The working world has become ridiculous

[Rothschild]

Recently a manager at my company attended an online meeting in tears because of a minor issue regarding her child's school. She excused herself from the meeting and took a mental health day.

I can barely get hold of anyone at 3pm in my (large) organisation because everyone is doing school pick up. I don't believe they're getting much work done once they've picked up because they become hard to contact, don't respond to messages and won't attend meetings, despite it being their normal working hours.

It's ridiculous. When our children were small we paid for wrap around childcare or for someone to collect. We were available to work between 3 and 4pm and afterwards.

I'm not talking about anyone who has negotiated flexibility or finishes at 3pm, I'm talking about others who are, frankly, taking the piss.

And if I had taken a mental health day every time I'd had some difficulty in my life I'd have hardly worked.

How would you like it if your employer adapted your wage to the hours actually engaged in productive work?

agree with OP completely.

I run my own business. It drives me potty when I can’t get hold of a lawyer or banker I really need to speak to at 4pm. I’ve moved firms for the former because it was so bad.

I help out at a church toddler group sometimes. Last time there were 3 mums who strolled in saying “I’m supposed to be working from home today but they’ll never know”. My favourite was the 3rd one who actually brought her laptop and tapped away on the church wifi proud of the fact she wasn’t paying for her heating, the kids were looked after and she was working.

I think there’s an awful lot of people who don’t have the choice to take mental health days because their Mums dog died. I doubt many self employed people would be able to do that. Or people in jobs who don’t pay anything more than SSP. It’s hard to be generous of thought in their circumstance. The professional middle management of Mumsnet is a long way from a lot of peoples reality.

Why though?

I work condensed hours so am totally unavailable one day per work. I have just finished work, started at 8.30am and didn't take lunch.

I arrange meetings between 10 to 12, try to avoid lunch break between 12 to 2 and after 4pm. Arrange your meeting between 9.30am and 2.30pm. Get on with planning and other work the rest of the time.

Bums on seat 9am to 5pm, and only in an office is not the best way. I work with people that only want to meet face to face, others that consistently fill their diaries with 2 hour meetings. Most of the meeting I attend could be a lot shorter or even an email.

Agree, and this has been the practice for many years.

Isn't it about working your contractual hours?

As I teach at University I can say confidently that the problem starts before people get to the workplace. We are constantly having to make accommodations for anxious students. Students now insist that I cannot ask them questions in public, they won’t join group discussions, or do presentations.
They won’t read at all. They don’t keep on top of emails- miss deadlines, get zeroes and then have a mental health crisis because of their marks.

Meanwhile students who do need help and support, cannot get it.

Because we are trying to use each WORK day to the fullest.

It’s not a question of work, work, work and knock yourself out, though clearly some do that. It’s a question of being available to do the job for which you are paid, during the time designated in your contract. If that means that you are required to be in a meeting at 3pm, that’s part of the job.

The trouble with people blurring the edges and pushing boundaries, means that employers become more rigid and flexibility for important appointments or emergencies is reduced.

Its all the same in our Industry
Margins are very thin….

and anyone looking for a job works in the same industry because that’s their profession which they’ve spent 7 years studying for.

With the exception of admin of course

‘owners get less money’ 🤣 very funny ….

How is 3 pm LATE in the day?!
Imagine if all hospitals, GPs, fire services, police all said ‘well after 3 pm we will only do light work’…

What do you mean, why?

I had 9 meetings yesterday. I started work at 8am but didn't start meetings until 9am. If I couldn't attend after 3pm, nothing would ever get sorted!

I can’t believe you are having to explain that🤣🤣

spot on

Sounds like an unethical industry that relies on cheap labour.

It's not your problem
Unless, of course it impacts on you. If that cover yourself by telling line manager then leave it.
Frustrating, I know, but you won't get any thanks for highlighting it.

A pet dying can be absolutely heartbreaking and devastating. I love my dog more than any human that has been in my life. I will be grieving when he dies and will absolutely take time off work.

I work freelance in my own business so that's exactly what happens.

where I work you struggle find anyone in my Dept after 3pm. If there is some network issue it's pandemonium trying to find a manager who takes charge. They start looking at the lower orders eg me to do something. My colleagues will say to them its your job, you get paid the danger money.

Yes at the moment. I'm saying it shouldn't be. We're a wealthy country, lots of technology, lots of research has been done into productivity. I don't see why anyone would be interested in continuing the status quo of devoting your life to a corporation

Agree. We have had four people in our office in the last year ( myself included) who have lost dogs and there has been no problem with people taking a day or two off. When my dog died suddenly late at night I had to arrange to take her to the vets etc the next day, arrange cremation, deal with distraught kids. It still hurts like mad over a year later.

You choose to run your own business. That’s on you isn’t it? You want the rewards of that so🤷‍♀️

Absolutely this 😊

I think you’re the mug for paying for childcare after school tbh. Your workplace doesn’t care about you so why do you have to be so loyal? It’s all about working smarter now than harder.

People have started quoting “mental health” to mean any state in which they are even slightly stressed or sad. It’s ridiculous.