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.

Work from home if you can is divisive for some, but the fact that only some can do so is not grounds for other not doing so.

I think that the unwillingness to install a screen is an issue here.

As the accountant, does your colleague have to handle physical paperwork, such as receipts and expenses claims. If so, how will she receive these at home

She would work one day in the office to do the paperwork - that worked well during lockdown.

Our Bursar is my manager - I’m the Head of Finance and my assistant is account as well as Finance Admin. We also do payroll so we have interaction with all staff.

I think that the unwillingness to install a screen is an issue here.

It’s not unwillingness per se, it’s the layout of our office. It will require a complete refit for a screen to be successfully installed and I will suggest this is done sooner rather than later.

If any manager doesn't notice or care one of their direct reports is in tears on a regular basis, frankly, the manager deserves to be fired rather than the direct report.
Don't get me wrong, my manager was extremely supportive, we had video chats when needed, he was happy for me to take breaks at odd times during the day if I felt I needed it, for example to go for a walk. But I wouldn't count that as performance management - I am public sector and where I work performance management is a formal documented process (with an initial informal part to it) where you are given objectives involving being given tailored training and coaching, then showing in your work output that you have improved. I didn't need any of that. No amount of coaching would have stopped me feeling lonely and isolated and as if I was living at work. What I needed was to be allowed to come back to the office, which I have been able to do. Your suggestions are exactly how a situation like mine should be handled, rather than official performance management. I guess it's about managing the person and the situation, not the performance.

I really hope those who are calling those struggling to WFH actually work themselves.

I don't have the space for a reasonable desk, I don't have an office chair or monitors. I've had to buy my own laptop with my own money in order to just do my job because work doesn't provide them, and I'm sick of having to spend all day at work just inches from where I sleep.

I see the same four walls for hours every day, have noisy neighbours distracting me and there are others working from the same house with phones ringing constantly.

My colleagues live with partners and have their own offices in their homes. I don't. My back is killing me, and I am often working into the small hours. I have never felt lower than I do right now so I don't need goady fuckers on here telling me I need an urgent performance review and suggesting I'm shit. Especially if those people have never experienced office working in a significant capacity before.

I'm good at my job, I used to be good working from home once a week. I'm not good at WFH 100% of the time.

@Runningjump I'm the same, I hate wfh, and I know people will say you are fortunate to have the chance, which I am, but I would love to be back in the office. I am not as focussed at home, and I have spoken to my manager about it and been honest that I'm struggling to be as productive. The office near me is still closed, so the only option I have is to do one day a week at an office 2 hour drive away, which I'm not doing partly as it's ridiculous when mine is a 5 minute walk away, and also wary of travelling more than neccessary to different areas.

Oh I absolutely agree that we're fortunate to have the chance, I just think I'm surprised myself at how difficult it has been. I used to WFH once a week and if anything I would get more done when I did, but as the months have gone on my focus has gone down the toilet.

It irritates me when people don't seem to have any sympathy or understanding of how difficult it is for some people. I don't feel like my workplace considers it either with is just adding to my anxiety. I have to get public transport to my office and so they won't let me in, and it's only open at 20% capacity.

Your manager is unreasonable. The government have instructed that if you can do your job from home, then do that - you've already demonstrated you can do that!

Just to add, the fewer that people are in the school lessens the risk to those that have to be there!

YANBU - I'm in the same position just different job. Not covid secure but we are told we can't go back to working from home or put a rota in place because some of the team didn't pull their weight

Update:

We’ve had a talk. He wants to talk again tomorrow after I’ve spoken to my assistant and clarified her concerns. He’s willing to let her work from home but would like the opportunity to make it safe if possible.

I told him I felt we’d got the message wrong and that staff should be allowed to wfh if possible.

He thanked me for being honest with him and the school will discuss and reconsider tomorrow.

Fingers crossed!

@Runningjump the problem for employers is they are dammed if they do damned if they don't. I wfh for a while pre Covid and it was lonely and boring. Many people feel the way you do and prefer to be in the office.

Then you have the ones that don't. It's widely seen as a desirable perk so a lot of people feel this way. Within this group there's ones that work well, ones that don't, and ones that think they do but actually are only able to be 'efficient' because someone else - possibly their manager picks up the slack - usually scut work like dealing with phone complaints and printing and posting things.

At home they can ignore the calls they don't want unseen by colleagues (one employee was always 'busy' when I called too).

But people who want to work from home are very vocal about it and want it to be the new norm. Which means the ones abusing it get to do it too and the ones that don't want to often have to.

Then in order to manage you have to phone each person every day - if that's 30 minutes each, if you have 6 staff there's 3 hours. You can try managing by email or slack but most people don't read them. Plus they take ages to write and read. You can try zoom but that entails emails setting it up and someone that wants to not join can just say they are 'busy on an urgent call'

Right now it's important to have this as an option. But employees may start introducing things like productivity tracking software and kpis for all which will be a nightmare for all.

I do a lot of work when I'm at home. But it's definitely the work I want to not the work I should do. I suspect many of us are the same..

@Merryoldgoat sounds like you are getting there. If you can pitch it as a dept by dept thing and based on the fact that you know she is not abusing it and that any others need to make their case on that basis it will be easier.

He's worried everyone will make a huge fuss about their right to wfh if one employee does - and rightly so. You not wfh paves the way for it to be more managed based on individual circumstances and how their immediate manager feels about it.

But it's definitely the work I want to not the work I should do.

For an afternoon, or even a day, I can see how that might work. At some point, however, it all needs to get done.

I don't really see how that is different whether you are working from home or in an office. But then, I know my boss relies on me to get stuff done. It's kind of why they pay me.

I'm similar to you OP.

I work in HR in a college. We all worked fine from home during lock down and productivity went up if anything,

However we've been told we are "critical workers" (I'm HR not a nurse) and we don't work in an office we work in a College so the guidance doesn't apply and we all have to work a blend of wfh and onsite as a "cultural piece"

I'm vulnerable and resent going in to the office to do Teams meetings from that desk instead of the desk in my home

@catgirl1976 wonder if we work at the same college!

Oooh is it in the North Weat @foreverandalwaysme

@catgirl1976 is it a college that has lots of different colleges including some in the south east?

Ahh no, not the same one then sounds like its running on the same principles....

Finally, I am the boss. My wfh is next to nothing and involves doing things that I want to do to make my business grow not the day to day I get caught up in when in the office.

I've noticed staff avoid certain things when wfh though.

I work in professional services in a university, and we’re continually told ‘education is exempt’. I’m in two days a week.
I have an absolute dick as a boss, who used to refuse my requests for one day a week WAH (I have a disability). Apparently this was because I ‘couldn’t manage a team from home’. It would appear I’ve been doing it pretty effectively for the last 6 months....
Right now I’m quite happy to be in two days per week. I live alone, and have had very little contact with friends or family, and I’m really struggling with the lack of social interaction. I’m enjoying the contact with others, but very aware of the risks I’m being put under.

Your colleague is not BU.

I'm 'back office' too. It was expected we'd return to the office in September. One manager said it wasn't fair on the teachers otherwise!

When we returned to my small office we were expected to work less than 2m apart, about 1m apart, several in a small office. No screens or other measures.

I pointed this out. Luckily the overall manager said we could wfh, though we go in once a week.

In education I find there is truth in the phrase "education is exempt". If we were in other offices, we'd be WFH or have some distancing/protections.
I find the sector very regressive in that way, having worked in offices all my life.

@HollaHolla

That’s interesting - my DH works in a similar field but has been home since early March and they are likely to be staying wfh until at least Jan.

He’s extremely productive, manages a high profile and important team and they have been non stop.

His uni have really embraced digital collaboration though and he has all usual meetings via MS Teams.

He prefers the office as a general rule but likes some aspects of wfh.

If employees can fulfill the entirety of their role from home, they should work from home. Otherwise they should be expected to go to work in an environment which has had measures taken to protect them from Covid-19.

If people aren't fulfilling their normal role at home then they should return to working in the office.

@Merryoldgoat ditto. If I wasn’t managing my team correctly (or well), then student wouldn’t be getting marks, or graduating. It would be noticed really pretty quickly.
Bizarrely i have to go in, in order to undertake the same meetings via MSTeams that I would from home. I’m there as the duty manager on site, but could solve a lot of the issues just as easily from home. Students have moved to almost solely seeking advice/info via email. We get around 10 in person enquiries a day. Makes you wonder why the arsehole boss (who continues to work from home) requires us in, really.....