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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Work telling us we wont get opportunity's if we don't show our faces?

431 replies

lovemenomore · 09/08/2021 10:35

Hi all,

Wanted to know if IABU for being peed off/demoralised at this message from the owner of the company I work for.

Basically started the job in Jan & it has been 100% remote due to Covid/office closed etc. Since the restrictions have lifted I have been in and met colleagues but continued to wfh as do 75% of the company. There has been talk of us never having to go back in full time and people can choose what to do. Nothing formal has been announced. If we do want to go in we have had to book in. However the other day this was posted on our internal comms site;

"While booking is now no longer required, we are noting who turns up. Expect those that do to get the best opportunities and progression. It's obvious that being 'front and centre' means you are top of mind. We've always been a company that prioritises what you do and achieve over simple time served, this is just one aspect of that."

What are your thoughts? To me that is saying if you dont come in you will not be given the opportunities....

Lots of the staff arent local and live all over the country/world. A few of my colleagues are miffed but some friends have said all companies are like this?

OP posts:
Stormyequine · 09/08/2021 10:39

I think it is just honest. It is human nature that people are more easily overlooked if they are not visible. It is not a nice thing, but at least they are being upfront about it.

Marmitemarinaded · 09/08/2021 10:40

It’s an honest policy
And I rate it highly

MatildaTheCat · 09/08/2021 10:40

They are saying it as it is. Too many people want to have wfh as a right when their job was previously office based. The state of emergency is over, things need to return to how they were. Having any opportunity to wfh is a bonus if it didn’t exist before.

Shurl · 09/08/2021 10:42

I think all companies are like this, just most wouldn't openly say so. Not necessarily fair, but it is what it is and it at least means you have the choice and can understand the consequences of the decision you make. Some people will prioritise career progression over the convenience of wfh. Some prefer the convenience.

Cuddlyrottweiler · 09/08/2021 10:42

They'll favour the people who go above whats required and develop stronger relationships with collegues/management for promotions. Makes sense. It's always been the case, don't know why they're even telling you.

UserStillatLarge · 09/08/2021 10:43

That's always the case though isn't it - regardless of wfh or not? The people that get opportunities are (by and large) those that make themselves noticed. It's much easier to get yourself noticed if you're regularly in the office (and on the flip side, much easier to hide if you're not). There's also an element of the more senior the role the more likely it is that you will have to be in the office more anyway. My DB has just turned down a promotion because the company says he can't do his promoted job on 100% wfh basis because it requires him to be seen by his team.

AnneLovesGilbert · 09/08/2021 10:45

Bit odd they’ve recruited people who live too far away to go in, why have they done that?

DH’s work is still 100% wfh but they’re going to hybrid working in a few months and when he recruited a few new people recently he had to get people who live within commuting distance precisely so they can go in once the office is back up and running.

ChainJane · 09/08/2021 10:45

We've always been a company that prioritises what you do and achieve over simple time served, this is just one aspect of that.

Shame that they seem to prefer someone to do average work in the office than to do outstanding work at home then.

Hekatestorch · 09/08/2021 10:45

I mean it's honest but short sited.

Just because John's turns up at the office more, he will get promoted above Mark?

Even if John sends most of his day doing sweet FA?

Its quite well known that people who are better known in a company are likely to do well in interviews and progress.

But I think making office attendance a bit part of that will end up with people being promoted who shouldn't be. Just based on the fact they show their face.

There's a big possibility of senior staff being made up of people who can't do the job but we're just happy to sit in one particular building all day.

nosyupnorth · 09/08/2021 10:45

It's a bit crap.

Yes, people who are being seen are more likely to get the attention needed to progress but if as a company they're planning on hybrid/wfh going forward then they should be making strategies to avoid home-workers being sidelined or overlooked not just shrugging their shoulders.

If people are contributing the same it shouldn't matter if they are on site or off. If a company that had offices in two locations said they would only be promoting people at one site, regardless of role or performance, it would be seen as absurd and discriminatory and homeworking should be handled the same. If there are tasks that can't be completed at home and so officer workers are doing something different which is leading to progression then that should be made clear in the job roles and responsibilities, not just saying they reward based on being present.

WavesAndLeaves · 09/08/2021 10:46

Yes there's an element of needing to be present when you're in a more senior role, but that can be achieved through structured interactions and some facetime - doesn't need to be all the time. Surely we're past the culture of presenteeism?! I think it's shit, you should be judged on your performance and what you deliver, not whether you can travel to a certain location and schmooze upper management who like to have their ego stroked. Lame.

user1471447924 · 09/08/2021 10:47

Totally fair, good for them!

Carycy · 09/08/2021 10:48

Just think yourself lucky you can work from home a bit. You can pick and choose and show your face a few days. You get variety in your working week as well. You are beyond lucky.
I have had to commute every day throughout and incur the costs that come with it, childcare, cost of travel etc. The only bonus I got in the pandemic was temporary free parking and slightly quieter roads. ( nhs clinical).This whining from people who get to work from home is starting to really bug me. I work part time ( with the pay cut to match) so that I can be there on the school run and I see the parents that are supposedly full time on the school run daily and then taking their kids to the park or their activities. They don’t look particularly rushed! It is such a luxury that not all of us have. Be grateful!

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr · 09/08/2021 10:50

@ChainJane

We've always been a company that prioritises what you do and achieve over simple time served, this is just one aspect of that.

Shame that they seem to prefer someone to do average work in the office than to do outstanding work at home then.

exactly, they seem to have scored an own goal somehow there. We value your achievements more than your presence during certain hours, but btw be present or you’ll get nowhere. Weird company.
VladmirsPoutine · 09/08/2021 10:51

This is terrible. WFH has been a godsend for so many people!! For example if you have kids, have disabilities, are an ethnic minority! The only reason they want people back in the office is pressure from middle managers whose job description involves annoying junior members of staff and having pointless meetings; and also the pressure from commercial landlords.

Dogfan · 09/08/2021 10:52

Progression has always been down to profile. If no one in the company knows who you are why would they want to promote you or give you opportunities? You have to push yourself up the front.

VeryLongBeeeep · 09/08/2021 10:53

It's contradictory, as it's clearly valuing presenteeism over actual output despite words to the contrary. Depending on the workforce, it could also end up being discriminatory, if there are disabled employees who can perform better at home when they don't have the strain that a commute can often place upon them. In that respect YANBU.

Hekatestorch · 09/08/2021 10:54

@Dogfan

Progression has always been down to profile. If no one in the company knows who you are why would they want to promote you or give you opportunities? You have to push yourself up the front.
Profile and presenteeism aren't the same things though.

You can definitely have a great profile, but be in the office less.

WorraLiberty · 09/08/2021 10:55

I think it's fair enough as personalities do tend to play a part in our jobs and it's hard to get that across sometimes when you're working remotely.

I'm confused as to why they employ people who live all over the world though?

RedMarauder · 09/08/2021 10:55

In your case you are showing your face some of the time and making connections so I wouldn't worry.

It is the people who are 100% remote who should worry.

Ceara · 09/08/2021 10:57

Indirect discrimination? This policy will disproportionately disadvantage women and those with disabilities...

HappyTimeTunnelDinosaur · 09/08/2021 10:58

Ridiculous policy, those who have the best performance should be promoted, regardless whether they wfh or in office. It's also very short sighted, surely it is in their interests to keep the best people in the company!

MurielSpriggs · 09/08/2021 10:58

This is terrible. WFH has been a godsend for so many people!! For example if you have kids, have disabilities, are an ethnic minority!

I've no idea why being part of an ethnic minority means you'd rather work from home!

But it clearly does favour parents, I'd guess probably women and certainly those with disabilities. And by effectively announcing a policy that home workers are less likely to get promoted the company is laying itself open to possible claims of indirect discrimination if people from those groups start getting overlooked.

Carycy · 09/08/2021 10:58

But it isn’t just about doing the work. What about passing on your knowledge to younger, less experienced colleagues, being and ear yto bend over and issues, supervising others work etc,etc.
If you are experienced and just work from home and refuse to work as part of a team that’s kind of selfish and you are only performing one aspect of your job.

Heartshapedrocks · 09/08/2021 11:00

Was it fully working from the office beforehand? If people joined and the job wasn't remote (and those who joined during covid surely understood it might not be forever), then fair enough, they're just being honest really. If lots of people worked from home before the pandemic and it was one of the reasons they joined, then it seems unfair to change the rules as it were.