‘It didn’t come as a surprise’: UK workers on being forced back into the office
-Some welcome cuts to hybrid working but others feel less productive and are considering change of job or country

“這并不意外”：英國(guó)員工被迫回到辦公室
——一些人歡迎混合型工作模式的削減，但另一些人則覺得效率下降，正在考慮換工作或換個(gè)國(guó)家


(Some large businesses have been calling workers to return to their desks for as much as five days a week.)

（一些大型企業(yè)已經(jīng)要求員工每周回到辦公桌前工作五天。）
新聞：

Christina says it is a “l(fā)ogistical nightmare” working out the school and nursery runs after being ordered to return to the office for three days a week from January. “It didn’t come as a surprise but it was devastating,” she says.

克里斯蒂娜說，她被要求從一月份開始每周要回辦公室工作3天后，安排學(xué)校和托兒所的日程簡(jiǎn)直是一場(chǎng)“后勤噩夢(mèng)”。她說：“這并不令人意外，但卻是毀滅性的?！?/b>

The 34-year-old chartered accountant from Scotland was told by her employer that office attendance would be “strictly enforced” in the new year with days potentially increasing based on business need. Her husband, who works in finance, was already working three days in the office after it was mandated in October.

這位來自蘇格蘭的34歲注冊(cè)會(huì)計(jì)師被她的雇主告知，在新的一年里，辦公室出勤率將被“嚴(yán)格執(zhí)行”，根據(jù)業(yè)務(wù)需要，上班時(shí)間可能會(huì)增加。她的丈夫在金融行業(yè)工作，自去年10月強(qiáng)制實(shí)施后，他已經(jīng)在執(zhí)行3天辦公室上班制了。

Christina is one of scores of people who shared with the Guardian how they felt about bosses reducing the time they spend working from home. Some large businesses have been calling workers to return to their desks as much as five days a week with Asda planning to “cut hybrid working as part of a business restructure”.

克里斯蒂娜與《衛(wèi)報(bào)》分享了許多人對(duì)老板減少他們?cè)诩夜ぷ鲿r(shí)間的感受。一些大型企業(yè)一直在呼吁員工每周最多回到辦公桌前工作5天，比如阿斯達(dá)計(jì)劃“作為業(yè)務(wù)重組的一部分，減少混合工作”。

Travelling an hour each way on the train, Christina is concerned about the increased cost of commuting, which she expects will be about ￡6,000 a year for the couple – roughly three months’ worth of one of their salaries. “We’re going to struggle financially,” she says. “It’s not like our employers are going to give us a pay rise to cover the additional costs.”

乘坐列車單程需要一個(gè)小時(shí)，克里斯蒂娜擔(dān)心通勤成本的增加，她預(yù)計(jì)這對(duì)夫婦每年的通勤成本約為6000英鎊，大約相當(dāng)于他們一人三個(gè)月的工資。她說：“我們將在經(jīng)濟(jì)上陷入困境。我們的雇主不會(huì)給我們加薪來支付額外的成本?！?/b>

Working remotely gives the couple the flexibility to drop their children off and then work through lunch or in the evening after the children have gone to bed. As the lower earner, Christina is considering working part-time. “We chose to have a family to spend time together as one, not to have them raised by strangers,” she says.

遠(yuǎn)程工作讓這對(duì)夫婦可以靈活地把孩子送到家里，然后在午餐時(shí)間或晚上孩子睡覺后繼續(xù)工作。由于收入較低，克里斯蒂娜正在考慮做兼職。她說：“我們選擇一個(gè)家庭一起度過時(shí)光，而不是讓陌生人撫養(yǎng)他們?！?/b>

With their third child on the way, the couple plan on spending their parental leave to explore remote working opportunities including moving to Denmark or Finland where they feel they would be better supported as a working family. “I think the return to the office works against parents who work, and mothers in particular will suffer by either reducing their hours or staying at home. I feel penalised as a woman for wanting to have a career and a family.”

由于他們的第三個(gè)孩子即將出生，這對(duì)夫婦計(jì)劃利用育兒假尋找遠(yuǎn)程工作的機(jī)會(huì)，包括搬到丹麥或芬蘭，他們覺得在那里工作的家庭會(huì)得到更好的支持?！拔艺J(rèn)為重返辦公室不利于工作的父母，尤其是母親，她們要么減少工作時(shí)間，要么呆在家里。作為一名想要兼顧事業(yè)和家庭的女性，我感到被置于了不利地位?！?/b>

‘People should have the choice’

“人們應(yīng)該有選擇權(quán)。”
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For others such as Kerstin, a 59-year-old Age UK worker from Cornwall, the change cannot come soon enough. She is looking forward to more time face to face with colleagues after feeling disconnected working at home. “I’ve suffered from depression and crave company – I ended up getting a radio just to hear other voices,” she says.

對(duì)于來自康沃爾的59歲的Age UK員工克斯廷等人來說，這種變化來得越快越好。在家里工作感到疏離后，她希望有更多的時(shí)間與同事面對(duì)面交流。她說：“我患有抑郁癥，渴望有人陪伴——最后我買了一臺(tái)收音機(jī)，只是為了聽到別人的聲音?！?/b>

Her work involves taking calls and is flexible because of her team living rurally across the county, but they would prefer to meet in person more. “There is a lot of camaraderie and in the office we are able to support each other after a particularly difficult or harrowing call,” she says. “Doing this via Microsoft Teams is not quite the same.”

她的工作包括接電話，因?yàn)樗膱F(tuán)隊(duì)住在全國(guó)各地的農(nóng)村，所以工作比較靈活，但他們更愿意親自見面。她說：“我們之間有很多友情，在辦公室里，我們能夠在接到一個(gè)特別困難或痛苦的電話后相互支持。通過微軟團(tuán)隊(duì)（譯注：溝通軟件）來做這件事是不一樣的?！?/b>
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Kerstin understands that not everyone feels the same and that it has become harder financially for some people to work in the office regularly. “In my opinion, people should have the choice to work from home if it suits them better,” she says.

克斯廷明白，不是每個(gè)人都有同樣的感覺，而且對(duì)一些人來說，定期在辦公室工作在經(jīng)濟(jì)上變得更加困難。她說：“在我看來，如果在家工作更適合自己，人們應(yīng)該有選擇的權(quán)利?！?/b>

‘I can’t cope with the isolation of working from home’

“我無法適應(yīng)在家工作的孤獨(dú)感”

Richmond, a 61-year-old software engineer from Oxfordshire, left his remote working-only job in November because his mental health started to suffer during the Covid lockdown.

來自牛津郡的61歲軟件工程師里士滿在去年11月辭去了他的遠(yuǎn)程工作，因?yàn)樗木窠】翟谛鹿谝咔榉怄i期間開始受到影響。

“I can’t cope with the isolation of working from home,” he says. “It’s often assumed that people in roles like mine prefer it but the office has always been the mainstay of my social life.”

“我無法應(yīng)付在家工作的孤獨(dú)感，”他說?！叭藗兺ǔＵJ(rèn)為，像我這樣的人更喜歡在家工作，但辦公室一直是我社交生活的主要部分?！?/b>

Richmond says he is less productive working remotely because there are more distractions at home. “No one size fits all and every business should have flexible working, but core employees need to have a physical base and it should be an enjoyable experience to go in,” he adds.

里士滿說，他遠(yuǎn)程工作的效率較低，因?yàn)榧依镉懈嗟母蓴_。他補(bǔ)充說：“沒有放之四海而皆準(zhǔn)的辦法，每家企業(yè)都應(yīng)該實(shí)行彈性工作制，但核心員工需要有一個(gè)實(shí)體基地，而且應(yīng)該是一種愉快的工作體驗(yàn)?！?/b>

‘It’s enough for me to consider looking for other jobs’

“這足以讓我考慮找其他工作了?！?/b>

For John, who works as a digital designer in London, working in the office can be “incredibly disruptive”.

對(duì)于在倫敦?fù)?dān)任數(shù)字設(shè)計(jì)師的約翰來說，在辦公室工作可能“極具破壞性”。

When the 34-year-old started his job during the pandemic the policy was to work from home. Over time people have been encouraged to work in the office once a week, but from January they are expected to be in on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. He says mandating attendance feels like a “betrayal of autonomy”.

當(dāng)34歲的他在大流行期間開始工作時(shí)，政策是在家工作。隨著時(shí)間的推移，人們被鼓勵(lì)每周在辦公室工作一次，但從1月份開始，他們被要求在周二、周三和周四上班。他說，強(qiáng)制出勤感覺像是“對(duì)自主權(quán)的背叛”。

John feels the return to the office is part of a wider trend post-Covid and that employers believe people will be more productive meeting in person. “My department has just moved into a new office space which cost a lot – I suspect that’s another reason they want us in,” he says.

約翰認(rèn)為，重返辦公室是新冠疫情后更廣泛趨勢(shì)的一部分，雇主們認(rèn)為人們面對(duì)面開會(huì)會(huì)更有效率。他說：“我所在的部門剛剛搬進(jìn)了一個(gè)新的辦公場(chǎng)所，成本很高——我懷疑這是他們想讓我們進(jìn)入辦公的另一個(gè)原因?！?/b>

As a designer, John says working in an open-plan office where he does not have access to dedicated equipment will adversely affect his productivity. “I use a second screen for my job and it requires getting into a creative flow for which I need consistent surroundings, a quiet workspace and time alone. The small talk [in the office] is incessant and completely distracting and if you wear headphones in order to focus, you’re treated as though you are being antisocial.”

作為一名設(shè)計(jì)師，約翰說，在開放式辦公室工作，他無法使用專用設(shè)備，這會(huì)對(duì)他的工作效率產(chǎn)生不利影響?！拔以诠ぷ髦惺褂玫诙聊?，這需要我進(jìn)入一種創(chuàng)造性的流程，為此我需要一致的環(huán)境、安靜的工作空間和獨(dú)處的時(shí)間。（辦公室里的）閑聊沒完沒了，完全讓人分心，如果你為了集中注意力而戴上耳機(jī)，你會(huì)被認(rèn)為是反社會(huì)的?！?/b>

John is far from alone in his opposition to office working. In November, the Guardian revealed that some staff at Starling Bank had resigned after its chief executive demanded they return to their desks for a minimum of 10 days each month.

約翰并不是唯一一個(gè)反對(duì)辦公室工作的人。去年11月，《衛(wèi)報(bào)》披露，斯特林銀行的一些員工在首席執(zhí)行官要求他們每月至少回到辦公桌前10天后辭職。

“It feels like an arbitrary decision and a management box-ticking exercise,” John says. “I don’t think it will increase productivity and will just encourage presenteeism. It’s enough for me to consider looking for other jobs.”

約翰說：“這感覺像是一個(gè)武斷的決定，是管理層拍腦袋決策。我不認(rèn)為這會(huì)提高工作效率，只會(huì)鼓勵(lì)出勤。這足以讓我考慮找其他工作了?！?br />
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