Total Lockdown?

[BrianV]

Who?

You don't think WFH is popular?
More money in your pocket and a substantial increase in your effective hourly rate?
It's so popular they are trying to at least pretend it's forever now.
You don't think handing out cash to the self employed whilst they continue to work is popular.

Working from home may be popular for some but when reality hits home & businesses decide an English speaker in India can WFH for a fraction of the cost whose job do you think will disappear, we are at the moment living in a fairy tale time but reality will come thundering down the road before too long, some poor buggers are going to be footing the bill for this complete mess!

 

[Hindsight]

Working from home may be popular for some but when reality hits home & businesses decide an English speaker in India can WFH for a fraction of the cost whose job do you think will disappear, we are at the moment living in a fairy tale time but reality will come thundering down the road before too long, some poor buggers are going to be footing the bill for this complete mess!

But we have had that before - the banks and other corporates already for years have off shored to Mumbai. And in many cases have re-shored customer facing to UK based call centres due to customer complaints about failure to understand the Indian accent.

The Unions like WHF as more employee friendly and furlough. There will be votes in this for Tories. Nope think I concurr with Essex Man.

And hey, or the lucky boomer group Rishi has engineered a house price boom. Whats not to like.

 

[BrianV]

But we have had that before - the banks and other corporates already for years have off shored to Mumbai. And in many cases have re-shored customer facing to UK based call centres due to customer complaints about failure to understand the Indian accent.

The Unions like WHF as more employee friendly and furlough. There will be votes in this for Tories. Nope think I concurr with Essex Man.

And hey, or the lucky boomer group Rishi has engineered a house price boom. Whats not to like.

No one wants to speak to an Indian speaking pigeon English BUT that is only a small part of what all these WFH are now doing, makes no difference to the majority of jobs being done as you will soon see.

 

[Hindsight]

No one wants to speak to an Indian speaking pigeon English BUT that is only a small part of what all these WFH are now doing, makes no difference to the majority of jobs being done as you will soon see.

As you say, time will tell.

 

[essex man]

Working from home may be popular for some but when reality hits home & businesses decide an English speaker in India can WFH for a fraction of the cost whose job do you think will disappear, we are at the moment living in a fairy tale time but reality will come thundering down the road before too long, some poor buggers are going to be footing the bill for this complete mess!

I'm not saying wfh a good idea just that it's popular.
Agree broadly with your contention that is overall bad for UK plc.
gov has been handing out money to compensate those who suffering directly...train companies, hospitality in city centres etc At some point that will stop

They are now floating WFH as a legal right for workforce ...they are doing that cause it's popular, no other reason.

 

[Hindsight]

I'm not saying wfh a good idea just that it's popular.
Agree broadly with your contention that is overall bad for UK plc.
gov has been handing out money to compensate those who suffering directly...train companies, hospitality in city centres etc At some point that will stop

They are now floating WFH as a legal right for workforce ...they are doing that cause it's popular, no other reason.

Only have to read the weekend papers. Many an article about the pleasures of WFH. Especially with younger folk with young families. Number of votes in this for the Tories.

 

[essex man]

Thinking perhaps they are saying you can keep the bits you like from the pandemic, particularly WFH,even after it's over, in order to make it more popular to end it.
Maybe even they can see the gravy train must be slowed down before it goes off the rails.

 

[Lowland1]

When I asked our importer whether his office staff were working from home he told me if they can work from home and do the job without coming in to work then the job could be done from overseas much cheaper so if his staff knew what was best for them they would keep coming into work. If a few more employers had taken that tack then all of this might have been over much faster. (Yes I know innocent people could have died etc but I don't care.)

 

[Hindsight]

When I asked our importer whether his office staff were working from home he told me if they can work from home and do the job without coming in to work then the job could be done from overseas much cheaper so if his staff knew what was best for them they would keep coming into work. If a few more employers had taken that tack then all of this might have been over much faster. (Yes I know innocent people could have died etc but I don't care.)

Its the larger corporates and government that are stuck - they had tobe Covid compliant - which in March 2020 meant sending all staff home or at last effectively close the office but are very much in the public view. As for doing the job overseas - mmm - often touted but it is not always as straightforward as it is made out. As in effect it is a long distance formalised WFH - is it not?

 

[essex man]

When I asked our importer whether his office staff were working from home he told me if they can work from home and do the job without coming in to work then the job could be done from overseas much cheaper so if his staff knew what was best for them they would keep coming into work. If a few more employers had taken that tack then all of this might have been over much faster. (Yes I know innocent people could have died etc but I don't care.)

Think the issue is worse with public sector and quasi public sector workers.
DVLA having terrible trouble getting staff in, thinking the IT too important/difficult to do at home but workforce claiming it's too dangerous to go in !

Covid: Further strike action at DVLA over safety fears

A third round of industrial action is starting at the Swansea-based government agency.

www.bbc.com

 

[Lowland1]

Its the larger corporates and government that are stuck - they had tobe Covid compliant - which in March 2020 meant sending all staff home or at last effectively close the office but are very much in the public view. As for doing the job overseas - mmm - often touted but it is not always as straightforward as it is made out. As in effect it is a long distance formalised WFH - is it not?

I don't think in this case it would ever have been practical I think it was more a case of making sure staff didn't take advantage of Covid regulations allowing them to claim to have been in contact with infected people when they hadn't and then being paid to isolate. I don't think they were able to claim anything from the Government during all of this so had to keep going. I know last summer he was very angry about people isolating at home but coming back to work with a level of suntan unobtainable at the time in U.K.

 

[Hindsight]

I don't think in this case it would ever have been practical I think it was more a case of making sure staff didn't take advantage of Covid regulations allowing them to claim to have been in contact with infected people when they hadn't and then being paid to isolate. I don't think they were able to claim anything from the Government during all of this so had to keep going. I know last summer he was very angry about people isolating at home but coming back to work with a level of suntan unobtainable at the time in U.K.

Hi, Yes I know of one or two private small scale employers who have grumbled about furlough. But Billy Bunter did command the UK working population to 'Stay Home, Protect Lives, Save NHS' And paid them to do it. As you have frequently pointed out in many countries in the world that privilege was and is not available. And as a kind of quid pro qou Total ongoing restrictions is the price the UK public has to pay. Rest of World seen as a dangerous place breeding up variants and mutants as we share TFF posts!

 

[essex man]

People who don't WFH get the app and are pleased when they get pinged and can join the stay at homers for a week.

 

[Hindsight]

People who don't WFH get the app and are pleased when they get pinged and can join the stay at homers for a week.

Provided they are paid! Those who cannot afford to not be working avoid the NHS app like the plague and give a false phone number and name when forced to write it down, as I did last Sunday when watching a game of club cricket - had to give my name to enter the pavilion to access the toilet.

 

[kiwi pom]

I read an article today saying the CEO of Morgan Stanley investment bank has given his New York employees a bit of a whizz up, telling them to be back in the office by September or they'll be a different type of conversation.
If its safe to go to a restaurant, its safe to go to work.
He said if you want NY wages you have to work in NY not call in from out in the sticks, so maybe working from home isn't as productive as those that are doing it think.

 

[essex man]

Provided they are paid! Those who cannot afford to not be working avoid the NHS app like the plague and give a false phone number and name when forced to write it down, as I did last Sunday when watching a game of club cricket - had to give my name to enter the pavilion to access the toilet.

Yes, absolutely, usually sign myself in as Winston smith.
Find requirements vary a lot...walked into a pub the other day, pretty empty, went up to an unscreened bar, ordered drinks, handed over money, took beer outside to garden, was like being in a time warp.
Other places they want to take your name, temperature, phone number, names of sexual partners, medical history blah blah blah

 

[Lowland1]

Provided they are paid! Those who cannot afford to not be working avoid the NHS app like the plague and give a false phone number and name when forced to write it down, as I did last Sunday when watching a game of club cricket - had to give my name to enter the pavilion to access the toilet.

Yes my son got contacted because someone in his house had tested positive just as he was about to meet up with a group of ex school friends. So he went and got tested and was negative but still was told to isolate just in case. So he’s now removed the app and apparently does the same.

 

[Hindsight]

Yes, absolutely, usually sign myself in as Winston smith.
Find requirements vary a lot...walked into a pub the other day, pretty empty, went up to an unscreened bar, ordered drinks, handed over money, took beer outside to garden, was like being in a time warp.
Other places they want to take your name, temperature, phone number, names of sexual partners, medical history blah blah blah

Yes, Winston Smith is appropriate. I never downloaded the NHS app and had a second non used phone ready in case it became a legal requirement. My wife and her friends did and take great civic pride in forever flashing the Q code thingy about. My concern has always been getting dobbed in to self isolate by one of our Covid compliant friends. But even they are no wanting to pub / restaurant and sorely miss their little weekend European capital short breaks and a four day golf trip to the Algarve. Billy has to be careful as the natives will turn!

 

[Hindsight]

Yes my son got contacted because someone in his house had tested positive just as he was about to meet up with a group of ex school friends. So he went and got tested and was negative but still was told to isolate just in case. So he’s now removed the app and apparently does the same.

Yep, caught by the loosest of association. Bizarre. Can tell it is managed by Civil Servants used to money from the magic money tree.

 

[essex man]

Yes, Winston Smith is appropriate. I never downloaded the NHS app and had a second non used phone ready in case it became a legal requirement. My wife and her friends did and take great civic pride in forever flashing the Q code thingy about. My concern has always been getting dobbed in to self isolate by one of our Covid compliant friends. But even they are no wanting to pub / restaurant and sorely miss their little weekend European capital short breaks and a four day golf trip to the Algarve. Billy has to be careful as the natives will turn!

billy has shown himself to be ahead of the curve in terms of handing out the sweeties so far.
Though It's definitely getting harder to marry up all the demands as potentially the unity of the covidistas splits just as the money runs out