Amazon Google and more companies pushing back to office

[Welshbeef]

So in the media now more and more companies are pushing back to office.

There seems to be issues where some team members are on remote everyone else socially distanced in a meeting room and cannot see or hear each other clearly.

It’s looking like the WFH permanently is going far quicker than most though. Hybrid setup doesn’t really work as you’d have to synchronise diaries of people so all are in together for x meeting - meaning in reality for many people it will be 5 days a week.

Thoughts and where are you companies at the moment on this?

[Electro1980]

I can’t speak for my whole employer as it is a very large and diverse organisation, but my division is implementing a hybrid approach, but we are looking to set up a working space that supports use of teams/zoom in the office and only having face to face meetings where needed.

There are very few large meetings that actually need active participation of every person. Small meetings with a few people together and a few online work fine. Large meetings that are really lectures work fine. A large percentage of the medium size meetings are simply about people wanting to show how important they are and get very little done.

[Electro1980]

fesuvious said:

This will be productivity driven.

Nobody wants to say it, but WFH simply isn't as productive

That’s because it’s not true.

[Randy Winkman]

In London there's a big issue with costs of office space. A small reduction in productivity is probably worth it if you save shed-loads on smaller offices. Or just move the offices to other places, I guess.

[ant1973]

Electro1980 said:

fesuvious said:

This will be productivity driven.

Nobody wants to say it, but WFH simply isn't as productive

That’s because it’s not true.

I would say the evidence is mixed and not clear-cut either way.

I think there is a problem with the definition of productivity. People working more hours because they are not commuting does not mean they are more productive. They are simply working more hours and producing the same output per hour.

[InitialDave]

Manufacturing environment for me, so I was never WFH anyway, and unlikely to be in the future. As such it's a bit of an academic discussion.

Ultimately, productivity has its ups and downs in different ways with different working methods, but pointless middle men for whom presenteeism and busywork are critical to not having anyone ask what they're employed for? Those are forever.

[GT03ROB]

It's going to be hybrid for Uk operations.

Office space has already been released in preparation.

It's seen as essential to attract the right people to the organisation.

[Drezza]

fesuvious said:

This will be productivity driven.

Nobody wants to say it, but WFH simply isn't as productive

It isn't as black and white as that, our management have said that productivity hasn't been impacted and will be using the "hybrid" model of 2-3 days in the office per week, obviously it depends on the industry and type of work, works better for some, worse for others. Personally I'd prefer fully home working as I could move away from work then.

[Electro1980]

ant1973 said:

Electro1980 said:

fesuvious said:

This will be productivity driven.

Nobody wants to say it, but WFH simply isn't as productive

That’s because it’s not true.

I would say the evidence is mixed and not clear-cut either way.

I think there is a problem with the definition of productivity. People working more hours because they are not commuting does not mean they are more productive. They are simply working more hours and producing the same output per hour.

It is mixed and depends very much on the job. However for the vast majority of people at least some of their work is they type of work better done in the type of environment not found in the modern office. For may office workers most of their work is of this type and being in an office is purely social.

[captain_cynic]

Electro1980 said:

fesuvious said:

This will be productivity driven.

Nobody wants to say it, but WFH simply isn't as productive

That’s because it’s not true.

The full answer is "it depends" some people adapt well to WFH and others don't. But by and large to say WFH is inherently less productive is, as stated, not true.

I think a return to the office will be driven by employees rather than employers. I think the majority of employees want to return to the office for a variety of reasons, some don't like the isolation, some find it harder to collaborate (to avoid buzzword bingo, I mean asking a question direct to your co workers without it being permentently recorded on Slack) and as a divider between work and home life.

[Mrr T]

Randy Winkman said:

In London there's a big issue with costs of office space. A small reduction in productivity is probably worth it if you save shed-loads on smaller offices. Or just move the offices to other places, I guess.

I worked in company HO in CW. The budget cost of a desk, that not just desk but business rates, inferstructure, security etc was £50k pa.

[Welshbeef]

I’m struggling to see how Train commute in OR Tube is going to be “ok” for a lot of people.

That said I don’t fancy the daily walk Paddington to Borough Market and return. Add in cold wet weather or hot day

[HRL]

Welshbeef said:

I’m struggling to see how Train commute in OR Tube is going to be “ok” for a lot of people.

That said I don’t fancy the daily walk Paddington to Borough Market and return. Add in cold wet weather or hot day

It’s not. Was on the Central line last week at 5pm and you wouldn’t have known there was a national lockdown on. Absolutely rammed as always and only 50% of passengers had masks on, and about half of those were wearing them around their chins for some reason.

Got my company to pay for a taxi the following day instead.

[mikewilliams79]

fesuvious said:

This will be productivity driven.

Nobody wants to say it, but WFH simply isn't as productive

Speak for yourself.

[Welshbeef]

HRL said:

It’s not. Was on the Central line last week at 5pm and you wouldn’t have known there was a national lockdown on. Absolutely rammed as always and only 50% of passengers had masks on, and about half of those were wearing them around their chins for some reason.

Got my company to pay for a taxi the following day instead.

This is the thing I’d simply not be happy at all with that and there is nothing the company can do about that.

[sociopath]

I regularly used to WFH when I needed to get something done, it was massively more productive than being in an office being interrupted all the time, either because of your role, or just by other things happening around you.
I could easily do what would be a full days office work in a half day, leaving me with plenty of additional time to actually deal with the other activities/meetings/emails etc.

[Scabutz]

My company are going for a work from anywhere approach. They will slowly get rid of the current offices (which cost millions) and rent space in a managed office environment like Regis etc. People will WFH by default and go into the "office" once or twice every couple of weeks.

Suits me perfectly, I would quite happily never set foot in an office again. At the minute most people I am managing are near and off shore anyway so being in an office wont make a lot of difference. Saves me £5K a year and 3 hours a day.

[anxious_ant]

Feels like in the UK WFH is ending for most.
It’s back to the office , sitting in endless commuting traffic.

[MitchT]

fesuvious said:

This will be productivity driven.

Nobody wants to say it, but WFH simply isn't as productive

I'm more productive working from home. My line manager has confirmed it. And I'm happier. That said, the company I work for is stuck in the dark ages so we'll all be chained to our desks again in due course.

[Welshbeef]

One thing is a real issue. Previously I’d have min 10 hours commute a week but more often 15 hours.

Over this last year more work has flown /been required as BAU. So I’m now and have been working from what would have been time I left the house to time I got home. I and many others are genuinely searching on how we square this circle as much more Opex roles will be required or literally something notable will have to drop.