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…

sounds like a toxic work environment- which you contribute to.

how awful!

You don't come across well op. Some of my team go into the office because, for all kinds of different reasons, home isn't an easy place to work

Sure, happy to explain. I meant it’s an industry where we all earn pretty well versus average and hence we tend to have spacious houses/ aircon etc which makes WFH not too much of a problem. Incredibly sorry if I used the phrase ‘affluent industry’ slightly out of place on a casual forum! Although technically it does make sense.

Of course I cannot speak for every one of those colleagues intimate lives and technically it is possible one of them has a home circumstance I don’t know about. But on balance I think it’s unlikely as a. I know them fairly well and b. They have form for suck arsing up. This fits that form.

Affluent is an adjective describing individuals, groups, or locations that are wealthy, prosperous, and have an abundance of money, property, or valuable possessions

DH went into work because a) our disabled son’s school closed last minute and it’s really hard to work from home with him around and b) the office have aircon, whereas our house is like the 7th circle of hell.
I hope they all get home safely, and without too much discomfort.

Men can suffer domestic abuse too.
For a senior manager you certainly spend a lot of time on MN.
Hope you are kind to the vast amount of people you manage...

I agree with you OP the types who prevent good changes at work by being spineless, who benefit from union negotiated benefits but don't join a union..who add to the demands on travel and health services by not following public health guidance....but you're the horrible one? Yeah right
Travelling in to log into Teams Meetings is just pathetic and against what our local NHS and government services asked us to do...for the greater good..which they ignored

Exactly this!!

There are many people who are unable to WFH and it’s extremely narrow minded and pretty big headed to assume that these people are only going into the office to make the others look bad.

Only the very privileged are in a position to WFH and I don’t mean just space-wise.

Not everything is about you OP.

Some peoples homes are very hot, maybe the benefits of spending the majority of the day in air conditioning made them do it. It’s great WFH is you get air flowing through, but if not then it’s awful.

I think I know which firm you’re talking about. They tried to poach me a few years back. I declined because the culture you describe was very much apparent. I think people who have never worked in those type of firms just don’t get it.

It’s 7:30 in the bloody evening!

I said I am a senior director. I have never stated I am SLT, I am not. These colleagues are roughly around the same level as me. There’s no forum for me to ‘stand up for them.’ And there’s no need to as they didn’t need to come in!

Building work/renovations

A bunch of kids in the house (I had about 7 wafting round today as the schools are closed and so my kids all had friends round)

brains that prefer a home /office divide

....I can think of quite a lot of reasons to go into the office irrespective of wealth

I'm finding it really hard to imagine ANY Senior Director of any company being so coarse and smug about their employees suffering because of a bad choice they made, (going into work in the heat when they could have worked from home,) and even moreso, posting about it on Mumsnet.

Really strange. 🤔

Good grief, people moaning the op is telling porkies, but there's plenty of others here doing a REALLY good job of inventing her colleagues terrible lives of poverty and abuse.

Of course you can. Next meeting you ask to clarify the company policy about WFH during a heatwave, because a few people came into the office and got stuck getting home. If management says categorically that the office should be empty, then those who came in can stand up to their manager, or someone can report their direct lead to HR for making them.

I got home OK, on Central Line. From my lovely airconditioned office to the boiling hot flat where I sit now, sweating, in my pants and bra.

Awful to be stranded - the boss should’ve paid for everyone’s cabs home!

I think perhaps a lot of people on here don’t work in big companies and don’t understand the structure. Being a senior director does not make me these people’s line manager nor does it make me a member of the SLT.

I only said it as pp said I was probably on performance management which is far from the truth. I probably shouldn’t have bitten - and now I’m paying for it!

Photo or didn’t happen!

perv

What a weird response. Are you male?

Well that's creepy.

Feeding time has probably gone on long enough.

Hang on a mo….

these people came in to suck up, I believe

they are same level as me

You want me to raise this issue with SLT why?

The office wasn’t shut. It was advised not to come in. A clear email from the CEO. Followed by an email from said senior manager. These people CHOSE to come in for fucks sake!

and it’s clear I don’t give a fuck how hard their journey home was.

so why would I raise this as an issue. MN sure makes some leaps.

Oh god it’s a phrase people say as a joke. Have I walked into a parish meeting or something?

Off to eat dinner in my spacious air con house. Au revoir!

Ha! I share your delight, OP. Bet these are the same smuggos who make a massive deal over struggling into the office during infectious illnesses, snow, tube strikes etc etc - but are nowhere to be seen when there's a genuine opportunity to take one for the team and make other people's lives easier, e.g. covering the office between Christmas and New Year!

Schadenfreude?

OP "THERE'S A DANGER TO LIFE"

Also OP "Lolz. Suck ups!"