Working from home

[WJ99mobile]

Will it work long term?

[2b2bdoo]

Re: Working from home

I think there needs to be a balance.

At the moment my wife is also working from home but when she goes back to work I could imagine it being lonely working remotely every day. Not to say I haven't enjoyed working from home but a balance would be good and that's work seem to be thinking atm.

[Rjk]

Re: Working from home

there seem to be more companies open to WFH for 2 or 3 days per week, where possible.l, so I think there will be lasting changes in this

[the other bob wilson]

Re: Working from home

I started working from home in 2000 and did it until I left the Civil Service in 2009. I think I had the best of both worlds, because I would go into work on Tuesday mornings and Fridays - it meant that I didn't miss out on the social side and I was able to keep in touch with developments which I may not have been aware of if I was going into the office less often. I believe it was also good from an employer's side because they were able to increase the annual target I worked to and, being there for two days every week meant that they were able to keep an eye on me if they felt they needed to.

For myself, I found that work did not seem as stale as it did and it also didn't get me down as much as it had done previously - my staff reports improved when I started working from home, so I think it worked well for all concerned, but I'd say you needed to be a certain type of personality for it to succeed and there needs to still be face to face contact with your fellow workers at tiimes.

[BLUETIT]

Re: Working from home

It's a long way to carry the bricks.

Being serious, shirley it would be a legal nightmare.

Shirley you'd have to have "Public Liability" insurance

[chris lee]

Re: Working from home

As Bob, mentioned it depends on personality, from some people wfh is fantastic, others it can lead to isolation and loneliness.

Therefore there is not a one fit answer, but instead we need the option to do either! Previously people did not have the choice, sometimes it is the option/ choice that is more important than actually doing it.

Personally I WFH and it works great for me, I am active in the evenings (pre lockdown), 5-a-side 3x a week and lots of golf and tennis, therefore not having a commute each day is life changing.

My friend is a HR manager for a large company, and has said absence and sickness is at a all time low, people often phone in sick when not feeling 100% in the morning (bad sleep, having a down day, cant face getting out of bed) these people can sometime kick themselves into action later in the day, wfh gives them this breathing space.

[Taunton Blue Genie]

Re: Working from home

As someone whose friends at work have already retired I am hoping to avoid returning to the office before I call it a day in early August.

[RichardM]

Re: Working from home

It's a long way to carry the bricks.

Being serious, shirley it would be a legal nightmare.

Shirley you'd have to have "Public Liability" insurance

Why? I work from home at the moment but don't let the public in.

[RichardM]

Re: Working from home

As someone whose friends at work have already retired I am hoping to avoid returning to the office before I call it a day in early August.

I will be 60 on May 8th and have handed my notice in to finish on May 7th. I wondered if I will have to go back to the office other than to hand my laptop in on the last day.

[Optimistic Nick]

Re: Working from home

Will it work long term?

I love it when I need it, hate it when I'm forced into it.

I love my office. Love it. West end of London, loads of people about having a nice time. Loads of space to work, I can easily check who on my team is over worked, bored, upset etc. There are hundreds of people I know there who I can quickly consult, beg a favour of, have a chat with to break up the day, go for a sneaky pint after work etc. It's bloody excellent.

I love working at home too. Save 2 hours a day commute; get to pick my son up from nursery and do dinner with the family, can concentrate without being disturbed (generally). Pre lockdown, I loved my work from home days.

But I'd give anything to go back to 4 days from the office and a day from home right now. The lack of work/life separation is becoming desperate in my line of work. One of my managers did 87 hours last week. That is mental. And I didn't know until this morning. Had we been in the office it would have been so much easier to spot and deal with it. And personally I struggle to get.motivated now, and my 3 year old is constantly upset that I can't play with him during the day. Im done with it.

If you want to get work done, then offices are great places to do it. They are specifically designed for the purpose ffs. I can't wait to get back.

[blue matt]

Re: Working from home

I speak to alot of people who are WFH, last week i was in a small Village the Bristol side of Bath, i clean the windows of about 30 houses in this Village, house prices are £400 K plus, most are the professional type, most are WFH, most moaned about it, infact only one was glad he isnt in the office, he gets the train to London every day and is out of the house from 5.30 am to 8 pm, he works in finance

[BLUETIT]

Re: Working from home

It's a long way to carry the bricks.

Being serious, shirley it would be a legal nightmare.

Shirley you'd have to have "Public Liability" insurance

Why? I work from home at the moment but don't let the public in.

I can't spell hyperphical, but :------ if you are logged on to work from home and say you go to make a cup of tea and fall down stairs, who is liable ?
You or your firm you are working for.

Your house burns down, from a fire caused by your firms computer, who is liable.

Your children accidentally read confidential information off your firms computer and disclose it. Who is liable

Working from home is not all it made out to be.

Wait till you have a fire or break in, will your HOME insurance cover it, as it;s now a workplace.

[Tuerto]

Re: Working from home

I can't spell hyperphical, but :------ if you are logged on to work from home and say you go to make a cup of tea and fall down stairs, who is liable ?
You or your firm you are working for.

Your house burns down, from a fire caused by your firms computer, who is liable.

Your children accidentally read confidential information off your firms computer and disclose it. Who is liable

Working from home is not all it made out to be.

Wait till you have a fire or break in, will your HOME insurance cover it, as it;s now a workplace.

All very good points. Some people can obviously see the flexibility and freedom of home working, but working conditions, liability etc need to be addressed as some Companies may see it as a way of putting more liability on the worker. Plenty needs looking into before Home working is rolled out.

[RichardM]

Re: Working from home

All very good points. Some people can obviously see the flexibility and freedom of home working, but working conditions, liability etc need to be addressed as some Companies may see it as a way of putting more liability on the worker. Plenty needs looking into before Home working is rolled out.

All good points but nothing to do with public liability insurance. Employer's may be, but not public.

[Kind of Blue]

Re: Working from home

I love it but appreciate my personality helps, I like and am happy getting my head down with work and not get distracted. Appreciate it won’t be the same for everyone, but I’ve definitely found it more productive and efficient. I make an effort to stay in contact with the team with video calls and also have quick catch ups with colleagues in other teams to touch base. So save for my social life being restricted anyway, I don’t really feel the same about the social element of the working environment. I really don’t miss it - I like my work colleagues, but I miss seeing my friends and family not the office.

I don’t foresee having to go back en mass to the office and we will be offered a high degree of flexibility in the future. The thought of returning to a commute regularly seems obscene and wasteful now we’ve had a year’s pilot of this way of working. Someone mentioned above but until the winter wave of Covid sickness levels were at a record low, along with restrictions on contact I’m sure not having to schlep yourself into the office has contributed to that.