The big Coronavirus thread

rick_chasey

https://twitter.com/maya_chavez_/status/1392585619088416768?s=21

Not watched it I should add (it’s 2 hours) but basically breaks down what was behind the barrington declaration and surprise surprise it was a bunch of very right wingers and Cambridge Analytica types.

elbowloh

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Our work is back 3 days a week in the office, I have a temporary excemption, but not looking forward to going back in.

DeVlaeminck

Long commutes are something you do get used to - I used to commute Derby to Paddington 4 days a week - worked one day in Derby - albeit I was much younger. It's the impact on the rest of your life really - putting the kids to bed, going out on the chain gang, spending time with your partner - but it's surprising how quickly it becomes a routine albeit not a healthy one. I reckon even now though a couple of days a week would be ok if the remainder was WFH.

Cost as well I suppose - I was working for a rail company and had an all stations pass so didn't have to factor that in.

rick_chasey

elbowloh said:

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Our work is back 3 days a week in the office, I have a temporary excemption, but not looking forward to going back in.

Is it not more that WFH opened their eyes to a different work/life balance, and if the existing company won’t tolerate it they’ll get a new job?

First.Aspect

DeVlaeminck said:

Long commutes are something you do get used to - I used to commute Derby to Paddington 4 days a week - worked one day in Derby - albeit I was much younger. It's the impact on the rest of your life really - putting the kids to bed, going out on the chain gang, spending time with your partner - but it's surprising how quickly it becomes a routine albeit not a healthy one. I reckon even now though a couple of days a week would be ok if the remainder was WFH.

Cost as well I suppose - I was working for a rail company and had an all stations pass so didn't have to factor that in.

Do they send you on courses to be unhelpful when a member of the public asks a question, or is that something you have to learn on the job?

pblakeney

rick_chasey said:

elbowloh said:

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Our work is back 3 days a week in the office, I have a temporary excemption, but not looking forward to going back in.

Is it not more that WFH opened their eyes to a different work/life balance, and if the existing company won’t tolerate it they’ll get a new job?

Funny how making a case for this used to fall on deaf ears.
Do people have to be forced into change? This is a rhetorical question.

elbowloh

rick_chasey said:

elbowloh said:

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Our work is back 3 days a week in the office, I have a temporary excemption, but not looking forward to going back in.

Is it not more that WFH opened their eyes to a different work/life balance, and if the existing company won’t tolerate it they’ll get a new job?

Its not always easy just to get a new job.

DeVlaeminck

First.Aspect said:

DeVlaeminck said:

Long commutes are something you do get used to - I used to commute Derby to Paddington 4 days a week - worked one day in Derby - albeit I was much younger. It's the impact on the rest of your life really - putting the kids to bed, going out on the chain gang, spending time with your partner - but it's surprising how quickly it becomes a routine albeit not a healthy one. I reckon even now though a couple of days a week would be ok if the remainder was WFH.

Cost as well I suppose - I was working for a rail company and had an all stations pass so didn't have to factor that in.

Do they send you on courses to be unhelpful when a member of the public asks a question, or is that something you have to learn on the job?

I was in an office based role - wasn't actually working at Paddington it was an engineering consultancy that had been part of BR just next to the station.

But yes several times people that saw I had a British rail pass (can't remember if it was BR then) decided to unburden themselves of their opinion of the rail network to me as if I ran the whole thing and was going to fix the overcrowding on their commute first thing next morning.

rick_chasey

elbowloh said:

rick_chasey said:

elbowloh said:

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Our work is back 3 days a week in the office, I have a temporary excemption, but not looking forward to going back in.

Is it not more that WFH opened their eyes to a different work/life balance, and if the existing company won’t tolerate it they’ll get a new job?

Its not always easy just to get a new job.

And those people probably haven’t moved

briantrumpet

DeVlaeminck said:

First.Aspect said:

DeVlaeminck said:

Long commutes are something you do get used to - I used to commute Derby to Paddington 4 days a week - worked one day in Derby - albeit I was much younger. It's the impact on the rest of your life really - putting the kids to bed, going out on the chain gang, spending time with your partner - but it's surprising how quickly it becomes a routine albeit not a healthy one. I reckon even now though a couple of days a week would be ok if the remainder was WFH.

Cost as well I suppose - I was working for a rail company and had an all stations pass so didn't have to factor that in.

Do they send you on courses to be unhelpful when a member of the public asks a question, or is that something you have to learn on the job?

I was in an office based role - wasn't actually working at Paddington it was an engineering consultancy that had been part of BR just next to the station.

But yes several times people that saw I had a British rail pass (can't remember if it was BR then) decided to unburden themselves of their opinion of the rail network to me as if I ran the whole thing and was going to fix the overcrowding on their commute first thing next morning.

It's the same phenomenon when people feel they just have to tell me about some rubbish bit of cycling they've just witnessed, adding, of course, "I know you wouldn't do it". Well, why TF are they telling me then?

TheBigBean

briantrumpet said:

DeVlaeminck said:

First.Aspect said:

DeVlaeminck said:

Long commutes are something you do get used to - I used to commute Derby to Paddington 4 days a week - worked one day in Derby - albeit I was much younger. It's the impact on the rest of your life really - putting the kids to bed, going out on the chain gang, spending time with your partner - but it's surprising how quickly it becomes a routine albeit not a healthy one. I reckon even now though a couple of days a week would be ok if the remainder was WFH.

Cost as well I suppose - I was working for a rail company and had an all stations pass so didn't have to factor that in.

Do they send you on courses to be unhelpful when a member of the public asks a question, or is that something you have to learn on the job?

I was in an office based role - wasn't actually working at Paddington it was an engineering consultancy that had been part of BR just next to the station.

But yes several times people that saw I had a British rail pass (can't remember if it was BR then) decided to unburden themselves of their opinion of the rail network to me as if I ran the whole thing and was going to fix the overcrowding on their commute first thing next morning.

It's the same phenomenon when people feel they just have to tell me about some rubbish bit of cycling they've just witnessed, adding, of course, "I know you wouldn't do it". Well, why TF are they telling me then?

I assumed they would tell you all about their kids playing a musical instrument.

veronese68

elbowloh said:

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Young lad at our place, been married for a couple of years and recently had a kid has moved to Lincolnshire. He has a trial agreement that he has to come into the office once a week. That one day takes longer to commute than five days of his previous commute. But he has been able to go from a one bed flat to a house with a garden. Quality of life overall is very much improved for him. If they ask him to do more days in the office I reckon we'll lose a good employee.

briantrumpet

TheBigBean said:

briantrumpet said:

DeVlaeminck said:

First.Aspect said:

DeVlaeminck said:

Long commutes are something you do get used to - I used to commute Derby to Paddington 4 days a week - worked one day in Derby - albeit I was much younger. It's the impact on the rest of your life really - putting the kids to bed, going out on the chain gang, spending time with your partner - but it's surprising how quickly it becomes a routine albeit not a healthy one. I reckon even now though a couple of days a week would be ok if the remainder was WFH.

Cost as well I suppose - I was working for a rail company and had an all stations pass so didn't have to factor that in.

Do they send you on courses to be unhelpful when a member of the public asks a question, or is that something you have to learn on the job?

I was in an office based role - wasn't actually working at Paddington it was an engineering consultancy that had been part of BR just next to the station.

But yes several times people that saw I had a British rail pass (can't remember if it was BR then) decided to unburden themselves of their opinion of the rail network to me as if I ran the whole thing and was going to fix the overcrowding on their commute first thing next morning.

It's the same phenomenon when people feel they just have to tell me about some rubbish bit of cycling they've just witnessed, adding, of course, "I know you wouldn't do it". Well, why TF are they telling me then?

I assumed they would tell you all about their kids playing a musical instrument.

Oh, if they do the music side, they always tell me that they learnt the piano as a child and regretted giving up lessons. (And I think to myself, "B0llox you did, you never practised and hated your piano teacher.")

pblakeney

briantrumpet said:

TheBigBean said:

briantrumpet said:

DeVlaeminck said:

First.Aspect said:

DeVlaeminck said:

Long commutes are something you do get used to - I used to commute Derby to Paddington 4 days a week - worked one day in Derby - albeit I was much younger. It's the impact on the rest of your life really - putting the kids to bed, going out on the chain gang, spending time with your partner - but it's surprising how quickly it becomes a routine albeit not a healthy one. I reckon even now though a couple of days a week would be ok if the remainder was WFH.

Cost as well I suppose - I was working for a rail company and had an all stations pass so didn't have to factor that in.

Do they send you on courses to be unhelpful when a member of the public asks a question, or is that something you have to learn on the job?

I was in an office based role - wasn't actually working at Paddington it was an engineering consultancy that had been part of BR just next to the station.

But yes several times people that saw I had a British rail pass (can't remember if it was BR then) decided to unburden themselves of their opinion of the rail network to me as if I ran the whole thing and was going to fix the overcrowding on their commute first thing next morning.

It's the same phenomenon when people feel they just have to tell me about some rubbish bit of cycling they've just witnessed, adding, of course, "I know you wouldn't do it". Well, why TF are they telling me then?

I assumed they would tell you all about their kids playing a musical instrument.

Oh, if they do the music side, they always tell me that they learnt the piano as a child and regretted giving up lessons. (And I think to myself, "B0llox you did, you never practised and hated your piano teacher.")

Accurate.
Nice spacious accommodation this, living in your head. 😉

First.Aspect

briantrumpet said:

DeVlaeminck said:

First.Aspect said:

DeVlaeminck said:

Long commutes are something you do get used to - I used to commute Derby to Paddington 4 days a week - worked one day in Derby - albeit I was much younger. It's the impact on the rest of your life really - putting the kids to bed, going out on the chain gang, spending time with your partner - but it's surprising how quickly it becomes a routine albeit not a healthy one. I reckon even now though a couple of days a week would be ok if the remainder was WFH.

Cost as well I suppose - I was working for a rail company and had an all stations pass so didn't have to factor that in.

Do they send you on courses to be unhelpful when a member of the public asks a question, or is that something you have to learn on the job?

I was in an office based role - wasn't actually working at Paddington it was an engineering consultancy that had been part of BR just next to the station.

But yes several times people that saw I had a British rail pass (can't remember if it was BR then) decided to unburden themselves of their opinion of the rail network to me as if I ran the whole thing and was going to fix the overcrowding on their commute first thing next morning.

It's the same phenomenon when people feel they just have to tell me about some rubbish bit of cycling they've just witnessed, adding, of course, "I know you wouldn't do it". Well, why TF are they telling me then?

Fair point.

TheBigBean

veronese68 said:

elbowloh said:

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Young lad at our place, been married for a couple of years and recently had a kid has moved to Lincolnshire. He has a trial agreement that he has to come into the office once a week. That one day takes longer to commute than five days of his previous commute. But he has been able to go from a one bed flat to a house with a garden. Quality of life overall is very much improved for him. If they ask him to do more days in the office I reckon we'll lose a good employee.

The problem comes when another, less valuable and more lazy, employee wants to do the same.

rick_chasey

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

elbowloh said:

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Our work is back 3 days a week in the office, I have a temporary excemption, but not looking forward to going back in.

Is it not more that WFH opened their eyes to a different work/life balance, and if the existing company won’t tolerate it they’ll get a new job?

Funny how making a case for this used to fall on deaf ears.
Do people have to be forced into change? This is a rhetorical question.

I do think people underestimate the power of job insecurity

pblakeney

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

elbowloh said:

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Our work is back 3 days a week in the office, I have a temporary excemption, but not looking forward to going back in.

Is it not more that WFH opened their eyes to a different work/life balance, and if the existing company won’t tolerate it they’ll get a new job?

Funny how making a case for this used to fall on deaf ears.
Do people have to be forced into change? This is a rhetorical question.

I do think people underestimate the power of job insecurity

I found it easy to overcome when made redundant twice in the mid 80s.
You soon realise that you are just a number and nothing is "permanent". Making of me.

rick_chasey

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

elbowloh said:

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Our work is back 3 days a week in the office, I have a temporary excemption, but not looking forward to going back in.

Is it not more that WFH opened their eyes to a different work/life balance, and if the existing company won’t tolerate it they’ll get a new job?

Funny how making a case for this used to fall on deaf ears.
Do people have to be forced into change? This is a rhetorical question.

I do think people underestimate the power of job insecurity

I found it easy to overcome when made redundant twice in the mid 80s.
You soon realise that you are just a number and nothing is "permanent". Making of me.

I had it for my first ever job and it has scarred me ever since. I am overly paranoid the second business is slow and I am overly sensitive to things not going so well.

Pross

We've been asked to submit any requests for ongoing regular homeworking from September. I've submitted mine requesting it to be full-time from home unless operationally necessary for me to attend the office (meetings etc.). I manage people in 3 offices who will also be regularly working from home so attending the office on a regular basis is pretty pointless and requires in excess of 3 hours a day travelling. We'll see how it goes but as I mentioned above there are lots of jobs within my sector being advertised at the moment where homeworking is top of the benefits list.

pblakeney

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

elbowloh said:

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Our work is back 3 days a week in the office, I have a temporary excemption, but not looking forward to going back in.

Is it not more that WFH opened their eyes to a different work/life balance, and if the existing company won’t tolerate it they’ll get a new job?

Funny how making a case for this used to fall on deaf ears.
Do people have to be forced into change? This is a rhetorical question.

I do think people underestimate the power of job insecurity

I found it easy to overcome when made redundant twice in the mid 80s.
You soon realise that you are just a number and nothing is "permanent". Making of me.

I had it for my first ever job and it has scarred me ever since. I am overly paranoid the second business is slow and I am overly sensitive to things not going so well.

I've gone the other way. I don't expect the job to last and am fairly sanguine about the whole affair. Good explanation as to why I went contracting. Take the bucks up front.

morstar

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

elbowloh said:

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Our work is back 3 days a week in the office, I have a temporary excemption, but not looking forward to going back in.

Is it not more that WFH opened their eyes to a different work/life balance, and if the existing company won’t tolerate it they’ll get a new job?

Funny how making a case for this used to fall on deaf ears.
Do people have to be forced into change? This is a rhetorical question.

I do think people underestimate the power of job insecurity

I found it easy to overcome when made redundant twice in the mid 80s.
You soon realise that you are just a number and nothing is "permanent". Making of me.

I had it for my first ever job and it has scarred me ever since. I am overly paranoid the second business is slow and I am overly sensitive to things not going so well.

I've gone the other way. I don't expect the job to last and am fairly sanguine about the whole affair. Good explanation as to why I went contracting. Take the bucks up front.

I similarly am always working on the assumption the status quo won’t last.

I was made redundant twice in less than two years. 2nd one I knew was inevitable but the first blindsided me completely. Even had it not done, the business didn’t exist within 5 years anyway.

I have since taken the approach of continual evolution. Be ahead of the game is my approach. Currently my skills are in high demand but many in my role think they/we are in long term roles. If they look carefully at how the technology we use is evolving, they should be making long term plans or staying ahead of their peers at the very least.

morstar

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58171716

Google wanting to pay less for wfh if living in a cheaper area than HQ.

First.Aspect

morstar said:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58171716

Google wanting to pay less for wfh if living in a cheaper area than HQ.

Perfectly fine if they pick up travel expenses for each trip to the office and pay rent for the home office space.

There will probably be push back on this, and will come in by stealth for new hires / pay rises.

First.Aspect

As a cycle commuter, if my employer tried that on, I'd point out that it costs me more to work from home because I'm paying for electricity, and costs them more for me to work in the office, because I bill less and take up office space.

Fortunately, my employer has a bit more foresight and is moving to agile working. Which means wft and hot desking and basically what we did in the lab during my PhD, but with a really fucking annoying management buzz word applied.

morstar

First.Aspect said:

As a cycle commuter, if my employer tried that on, I'd point out that it costs me more to work from home because I'm paying for electricity, and costs them more for me to work in the office, because I bill less and take up office space.

Fortunately, my employer has a bit more foresight and is moving to agile working. Which means wft and hot desking and basically what we did in the lab during my PhD, but with a really censored annoying management buzz word applied.

It’s a funny one.

I guess from their perspective, the Bay Area and Silicon Valley are VERY expensive places to live. They probably have to pay high salaries partly to get people to work there.
So if you don’t need to live there, paying a premium on that basis is arguably unnecessary.
As you say though, wfh isn’t free. The biggest issue seems to be the way it has been introduced as pay cuts.

pblakeney

morstar said:

First.Aspect said:

As a cycle commuter, if my employer tried that on, I'd point out that it costs me more to work from home because I'm paying for electricity, and costs them more for me to work in the office, because I bill less and take up office space.

Fortunately, my employer has a bit more foresight and is moving to agile working. Which means wft and hot desking and basically what we did in the lab during my PhD, but with a really censored annoying management buzz word applied.

It’s a funny one.

I guess from their perspective, the Bay Area and Silicon Valley are VERY expensive places to live. They probably have to pay high salaries partly to get people to work there.
So if you don’t need to live there, paying a premium on that basis is arguably unnecessary.
As you say though, wfh isn’t free. The biggest issue seems to be the way it has been introduced as pay cuts.

Bosses are probably pissed off for overpaying to get near the office only to find out that there is no real need.

pblakeney

morstar said:

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

elbowloh said:

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Our work is back 3 days a week in the office, I have a temporary excemption, but not looking forward to going back in.

Is it not more that WFH opened their eyes to a different work/life balance, and if the existing company won’t tolerate it they’ll get a new job?

Funny how making a case for this used to fall on deaf ears.
Do people have to be forced into change? This is a rhetorical question.

I do think people underestimate the power of job insecurity

I found it easy to overcome when made redundant twice in the mid 80s.
You soon realise that you are just a number and nothing is "permanent". Making of me.

I had it for my first ever job and it has scarred me ever since. I am overly paranoid the second business is slow and I am overly sensitive to things not going so well.

I've gone the other way. I don't expect the job to last and am fairly sanguine about the whole affair. Good explanation as to why I went contracting. Take the bucks up front.

I similarly am always working on the assumption the status quo won’t last.

I was made redundant twice in less than two years. 2nd one I knew was inevitable but the first blindsided me completely. Even had it not done, the business didn’t exist within 5 years anyway.

I have since taken the approach of continual evolution. Be ahead of the game is my approach. Currently my skills are in high demand but many in my role think they/we are in long term roles. If they look carefully at how the technology we use is evolving, they should be making long term plans or staying ahead of their peers at the very least.

Ancedote. I was working up in Aberdeen in 2014. Young guy next to me only knowing the boom times was buying a new Range Rover, second in two years. I told him to put a bit of money aside. He laughed as things were booming. Three months later...

morstar

pblakeney said:

morstar said:

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

pblakeney said:

rick_chasey said:

elbowloh said:

I do kind of find it weird that loads of people sold up and moved out in the sticks / to the coast based on the COVID home-working rules, without really knowing for sure it would be permanent. Even going into the office 2 or 3 days a week would mean long commutes or stayovers in town for those couple or three days.

Our work is back 3 days a week in the office, I have a temporary excemption, but not looking forward to going back in.

Is it not more that WFH opened their eyes to a different work/life balance, and if the existing company won’t tolerate it they’ll get a new job?

Funny how making a case for this used to fall on deaf ears.
Do people have to be forced into change? This is a rhetorical question.

I do think people underestimate the power of job insecurity

I found it easy to overcome when made redundant twice in the mid 80s.
You soon realise that you are just a number and nothing is "permanent". Making of me.

I had it for my first ever job and it has scarred me ever since. I am overly paranoid the second business is slow and I am overly sensitive to things not going so well.

I've gone the other way. I don't expect the job to last and am fairly sanguine about the whole affair. Good explanation as to why I went contracting. Take the bucks up front.

I similarly am always working on the assumption the status quo won’t last.

I was made redundant twice in less than two years. 2nd one I knew was inevitable but the first blindsided me completely. Even had it not done, the business didn’t exist within 5 years anyway.

I have since taken the approach of continual evolution. Be ahead of the game is my approach. Currently my skills are in high demand but many in my role think they/we are in long term roles. If they look carefully at how the technology we use is evolving, they should be making long term plans or staying ahead of their peers at the very least.

Ancedote. I was working up in Aberdeen in 2014. Young guy next to me only knowing the boom times was buying a new Range Rover, second in two years. I told him to put a bit of money aside. He laughed as things were booming. Three months later...

I think it must be difficult to ground yourself if you are successful at a young age.

Everything you have done has delivered success quickly so why would you have any doubts about your ability to have a very lucrative career? Some people must have very hard landings.

I’ve just turned 50 and see my position as being very fruitful for the next 5 or so. I can 100% see what is going to drive change in the industry but have no clue exactly how the industry will evolve.
I foresee the need for people doing what I do will shrink considerably but not disappear. My current aim is to stand out in the field and continually adapt. I am hoping to avoid irrelevance in my late 50’s.

surrey_commuter

morstar said:

First.Aspect said:

As a cycle commuter, if my employer tried that on, I'd point out that it costs me more to work from home because I'm paying for electricity, and costs them more for me to work in the office, because I bill less and take up office space.

Fortunately, my employer has a bit more foresight and is moving to agile working. Which means wft and hot desking and basically what we did in the lab during my PhD, but with a really censored annoying management buzz word applied.

It’s a funny one.

I guess from their perspective, the Bay Area and Silicon Valley are VERY expensive places to live. They probably have to pay high salaries partly to get people to work there.
So if you don’t need to live there, paying a premium on that basis is arguably unnecessary.
As you say though, wfh isn’t free. The biggest issue seems to be the way it has been introduced as pay cuts.

Many will have offices in multiple locations so they will know the premium they are paying for SF.

What do we feel about the Civil Service who have a London weighting - surely they should lose that if now living in the outer Hebrides?