State of the Market

[dsc]

That's the problem - you really don't save much money at all with hybrid. I'm west sussex and commute from Hants to Waterloo (SWR so much more reliable than southern). Currently 4x month but they want 2x week and ultimately 3x week (started on 2x month nearly 2 years ago). I've already told them that I won't continue at 2x week simply because my inside rate doesn't stretch to it. Catching the train 2x week is marginally less than a full season, but can be reduced a bit further by pre-booking specific trains. Later arrivals at my office are already bound by 2x week and many of them buy 2 weekly seasons a month and work 4 days out of 7 spread over 2 weeks, which is fine if you don't have set team days etc.

By design hybrid only really works if you live close(ish) to the office, the benefit being that on some days you can stay at home, but you can't move far away. To me it was always a "con" ie. if I have to go in twice a week, well then the logistics are almost like going in every day. And then of course if you are close enough to commute into the office, what's wrong with going in 2-3 times a week, or 4, or 5... you get the drift.

Also the fact that the cost of using the train 40% of the working week being almost the same as full season is retarded as feck

[sreed]

By design hybrid only really works if you live close(ish) to the office, the benefit being that on some days you can stay at home, but you can't move far away. To me it was always a "con" ie. if I have to go in twice a week, well then the logistics are almost like going in every day. And then of course if you are close enough to commute into the office, what's wrong with going in 2-3 times a week, or 4, or 5... you get the drift.

Also the fact that the cost of using the train 40% of the working week being almost the same as full season is retarded as feck

For me it’s more about the time spent on the commute every week and so the fewer the days I’ve to commute, the farther I can be from the city-centre. Even so, like you I draw the line at 2 days for a city-centre office and can’t imagine ever taking up a contract which has a mandated and enforced 3+ days/week in a city-centre office. Maybe once I’m an empty nester and/or they’re paying a bucketload.

If it was an up to 30 minute drive to an out of town business park, that’s a different scenario but these kind of offices are rapidly falling out of favour since Covid and in any case you’re severely restricted for choice based on where you live.

Plus, from what I’ve seen, ‘Hybrid’ encompasses a very wide range of expectations - from PS / big-bank type command and control X days per week to a more flexible come-in-when-needed to a hybrid-in-name-only type.

My current client (a mid sized insurance firm) advertises its roles as Hybrid tied to a specific city but in reality it’s remote with visiting the office (or another city) once every few months for workshops/conferences.

A previous client was a PS firm with 2 days/wk but it wasn’t really enforced on contractors so I only went in once every couple of weeks.

[dsc]

[...]Plus, from what I’ve seen, ‘Hybrid’ encompasses a very wide range of expectations - from PS / big-bank type command and control X days per week to a more flexible come-in-when-needed to a hybrid-in-name-only type.
[...]

Yes, that's another issue, some think of hybrid as any mix of office / home, without any massive emphasis on one or the other, so effectively come whenever, wfh whenever, if there's big meetings on projects then maybe come in, but overall it's "whatever you like". Others think of it as wfh when it's quiet (ie. almost never), but everyone is expected to be at least X times a week and 5 days a week isn't really that special. Then of course you get the big permie / contractor divide in how each group is treated, whether you are inside / outside etc.

[edison]

For me it’s more about the time spent on the commute every week and so the fewer the days I’ve to commute, the farther I can be from the city-centre. Even so, like you I draw the line at 2 days for a city-centre office and can’t imagine ever taking up a contract which has a mandated and enforced 3+ days/week in a city-centre office. Maybe once I’m an empty nester and/or they’re paying a bucketload.

If it was an up to 30 minute drive to an out of town business park, that’s a different scenario but these kind of offices are rapidly falling out of favour since Covid and in any case you’re severely restricted for choice based on where you live.

Plus, from what I’ve seen, ‘Hybrid’ encompasses a very wide range of expectations - from PS / big-bank type command and control X days per week to a more flexible come-in-when-needed to a hybrid-in-name-only type.

My current client (a mid sized insurance firm) advertises its roles as Hybrid tied to a specific city but in reality it’s remote with visiting the office (or another city) once every few months for workshops/conferences.

A previous client was a PS firm with 2 days/wk but it wasn’t really enforced on contractors so I only went in once every couple of weeks.

You might have a point there. I'm within commuting distance by train to central London and the City but also have several large towns/cities north of me within an hour or so drive including Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Peterborough and Luton. I've worked in all four at out of town business parks and the bonus was driving the opposite way to most traffic so the journey was relatively easy.

Now I don't seem to see that many gigs for these areas.

[willendure]

By design hybrid only really works if you live close(ish) to the office, the benefit being that on some days you can stay at home, but you can't move far away.

I think you have a good point there. In the old days I would go by train or plane to London, stay over a night or 2, for the times I needed to visit client sites. That could work with a hybrid position requiring 2 days onsite in London, except if its inside IR35 and I cannot claim the expenses. So even the old Norman Tebbit moto "get on your bike" to find a job is pretty implausible. 2 flights and a night in a cheap hotel probably does not stack up that badly compared with what you London commuters have to pay for the train though.

[Snooky]

Maybe once I’m an empty nester and/or they’re paying a bucketload.

I'm an empty nester and they're paying me a very respectable amount. But since COVID I've been almost entirely remote, perhaps going into the office one day every 6 weeks, or less if I can. The commute kills me each time as it's no longer something I've grown used to, and if I was told I had to come in even one day a week, every week, I'd find another role. 30+ years of that s*** is quite enough for me.

[hungry_hog]

Seems to be tons of contractors on the bench, most I have talked who are in contract not being extended due to budget cuts and being replaced by 15 year old kids in Dakka.
Touch wood I am off the bench next month after a few out. Had a few people asking me to "look out" for them and haven't even started!

Agents posting comedy requirements on LI

I need a someone who has experience of

• C++
• Blockchain
• Azure Data bricks
• BPMN
• Being Bullingdon Club president

Please only apply if you have all of the above or we will name and shame you on LI as a chancer / fraudster

[SchumiStars]

I have a confirmed interview, 5 days on-site, 30miles away from home, paying £13.50 PAYE per hour. The job is software development requiring Java, Node, MongoDB, Docker and also security clearance.

Just to add, I'm an Oxford Grad, living in London. Unfortunately, it does seem as though I will be attending and lowering my own expectations of achievable day rate

Nevermind, got to take the rough with the smooth I suppose and no-one knows when this rough tide will end.

[ResistanceFighter]

In the 15+ years I’ve known them, there are some contractors who are now looking for something, even though I never knew they needed to.

March tomorrow. the only way is up I suppose?

[edison]

Applied for two perm roles today. Finding it a bit hard to come to terms with applying for such roles after almost 11 years contracting.

Spoke to several recruiters this week who specialise in placing people on change and transformation programmes. All said they are having conversations with clients about potential work but it is still very slow for things to materialise into contract demand.

Overall in my niche, I'm seeing perm demand pick up a bit but strangely nearly all the ones I might have wanted to apply for are in the north, Midlands, South West etc which might be fine for a contract but not perm.