To think my manager should care

[confusedinlondon]

I told my manager that I was struggling with work and home schooling the little ones. Then a few days later she said another team needs help and I need to support them. When I complained she said she was happy for me to this extra work whenever I could as long as it was done on time ie do it on weekends or after the kids have gone to sleep.

Need more info OP.

How much of your own work are you getting done.

Sounds like the manager was trying to facilitate you by offering other work that you can fit around the kids.

It sounds like the work is flexible so you can work your hours for the week as you see fit as long as you do the hours?

Extra work or instead of what you are doing now?

It’s your childcare is not her problem. She doesn’t have to care m.

It would be nice if we lived in a world where managers had to care but unfortunately they don't. I hope things get a bit easier for you though x

I absolutely agree she should be a bit more considerate of the current situation. Does she have children at home herself?

However as someone who was previously in management, caring hugely about all your employees can lead to burnout. At the end of the day she has a job to do - and part of that job is getting you to do your job.

If everyone came to her with issues due to homeschooling and work didn't get done, I imagine she'd be the one up for a bollocking. I suspect she needs to be "seen" to be doing her job.

She sounds flexible. Excellent. What do you expect her to do? Say ‘ah you’ve got stuff at home to do so forget about doing your fair share of work’!?

I absolutely agree she should be a bit more considerate of the current situation. Does she have children at home herself?

without knowing the position of all the other colleagues this is a bit daft. It is not only people with children who are suffering. Should the colleagues without children just pick up all the slack and everyone with kids do a half-hearted job between 9-5 and then push off into the evening? Or should the manager, as it looks like here, do what they can to facilitate working around your children while at the same time helping out other teams?

sorry, @sunflowersandbuttercups - i was agreeing with you :)

Is she offering different work (which is more flexible) or asking you to do extra work?

Your manager needs to accept reality as it is now. No amount of wishing it was different is going to change anything. Can you ask for reduced hours or furlough?

In fairness the whole world is homeschooling and unless you're a sahp most are also WFH.

Is she paying you for the extra work?

Are you completing YOUR work

I think as a manager you have to expect that your staff work the hours contracted. If they can't you support them and find solutions.

If they are expecting you to do more than your hours then I would raise this.

If you went to her dating you were struggling with workload and then she added to it to support another team, then yes that's shit.

Also contrary to above posters I think employers should be accepting that all work wont get done at the moment. My company expect me to be flexible and try my best to do my work, but they know that if you are home schooling children that it's a bit impossible at the moment, and if employees ignore their children because work are inflexible then they will resent the company for it and if they they try and do everything, homeschool and work all evenings and weekends to catch up then they will burn out and then they will be ill, off sick with stress etc

Its shit for everyone, employees and employers, but good employers acknowledge that sometimes things outside their employees control affect their personal life and their ability to work, and if its temporary then they try and support them rather than take the attitude that 'we pay you to work, get on with it'.

It isn’t clear if she is piling more work on you or if she is being flexible in letting you do your hours around childcare. You cannot expect your manager to reduce your workload (and divert it to those without children) because you are home schooling.

Since the OP calls it extra work and talks of 'supporting' another team I'd imagine it's on top of her normal responsibilities, not instead of/the manager trying to be helpful...

I think that's as good as you can hope for, provided you're not being expected to do more hours than you're contracted. She's offering you the flexibility you need to be able to work and care for your children.

Where is the children's father in all this?

This is outrageous OP. Very poor behaviour from your manager. Sending moral support.

Every manager I have had has only cared about themselves!

This is why Boris's "we expect employers to be understanding" comments were completely useless and toothless.

Employers don't on the whole give two hoots about being understanding. They're paying you, they want the job done. If that's their business and they're relying on your work to keep the business and therefore their mortgage etc afloat, it's understandable.

Boris should have come in on day 1 of lockdown and said "employers are expected to be understanding/flexible and will be in trouble if not. If a business suffers because of it, here's some support. But they must be flexible and can't expect 100% from parents stuck for childcare."

Vague and woolly statements help noone. He needed teeth!