To ask what ‘work from home if you can’ means?

[Merryoldgoat]

I work in an independent school. I’m back office staff and from March until September worked absolutely fine from home with the odd visit to school. We (back office staff) all went back as normal in September.

My office isn’t Covid safe. My assistant and I sit within two metres of each other, there is no protection etc.

My assistant wants to work from home. I don’t especially.

I have zero issue with her working from home - she’s diligent, able and thorough. I like going in because I just find it easier to be on the ground but it’s personal preference.

My manager (effectivemy COO) doesn’t want us to work from home. Fine for me, not great for my assistant who is quite unhappy about it.

The basic reason my manager doesn’t want home working is that some other staff are NOT effective at home, and that he feels it’s divisive as there are probably only 6-8 people who can work effectively from home.

I’ve told my boss I need to think about the way forward - we are butting heads on this.

I think that if he wants us to work in the office it needs to be made properly Covid safe. Otherwise he should facilitate a rota for us or allow us to work from home.

YABU - you work in a school - deal with it and go in as normal despite your roles being easy to do from home

YANBU - your manager should facilitate home working, a rota or make your office Covid secure before expecting you in as normal.

To clarify again - I’m happy to work in school. I like being there and I like the space from home.

In case it’s relevant I’m a Head of Finance, my assistant is an accountant.

I think he should let the staff who do work from home well wfh. The ones who don't should learn from their mistake of being lazy. It's their own fault.

Less staff in the office should mean you're all protected better.

It literally means if you can. If your job can be done from home, it should.

As above. Send home those who can and Do work well from home. Then the management can look at who is left and whether they mix home/office or stay in the office. But the office should be covid secure.

Thank you both. I think you’ve helped me crystallise my thoughts.

I think he should let your assistant work from home.
It makes the office safer for you, and you have said the work still gets done.
It's a no brainer for me.

Those who can’t work well from home need to be performance managed, and quickly.

You will lose your good staff if you refuse WFH, especially at the moment.

The basic reason my manager doesn’t want home working is that some other staff are NOT effective at home, and that he feels it’s divisive as there are probably only 6-8 people who can work effectively from home.

He has the perfect excuse in that the 2 of you cannot safely fit in your office. It's a bit tough shit if anyone else isn't happy.

Its not a matter of all at home or all in if some roles suit wfh them not being there will help make the office more covid secure for those who are better in the office.

Can’t they just move one of you into a different room?

@Stripesgalore

Can’t they just move one of you into a different room?

No. There are literally no other rooms.

We had one spare office which has been turned into a medical room and other rooms not used frequently have been made into staff work rooms.

Also, because of the splitting of classes all rooms which can be used for teaching are.

I’ve walked round the school to look and there’s nowhere.

Is there an issue with those in the classroom? I am a teacher and would absolutely want back office staff to be at home, if that is best for them. But the powers that be might not want to create divisions.

This could easily be solved by letting your colleague work from home as the office is then safe for you. It is not her or your problem if homeworking doesn't work for others. Having said that, it does make it harder to justify not letting others WFH but that is a performance management issue.

The basic reason my manager doesn’t want home working is that some other staff are NOT effective at home, and that he feels it’s divisive as there are probably only 6-8 people who can work effectively from home.

Are there are only 6-8 people who have the right equipment etc to work from home, or are there are only 6-8 people your manager trusts to actually work from home?

If the latter, everyone should be working from home, and your manager should actually manage properly the ones who aren't performing.

Your office isn't Covid-secure, so if the staff can work from home, they should be doing so.

He has the perfect excuse in that the 2 of you cannot safely fit in your office. It's a bit tough shit if anyone else isn't happy.

Personally I agree with this.

Also,

Those who can’t work well from home need to be performance managed, and quickly.

This is completely accurate and he should manage this properly.

You should both work from home. Everybody who take their work home should do, everybody except people like retail, medical, teachers and lots more etc etc who obviously can't

" I am a teacher and would absolutely want back office staff to be at home, if that is best for them. But the powers that be might not want to create divisions."

But it's not 'creating a division'. Some people have jobs that can be done from home and some don't. The 'division' is the different types of jobs. Anyone who can AND WANTS to work from home should be facilitated to do so. The boss is being very irresponsible.

Are there are only 6-8 people who have the right equipment etc to work from home, or are there are only 6-8 people your manager trusts to actually work from home?

It’s not so much about equipment but roles.

Essentially Finance, HR, Admissions and Marketing can work from home but Reception staff, ICT and also PAs can’t.

I think that he (and The Board) are also worried that some teachers are very anxious (understandably) and find it divisive in that respect too.

@Merryoldgoat

Are there are only 6-8 people who have the right equipment etc to work from home, or are there are only 6-8 people your manager trusts to actually work from home?

It’s not so much about equipment but roles.

Essentially Finance, HR, Admissions and Marketing can work from home but Reception staff, ICT and also PAs can’t.

I think that he (and The Board) are also worried that some teachers are very anxious (understandably) and find it divisive in that respect too.

That's mad. All back office staff in my school WFH at the moment if they possibly can. Teachers are being asked to take PPA time at home if possible. Noone is querying any of this if the work is getting done. If work not done- managers need to manage the individuals separately.

"Those who can’t work well from home need to be performance managed, and quickly.

This is completely accurate and he should manage this properly."

I don't think that's fair. Home working was never part of my job description or contract and I never claimed to be able to do it effectively.

I work in a business where some people can fully work from home (finance, HR etc) and others can’t (manufacturing team). If adult conversations are held, it shouldn’t create divisions at all. Some people working from home makes it safer for all (as it allows the workplace to be Covid safe with social distancing etc if you take half the workforce out) and it’s the nature of the jobs people do. There are other benefits to the other roles.

Anybody whose job can be done from home should now be working from home. If they themselves aren’t doing it effectively, then as others have said they need to be performance managed. But I actually find most managers who say people can’t work from home as they aren’t as effective are looking for excuses because they are living in the past and don’t like it. In our experience people are generally far more effective from home.

The basic reason my manager doesn’t want home working is that some other staff are NOT effective at home, and that he feels it’s divisive as there are probably only 6-8 people who can work effectively from home

Then your manager needs to manage those who can't or won't work effectively work from home and allow those who can and do work effectively to do so. Your colleague is not responsible for other colleagues' inadequacies.

If he is insisting that you are both in the office, then the office must be made Covid secure, otherwise he could liable for enforcement penalties, surely?

However, it means ‘if the job can be done from home, it should be’. Technically, both of you should be working from home and he shouldn’t be quibbling about that. All 6-8 of the people who aren’t needed on site should be wfh, and the ones who are not effective at doing so should be performance managed accordingly. He shouldn’t be increasing everyone’s risk of exposure to avoid doing his job at people management. Nor should he be using school funds on making offices Covid secure unnecessarily in order to avoid performance-managing people.

I don't think that's fair. Home working was never part of my job description or contract and I never claimed to be able to do it effectively

But then you wouldn't mind working in the office while those who prefer home working and are effective do work from home, would you?

I think managers who are uncomfortable about home working are basically poor managers.

Whether someone is in the office or not, a manager is there to uphold the standards expected of that job.

They should be able to do that if that person is working from home or in the office, but many are just not that competent and also have outdated traditional views that unless someone is in the office, they are lounging around doing no work.

It is really obvious if someone isn’t working to standard and a semi-competent manager should have clear policies in place to ensure that, and if extreme enforce the disciplinary procedure.

It is very simple. If I were your co-worker I would complain in writing. I would not want to risk Covid-19 just because my manager wasn’t that competent.

I don't think basing it on it being divisive with teachers is a good argument, you have different jobs, and actually the more support staff who work from home, the safer it is for them. That said, if it isn't working in that some people aren't productive then it's fair to arrange something that people have to go in; but the office needs to be made covid safe. It's unfortunate that classrooms cannot be, but that doesn't mean that areas of the school that can don't have to be. The issue with asking those who aren't doing enough at home to come in is being able to provide how that's being measured, as although bosses can ask staff to do what they want, if it's not consistent across a team people will probably challenge it, and that's fair enough. A rota seems fair, x numbers of day a week, and perhaps that will be a way to demonstrate the disprarity in output between home and the office.

@Gwenhwyfar

"Those who can’t work well from home need to be performance managed, and quickly.

This is completely accurate and he should manage this properly."

I don't think that's fair. Home working was never part of my job description or contract and I never claimed to be able to do it effectively.

Sorry - I really wasn’t clear on this. The people who aren’t working well from home have general Performance issues. It’s not about the home working but on the premises they’re easier to manage.