No more WFH or flexible working

[Lizzie523]

Been WFH for a year now - about 6 months ago the company MD said we had done brilliantly, was thrilled by how we had risen to the challenge etc. We were then told the future would likely be hybrid working & we all had to complete detailed consultations about our preferences RE this. Personally ive been more productive overall & I feel a mix would work well.

Imagine our shock to now be told we are all to go back to full time at the office 5 days a week. They said they would no longer consider the results of the consultations and wished they hadn't done it - many of us tried to appeal this but were just told 'no'.

I moved during the pandemic which means I am just far enough away that 5 days a week in the office is going to be a hassle (not to mention awful for the environment).

We work with a few people with young kids and it obviously isn't inclusive for disabled people either. Our main competitors have already confirmed their commitment to remote working.

Is everyone else headed back to the office or am I right in thinking most places are being more flexible now?

Thing is, it's not your choice unfortunately. It's down to your employer, it wouldn't be constructive dismissal for them to insist on office work. Wfh was due to the pandemic and orders in place, once this has changed of course they can ask people back. There was never a guarantee that this would be for good. You can vote with your feet but just remember no one is irreplaceable. There's many people looking for jobs at the moment.

Sorry about your situation, OP. Are you in a union? I’ve always thought that covid/wfh etc was going to present issues and that unions would be involved in some instances. It’s a tricky one. Could you maybe seek work with a competing business - you mention that their wfh policy is different.

Also sorry that you’ve posted and initial replies to this were of the typical grouchy and unsympathetic mumsnet type. No empathy some people.

Urgh, such smugness from some posters here who would rather everyone go to the office even if it is a hassle and/or makes them miserable. You might want to ask yourselves why you find such delight and self congratulation in someone elses working life being unhappy

OP I went self employed years ago, if there's any way you can then I highly recommend it. Or keep an eye out for other remote working possibilities. Sorry they mucked you around.

My employer wants 'bums on seats' and thinks that the organisation runs better with everyone in.
This is despite spending thousands on new laptops and software to enable 'agile working'.

I think there is a complete lack of trust from many employers who think that if they can't see you glued to the PC, you must be slacking.

I have to hold my hands up and say that I was far less productive at home, possibly due to distractions- husband watching TV and making noise, mother dropping in and cats all over me. I didn't slack off but I'm sure plenty of people did take advantage.

If the office was closer, I wouldn't have a problem going in every day.

@lubeybooby

Urgh, such smugness from some posters here who would rather everyone go to the office even if it is a hassle and/or makes them miserable. You might want to ask yourselves why you find such delight and self congratulation in someone elses working life being unhappy

OP I went self employed years ago, if there's any way you can then I highly recommend it. Or keep an eye out for other remote working possibilities. Sorry they mucked you around.

Fine if you work for a company that doesn't serve the general public but all the services like insurance, utilities, etc. have been rubbish since WFH

Go work for a competitor offering the conditions you want. Problem solved.

We’re moving from an office that housed 150 to one that houses 40. 75% of people wanted to WFH or do mix. So they are doing just that.
Great for those who wanted to WFH, bad for those who cannot WFH as we now have to do all their shitty jobs (printing off their documents for posting, scanning their incoming post to clients online folders etc etc).
A lot of extra ‘admin’ that they used to do themselves is now picked up by ‘someone in the office’ .

@Lizzie523

I also think it has to be at least partially dependent on what you do.

Just saying flat out no, no flexible working option is mad imo. It isn't inclusive for various reasons more important than mine.

I agree, it is shortsighted. Ultimately it makes your workplace less appealing than their competitors.

I think in your shoes I would start looking for a new job, as you will be able to get greater flexibility elsewhere by the sound of things.

I think the WFH over the last year has raised the question of what are the managers who rule by standing over their teams for especially if those teams have performed fine without that type of supervision?

IMO this is what is behind some of the 'you must come back in' demands. It isnt about poor performing teams but managers worrying about their own relevance.

In my company WFH has got rid of a lot of office politics and distractions: stress about seating plans, bake sales etc etc.

Our Credit Control team has improved its performance over lockdown while WFH. The manager has had to change her style and it has been measurably effective.

There may be reasons for managers getting people back in but they arent always good reasons.

We will also be sent full time back to the office and I am not looking forward to it. I don't even have a commute (20 minute short walk) but I hate my office. It's a tiny windowless cell, freezing cold and it stinks. Plus people are always in and out so it's so disruptive.

I get loads more done at home and in a much cosier, cleaner environment.

I really envy those whose employers will let them do at least a day or two a week from home.

For our company it was an easy decision. Productivity numbers went significantly up when people were allowed to WFH. We also did anonymous surveys and discovered some people want to go back to the office so we'll try to satisfy that too - we'll reopen in September with flexible working allowing people to use office when they want to come in - they're welcome but they're not obliged to.

Productivity is notoriously hard to measure. I work for a huge global company and we are really struggling with how to manage it. When everyone had to work from home the comms were all about supporting the workforce and geeing them up to feel good about the situation. The reality is, it does take longer to do many jobs as the 5 mins conversation/ info sharing in corridors etc have been lost. As well as a sense of community. The softer variables that genuinely increase company knowledge are being lost. Paving the way for a new working future means making some difficult choices. And none of them please everyone. We are going with hybrid to retain staff and then will review in a year.

And the environment argument is a strawman when we look at where most of the real damage is done..

I think most employers are moving towards a more hybrid approach... but at the end of the day it is their decision.

Personally I disagree with forcing people to go into the office if it's not necessary for their job and think that we should be moving towards hybrid/ remote working and more personal choice!

They may find they become less attractive as a prospective employer and don't attract the talent they want if they are too rigid. But I just think it's the employer's decision to do that and I would assume they've weighed it up and made that decision, so as an employee you have to respect it really.

It wasn't very clever to move away when you didn't know quite what was happening - it sounds like there had been speculation but nothing actually confirmed. So moving away is a bit of a moot point because that was your own decision.

I think employers who go all one way or the other - 100% office or 100% wfh are morons. Neither is good for staff or the business.

As an employer- I've supported flexible working for 15 years now and have never yet said no to a reasonable request. And I've never regretted it once.

I'd far rather have the right person 3 days a week than an adequate person 5 days a week.

We have almost zero absenteeism and very high retention.

My staff are all getting the choice and I think the likely return will be 20% office, 20% home and 60% hybrid.

Maybe they want to thin down their work force and would prefer to do it this way. People giving notice is much easier for them than having to start making redundancies, especially if this involves severance packages.

I see a lot of people at my workplace demanding to stay WFH to save on commuting or make it easier with childcare. But honestly, we were not hired to WFH, we were working at home temporarily, so all these demands to keep the status quo, especially when is at the detriment of other co workers are off.

There are also a lot of pisstakers in the WFH people, during coronavirus I ended up doing 3 jobs and having a breakdown because my team was massively reduced to accommodate the needs of people who were delayed because they couldn’t motivate themselves, were feeling depressed at home, couldn’t concentrate to do the work, not being allowed to work without interruptions by their children (a baby I understand, a teen... not) or their need to go for a run to reduce stress while the rest of us covered for them.

If managers could keep a fair distribution of work among colleagues, I would love staying WFH but as the things are, I do think that if you cannot do the job when it is required because you have care responsibilities or too many distractions at home... you should either work part time or leave the job to allow for another person, who can actually do the job, to take over.

This is one of the problems when you are working for someone else. Basically you get no saying in a lot of things the business decides to do. This makes me wonder, what's the difference then between employee and a slave?? In any way, business can make you go in to the office and they dont have to consult you at all. This is what my employer did as well back in April. After working my ass off during pandemic without a single day off or on furlough, doing almost double the hours (unpaid overtime!) was given 2 days notice to go back to the office full time. In return, I have submitted my resignation letter. Can you imagine their shock - however the requirement to go back to office wasn't withdrawn so now I am off work, free & happier than ever been, thinking of starting my own self employed business over summer! Silver lining eh :)

I have some sympathy with the employers. Your were happy to take employment in an office based role originally. That is what they offered, that is what you signed up to. The fact you have moved and made this more difficult for yourself is nothing to do with the business. You made that decision yourself and must have been mindful of the change in commute.

WFH was a government requirement, it was not a business decision. Once the government lifts this it is not unexpected that the employer should return to your original contract.

'This makes me wonder, what's the difference then between employee and a slave??'

Errrr.... you get paid and you have a choice about working there?! If you don't like the job you leave, which you have done. Win win. You get to find a job that suits you. The employer gets to find someone who wants the job. I imagine at some level they are relieved that you have gone as there is nothing worse than a disaffected member of staff upsetting the atmosphere in the office.

I don’t know where all this great WFH is because whenever I call up a company I often get a “we have reduced no.s due to covid and there could be a longer waiting time”, or no one answers. Once through, the service is terrible and often delayed by poor home internet. Same for unanswered emails.

I know not all jobs are Cust service, but this is just an example. WFH is great for employees, but not necessarily good for customers.

My DH has a few staff members who want to remain working at home but that doesn’t suit the business. They also expected to keep their full salary when they actually earn a London city salary but would be working in some sleepy village an hour away on an express train.

WFH is a slippery slope. If you can do it from your village in Kent remotely, then at some point your CEO will work out that someone can do it for less in Wales/ the north and after that, that it can be done in Mumbai or Manila.

@prettymuchrita

I’m not sure on the law or if there even is any specifically dealing with wfh however, there are certainly laws that force employers to consider flexible working and that should not be unreasonably withheld (after you’ve been with a company a year I think it is). I work with employment lawyers

What a brilliant post you admit you don’t know the law but say you work with lawyers. What part of the latter allows you to assess a lack of consideration or reasonableness?

They did a consultation!

@herecomesthesunagain

I have some sympathy with the employers. Your were happy to take employment in an office based role originally. That is what they offered, that is what you signed up to. The fact you have moved and made this more difficult for yourself is nothing to do with the business. You made that decision yourself and must have been mindful of the change in commute.

WFH was a government requirement, it was not a business decision. Once the government lifts this it is not unexpected that the employer should return to your original contract.

Good summary of the situation.

Ugh. Couldn’t read past the first page of responses. ‘Get back in the cubicle, wage-slave!’

Go to work for your competitors. The forced march back to the office is ridiculous in light of how quickly the Indian variant is doubling. It’s controlling for the sake of being controlling. Skilled workers who can command respect will be moving to employers who can offer a more sensible and flexible approach.

@Lizzie523

There is one other factor I almost forgot. Just before the pandemic I was being investigated re endometriosis. I lost 2 working days to it the previous year. Apparently the appointments will start again later this year.

Over the last year I would probably have had to take about 3 days off as a result of my symptoms. I've taken 0 days off because on those days I've worked comfortably from the couch and all the tasks were completed albeit it took me longer. I can't sit on a computer chair without feeling extreme discomfort if not pain. It is very hard for me but this year gave me the flexibility I needed.

Apologies if it was another poster but this rang a bell. Was it you whose employer wanted them to have their cameras on for remote meetings and you didn’t want to?