Here's why more companies want their staff back at the office

[surface]

Yeah that part doesn't fly with us anymore. If load shedding is going to affect you, then you need to go in to any of our campuses. Too many people have been using it as an excuse to take the day off...

I agree that if you can't work due to load-shedding, you need to make other plans and one of the plans is to go to office.

But, if it is a day off and is allowed by leave policies, it should be fine in my opinion. A day off doesn't really cause much disruption to any team's life unless it is being abused by all and sundry in the team.

 

[sefeddt]

Funny how you get different surveys and views, I've also seen articles where its claimed there is more productivity and saving when working at home.

 

[Lupus]

Yeah that part doesn't fly with us anymore. If load shedding is going to affect you, then you need to go in to any of our campuses. Too many people have been using it as an excuse to take the day off...

Same rule applied for us, the problem is the generator powers the essentials, aircons and most lights aren't essential in some offices, so yeah 30 plus degrees in there plus it's dark

 

[Major Boredom]

your output is 100% higher.

But is it really ...

 

[Major Boredom]

I was part of the great resignation so can comment from 2 companies perspectives.

1st Company
I had some say in the WFH debate. Also saw some of the stats.
Team is younger. Productivity did not go up, if anything response times got worse. WFH people did not stick around their PC's 100%. They would wander and then check email etc every half hour. Or in some cases just go missing for a few hours. You also had the excuse about load shedding and 3G is crap or I never had power etc. Rule was there if you didnt have the infra to do WFH properly the office is open.
Company introduced a mandatory % days in the week everyone had to go into the office.

2nd Company
I am just one of the plebs. No real input on the policies.
Average team age is a LOT older. Pretty much still 100% WFH. Odd days now and then some of us go to the office. But more end up talking **** and catching up.
Work is done on time and in SLA's. I personally dont work much at all with any of the team in SA. Most of my work is overseas, so as my Boss said I can work from anywhere.

 

[Harold_Crick]

Employees can be as unproductive in the office as they are at home because one of the unofficial skills people learn in the workplace is how to look busy. I can speak from experience. My boss is sitting across the passage from me. We have big internal windows and he can see me, at my desk, furiously typing away. I am on myBB. Throw in a quick frown and brow scratch now-and-then to really sell it and take comfort in the knowledge that trusty Excel is just an alt-tab away if I really want to go for the Oscar performance of looking busy. I finished my day's work about an hour ago and already prepped for tomorrow, I do no need to be here any longer, but I have to sit here, so now I make myself look busy.

 

[zerocool2009]

Want jy wil gesien word: al sit jy net n stoel warm!

 

[LCBXX]

Not sure why we need one propaganda article after the other to "tell us why", when none of them deals with the elephant in the room:
"Our buildings cost money to rent. We pay for security, HVAC and loadshedding generators. If you lot don't come to work, we waste money and shareholders get pissed over dividends, OK?"

 

[Brontosaurus]

Be careful guys, if you say the words "work from home" in the mirror three times you'll summon a boomer who, with zero evidence whatsoever, will tell you how it's worse than the black plague.

 

[Brontosaurus]

Not sure why we need one propaganda article after the other to "tell us why", when none of them deals with the elephant in the room:
"Our buildings cost money to rent. We pay for security, HVAC and loadshedding generators. If you lot don't come to work, we waste money and shareholders get pissed over dividends, OK?"

Except that's a sunk cost fallacy. The rent needs to be paid regardless if employees are in or not. The company is likely to actually save money by not having to provide those things you mentioned for their employees.