Colleagues ignored WFH advice now stranded in heatwave - karma.

[Loveaghost]

I work in a big office in central London. Everyone lives in lots of different places obviously, but almost everyone is a significant train/ tube ride away.

Due to the heatwave our work told us to WFH where possible. But my most senior manager loves a bit of presenteeism. Hence a number of people (ie all the suck arses) came in. And, then proceeded to post/ message incessantly on internal comms demonstrating that they were in the office. Highly tiresome presenteeism considering ALL our calls were moved to Teams on our clients’ insistence.

Fast forward a few hours and ALL the tubes are fucked. As are almost all the trains. No-one can get home and they’re panicking at facing down 2-3hr bus journeys in 39 degree heat.

Serves them right for travelling against the advice of the health agency, government, TFL and the company. There was a do not travel unless essential instruction.

Of course, senior boss is alright. He got a company cab home…

Good god. This place is pious these days. I don’t have ‘such an issue’ with them. I was just enjoying the schadenfreude. Clearly I work with these people day to day and obviously this isn’t the only annoying suck up stuff they’ve done. So I’m enjoying it. Sue me.

Maybe op meant effluent.

A good senior director would.

You sound like a sulky office junior whose nose is out of joint because some people went into work, which in turn made you look bad.

Any reason why you name changed for this thread?

Or flatulent?

Considering the amount of hot air.

But you are wasting time on mumsnet too. We all are.

😂

You sound like a really unpleasant person. Glad I don’t work with you.

This. ^ They are daft to have gone in, but you sound smug and gleeful at their misfortune @Loveaghost Very unpleasant thread.

Boom! Boom!

You sound quite mean op. In my work the ones least likely to want to wfh were the youngest/most junior staff as they were stuck in a 6 person houseshare without a home office or whatever to work in, so coming into the air con office was preferable. You dont know people's reasons for being in.

I think we need a whole board devoted to schadenfreude on Mumsnet!

They're not asking you to.

This place sounds farking awful. Presenteeism and spiteful managers throwing all the blame in the wrong place while being sure to curry favour in the way that suits them when they don't even need to. Worse than a Central Line greenhouse on tracks; at least you can call for help and get out easily.

I would like to work with OP. She hates presenteeism. She works hard. She hates performative ‘on task’ working and sucking up. We would definitely get on.

Exactly. Maybe they seemed a bit smug (if OP isn’t misrepresenting their behaviour) but does that mean they deserve to be stuck in boiling hot conditions, possibly late to pick up children from wrap around or unable to tend to elderly parents or whatever? Fair enough, they took the risk, but I think it’s pretty nasty to gloat.

@Loveaghost

I dislike presenteeism.

You may dislike it, but you seem to be obsessed with the word a bit! 😆

You sound really bitter @Loveaghost Why are you revelling so much in other peoples misery and discomfort?

Really ugly attitude.

Especially followed up by the "i dont say these things at work" comment. If OP is a senior member of that leadership team she should be standing firm and calling out behaviours she deems are inapropriate or negative. Instead she rants on mumsnet

That’s what you got from my post? Seriously?

DH can work from home, but it's a pain in the fucking arse. The kids are kids - so they're loud when he's on the phone, and they can see him, so they want to know what he's doing, he can't print tickets, can't supervise the staff properly - so they're buggered if they need his help
There are so many reasons people don't like working from home

Unless there's a law like during Covid, I don't think workplaces should be able to ban people from coming to their contracted workplaces.
Lots more workplaces have aircon than homes.

Well no? I’m a senior director. There are levels above me! There’s partners and EVP’s etc

Really? They wanted to go into the office - some people enjoy company and the routine. Why does it annoy you so much?

She doesn't hate it enough to actually use her influence as a senior staff member to do anything about it. Some deal with the presenteeism by going in even when it's unsafe, she deals with it by sneering at the ones who suffer for it and keeping quiet. I don't blame people for staying quiet in a working environment as horrible as this one obviously is, but it does mean you don't get a pass to sneer at people who also do what they think they need to do to stay in favour at this awful place.

How many people were stuck because of performative actions and how many were stuck because they live in a shitty flat share in a loft apartment and working in the office was the preferable option?

They don’t sound affluent enough to be part of op’s industry, to be fair.
Affluence is a prerequisite, apparently.