Working from home



Phantom of mobs said:
My team of fourteen have had zero sickness in the last 12 months and a 30% improvement in efficiency whilst working from home. Having just announced a drive to reduce emissions as a company we are all now expected back in the office 5 days a week from next month.

Love common sense me like.
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Our sickness rate isn't zero but it has gone down from 2% (about 4 days per person per year) to less than 0.5% as you really have to be very sick not to be able to do any work from home. It also helps people who had to take a day off to look after sick children.

I'm popping into the office for the first time since last August to meet my new boss. Current plan is that the office will officially reopen in September on a purely voluntary basis. We were thinking of going in on a Friday morning for a team meeting, go to the pub for lunch then POETS. We've closed down one floor of the office as the lease expired so we now have more people than desks so you will have to book one in advance.
 
I don't have a problem with it. If I get an email that can wait, my phone pings but I don't worry about it until the next working day. If there's an emergency I'm going to get a call one way or another and it'll have to be dealt with, likewise if I see an email that suggests someone is about to do something really dumb I'd rather nip it in the bud there and then rather than wait until morning when the damage might be irreversible. The trick is to be able to get the message across concisely in the time it takes to have a piss, then you're not even interrupting your evening.

If you have a boss who pesters you day and night when they should be leaving you alone then the people you're working for are the problem, not the working from home.
 
Big Jeff said:
A lot of work probably or even better sack you for breaching sick absence rules to reduce head count.
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Depends on the company. I’ve had people in my team message me on a morning saying they felt a bit off, or not 100% when returning to work. I’ve encouraged them to take the full day off, but if they have said they will work, said it was ok to knock off early, take longer breaks or change their mind later. They all put in loads extra when needed so I’ve no problem giving them an easy day when they need.

I think if we were back to 100% office time, many of those days would have been a call in sick. Nobody is going to get sacked over anything. It gives me the choice, force them to take 100% and get no work done or have someone do a bit of work and feel their boss has their back. Easy decision.
 
DaveH said:
Depends on the company. I’ve had people in my team message me on a morning saying they felt a bit off, or not 100% when returning to work. I’ve encouraged them to take the full day off, but if they have said they will work, said it was ok to knock off early, take longer breaks or change their mind later. They all put in loads extra when needed so I’ve no problem giving them an easy day when they need.

I think if we were back to 100% office time, many of those days would have been a call in sick. Nobody is going to get sacked over anything. It gives me the choice, force them to take 100% and get no work done or have someone do a bit of work and feel their boss has their back. Easy decision.
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Same here - there are plenty of days when you aren't feeling 100% but are able to do the important stuff and can monitor email. Most people do more hours over a month than they are supposed to so slacking off for a extra few hours isn't a problem.

Of course it all comes down to trust and not having staff who take the proverbial
 
DaveH said:
Depends on the company. I’ve had people in my team message me on a morning saying they felt a bit off, or not 100% when returning to work. I’ve encouraged them to take the full day off, but if they have said they will work, said it was ok to knock off early, take longer breaks or change their mind later. They all put in loads extra when needed so I’ve no problem giving them an easy day when they need.

I think if we were back to 100% office time, many of those days would have been a call in sick. Nobody is going to get sacked over anything. It gives me the choice, force them to take 100% and get no work done or have someone do a bit of work and feel their boss has their back. Easy decision.
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Well done -you sound like a good manager.👍
 
I've had a couple days that may have not made it in but WFH was OK.

Still managed to job and no work was missed but handy the toilet being 5 steps away :lol:
 
Fletch said:
www.thesun.co.uk

PM to urge Brits to return to the office amid growing confidence over Covid

BORIS Johnson will urge Brits to return to the office – amid growing confidence that there won’t be another lockdown this winter. The Prime Minister will use his speech during the Conse…
www.thesun.co.uk www.thesun.co.uk
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Boris can suck it. I'll be in a day or two a week and if work want me in more I'll find somewhere that doesn't.

The few times I've been into our new office so far I've lost an hour and a half getting there and back. Why would I want to go back to doing that every day?
 
a mate of mine who works for big German Investment bank went back in the office yesterday for the first time in 19 months.

they are being mandated to be back to 3 days in the office in the next month or so
 
The office I worked from has been permanently closed as of last week. Even if they wanted me "in the office" I couldn't do so, short of going to Birmingham or Bridgend or London. As of now I'm 99% certain never to set foot into a corporate office before I retire in 2 or 3 years.
 
I’ve been in once since 16th March 2020. Talk of going back in around December/January but it’ll be 2 days a week in the office and the rest at home.
 
Epping said:
a mate of mine who works for big German Investment bank went back in the office yesterday for the first time in 19 months.

they are being mandated to be back to 3 days in the office in the next month or so
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Were not mandated but its expected of snr staff. Implicitly
West_Winger said:
Ain’t gonna happen. Companies have seen how much rent they can save not having to pay for massive offices anymore.
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We want to buy more real estate for trading staff.
 

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