues and I reckon we will buy a kettle just for our team of 10 and keep it in the office with a mini fridge, rather than go back to using the tatty one that 40 people use...
I miss my commute to work because it was my bubble time with music.
I have become a bit of a slob however.
I miss the office chats but I don't miss having to use the disgusting kitchen shared by 40 people.
My colleagues and I reckon we will buy a kettle just for our team of 10 and keep it in the office with a mini fridge, rather than go back to using the tatty one that 40 people use...
I miss my commute to work because it was my bubble time with music.
I have become a bit of a slob however.
The only thing I miss about the office is the air conditioning right now as I’m melting 
I am still furloughed and the company have made no decision - or if they have, they haven’t told us - about if and when we are returning to the office. I’m shielding so it’s in my interest for them to keep kicking the can down the road until 1st August when I’m “allowed” to physically return to the office. The more they delay it, the less likely I am to have to broach the topic with them.
When lockdown happening was becoming obvious to anyone with half a brain, my employer decided that we weren’t able to work from home because “we would use it as an excuse to slack off”. This wasn’t said to us but I get on really well with one of the Directors and he told me that was the owner’s attitude. There are three of us who are differing levels of vulnerable and they waited until the day lockdown was declared to tell us not to come to the office. Their first suggestion was a 33% pay cut across the board for everyone as this was prior to the furlough scheme being announced. Since then, we have all been furloughed ever since.
I have not yet had to work from home but for my personal safety I would prefer it. I’m on immunosuppressant medicine and the idea of being in shared bathrooms and a shared kitchen makes me feel really uneasy. It was never the cleanest office at the best of times. I’ve also really noticed how much money I was spending on petrol having not really gone anywhere! My commute is a round trip of 50 miles so I would definitely prefer the option to be at home.
When lockdown happening was becoming obvious to anyone with half a brain, my employer decided that we weren’t able to work from home because “we would use it as an excuse to slack off”. This wasn’t said to us but I get on really well with one of the Directors and he told me that was the owner’s attitude. There are three of us who are differing levels of vulnerable and they waited until the day lockdown was declared to tell us not to come to the office. Their first suggestion was a 33% pay cut across the board for everyone as this was prior to the furlough scheme being announced. Since then, we have all been furloughed ever since.
I have not yet had to work from home but for my personal safety I would prefer it. I’m on immunosuppressant medicine and the idea of being in shared bathrooms and a shared kitchen makes me feel really uneasy. It was never the cleanest office at the best of times. I’ve also really noticed how much money I was spending on petrol having not really gone anywhere! My commute is a round trip of 50 miles so I would definitely prefer the option to be at home.
I think people will be keen to head back to the office when it gets colder again and they start to feel the costs of having to heat their home all day .
No but seriously, while I think there will undoubtedly be some changes in the workplace in terms of home working I do think there will be a gradual shift back to the office at least part of the week or month. I think productivity and efficiency will gradually start to slip, as well as mental health issues caused by people never seeing or interacting with colleagues other than on video conferencing platforms, and bosses will want teams coming back together in person, maybe not every day but at regular intervals. Also a lot of things like recruitment are almost impossible to do completely over video conferencing software ... depending on the job of couse ... yes you can do initial interviews over skype but the later stages of the process really need to be in person, as does on-boarding the new employee and showing them the ropes.
A lot of companies already reduced their office space needs by moving to large areas of the office set up for hot desking on a day by day fashion, I think that will change as the need to deep clean every hot desk every day will become too expensive. I think we might still see smaller offices and a form of hotdesking but it'll start to be on a week by week basis. For instance Finance teams tend to know well in advance which weeks of the month/year they are going to be very busy, so I could see an office area being shared by Finance and HR, with Finance all having to come in in person and work together for their key Month End weeks, and for the rest of the month that area of desks is given over to HR who come in and get all their interviews done, etc. In this way the "deep clean" between different people using the desks, only needs to be done weekly or fortnightly. Other teams could work in a similar way, for instance an area of desks that the marketing team book to come in in person and use for the two weeks that their latest campaign is at a key stage, a different two weeks and it's the IT team that come in and use those desks while they're running a big update project, etc.
.No but seriously, while I think there will undoubtedly be some changes in the workplace in terms of home working I do think there will be a gradual shift back to the office at least part of the week or month. I think productivity and efficiency will gradually start to slip, as well as mental health issues caused by people never seeing or interacting with colleagues other than on video conferencing platforms, and bosses will want teams coming back together in person, maybe not every day but at regular intervals. Also a lot of things like recruitment are almost impossible to do completely over video conferencing software ... depending on the job of couse ... yes you can do initial interviews over skype but the later stages of the process really need to be in person, as does on-boarding the new employee and showing them the ropes.
A lot of companies already reduced their office space needs by moving to large areas of the office set up for hot desking on a day by day fashion, I think that will change as the need to deep clean every hot desk every day will become too expensive. I think we might still see smaller offices and a form of hotdesking but it'll start to be on a week by week basis. For instance Finance teams tend to know well in advance which weeks of the month/year they are going to be very busy, so I could see an office area being shared by Finance and HR, with Finance all having to come in in person and work together for their key Month End weeks, and for the rest of the month that area of desks is given over to HR who come in and get all their interviews done, etc. In this way the "deep clean" between different people using the desks, only needs to be done weekly or fortnightly. Other teams could work in a similar way, for instance an area of desks that the marketing team book to come in in person and use for the two weeks that their latest campaign is at a key stage, a different two weeks and it's the IT team that come in and use those desks while they're running a big update project, etc.
My sister in law works for Very, she’s been working from home since the start of April, she got a phone all on Tuesday to say it’s worked so well that they can work from home permanently! It looks like they’re closing the office. I wonder how many other companies will do the same? I don’t mind working from home, I’ve saved money with no travel etc but I do miss the social side of being in the office
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