WFH....burnout?

What are peoples office saying about returning?
We had a meeting about 6 weeks ago to talk about the return to the office. What are the companies expectations and what are the employee expectations. The plan is to NOT return to a 5 day a week in the office model.

The plan is for 2 and 1/2 days in the office. Tuesdays, Thursdays, Friday. Friday will be a half day. We work in the morning and then have an office lunch together. Then everyone goes home early for the day.

As a start they have asked people to return on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Very few have followed that suggestion. I end up in the office with only one or two other people. Even when there have been 4 or more in the office we still take all our meetings from our desks via Microsoft Teams. It seems pointless. If we are not all going to get together in the same room for meetings when we are in the office, why are we even in the office?

I believe the answer to that questions is that the company believes if they don't get us back in the office soon, they will never get us back in the office. I am not sure they are ready for a workforce that is mostly work from home.
 
My industry, public accounting, is suffering from a shortage of CPA candidates. People are leaving the profession in droves too, as they strive for better work/life balance. The pandemic seems to have caused many people to reevaluate their priorities.

Client demands will determine when and how often people will get back to working at client sites. However, I will say that we have proven we can be effective with quite a bit of work remotely. I feel that business travel and on site work will take a long time (if ever) to return to what it was before. The days of just going to the office to work are probably pretty much over. I am not saying people will never go to the office. They will - for a specific meeting, event or to see a specific person. You will not have to go into the office for the day to take calls (now Zooms or Teams) from people who are in differently places anyway.

We were targeting after Labor Day originally for more of a back to the office start. However, the Delta variance put that plan on hold. The tricky thing is that it has been harder getting brand new graduates up to speed and to have them make personal connections in the current environment. However, we cannot just say we want everyone back in the office, because people would leave in droves. It is a tricky balance.

My role is a bit different as I no longer client face but work internally within the firm. I do not ever see myself going back to the my office in the city where I live. I do suspect I will be doing more traveling to meet with people and to attend meetings as things open up. But we have already been told that internal travel will also be dramatically reduced as we have all proven we know how to work remotely. We will go to an office for a big initiative, a kick-off of a major project and for regular touchpoint as deemed necessary.

I have already made a few short trips in the past 60 days and it has helped my state of mind. I would be fine with an 80% WFH model, with the rest being filled in as needed with travel to various offices. I see me going for a three day trip one week, to maybe two weeks a home, then another two day trip, etc.

We shall see.
 
I'm so sick of my job I'm ready to walk out! Obviously I can't just quit but its very tempting and something to think about.
 
My industry, public accounting, is suffering from a shortage of CPA candidates. People are leaving the profession in droves too, as they strive for better work/life balance. The pandemic seems to have caused many people to reevaluate their priorities.

Client demands will determine when and how often people will get back to working at client sites. However, I will say that we have proven we can be effective with quite a bit of work remotely. I feel that business travel and on site work will take a long time (if ever) to return to what it was before. The days of just going to the office to work are probably pretty much over. I am not saying people will never go to the office. They will - for a specific meeting, event or to see a specific person. You will not have to go into the office for the day to take calls (now Zooms or Teams) from people who are in differently places anyway.

We were targeting after Labor Day originally for more of a back to the office start. However, the Delta variance put that plan on hold. The tricky thing is that it has been harder getting brand new graduates up to speed and to have them make personal connections in the current environment. However, we cannot just say we want everyone back in the office, because people would leave in droves. It is a tricky balance.

My role is a bit different as I no longer client face but work internally within the firm. I do not ever see myself going back to the my office in the city where I live. I do suspect I will be doing more traveling to meet with people and to attend meetings as things open up. But we have already been told that internal travel will also be dramatically reduced as we have all proven we know how to work remotely. We will go to an office for a big initiative, a kick-off of a major project and for regular touchpoint as deemed necessary.

I have already made a few short trips in the past 60 days and it has helped my state of mind. I would be fine with an 80% WFH model, with the rest being filled in as needed with travel to various offices. I see me going for a three day trip one week, to maybe two weeks a home, then another two day trip, etc.

We shall see.
There are so many people leaving my firm. It's crazy!

We transitioned to our "new normal" on 9/7. Nothing has changed other than we don't need permission to go into the office. We just need to be vaccinated. I do think I will see if any of my teammates want to go to the office next week one day. Maybe I need a day with my co-workers to reset me?
 


What are peoples office saying about returning? Are you remote indefinitely (for those that are remote) or is there a plan in place to return? Just curious. It seems the delta variant is calming down a bit so I was wondering if people will start heading back.

I work for a Fortune 100 company in a satellite office. Because of the nature of our business only about 1/4 of our company’s employees have worked from home since March 2020. Our office was set to go back mid August and our corporate building was set to go back the first week of September. However all discussions around returning to the office have been placed on hold indefinitely. They have already said once it does happen that it will be a hybrid schedule. We all just feel like we are in limbo. Though none of the 6 finance people in my building want to go back to the office
 
My husband has been working from home and they made them go back to the office this week. He hates it. He said that it is hard to get things done when you hear all of the people around you and they can easily just walk over to you and start chatting. Not to mention that they have to wear masks and take a covid test every week. It might not have been much of a change of scenery at home, but at least he was safer and did not have to deal with others around, potentially getting him sick.
 
My industry, public accounting, is suffering from a shortage of CPA candidates. People are leaving the profession in droves too, as they strive for better work/life balance. The pandemic seems to have caused many people to reevaluate their priorities.
The number of coworkers that can't wrap their head around the idea that people are favoring the "life" side of "work-life balance" is mind boggling. I'm happy to see employees starting to tear down the notion that people who sacrifice everything for the company are heroes.

I've considered going down to 4 days a week myself but I'm giving it a bit longer. Really want to build a bit more savings.
 


I really loved working from home. I guess the only thing I miss about going into the office is joking around and visiting w/co-workers/friends.
 
What are peoples office saying about returning? Are you remote indefinitely (for those that are remote) or is there a plan in place to return? Just curious. It seems the delta variant is calming down a bit so I was wondering if people will start heading back.

We're supposed to go back to the office in January, depending on the variant (not-for-profit in downtown Chicago). They're giving folks the option of working in the office 1-2 days a week, but no guaranteed space (they're calling it "hotel" space). There will be cubicles and offices to dock our laptops, but not a permanent space. If you say you'll work in the office 3 or more days a week, you keep your office. This will be reviewed quarterly.

My team and I chose the 3 days a week option for now, but I might decide it's not really worth it. But the view from my office is amazing!

607370
 
I like working from home. I get more done, it is quiet, and I don't get as stressed and anxious. However, I have been going in one day a week even during the pandemic as I have to handle checks. People do come into the office but it is not officially reopened. It was supposed to be right after Labor Day but it was put off until who knows when. Most people do not want to come back to the office. I would like to keep the one day a week but I will up it to 2 if my boss insists. I am not sure he will. The people who do come into the office now constantly talk and it is very distracting. Hence, home is better.
 

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