Back the office?

I don't understand why they shut the showers - soap and water is the primary effective means of decontamination. I hear crap arguments about passing infection via touching the taps etc, which mysteriously don't apply to handwashing at the basin.

Well yes. Why are we told to wash our hands ? !!

It's singing 'god save the queen' that provides the mysterious protection there. I believe.

I tried that but couldn't remember the line after the one about the fascist regime. So only a short wash, sadly.

Spending more on wine and sports clothing.

I got a deskcycle due to the increase in sedentary time, although I have to be selective about when I use it - best used when reading or listening to a webinar.

The Broken Window fallacy; I've never come across this term before. However I am familiar with the concept as demonstrated by Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg.

Organon wrote:

The Broken Window fallacy; I've never come across this term before. However I am familiar with the concept as demonstrated by Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg.

Super green!

I saw a social media post over the weekend about how if our economy is just based on unnecessary mass travel to justify the rental of vast centralised office blocks and create adhoc sales of food and clothing then maybe we need to change the economy.

FWIW I dont believe WFH for a whole office is sustainable long term for a variety of reasons and what we may see emerge is neither WFH or office based,but a blend of both.

Awavey wrote:

I saw a social media post over the weekend about how if our economy is just based on unnecessary mass travel to justify the rental of vast centralised office blocks and create adhoc sales of food and clothing then maybe we need to change the economy. .

certainly the way it could all stop and all the essentials could carry on suggests there is an incredible amount of the economy devoted to optional things, as a society we need to decide whether what we want is full time work and all these luxuries, or part time work, less non essentials and more free time. Certainly reducing consumption would be better for the planet.

Unfortunately such a discussion sees unlikely to happen and what people want is a return to the status quo as soon as possible.

This is the economic mystery I have never fathomed, why all this progress and automation never yields its dividend in terms of increased me-time. By now we should be enjoying working a three day week.

Sriracha wrote:

This is the economic mystery I have never fathomed, why all this progress and automation never yields its dividend in terms of increased me-time. By now we should be enjoying working a three day week.

1) people think they want stuff

2) legions of people are employed to make people want stuff

3) the finances of the country depend on a large GDP, the majority of what taxes pay for is directly related to population and not economic activity

4) owners of businesses and land do not want to see their income cut

Sriracha wrote:

This is the economic mystery I have never fathomed, why all this progress and automation never yields its dividend in terms of increased me-time. By now we should be enjoying working a three day week.

One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.

A businessman came walking down the beach, trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why he was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family.

“You aren’t going to catch many fish that way,” said the businessman, “You should be working rather than lying on the beach!”

The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied: “And what will my reward be?”

“Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!” the businessman answered.

“And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman, still smiling.

The businessman replied: “You will make money and you’ll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!”

“And then what will my reward be?” asked the fisherman again.

The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman’s questions. “You can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!” he said.

“And then what will my reward be?” repeated the fisherman.

The businessman was getting angry. He replied: “Don’t you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!”

Once again the fisherman asked: “And then what will my reward be?”

The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman: “Don’t you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. You won’t have a care in the world!”

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said: “And what do you think I’m doing right now?”

Or the somewhat shorter story about how the other half had to go out to work, to make enough to pay for the childcare and a second car.

Or, from the 'Over the Hedge' version of Ben Folds' song 'Rockin the Suburbs':

"We drive our cars to work each day,

a hundred miles or more each way;

so we can earn just enough to pay

to drive our cars to work each day."

We do have the highest unpaid overtime in Europe so that has to come in to it (until we get the trade deal ).

We get the trade deal when the DFS sale ends. So do not hold your breath.

Wouldn't WFH lead to an increase in your electrical and heating costs, and on your spending on instant coffee?

(I never stopped WFO, I'm afraid)

I've been wfh since early March and yes, coffee spending is up - real coffee, natch, none of your instant nonsense. But I can get a lot of coffee for my bus fares.

What I don't understand is why the CBI DG, who presumably believes in free markets, commercial Darwinism etc, thinks that those businesses that depend on wfo should be kept afloat by the rest working less efficiently and perhaps risking spread of the virus. Surely the market has spoken and the labour and capital used in dry cleaning could be better used in production of something we actually need.

I hope the increase in wfh is permanent, saving emissions and making the roads safer for cycling. I never want to get anything dry cleaned again, thanks.

Because business orgs only support free markets when it suits them to do so.

my coffee spend is down as there just arent any local coffee shops to where I live but certainly electricity usage is noticeably up, and Id expect heating to be similar in winter, though I can always hop on the turbo if I need to feel warm