Forced return to office - anyone else?

[Flexipecs]

My work has announced we’re all being forced back into the office two days a week. I’m a sole parent of primary school aged children (no help from ex). If I’m forced to go into the office I’ll have to reduce my working hours and I’ll be financially worse off.

I’m going to contact my union but has anyone else had this problem and did you successfully challenge it?

There’s zero benefit to me being in the office. My stats and performance are high. I actually think I’m more productive at home because I’m not being distracted so often. I’ve worked for the company for a very long time and I’m really disappointed at this decision (to put it mildly).

Productivity is overall much lower with people wfh. It may not be the case with the OP specifically, but overall, it's true. Reduced productivity affects the living standards of every one of us and makes us less competitive as a country. We can't afford wfh in the modern world. People cannot be expected to look after their children and work - arrange childcare. No-one expected wfh to last forever.

Its not luck. Its called applying for jobs that have remote working.

Productivity is overall much lower with people wfh. It may not be the case with the OP specifically, but overall, it's true.

Citation needed.

Alot of people saying what does your contract say, legally any employer can change anything in your contract with 30 days notice.

I agree with this. I wish I could say it made me a more productive employee but it didn’t. I would be working and out the corner of my eye spot the laundry basket that’s been waiting to go in the machine, and think I’ll just stick it in. Then notice the machine had finished, think I’ll just stick it in the dryer, and while doing that notice the last lot needs to be taken out and folded. I’ll do that quickly it’ll take 2 minutes. And so on. Plus there’s nobody to notice phone use.

I can also acknowledge it’s worse for industry as a whole. Nobody is paying for travel fares, for work clothes, for work lunches and coffees, after work drinks at local pubs are bars. People will say ‘but that’s saving us money’ but it isn’t really, the only way to get our economy again is to put money into it and that doesn’t just stand for the government it means us spending.

Mentally I haven’t seen any great effects from wfh either, quite the opposite. Yes you may get a few individuals per office who genuinely benefit from working alone but most don’t, and underestimate the mental effect of having to get dressed in the morning and speak to people. It’s good for you mentally even if it’s tempting to shy away.

Interestingly I have been working on a paper around the health impact of WFH. It is based around the amount of time spent sitting, and if it is in excess of 5 hours per day, then it has significant impact on mortality rates.
It is an early doors analysis, however, more and more, employers will be held accountable for employees wellbeing. Having someone undertake a work station assessment at home is very intrusive, with the introduction of varied height working statison becoming more popular.

Where the employers obligation ends and the employees begins is a very grey area WFH.

Just refuse. That's what i did. No way I'm going in! I said that I'll just end up chatting and being completely unproductive in the office and financially means i need to find childcare. so makes sense to wfh.

Does statements like this make people feel smug or something? This weird obsession with pre pandemic and saying that’s how it was… change is ok. If wfh has helped people then why is it bad? Why is it wrong to challenge why should it just go back to the way it was without good reason?

I haven't had to make regular (weekly) visits to the office since 2013. Not all WFH jobs are that way due to covid.

Based on your opinion, not any factual evidence.

I can also acknowledge it’s worse for industry as a whole. Nobody is paying for travel fares, for work clothes, for work lunches and coffees, after work drinks at local pubs are bars. People will say ‘but that’s saving us money’ but it isn’t really, the only way to get our economy again is to put money into it and that doesn’t just stand for the government it means us spending

I take a packed lunch and we have free coffee so I am not spending any money other than on the train fare. I was in London on Tuesday evening and there were millions of people outside bars and pubs even with the fairly limited office hours people are doing these days. I guess Tuesday is also the busiest office day.

And if people are working locally they can spend money locally and money goes into the economy in other ways.

Things change, people have to adapt. Including commercial property and coffee bar owners.

Mine too - and they won't not send it to India (or Laos, Cambodia or wherever is cheap this year) just because I did an expensive commute to turn up in an office.

It is based around the amount of time spent sitting, and if it is in excess of 5 hours per day, then it has significant impact on mortality rates

But that isn't affected by whether you WFH or from an office.

In any event you may drive to work and then sit down for the best part of 8 hours. But even though I got plenty of exercise when I went into the office every day, my Fitbit would tell me I'd only moved for 3 out of 10 hours - going into work, maybe around lunchtime and going home from work.

However, the exercise you get on the commute must count for something, so most days I go out for a "fake commute" before work - a walk of 20-30 minutes.

I have a colleague who refuses, she says she can't afford the commute. She joined during covid.

To be fair I am a little perplexed that someone on a six figure salary can't afford the commute, but it's none of my business.

100% agree with this!

It’s almost embarrassing to say but earlier this year I went almost 4 weeks without a proper face to face conversation with someone - despite going into the office! It’s so unhealthy and not a position anyone should ever be in.

There’s also the training/learning aspect for new starts. There’s so much learning by osmosis in an office setting that new starts just aren’t getting. Yes you can teach processes etc (although that is more difficult at home too), but as a new grad I learnt so much by overhearing conversations had by partners/managers with years of experience.

I go in 2 days usually, 3 at the moment because I have a new member of staff!

I am definitely more productive at home, no doubt about it.
I get easily distracted now at work, spend more time chatting & going for coffees & fetching lunch etc etc but 🤷‍♀️ so be it!

I cherish my WFH days even more now though! I rolled out of bed this morning & walked the 10 steps to the bedroom next door! Love the WFH commute! 🤣

I too can't grasp the problem. Before covid budgeted and got childcare ti facilitate working. We all did it. It's not hard. This post covid view of 'I can't go into the office' x number of days per week, makes me scoff. There's no entitlement. Depends what your contract says. And even then companies can change and ask for more. Start looking for a new job. But this whole attitude makes me wince.

If you previously worked in the office and you have not had a change in contract even going to your union may raise issues for you. WFH does not mean you can care for you child/children during work hours unless you have some form of agreement where you use your lunch break to collect from school or have agreed you will be offline for pick up through to bedtime and then resume the missing hours. This is exactly one of the reasons why companies are bringing people back into the office. I would be careful how you take this forward.

Prior to covid if you were office based you accepted a job knowing that from your wage you would have to pay commuting costs childcare fees etc. Since WFH people are able to make savings on both of these costs - in some cases substantial I’d imagine.
The OP said that it would mean additional costs if she returned to the office - presumably she knew when she accepted the job that these costs would be involved. Just because it’s cheaper for her to WFH a does not mean that the Co should accomodate that.
In terms of charges for a cuppa etc cos you’re using energy I believe you can claim a tax allowance - happy to be corrected on that though.
We are all living through a COL crisis but those facing commuting and childcare costs (in addition to everything else) will be harder hit than those who are not hit by these so maybe yes wages should reflect this

@Pinkitydrinkity

There’s also the training/learning aspect for new starts. There’s so much learning by osmosis in an office setting that new starts just aren’t getting. Yes you can teach processes etc (although that is more difficult at home too), but as a new grad I learnt so much by overhearing conversations had by partners/managers with years of experience.

You're so right about the negative effects on new starters, especially school-leavers and graduates who don't have "workplace experience". Yes, you can do training courses etc to learn the theory, but you really can't over-state the importance of "osmosis" as you say. Even hearing how other workers talk to clients etc on the phone informs you how to formally communicate verbally , something which is lacking with the generation glued to their smartphones.

My son starts a graduate scheme job next month after graduating last week. Whilst the job is hybrid in the long term, they've made it clear that at least 4 days per week is required to be in the office for the first year or so and at least 3 days for the following couple of years. Basically, the "1 day in the office" won't be possible until they've qualified, which can be 3-6 years. Whilst they're training and studying, the majority of the working hours have to be in the office, even if they're on study days, they're still encouraged to be in the office. Son is more than happy with this as he spent the first year of Uni trapped in his Uni flat doing everything online, so he really doesn't want to go back to that kind of isolation!

My work place are saying everyone has to go back to the office now.

Luckily a big handful of us have been given work from home contracts… including myself and we are exempt to returning.

I am interested how your day works as you say your children are primary school age and their father does not help. How do you manage school drop off and pick up and what happens when they get home. Up to two years ago both mine were primary school ages and I would still have to use wrap around care to be able to work from home. Is it that you cannot get to and from work on time if restricted by the wrap around care times or are you doing school drop off and pick up plus supervision of two primary school children during work hours?

You've used the word "forced" several times but if you've worked there a long time presumably your employment contract specifies the office as your place of work? If your children are primary age they were also presumably born pre covid and the time most employers initiated wfh arrangements so how did you plan to work before wfh was an option?

Weren’t you all complaining about the global emissions and its direct impact of on climate change only few days ago?!! Working from home is one of the solutions…

Working from home, while is not suited for everyone, is great solution to help reduce our emissions on personal bases. If 10-25% of the working population did that, not only we would see a decrease in emissions that would help slow down climate change, it would also decrease travelling time for other commuters, demand of fuel would decrease therefore price would decrease too (in theory) and best of we all will have better air quality. Win win for everyone.

I wfh part of the week but wouldn't dream of doing housework in working hours. That's lack of discipline on your part and doesn't mean wfh is less productive, just that you lack discipline and focus