Personally I can't wait to get back to the office, fed up to death of working from home full-time. Mine reopened this week but they split the company into 2 bubbles & I'm the other one. However I'm on holiday next week then have to isolate for 2 weeks so can't actually get back until mid-October f*** SAKE :arrr:

 

I've been in the office off and on throughout the lockdown (albeit on my own most of the time) - I do NOT miss the toilets.

My company has been doing flexible working for 5+ years now. Always had the ability to WFH, could flex our time (e.g. to leave early or come in later). It's proven through engagement surveys that people love to work flexibly and the output is the same. And the business has not suffered with working from home, the only hard hard is when you really need to creatively collaborate or make decisions it's very hard. We will end up working from home 2-3 times a week and 2-3 days in the office longer term as a new normal. Honestly don't get what the need is to get people to come back to the office save for the draconian way of operating. You'll see all the big private firms working from home 2-3 days a week as a norm, it's like fishing season for attracting people to work for the company. Who doesn't want to save money/time on commuting?

 

Our office is about 700 people in the site I am based at. The office has been open at 10% capacity for 2 months now and is going up to 20% capacity. I've been in to the office once and it's all very well and easy when you have 30-40 people in the office, but only 2 people per time at the toilet and someone gets your drink from you at the water machine. You start scaling it up higher and it's harder to manage.

A lot of small, often privately-owned, local businesses have reported that they have been doing very well since lockdown ended. People who used to go to Starbucks near their office are now going to a locally-owned coffee shop instead. Similarly, people who go to a £100 per month gym in central London can now pay a fraction of the price and use one closer to home. What's so bad about that?

Im pretty much back fulltime at the office (although the firms rules are still technically only to work from the office if absolutely necessary because you need something you can’t get at home) but half the time I’m in our big 13-person office on my own. Absolute majority of the team is still WFH except the boss and one or two others that pop in a day or two a week.

 

I am fortunate enough to be able to do this though because I live less than a mile from the office in a very walkable part of the city. I’ve even cycled a couple of times! So I have no real risky commute to endure and I get exercise each day.

 

Right now, it really should be up to the individual employee to balance the risk with their personal circumstances. I live alone in a different country to my family and friends. I have no chain to pass it on to, so I can comfortably take the increased risk of going into the office and just keeping my mask on when away from my desk (as our firms rules require)

One of the reasons why I quit my job was because doing it has become nigh-on impossible the longer we've spent working from home rather than in the office together, so I would definitely welcome a return to the office once it is deemed safe to do so. However, it could turn out that we have to go into lockdown again and I'll have to work from home anyway, so more fool me then.

I think people should fight for the right to work from home. It doesn’t suit everyone but it will be a great comfort to some and if it can be done, why not? I no longer have the luxury and whilst I am glad to be back at work, it’s incredibly stressful because of all the new rules that we have and a new way of doing things. I just want things back to normal but I’m beginning to feel that may never happen.

"We are now confident that this rise is statistically significant and that we are definitely seeing a rise in COVID cases in the UK. This is backed up by our R value, which is currently 1.2 for England, Scotland and Wales and 1.3 for Northern Ireland."

 

7-day average case number now >2,000.

Yes we're seeing a rise in cases but mostly amongst the young so that's why the death rate isn't soaring.

Yes we're seeing a rise in cases but mostly amongst the young so that's why the death rate isn't soaring.

 

But those young people have to go to shops like anyone else and when they do they will risk spreading it to older people using the shop.

 

The government should give official advise such as advising older people not to go to shops anywhere near university areas once they open up.

 

...that would be really good advice!

I'm all for offices opening as long as people have the choice to work how they wish, in a way that suits them and their organisations output. Home working suits some people and some home setups far better than others. Personally I have very little interest in returning to how I worked previously. It'd be nice to have contact with more people and work has a nicer scenery for a lunchtime or post-work walk than where I live but they're about the only things I'd like about returning. I far prefer: not commuting, no alarm, cooking at lunch, wearing what I feel comfortable in, having the temperature that suits me. I also have far more time and capacity, in my role I had to travel for meetings/presentations around the county, probably average about twice a week and an additional 3 hours of travelling. Now this is all done virtually from my front room that's more time for me to actually get work done, and a cost saving for the taxpayer as I don't claim any mileage.

I'm all for offices opening as long as people have the choice to work how they wish, in a way that suits them and their organisations output. Home working suits some people and some home setups far better than others. Personally I have very little interest in returning to how I worked previously. It'd be nice to have contact with more people and work has a nicer scenery for a lunchtime or post-work walk than where I live but they're about the only things I'd like about returning. I far prefer: not commuting, no alarm, cooking at lunch, wearing what I feel comfortable in, having the temperature that suits me. I also have far more time and capacity, in my role I had to travel for meetings/presentations around the county, probably average about twice a week and an additional 3 hours of travelling. Now this is all done virtually from my front room that's more time for me to actually get work done, and a cost saving for the taxpayer as I don't claim any mileage.

 

Agree with this massively, both public and private companies can save so much money through delivering presenations etc. at home rather than needlessly travelling up and down the country. The money can go back to higher salaries or stop the need to constantly re-structure to save a few quid (well, this is will still continue to happen of course). It all comes from the leadership and the company has to be willing to change too, but I really do feel organisations and companies need to move with the times and allow employees to work more flexibly.

Nadine Dorries (a strong contender for the title of the UK's dimmest minister) has said that nobody who knows anything about the pathology of Covid-19 ever said it would all be over by Christmas. One person who did say it would be over by Christmas is, of course, one B Johnson. So, Dorries has said something vaguely truthful and called her boss clueless. Two reasons to believe her ministerial career won't last much longer.

Social gatherings of more than six people to be banned in England from Monday. Christmas will really be fun this year.

 

Social gatherings of more than six people to be banned in England from Monday. Christmas will really be fun this year.

Stupid putting it the other side of the weekend. Everyone is gonna have a giant party this weekend defeating the whole bloody purpose of the change.

 

 

Is there anything this gov is capable of doing right?

Yes we're seeing a rise in cases but mostly amongst the young so that's why the death rate isn't soaring.

 

The same as happened in France, but it has recently jumped to the more vulnerable and older population and we now see a spike in hospitalisations:

 

 

It's not inevitable of course, but you'd have to agree the risk has just gone up.

I'm all for offices opening as long as people have the choice to work how they wish, in a way that suits them and their organisations output. Home working suits some people and some home setups far better than others. Personally I have very little interest in returning to how I worked previously. It'd be nice to have contact with more people and work has a nicer scenery for a lunchtime or post-work walk than where I live but they're about the only things I'd like about returning. I far prefer: not commuting, no alarm, cooking at lunch, wearing what I feel comfortable in, having the temperature that suits me. I also have far more time and capacity, in my role I had to travel for meetings/presentations around the county, probably average about twice a week and an additional 3 hours of travelling. Now this is all done virtually from my front room that's more time for me to actually get work done, and a cost saving for the taxpayer as I don't claim any mileage.

 

 

THIS

 

Especially the points about doing what you want how you want it!

The same as happened in France, but it has recently jumped to the more vulnerable and older population and we now see a spike in hospitalisations:

 

 

It's not inevitable of course, but you'd have to agree the risk has just gone up.

 

Do you have the numbers for other countries like England and ireland?

^Only England I'm afraid.

 

 

Echo Rooney's and Mark's comments - I found that when I had a remote shift I had more time in the evening to do other things like go for a run or a short bike ride. I'd still like the option to work remotely for some shifts, particularly night shifts when this is over. I have long argued for conferences to be done remotely where possible because it isn't a good look (i.e. it wouldn't pass the 'Daily Mail test') having all these climate scientists flying from all over the world to meet up and discuss climate change!

Thanks so it’s between 40-70 people per day in England - am I reading that right?