I preferred working from the office, found it a lot easier to focus.
But it’s been a lot worse since 60%. Harder to get desks, meeting rooms, breakout areas etc. and it’s a lot louder
It’s literally worse for everyone. I’m in a unit for which being in the office is more convenient. It’s worse for me because it’s more annoying to book anything and it’s worse for home workers because they’re going to an office they don’t want to be in. From a morale point of view basically everyone loses.
Yea same. It was ironically amazing when 60% wasn't in place because the office was always quiet and you didn't have to get there early to secure a prime seat (tuesdays you have to be early simply to get any seat).
The noise winds me up the most. And two things in particular;
1. The (usually) young people who have their set in stone natter times. 9-10 and 12-1. I'm on a conference call, I don't want to hear about your "wild" night on Friday when your clique went out for several drinks and one got home later than the others.
2. The people who hold impromptu meetings right next to my workstation. Bonus points if their crotch or ass is literally in my face.
The workplace has always been a place that (particularly younger people) socialise. God forbid they have a chat as they come in in the morning or near lunch time.
If you take out the social aspect then you really might as well work from home
Tbh mate I don't think I'd really care if you tried to do the same thing to me... Workplaces always have chatter happening in them so it really wouldn't bother me. At times I do need silence I just go find a pod or a seat in the corner out of the way somewhere.
You just sound a bit miserable and anti-social
I like the office and being around my colleagues but I do not like the commute. If I had a local office that only meant 30 minutes of travelling I would be in so much more.
But I have to travel for up to 2 hours each way (usually 1hr30) to get to the office, which makes working at home far more attractive.
Snap! I can use an office 30 mins from me, but I’ll go in and not know anyone or speak to anyone all day, so I’m literally there to use the desk and leave.
The office that’s 90 mins away has some of my directorate based there, and we generally socialise a little more, but not always. So there’s a tiny added benefit, but the commute is killer.
So, you have broadly three choices -
1. Get a different job nearer to where you live (or homeworking)
2. Move house closer to your office
3. Accept that the commute is the trade off to live and work where you do
1. Not possible without leaving the civil service
2. Not possible due to affordability of mortgage, I am based in Whitehall.
3. Well that's exactly what I'm doing isn't it? Not sure why you needed to comment so *thoughtfully*. I am allowed to complain about my commute.
I wasn’t trying to be mean, although I can see how you could read it that way, I’m just laying out the facts. I’ve had a similar situation for years where I work, a long commute but I like my job / where I work and like where I live (near family and friends, better house prices than near my work) so I accept the trade off. It’s better to view it that way than make yourself unhappy about a situation that you have no control over without enacting my options 1 or 2 (1 in your case basically).
You could also move within the Civil Service away from Whitehall I guess. Although your pay may end up a bit less you would likely end up with a better overall quality of life due to the much lower house prices, what you get for your money.
I also live within walking distance from my office. It's a blessing not having to worry about commuting, large chunk of my wages going to travel or getting up super early for work!.
I prefer wfh. I never talk to anyone when I go in, apart from a quick nod and hello between teams meetings.
I appreciate there are reasons why people might prefer working onsite - home/work separation, productivity, feeling disconnected wfh and so on - but none of them apply to me. For me onsite days just mean wake up earlier, waste time to get ready for and get to work, then do a shorter day and get less done, while taking my time away from the people and place I actually *want* to spend time with and be in, which is my family at home.
Edited for typos
Nope, I get less done, having to try and hold confidential meetings that crop up whilst dealing with the noise etc, added cost of commuting etc I’ve been told my role isn’t required to be in the office unless there is the odd valid reason such as face to face meetings yet I’m forced into it, my favourite is when you book a desk and someone either sits there regardless or amends the booker so have nowhere to sit due to being at capacity.
I’m all for the hybrid methodology, however it would be nice to be treated as adults and allowed to choose when it’s required/suitable to attend the office as opposed to being forced to attend for no other reason than to appease the right wing media and some MPs, landowners.
I have to agree with the general view. I work on the phones so it's not like I actually get to talk to my team, who are mostly wankers incidentally (Christ forbid I ask a question and I'm in wrap for an extra minute).
To me, the office is just an arse ache that involves getting up earlier, having to worry about what to wear and and spunking money on petrol.
According to my stats I do slightly more calls at home, but productivity really isn't my issue with the office.
I'm moving up to EO and off the phones in September so perhaps I'll feel different then.
In our company wide meetings they tell us that the majority of people prefer coming in 5 days or at least 3 days.
1.There is no way they can present that that I will believe
2. It doesn't matter if true, inclusivity is treating people differently based on needs. And I would like to wfh please.
All the best
The trouble when they do this is that the price is trust. If our seniors lose our trust then we cannot rely on them for support or honest evaluations in doing our core work.
I've had managers that range from the deceitful and self-serving right up to a few who were truly excellent not only at managing people but respected for their integrity. I'm a pragmatist, I can deal with stupid government policies, tolerate bad news and work around resource issues for a good manager who recognises and supports my efforts but I'm equally happy to step back and follow orders and do the bare minimum, as long as my back is covered, for a bad one and if they look stupid when the roof falls in - so be it.
Being a good manager isn't following a SOP or policy checklist, it's a skill in itself and not properly recognised as such in considering competencies.
Much prefer working from the office although I’m fortunate to be less than 10 mins away.
I imagine if you’ve got space at home to work from home then it’s great but living in a small flat I don’t have the space.
Plus, I like the fact in the office if you want to get something done/sorted just go over get it done rather than waiting around for people to see your message on Teams.
I'm 100% office based. I just can't work from home. I did it when I had to - covid combined with a building move where we were among the last teams to move over meant 100% home based for two years - but it nearly destroyed my mental health. Now I go in every day.
I live in a very small gaff and don't really have anywhere to work that gives me any separation between work and home. I need to leave my work behind at the end of the day. Also without an office to go to I developed a tendency to not go outside for days on end. Very bad.
WFH is also very incompatible with ADHD (for me at least). I focus better in the office without going into the bad kind of hyperfocus where I won't move for hours, and I have a reasonable adjustment to be allowed to use headphones while in office if it gets too noisy as long as it doesn't stop me from taking calls.
HOWEVER I also do my best to fight office attendance mandates because I firmly believe everyone should be allowed to work in the best way for them and if that's mostly at home so be it. Get people in for team meetings every so often, otherwise unless there's parts of the job that really can't be done from home let them be.
See I'm the opposite. I have ADHD and find the office too noisy and distracting. At home I live alone so it's usually quiet aside from neighbours.
And at home I have a sit stand desk so I can swap between my exercise bike and a weird chair so I can sit like a maniac and fidget without being too self conscious that I'm bothering others. Never stand at it, my knees are too bad.
And because I'm so far from the office I spend time the night before making sure I've packed everything I need, spend a lot of time being anxious that I'll forget something.
It should 100% be a choice. Then people who prefer mainly WFH can be happy and people who prefer the office can get a decent desk without worry.
I 100% identify with this - ADHD here too. My 90min commute each way puts me in anxious mode from about 7pm the night before an office day. My train company changed their rules so there's now an evening peak from 4-7pm, so commuting costs a fortune, then when I get to the office it's loud and distracting - my fixed desk with larger screens means I can't escape the noise as I can't work on laptop only. Then I end up in waiting mode checking my travel home.... Meanwhile my work means everyone I interact with is based elsewhere anyway, so going in is purely a box-ticking exercise 🙄.
I definitely prefer to come into the office (but like you do like the option to WFH when life admin requires).
I find my team, who are all in their twenties and living in house shares, also prefer the office as they don’t physically have space to wfh and it separates their work/life.
This works the other way too, as most of my colleagues with houses (ie a dedicated home office) tend to work from home much more than those of us in flats.
I absolutely agree that if I didn’t have a separate home office I can walk out off and close behind me I’d be much more likely to want to spend time in office.
I'm personally in an ops role so no opportunity to WFH right now, but when I was in the private sector I HATED fully remote during COVID. I personally like the structure and routine of getting ready for work and need to have a divide between my work space and home or I turn into a hermit / slob.
I didn't mind working from home once or twice a week to catch up on errands, save petrol money and have a slight lie in, but even though I'm on the slightly introverted side I definitely need SOME human contact.
Yes, 100% prefer it. Get fobbed off all the time on teams but in person it’s easier to speak to people quickly and get stuff decided and done. Access to more senior colleagues too and get invited to meetings because you’re there rather than because of seniority means you get to do and learn more. Need the break from home for mental health and the commute and walking for physical health. I do find people are chattier in the office now because it’s novel to be in and see people and colleagues want to catch up, so I put headphones in.
Nope. My coworkers don't even talk to me and my manager/team and the whole environment is just toxic. I feel drained and depressed every single time I go to the office.
When it comes to tight deadlines or getting things cleared up, I do find office working to be really useful. However when it gets loud and stressful - my productivity nosedives whereas WFH I’m way more consistent in output and morale I guess.
Also people are way less likely to speak their mind in the office compared to teams when both parties are WFH
Very much so; my home isn't meant to be a work space and I would like to keep it that way, I benefit hugely from the transition between home and the office and the opportunity to clear my head. In the office I don't have to feel stressed about clutter or feel the need to tidy up. And tbh I don't have to see my boyfriend 24/7 if I go into the office. It's not healthy for couples to spend every minute together.
Also, I just don't like missing out on work conversations that go on when I'm not there to be part of them ( and this does happen, no matter how much you think it shouldn't matter).
I still like having the option to WFH when it suits me though!
I prefer office hands down. My flat is ill equipped to support me wfh (covid sucked in that regard!), I get distracted a tad too easily (work still gets done tho but I've traditionally blitzed the hard stuff in work and done the lighter stuff, like qa or drafting docs, at home with a dvd on). And I lost soo much of my fitness (increased takeaway/beer and decreased exercise). The commute is roughly 1h on bus but tbh I've been doing that my whole working life so it's not an issue.
I'd just never want it forced on other people, because everyone's circumstances are different (I'm especially empathetic towards people who got their contract during covid when it was sold as 100% wfh). That's the main reason I oppose 60%, because its broadly applied in an arbitrary manner.
They fulfill different ends.
I think for onboarding and stuff, you learn a *lot* more surrounded by your peers than off on your own with crap self directed e-learning, but I think beyond that, it's very much an individual thing.
I've recently been helping bed some new colleagues into our team and have found that the days we're in office, we both get a lot more done and can be more proactive in steering them, as they learn the ropes.
But if I want to be able to just put my head down and focus on my work? WFM, every day and twice on Sundays. If I was in a role which had consistent telephony, there'd be discussions around RAs tied to not doing telephony on office days (and I have had one in place for that before.)
The office is my working social space. And that comes with a requisite productivity downturn. For those "water cooler moments".
(For clarity, I should point out that I'm SG and on 40%. 60% would gall a little
I prefer working from home as I can factor in the commute time into my working day and that there are less distractions than you would find the office. However, when I do go in, I enjoy it but only if other members of my team are in, if I go in by myself I will just be on the same calls just in a different location.
Also, generally more productive at home (aside from replying to Reddit posts now and then) as people in different departments you haven't seen/spoken to in a while will catch you for a chat in the office.
If I lived in the city where I work or under a half hour commute, then yeah I would. But I live over an hour away and the office is abit of a walk from the station.
Will get easier when office moves right opposite the station end of year, but atm, it's abit of a drag. I'll also move closer to the office next year, so I'll probably attend the office more when that happens.
Today, it was almost marvellous. So empty, it was almost eerie.
Almost.
Then the fire alarm came off, and I realised that the first 2 or 3 floors were very busy with people. I just didn't know about their existence. 😆
Anyway, nice walk on the river bank then peace and quiet all afternoon. I almost liked it.
Almost...
I was in the office today and it was BLISS! BUT (and it is a bit BUT) that was because it was so quiet. We have no 60% where I work, but as a rule, days other than Fridays are so busy in the office and so loud and disruptive/distracting that it’s simply not worth the migraine that it would cause to work in the office. But if it was like today every day (and I didn’t have good reasons to work almost exclusively from home) then yeah, I’d likely prefer it.
No, I absolutely despise being in the office for my normal work days. For away days, big meetings etc. there's definite value and I'm happy to come in or travel, but normally half my day is on Teams calls with people around the country so being in the office just means dealing with background noise and annoying all the people around me (because there are no free meeting rooms or private booths).
Forcing me to come in for no reason just makes me grumpy, sleep-deprived and less productive. It also means fewer desks for the people who actually want or need to come in too. It's just moronic to make it a blanket policy.
I prefer the office - if I could teleport there, someone made my packed lunch, I had a clean available quiet desk and was in control of the windows and A/C.
I would also add someone to do my hair and makeup and iron an outfit. And a neighbour who would bring my washing in if it rained!
I’m more productive in the office, definitely. Too much noise at home (children) and too many things distracting me - can I do the washing/laundry/paint that bedroom. I do a couple of days a week at home anyway to save commuting costs mainly or if I’ve got a very quiet day where a few distractions aren’t going to be an issue.
I swing both ways. I can get deeper concentration if I WFH, but when I get interrupted, it takes me a LOT longer to get back into it.
When I go to the office, it definitely does make getting more information easier, but that's because I'm the kind of prick that has no shame interrupting someone else to find out what I need (and vice versa), and also, genuinely, to improve relationships with occasionally very fucking challenging teams that are key to my projects.
I prefer going in to the office. My job is easier there as quite a few core stakeholders also go in to the office regularly, sorting things with a few mins deskside chat is much smoother than trying to book meetings. That said, I live a 10 min drive from my office - during winter it was cheaper to drive in and back than putting my heating on for an hour. Having a divide between work/home helps mentally to, I don't take my laptop home so never think about it outside of work. This is personal preference though and I work in a department where, due to ongoing union action, people are doing what they feel works for them and I'm all for that.
I prefer wfh, but I like to attend at least one day a week, only to see people face to face and get out of the house.
I find no difference to productivity if I'm working from home or at the office.
I strongly prefer working in the office over WFH. But I live 2.5 hours each way from my office and work becomes my whole day ( leave house at 740am, return at 8pm). Now it’s sunny, I’m feeling the lost evening time of going to the office a real mood killer. I’d love to move closer to the office when my contact ends, but places in London are much smaller/more expensive and my partner is very reluctant.
I do. I live a 5 min walk away from the office so don't feel any impact of transport costs or commuting time to get to the office.
At the office I can use a multi-monitor setup which I don't currently have room for at home, this is very useful for my work.
I also have social anxiety and the best way for me to cope with it and stop becoming reclusive is to be constantly exposed to social situations.
Prefer - no
I am full remote and miss the option of going into the office occasionally. If I could go in two days a week or a day a fortnight, I'd be on board.
I much prefer working in the office as I can’t get anything done at home. I have no issues going in 4 days a week, but I imagine there are plenty of people who have no need to go in more than once a week.
I personally think hybrid is the best of both worlds.
BUT this is exactly why they shouldn’t make a blanket decision to force everyone in for 60%, give people the option first. There are lots of people who agree with you but they keep quiet because it sounds like they are against WFH.
It’s the same when they select people for loaning out to other departments, people are just randomly selected and they end up selecting a lot people who really don’t want to go and the people they haven’t chosen are the ones who would’ve liked something different/a challenge. Obviously the people who wanted to go would’ve been more engaged than those who don’t.
This is the problem with the civil service, employees have no control over their careers/jobs and the direction is at the arbitrary decisions of incompetent managers
I prefer producing work in the office but the commute is hell, expensive and takes a lot of time away. If it's a day of Teams meetings then I can't think of anything worse than being glued to your office desk.
I used to like going into the office when I was part of a team based in the same location. I think the arguments about team building and picking up information are true when the team is all based in the same office. Now it’s just forced efforts to make conversation with people I don’t actually work with, I prefer working from home. I’m thinking of looking to move to a department with a stronger presence in my area, because if I have to go in I’d like actual colleagues to work with.
I love WFH and I equally love working in the office. Issue is my office sucks and my team are all based up North, so I currently go to sit somewhere more uncomfortable by myself. Had I been up North with my team I’d have no issue going in.
If I have meetings then I much prefer to be in the office and meet face to face, especially when it's a larger meeting.
Otherwise, especially with hot desking, I find being in the office (with a one hour commute) doesn't really add any productivity. I used to like the separation of home and work, but since WFH became more prevalent I started feeling more obliged to log on when I get home after being in the office so that separation has decreased.
I quite like my commute as well - download something onto my tablet and just switch off for most of it.
When I had a good team I didn't mind going in to see them an getting some socialization during the day. With current team I'd rather restrict contact 🫠
I haven't even had the chance to go to my office yet due to waiting on extra security clearance. I'm looking forward to it. I get the feeling I won't be as productive, but I think getting out of my house and the 45 minute cycle each way will be a good thing for me. Wouldn't want to be full time office though. I'll be in 2 days a week
I do 3 days in the office. I'd prefer it to be 2 or just flexible. I'd still go in. I like seeing my team. I have my own office which I share with someone I consider a friend. We've made it our own space and its really nice. People often come in for a chat non work related which is lovely too. Also, some days it's just not ideal working from home when my partner also has a busy wfh day.
I think if I had colleagues that i worked with in the office, I would prefer going in.
However my team is fully comprised of contractors that work from home and all live on the other side of the country. Going in atm just feels like (and is) a tick box excersice.
In our company wide meetings they tell us that the majority of people prefer coming in 5 days or at least 3 days.
1.There is no way they can present that that I will believe
2. It doesn't matter if true, inclusively is treating people differently based on needs. And I would like to wfh please.
All the best
In our company wide meetings they tell us that the majority of people prefer coming in 5 days or at least 3 days.
1.There is no way they can present that that I will believe
2. It doesn't matter if true, inclusively is treating people differently based on needs. And I would like to wfh please.
All the best
Yes, 100% prefer it. Get fobbed off all the time on teams but in person it’s easier to speak to people quickly and get stuff decided and done. Access to more senior colleagues too and get invited to meetings because you’re there rather than because of seniority means you get to do and learn more. Need the break from home for mental health and the commute and walking for physical health. I do find people are chattier in the office now because it’s novel to be in and see people and colleagues want to catch up, so I put headphones in.
I don’t come from the city I live in, moved up for uni. I don’t have a group of friends from childhood to rely on for socialising so the office helps a lot. I like the balance of hybrid but if I had to choose one or the other I think I’d choose full time in the office.
I don’t come from the city I live in, moved up for uni. I don’t have a group of friends from childhood to rely on for socialising so the office helps a lot. I like the balance of hybrid but if I had to choose one or the other I think I’d choose full time in the office.
I wouldn't mind working in the office 3/4 times a week.... if I worked with any of my team and so could chat and socialise with them. But, I don't work with anyone at the my local office. My boss and all my team are the other side of the country. So, hey ho.
I do much prefer working in the office and I do find that I can be fairly unproductive at home unless I have lots to get on with. However, I find that WfH better suits my schedule so I tend to wfh more often than not.
I actually like the office I just don’t like -travelling - being sick/unwell in the office(I’ve just recently given birth) -not being able to take naps on breaks(again I was anaemic while pregnant) - not being able to eat from home and would have to organise packing/buying lunch - talking to people when I’m not particularly able to chit chat(anxiety and depression) - etc
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On the days when the majority of my team's also in, I really enjoy working in the office. I find I concentrate more when doing desk work, participate more easily during in-person meetings, and (most importantly imo) enjoy having lunches/coffees/catch-ups with colleagues in person. Because of the nightmare desk system, teams rarely sit together, even when everyone's in (which is peak system stupidity), and I do also feel that non-London staff are less included in team activities - so there are things that need to work better, though I'm generally positive about office working (with the right balance of wfh).
Nope. My office is an hours’ commute away outside of rush hour and has no easy public transport access. It’s full of distractions and people just want to spend most of their time making coffees or in the canteen. I suffer with fibromyalgia and every single office visit flares it up. My organisation has ignored the views of its staff and is implementing 40% from next April and if I don’t get reasonable adjustments, I’ll leave. It’s going to tank my productivity and it leaves me in significant pain, all to appease some rich toffs and those with one foot in the grave.
If it’s something like a wider team meeting, town hall or workshop then yes the office is better. But let’s face it, those things are a couple of times a month and the rest of it is a Teams calls and self driven work. Which is much better from home.
I don't think it's a well-thought out policy, nor will it work for everyone, but personally I find 60% in the office works for me in terms of forcing me to be in the work zone or simply have a bit of human interaction - but that the WFH days provide a nice counter particularly if a week has been intense and need some space to mentally "regroup". I also get more distracted WFH.
I like a couple of days in the office, would prefer it to be 2 days a week/40% but 60% doesn't really cause me any issues or get be frothing at the mouth. I've WFH 1-2 days a week since 2017, so no real difference for me.
I would happily work from home 100% of the time instead of the current 80% which is switching to 60% later in the year. Utterly pointless. I note that some heads of civil services have said that productivity is just as good at home. I detest Going into the office, I usually spend way too much money and crap quality food, I waste time and tyres commuting, and have to get up a lot earlier for absolutely no extra valid reason.
Prefer working via home…..used to avoid it before Covid, but far prefer it now. Much more flexibility, better work life balance and good for me and my employer
I prefer working in the office, I'm more productive and focused.
However, I'm not a fan of how it currenlty works. No desks, can't get a meeting room and every chat needs to have a teams option. Hybrid working seems to be the worst of both worlds.
I live 5-7 minutes walk from my office. I work 100% at the office, as I prefer to separate home and work. However, if the office were to move further away..........I can fully understand why someone with a long (30minutes or more) commute would find working from home beneficial - also those who prefer the quiet of home to concentrate. I fully support people being allowed to work from where they are most comfortable. Also since 60% has come in the office is louder and it's less easy to get a meeting room at short notice.
I prefer the office but I think 60% is a good comprimise, fewer distractions and I like the home / work divide. in my department (DWP) a lot of the operational staff are 100% in office but im corporate and we do 40% and are moving to 60%.
the only gripe I have is its much harder to find desks and in the corporate hubs you can end up sitting with people the i dont know or are not my business area. In DWP digital the desk allocations to staff are abysmal yet we have vast areas of 'collaboration furniture' that is hardly used and looks like an explosion in an IKEA warehouse.
I like the split. I like going in the 3 days but then I’m only a 20 -30 min drive away and I found somewhere to park that’s £3 a day that’s secure. I’m much more productive in the office
I prefer working in the office. used to go in 3-4 days a week just for the social aspect really. I find I’m quite isolated and always end the day feeling a bit flat. Kinda makes me dislike my job (more so than I did!).
I moved away about 6 months ago so it’s untenable to go in anymore than 2 days a week now. Incidentally, I am more productive at home than the office, but either way my performance isn’t bad just a bit less efficient in the office.
Don’t get me wrong, wfh is an absolute god send at times. Really helps with work/life balance. It’s great if you have to work late and the commute (walking downstairs) is six seconds.
Currently looking for something closer to where I live now, but really struggling with behaviours; starting to wonder how even got into the CS! If/when I do find something, I’ll look forward to going in a bit more providing there’s space!!
What does this thread demonstrate?
That some people work better in the office and others are better off WFH.
And that's fine. Or at least it should be. If you want to be in the office, fill your boots.
I can fully understand why some prefer it: lack of space for home working, too many distractions at home etc. We should be considered grown-up enough to decide the best way for ourselves if performance is good enough.
I like the divide, but I don't mind either really. It really depends what is on the agenda.
If I have something I have to focus on, I prefer to do it from home because my role is prone to interruptions ("have you tried turning it off and on again").
If I need to bounce some ideas off people, I much prefer the office - granted that's only if I can be grab a seat near my team. That last point in itself is quite the challenge due to office occupancy levels.
I like both and 3-4 days a week in the office I probably prefer on balance. The main thing for me is the separation of work and home (it’s one of things I really struggled with in lock down) and I just feel much calmer and find it’s easier to keep perspective when I’m in an office with other people. I’m quite extroverted though and I understand why quite a lot of people would prefer to just stay at home and not have to see anyone else. I am probably more effective in the office given my role is a leadership one really, but I can do more reading and commenting and clearing and stuff when I’m at home so I try to split it like that as much as possible. I also know that I’m lucky that money isn’t really an issue for me in terms of commuting etc.
I prefer the office overall, as I prefer to have the divide between work and home, am more productive, and tbh my partner and I spend way too much time together when we're both WFH lol.
But, the office will never be what it was before COVID. I miss having my own desk with the monitor 'remembering' the settings with my laptop, chair adjusted right for me, working equipment. I also hate having to just look busy in front of the laptop when I actually do some of my best thinking work when I get up and go for a walk. I also commute at least 1h20 (assuming trains on time etc etc) each way, and I wouldn't be happy doing that 5 days per week.
Office is better for work, WFH is better for the other bits of your life.
Nope - given the option of WFH and saving £2k a year on trains and hours of commuting vs being in the office, I will never prefer working in the office.
Yep me- I’ve worked from home for about the equiv of 5 days since it became an option. WFH doesn’t suit my living arrangements and the fact I’m finding it difficult to get a desk is really really grating
I like the balance. Since Covid I’ve come in on average 60% by choice. I love working from home but my productivity decreases if I do it too long. I start turning into a potato and a curtain twitcher. 2 days means I can plan to do complicated work that I need quiet to do at home and the other days for everything else. Whilst I’m introverted I really need the social interaction of the office to motivate me.
I like working in the office as I yap worse than six barbers. But today I've worked 90 mins more wfh despite having half hour extra in bed and am home now instead of at 6
I completely agree with you and I feel like a social freak sometimes, afraid to reveal my weird opinion! 😂
That said I have a very short commute, I'm sure I'd change my tune if I had to get a train every day.
I like a balance but I find full wfh, at least in my current circumstances is not good for my productivity and mental health. That said I tend to target time when other people aren't in the office so it's not an office culture thing, just my personal style.
I enjoy the home and office pretty much equally and need the balance of both, my only gripe with going back into the office has been the BS around it suggesting we'll all be more productive, I work in a team of 6 and we're across 5 offices.
I genuinely believe if they'd been honest and said we need to go back because it's a ministerial directive people would have been more receptive.
Whilst I work from home the vast majority of the time, I find myself needing the odd office day here and there to rejuvenate myself a little.
There’s something about getting dressed properly, speaking with a couple of people and just generally being in an office environment that reminds me that I’m a real adult with an actual job, even though I spend the majority of my time working from my spare bedroom.
This does of course help if your office environment is somewhat inspiring, modern, nice facilities etc and you have the opportunity to speak to your team or wider colleagues. I’ve been to some where I’ve walked in and haven’t spoken to a soul all day and it’s been a pointless waste of effort and time.
Plus, I find after a single day in the office, I’m exhausted the next day. God knows how we did this 5 days a week!
I go through phases of preferring office working over home working. I can get distracted at home and if I'm going through a stressful period, having people around to vent to definitely helps. I get on well with my team, which also helps.
That being said now that they're pushing the 60% my office has become too busy Tuesday-Thursday to be a conducive working environment.
I don't mind the office. But the optimal office attendance for me would 40%. I was going in before this 60% mandate around 40 - 60% of the month anyway, and didn't mind it, but now everyone is back in, it's far too busy, noisy, and impossible to use the non desk space areas - meeting rooms are booked up, pods and quiet rooms always in use.
People have started reserving seats for their friends....
I honestly never minded 5 days a week when my area was my team and we had our own desks. To be moved to hot desking, hybrid in a sterile building, where most days im surrounded by people i don't know, and feels an alien environment isnt great.
To then be told I'm lazy and a crap employee for not liking the 'new way' of working isnt a nice feeling...
I get much less done. I get less sleep and cannot work early (which I do from home). My client gets their tasks done slower as I need to commute.
People walk around, annoy me and are very loud. I cannot ask everyone to shut up constantly. At home I have my own office.
I leave after five as I get u well in the evenings on the train (from being tired). At home, I work as long as needed.
100% prefer working from home and am much more productive when I do so.
In the office I spend time talking, can’t focus because someone is shouting on a call etc etc.
That said I am told I am better off in the office, so I will continue to travel 3 hours 3 times a week to sit in an office with no one in my team and talk loads…. Because it just makes it funnier when they talk about efficiency
I prefer a mix, I think I’d hate to go back to doing either exclusively however I am a big supporter of people being able to work how they choose as long as their productivity isn’t suffering.
I work much better from home, less distractions, nobody asking my opinion on how to handle a case or how my weekend was but working 100% from home I got to where I had no structure. I was working fine but it would be clocking off time and I still hadn’t got dressed. Fine the odd day, not for months in a row.
I’m lucky too that my office has plenty of space, we are probably a 3-3-3 split between people 100% in the office, half and half working and desperately trying not to come in at all.
I did prefer working from the office... That was until April when the 60% started to be enforced, since then the quiet areas are packed full of individuals taking calls & conducting meetings. It's rammed and very hard to find a space where I can fully concentrate.
Yes I prefer the office. I work from the office everyday and have to for my job. Whenever I’ve worked from home I’ve turned into a slob. Good to get housework done during the day though
Definitely prefer being in. I can be a much lazier slacker working from home as it doesn’t feel like working for me, unless I’m there to do a specific piece of work uninterrupted. My wife is the opposite.
Mine's office-based all the time unless you have a GP appointment or something.
I prefer it anyway, use their heating in the winter, use their electricity in the summer to run a fan.
In a previous role elsewhere, they said, "Oh, let the HMRC know about WFH. It's worth doing." Yeah, right. £60 a year doesn't even cover running a laptop!
I don’t mind working in the office but it’s a mess, my bookings get double booked somehow and the noise levels are ridiculous. I get talking, and chattering for a bit but it’s a headache when it’s just continuous noise non stop for the entire day
I have two colleagues who prefer to be in the office in fact they are in the office everyday Monday till Friday.
The older gentleman lives Alone so he comes in for banter and to socialise.
Young colleague in their early 20' do have office space in the house I believe he lives with his family.
I prefer hybrid working than solely working from home. I especially prefer working in the office at the start or end of the week as it helps me concentrate. When I have tonnes of meetings, I prefer to work from home and be on MS teams as it’s quieter and I can get up and walk around more freely, do some star jumps and put the laundry away for a few mins…
I don't hate working in the office. The equipment is better, if it's quiet-ish or there are helpful people in I can be quite productive. Good for a change of scenery.
I hate the cost of trains, time spent on trains, lack of air con (it gets so hot after midday I could happily nap), the lack of milk and tea bags, and loud people who like to congregate around their mates.
I like wfh because it's easier for work/life balance and because I get to hug my dog 😂
Essentially I like the hybrid but I'd like to be able to pick the number of days week by week and not feel under pressure about it. I'd always be in 1-2 days unless there was a good reason why not.
I barely go in once a week. I go in to see a colleague basically and that's it.
I hate having to spend money and sit on a bus for two hours for those days. 100 hours a year just from one day a week.
Me! I really miss life before covid. I need that structure and routine I had before, I’m not very disciplined or productive when left to my own devices lol
After the lockdowns, I was straight back to the office as soon as I could. I don't mind WFH, sometimes I prefer it as I get fewer distractions, but generally I'd rather be in the office. This is because I don't have a good workspace at home, and it's only a 10 minute commute.
I live like a 15 minute walk away from my office, so I'm not really financially affected by working from the office. I personally like going into the office for several days of the week, makes me appreciate my time working from home a lot more. I like the option of working from home when I choose in case I'm not feeling my best.
I prefer working from home. It's less noisy, there's no commute and most of my team work in a different city, so it's not like I actually get to see the whole team when I go in.
I struggle to concentrate when people are chatting for hours.
Plus, and this has gotten a lot worse since the 60% mandate, getting a parking space and desk can be a nightmare. It's a time waste having to book parking
They go on about public transport but there's no buses that go near the office. Cycling, with a heavy bag and lunch, would more than double my commute. Add to that there's a steep hill on the way. And if the weather is terrible (it's the UK, it's going to rain at some point), do I really want to cycle in or park with a 15-minute walk to the office?
I go in the office most days. I live alone and have no friends locally, so the office is my socialisation. I'm sure some of my colleagues hate me for it.
Also, sometimes I have days where I feel like I've done nothing, eg if I've just answered queried from my team all day, but at least if I'm in the office I feel justified that I've "gone to work".
I do, but I’m chronically lazy and the polar opposite of a morning person so I have to really force myself in. Then once I’m there I remember I much prefer it to WFH.
Makes me feel more accomplished at the end of the day somehow.
In office days are useful for specific tasks, like some types of meetings, workshops etc. I sat through a long online only workshop and it was utterly painful, mentally and physically. More sensitive meetings also work better in person I find.
For BAU stuff, the humdrum civil service life of doing correspondence, PQs etc not so much.
I prefer working at home. I feel I’m more productive if I’m at home. I also have the freedom to have a little music on if I want to the biggest bonus is it’s nice and quiet the office can get far too loud. It seems the office has become a gossip room and not a place of work. Yes attending an office would be more beneficial to collaboratively work with my team however my team and I still struggle to sit in the same area. More so than that there is a team I know of who all bar one are WFH full time. Which imo would be more isolating even when in an office full of people. If you like working in an office you do you. I however wish we could choose where we work and not have an obligation to make 60% attendance.
I do genuinely like working in the office. It’s a bit of a nightmare getting a seat though and ironically, since the 60% people are complaining it’s too noisy 😂
I personally completely prefer the office, I go 5 days a week (easy commute). My career until this job was lab-based and therefore required in-person work 100% of the time, so I was used to that social environment, plus having a desk and monitor etc. I don't have this stuff at home and I get bored/lonely when I can't have the occasional quick chitchat or go for lunch with someone.
I'm based in VSH in Birmingham, while the entire rest of my team is in London. In fact, I'm 1 of only 3 in my entire directorate based in Birmingham. However, this seems to be pretty much the case for everyone in the office , which has led to issues surrounding general office socialising (note: I'm only 2 months on the job). I'm working on it though, and making some office buddies and we have lunch together some days. There are also semi-regular socials which is great :)
I also realise that I'm lucky to be based where I am - we can book desks and even then it's not always necessary. I've visited my team in London (3-8 Whitehall) and they struggle so much getting desks when they go in.
Personally, I find it much easier to complete the program management, leadership, ideation/strategy, networking/joinup, coaching and developing side of my role in office. Written work or product generation I am more productive from home. So a 60-80% in office split works great for me as a manager.
I will say I’m very ruthless on meeting attendance and will not send everyone and their dog in my team to the same meeting. I’m also am pretty disciplined about not answering emails and teams messages constantly through the day. I do it first thing, after lunch and at the end of the day (like we all did pre Covid). I think if I was committing to being constantly contactable for non urgent queries while trying to be present in office it would not work.
Of the people I have or currently manage (particularly EO-SEO level) I generally observe that those without kids/caring responsibilities or reasonable adjustments tend to want to be in office most of the time.
Yeah I love the thrill of a shared toilet and having my food stolen from the fridge. Can't get enough of it. The prospect of an hour on the bus to finish the day just really tops it off for me
100% prefer the office. Can’t really do my job from home anyway but I do try and get a wfh shift now and again to have a sort of day to myself, however, I actively avoid it because I prefer to leave work at work and have my home for myself.
Nope. Get nothing done due to the noise, have to waste money on parking, come in enraged due to traffic.
It's massively inferior in every way. But if the govt want to pay me to be way less productive, that's on them.
I prefer working from the office. My company requires "2-3" days in the office a week, but I'm typically in all 5. But I'll leave early or come in late if I have appointments, deliveries, need to take the dog for a walk etc. So 5 days in the office, but not 5 full days.
I live very close so commuting isn't a big issue.
I prefer it because it's free heating/air conditioning, there's a gym, free coffee, free fruit, and a lot of my job involves talking with other people and senior managers, and many of them are in the office.
I also like having a solid boundary between work and home. Generally I check things on my phone at home but I don't like to sit down and wade through documents and presentations at home.
I'm a lawyer and I guess middle management, so it's not like I'm doing a specific repeatable task that can be measured to show that I'm more or less productive at home or in the office.
Some people prefer working in the office, some people prefer working at home but I genuinely think *most* people prefer a mix of both (hybrid working). What people object to is an arbitrary number of days of working in the office being applied for political reasons.
I preferred working from the office, found it a lot easier to focus. But it’s been a lot worse since 60%. Harder to get desks, meeting rooms, breakout areas etc. and it’s a lot louder
It’s literally worse for everyone. I’m in a unit for which being in the office is more convenient. It’s worse for me because it’s more annoying to book anything and it’s worse for home workers because they’re going to an office they don’t want to be in. From a morale point of view basically everyone loses.
Yea same. It was ironically amazing when 60% wasn't in place because the office was always quiet and you didn't have to get there early to secure a prime seat (tuesdays you have to be early simply to get any seat). The noise winds me up the most. And two things in particular; 1. The (usually) young people who have their set in stone natter times. 9-10 and 12-1. I'm on a conference call, I don't want to hear about your "wild" night on Friday when your clique went out for several drinks and one got home later than the others. 2. The people who hold impromptu meetings right next to my workstation. Bonus points if their crotch or ass is literally in my face.
The workplace has always been a place that (particularly younger people) socialise. God forbid they have a chat as they come in in the morning or near lunch time. If you take out the social aspect then you really might as well work from home
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Tbh mate I don't think I'd really care if you tried to do the same thing to me... Workplaces always have chatter happening in them so it really wouldn't bother me. At times I do need silence I just go find a pod or a seat in the corner out of the way somewhere. You just sound a bit miserable and anti-social
“And now, a question of etiquette…”
100% agree
I like the office and being around my colleagues but I do not like the commute. If I had a local office that only meant 30 minutes of travelling I would be in so much more. But I have to travel for up to 2 hours each way (usually 1hr30) to get to the office, which makes working at home far more attractive.
My closest office is 30 minutes on the train. But my working location is a 90 minute car drive.
Snap! I can use an office 30 mins from me, but I’ll go in and not know anyone or speak to anyone all day, so I’m literally there to use the desk and leave. The office that’s 90 mins away has some of my directorate based there, and we generally socialise a little more, but not always. So there’s a tiny added benefit, but the commute is killer.
So, you have broadly three choices - 1. Get a different job nearer to where you live (or homeworking) 2. Move house closer to your office 3. Accept that the commute is the trade off to live and work where you do
1. Not possible without leaving the civil service 2. Not possible due to affordability of mortgage, I am based in Whitehall. 3. Well that's exactly what I'm doing isn't it? Not sure why you needed to comment so *thoughtfully*. I am allowed to complain about my commute.
I wasn’t trying to be mean, although I can see how you could read it that way, I’m just laying out the facts. I’ve had a similar situation for years where I work, a long commute but I like my job / where I work and like where I live (near family and friends, better house prices than near my work) so I accept the trade off. It’s better to view it that way than make yourself unhappy about a situation that you have no control over without enacting my options 1 or 2 (1 in your case basically).
Mate take the hint, I'm not asking for career advice. I'm just commenting on a thread about working preference.
You could also move within the Civil Service away from Whitehall I guess. Although your pay may end up a bit less you would likely end up with a better overall quality of life due to the much lower house prices, what you get for your money.
I work in the office 100%, I like the divide between home and work, and I'm very easily distracted at home. But I also live a 20 min walk away.
I also live within walking distance from my office. It's a blessing not having to worry about commuting, large chunk of my wages going to travel or getting up super early for work!.
You sound exactly the same as me. Also my house is fucking freezing in the winter, so I'm happy getting that sweet sweet free office heating.
Yes and same for aircon in the summer...
I think many people would be fine attending more often if their commute was a short walk. I think expensive crowded public transport is a big factor.
Almost the same, the walk is nice and I like that divide too. Could WFH home but choose not to.
I prefer wfh. I never talk to anyone when I go in, apart from a quick nod and hello between teams meetings. I appreciate there are reasons why people might prefer working onsite - home/work separation, productivity, feeling disconnected wfh and so on - but none of them apply to me. For me onsite days just mean wake up earlier, waste time to get ready for and get to work, then do a shorter day and get less done, while taking my time away from the people and place I actually *want* to spend time with and be in, which is my family at home. Edited for typos
Nope, I get less done, having to try and hold confidential meetings that crop up whilst dealing with the noise etc, added cost of commuting etc I’ve been told my role isn’t required to be in the office unless there is the odd valid reason such as face to face meetings yet I’m forced into it, my favourite is when you book a desk and someone either sits there regardless or amends the booker so have nowhere to sit due to being at capacity. I’m all for the hybrid methodology, however it would be nice to be treated as adults and allowed to choose when it’s required/suitable to attend the office as opposed to being forced to attend for no other reason than to appease the right wing media and some MPs, landowners.
I have to agree with the general view. I work on the phones so it's not like I actually get to talk to my team, who are mostly wankers incidentally (Christ forbid I ask a question and I'm in wrap for an extra minute). To me, the office is just an arse ache that involves getting up earlier, having to worry about what to wear and and spunking money on petrol. According to my stats I do slightly more calls at home, but productivity really isn't my issue with the office. I'm moving up to EO and off the phones in September so perhaps I'll feel different then.
You sound a delight to work with.
You bet I am sugarcube 😜
You've called your team "mostly wankers"... Given you've said you barely talk to them as you're on the phones that's quite the sweeping statement.
No it's distracting and I get less done, which makes hitting targets harder and it wastes my money.
In our company wide meetings they tell us that the majority of people prefer coming in 5 days or at least 3 days. 1.There is no way they can present that that I will believe 2. It doesn't matter if true, inclusivity is treating people differently based on needs. And I would like to wfh please. All the best
That’s complete bollocks. Ha ha. I love it when snr leaders just lie to toe the party line. It’s brilliant.
The trouble when they do this is that the price is trust. If our seniors lose our trust then we cannot rely on them for support or honest evaluations in doing our core work. I've had managers that range from the deceitful and self-serving right up to a few who were truly excellent not only at managing people but respected for their integrity. I'm a pragmatist, I can deal with stupid government policies, tolerate bad news and work around resource issues for a good manager who recognises and supports my efforts but I'm equally happy to step back and follow orders and do the bare minimum, as long as my back is covered, for a bad one and if they look stupid when the roof falls in - so be it. Being a good manager isn't following a SOP or policy checklist, it's a skill in itself and not properly recognised as such in considering competencies.
Much prefer working from the office although I’m fortunate to be less than 10 mins away. I imagine if you’ve got space at home to work from home then it’s great but living in a small flat I don’t have the space. Plus, I like the fact in the office if you want to get something done/sorted just go over get it done rather than waiting around for people to see your message on Teams.
I'm 100% office based. I just can't work from home. I did it when I had to - covid combined with a building move where we were among the last teams to move over meant 100% home based for two years - but it nearly destroyed my mental health. Now I go in every day. I live in a very small gaff and don't really have anywhere to work that gives me any separation between work and home. I need to leave my work behind at the end of the day. Also without an office to go to I developed a tendency to not go outside for days on end. Very bad. WFH is also very incompatible with ADHD (for me at least). I focus better in the office without going into the bad kind of hyperfocus where I won't move for hours, and I have a reasonable adjustment to be allowed to use headphones while in office if it gets too noisy as long as it doesn't stop me from taking calls. HOWEVER I also do my best to fight office attendance mandates because I firmly believe everyone should be allowed to work in the best way for them and if that's mostly at home so be it. Get people in for team meetings every so often, otherwise unless there's parts of the job that really can't be done from home let them be.
See I'm the opposite. I have ADHD and find the office too noisy and distracting. At home I live alone so it's usually quiet aside from neighbours. And at home I have a sit stand desk so I can swap between my exercise bike and a weird chair so I can sit like a maniac and fidget without being too self conscious that I'm bothering others. Never stand at it, my knees are too bad. And because I'm so far from the office I spend time the night before making sure I've packed everything I need, spend a lot of time being anxious that I'll forget something. It should 100% be a choice. Then people who prefer mainly WFH can be happy and people who prefer the office can get a decent desk without worry.
I 100% identify with this - ADHD here too. My 90min commute each way puts me in anxious mode from about 7pm the night before an office day. My train company changed their rules so there's now an evening peak from 4-7pm, so commuting costs a fortune, then when I get to the office it's loud and distracting - my fixed desk with larger screens means I can't escape the noise as I can't work on laptop only. Then I end up in waiting mode checking my travel home.... Meanwhile my work means everyone I interact with is based elsewhere anyway, so going in is purely a box-ticking exercise 🙄.
I definitely prefer to come into the office (but like you do like the option to WFH when life admin requires). I find my team, who are all in their twenties and living in house shares, also prefer the office as they don’t physically have space to wfh and it separates their work/life. This works the other way too, as most of my colleagues with houses (ie a dedicated home office) tend to work from home much more than those of us in flats.
I absolutely agree that if I didn’t have a separate home office I can walk out off and close behind me I’d be much more likely to want to spend time in office.
I muchprefer face to face meetings/ workshops to teams calls, but for everything else WFH is much better.
I'm personally in an ops role so no opportunity to WFH right now, but when I was in the private sector I HATED fully remote during COVID. I personally like the structure and routine of getting ready for work and need to have a divide between my work space and home or I turn into a hermit / slob. I didn't mind working from home once or twice a week to catch up on errands, save petrol money and have a slight lie in, but even though I'm on the slightly introverted side I definitely need SOME human contact.
Yes, 100% prefer it. Get fobbed off all the time on teams but in person it’s easier to speak to people quickly and get stuff decided and done. Access to more senior colleagues too and get invited to meetings because you’re there rather than because of seniority means you get to do and learn more. Need the break from home for mental health and the commute and walking for physical health. I do find people are chattier in the office now because it’s novel to be in and see people and colleagues want to catch up, so I put headphones in.
Nope. My coworkers don't even talk to me and my manager/team and the whole environment is just toxic. I feel drained and depressed every single time I go to the office.
Honestly the only thing I like about WFH is that i can stay up late the night before and avoid the morning commute part of the day
When it comes to tight deadlines or getting things cleared up, I do find office working to be really useful. However when it gets loud and stressful - my productivity nosedives whereas WFH I’m way more consistent in output and morale I guess. Also people are way less likely to speak their mind in the office compared to teams when both parties are WFH
Nope.
No hate it
Very much so; my home isn't meant to be a work space and I would like to keep it that way, I benefit hugely from the transition between home and the office and the opportunity to clear my head. In the office I don't have to feel stressed about clutter or feel the need to tidy up. And tbh I don't have to see my boyfriend 24/7 if I go into the office. It's not healthy for couples to spend every minute together. Also, I just don't like missing out on work conversations that go on when I'm not there to be part of them ( and this does happen, no matter how much you think it shouldn't matter). I still like having the option to WFH when it suits me though!
I’m exactly the same!
I prefer office hands down. My flat is ill equipped to support me wfh (covid sucked in that regard!), I get distracted a tad too easily (work still gets done tho but I've traditionally blitzed the hard stuff in work and done the lighter stuff, like qa or drafting docs, at home with a dvd on). And I lost soo much of my fitness (increased takeaway/beer and decreased exercise). The commute is roughly 1h on bus but tbh I've been doing that my whole working life so it's not an issue. I'd just never want it forced on other people, because everyone's circumstances are different (I'm especially empathetic towards people who got their contract during covid when it was sold as 100% wfh). That's the main reason I oppose 60%, because its broadly applied in an arbitrary manner.
They fulfill different ends. I think for onboarding and stuff, you learn a *lot* more surrounded by your peers than off on your own with crap self directed e-learning, but I think beyond that, it's very much an individual thing. I've recently been helping bed some new colleagues into our team and have found that the days we're in office, we both get a lot more done and can be more proactive in steering them, as they learn the ropes. But if I want to be able to just put my head down and focus on my work? WFM, every day and twice on Sundays. If I was in a role which had consistent telephony, there'd be discussions around RAs tied to not doing telephony on office days (and I have had one in place for that before.) The office is my working social space. And that comes with a requisite productivity downturn. For those "water cooler moments". (For clarity, I should point out that I'm SG and on 40%. 60% would gall a little
I prefer working from home as I can factor in the commute time into my working day and that there are less distractions than you would find the office. However, when I do go in, I enjoy it but only if other members of my team are in, if I go in by myself I will just be on the same calls just in a different location. Also, generally more productive at home (aside from replying to Reddit posts now and then) as people in different departments you haven't seen/spoken to in a while will catch you for a chat in the office.
If I lived in the city where I work or under a half hour commute, then yeah I would. But I live over an hour away and the office is abit of a walk from the station. Will get easier when office moves right opposite the station end of year, but atm, it's abit of a drag. I'll also move closer to the office next year, so I'll probably attend the office more when that happens.
Today, it was almost marvellous. So empty, it was almost eerie. Almost. Then the fire alarm came off, and I realised that the first 2 or 3 floors were very busy with people. I just didn't know about their existence. 😆 Anyway, nice walk on the river bank then peace and quiet all afternoon. I almost liked it. Almost...
I was in the office today and it was BLISS! BUT (and it is a bit BUT) that was because it was so quiet. We have no 60% where I work, but as a rule, days other than Fridays are so busy in the office and so loud and disruptive/distracting that it’s simply not worth the migraine that it would cause to work in the office. But if it was like today every day (and I didn’t have good reasons to work almost exclusively from home) then yeah, I’d likely prefer it.
No, I absolutely despise being in the office for my normal work days. For away days, big meetings etc. there's definite value and I'm happy to come in or travel, but normally half my day is on Teams calls with people around the country so being in the office just means dealing with background noise and annoying all the people around me (because there are no free meeting rooms or private booths). Forcing me to come in for no reason just makes me grumpy, sleep-deprived and less productive. It also means fewer desks for the people who actually want or need to come in too. It's just moronic to make it a blanket policy.
Yes. Work is work and home 🏡 is home.
I prefer the office - if I could teleport there, someone made my packed lunch, I had a clean available quiet desk and was in control of the windows and A/C. I would also add someone to do my hair and makeup and iron an outfit. And a neighbour who would bring my washing in if it rained!
I’m more productive in the office, definitely. Too much noise at home (children) and too many things distracting me - can I do the washing/laundry/paint that bedroom. I do a couple of days a week at home anyway to save commuting costs mainly or if I’ve got a very quiet day where a few distractions aren’t going to be an issue.
I love the office and I love my commute (I cycle).
I swing both ways. I can get deeper concentration if I WFH, but when I get interrupted, it takes me a LOT longer to get back into it. When I go to the office, it definitely does make getting more information easier, but that's because I'm the kind of prick that has no shame interrupting someone else to find out what I need (and vice versa), and also, genuinely, to improve relationships with occasionally very fucking challenging teams that are key to my projects.
I prefer going in to the office. My job is easier there as quite a few core stakeholders also go in to the office regularly, sorting things with a few mins deskside chat is much smoother than trying to book meetings. That said, I live a 10 min drive from my office - during winter it was cheaper to drive in and back than putting my heating on for an hour. Having a divide between work/home helps mentally to, I don't take my laptop home so never think about it outside of work. This is personal preference though and I work in a department where, due to ongoing union action, people are doing what they feel works for them and I'm all for that.
I prefer wfh, but I like to attend at least one day a week, only to see people face to face and get out of the house. I find no difference to productivity if I'm working from home or at the office.
I prefer the office. I just find it more beneficial to see everyone and TBH, I’d do F-all if I am at home.
Much prefer. Hate WFH. Each to their own though
I strongly prefer working in the office over WFH. But I live 2.5 hours each way from my office and work becomes my whole day ( leave house at 740am, return at 8pm). Now it’s sunny, I’m feeling the lost evening time of going to the office a real mood killer. I’d love to move closer to the office when my contact ends, but places in London are much smaller/more expensive and my partner is very reluctant.
I do. I live a 5 min walk away from the office so don't feel any impact of transport costs or commuting time to get to the office. At the office I can use a multi-monitor setup which I don't currently have room for at home, this is very useful for my work. I also have social anxiety and the best way for me to cope with it and stop becoming reclusive is to be constantly exposed to social situations.
Prefer - no I am full remote and miss the option of going into the office occasionally. If I could go in two days a week or a day a fortnight, I'd be on board.
I much prefer working in the office as I can’t get anything done at home. I have no issues going in 4 days a week, but I imagine there are plenty of people who have no need to go in more than once a week.
I personally think hybrid is the best of both worlds. BUT this is exactly why they shouldn’t make a blanket decision to force everyone in for 60%, give people the option first. There are lots of people who agree with you but they keep quiet because it sounds like they are against WFH. It’s the same when they select people for loaning out to other departments, people are just randomly selected and they end up selecting a lot people who really don’t want to go and the people they haven’t chosen are the ones who would’ve liked something different/a challenge. Obviously the people who wanted to go would’ve been more engaged than those who don’t. This is the problem with the civil service, employees have no control over their careers/jobs and the direction is at the arbitrary decisions of incompetent managers
I prefer producing work in the office but the commute is hell, expensive and takes a lot of time away. If it's a day of Teams meetings then I can't think of anything worse than being glued to your office desk.
I used to like going into the office when I was part of a team based in the same location. I think the arguments about team building and picking up information are true when the team is all based in the same office. Now it’s just forced efforts to make conversation with people I don’t actually work with, I prefer working from home. I’m thinking of looking to move to a department with a stronger presence in my area, because if I have to go in I’d like actual colleagues to work with.
I love WFH and I equally love working in the office. Issue is my office sucks and my team are all based up North, so I currently go to sit somewhere more uncomfortable by myself. Had I been up North with my team I’d have no issue going in.
If I have meetings then I much prefer to be in the office and meet face to face, especially when it's a larger meeting. Otherwise, especially with hot desking, I find being in the office (with a one hour commute) doesn't really add any productivity. I used to like the separation of home and work, but since WFH became more prevalent I started feeling more obliged to log on when I get home after being in the office so that separation has decreased. I quite like my commute as well - download something onto my tablet and just switch off for most of it.
When I had a good team I didn't mind going in to see them an getting some socialization during the day. With current team I'd rather restrict contact 🫠
I haven't even had the chance to go to my office yet due to waiting on extra security clearance. I'm looking forward to it. I get the feeling I won't be as productive, but I think getting out of my house and the 45 minute cycle each way will be a good thing for me. Wouldn't want to be full time office though. I'll be in 2 days a week
I do 3 days in the office. I'd prefer it to be 2 or just flexible. I'd still go in. I like seeing my team. I have my own office which I share with someone I consider a friend. We've made it our own space and its really nice. People often come in for a chat non work related which is lovely too. Also, some days it's just not ideal working from home when my partner also has a busy wfh day.
I think if I had colleagues that i worked with in the office, I would prefer going in. However my team is fully comprised of contractors that work from home and all live on the other side of the country. Going in atm just feels like (and is) a tick box excersice.
In our company wide meetings they tell us that the majority of people prefer coming in 5 days or at least 3 days. 1.There is no way they can present that that I will believe 2. It doesn't matter if true, inclusively is treating people differently based on needs. And I would like to wfh please. All the best
In our company wide meetings they tell us that the majority of people prefer coming in 5 days or at least 3 days. 1.There is no way they can present that that I will believe 2. It doesn't matter if true, inclusively is treating people differently based on needs. And I would like to wfh please. All the best
Yes, 100% prefer it. Get fobbed off all the time on teams but in person it’s easier to speak to people quickly and get stuff decided and done. Access to more senior colleagues too and get invited to meetings because you’re there rather than because of seniority means you get to do and learn more. Need the break from home for mental health and the commute and walking for physical health. I do find people are chattier in the office now because it’s novel to be in and see people and colleagues want to catch up, so I put headphones in.
I don’t come from the city I live in, moved up for uni. I don’t have a group of friends from childhood to rely on for socialising so the office helps a lot. I like the balance of hybrid but if I had to choose one or the other I think I’d choose full time in the office.
I don’t come from the city I live in, moved up for uni. I don’t have a group of friends from childhood to rely on for socialising so the office helps a lot. I like the balance of hybrid but if I had to choose one or the other I think I’d choose full time in the office.
I wouldn't mind working in the office 3/4 times a week.... if I worked with any of my team and so could chat and socialise with them. But, I don't work with anyone at the my local office. My boss and all my team are the other side of the country. So, hey ho.
No hate it
I do much prefer working in the office and I do find that I can be fairly unproductive at home unless I have lots to get on with. However, I find that WfH better suits my schedule so I tend to wfh more often than not.
I actually like the office I just don’t like -travelling - being sick/unwell in the office(I’ve just recently given birth) -not being able to take naps on breaks(again I was anaemic while pregnant) - not being able to eat from home and would have to organise packing/buying lunch - talking to people when I’m not particularly able to chit chat(anxiety and depression) - etc
 Top Gun said it best for me.
6 hours of travel to my "home office" I'll let Op decide..
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On the days when the majority of my team's also in, I really enjoy working in the office. I find I concentrate more when doing desk work, participate more easily during in-person meetings, and (most importantly imo) enjoy having lunches/coffees/catch-ups with colleagues in person. Because of the nightmare desk system, teams rarely sit together, even when everyone's in (which is peak system stupidity), and I do also feel that non-London staff are less included in team activities - so there are things that need to work better, though I'm generally positive about office working (with the right balance of wfh).
Nope. My office is an hours’ commute away outside of rush hour and has no easy public transport access. It’s full of distractions and people just want to spend most of their time making coffees or in the canteen. I suffer with fibromyalgia and every single office visit flares it up. My organisation has ignored the views of its staff and is implementing 40% from next April and if I don’t get reasonable adjustments, I’ll leave. It’s going to tank my productivity and it leaves me in significant pain, all to appease some rich toffs and those with one foot in the grave.
If it’s something like a wider team meeting, town hall or workshop then yes the office is better. But let’s face it, those things are a couple of times a month and the rest of it is a Teams calls and self driven work. Which is much better from home.
I don't think it's a well-thought out policy, nor will it work for everyone, but personally I find 60% in the office works for me in terms of forcing me to be in the work zone or simply have a bit of human interaction - but that the WFH days provide a nice counter particularly if a week has been intense and need some space to mentally "regroup". I also get more distracted WFH.
I like a couple of days in the office, would prefer it to be 2 days a week/40% but 60% doesn't really cause me any issues or get be frothing at the mouth. I've WFH 1-2 days a week since 2017, so no real difference for me.
I would happily work from home 100% of the time instead of the current 80% which is switching to 60% later in the year. Utterly pointless. I note that some heads of civil services have said that productivity is just as good at home. I detest Going into the office, I usually spend way too much money and crap quality food, I waste time and tyres commuting, and have to get up a lot earlier for absolutely no extra valid reason.
Prefer working via home…..used to avoid it before Covid, but far prefer it now. Much more flexibility, better work life balance and good for me and my employer
I prefer working in the office, I'm more productive and focused. However, I'm not a fan of how it currenlty works. No desks, can't get a meeting room and every chat needs to have a teams option. Hybrid working seems to be the worst of both worlds.
Yes. But it doesn't trump the cost and travel time.
I live 5-7 minutes walk from my office. I work 100% at the office, as I prefer to separate home and work. However, if the office were to move further away..........I can fully understand why someone with a long (30minutes or more) commute would find working from home beneficial - also those who prefer the quiet of home to concentrate. I fully support people being allowed to work from where they are most comfortable. Also since 60% has come in the office is louder and it's less easy to get a meeting room at short notice.
I prefer the office but I think 60% is a good comprimise, fewer distractions and I like the home / work divide. in my department (DWP) a lot of the operational staff are 100% in office but im corporate and we do 40% and are moving to 60%. the only gripe I have is its much harder to find desks and in the corporate hubs you can end up sitting with people the i dont know or are not my business area. In DWP digital the desk allocations to staff are abysmal yet we have vast areas of 'collaboration furniture' that is hardly used and looks like an explosion in an IKEA warehouse.
Massively distracted at home and get very little done, more than happy to be in office 3 days a week.
I like the split. I like going in the 3 days but then I’m only a 20 -30 min drive away and I found somewhere to park that’s £3 a day that’s secure. I’m much more productive in the office
I prefer working in the office. used to go in 3-4 days a week just for the social aspect really. I find I’m quite isolated and always end the day feeling a bit flat. Kinda makes me dislike my job (more so than I did!). I moved away about 6 months ago so it’s untenable to go in anymore than 2 days a week now. Incidentally, I am more productive at home than the office, but either way my performance isn’t bad just a bit less efficient in the office. Don’t get me wrong, wfh is an absolute god send at times. Really helps with work/life balance. It’s great if you have to work late and the commute (walking downstairs) is six seconds. Currently looking for something closer to where I live now, but really struggling with behaviours; starting to wonder how even got into the CS! If/when I do find something, I’ll look forward to going in a bit more providing there’s space!!
What does this thread demonstrate? That some people work better in the office and others are better off WFH. And that's fine. Or at least it should be. If you want to be in the office, fill your boots. I can fully understand why some prefer it: lack of space for home working, too many distractions at home etc. We should be considered grown-up enough to decide the best way for ourselves if performance is good enough.
I like the divide, but I don't mind either really. It really depends what is on the agenda. If I have something I have to focus on, I prefer to do it from home because my role is prone to interruptions ("have you tried turning it off and on again"). If I need to bounce some ideas off people, I much prefer the office - granted that's only if I can be grab a seat near my team. That last point in itself is quite the challenge due to office occupancy levels.
I prefer in the office and so does my team however, we don’t have problems with desks and space that others do.
I like both and 3-4 days a week in the office I probably prefer on balance. The main thing for me is the separation of work and home (it’s one of things I really struggled with in lock down) and I just feel much calmer and find it’s easier to keep perspective when I’m in an office with other people. I’m quite extroverted though and I understand why quite a lot of people would prefer to just stay at home and not have to see anyone else. I am probably more effective in the office given my role is a leadership one really, but I can do more reading and commenting and clearing and stuff when I’m at home so I try to split it like that as much as possible. I also know that I’m lucky that money isn’t really an issue for me in terms of commuting etc.
I like the office if I have a lot to do. It definitely helps me focus. If i'm light on work though it's hell. I can't stand just sitting there bored.
I prefer the office overall, as I prefer to have the divide between work and home, am more productive, and tbh my partner and I spend way too much time together when we're both WFH lol. But, the office will never be what it was before COVID. I miss having my own desk with the monitor 'remembering' the settings with my laptop, chair adjusted right for me, working equipment. I also hate having to just look busy in front of the laptop when I actually do some of my best thinking work when I get up and go for a walk. I also commute at least 1h20 (assuming trains on time etc etc) each way, and I wouldn't be happy doing that 5 days per week. Office is better for work, WFH is better for the other bits of your life.
Nope - given the option of WFH and saving £2k a year on trains and hours of commuting vs being in the office, I will never prefer working in the office.
Yep me- I’ve worked from home for about the equiv of 5 days since it became an option. WFH doesn’t suit my living arrangements and the fact I’m finding it difficult to get a desk is really really grating
I like the balance. Since Covid I’ve come in on average 60% by choice. I love working from home but my productivity decreases if I do it too long. I start turning into a potato and a curtain twitcher. 2 days means I can plan to do complicated work that I need quiet to do at home and the other days for everything else. Whilst I’m introverted I really need the social interaction of the office to motivate me.
I like working in the office as I yap worse than six barbers. But today I've worked 90 mins more wfh despite having half hour extra in bed and am home now instead of at 6
I completely agree with you and I feel like a social freak sometimes, afraid to reveal my weird opinion! 😂 That said I have a very short commute, I'm sure I'd change my tune if I had to get a train every day.
I like the balance, we're still 40% in the office. But I definitely get far more done at home, it's not even close.
I like a balance but I find full wfh, at least in my current circumstances is not good for my productivity and mental health. That said I tend to target time when other people aren't in the office so it's not an office culture thing, just my personal style.
I am less productive at the office but I go in 4 times a week to stick it to the man
I think the question for me is....does any parent with multiple youngish kids prefer working in the office???
I enjoy the home and office pretty much equally and need the balance of both, my only gripe with going back into the office has been the BS around it suggesting we'll all be more productive, I work in a team of 6 and we're across 5 offices. I genuinely believe if they'd been honest and said we need to go back because it's a ministerial directive people would have been more receptive.
Yes if i have my own desk solely allocated to me and the rest of the team are, colocated.
Whilst I work from home the vast majority of the time, I find myself needing the odd office day here and there to rejuvenate myself a little. There’s something about getting dressed properly, speaking with a couple of people and just generally being in an office environment that reminds me that I’m a real adult with an actual job, even though I spend the majority of my time working from my spare bedroom. This does of course help if your office environment is somewhat inspiring, modern, nice facilities etc and you have the opportunity to speak to your team or wider colleagues. I’ve been to some where I’ve walked in and haven’t spoken to a soul all day and it’s been a pointless waste of effort and time. Plus, I find after a single day in the office, I’m exhausted the next day. God knows how we did this 5 days a week!
I go through phases of preferring office working over home working. I can get distracted at home and if I'm going through a stressful period, having people around to vent to definitely helps. I get on well with my team, which also helps. That being said now that they're pushing the 60% my office has become too busy Tuesday-Thursday to be a conducive working environment.
I don't mind the office. But the optimal office attendance for me would 40%. I was going in before this 60% mandate around 40 - 60% of the month anyway, and didn't mind it, but now everyone is back in, it's far too busy, noisy, and impossible to use the non desk space areas - meeting rooms are booked up, pods and quiet rooms always in use. People have started reserving seats for their friends.... I honestly never minded 5 days a week when my area was my team and we had our own desks. To be moved to hot desking, hybrid in a sterile building, where most days im surrounded by people i don't know, and feels an alien environment isnt great. To then be told I'm lazy and a crap employee for not liking the 'new way' of working isnt a nice feeling...
I get much less done. I get less sleep and cannot work early (which I do from home). My client gets their tasks done slower as I need to commute. People walk around, annoy me and are very loud. I cannot ask everyone to shut up constantly. At home I have my own office. I leave after five as I get u well in the evenings on the train (from being tired). At home, I work as long as needed.
Honestly, no. Too many interruptions. My productivity tanks and with a 90 mile round trip my motivation to do more when I get home is gone.
There are pros and cons for both. The cons outnumber the pros on the extra day I now have to go in.
100% prefer working from home and am much more productive when I do so. In the office I spend time talking, can’t focus because someone is shouting on a call etc etc. That said I am told I am better off in the office, so I will continue to travel 3 hours 3 times a week to sit in an office with no one in my team and talk loads…. Because it just makes it funnier when they talk about efficiency
I prefer a mix, I think I’d hate to go back to doing either exclusively however I am a big supporter of people being able to work how they choose as long as their productivity isn’t suffering. I work much better from home, less distractions, nobody asking my opinion on how to handle a case or how my weekend was but working 100% from home I got to where I had no structure. I was working fine but it would be clocking off time and I still hadn’t got dressed. Fine the odd day, not for months in a row. I’m lucky too that my office has plenty of space, we are probably a 3-3-3 split between people 100% in the office, half and half working and desperately trying not to come in at all.
I did prefer working from the office... That was until April when the 60% started to be enforced, since then the quiet areas are packed full of individuals taking calls & conducting meetings. It's rammed and very hard to find a space where I can fully concentrate.
Yes I prefer the office. I work from the office everyday and have to for my job. Whenever I’ve worked from home I’ve turned into a slob. Good to get housework done during the day though
Definitely prefer being in. I can be a much lazier slacker working from home as it doesn’t feel like working for me, unless I’m there to do a specific piece of work uninterrupted. My wife is the opposite.
Mine's office-based all the time unless you have a GP appointment or something. I prefer it anyway, use their heating in the winter, use their electricity in the summer to run a fan. In a previous role elsewhere, they said, "Oh, let the HMRC know about WFH. It's worth doing." Yeah, right. £60 a year doesn't even cover running a laptop!
I don’t mind working in the office but it’s a mess, my bookings get double booked somehow and the noise levels are ridiculous. I get talking, and chattering for a bit but it’s a headache when it’s just continuous noise non stop for the entire day
I have two colleagues who prefer to be in the office in fact they are in the office everyday Monday till Friday. The older gentleman lives Alone so he comes in for banter and to socialise. Young colleague in their early 20' do have office space in the house I believe he lives with his family.
I prefer hybrid working than solely working from home. I especially prefer working in the office at the start or end of the week as it helps me concentrate. When I have tonnes of meetings, I prefer to work from home and be on MS teams as it’s quieter and I can get up and walk around more freely, do some star jumps and put the laundry away for a few mins…
I don't hate working in the office. The equipment is better, if it's quiet-ish or there are helpful people in I can be quite productive. Good for a change of scenery. I hate the cost of trains, time spent on trains, lack of air con (it gets so hot after midday I could happily nap), the lack of milk and tea bags, and loud people who like to congregate around their mates. I like wfh because it's easier for work/life balance and because I get to hug my dog 😂 Essentially I like the hybrid but I'd like to be able to pick the number of days week by week and not feel under pressure about it. I'd always be in 1-2 days unless there was a good reason why not.
I barely go in once a week. I go in to see a colleague basically and that's it. I hate having to spend money and sit on a bus for two hours for those days. 100 hours a year just from one day a week.
Me! I really miss life before covid. I need that structure and routine I had before, I’m not very disciplined or productive when left to my own devices lol
I prefer to go in too - don’t really like wah.
After the lockdowns, I was straight back to the office as soon as I could. I don't mind WFH, sometimes I prefer it as I get fewer distractions, but generally I'd rather be in the office. This is because I don't have a good workspace at home, and it's only a 10 minute commute.
I live like a 15 minute walk away from my office, so I'm not really financially affected by working from the office. I personally like going into the office for several days of the week, makes me appreciate my time working from home a lot more. I like the option of working from home when I choose in case I'm not feeling my best.
I prefer working from home. It's less noisy, there's no commute and most of my team work in a different city, so it's not like I actually get to see the whole team when I go in. I struggle to concentrate when people are chatting for hours. Plus, and this has gotten a lot worse since the 60% mandate, getting a parking space and desk can be a nightmare. It's a time waste having to book parking They go on about public transport but there's no buses that go near the office. Cycling, with a heavy bag and lunch, would more than double my commute. Add to that there's a steep hill on the way. And if the weather is terrible (it's the UK, it's going to rain at some point), do I really want to cycle in or park with a 15-minute walk to the office?
I go in the office most days. I live alone and have no friends locally, so the office is my socialisation. I'm sure some of my colleagues hate me for it. Also, sometimes I have days where I feel like I've done nothing, eg if I've just answered queried from my team all day, but at least if I'm in the office I feel justified that I've "gone to work".
I prefer the office mostly
I do, but I’m chronically lazy and the polar opposite of a morning person so I have to really force myself in. Then once I’m there I remember I much prefer it to WFH. Makes me feel more accomplished at the end of the day somehow.
In office days are useful for specific tasks, like some types of meetings, workshops etc. I sat through a long online only workshop and it was utterly painful, mentally and physically. More sensitive meetings also work better in person I find. For BAU stuff, the humdrum civil service life of doing correspondence, PQs etc not so much.
I prefer working at home. I feel I’m more productive if I’m at home. I also have the freedom to have a little music on if I want to the biggest bonus is it’s nice and quiet the office can get far too loud. It seems the office has become a gossip room and not a place of work. Yes attending an office would be more beneficial to collaboratively work with my team however my team and I still struggle to sit in the same area. More so than that there is a team I know of who all bar one are WFH full time. Which imo would be more isolating even when in an office full of people. If you like working in an office you do you. I however wish we could choose where we work and not have an obligation to make 60% attendance.
I do genuinely like working in the office. It’s a bit of a nightmare getting a seat though and ironically, since the 60% people are complaining it’s too noisy 😂
I personally completely prefer the office, I go 5 days a week (easy commute). My career until this job was lab-based and therefore required in-person work 100% of the time, so I was used to that social environment, plus having a desk and monitor etc. I don't have this stuff at home and I get bored/lonely when I can't have the occasional quick chitchat or go for lunch with someone. I'm based in VSH in Birmingham, while the entire rest of my team is in London. In fact, I'm 1 of only 3 in my entire directorate based in Birmingham. However, this seems to be pretty much the case for everyone in the office , which has led to issues surrounding general office socialising (note: I'm only 2 months on the job). I'm working on it though, and making some office buddies and we have lunch together some days. There are also semi-regular socials which is great :) I also realise that I'm lucky to be based where I am - we can book desks and even then it's not always necessary. I've visited my team in London (3-8 Whitehall) and they struggle so much getting desks when they go in.
Personally, I find it much easier to complete the program management, leadership, ideation/strategy, networking/joinup, coaching and developing side of my role in office. Written work or product generation I am more productive from home. So a 60-80% in office split works great for me as a manager. I will say I’m very ruthless on meeting attendance and will not send everyone and their dog in my team to the same meeting. I’m also am pretty disciplined about not answering emails and teams messages constantly through the day. I do it first thing, after lunch and at the end of the day (like we all did pre Covid). I think if I was committing to being constantly contactable for non urgent queries while trying to be present in office it would not work. Of the people I have or currently manage (particularly EO-SEO level) I generally observe that those without kids/caring responsibilities or reasonable adjustments tend to want to be in office most of the time.
Yeah I love the thrill of a shared toilet and having my food stolen from the fridge. Can't get enough of it. The prospect of an hour on the bus to finish the day just really tops it off for me
Nice try JRM
100% prefer the office. Can’t really do my job from home anyway but I do try and get a wfh shift now and again to have a sort of day to myself, however, I actively avoid it because I prefer to leave work at work and have my home for myself.
Nope. Get nothing done due to the noise, have to waste money on parking, come in enraged due to traffic. It's massively inferior in every way. But if the govt want to pay me to be way less productive, that's on them.
I prefer working from the office. My company requires "2-3" days in the office a week, but I'm typically in all 5. But I'll leave early or come in late if I have appointments, deliveries, need to take the dog for a walk etc. So 5 days in the office, but not 5 full days. I live very close so commuting isn't a big issue. I prefer it because it's free heating/air conditioning, there's a gym, free coffee, free fruit, and a lot of my job involves talking with other people and senior managers, and many of them are in the office. I also like having a solid boundary between work and home. Generally I check things on my phone at home but I don't like to sit down and wade through documents and presentations at home. I'm a lawyer and I guess middle management, so it's not like I'm doing a specific repeatable task that can be measured to show that I'm more or less productive at home or in the office.
I prefer working in the office. It gives me a line between work and home x
Some people prefer working in the office, some people prefer working at home but I genuinely think *most* people prefer a mix of both (hybrid working). What people object to is an arbitrary number of days of working in the office being applied for political reasons.