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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

If you WFH what time should you start work?

515 replies

EatPrayYoga · 29/10/2020 10:16

If official hours are 9-5, is it a problem if you are not logged on by 9 every day?

I'm a team manager and one person on the team consistently logs on after 9 am. I know because our system shows a green or other colour next to everyone's names in an email so if I email the team I can see who is online and who isn't.

I usually send an email in a morning to confirm any things to be aware of for that day including who is not working that day and who is covering their work.

He usually logs on at about 9.05 but I'm not sure whether to mention this as he is only slightly late. He is in a junior role but wants to progress. There are other people in the same role who start work earlier than 9 to get things done so he stands out as doing less though I can't say who does more or less work in a day as their work is delegated by different members of the team.

I also realise we are in difficult times. He lives with parents and has no children or pets but I believe there are other adult siblings do not sure how easy or difficult the WFH circumstances are.

IABU to be unimpressed?

OP posts:
Thisismylife1 · 29/10/2020 13:05

Honestly I would hate to be your manager. Talk about a micro manager/control freak. If he’s doing a good job it’s only 5 mins, just let it go. Who knows what’s going on at home. Not like he’s logging on at 11.

Also he might just not have turned on skype before. I’d be appalled if someone was judging me on that.

sleepyhead · 29/10/2020 13:08

A green dot showing beside your name is a poor indicator of whether you're "at work" or not.

I routinely start up my pc and log in while I'm getting dressed because it's convenient for me to do so. I start work not long afterwards, but probably at the same time as someone who got dressed first and then logged in.

It would be perfectly possible for me to log in when I woke up and then hit the spacebar every time I walked past for the next 45 minutes before actually starting work - I'd look terribly productive for that 45 minutes but would actually not be doing a lick of work.

Sounds like there are all sorts of issues about this particular person's performance, but don't just assume that the rest of your team are being super keen - maybe they've just worked out how to game the system.

TakemedowntoPotatoCity · 29/10/2020 13:09

Honestly I am on the fence with this one. Yes, I hate presenteeism and it's shouldn't matter, and I wish it didn't as long as he gets the work done. However, he's young you say and lives with his parents, so probably has a limited appreciation of his these things look over time. Instead of being 'that' boss why not take more of a mentor role and encourage him to do better, log on 5 mins earlier , that sort of thing. Of course if he still does this even after guidance from you then that's different. But just give him the benefit of the doubt for now especially if he wants to progress.

HoppingPavlova · 29/10/2020 13:12

I know people senior to me notice this kind of thing.

It must be a pretty cushy workplace if senior management have time to sit on their hands and look at whether everyone is online and working at 9am on the dot. I generally wouldn’t have a clue if my own staff were online at 9am sharp let alone anyone else. Neither do I care as all the work gets done. Some people get through theirs quicker than others and stick their hand up to load share, that’s the sort of thing I notice, not who is online at 9am sharp.

safariboot · 29/10/2020 13:12

So he's working to the clock, considering he's probably waiting for his computer (company issued?) to start up. And he's not getting "enough" work done.

And everyone else is routinely working over their contracted hours without compensation in order to meet the workload.

All correct?

I hope both this employee and your other staff find better employment elsewhere.

LittleGungHo · 29/10/2020 13:15

If I was in the office. I would be clocking in at 9:00 however would then walk up the stairs and switch on my PC so would be 09:05 log in.
I would think you were nit picking and I would not want to work for you and would become militant. Your employer maybe flexible but you as a manager do not sound flexible.
The other none performance pick them up on but 5 minutes can be lost by making a cup of tea or going to the loo.

Coffee4me · 29/10/2020 13:17

I'm with you OP, it would irritate me someone wanting to progress, but just lacking in effort , already at such junior stage. You mentioned you have monthly 1:1s , do you think they should be more regular for junior staff?

theemmadilemma · 29/10/2020 13:19

Thing is though, if you're relaxed about one person always logging on late, it breeds resentment in a team. We're all on time, why isn't he etc.? Why's he getting away with it?

It would frustrate me because there's simply no reason for not being on time.

BedsAreBurning · 29/10/2020 13:26

I start at 8 so I log on 10 minutes before then make a cup of tea while it boots up and connects to the wifi, Skype and internal network.

audweb · 29/10/2020 13:27

I think the bigger issue is why do your other staff have to log in early and work more just to do the work they need to do? That’s concerning.

KitKat1985 · 29/10/2020 13:28

This can be a tricky one and it really comes down to your office culture.

I have been in some workplaces which aren't too fussed about an exact arrival time, especially if that employee otherwise performs well, and regularly stays on / works though breaks, or has a more 'flexi-working' approach to hours and workload.

I've also been in some workplaces where which are really strict about arrival times. In which case you have to be mindful of ignoring someone who is 5 minutes late as other colleagues get resentful.

I would caution though that a 'green dot' next to someone's e-mail isn't a great way of knowing how much work someone is doing when someone is working from home though. For all you know he could be using that 5 minutes whilst his computer loads up to be writing a list of tasks to do etc. Ditto just because someone has a green dot next to their name on the work e-mail doesn't mean they aren't just sat at home not doing anything. I know one person who works from home who admits they log in for 9am and then just sit and watch TV for an hour each morning whilst 'nudging' their computer regularly enough to show herself as logged on. Grin

woodhill · 29/10/2020 13:29

@sleepyhead

A green dot showing beside your name is a poor indicator of whether you're "at work" or not.

I routinely start up my pc and log in while I'm getting dressed because it's convenient for me to do so. I start work not long afterwards, but probably at the same time as someone who got dressed first and then logged in.

It would be perfectly possible for me to log in when I woke up and then hit the spacebar every time I walked past for the next 45 minutes before actually starting work - I'd look terribly productive for that 45 minutes but would actually not be doing a lick of work.

Sounds like there are all sorts of issues about this particular person's performance, but don't just assume that the rest of your team are being super keen - maybe they've just worked out how to game the system.

I think this goes on a lot
LolaSkoda · 29/10/2020 13:29

Are you on a day off OP? Hope so, because posting on MN during the time you should be working is taking the piss out of your employer.

PatriciaPerch · 29/10/2020 13:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

keeprocking · 29/10/2020 13:32

@Bouncycastle12

I think 9.05 could just be the time it takes for his computer to warm up!
Warm up? They're not valve driven!
Noti23 · 29/10/2020 13:39

So, in essence, not only do you begrudge 5 minutes of lateness but you expect your staff to work for free before 9am and finish late to ‘get the job done’? Talk about taking the piss.

IrenetheQuaint · 29/10/2020 13:42

If you regularly hand out urgent bits of work at 9 sharp and he doesn't get these because he isn't logged on, I think you can raise this with him, and say he would have more opportunities to demonstrate his abilities if he was online when you sent out urgent tasks.

BoingBoingyBoing · 29/10/2020 13:45

TBH it sounds like you and senior management have created a shitty working environment.

TheGoWorm · 29/10/2020 13:47

Don't rely on the e-mail log on green tick - there's a million things I do for work that don't require me to have my e-mails on.

I don't in the mornings when I am doing the priority of my task list because I know there's a chance it will distract the most important routine of my day.

I am the same at work. The first half an hour of my day is no e-mail time - I am working on other things (finances, preparing presentations for meetings, Task List, Team management)

CheetasOnFajitas · 29/10/2020 13:48

@LolaSkoda

Are you on a day off OP? Hope so, because posting on MN during the time you should be working is taking the piss out of your employer.
She is indeed. Try reading all OP’s posts before commenting.
wewereliars · 29/10/2020 13:50

As someone said upthread, employers today have little or no loyalty to their staff. There is little or no job security and wages rises are
pretty much a thing of the past as are staff pensions. But employers and their underlings still want extra unpaid hours and unquestioning loyalty. That is the fundamental lie of capitalism , work like a dog and one day you will have the keys to the executive washroom. No you wont. There's one boss and the rest of us are there to keep him rich by spinning the hamster wheels.

woodhill · 29/10/2020 13:53

Totally agree

MollyButton · 29/10/2020 13:55

I think you are both in the wrong.
You for the micromanaging.
The employee for generally "taking the piss" starting late, not making up time, not putting in extra effort etc.

Form my work I start anytime between 8 am and 10 am, I finish between 3 and 5, I'm only supposed to be part time anyway. But I do sometimes pop in in the evening or Saturdays to "tidy" things up. Which I think is all fine.
I actually would struggle to be there on the dot of 9 everyday.

I do wonder if they are a "too the clock" type person, so 9 is when they start to fire up their computer? Were they a clock watcher in the office? We're they the kind who walked in at 8:50 and went straight to the loo followed by making a coffee before getting down to it?
What is their productivity like - I worked in a job where I could get all my work done in 9 to 5, whereas others seemed unproductive all day but then would work late.

If there is a general problem but they are hoping for promotion then maybe someone they respect needs to have a quiet word - first.

butteriesplease · 29/10/2020 13:57

5 minutes? you're getting worked up about 5mins? I think the way to handle it, if that actually bothers you (and it's likely computer rather than person) is around productivity. Surely it's output not hours that matter? And, actually, if he is paid for 9-5, he should not be encouraged to work longer hours, should he? For no extra pay. As a line manager you should be ensuring that your team can do the work allocated in the time available.

honestly, as someone who line manages a team and we are all WFH, this actually makes me want to weep.

NetflixWatcher · 29/10/2020 13:57

Ow gosh I do this but I have to sign in to various accounts and will load up our main system we use, look at my tasks for the day, check my calls then some time later I'll check my emails. So mine would show the same as his but I'd just not opened that yet I've still been working.