Very good summary, Swim!
Silly media hype. I have been working from home since the first lockdown. We have software that tells people if we are at our desk, although there are ways around this it’s the job of line managers to monitor that staff are delivering their tasks. If you have an online meeting it’s poor form to be even a minute late. So you can go from meeting to meeting without having a break. That is no fun. I’ve been working far longer hours during this period and even weekends. You don’t have chats by the coffee machine or in the loos etc. You don’t spend an hour commuting, Can be hard to find time to have a proper lunchbreak. I’m sure some people have it easy but that’s down to poor company policy. The same type of company policy unfortunately leads to some people like me working too much.
@AnnieS , That only applies to paperwork Annie, can we exist
on paperwork ??
Surely something has to be actually produced before any paper
work can be produced ??
Or am l wrong ??
Donkeyman! 
Hi
I hope that you will understand this, I am getting a lot of Flack from those who do not.
It is now seriously annoying me.
I was a Public Employee, an Enforcement Officer, and I will repeat, never Police or Military.
*
I have never had any powers of arrest,I have always had to Caution People.
You are not obliged to say anything, etc, etc.
I then went on to say, I have complied with the law.
Unfortunately for you, I am different.
This is a matter of Public Health or Public Safety.
You are committing a Criminal Offence if you do not answer my questions, you are liable to a Life Sentence or whatever they decide.
You will then go to Prison, you will be placed in a secure unit for your own safety.
This is not the best place to be.
It is not good for you, it is only for kiddie fiddlers or terrorists.
Neither is a good place to be in Prison.
Hi
Donkeyman, we need the paper shufflers to get everything right to get a successful prosecution.
I hated them as a young officer, I now admire them.
@swimfeeders , Hi Swimmy, l know paper shufflers are
neccassary, what l am bemoaning is the apparent lack of
Doers and the prepondce of shufflers in this country ?
I wonder what is paying all the bills?
What do we actually export that produces income for the state ?
We have sold most of our industries to foreign interests, we have allowed our fisheries to decline and be filched by other
countries ! So, what are we living on??
BTW, l wouldn’t class you as a shuffler either! You are a doer,
albeit a non productive one ? (But a neccassary one)!
Donkeyman! 
Quite right DM, would not be so bad if everyone working from home was engaged in a “Cottage Industry”
@spitfire , aYeah, but l suspect that those working from home
wouldn’t like getting their hands dirty though , Spitty ??
Donkeyman! 
I don’t remember the last time I dealt with a piece of paper at work DM.
They have machines to do much of this now. Even brussels sprouts picking machines. Humans need to control them at the moment.
Did anyone read about the German chap in the news the other day?
He fell down stairs whilst working from home and broke his back … and a judge has ruled it’s a workplace accident …as the moment he got out of bed and walked to his desk he was technically commuting.
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Oh for goodness sake 
Employer’s insurance obligations must be different in Germany.
I don’t think employers in UK are responsible for ensuring your health and safety for your commute to work nor are they liable to insure you for any accidents on your journey - not as far as I’m aware, anyway.
It seems bonkers to make an employer liable for the health and safety conditions in places they have no control over!
I remember the managers in my office who regularly worked from home in our company were supposed to kit out their home office with proper equipment, such as proper desks and office chairs, paid for by the company, to ensure their health and safety at work - but it didn’t extend to checking the rest of their home to make sure the stairs to their bedroom had no trip hazards!
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@Morticia l expect the insurance company will have something
to say about that?
Could claim that the workplace was not conforming to specs ??
That would put the cat among the pigeons !!
Donkeyman!
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I thought that … how can someone WFH ensure their home meets Health & Safety standards.
You can imagine a whole raft of stubbed toes, sprained wrists, back problems … all suddenly occurring at home.
@AnnieS, l can believe that Annie !!
But l am sure you see my point ??
Anyway, the fact you don’t use paper anymore only strengthens
my case !
Donkeyman! 
You think what we do here would be more meaningful & fun if we corresponded by pigeon post? People who no longer use paper have far more work to do. Constantly on the go. Working from home is just a different dynamic, more hours more work done but struggles with internet connections and communication, isolation etc. I am organising for my team to be in the office for a day a couple of times a month it helps to go through some things face to face. Also a nice day out.
We need to nail down work, so it seems. 