So I wonder, how much is "I think we'd be more productive in the office as a company" vs "I want an easier life doing my job/I think EYE would be more productive"
Replies
This may be industry specific and personality specific of course but eg in publishing an editor gets more done at home in most cases but a publisher might find it harder (decision making over zoom not always the easiest for eg cos you miss all the little facial cues)
feb 21, 2025, 12:43 pm • 23 0 • view
Yeah, from personal experience and lots of conversations, lockdown was really tough on managers. (Like, obvs it wasn't much fun for anyone.) Part of that was unfamiliarity and can be mitigated with different working practices, but I think there's still a core that's simply much harder.
feb 21, 2025, 1:02 pm • 0 0 • view
Definitely something to this, but with a global workforce you're on screen in meetings whether you're in the office or not.
feb 21, 2025, 5:43 pm • 0 0 • view
I’d also throw into that: As an artist/writer, I find in person meetings with publishers way, way, waaaaaay more productive.
feb 21, 2025, 12:59 pm • 0 0 • view
Yeah, i think creative meetings tend to flow better in person. Going in for a layouts meeting so much better than a zoom one
feb 21, 2025, 3:00 pm • 0 0 • view
There’s definitely an element of “it works best for me, so therefore…” Personally, I’d love to see more emphasis on flexibility based on personal productivity and what’s happening on a particular day.
feb 21, 2025, 7:13 pm • 1 0 • view
Lots of creative meetings with discussion? Come in. Got the lurgy but ok to work? Stay at home and pop up on Zoom as needed. Living in a shared house so wfh means wf bedroom? Come in as much as you like. Need some time with no interruptions? Work remotely. Need company for accountability? Come in.
feb 21, 2025, 7:13 pm • 1 0 • view
Personally, I’m discovering that I work from productively but not if I’m at home all the time - I need variety and also separation of work and leisure.
feb 21, 2025, 7:14 pm • 1 0 • view
I think you're spot on. The work I do these days involves sensitive personal data - it's far less of a risk to have this open at home where only I can see it, than in an office where any nosy parker could walk past and see my screen.
feb 21, 2025, 12:45 pm • 14 0 • view
You are correct. My husband is in upper management for the government. He works from home and I don’t have people in the house due to the sensitivity of his job. They want them in office next month, so the peace he’s had will be gone. I’m his only “coworker”/“IT” person. 🤣
feb 21, 2025, 3:29 pm • 3 0 • view
That hadn't occurred to me! Interesting! Yes - I have a whole separate rant about the problems of open plan offices in terms of people feeling watched...but also getting sick cos they are petri dishes!
feb 21, 2025, 12:46 pm • 10 0 • view
My entire team (handling FOI/DPA stuff) now works from home primarily. It means if we need to have a discussion about something sensitive or complex, we just boot up Teams and have a video call, where nobody can overhear anything. Especially handy if you have SAR requests from staff!
feb 21, 2025, 12:53 pm • 7 0 • view
During the height of the pandemic summer, a member of my team mentioned he had the window open and the neighbours (furloughed or retired) had said they could hear (his side of) all his work calls.
feb 21, 2025, 1:38 pm • 3 0 • view
Do you not have privacy screens at work?
feb 21, 2025, 12:59 pm • 1 0 • view
It's all hot desking, so no. But also, they're not always effective - stand at the right angle and they don't work anymore. Also, sometimes you have to discuss sensitive information (personal and commercial) with colleagues and, with limited meeting room space, that's easier to do remotely.
feb 21, 2025, 1:15 pm • 1 0 • view
One thing to add is that the civil service has been downsizing a lot, moving to smaller offices with fewer facilities. Factor in the rise of teams being split nationally or even internationally, and if you're all on virtual calls anyway, what good is the office?
feb 21, 2025, 1:15 pm • 0 0 • view
I think it does have broader applications. One of the most draining aspects of remote working as a manager for me was peoples' default tendency to start ask via email questions that they would have previously raised in-person/by phone
feb 21, 2025, 1:41 pm • 0 0 • view
What used to be 2 minute informal chats ended up as me having to spend 10 mins making sure my reply couldn't be misinterpreted if it was ever subject to FOI
feb 21, 2025, 1:41 pm • 0 0 • view
My partner has a pretty senior 'talky' role and is 3 days wfh,2 office. She says she's definitely more productive than if she was full time office bound. The commute is the issue.
feb 21, 2025, 1:00 pm • 1 0 • view
I think there's also an element of 'what to I prefer' Vs 'what's more productive' and people claim 2 when they mean 1. And if your employer thinks you're more productive in the office/hybrid they're allowed to say you have to come in sometimes (equally, you're allowed to look for a different job!)
feb 21, 2025, 1:04 pm • 2 0 • view
Fundamentally work is a thing they have to pay you to do and they're allowed to say that part of what they're paying you for is physical presence. You can then decide what you want to do about that. It's a business transaction and everyone should be upfront about that and get less weird about it.
feb 21, 2025, 1:06 pm • 4 0 • view
I think the shift, though, is that some people are genuinely more productive at home - and now know that to be true. In-office days can involve another few hours after ‘work’ finishing up the day’s load, plus the added bonus of needing to commute and losing time in both directions.
feb 21, 2025, 7:22 pm • 1 0 • view
That's not my point though. If your employer wants you in the office because they think it's better for the business then that's their prerogative. They may, for example, believe that even if individuals are more productive at home, the team works better with in-person interaction...
feb 21, 2025, 7:51 pm • 0 0 • view
... Or they might be wrong about where people are more productive. But you can then decide that in that case you don't want the job, or that you don't want the job without more pay. That's all fine and normal. Turning it into a culture war is the weird bit!
feb 21, 2025, 7:52 pm • 0 0 • view
I think the fact that I got so many responses to what was essentially a brainfart about publishing shows that it's definitely been blown out of all proportion as an opposition of belief systems. When it's all capitalism which must fall ;)
feb 22, 2025, 7:56 am • 1 0 • view
IMHO buggest driver of bosses saying "everybody back in the office" is they are incompetent, and gauge productivity by headcount at desks, rather than output and outcome
feb 21, 2025, 1:57 pm • 4 0 • view
Lots of older leaders find it hard to a) lose the control being in an office brings and b) flex their leadership style to embrace new ways of working. It's about their inadequacies or fears and not about reality. It certainly isn't really about productivity.
feb 21, 2025, 2:53 pm • 0 0 • view
I think the control thing is an interesting one - not just about age but when you're senior, WFH for juniors does mean a lot more letting go, and that takes confidence and as you say flexibility. And yes fear in the manager vs reality of what staff do.
feb 21, 2025, 3:45 pm • 1 0 • view