New manager want me in the office. I wfh-help!

This!

@lovescats3 I don't think you understand the difference between anecdotal evidence and statistical evidence.

On average, those who work from home spend 10 minutes less a day being unproductive, work one more day a week, and are 47% more productive.

Findings of just one study on this.

But oc.

They want to micro manage their employees.

See it’s not falling in any of the areas my family work in. These CEO’s need to look forward not back.

Evidence that productivity has fallen due to remote working, please.

Hybrid working is perceived necessary because middle management - which is what your husband is, by the sounds of it - are wedded to presenteeism.

Yeah, and?

Orange marmalade on toast - read my post properly, he works in an office, I have a f job which can only be done face to face

Read my post properly arseinthecoopwindow it's not what my husband thinks it's coming from ceo level - hybrid working is perceived necessary because productivity has fallen and companies are failing

Course you would. Have fun with all the constructive dismissal claims.

and EXPENSIVE!

Come come, when someone's husband says something it must be right!

My 3 Millennials are all home based and akways have been. They’re companies aren’t failing because of not being in a work place.

One works in media
One in lecturing. Does f2f lectures but all prep at home.
One in civil service. He was forced back but had to sit in the canteen as there weren’t enough desks.

People are not going to give up on working from home just because of what your husband thinks.

DH works in medical supplies. He works from home 3 days week.

I hope you dont' get pulled in on what sounds like the preferences and whim of your new manager. She may well 'prefer' it, but tough shit.

I'd not back down, but def look for a new role as she may well make you her pet peeve project

You're right though, people often don't realise that employees can be prevented from working remotely but that doesn't mean they can be made to come into an office.

And its possible the OP being so niche might be the main factor here. Her skillset is sufficiently in demand that the organisation had to headhunt her, meanwhile some manager in post for 5 minutes wants to use that on something else?! One wonders what the manager's manager would have to say.

Astonishing to see so many bitter anti-WFH posts on here when MN is a site for women which prides itself on its feminist credentials, and it's beyond doubt that WFH benefits women hugely by helping them access work, and stops them being pushed out of the workforce. Reintroducing compulsory office working will see the gender pay gap soar.

Can only assume most people who are so bitter about WFH are either men, or are resentful that women these days have more options.

Is it more about pushing you out because she wants her own person in? Lots of this going around.

All the data suggests otherwise - remote working employees are more productive. The briefest of Googles confirms this. Obviously manufacturing workers etc have to work on site and can't work remotely, so WFH is really only for knowledge workers anyway.

The economy is in a total mess but it's nothing to do with WFH and everything to do with the absolute shower we've got running the country.

My husband and his contemporaries who are managers in various companies say we are less productive now with WFH , I said doesn't that mean you need to employ more people and they say no the companies are starting to fail and will have to cut jobs and their bosses are reintroducing hybrid working and if possible full time in the office to increase productivity. Our general economy is on the brink of recession for various reasons too. I think we are in a precarious position nationally and globally in terms of standards of living now. I don't think having an economy based on people using transport and coffee shops is right but what do we manufacture and produce now. My children in their 20 s and their friends say it's easier to be at work in person learning from other people and they like the social aspect, they don't want to work and live in the same building all the time.

''@allthemiddlechildrenoftheworld

@Stressedgiraffe "they knew where you lived" but the reverse is also true! you knew where the business was based so why did you apply for a job if the business was based so far away???''

Because the position was advertised and sold at interview as being a remote role. End of story.

It is a shame that the OP did not make sure this was clearly stated in the contract she was issued but I think the company has acted in a shoddy way.

Whoops. Wrong quote.

Like it’s that easy. They’d all leave.

It may state it in her contract, but for 2 years it has not been enforced. That, in tangent with hiring emails where OP specifically clarified the position is remote and she will be WFH is more than enough to evidence that the remote element was accepted. OP does come to the office “occasionally” for training etc. Occasionally is not everyday. If a contract is not enforced from the start they cannot hire her under false pretences and the choose to enforce it when she lives 5 hours away (and did at time of application). A written contract can usually not be overwritten, but OP has it in writing that it’s remote.

It’s would be a similar scenario if the business was based in Leeds and moved to Glasgow and expected all employees hired in Leeds to commute to Glasgow because their contract says “office”. Op is based 5 hours away, always has been and has worked remotely. They cannot decide to arbitrarily enforce a contract 2 years in.

Don’t hand in your notice. She is emailing HR? You can do that too. Attach everything you have that shows you accepted the job as a remote post, the job listing, and all correspondence. Highlight the fact that you were headhunted and your carer status/health conditions.

And casually throw in the fact that due to this and the fact that your manager is looking to change your role from what was agreed, you have spoken to an employment lawyer and are looking into ground for constructive dismissal.

Your email to HR will shit them up far more than her email, which will mainly consist of “I want my direct reports under my eye where I can see them, waaaah”.

Do t have in your notice, you were hired to work remotely!

Just wait til HR confirm it to your manager - that will likely be the end of the discussion and you won't have to change.

This. My husband has been in the process of trying to coax his reportees back into the office 3/5 days a week after the lockdown period and accepts that there are some for whom it is now now possible (they’ve had kids, lost parents who helped with childcare etc), even though company policy is a return to 60:40 hybrid model. He negotiates the issue via HR so that each employee is centred in the discussion and their rights and needs are fully considered. It’s not his place to dictate where his existing staff work, especially if it involves a change to the status quo. He simply makes sure the 60:40 ratio is set out as a T&C in new hires.

Then you’d be a terrible employer and manager, who would spend all their time defending costly constructive/unfair dismissal claims.