Returned to the Office

[cougie uk]

None ... amazing is’n it ... all those hundreds of thousands of supermarket staff that haven’t dropped dead of this killer virus ... They haven’t had a flow test for every customer that walked in either .... Amazing ...

Well bully for you. One of my acquaintances caught Covid at work as they weren't taking it seriously either. He passed it onto his wife. She died. In her 40s. As fit as a fiddle.

Thousands of people have died from this. You've just been lucky.

 

[GetFatty]

My workplace has decided to do 50% of time in the office so I've applied to be a full time homeworker so that I don't have to faff about with that.

 

[dodgy]

Well bully for you. One of my acquaintances caught Covid at work as they weren't taking it seriously either. He passed it onto his wife. She died. In her 40s. As fit as a fiddle.

Thousands of people have died from this. You've just been lucky.

I think we both know the same person, tragic.

 

[fossyant]

Been back 'properly' last week, and just done two days this week in the office. Yesterday, half the marketing team turned up in our office, first time I'd seen them in 18 months and it was busy. I was in an 'all day' meeting with 15 others though. Student's are back, and it's like there was no pandemic.

 

[Drago]

Well, it's reckoned that rush hour traffic in London is back to pre pandemic levels.

Clearly neither the governent, business or society have genuinely learned anything from the experience. This is doubly concerning when one considers the imperative to act upon climate change

 

[Bromptonaut]

Well, it's reckoned that rush hour traffic in London is back to pre pandemic levels.

Suburban road traffic may be but unless it's radically changed since I was in Holborn last week the tubes/buses are still way below 2019 levels.

 

[Drago]

Well, in that case TFL can go hang and we'll go with your assessment.

 

[Bromptonaut]

We've now had a couple of months of hybrid working.

Of my three days a week I'm in the office Tuesday and Thursday but working at home on Wednesday. I'm enjoying the face to face encounters with colleagues, it's much quicker to discuss an issue 2 metres apart than over chat or even by phone. We've a couple of new recruits who would really benefit from observing experienced colleagues on the phone to clients; listening to the recordings isn't the same.

This week I've gone back from the (office funded) car park in town to leaving the car on the outskirts and using the Brommy for the last mile; satisfaction much improved.

Do though enjoy the day at home where my commute is front bedroom to back and I'm not disturbed by street noise, the buses outside going Boggler Boggler, and my manager droning into his phone about stuff a caseworker could answer in seconds.

I don't think @Landsurfer's suggestion that, because I can work from home, my job could be exported to the Philippines holds water. Wherever I park my seat my professional knowledge is acquired through 30years experience of UK the benefits system and having the rapport with clients that comes from shared experience.

 

[Bromptonaut]

Well, in that case TFL can go hang and we'll go with your assessment.

I'd be interested to see TFL's figures. My post was just based on observing for an hour or two, as a more or less tourist, the streets I'd worked in from 1979-2013

 

[Alex321]

Well, it's reckoned that rush hour traffic in London is back to pre pandemic levels.

Clearly neither the governent, business or society have genuinely learned anything from the experience. This is doubly concerning when one considers the imperative to act upon climate change

Most of the evidence disagrees with you.

As others have pointed out, while road traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels, a lot of that is down to people still being reluctant to crowd onto public transport.

From everything I have seen or heard, very many companies are moving towards a permanent hybrid working, with most people only being in the office 1-3 days per week.

 

[fossyant]

I've found locally suburban traffic is as bad as before and roads surrounding the city centre are bad, but Manchester city centre roads are quiet. I guess there are more folk driving in and using the cheaper car parks on the outskirts. I believe rail isn't as busy.

 

[tribanjules]

Useful phrase that gets used when pushing back - work is not where you go, it’s what you do

seems to be a good approach

 

[fossyant]

One of my bosses has picked up covid this week. He sat with my line manager for over an hour on Tuesday, so he's been testing - so far negative.

There is going to be a lot of sickness - seems that it's WFH if relatively OK, don't work if properly ill - there will be some that milk this.

 

[tribanjules]

I was thinking on this last week and have decided that if WFH and feeling rough, to ask myself if I’m well enough to drive and work in the office, if not then it’s time to log off rather than plod on (presenteeism)

 

[fossyant]

I was thinking on this last week and have decided that if WFH and feeling rough, to ask myself if I’m well enough to drive and work in the office, if not then it’s time to log off rather than plod on (presenteeism)

I think you are right. It's going to be difficult for some to 'switch off' and that can only make them more ill. We've already had 'I've decided not to have the jab, but as I'm more vulnerable, do I need to come in'. Erm no, your choice, you come in to work. You can't have it both ways. We've a fair few like that

~I've given up wearing a mask walking about the building, just too many others not, and just hand sanitise each time I get back to the desk.