AIBU about work?

[Crazyhouse123]

So, I work in a small office with 4 others. It is part of a national company and this is our local office. We have been working from home since lockdown with 1 person in the office every day to cover, taking it in turns.

Now Boris has relaxed the lockdown rules our boss has said it would be good to have two people in every day. The office is big enough to distance 2m from each other but not 3 people, it is quite small.

Nearly all of our work can be done from home, with the rest covered by whoever is in the office.

The others want to go in as they miss each other. I don't! I havent been there that long and while I like and get on with them all I don't miss them. My teenagers are at home so I don't lack social interaction, none of them have kids so don't get that.

I get that we are sat 2m away from each other but this is in a small office where air does not circulate very well. None of them seem as bothered by this virus as I am and all they seem to care about is seeing each other again.

The way I see it the back to work thing is if you can't do your job at home. Am I wrong to not be happy with this? And how do I broach this without risking my job...I am still on probation but only for a couple more weeks!

If I'm being silly I understand. I understand that there are people who cant help but not avoid this but surely the point is that anyone who doesn't need to meet shouldn't? To slow the spread?

Probation is really irrelevant; if you’ve been at your job for less than two years they can sack you for any reason so I would tread carefully here.

You can be unhappy about it, but ultimately there’s nothing you can do without risking your job.

YANBU this is why the message is so crap and confusing! It’s still WFH if you can. But that’s buried among the other crap.

My team at work really misses being together in the office, it’s a job where things are often discussed with each other. But we have been working from home since lockdown and communicating electronically. Boss has already said we won’t be rushing back the second it’s allowed. As well as protecting us, it helps reduce the number of people in the office and on public transport, which helps reduce the risk for those who have to be there.

As it's possible to do your job from home, I think YANBU. But as you're on probation you're in a tricky position - you don't want to risk losing your job.

Could you say that you prefer to be at home if possible to supervise your teens home schooling? That might go down better than saying you're scared of catching the virus (as everyone seems to have different opinions about that). If the others want to be in the office and you are working well from home, they might not mind if you're not on the rota?

Sorry, not sure how you would go about broaching it if your boss is determined to be a dick about it though

Thank you for your replies.

TheRoyallingStones well my boss has been to see her parents so she obviously doesn't care about the rules anyway. But yeah the message is confusing which makes it much harder.

Just to add....I am nearly 50, currently obese (have lost some weight but BMI 32 so still lots to go) and have high blood pressure (managed well with medication....I have had this since my early 30's when I wasn't overweight not helped by the weight but not caused by it). So while I am not shielding I am at a higher risk of complications if I caught it so I am being very careful.

You need to be a team player.
I am sorry but plenty of people have continued working, myself included,
it will be good for your teens to have some normality with you back at work

Working at home suits you so you are looking for excuses. It's not for you to decide if you should be entitled to work from home. At some point, things will go back to normal most likely before the vaccin is available to all.

What you can do is ensure that procedures are indeed in place to allow for the 2m distancing, facilities to wash your hands after each use of communal areas and cleaning products to desinfect.

If this is not available fair enough, but demanding to stay home because you like it better is not reasonable.

Crowdedhouse OP has continued working. And the guidance is clear, if you can continue to work from home you should.

CrowdedHouseinQuarantine sorry but how am I not a team player? I have been working from home and I have been working hard. I can work from home. That's my point and the point of lockdown is that anyone who can work from home should to slow the spread.

Are you saying everyone who can work from home should now go back into their offices to be team players?

Surely the point is to carry on protecting those who can't work from home by minimising our contact with each other?

I do believe it would be better to go back now rather than wait until the winter

dontdisturbmenow I didn't say I liked it better! I would prefer to be in work properly. That isn't the point though is it?

don'tdisturbme also, as above, read the guidance. Rishi Sunak was just on R4 saying exactly that, people should be working at home if they can. OP clearly can continue to work from home and her employer should continue to facilitate this

I think you should go with the flow op, as said, be a team player, dont socially isolate yourself, you will not do yourself any favours.
go with your own thoughts though, just my opinion

OP you don't have to go with the flow. You can work from home perfectly effectively and continue to be a team player from home. Nowhere in the guidance does it say go with the flow, it clearly says continue to work from home if you can.

I think perhaps some other posters don't understand that it is perfectly possible to work effectively from home, many of us do it very well and arent just sitting around doing the washing up.

I think YANBU on the face of it .However you have only been working there a short time ,and if the others return to work and you dont .You are putting yourself in a precarious position ,as you are still on probation ATM .I think you are probably enjoying WFH and it suits you .Your boss though likes the team spirit ,and whatever you think WFH is probably not as efficient for the company .If you go back maybe sometime in the future, you can ask about WFH again? As far as risk goes if you are 2m apart that is within Govt Guidelines .They actually said those who can WFH should do so ,but your boss wants you back in ,you work for her ,not the Govt! Nearly everyone will have some small amount of risk ,I am slightly overweight and have an Inhaler (suspected Asthma) .I am a SAHM but still have to go shopping ,take dog out along narrow towpath and so on !

If only most of the work can be done at home, and as you said in your OP, the rest has to be done by someone in the office, then someone has to go in. If people are taking it in turns to go in anyway, then having two people in at a time is likely to be nicer for them than having to go in alone. I can see where your boss is coming from tbh, and they are taking distancing seriously so I’d go along with it.

You may be happier doing your job from home but you were hired to do your job in the office, so when allowed to do so you should be going back to the office. It's not your employers fault you prefer staying at home, wouldn't we all!

@Kimbaland But we're not 'allowed to do so', the guidance is very clear - if you can work from home, you should work from home.