Flexible working/ working from home

[Violet19]

How far do you think working from home and/or working flexible hours is acceptable in academia, specifically in a research post (in the humanities). I'm about to start applying for postdoc jobs but ideally need to be able to work from home at least some of the time - say one day a week? Is this realistic? Is it better to ask about this at application stage, or during an interview or should I wait until if I am offered a post? I know that if I get a post it will involve long hours - its more about whether I can work them flexibly.

It very much depends on field and PI.

I'm happy for my postdocs to work from home when possible and I'm in STEM. There are certain lab-heavy periods where someone might have to be in every day, but things like data analysis and paper writing can be done wherever. I value productivity more than presenteeism but I know some PIs believe they're inseparable.

One day a week should be ok in most institutions for the humanities, also known as the "research day".
I've only heard of a couple of places which require their academics to be in the office every day of the week during term time, and they are highly unusual.
But if it is research only (Leverhulme?), then you will have to work remotely quite a bit to access things like the British Library.

Thank you for replying geekaMaxima. It’s helpful to know that it varies. What do you think is the best way to find out about the PI’s expectation or the general working culture of a department? At application, at interview, or if offered a post?

FWIW, in my Humanities context, I was entitled to work from home any time I wasn't required to be teaching or in meetings. Actually, in my first year, I taught in my study in my house, which was fine too - but that was a special situation because I lived very close to work and my house was entirely indistinguishable from the houses the university rents out as work spaces, so it didn't feel odd to the students.

I asked once about whether there were rules about working from home and was met with complete incomprehension - you turn up for teaching, meetings, and anything else where it's considered colleagial to show your face, and otherwise, no one cared in the slightest.

One day a week should be ok in most institutions for the humanities, also known as the "research day". I've only heard of a couple of places which require their academics to be in the office every day of the week during term time, and they are highly unusual.

I think you are out of date.

Pressures on teaching facilities mean that timetabling is very strained in institutions that have seen significant increases in student numbers. It used to be the case that many/most academics could arrange for teaching/management to leave at least one day per week free, i.e. a "research day". This is no longer the case in many fields in many institutions.

Not really relevant to OP, as presumably OP would only have light teaching duties at most, so as geeka writes the relevant issue would be the attitude of the PI.

OP - I would tend to ask after being offered the post. If you ask in interview, you risk giving the impression that you are not completely committed. It would be unusual for what you ask not to be OK for a research post, though.

We work from home whenever we want and nobody says anything. Completely normal. Actually many of us work in the library at least one day a week as open plan offices are too busy to concentrate.

OP - if the PI doesn't say anything about it in the interview (I usually do, in the context of outlining what a typical week of the job might entail), then it depends how much you need the option.

If you would still take the job to pay the bills etc. even if working from home was an occasional rather than regular thing, then ask if you're offered the job. It's a good time to raise the issue with an amenable PI, and you can still take the job even if the PI isn't so amenable.

If you absolutely need the days to work from home and wouldn't take a job without this option, then ask in interview when you have a chance to put forward your own questions (or even before applying if you ask by email). An amenable PI will be happy to answer. A less amenable PI might be put off by the query, which it why I'd advise only bringing it up in interview if you can afford to let the job go.

I appreciate when candidates raise hard conditions (i.e., can't take the job without it) in interview because it saves wasting my time offering them a job they won't take, and thereby losing the next best candidate due to delay. Soft conditions (i.e., nice but not essential) are part of the negotiation of a job offer and can be raised either before or after the offer is made.

And check out the job ad for key phrases like flexible working, family-friendly policy, etc. If present, it's a hint that the dept is at least aware of the relevant issues and expect people may query by email before applying. If absent, it's a red flag that a dept hasn't a clue and might have a culture of presenteeism.

Advice I got last time I was job hunting, was apply for the job first. Only after they offer do you then ask about details of terms. They are really invested in getting the post filled by then, and 20% of your time work from home is probably reasonable for many jobs.

That said, I did ask informally before I applied so that I felt like I was on firmer ground in my request. Simply: Is there scope to sometimes work from home? would be enough before you apply.

You aren't planning to work from home while your young children are awake & you're nominally their primary carer, are you?

We hotdesk & our Prof bosses are often away, so working from away/home is pretty ordinary.

Thank you all for your answers on here. Some good advice. And MedSchoolRat - no, sadly I don’t have children and (having looked after other people’s children) if I did I would definitely not consider working from home while trying to look after them at the same time! That seems to me to be an impossible task. It’s more about not wanting to spend hours and hours commuting especially if my work ends up being in a different city to where I am living.

If you absolutely need the days to work from home and wouldn't take a job without this option, then ask in interview when you have a chance to put forward your own questions (or even before applying if you ask by email).

This. Usually it's fine to work from home when you're not needed for meetings etc, but as a PI I would not like someone who was inflexible about this. They would need to be available 9-5pm, 5 days a week, if needed In the past, my postdocs have been involved in organising events, conferences etc, as well as a bit of teaching. I would not employ someone whose schedule I had to work around! Rather misses the point of employing a post-doc.

In my department no one cares at all where any of the postdocs are, one day a week or indeed 5 days, except for lab meetings etc. ! I'd be most surprised if this was an issue. All the academics I know are planning to deal with the upcoming strike by not coming in and crossing picket lines but just working at home/in coffee shops, including rescheduling their meetings there :-)

Scabbing then!