[Offers] Hybrid working

[Affy]

I do one day a week in the office. If I could I’d be 5 days at home. Works better for me with the kids and school run, means the wife can work full time (she earns more) and I’m around to do jobs and housework etc.

No micro managing, just expected to do the work and it’s obvious if I don’t. My office is very much the exception to the rest of the company but we’re a small team who don’t take the piss.

Going on more than 1 day would be a real pain for me personally and totally upset the equilibrium. I have one colleague who does 4 days in the office and another 2 who do 3 as they prefer it.

There are pros and cons for both I’m just lucky I get to do what works for me. And I fully appreciate it!!

 

[The Optimist]

Jeez, lots of office workers here. What does everyone do?

My sister in law mainly WFH and spends most of the time watching box sets and chilling out ha

Well I doubt many people in the trades are going to join a conversation about WFH!

 

[dwayne]

A mate of mine works for Big Pharma in the US. He moved job just before Covid.
They expected him in so he had to rent (this is California - expensive).
After Covid he moved to Phoenix (cheap housing) and flies in for a day or two each month.
Unless you are a lab worker it serves no purpose to ram people into office space.

I agree with others who suggest that companies want staff on site these days because they rent or own too much office space they can't shift.

I would estimate there are less than 50% commuting into London compared with pre covid.

I see in the states that workers (tech firms) who have made these kind of moves have had their salaries adjusted ie paid at the phoenix rate rather than the Cali rate , there's probably a 30% difference.

I do feel like people who don't really commute in the office are threading on thin ice in areas like tech as for a fair few roles Indians or Romanians / polish will do the job for a hell of a lot less money than somewhere like London and definitely NYC/Cali. And the standard of worker is, improving abroad as the world gets smaller.

 

[Littlemo]

I do feel like people who don't really commute in the office are threading on thin ice in areas like tech as for a fair few roles Indians or Romanians / polish will do the job for a hell of a lot less money than somewhere like London and definitely NYC/Cali. And the standard of worker is, improving abroad as the world gets smaller.

That’s true whether you are working from home or the office. It’s not as though outsourcing to those countries is especially unheard of or a new concept just realised by companies because of home-working, companies have been choosing those routes for decades.

 

[dwayne]

That’s true whether you are working from home or the office. It’s not as though outsourcing to those countries is especially unheard of or a new concept just realised by companies because of home-working, companies have been choosing those routes for decades.

True. But it has been magnified by WFH as it's now proven that many dont need to be in the office.

 

[South Stand Bonfire]

I've been doing M,T and Th in the office, WFH on W and F. There was never any fannying about "making up" office days if any were taken as leave, that is just weapons-grade GOONERY. Whoever came up with that needs a dry slap.

Thrillingly though, the lease on our office in Haywards Heath runs out later this year and they've decided not to renew it (there was only about 10 of us rattling about anyway). So as of last week, I am now WFH all week, except for 1 day a month when I have to yomp up to our London head office in EC4 for the day, which is going to be the last Thursday in every month. LOVELY.

I was a bit shocked to see that an on-peak one day Travelcard from Portslade weighs in at £70.20, mind. Kinell!!
But I can claim it back on expenses.

So that will be another Permitted Development conversion of office space to residential use in HH soon then. We have been involved in loads of these over the last 4/5 years.

 

[BBassic]

Do you ever pop out during your working day now that you work from home or do you stay at your desk apart from loo visits and lunch breaks like you use to at work?

Yeah I try to get out for a decent walk at lunch. Plus the frequent trips up and down the stairs to replenish my tea.

 

[South Stand Bonfire]

I'm a weirdo that prefers full time office work. None of the hybrid stuff for me.

I don’t think that’s weird! I get more done in the office but say 1 day every 2/3 weeks it’s nice to work at home for a change. In mine and my colleagues‘ roles we visit clients and developments so are out of the office anyway about 50% of the time. I only live 4 miles from my office and it has parking so it’s not a big deal for me to go in. When petrol prices spiked 2 years ago I did tell a more junior colleague who lived 20 miles away that if he wanted to work at home he could but just make himself “visible” now and again.

 

[Happy Exile]

I average one day a week in the London office, sometimes do two, and sometimes none. We worked out collectively what activities are more productive and even enjoyable working in person and have a non-mandated, but largely followed, management request to be in for those things and I time my trips in around those.

Every quarter we have a mandated day where everyone has to be in - it’s genuinely useful and an effort is made to make it something people want to be at not just be told to be at. As an arrangement it feels like how work should be, focused on outputs and treated like adults in getting it done.

 

[Billy in Bristol]

You can never get any charity worker on the phone when they are working from home ....

 

[Easy 10]

So that will be another Permitted Development conversion of office space to residential use in HH soon then. We have been involved in loads of these over the last 4/5 years.

The building we were in was actually earmarked for demolition in order to build a new apartment block, so our top brass were already scouting for a new office somewhere in HH. We only occupied 1 floor out of 4 there, it was a small office. There are several businesses still operating there on the other floors (who are all now busily trying to snaffle our parking spaces for themselves).

Then Covid came along, the whole demolition plan was scrapped, and we ended up renewing the lease there (which was to run till this coming September).

Its quite noticeable walking up and down Perrymount Road just how many buildings have office space to let now. Covid changed everything, and I'm absolutely delighted tbh.

 

[essbee1]

That c**t Rees-Mogg was all in favour of us going back to work in the office blah, blah blah. Well, maybe that's
because he probably owns office space in the city etc... a complete wanker.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Thanks. I'm sure if I fished around I could probably get it cheaper (I need to use the Circle & District line too). But its only once a month, and although I have to stump it up, I do get it back on expenses within a week or so, so no biggee.

As an aside, I'll be getting the 6.45 or 7.15 from Portslade. Anyone know if I'm likely to get a SEAT ? I'm a peak-time virgin, you see.

If by SEAT you meant this, then possibly.

Otherwise, no.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

That c**t Rees-Mogg was all in favour of us going back to work in the office blah, blah blah. Well, maybe that's
because he probably owns office space in the city etc... a complete wanker.

Hang on there...

You think Moggy is an employee?

You don't have to be anywhere to collect dividends from 'investments' last time I looked.
You can do that from a comfy chair.

 

[essbee1]

Hang on there...

You think Moggy is an employee?

You don't have to be anywhere to collect dividends from 'investments' last time I looked.
You can do that from a comfy chair.

QED as they say Harry. All I know is that when RM says anything, the last person he's
thinking about is the "average" person. It's 99.99% about his selfish, tosser'ish self.

 

[Professor Plum]

I’m retired now, mercifully, but I was always more productive in the office than at home. I also actually preferred the social interaction and more useful team bonding. Though when asked, naturally I would always be very opinionated about how much more I could get done when I was at home. I do believe that some people ie those with strong self-discipline, are genuinely more productive at home. But WFH was brilliant for lazy people like me. I know for an absolute fact that many people working from home do very little work because I was one of them, and knew plenty of others who were the same. But it all comes down to the sort of work you do. If it’s very task-oriented and specific, it’s easy to monitor productivity. If it’s more bullshitty work, as mine was in the later part of my career, it’s quite easy to conceal domestic indolence.

 

[South Stand Bonfire]

Thanks. I'm sure if I fished around I could probably get it cheaper (I need to use the Circle & District line too). But its only once a month, and although I have to stump it up, I do get it back on expenses within a week or so, so no biggee.

As an aside, I'll be getting the 6.45 or 7.15 from Portslade. Anyone know if I'm likely to get a SEAT ? I'm a peak-time virgin, you see.

Pretty easy to get a seat on the 2/3 days a month I get those trains to London from SBS. If you travel up on Friday you’ll likely get the whole carriage to yourself!

 

[Sorrel]

Minimum three days a week in the office for me - whichever days you want. This is London offices.

Trains noticeably busier on Mondays now; only Fridays still have very few people in the trains and the city.

 

[Hamilton]

I look forward to the carnage on the trains if we ever do all revert back to 5 days a week in the offices. We won’t. The world has changed.

 

[timbha]

I’m retired now, mercifully, but I was always more productive in the office than at home. I also actually preferred the social interaction and more useful team bonding. Though when asked, naturally I would always be very opinionated about how much more I could get done when I was at home. I do believe that some people ie those with strong self-discipline, are genuinely more productive at home. But WFH was brilliant for lazy people like me. I know for an absolute fact that many people working from home do very little work because I was one of them, and knew plenty of others who were the same. But it all comes down to the sort of work you do. If it’s very task-oriented and specific, it’s easy to monitor productivity. If it’s more bullshitty work, as mine was in the later part of my career, it’s quite easy to conceal domestic indolence.

If this wasn’t the case, why do so many people choose to WFH on a Friday? The same people who always work on a Monday when working a 3 or 4 day week so they don’t lose out on Monday Bank Holidays.