Coronavirus Pandemic

[Letters]

Is there a Plan A?

That’s the one currently in effect which mostly involves crossing your fingers and hoping everything will be ok.

[Letters]

Come on, Covid. You know what to do…

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-suffolk-59030967

[Ollie the Optimist]

So plan B involves working at home and yesterday one of the papers ran a poll which to me sums up the situation. 70% were in favour of mandatory working at home again yet only 22% wanted restaurants & bars closed etc. so these people expect to be able to work at home but also at same time expect those who work in restaurants etc to be there so the same people can still go out & enjoy themselves.


Bringing back masks will change nothing in the sense that people can continue as normal but other restrictions such as social distancing and working at home have huge consequences. Many businesses will struggle and if no christmas party season, many will be finished off. We know how many of the hospitality sector struggled with social distancing as was difficult to have enough people through the door & meet costs given how much social distancing limited numbers.



However if the vaccines are not working as required and means each winter will see a series of restrictions coming in, that is not sustainable.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Do you work at 4 Matthew Parker Street?

Serious question.

I accept people like the lifestyle changes WFH affords - I appreciate it as well. Others like to save money on travel - I’m not averse to it either as a reason.

But WFH was tough for me - I live in a small maisonette. It was the trade off I made to live in a nice area with good schools.

So, as WFH became a longer term thing, I’ve spent 5 figures on an office in the garden - it is much easier now. I do longer days, more than I did working and travelling an hour each way, and I get more done.

I’ve laid out a lot of money to do this and want to continue that way. Because the main reason I want to wfh is to avoid crowded public transport where Covid and every other lurgy spreads like wildfire.

The Conservatives are on the wrong side of the argument here - leaving aside the reason why we have increased wfh, it is only luddites that still insist on people going into an office for no benefit - either to the employer or the employee.

Sure some jobs cant be done from home, and some attendance in the work place may be required for some projects, but going in simply for the sake of it is stupid. Unless of course you own a lot of Commercial property, in which case you have a vested interest in people being stupid and trekking in when it isn’t necessary.

Offices in future are likely to be glorified meeting rooms where teams go to collaborate - in the same way that meeting rooms within offices used to be.

We have the technology to do many jobs remotely - we’d be fools to go back to the way things were before.

[Letters]

I don't think things will go back to the way they were before, but I suspect for most people it'll be a hybrid model.
The pandemic has completely changed my attitude to working from home. I actually like working in an office. I like the commute - it gives me some down time, some time to read. And I like the social aspect, having lunch with colleagues, drinks after work at times, water cooler moments.
But during the pandemic I have seen the benefits of working from home - I spend most of my day dealing with emails or in meetings with remote teams, I can do that anywhere. So being at home and seeing our boy when he gets home from school, or even picking him up if I don't have any meetings, is really nice.
So I'd like a bit of both, it'll be nice to have some days in the office for some of the reasons I've outlined above, but it will also be nice to have time at home too. I reckon that would work for most people. For certain things face to face does with, but with remote teams when you're doing Teams meetings anyway it doesn't matter where you are.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Do you work at 4 Matthew Parker Street?

Serious question.

I accept people like the lifestyle changes WFH affords - I appreciate it as well. Others like to save money on travel - I’m not averse to it either as a reason.

But WFH was tough for me - I live in a small maisonette. It was the trade off I made to live in a nice area with good schools.

So, as WFH became a longer term thing, I’ve spent 5 figures on an office in the garden - it is much easier now. I do longer days, more than I did working and travelling an hour each way, and I get more done.

I’ve laid out a lot of money to do this and want to continue that way. Because the main reason I want to wfh is to avoid crowded public transport where Covid and every other lurgy spreads like wildfire.

The Conservatives are on the wrong side of the argument here - leaving aside the reason why we have increased wfh, it is only luddites that still insist on people going into an office for no benefit - either to the employer or the employee.

Sure some jobs cant be done from home, and some attendance in the work place may be required for some projects, but going in simply for the sake of it is stupid. Unless of course you own a lot of Commercial property, in which case you have a vested interest in people being stupid and trekking in when it isn’t necessary.

Offices in future are likely to be glorified meeting rooms where teams go to collaborate - in the same way that meeting rooms within offices used to be.

We have the technology to do many jobs remotely - we’d be fools to go back to the way things were before.

There is a clear difference between flexible working and mandatory working at home.

Flexible working is a good thing, there are benefits to being in office & also time at home which as you say saves on commuting time, more time with family etc. However, while in the city, the busiest days are Tuesday - Thursday, flexible working does mean most places are open all week. This means restaurants, pubs, shops are all trading and yes footfall might be lower on a Monday or Friday but htey are still trading. It also means jobs such as receptionists remain as offices are usually open every day.


Mandatory working at home which some are calling for is a different ball game. While i can work at home with little impact on my work (albeit being in the city makes life easier) there will be a major impact on the shops, bars, restaurants etc as no one will be there to use them. Receptionists, security guards etc will all struggle as well as many were furloughed during the work from home period. So if people are forced to work at home again for a period of time, many industries will suffer. Those restaurants & shops lose that footfall, people will lose jobs as businesses close.

Doubtful that furlough will come back so you cant have a country where for the winter, we just shut down vast swathes of buisnesses and expect things to be ok. There are huge consequences to a decision like that.

[Mac76]

shops, bars etc can either repurpose to something else or move to local high streets which will be busier as a result of people being in their local areas more

also there's a chance more people will live in or near the centre if the office accomodation is repurposed for living space, so those people will use the cafes/bars etc

we can't structure our economy or way of life around the needs of a few restaurants and sandwich shops

[Ollie the Optimist]

That’s a long term project though, you wont do that tomorrow.

So you shut down all those businesses by making people work at home, how do you fix those who lose their jobs especially if more Covid restrictions come in?

It goes back to my original point, it is selfish of those demanding working at home comes back but expect restaurants & bars to remain open so they can still enjoy themselves.

[Marc Overmars]

I feel my company is ready to go fully remote but they own a lot of office space in the city and it is no easy task to shift all that at the moment. Working at home is not for me but I appreciate that’s probably where we’re heading long term, as a lot of people do prefer it and that’s fair enough. It was a big part of my thinking when I bought my new house, as it’s going to have a fully fledged office. (Sorry kid, no playroom for you)

[Mac76]

That’s a long term project though, you wont do that tomorrow.

So you shut down all those businesses by making people work at home, how do you fix those who lose their jobs especially if more Covid restrictions come in?

It goes back to my original point, it is selfish of those demanding working at home comes back but expect restaurants & bars to remain open so they can still enjoy themselves.

well at least they won't go hungry with all that food around