WFH - a new model
Discussion
akirk said:
Deep Thought said:
Realistically i could forsee the "social distancing" - whilst being relaxed - still including "work from home if at all possible" to the end of this year and even in to next year.
"Working from home if at all possible" could become part of the "new normal".
I think that is a part of societal change we will see..."Working from home if at all possible" could become part of the "new normal".
however, still needs children back at school as many families are struggling with under 10s and two parents trying to work...
Thanks for all the responses. Interesting times indeed. Fortunately, I've now got a couple of contacts within the sector (turns out one of them is very local and has already asked my friendly agent about the site) both from a consultancy pov and the other another local-ish who's looking to increase capacity for pre-existing WFH premises. I'll let you know how it all develops!
Thanks all,
Emma
Thanks all,
Emma
Just an update really. After some local research, initial reaction has been very positive both from individuals and city based companies who're keen to carry on supporting the WFH model for employees. Peterborough/Huntingdon are our local London lines, with many people commuting (it's about £7K, parking on top, often standing room only). I think the majority of people I've spoken to have (those still working) have actually enjoyed work more, on the basis that they've got another 2- 2.5hrs in the day based of their door to door commute.
From a planning pov, the only issues we might face is the Highways increase in traffic to a rural site. It's not accessible by public transport, but I think if we kept the target market area quite small (perhaps 10-15m radius), we'd capture many of the rural villages and would encourage cycling. Equally, if commuters are going to the stations, then the cars are already on the roads - all going in the same direction. Get your daily exercise in on the way/way back from work. That would obviously mean showering facilities, etc but is entirely doable with the available space.
I've taken onboard all comments since the original post, both positive and negative. Having had a couple of months to reflect, we wouldn't look into offering hot desking, but a dedicated personal space, some break out areas and meeting rooms that can be booked exclusively.
We've had confirmation of decent telecoms and connectivity so that's one potentially large hurdle overcome.
For those of you who'd consider using something like it (especially as an individual), what kind of facilities would you see to make it the best place you've ever worked? And, if you wouldn't use it, what would convince you to change your mind?
Thanks all, very much appreciated,
Emma
From a planning pov, the only issues we might face is the Highways increase in traffic to a rural site. It's not accessible by public transport, but I think if we kept the target market area quite small (perhaps 10-15m radius), we'd capture many of the rural villages and would encourage cycling. Equally, if commuters are going to the stations, then the cars are already on the roads - all going in the same direction. Get your daily exercise in on the way/way back from work. That would obviously mean showering facilities, etc but is entirely doable with the available space.
I've taken onboard all comments since the original post, both positive and negative. Having had a couple of months to reflect, we wouldn't look into offering hot desking, but a dedicated personal space, some break out areas and meeting rooms that can be booked exclusively.
We've had confirmation of decent telecoms and connectivity so that's one potentially large hurdle overcome.
For those of you who'd consider using something like it (especially as an individual), what kind of facilities would you see to make it the best place you've ever worked? And, if you wouldn't use it, what would convince you to change your mind?
Thanks all, very much appreciated,
Emma
Mr Overheads said:
A sandwich van visiting will be cheaper than trying to run a cafe. There will be one doing the rounds in most locations.
I wouldn't bother with a gym...unlikely to be worth it not big enough to matter, uses up lettable space, people who want to use it probably already belong to a gym.If you have enough people on site, a cafe is a good plan - it is used for ad-hoc meetings as well as F&B.
Sheepshanks said:
soofsayer said:
If you mean a home office allowance our accountants have always recommended £520 per annum per HO as an acceptable allowance that hmrc is happy to not include as personal income.
We (company) got pulled up for paying too much a couple of years ago and were told the max without additional justification is £4/wk. I think I read the other day that it's just been increased to £6 by HMRC.ETA: https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/workin...
AIUI the Employer can pay £26pcm. Anything over and above needs to be receipted and wholly/necessarily/exclusively for work purposes.
We have had to provide desks/chairs for some members of staff and our Advisers (RSM) have said we should treat them as taxable payments just to be on the safe side.
skintemma said:
Just an update really. After some local research, initial reaction has been very positive both from individuals and city based companies who're keen to carry on supporting the WFH model for employees. Peterborough/Huntingdon are our local London lines, with many people commuting (it's about £7K, parking on top, often standing room only). I think the majority of people I've spoken to have (those still working) have actually enjoyed work more, on the basis that they've got another 2- 2.5hrs in the day based of their door to door commute.
From a planning pov, the only issues we might face is the Highways increase in traffic to a rural site. It's not accessible by public transport, but I think if we kept the target market area quite small (perhaps 10-15m radius), we'd capture many of the rural villages and would encourage cycling. Equally, if commuters are going to the stations, then the cars are already on the roads - all going in the same direction. Get your daily exercise in on the way/way back from work. That would obviously mean showering facilities, etc but is entirely doable with the available space.
I've taken onboard all comments since the original post, both positive and negative. Having had a couple of months to reflect, we wouldn't look into offering hot desking, but a dedicated personal space, some break out areas and meeting rooms that can be booked exclusively.
We've had confirmation of decent telecoms and connectivity so that's one potentially large hurdle overcome.
For those of you who'd consider using something like it (especially as an individual), what kind of facilities would you see to make it the best place you've ever worked? And, if you wouldn't use it, what would convince you to change your mind?
Thanks all, very much appreciated,
Emma
If you're going to encourage cycling make sure there is decent secure cycle parking and showers / changing facilities on site. You might also want to investigate electric charging points in the car park. As above see if you can get a local sandwich van or street food vendor to pay a daily visit rather than try and run a cafe.From a planning pov, the only issues we might face is the Highways increase in traffic to a rural site. It's not accessible by public transport, but I think if we kept the target market area quite small (perhaps 10-15m radius), we'd capture many of the rural villages and would encourage cycling. Equally, if commuters are going to the stations, then the cars are already on the roads - all going in the same direction. Get your daily exercise in on the way/way back from work. That would obviously mean showering facilities, etc but is entirely doable with the available space.
I've taken onboard all comments since the original post, both positive and negative. Having had a couple of months to reflect, we wouldn't look into offering hot desking, but a dedicated personal space, some break out areas and meeting rooms that can be booked exclusively.
We've had confirmation of decent telecoms and connectivity so that's one potentially large hurdle overcome.
For those of you who'd consider using something like it (especially as an individual), what kind of facilities would you see to make it the best place you've ever worked? And, if you wouldn't use it, what would convince you to change your mind?
Thanks all, very much appreciated,
Emma
Edited by 48k on Friday 5th June 13:32
We have considered a gym area - there's plenty of space, it'd just be the costs involved in setting it up and how you'd charge for it. Great if we include it in a weekly fee, not so great if you don't want to use it (and it's included). Same with a café - there's a kitchen at the moment so it's probably something to consider later down the line. It'd obviously be dependent on the numbers to make it worthwhile. There are plenty of places round here that 'could' do some easy food, sandwiches, etc for daily delivery. Or stock some fridges with food choices on a daily basis and clients would get a tot up at the end of the week/month. It's all stuff to consider but ultimately, I'd like to make it as easy as possible for users, hence asking for the valuable feedback so keep them coming!
48K, I think a secure bike parking space would be a requirement for planning anyway so it's something we'd definitely make a feature of. We have a great independent, very successful bike shop in the market town three miles down the road so would also encourage using them to have your bike serviced, etc. They'd likely come and pick them up/drop them back. It's one less thing to worry about for the client.
One other quick question, how do people feel about having dogs at work (manageable ones, not necessarily brought in on the back of a bike), there's loads of outdoor space for walks along the river/fields. Is this generally a good thing, or a no no - remember to consider that this is a rural area, lots of open countryside and affluent villages so I'd imagine quite a high proportion of dog owners...
One other quick question, how do people feel about having dogs at work (manageable ones, not necessarily brought in on the back of a bike), there's loads of outdoor space for walks along the river/fields. Is this generally a good thing, or a no no - remember to consider that this is a rural area, lots of open countryside and affluent villages so I'd imagine quite a high proportion of dog owners...
quite. always amuses me when people trot out the india line.
hoping to work remotely myself even though i am getting cabin fever after 12wks out of office and away from project sites. i work a rotation but at a fixed office location, then get flown about to visit projects as and when. if my employer paid me the same but allowed me to work remotely, they'd save about 30k a year in accommodation and flights and i wouldn't have to live in a sandpit.
hoping to work remotely myself even though i am getting cabin fever after 12wks out of office and away from project sites. i work a rotation but at a fixed office location, then get flown about to visit projects as and when. if my employer paid me the same but allowed me to work remotely, they'd save about 30k a year in accommodation and flights and i wouldn't have to live in a sandpit.
skintemma said:
48K, I think a secure bike parking space would be a requirement for planning anyway so it's something we'd definitely make a feature of. We have a great independent, very successful bike shop in the market town three miles down the road so would also encourage using them to have your bike serviced, etc. They'd likely come and pick them up/drop them back. It's one less thing to worry about for the client.
One other quick question, how do people feel about having dogs at work (manageable ones, not necessarily brought in on the back of a bike), there's loads of outdoor space for walks along the river/fields. Is this generally a good thing, or a no no - remember to consider that this is a rural area, lots of open countryside and affluent villages so I'd imagine quite a high proportion of dog owners...
Re dogs, I'd love it. Some people may be allergic, thoughOne other quick question, how do people feel about having dogs at work (manageable ones, not necessarily brought in on the back of a bike), there's loads of outdoor space for walks along the river/fields. Is this generally a good thing, or a no no - remember to consider that this is a rural area, lots of open countryside and affluent villages so I'd imagine quite a high proportion of dog owners...
skintemma said:
One other quick question, how do people feel about having dogs at work (manageable ones, not necessarily brought in on the back of a bike), there's loads of outdoor space for walks along the river/fields. Is this generally a good thing, or a no no - remember to consider that this is a rural area, lots of open countryside and affluent villages so I'd imagine quite a high proportion of dog owners...
Very important to allow dogs in my experience, but that relies upon people having physically separate space, as some people don't like them.I think it won't be long before organisations realise that WFH could be capitalised beyond the reduction of office costs.
Why will you pay someone in the UK working from home when you can pay someone far cheaper from another country?
I think WFH will open the employment market beyond borders like we have never seen before.
Why will you pay someone in the UK working from home when you can pay someone far cheaper from another country?
I think WFH will open the employment market beyond borders like we have never seen before.
paddy1970 said:
I think it won't be long before organisations realise that WFH could be capitalised beyond the reduction of office costs.
Why will you pay someone in the UK working from home when you can pay someone far cheaper from another country?
I think WFH will open the employment market beyond borders like we have never seen before.
Very fair point. Why will you pay someone in the UK working from home when you can pay someone far cheaper from another country?
I think WFH will open the employment market beyond borders like we have never seen before.
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