Is it about time rail timetables returned to normal?

[DelW]

There have been possibly permanent changes in some people's commuting and travelling arrangements as a result of the pandemic, so timetables need to reflect this on some lines.

I feel this is all part of the “can’t let go of Covid” mentality.

It's much more that many people have been given the opportunity to try working in a different way, and a proportion of them want to continue working that way, not because they "can't let go of Covid", but because they prefer it.

My partner is a case in point. She's worked in office jobs for decades, commuting by bike, train or car depending on location. Before March 2020 she was commuting about 20 miles each way by car, on a busy motorway then through a congested urban area, taking 45 minutes to an hour each way.

That March she was provided with a laptop, a large monitor, and the necessary software for working from home, and she's done so ever since, as this saves her the driving time, petrol, and wear and tear on her car. In that period, changes (which had already been proposed) have meant that her department has moved from an office big enough for everyone to have their own desk and storage area, to a much smaller one, with hot desks only, and space for only around half the staff to be in at any one time. Those who want to work in the office have to use an online system to book a desk for the day(s) they need.

She has no intention of going back into the office except when it's essential, which is less than once a month. Since she used to travel by car, this will have no effect on passenger numbers on trains, but there must be many people who used to commute by train who will be in a similar position. They are simply not going to return to season ticket travelling, not because they want to hold onto Covid measures, but because the changes Covid necessitated have given them a better lifestyle, and that's what they want to continue.

 

[TPO]

It's much more that many people have been given the opportunity to try working in a different way, and a proportion of them want to continue working that way, not because they "can't let go of Covid", but because they prefer it.

My partner is a case in point. She's worked in office jobs for decades, commuting by bike, train or car depending on location. Before March 2020 she was commuting about 20 miles each way by car, on a busy motorway then through a congested urban area, taking 45 minutes to an hour each way.

That March she was provided with a laptop, a large monitor, and the necessary software for working from home, and she's done so ever since, as this saves her the driving time, petrol, and wear and tear on her car. In that period, changes (which had already been proposed) have meant that her department has moved from an office big enough for everyone to have their own desk and storage area, to a much smaller one, with hot desks only, and space for only around half the staff to be in at any one time. Those who want to work in the office have to use an online system to book a desk for the day(s) they need.

She has no intention of going back into the office except when it's essential, which is less than once a month. Since she used to travel by car, this will have no effect on passenger numbers on trains, but there must be many people who used to commute by train who will be in a similar position. They are simply not going to return to season ticket travelling, not because they want to hold onto Covid measures, but because the changes Covid necessitated have given them a better lifestyle, and that's what they want to continue.

This, exactly.

Why should people be forced into a lifestyle which is stressful and damaging to mental health when there is a perfectly reasonable alternative?

I wish the railway would consider the opportunities more. Freight is booming- some FOCs are struggling to run enough trains to meet demand, there's a lack of traction and train-crew and yet putting more freight into those gaps left by now-unnecessary peak commuter trains could do a huge amount of good.

The railway is about more than passenger trains, and there's a lot of future for rail if rather than try to re-create the old in a changed world, we look at what new opportunities have arisen. (In fairness to Network Rail, they seem to be doing this).

It's a funny thing, I remember when Corbyn was mocked for suggesting that fast broadband should be a right and put in everywhere like electricity and water is, how prescient that seems now.

Whilst not all jobs can be home-based, getting rid of the commute for those who can and want to WFH could make things much more comfortable/quicker/less stressful for those who NEED to travel to/from/for work, ditto removing a whole lot of trucks off the road onto rail (one headline I saw in an industry publication was that 1 train = 72 trucks).

Decent housing (room for an office) plus broadband is a game-changer. I suspect this change of working pattern was always going to happen- it's just that it's happened over 2 years instead of 10.

TPO

 

[Hadders]

This, exactly.

Why should people be forced into a lifestyle which is stressful and damaging to mental health when there is a perfectly reasonable alternative?

I wish the railway would consider the opportunities more. Freight is booming- some FOCs are struggling to run enough trains to meet demand, there's a lack of traction and train-crew and yet putting more freight into those gaps left by now-unnecessary peak commuter trains could do a huge amount of good.

The railway is about more than passenger trains, and there's a lot of future for rail if rather than try to re-create the old in a changed world, we look at what new opportunities have arisen. (In fairness to Network Rail, they seem to be doing this).

It's a funny thing, I remember when Corbyn was mocked for suggesting that fast broadband should be a right and put in everywhere like electricity and water is, how prescient that seems now.

Whilst not all jobs can be home-based, getting rid of the commute for those who can and want to WFH could make things much more comfortable/quicker/less stressful for those who NEED to travel to/from/for work, ditto removing a whole lot of trucks off the road onto rail (one headline I saw in an industry publication was that 1 train = 72 trucks).

Decent housing (room for an office) plus broadband is a game-changer. I suspect this change of working pattern was always going to happen- it's just that it's happened over 2 years instead of 10.

TPO

Prior to covid my employer was moving towards a hybrid model for office based employees. On Friday’s the office was practically empty with most people working from home. Covid has accelerated this with people now in the office only 1 or 2 days a week, sometimes less.

I’m all for a genuine hybrid style of working but I do think working from home all of the time is not a good thing. It might be ok for that individual person but it isn’t fair on the rest of the team who never get to see that person. How do new staff and those at the start of their career learn from more experienced staff if they’re never in the office.

You can maintain relationships remotely but it is incredibly difficult to form new ones.

 

[philosopher]

This, exactly.

Why should people be forced into a lifestyle which is stressful and damaging to mental health when there is a perfectly reasonable alternative?

I wish the railway would consider the opportunities more. Freight is booming- some FOCs are struggling to run enough trains to meet demand, there's a lack of traction and train-crew and yet putting more freight into those gaps left by now-unnecessary peak commuter trains could do a huge amount of good.

The railway is about more than passenger trains, and there's a lot of future for rail if rather than try to re-create the old in a changed world, we look at what new opportunities have arisen. (In fairness to Network Rail, they seem to be doing this).

It's a funny thing, I remember when Corbyn was mocked for suggesting that fast broadband should be a right and put in everywhere like electricity and water is, how prescient that seems now.

Whilst not all jobs can be home-based, getting rid of the commute for those who can and want to WFH could make things much more comfortable/quicker/less stressful for those who NEED to travel to/from/for work, ditto removing a whole lot of trucks off the road onto rail (one headline I saw in an industry publication was that 1 train = 72 trucks).

Decent housing (room for an office) plus broadband is a game-changer. I suspect this change of working pattern was always going to happen- it's just that it's happened over 2 years instead of 10.

TPO

At the moment working from home in my company seems to settled down into three groups. The largest group consisting of most people come into the office once or twice a week.

Another group of people, whom prefer in office working come in most or all days. Most of these people tend to live close to the office and often walk or cycle to walk. Thus the railways will only benefit little from this group coming into the office

A third group come into the office rarely, such as when there is meeting which they have to attend. This group of people tend to live quite far away.

Therefore I very much get the impression that the length and cost of the commute is the biggest factor determining how often workers will WFH vs in the office.

 

[43301]

I’m all for a genuine hybrid style of working but I do think working from home all of the time is not a good thing. It might be ok for that individual person but it isn’t fair on the rest of the team who never get to see that person. How do new staff and those at the start of their career learn from more experienced staff if they’re never in the office.

I agree with that absolutely. It's also not great for people living alone, and if people never or rarely see each other it's going to impact significantly on cohesion, morale and ultimately productivity in many cases.

I can work from home, but out of choice will go into the nearest office generally at least four days a week, often all five, as I simply do not like working at home a lot. Obviously it depends on the companies, but the points you raise are likely to become increasingly obvious for many over the coming years and I predict a swing back towards more office working. Teams and Zoom are fine for avoiding an hour's drive to a site for a two-hour meeting, but they are not adequate for all day-to-day interaction.

 

[TPO]

I agree with that absolutely. It's also not great for people living alone, and if people never or rarely see each other it's going to impact significantly on cohesion, morale and ultimately productivity in many cases.

I can work from home, but out of choice will go into the nearest office generally at least four days a week, often all five, as I simply do not like working at home a lot. Obviously it depends on the companies, but the points you raise are likely to become increasingly obvious for many over the coming years and I predict a swing back towards more office working. Teams and Zoom are fine for avoiding an hour's drive to a site for a two-hour meeting, but they are not adequate for all day-to-day interaction.

Depends on the job really.

I was made redundant from the rail industry in March 2017, set my own business up working from home but visiting customer sites as required. Prior to that, I'd been in the office every day (long days at that). Even tho as an Autistic person the reasonable adjustments I had included a relatively private workspace (vice the large open-plan office), I still didn't fully realise the level of cognitive strain that was putting on me until I didn't have the strain. It's great not to have to constantly run up against cognitive burnout just to do a job, in spite of the challenges of starting a new business and of COVID, my mental health is vastly improved compared with where it was 5 years ago.

Although I do visit various customer sites, I don't have a problem working from home. In fact, as someone on the autistic spectrum, my mental health is VASTLY improved working from home where I can control the working conditions to avoid cognitive overload.

I suggest that in many jobs, the "need" for the social aspect is greatly overstated in terms of the job requirements; however because most neurotypical people need a certain level of social stroking, and many of them use work to obtain that, they set up the workplace with a high focus on social stroking then claim it's necessary to maintain it. Which of course discriminates against those who don't have that need. The workplace in many organisations had become hyper-social in recent years.

During the past 2 years of COVID my ability to interact and contribute in meetings has increased greatly as remote working tools have been widely adopted and become more sophisticated. the Teams structure when used properly is much easier for an Aspie. Want to comment- pop the hand up (rather than trying to work out the correct social moment to contribute).

It does depend partly on the job though; in what I do, I need a lot of distraction-free time/space to concentrate on complex/technical documents (reading/authoring) and my output is tangible (a document written, an audit carried out etc) so it's easier to sell my work rather than myself; and by extension, working remotely is easier.

What I would like to see as a result of COVID is the continued acknowledgement from neurotypicals is that it is indeed reasonable for an Autistic person to work remotely, and to continue to support that. Unfortunately, I suspect this won't happen.

TPO

 

[island]

What I would like to see as a result of COVID is the continued acknowledgement from neurotypicals is that it is indeed reasonable for an Autistic person to work remotely, and to continue to support that. Unfortunately, I suspect this won't happen.

I think it's unlikely – however, as an autistic person who is also a C-suite executive, I've seen to it that it is happening in my company. We also had a deferred staff Christmas party last Wednesday and I declined the invitation and told colleagues that it is because I do not enjoy social activity. This has got a lot of colleagues confused, but they will have to deal with it.

 

[py_megapixel]

What I would like to see as a result of COVID is the continued acknowledgement from neurotypicals is that it is indeed reasonable for an Autistic person to work remotely, and to continue to support that. Unfortunately, I suspect this won't happen.

I respect and support your sentiment, but I must point out that, as with almost anything when it comes to the Autistic Spectrum, not every autistic person feels the same way.

There are plenty of reasons an autistic person may feel that they benefit from working in person. The most obvious is simply familiarity (someone who was made remote pretty much overnight at the start of the pandemic may have struggled with the sudden change in routine so they may feel uncomfortable about working from home) but there are others.

It's a decision that everyone should make individually and employers should respect - just like the example above of not attending a christmas party.

 

[nw1]

Casual observation this morning, I used the bus half an hour later than normal (so not the train, but PT) and the roads were significantly busier at 0845 than they have been around 0815 which has been my normal time of using the bus. Is this a sign that there is still a morning peak, but it's a bit later than previously? Obviously not all towns or roads are going to follow the same pattern but this was noticeable.

In terms of the 'work from office vs work from home' debate, it seems that this is probably as divisive as Remain vs Brexit or lockdown-sceptic vs pro-lockdown. Old World vs Brave New World, if you like. In my experience work is a lot more "dead" than it was pre-Covid and personally I don't particularly like that. Working from home can have its advantages (in the lighter summer months, at least) but it does feel like we're living in a society of "bubbles" with a more restricted range of social interaction than previously.