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Original poster

No more WFH or flexible working

659 replies

Lizzie523 · 17/05/2021 20:39

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?

OP posts:
PegasusReturns · 18/05/2021 07:07

OP it sucks. I manage a senior team: some have thrived, others not so much. It depends on the personality but generally business will mandate to the the lowest common denominator.

You might have been more productive but you’re lumped in for consideration with the parent who is trying to juggle FT childcare for two under fives. It’s short sighted because people will eventually vote with their feet.

CellyBee · 18/05/2021 07:08

That sucks! If I were you I would go apply to work for one of the competitors that offer flex arrangements.

BustopherPonsonbyJones · 18/05/2021 07:12

I think it would be sensible to look for another job, bearing in mind lots of other people are looking for the same WFH deals. I agree you shouldn’t have thought it was forever but can understand why you hoped it was. I don’t think you can really feel aggrieved as you are simply returning to the job you signed up to do.

I am genuinely interested in this belief that people are working better from home. My experience has been to opposite and I have found service has fallen and often dramatically. Has anyone (not speaking for themselves as self praise is no praise!) genuinely been more impressed since companies allowed more people to WFH? Which companies have done this well?

Interested in this thread?

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gottakeeponmovin · 18/05/2021 07:16

At the end of the day it would piss me off but that said no one ever guaranteed working would remain flexible and you made the choices you made. If they want you back in you have no choice. I would look for another job

Bluesheep8 · 18/05/2021 07:16

Did you not consider the fact that your job is office based when moving?

I think this is the main issue here.

Bluedeblue · 18/05/2021 07:19

I predict that most people will want to stay WFH, and will whinge when asked to come back to the Office. This was always going to happen though, and if you've made lifestyle changes based on the assumption that you'd be WFH forever, then that's just silly. Lots of people, for example, got themselves a puppy. What is going to happen now, when they aren't home to care for it?

It's not your choice whether you WFH : it's your employers. If they want you in, then so be it. Look at it this way - you've had a cushy year WFH, when many have had to still go in to work like normal : Police, NHS, Supermarket workers, bin men, Teachers etc, etc.

Bluedeblue · 18/05/2021 07:22

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

If only life were that simple Hmm

Firstly, the competitor company has to be recruiting.

Secondly, the Op would have to likely beat 1000's of other applicants for the job. Hmm

TeachesOfPeaches · 18/05/2021 07:25

This could be the company making cut backs without actually having to as people will voluntarily leave.

SomeCatsLikeCheese · 18/05/2021 07:30

In terms of childcare, I quite agree that people shouldn’t be attempting to WFH while also caring for young children as the two aren’t compatible. But where I live, childcare offerings are not back to normal and there is a serious shortage of wraparound care.

We have lost our morning wraparound care for as long as the current school drop-off situation continues (staggered entry due to Covid, too difficult for our CM to manage with small people in tow). This doesn’t affect our work in terms of WFH - we’re home and child-free by 0900 so have appropriate childcare - but we would need more flexible hours if we were attempting to commute on a daily basis. We have no family to help either.

Other people I know can’t find wraparound care for September and are trying to work out whether they can work from home and compress or drop hours, or flex to continue working after the kids are in bed.

In terms of how things have evolved in the last year, it’s a short sighted employer who makes an active decision not to offer a hybrid model in my opinion.

mahguy · 18/05/2021 07:32

you've had a cushy year WFH, when many have had to still go in to work like normal : Police, NHS, Supermarket workers, bin men, Teachers etc, etc.

So much resentment. Wfh hasn't been cushy for many.
Plus many teachers, police, NHS worker have wfh through the pandemic.

MattDamon · 18/05/2021 07:33

A friend started a new role in January and was told her team would be at home 'for the rest of this year and likely indefinitely after that'. They've already been called back to the office for 2 days per week and will likely be there full time once everyone is vaccinated. She's looking for a new job.

Roselilly36 · 18/05/2021 07:34

Why would it not be inclusive for disabled people OP?

WFH was a business decision at the time, people are now returning to their offices, and the choice is a simple one, either return to the office or look for another job.

SamusIsAGirl · 18/05/2021 07:36

Also, I've got my deckchair and a cold beer as I prepare to witness an exodus from Goldmann Sacks to their competitors who aren't stuck in the 1980's

tickingthebox73 · 18/05/2021 07:38

@Lizzie523 I'm going to be honest with you - as an employer (35 employees) for every person who is "working more productively at home" and "having fewer sick days" I now have multiple who are doing less work, are less productive and are frequently unobtainable when needed.
Back to work can't come soon enough for us, and yes I have people with the same argument as you but when balanced against the majority of lower productivity back to work it has to be.

Spaceman1 · 18/05/2021 07:39

I just had a job interview and said I would only join if I could work 3 days at home two days in the office and they agreed to my proposal. Going forwards employers will have to be more flexible to attract staff.

alwayswrighty · 18/05/2021 07:39

Their job is to run a business to maximum efficiency, not indulge your personal lives

I work as a financial adviser. I've worked from home solidly since March 2020. I've worked in excess of 72 hour weeks. I wouldn't say that indulged my personal life.

@Lizzie523 personally I would start looking elsewhere. I'm in the office training my replacement currently and will be for a few weeks but when I take over my new role I'll be wfh again. My commute is 20 minutes so not bad at all I just like being at home 🤣

BustopherPonsonbyJones · 18/05/2021 07:41

@Bluedeblue

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

If only life were that simple Hmm

Firstly, the competitor company has to be recruiting.

Secondly, the Op would have to likely beat 1000's of other applicants for the job. Hmm

Which is why she might need to suck it up.
TinyGlassOwl · 18/05/2021 07:43

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

I keep seeing this argument pop up on WFH threads but I really don't think it's valid. Quite aside from the fact that there are many jobs that require a specialist knowledge of the local or UK market/environment/regulations etc, or require UK-specific professional qualifications (ie, like mine), how often do we see companies advertising their 'UK-based call centres' these days? Companies moved call centres overseas years ago and ended up having to move most of them back again. Customer service jobs like the ones being moaned about on here, for example, rarely work well when being done by someone in 'Mumbai or Manila' - and customers don't like it.

Add to that the issues with time-zones, differences in training, working practices, expense and issues of managing teams 1000s of miles away...

I don't doubt that having an international workforce might benefit some companies but if that was the case I think they'd already be doing it! The idea that Janice's office manager job in Staines is going to be outsourced to south Asia if she doesn't get back to the office quick-smart is a bit of a red herring.

As for Wales or the north...well it would be a good thing if some jobs moved out of London, wouldn't it? The high concentration of jobs in the south east is exactly what leads to all the issues people want to move away from - high house prices, long commutes, pollution, etc. It would be a good thing to see a more even distribution of interesting jobs across the country.

mahguy · 18/05/2021 07:46

@TinyGlassOwl agree. I think people also forgot how many well paid people could already work from home pre pandemic.

BreakfastOfWaffles · 18/05/2021 07:48

@Redwinestillfine

Vote with your feet. Employers that keep on insisting on the workforce being in the office full time will be in the minority and will loose their best staff if they refuse to adapt.
Absolutely this. If you work in an industry that relies on skilled staff, they have to offer an appealing package otherwise the talent goes elsewhere.
Iggly · 18/05/2021 07:49

I strongly suspect many employers want their employees back because:

  • they don’t trust their staff
  • they’ve got office space which they are financially committed to our own and want to justify having it
  • don’t have long commutes etc

It’s sad how we accept that we are literally slaves to our jobs - but we aren’t. It’s a contract between our employers and us, however we’ve lost our ability to speak up for what may work better for us.

Personally I would prefer a blended arrangement. I don’t like the idea of wfh all the time neither do I like the idea of being in the office all the time.

There are corporate landlords lobbying government to get people back to the office for the simple reason that they’ll lose money.

I think it’s better for local economies to have a mix of wfh/office working - because you have more footfall in commuter towns etc as opposed to everyone going to centres like London and spending their money there.

MiddleParking · 18/05/2021 07:52

Laughing at ‘no business makes decisions for no good reason’ Grin what, never? Talk about overcommitting to the bootlicking cause.

I’m public sector and we’re still WFH for now moving to hybrid when things are more open, but I can see the real issue being teams actually being able to access office space to spend time together, which was already a bit of an issue pre Covid. We’ve got team members based all over the UK working on high priority projects with external deadlines, and finding dates we can all do team stuff together is hard enough; if we then have to book space for us all in a very reduced capacity office it becomes nearly impossible. What we used to usually end up doing was paying for external facilities for training etc, which is ridiculous when the organisation is paying hideous rents on expensive offices, but I’m sure that’ll be even more prevalent now.

sofato5miles · 18/05/2021 07:53

I also think many people have not been more productive at all. I know i am not and i have a very senior role. But that is me being honest. So i am book one full day of calls at home. And then work in the office the other 4 days

Fishandhips · 18/05/2021 07:53

I think a lot of businesses will make similar decisions in the coming weeks/months, even those who were all for it previously. If that's their decision you have the choice to stay or whether to look for another job, which might not be guaranteed forever either. We have been quite surprised that plenty of the organisations are back full time in the office, and to stay competitive we will be soon, can't wait.