Why do companies want to return to the office?

Backstreet Moyes

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122916658#Comment_122916658

Do you know what their work schedule is.

I log in at 10 from home and stay later for calls as I work with Americans.

When I go to the office I start at 9 and I can't take those evening calls as I am heading home.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122924894#Comment_122924894

There have been previous cases where people have taken photos or notes from their work computer while in the office.

I quess they should be concerned about people working in offices also.

maninasia

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122887388#Comment_122887388

Been work from anywhere for about 7 years at least in this job . And even before that about 4 years.

So yeah about 11 years total experience WFH , you don't have a clue lots of people out there like me too and always have been actually.. Even my in laws were often remote working and work from home decades ago with some days in the office

Difference now is that many don't go into the office at all or once a year or whatever. By the way like other posters I still have a desk sitting there in an office I never go to.

blue_blue

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122925047#Comment_122925047

You're clearly missing the point. Of course employees in office can take pics also but it's the fact that her boyfriend and someone else also took pics and used the info maliciously is one new risk of wfh.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122926369#Comment_122926369

A new risk? I didn't realise there's never been a data breach or fraud before WFH.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122926434#Comment_122926434

But as that poster said: the new risk is others in the home being privy to information that wouldn't be available had she been based in the office.

I'm in favour of wfh but while obviously most people aren't criminals/idiots, anyone who is, is in an even better position to get up to something nefarious alone in their home rather than in an open-plan office.

kippy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122870162#Comment_122870162

A private sector organisation is all about making money for the owner/shareholder.

The very topic is about the rationale as to why some organisations are requesting their employees to return to the office (whether it be 1 day or a week or 5 days a week) is because that organision, for one reason or another, has determined that they will ultimately make money in doing so.

Why this is the case can be for any number of reasons.

While I appreciate that people can also do jack sh1t while in the office, I do beleive the behaviour of some employees who have WFH has tarnished significantly those who have performed well from WFH and again, in many companies instead of dealing with the actual problem (people) every one gets punished (return to office)

There seem to be plenty companies out there now that are entirely WFH or very flexible, I suggest as with any other work Term or Condition if the lack of flexibility is an issue, the employee should look elsewhere. If enough people do this in the company it will effect the companies bottom line or maybe it wont, but either way the company gets people who don't mind being in the office and the person who doesn't want to be in the office ends up happier in another role.

Personally, I think any role that doesn't need to be fully in person, should be blended, with fairly strict terms and conditions associated with remote work - but lots of Orgs aren't setup for that culturally.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122927297#Comment_122927297

You're missing the point. People HAVE done the same thing in open plan offices. Copy the information and bring it home. It's as old as the hills.

No one's watching over everyone's shoulder 100% of the time in an open plan office. It's a complete myth.

They get tracked on the system. Thats is how they get caught. They leave a massive digital fingerprint. Same if they are in the office or remote. Makes no difference.

That anything thinks it's easier, more secure to watch people using computers, than actually digitally tracking them, it's ridiculous.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122927375#Comment_122927375

Think about it. Why are they bringing the people who they "know" do nothing back to the office. It's hardly going to make them more money.

Greyfox

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122916631#Comment_122916631

If they are taking advantage of wfh then the issue is with the gobshi*e managers who are not giving their staff enough work and not with the staff wfh

Lewis_Benson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122904716#Comment_122904716

I work from home, does that make me lazy? Care to elaborate?

kowloonkev

I think it's fair to say that generally working from home is not as productive, not as good for businesses, and not good for active lifestyles or mental well being.

Now you may be that amazing individual who has a dependable work ethic, a great sense of pride in your personal performance, getting up at 6am for a run and hitting the gym at 7pm, and meeting your friends and socialising in the evening. That is possible. If so you are a very small minority. And it doesn't mean you are so special that you get to decide how the entire company operates.

To be very honest, I highly doubt that kind of get up and go, self motivated individual would be complaining or campaigning to say at home all day and work from there. Again it's possible, but highly highly unlikely that kind of person would be p*ssing and moaning about having to go to work.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122927709#Comment_122927709

Nothing says self motivated or productive than wanting to sit in traffic or on a bus for 10+ hours a week doing absolutely nothing.

odyssey06

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122927546#Comment_122927546

And people working in the office have lost sensitive information, or someone in their house could have eyeballed it… because they printed out stuff or copied stuff to disk\USB so they could work on it from home. If fully working at home, they wouldn't have needed to do that.

There's risks everywhere, and the 'old' world had its risks too.

Former Former Former

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122927900#Comment_122927900

again, this thread was started by an OP who was raging at having to commute one day per week.

Very few posters here have been forced back in five days per week.

You’d swear grumpy lads moaning about work was only invented in 2023.

FishOnABike

@kowloonkev I don't think it is fair to say. The company I was working for had to switch to work from home when CoViD happened. The project had a team of approx. 20 and was delivered ahead of schedule and higher quality when compared to similar projects before work from home.

I saved an hour and a half to two hours commute each day which I was able to use working in the garden, bringing the dog for a local walk and when restrictions eased, get to the nearest beach.

Similary in the role I'm in now, I could work when I had CoViD rather than take the best part of two weeks sick leave. I can complete some tasks much quicker than if limited to 9 to 5 - in a day rather than days. I can support out of hours requests far more easily.

For me and teams I've worked on, work from home has improved both quality of life and quality of work.

A well run company will be a well run company, a badly run company will be a badly run company. For a well run company work from home gives access to a much wider pool of potental empoyees to find the best for a particular role.

kowloonkev

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122927900#Comment_122927900

Better than getting up at 8:55 and spending the first hour and a half of "work" waking up. There will always be a reason with some people to do less and find ways to make their own lives easier. These are the people who will never be making these decisions.

kowloonkev

You're replying to a general point with your own personal experience. It is kinda amazing to see so many highly motivated people working in perfect companies in one thread on boards.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122927930#Comment_122927930

Actually he was asking what's the point of it. Rather than engaging meaningfully in that discussion many seem to prefer to revert saying things like "grumpy lads moaning".

This thread isn't solely about the OP, people have broadened it to corporates like Amazon and that is hardly a "few people".

My answer is companies do it because they can, they don't have bother justifying it, so they don't. People have the choice of moving if they don't like it.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122928269#Comment_122928269

So your theory is people are going to be LESS tired having to spend 50+ hours a week driving and travelling.

Your second preference is people who make things take longer and harder at work, making everyone's live harder.

Each to their own..

Trampas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122928269#Comment_122928269

What about the people who get up at 6 and do an hour exercise and then ready to work for 7:30 compared to the ones sleeping on buses and trains

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122927546#Comment_122927546

Nobody said workers are being watched 100% of the time in the office, but you don't even have to try and hide it at home. The article says she illegally accessed thousands of accounts. The quicker you can carry out the fraudulent transaction, the more damage you can do.

That said, it's not like employers haven't always been aware of this risk, or that many people are stupid enough to do it/think they'll get away with it for long.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122932206#Comment_122932206

If you're not watching them, how does being in the office help at all. They just take photos of their work screen, or write the information down, or copy the data down somewhere, or email it out of the company. Most data breeches are done in the office.

Its going to take a very long time to go through thousands of records taking photos of them. That the system allowed them to access thousands of records, when they didn't have any reason to access them is where the failure is.

Well there's still gonna be far more visibility of what people are up to in the office, where smartphones can be banned. It's obviously easier at home. I'm not saying I think we should therefore all return to the office full time (I think the opposite), just comparing the two environments in response to that article.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122932493#Comment_122932493

The visibility from being in the office implies watching. If its not 100% then its utterly flawed.

Also means banning any phone with a camera from the office. So you'll have police that aswell. Pouches for everyone.

kowloonkev

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122928462#Comment_122928462

Wow it's gone up from 10 hours a week to 50. That certainly emphasises your point.

kowloonkev

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122928694#Comment_122928694

Read my first post again. Companies can't make decisions based on what one or two employees do. They have to make decisions based on what most do. Most don't get up at 6 for a run, and most don't live two hours drive from work. Just excuse after excuse for the minority.

Padre_Pio

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122927900#Comment_122927900

We're not all stuck on the M50 every morning like idiots.

Your commute is your problem. You choose where you live and your choose where you work. It's an employees responsibility to present themselves at work on time.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122932613#Comment_122932613

So not disagreeing with it so.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122932617#Comment_122932617

You're arguing for less efficiency. Work harder not smarter.

Average commuting time is 0.5hrs. That's with people WFH. Be worse if they weren't. That means a lot of people commute a lot longer.