Death Of London

[Errol]

Commuting isn't coming back in anything like the way it used to be. Most London businesses have told staff to stay at home until next year (at least). And even post-pandemic home working is the way forward. Most businesses will move to 4 days a week at home or just tell staff to 'do what they like' (like Amazon/Facebook have). Staff are happier and more productive at home. They also save £400 a month or more and 3hrs a day or more in time (I notice the politicians never mention the massive train ticket costs).

London and other cities will need to adapt to footfall being down 50% or more on a regular basis.

Boris is trying to hold back the future. He is trying to keep us in an analogue world when the world is now digital. He is also confusing work as being a place, rather than an activity you can do anywhere.

[JoeDavola]

1 hour ago, gibbon said:

Can only imagine the DOSBODS office johnnies on here who enjoy it are stock brokers who get to go to war every day in a high stakes testosterone filled office doing million pound deals between lines of coke and liquid lunches, followed by after work drinks and banging the latest office totty.

When I worked in offices the best bits were having a dump or making a cup of tea. Can still remember having to drag the windows start bar down to hide the clock to try and ease the pain.

Agreed.

I don't miss the office one bit.

If I had any real relationship with any of my co-workers we would have met up ouside work post-lockdown, but we have not.

I have nothing against them, but they are not my friends. And I lose nothing, and gain quite a lot by not having to commute or listen to office small talk/gossip.

The one person I do enjoy working with, I continue to work with over videochat and it's a better way to exchange ideas and work on things together cause there's no distraction.

Oh and there's too few toilets in my office block, to the point where taking a shit often becomes a search over several floors for a shitter that is available. Now if I need to take a shit there's always a shitter available. My shitter.

Edited July 17, 2020 by JoeDavola

[Guest]

15 hours ago, Popuplights said:

I think home working has also shone a light on the fact that most middle management is utterly useless, and can easily be dispensed with. Without the safety, diversity ana similar shit to organise, what are they for?

Setting strategy and objectives, allocating resources, making decisions that get escalated to them. Plus a lot of politics.

[Option5]

I can do everything I need to do for the week on Monday, I just have to listen out for emails arriving, Skype calls an join in on a few teams meetings for the rest of the week

[Chewing Grass]

BBC has just interviewed 3 Londoners about going back to work in a COVID environment - every single one of them had a strong foreign accent.

[Option5]

3 minutes ago, Chewing Grass said:

BBC has just interviewed 3 Londoners about going back to work in a COVID environment - every single one of them had a strong foreign accent.

Manchester, Liverpool, Geordie?

[Chewing Grass]

7 hours ago, JoeDavola said:

Oh and there's too few toilets in my office block, to the point where taking a shit often becomes a search over several floors for a shitter that is available. Now if I need to take a shit there's always a shitter available. My shitter.

That was like that where I worked with everyone packed in like sardines, men outnumber women 8 to 1 yet the office has the same number of 'facilities' for both sexes.

Just seen an example of a London office of some young 'n' thrusting web enterprise where they had 28 people in one room all sat 1m from each other, the thick HR woman showed what it looks like now, six desks for six people. Now that was a sweat shop.

[MrPin]

4 minutes ago, Option5 said:

Manchester, Liverpool, Geordie?

 

[HolyCow]

Most of the "get back to commuting to work" push is just propaganda because the Government and big business are shitting themselves that they will lose money from empty offices/coffee shops selling overpriced food/drink etc. Most of these companies will be avoiding as much tax as possible so there is absolutely no gain for workers/taxpayer to save them, especially as many of the big coffee chains are propped up by miminum wage/tax credit unskilled labour.

Obviously it looks better for Government unemployment figures to keep these kind of places open but otherwise I would imagine it is all about individuals in the Government benefiting in some way. Don't fall for the progaganda.

[Option5]

6 minutes ago, HolyCow said:

Most of the "get back to commuting to work" push is just propaganda because the Government and big business are shitting themselves that they will lose money from empty offices/coffee shops selling overpriced food/drink etc. Most of these companies will be avoiding as much tax as possible so there is absolutely no gain for workers/taxpayer to save them, especially as many of the big coffee chains are propped up by miminum wage/tax credit unskilled labour.

Obviously it looks better for Government unemployment figures to keep these kind of places open but otherwise I would imagine it is all about individuals in the Government benefiting in some way. Don't fall for the progaganda.

Don't forget TFL and all the other mass transit companies. Food, drink and other enterprises dependant on the discretionary spending of office workers. Retailers of clothing and footwear for those people.

Support staff for the offices, cleaners, janitors, security, canteen staff, etc.

There's a whole pyramid of people who's sole purpose is to support and provision office workers and those support staff have support staff ad infinitum.

Edited July 17, 2020 by Option5

[HolyCow]

Just now, Option5 said:

Don't forget TFL and all the other mass transit companies. Food, drink and other enterprises dependant on the discretionary spending of office workers. Retailers of clothing and footwear for those people.

Support staff for the offices, cleaners, janitors, security, canteen staff, etc.

There's a whole pyramid of people who's sole purpose is to support and provision office workers.

Exactly, lockdown has shown that the emperor is naked. Non-jobs that only exist to serve other non-jobs. And so much of London is based on financialisation and keeping bankers rich. Everything good has been sucked into propping up the wealth of a small percentage of sociopaths. Perhaps people are starting to wake up and realise that they don't want to live to work. 

[The Grey Man]

7 hours ago, JoeDavola said:

Oh and there's too few toilets in my office block, to the point where taking a shit often becomes a search over several floors for a shitter that is available. Now if I need to take a shit there's always a shitter available. My shitter.

You and your dumping habits. That said..I know what you mean for the search.

Alas. Being an itinerant worker and no toilet easily available I am rather precious of my supermarket office stops. Tricky now.  Although getting better.

I always use the handicapped bogs...better..usually have toilet roll and cleaner.

Also more privacy.

It does say out side some handicaps are hidden.

 

Edited July 17, 2020 by The Grey Man

[Option5]

4 minutes ago, The Grey Man said:

You and your dumping habits. That said..I know what you mean for the search.

Alas. Being an itinerant worker and no toilet easily available I am rather precious of my supermarket office stops. Tricky now.  Although getting better.

I always use the handicapped bogs...better..usually have toilet roll and cleaner.

Also more privacy.

It does say out side some handicaps are hidden.

 

They're not handicapped bogs, they are handicapped accessible bogs and anyone can use them, they're not exclusively for handicapped people.

FFS you can walk up the wheelchair ramp into buildings if you wish.

[MrPin]

Just now, Option5 said:

They're not handicapped bogs, they are handicapped accessible bogs and anyone can use them, they're not exclusively for handicapped people.

FFS you can walk up the wheelchair ramp into buildings if you wish.

Yes, we are mislead to believe a "disabled toilet" is one which doesn't flush properly, and the seat falls off.

[Option5]

Just now, MrPin said:

Yes, we are mislead to believe a "disabled toilet" is one which doesn't flush properly, and the seat falls off.

No that's British Rail toilets. 

[The Grey Man]

2 minutes ago, Option5 said:

They're not handicapped bogs, they are handicapped accessible bogs and anyone can use them, they're not exclusively for handicapped people.

FFS you can walk up the wheelchair ramp into buildings if you wish.

My spicy diet means sometimes I honestly get caught short.

These toilets are a saviour!

 

[spygirl]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53452554

I wonder if Timeout in 10 years time will have a guide to the best 10 mosques and where the most vigins with child bearing hips are.

[Errol]

Not just London.

People have realised how much of their life was being wasted by commuting (not to mention the vast expense). Why wast 3 hrs a day on a train if you can work from home more productively?

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/18/empty-city-centres-leeds-bristol-newcastle-im-not-sure-it-will-ever-be-the-same-again

[Austin Allegro]

On 17/07/2020 at 09:40, gibbon said:

Can only imagine the DOSBODS office johnnies on here who enjoy it are stock brokers who get to go to war every day in a high stakes testosterone filled office doing million pound deals between lines of coke and liquid lunches, followed by after work drinks and banging the latest office totty.

When I worked in offices the best bits were having a dump or making a cup of tea. Can still remember having to drag the windows start bar down to hide the clock to try and ease the pain.

It's like the old joke about the man who was asked what retirement gift he would like, he said something to remind him of his time at the office. The present turned out to be a lavatory seat and a packet of PG-Tips.

[Austin Allegro]

On 16/07/2020 at 22:08, Chewing Grass said:

They have twigged what we have been saying but are late to the party as usual.

Editorial approval.

I only read up to the paywall but from what I could gather the writer seems to be something of a True Believer.

Eg, thinks the masks in shops thing means the dreaded Second Wave is coming.

[Austin Allegro]

22 hours ago, HolyCow said:

Exactly, lockdown has shown that the emperor is naked. Non-jobs that only exist to serve other non-jobs. And so much of London is based on financialisation and keeping bankers rich. Everything good has been sucked into propping up the wealth of a small percentage of sociopaths. Perhaps people are starting to wake up and realise that they don't want to live to work. 

Corona has forced humanity, at least in the western world, to confront two things:

1. That we are all mortal and every man must make his peace with his God (or whatever higher power he chooses) each day and be thankful for his life. The ones that can't or won't do this are the ones running around terrified of invisible microbes in the air.

2. That most jobs are boring and largely pointless and predicated on earning money to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't like, and require ludicrously long expensive commutes and high rents/mortgages to sustain that lifestyle.

[snaga]

At first, employees will realise that they don't need to commute.

Then employers will realise they don't need local staff.

Then employers will realise they don't need expensive staff in the UK at all.

It's not just the death of London, or Cities, but of all jobs that can be done cheaper elsewhere.

Edited July 18, 2020 by snaga

[onlyme]

1 minute ago, Austin Allegro said:

Corona has forced humanity, at least in the western world, to confront two things:

1. That we are all mortal and every man must make his peace with his God (or whatever higher power he chooses) each day and be thankful for his life. The ones that can't or won't do this are the ones running around terrified of invisible microbes in the air.

2. That most jobs are boring and largely pointless and predicated on earning money to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't like, and require ludicrously long expensive commutes and high rents/mortgages to sustain that lifestyle.

Just the one chat today when out shopping, well not exactly shopping more of a walk through town, specialist shop owner had planned 6 year exit, very mindful of current situation and willing to change plans completely to bring that forward. Really is the unknown in the mix, how many things may have changed in regards 2. 

[Lightscribe]

I work in a front facing public sector role and due to the type of role, I’ve been working throughout lockdown.

What must have not gone unnoticed by the government is how we are operating effectively with 90% of civil staff doing fuck all at home for months. 

Age old paper shuffling jobs are now non-existent, but the problem is they can’t chop headcount in an austerity drive without massive redundancy packages.

A far bigger elephant in the room however would be that it would skew statistics in diversity, part-time mums and disability massively. 

Edited July 18, 2020 by Sideysid

[stop_the_craziness]

7 hours ago, Austin Allegro said:

Corona has forced humanity, at least in the western world, to confront two things:

1. That we are all mortal and every man must make his peace with his God (or whatever higher power he chooses) each day and be thankful for his life. The ones that can't or won't do this are the ones running around terrified of invisible microbes in the air.

2. That most jobs are boring and largely pointless and predicated on earning money to buy things we don't need to impress people we don't like, and require ludicrously long expensive commutes and high rents/mortgages to sustain that lifestyle.

I'm slightly pissed off at everyone waking up and smelling the coffee on this second one.  Mostly because they are now evangelising it in my face like I hadn't been living my life like that already for the past ten years.  Fuck off with your sudden "quality time is the new wealth" shit.  I've had to listen to you for the last decade giving it your old "I'm considerably richer than you" shit and suddenly it's cool to live your life just like mine?  Fuck off.