Going into the office 5 days a week!

Congratulations and best of luck with the new role

It’s because, to a lot of people, flexibility is just as important as salary.

Yes, some people will take the piss, but the majority don’t. Rather like pre-COVID.

Well done. There are always challenges that come with stepping up to a new role - it sounds like it will be a positive change for you.

I understand how you feel, I was used to working flexibly from home (self employed) then took a 6 month contract in a team that turned out to have a fixed 9-5 presenteeism attitude. I found it really hard at first. At least being so close you could walk home for lunch and pop the washing on.

When taking on new / different / challenging roles, however hard it seems in the first few weeks, I promise myself that if it still feels awful after 4 months, I'll leave and do something different. I've always found that in that time frame I've managed to adjust.

You never know, once you get into the job you may find that you can make some gradual inroads e.g. "I've got this report to write / research to do - it would help if I could work away from my own office for a coupe of hours so I'm not disturbed - oh dear no suitable quiet space available, I wonder if I could do it at home?"

OP, did you take the job?

The in- office statistics generated by the system which records chargeable hours for billing purposes and fees rendered.

And, for a public sector job, why do you think the first question is about how many days are wfh. Because they want to know how many days are going to be an easy ride.
and yes, I do personally know a few people who work for the public sector and they make no excuses for being able to slack off and skive when it suits - they put the blame solely on their bosses and depts that are over staffed. They consider it a well known perk of the job.

@IHaveAlwaysLivedintheCastle Some people are more productive at home and some definitely are not. They both claim to be. When I worked from home I had a nanny in a different part of the house . This amazed plenty of people, who wondered why it was necessary.

Go for it. Full time from part time will make a difference to your lifestyle with more disposable income. You will have clear progression and opportunities to focus on which helps with a feeling of wellbeing. You will meet new people in your life. Some might become good supportive colleagues or even friends. Dealing with the public on enquiry lines can make you cynical and demotivated if you do it for a prolonged period, so a change is good. It's a new challenge which is good for us. The commute is actually just building exercise into you routine, which is good. You will see your home differently as it won't be associated with work. You will value and appreciate being at home more. You will feel great at the end of the week after the human interaction and exercise and a feeling you are progressing in a career and the extra cash to spend at the weekend. And if it really doesn't work, the skills you have around customer care and dealing with the public are transferable and you can get a similar job you have now quick enough. The potential upsides are significant, downsides completely manageable. The risk is minimal the reward could be significant for your future.

What stats?

I think you’d be mad to turn this opportunity down. It offers a proper career in a secure environment (public sector). You can pop home at lunch time to stick the washing on the line and put a slow cooker meal on if you’re worried about that sort of stuff.

OP, this is such a great opportunity, and to be honest since the whole job and area of responsibility is new to you I think you will gain more and learn faster being in the office, working alongside people more experienced than you.

You pick up so much informally, overhear conversations, pick up on things. Get to ask questions whenever you need to.

So much of this level of experience is lost by remote working.

OP. Accept the offer. Trial it for 12-18months.
then if you still prefer hybrid, ask them at that stage. Or search for another role. but with the experience of this one on your CV!

you have said this would be good for your career and is 2 mins from home. Invest in your career. It doesn’t have to be forever

It’s a shame this thread has been hijacked with yet another debate about whether or not hybrid works. I’ve lost count of all the threads on this topic, they just go round and round. Meanwhile, I assume the OP is still trying to decide whether to accept the job offer?

What? Both dh and I have wfh for years, my dh has since before it was even a “thing”. We
both work extremely hard and arguably have even higher standards expected because we are at home. Private sector

Of course it’s true. I find your fixed attitude bizarre. If it wasn’t an effective business model then organisations would not be allowing remote working or hybrid.

My work schedule is entirely appointments and meetings based so it makes absolutely no difference whether I’m in the office or not, the same amount of work is completed. Only to a higher standard as I’m not exhausted from the commute and distracted by colleagues wanting to chat.

Your experience does not dictate what works for others and organisations.

Because it's not true. You work for the NHS, my experience was working at a county council- perhaps this a reason why the public sector is failing - if you were held to the same levels of accountability and output as those who work in the private sector, you wouldn't be considered to be working 'efficiently' at all.

public sector no doubt.

I agree with both your points, and would be wary of an employer who wouldn’t consider any flexibility.

I work for a medium sized public sector employer and the first question is usually “how many days in the office” when we’re recruiting new staff. We were a bit slow off the mark in finalising our post-COVID hybrid policy, and until we had a clear policy to share with applicants, we really struggled to recruit

I work in HR and at the advisor level its quite common to find roles which are regional/ hybrid based if that's what you want as you progress. Especially if you join a large nulti site organization covering a patch. Bloody hard to get in and on with HR as its quite competitive, so id grab any opportunity with both hands

I would want a very big pay rise to do 5 days a week in the office.

My arguments on this thread have been plenty coherent, you just disagree with what I'm saying. Which is fine.

take it, it’s fantastic to get a job that close to your house, career progression and extra pay, you might be able to negotiate a day a week WFH

I go into the office every day. Pre covid I worked at home twice a week. I had enough of home working after covid and couldn’t wait to get back into the office and seperate out my home and office life. I find it’s better for my mental health and better for my physical health as I am more active. You soon get into the habit of it. We have a handful of people who come in 5 days voluntarily, but we are hybrid and min of 40%.