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.

Same at softplay ,people on their laptop, ignoring the kids who run riots and spoil it for everyone.

This is why there is s current review being proposed around mental health

Too many people being diagnosed and individuals with higher need are being overlooked

Agree.

We cannot avoid all stress, anxiety, disappointment, conficted emotions. They are part of life.

That’s tragic.

Yes. So we can show empathy and humanity when people experience them , Grad grind

I think WFH is not the issue. Skyvers skyve in the office as well as at home.

Must be your company because I have half my team working from home and their job is still as good if not better . No issues with school pickups as long as the job is done

I don’t think it’s as easy as ‘not having meetings after 3pm’. Whilst I think my organisation has a preference for meetings that could have been emails, there are times where we are working across different functions and organisational boundaries on a time bound project with multiple contributors, accumulative availability means 3:30 or 4pm might be the only suitable slot when you account for most people already having recurring team meetings in the usually 10-12 slots. I have to had to delay meetings on occasion to ensure everyone can attend - which poses a wider question about efficiency and efficacy of working practices.

In my opinion, organisations should have core hours where attendees should be assumed to be available, irrespective of working pattern and typically this is 10-4 to allow for flex either side. We have so many people trying to do different working patterns (7-3, 10-6, 9-5) etc., that it can become hard work once you account for lunchtimes etc.

@RaraRachael your school sounds the opposite of mine. Staff are hauled in front of slt for asking to attend their children’s nativity. Cover has to be done in house so they are completely inflexible.

Reading on here though it seems that something has gone wrong. Those complaining about staff training and inset though- most training is done after school ‘twilights’ and any inset is tagged onto the beginning or end of a holiday and is on the calendar way in advance (year).

If I get to my late 50s and all I can congratulate myself on in my working like is my attendance record, I'd consider it a very poor show.

Me too

No one about 😊

I think companies should structure family needs into their working practices. For instance - off the top of my head; needs work - everyone, regardless of personal situation, gets X number of personal hours per week as standard.

People who reckon they need more negotiate a different number of hours, with salary sacrifice. Workaholics with no personal lives should, actually, be made to take them but could probably be accommodated with more annual holiday or incremented pay.

Something like this is needed to equalise the caring burden on women with paid employment.

Also, the government should stop topping up low wages with UC but that's a massive can of worms. It needs a plan of more than five years duration, so unlikely to be tackled by any elected government.

Naah, therexs a whole extra level of skiving when nobody can see you.

Why don't you start a company that organizes itself around employees' personal lives (vs the standard practice of people organizing their personal lives around their need to earn a living) and let us know how that goes.

Doing the job you are paid to do is hardly killing yourself for the fat cats 🙄

What a shitty attitude to work.

this is a very good point
but easier to spot in the office

Agree. People readily accept jobs with stated working hours for a stated wage, and then start shaving away at the time they actually provide to their employer, expecting endless concessions and accommodations. But they'd scream to the skies if their wages were reduced accordingly.

Probably because it’s a global organisation and have to work to differing time zones.

I think that depends on your job and the company.

Seems to be a theme on this thread

I think sort of attitude was rearing it's ugly entitled head before COVID. Then during COVID when people were paid 80 percent of their wage not to work.

Yes some people did work from.homr
.But it is not a god given right.

As Stewart Rose, ex head of Marks and Spencer said "Deal.With It"

Which is what our lawyer told us to do about a member of staff
When they saw they’d been paid less they suddenly weren’t ill for a week every month.

What???

People on trains who are wfh??

The problem is childcare is very expensive and with the cost of living crisis people are trying to manage their finances and don’t want to pay out anymore. If you have primary school aged children you can work and have them at home as long as they don’t have additional needs. I pick my kids up at 3pm but then so do most of my team and even staff at our supplier. So meetings are rarely held then. I do often have meetings from 4-5.30 pm which I attend and have no problem with. My children are old enough to entertain themselves with tv, lego, books etc. I have a glass door to my study so I can keep an eye on them easily but still continue to work. Allowing people flexibility at work makes their lives easier and as an employer that is important. If they don’t pick up the phone or don’t attend meetings after 4pm then that is not acceptable. And it needs to be raised, as they as exploiting the flexibility provided to them.

I’m sure I could find the link easily enough.