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).

Err - there's no benefit to climate change if buses and trains are running half full instead of full - they're still pumping out emissions aren't they. It's only when we get to the stage of fewer services, but when that happens, we'll get all the sad faces on social media about a train service that used to be every 15 minutes now running half hourly!

Probably because they want you working between the hours of 3 and 5 assume? If you’re off to pick the kids up and sort tea etc. do you then put the extra time in?

Unless it’s in your contract to work from home then there’s not much you can do.

You are legally entitled to apply for flexible working but no guarantee you’ll get what your after. Maybe look at options such as school time hours, term time if on offer.

sadly it’s a case of suck it up or look for another job that offers WFH. I feel your frustration as I’ve gotta to do 3 days a week but it’s not the end of the world. I find it breaks the week up a bit. But what my employers don’t realise yet is I’m not as productive in office as far more distractions, noise & people pestering me haha when I’m at home it’s podcast on & I get into the zone & can churn work out no issue.

How old is your child? Will they be completely independent after the journey home? If they are young, then you won't really be able to work with them at home, so you'll either need to finish work before you pick them up, or someone else will need to look after them until you finish work. In covid workplaces HAD to let parents half-work, half-childcare because the government mandated it, but now this should only be happening in an emergency. I think one reason why employees maybe reluctant to do work from home, is just because of people going "I'm working from home, but I'm actually doing something else too!" Maybe shorten your days or use childcare.

Also you can work for a hour with a child tbh. People in every work environment I’ve ever worked in have coffee breaks, lunch breaks, finish early chat to people etc. what’s wrong with catching up in the evening etc.

I’m in a similar situation and feel the same as you. I’ve worked from home successfully for 3 years but now have to go into the office 2 days a week, and I only work 3 days a week.

This will mean a 2+ hour commute a week which is time I could be spending working. I know that for some companies there’s obviously a business need depending on the roles of staff but in my case I work pretty much independently and would rather be able to concentrate from home rather than listen to other teams talk about non-work matters half the day.

I just find it yet another barrier for working mothers to be honest. School hours, nursery costs, wraparound care are continually problematic for women trying to work and employers have to move with the times and offer flexibility, because what is the alternative? Successful, capable women are forced out of work in order to prioritize childcare. I honestly just find it so hard being a working parent and forcing people to go into the workplace when it’s not needed seems unnecessary.

There is no harm in asking to continue to WFH full time. However, I do not think their request to work 2 days in the office out of 5 is unjust. Can you not arrange childcare during those days? Perhaps see if you can work through your lunch and leave early.

I have a job I need to do out of the home therefore have zero sympathy. You had childcare issues before, such is life. I get up at 5.50 daily and usually get home between 5.30 and 6.15 despite only working 20 miles away. I have had absolutely no extra help during Covid.

Nogg I don't get coffee breaks or chat breaks and I work in the evening too - unpaid.

Pre-covid I worked 25hrs a week around school hours over 5 days a week.
Post-covid I now work 30hrs a week.
The directors wanted a more visible presence in the office, but this was introduced gradually. Started with 1 day in the office, then 2, now most do 3-5 days in the office.
I arranged to work a certain core number of hours in the office (4 mornings) and then the remainder of my hours WFH.
Otherwise I would have had to drop my hours back down, and with the COL I can't afford that.
This has been via an official flexible working request - can you do something similar?

Well if you leave at 5.30 you are not a single parent or you have very flexible wrap around care.

just because you can’t wfh doesn’t mean to say others can’t.

your post sounds like one of those stores….. when I were a lass I worked 20 hours down pit with only canary feed for lunch…

its called progress

Why can’t you use after school childcare/breakfast club? If there’s a reason why not then I would try and compromise, maybe one day and one shorter day so you can leave early. I don’t think asking employees to go back into the office is unreasonable unless it’s from FT WFH to suddenly 5 days in the office.

Because although it is more progressive because you are a single working mum with no support, people will think you ought to suffer.

Why are your evening hours unpaid?

Apologies I've not read all the posts and don't know all the exact rules. But! There is something about implied terms of contract. It's around if you've done something for (say) 2 years that is implied what your job entails. Speak to your union if you have one, even if your not member they may be willing to give you verbal advice or cab. There was a lady at my work pre covid that couldn't come in following an op, then change of management and she continued to wfh. Eventually she was told she had to come back but turns out she'd been blagging wfh for 2 years + and then they couldn't make her. Worth pursuing.

"Me being in the office is for visibility and is right for the team. I get less physical work done but the team feeling like a team is important"

Ok.... but surely what you are paid for is the work??? No wonder the economy is tanking

The problem with people that WFH being "forced" back into the office is that since covid many wrap around options have closed. There is now no longer any after school club where I live, it ended with covid. So I'd have to cut my hours. My DH wouldn't/couldn't even though I'm the higher earner. So it'll impact mainly on the woman's earning power/career.

So long as I do my hours and my job I don't see what the problem is if I do it during the day or in the evening.

Were they adamant enough to write homeworking into the contracts? Presumably not, since people have no choice about it.

I'm not blaming the staff at all. I'm just noting that for all the talk about wfh being fine, brilliant, permanent, it seems the company was never prepared to commit to it contractually.

In my company full-time wfh requires managers to carry out periodic health & safety checks on the employee's home working set up to make sure they are not putting themselves at risk of injury. Managers also make home visits to meet duty of care requirements.

Some staff have returned to the office p/t as they didn't want (company supplied) desks/chairs/equipment cluttering up their homes or their bosses seeing their homes.

@ismu I’m a manager so fostering good relationships, understanding my team’s workload and the people means I am able to get the best from them. So I do get work done but not in the sense of number of emails and pages written. It’s a different kind of work which is more invisible but actually really important to create an effective team.

You shouldn't be child minding when supposedly working

ok, it works for you but probably doesn’t work for wider company culture, sense of team connection, other people’s work wellbeing, company finances (dead office space, more expenses related to homeworkers), newer employees, those with different roles etc. I think YABU here, you can’t expect a crisis situation to last indefinitely. I do sympathise with childcare dilemma however - how any one is supposed to manage family life in this economic climate is anyone’s guess. Already seeing more street homeless.

Even peppa pig’s mum works from home you know.

so single parents should be on the bread line so that managers can pretend they are engineering an effective team.

not only does mummy pig work from home she also simultaneously does childcare of peppa and George!

that will annoy some people on here. We can’t all be Miss rabbit with her multiple jobs.

Take your defeatist attitude away. We are literally on the brink of catastrophe but we are worried about putting bums on seats in offices when they could do the sand hi. At home.

Btw- Electric buses are a thing in places like China, this tech is only improving.

Every time someone decides not to drive their car, they are positively contributing to the environment.