Non - Pandemic

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Cannot believe we’re back to this again. Absolute rubbish this is about spontaneity and team building and everything about the economy around business areas like transport, sandwich shops and the like.

Businesses will have seen they can operate without the 9 to 5, five days a week and will adjust.

I think many companies will down size their office space, have less in the office full time. They’ll have a base of course, but many won’t return to exactly the same as it was 13 months ago.
 
DJ said:
View attachment 5408

Cannot believe we’re back to this again. Absolute rubbish this is about spontaneity and team building and everything about the economy around business areas like transport, sandwich shops and the like.

Businesses will have seen they can operate without the 9 to 5, five days a week and will adjust.

I think many companies will down size their office space, have less in the office full time. They’ll have a base of course, but many won’t return to exactly the same as it was 13 months ago.
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It's not absolute rubbish about team building. I have worked from home for a year and I can assure you I find it a whole lot easier to do remote work with people who I know than with people I have never met.

I suspect a lot of Sunak's concern is with the young. It'd very hard to start a new job from scratch when you can't see anyone else doing it and you have no-one to ask how. Add to that that the employer might realise that it's cheaper to employ a qualified person in India than a trainee at home, and you wonder how youngsters are going to get on the job ladder, at least as far as desk jobs are concerned.
 
DJ said:
View attachment 5408

Cannot believe we’re back to this again. Absolute rubbish this is about spontaneity and team building and everything about the economy around business areas like transport, sandwich shops and the like.

Businesses will have seen they can operate without the 9 to 5, five days a week and will adjust.

I think many companies will down size their office space, have less in the office full time. They’ll have a base of course, but many won’t return to exactly the same as it was 13 months ago.
Click to expand...
For me he's got a point. We've seen in our own workplace, the collaboration between teams and cross pollination of ideas for progressing a problem have fallen further and further the longer this has gone on.

Personally I'm utterly sick of this, and cannot wait to get back in.

Agree with what you say that 9-5 x 5 in the office won't be and shouldn't be the only way to operate in future. There’s going to be a balance between the two extremes somewhere, and each workplace will have to figure that out.
 
northstandmark said:
For me he's got a point. We've seen in our own workplace, the collaboration between teams and cross pollination of ideas for progressing a problem have fallen further and further the longer this has gone on.
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Of course he has a point. But he has one specific point about certain workers. Not all.

A quick glance at many of the surveys and polls shows that there is a larger number of workers who have no intention of returning to long commutes, long office hours and expenses when working from home is cheaper and less stressful.

It’ll be a far smaller proportion of workers who will be looking to quit their jobs in an unstable economy over whether or not offices open back to as they were. That’s an empty comment based on a different agenda.
 
DJ said:
View attachment 5408

Cannot believe we’re back to this again. Absolute rubbish this is about spontaneity and team building and everything about the economy around business areas like transport, sandwich shops and the like.

Businesses will have seen they can operate without the 9 to 5, five days a week and will adjust.

I think many companies will down size their office space, have less in the office full time. They’ll have a base of course, but many won’t return to exactly the same as it was 13 months ago.
Click to expand...
DJ, it will all come down to productivity (which I suspect will be lower) against future reduced costs of office space - this will reduce but companies will be tied to long term leases or own the property. FWIW I think Sunak is right about the workplace environment.
 
redharry said:
DJ, it will all come down to productivity (which I suspect will be lower) against future reduced costs of office space - this will reduce but companies will be tied to long term leases or own the property. FWIW I think Sunak is right about the workplace environment.
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I wasn’t arguing against the workplace environment, I was arguing the undertones of Sunak’s scaremongering vision of workers quitting their jobs over office closures.

Sunak has eyes solely on the high rise buildings in London that currently sit empty.

Those companies will not be closing offices, they will either be companies in financial ruin and are making the move out of necessity or they will be downsizing. (Many will be stuck on long leases like you say)

They won’t be closing entirely and forcing people to work from home for eternity.

They will be adjusting to a more modern way of work life. Where those who want to be in the office more often can, those who want to work from home more often can.

The premise certainly won’t be to work from home 100% of the time forever and people certainly won’t be quitting their jobs in their droves over the idea of possibly not working 40 hours a week and commuting 10 hours a week to do a job that they’ve proved they can do just as well sat on their sofa in their pj’s.
 
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DJ said:
View attachment 5408

Cannot believe we’re back to this again. Absolute rubbish this is about spontaneity and team building and everything about the economy around business areas like transport, sandwich shops and the like.

Businesses will have seen they can operate without the 9 to 5, five days a week and will adjust.

I think many companies will down size their office space, have less in the office full time. They’ll have a base of course, but many won’t return to exactly the same as it was 13 months ago.
Click to expand...

Think it probably depends on where you work, my son is in London and it seems working from home has suited him as well as his firm.

He has saved on travel expenses and the hassle of getting to work, finds he gets more done working from home.

They have regular Zoom meetings and social get togethers.
 
redharry said:
DJ, it will all come down to productivity (which I suspect will be lower) against future reduced costs of office space - this will reduce but companies will be tied to long term leases or own the property. FWIW I think Sunak is right about the workplace environment.
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Flexible working including g working from home is more efficient and productive.
Attending the office for 12 hours or more a day regularly is not efficiency.
 
My son is stores manager and does a lot of the IT for an aircraft maintenance company at Bournemouth Airport. He has done some work from home but hates it as his wife is quite lazy and expects him to do all the housework instead of his job!
 
I'm in my early 30s and most of my friends, myself included, dread the idea of permanent work from home. One close friend recently (within the last couple of years) bought a one bedroom flat and, at the time, didn't expect to be using it as a home-cum-office... It's way to small to be spending the amount of time in it that she is, and she has no separation of work/home life. Her employer (the local council - not BCP) have also told her that this is likely to be permanent as the council is having to sell its building due to being forced into even more savings from central government. I'm sure Sunak won't mention that though.

Equally, there's two of us working from home in our rented flat: one in the lounge and one in the bedroom. If this were made permanent, we'd have to try and rent something bigger which means either finding a worse place to live, or shelling out even more on rent. WFH might be fine for people with large houses (which of course, includes the decision makers in most companies) but for most people I know it's a nightmare.
 
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JIMNNINA said:
Flexible working including g working from home is more efficient and productive.
Attending the office for 12 hours or more a day regularly is not efficiency.
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Not for everyone or every job it isn't. I know from experience there are some staff who will excel at working from home, others it will be disastrous. For me I had a spell working from home and I always found something more interesting to do........................
 
JIMNNINA said:
Flexible working including g working from home is more efficient and productive.
Attending the office for 12 hours or more a day regularly is not efficiency.
Click to expand...

Irony not lost on bemoaning a sweeping statement with a sweeping statement.
 
JIMNNINA said:
Flexible working including g working from home is more efficient and productive.
Attending the office for 12 hours or more a day regularly is not efficiency.
Click to expand...
I've never worked in an office, so I wouldn't know. I'm interested to know what line of work you do?
 
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