Going Back To The Office

[paruk]

Hi all,
How are you coping with the fact that soon-ish (U.K.) we will probably go back to the office?
I simply cannot bear the thought and unfortunately my company is adamant to get us back 5 days a week.
I know that not everybody is enjoying working from home for various very valid reasons and at the same time those who are have very good reasons as well. I mainly enjoy the flexibility that WFH offers and not having to commute. My mental health is a lot better since WFH and I feel overall more focused and productive. I am willing to undergo a salary cut, say 10-15%, which us what I spend for trains and eating out at lunch, and to be able to WFH at least 3 days a week. Any idea on how to negotiate this with a very old school employer? Thanks

 

[flatiron]

That's really unfortunate. Where I work, our new norm is likely to be a minimum of 2 days per week in the office (i.e. maximum of 3 days at home). I hope it changes for you but I imagine businesses will want to make sure they get their money's worth out of their commercial leases. One thing we've learned over the past 15 months or so is that flexibility is beneficial in so many ways. It'd be a shame to see everything snap back to exactly how it was before.

 

[paruk]

I know. Flexibility is a major plus: I tend to wake up very early in the morning so I start to work at 6.30 and by 3.30 p.m. I am done. Can you imagine leaving the office at that time? I would be fire on the spot. In this way I can accommodate my early bird tendencies: gone are sleeping issues, mind fog etc. My quality of life has improved way beyond what I was expecting. Next monday they will let us know...

 

[flatiron]

I know. Flexibility is a major plus: I tend to wake up very early in the morning so I start to work at 6.30 and by 3.30 p.m. I am done. Can you imagine leaving the office at that time? I would be fire on the spot. In this way I can accommodate my early bird tendencies: gone are sleeping issues, mind fog etc. My quality of life has improved way beyond what I was expecting. Next monday they will let us know...

I'm the opposite - I'm a night owl. I generally start around 10.30 or 11.00 and work through until about 6.00 or a bit later. But yeah, flexible work allows me to do this. If I had to snap back to 8.30 starts, I'd be a zombie.

 

[palakaorion]

Even during Rona I went into the office every day. I was one of a handful out of a usual complement of about 200.

Isolation quickly becomes an issue for me, so I was thankful I had somewhere to go every weekday.

 

[TheMeatyProfessor]

I'm not looking forward to returning to campus full time. Campus admin are trying to figure out a flexible work policy, albeit they took their sweet ass time doing that. I got more work done at home and appreciated controlling my work day. That said, I can handle going back. The plan is to work at least one day from home -- hopefully Fridays.

 

[paruk]

Even during Rona I went into the office every day. I was one of a handful out of a usual complement of about 200.

Isolation quickly becomes an issue for me, so I was thankful I had somewhere to go every weekday.

I understand. I have a couple of friends who could not stand WFH and were very glad to keep going to the office even at the worst peak of the pandemic. I guess we are all different and have various needs/wants.

The thing that is worrying me A LOT is that I have experienced such a massive improvement in my mental health since WFH and I don't want to go back to where I was just because my boss has control issues. I guess if it comes to that I will need to resign and find something else...

 

[paruk]

I'm not looking forward to returning to campus full time. Campus admin are trying to figure out a flexible work policy, albeit they took their sweet ass time doing that. I got more work done at home and appreciated controlling my work day. That said, I can handle going back. The plan is to work at least one day from home -- hopefully Fridays.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

 

[twoton]

I don’t do well, psychologically, in a long term WFH environment. I need to be around coworkers in order to feel productive.

The hitch is that I have a long commute, nearly everything I do can be done remotely, and I’ve been pretty much alone most of the time I’ve been at the office.

 

[flatiron]

I don’t do well, psychologically, in a long term WFH environment. I need to be around coworkers in order to feel productive.

The hitch is that I have a long commute, nearly everything I do can be done remotely, and I’ve been pretty much alone most of the time I’ve been at the office.

Technology should give each person the flexibility to find a work pattern that works best for them. If COVID had come along in 1976 the world would've imploded. Technology gave us the kit last year to still get stuff done. Why would we reject it now?

Totally agree about commuting. One of our other offices has some people facing a 90 minute commute in, and another 90 minute commute home. That's potentially 15 hours each week that can be saved, not to mention the potential bonus to relationships, mental health etc. But if people want to come into the office, they should have that flexibility too!

I think we've got a good balance in our office, minimum 2 days working in the office, maximum 3 days remote, which is a pretty good platform that people can organise their work and personal lives around.

 

[deleted1030587]

Forget that cut in pay talk, think of the money they'd be saving on office rental/heating/electricity if you (and others) worked from home. Ideally a union would raise this on your behalf and any others thinking similarly to somewhat mitigate the power imbalance.

 

[Lookinginconshy]

My staff voted not to ever return to the office. They like working from home and honestly they do better and more work. Plus they are never absent! So we now are remote workers.

 

[paruk]

Forget that cut in pay talk, think of the money they'd be saving on office rental/heating/electricity if you (and others) worked from home. Ideally a union would raise this on your behalf and any others thinking similarly to somewhat mitigate the power imbalance.

I know I am aware of this but for some reasons which i cannot F#$%^& understand they keep paying for this office in a prime location when even pre Covid no clients ever visited. It is simply crazy. They could save a small fortune. Unfortunately my boss who also owns the company cannot stand being at home so he is forcing all of us to join him back to the office. I swear in my case it makes no sense. I spend most of my time doing calcs, writing reports and reading technical policies. Even before covid I had very little interaction with colleagues and even less with clients. A day a week in the office would be plenty in my case. But no, he needs to see us there with our asses on the chairs!!! Sorry for keep ranting Lol I am desperate. My mental health has improved massively over the last 16 months and the thought of going back to taking sleeping pills, suffering from panic attacks etc makes me furious. That's why I mentioned the salary cut because it is very important to me to keep wfh.