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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:
ActonSquirrel · 10/08/2021 07:27

If the pj thing was just novel why are they still doing it now?

RoastedHazelnutLatte · 10/08/2021 07:28

Ask them

ActonSquirrel · 10/08/2021 07:29

Nope, not in my case. We need two widescreen monitors to do our jobs – no balancing a laptop on the settee. Everyone gets dressed (top half anyway) and looks as presentable as if they were at the office

One of my colleagues did a meeting with her 1 year old in her lap and a tracksuit on. She didn't fancy nanny at that and had a screaming fit.

You wouldn't be permitted to do that at the office so I don't see why it's allowed wfh. It does happen

JassyRadlett · 10/08/2021 07:34

You wouldn't be permitted to do that at the office so I don't see why it's allowed wfh. It does happen

What was the management response?

Hekatestorch · 10/08/2021 07:34

Why is it so hard to believe that some people like different things and not everyone wants to live at work.

I don't think the poster you quoted was talking about people who want to work on an office. It's not really about not recognising, that some people prefer working in an office.

But these threads have a lot of posters who either work for very old school companies or don't work in an office at all.

These threads are full of things as 'get back to work. I had to work outside my house for this whole thing you should have to, too'. Which is factually incorrect as people wfh have actually been working. But also irrelevant. Just because one person's job is outside the home, doesn't mean someone else's needs to be. What other people do in other jobs, in a completely different environment forms no part of a decision making process.

Then there's the truly ridiculous 'wfh breaks GDPR and companies have got away with it. I don't want my details on someone's laptop outside the office'. So again, completely wrong. It doesn't break gdpr. Not on its own. But also completely not understand the fact that people did work from home previous to this and as a customer, your details were likely available through the laptop. But these posters didn't have an issue until now.

And the 'my husbands laptop looks old and doesn't have any security on it so I bet most people wfh don't have any on theirs' the same poster came back and back tracked once it was printed out that her husbands employer wasn't everyone's, it would be extremely rare to not have any security and just because that one company is shit, doesn't mean all are.

That poster, as far as I know, wasn't saying everyone who works in an office enjoys wfh or should enjoy it. Just that the majority of posters who are really anti wfh often, don't actually do any of these jobs that would be wfh.

Meruem · 10/08/2021 07:35

I’ve been far more “visible” in my wfh role (started pre covid) than I ever was in the office. I solve problems for people. Now my work is remote someone will often copy their manager into an email sent to me, to show they’re addressing the problem. So when I come back with the solution it’s seen by those higher up. My profile has increased substantially. In an office they would have just come to my desk and no one else would have seen the work I did. My manager knows he can confidently leave me with a number of tasks and they will be done, without him having to hover over me in any way. Versus the micro managers in the office who felt they needed to be involved in every minute of my day. And yes, I produce better work now I’m not exhausted from a long commute and have a good work life balance.

WeAreTheHeroes · 10/08/2021 07:38

Without a clear message from the company as to their expectations of how much people will be in the office, the barbed statement is useless. It also sounds really childish.

ActonSquirrel · 10/08/2021 07:41

Also our lot had to be told it was disrespectful to have your camera switched off during a monthly meeting. So the same offenders started telephoning into the zoom instead audio only.

It's just pathetic so they can hide what they're really doing

rottd · 10/08/2021 07:41

I think remote working is a good thing but there will be fallout to all the auxiliary businesses that support the commute to office lifestyle. Some will adapt but it's been a very fast change & obviously public transport will likely see increased fares & service reductions.

Hekatestorch · 10/08/2021 07:42

I don't work in Pj's. Mainly because my PJ'S are shorts and a vest top. I don't want to spend all day in them.

I do, do team meetings in hoodie or t-shirts. But we had a relaxed office dress code before. If a meeting is a very senior one or with outside people, I would of course put 'business wear' on.

As would my team. I haven't ever had to monitor what people wear.

Our company offered to furlough anyone, who was trying to juggle childcare and work, but did say you couldn't be in sole charge of young children and work. Because you couldn't work properly or wouldn't be able to supervise the children properly. But, as I said, they would furlough you. Or you could, if you were able, to work flexible hours.

Then a senior manager went on a leadership call with his one year old sat on his knee and there was a big kick off. This was at the start. Never happened again. That was one of the managers whose poor performance was highlighted, but wfh. Not just this incident either.

But in the office he was pulled on occasion occasion not thinking policy applied to him. This attitude wasn't just because he was wfh. It was just how he was.

JassyRadlett · 10/08/2021 07:44

Not being in possession of a functioning crystal ball, strangely I can’t put a date on it. But having lived through five recessions, I’m perfectly able to recognise the perfect economic storm that makes one inevitable. The UK is holding the highest level of debt since 1945, the housing market is a huge bubble, businesses are going bust, as soon as furlough ends unemployment will soar - frankly if there wasn’t a huge recession it would be miraculous.

So what will be the underlying recession driver? And why do you think the IMF has it so wrong?

National debt isn’t an inherent driver of recession. People have been saying the housing bubble is about to burst for decades. There are lower levels of household debt/higher levels of savings than we’ve had in quite a while. Demand remains fairly strong. We have some Brexit fundamentals that could fuck things up, sure, and I wouldn’t be massively surprised by that. But I’m not clear that the conditions currently exist for a recession equivalent to or bigger than 2008 when you look at government policy direction. Housing doesn’t look that shaky - LTV on mortgages is lower than previously and crucially the economic impacts on Covid are (horribly) disproportionately falling on those less likely to be home owners.

Trying to apply past experience to the current situation is unlikely to be very illuminating - we’ve never experienced this kind of artificial shutdown of an economy. The territory is pretty uncharted and I think a year ago I would have agreed with you; now I’m not so sure.

ExpressDelivery · 10/08/2021 07:44

I do think wfh once everything's back to normal will be different to what some people are expecting. Or at least it should be.

During lockdown we had meetings "attended" by all manner of children and pets. It was all a bit cute and "we're all in this together" working at the kitchen table, but surely you can only wfh in normal circumstances if you have a private space and childcare?

rottd · 10/08/2021 07:44

One of my colleagues did a meeting with her 1 year old in her lap and a tracksuit on. She didn't fancy nanny at that and had a screaming fit.

You wouldn't be permitted to do that at the office so I don't see why it's allowed wfh. It does happen

Was this during a lockdown? It's not normal to work & have your dc around you but it's not normal for childcare settings & schools to be closed.

JassyRadlett · 10/08/2021 07:45

Also our lot had to be told it was disrespectful to have your camera switched off during a monthly meeting. So the same offenders started telephoning into the zoom instead audio only.

What did their managers do?

ActonSquirrel · 10/08/2021 07:46

@rottd

One of my colleagues did a meeting with her 1 year old in her lap and a tracksuit on. She didn't fancy nanny at that and had a screaming fit.

You wouldn't be permitted to do that at the office so I don't see why it's allowed wfh. It does happen

Was this during a lockdown? It's not normal to work & have your dc around you but it's not normal for childcare settings & schools to be closed.

My post makes it clear that the baby was in her lap as she had a screaming fit as she didn't fancy nanny at that point. Nanny = childcare so so it wasn't in lcokdown
ActonSquirrel · 10/08/2021 07:47

@JassyRadlett

Also our lot had to be told it was disrespectful to have your camera switched off during a monthly meeting. So the same offenders started telephoning into the zoom instead audio only.

What did their managers do?

I don't know. I'm not going to be privvy to that and they refuse to come to the office so I can't very well ask them
JassyRadlett · 10/08/2021 07:49

I don't know. I'm not going to be privvy to that and they refuse to come to the office so I can't very well ask them

My point being that if people are behaving poorly, and are continuing to be able to do so despite being told otherwise, then there are probably very crap managers involved.

ExpressDelivery · 10/08/2021 07:50

Last summer one of our senior staff members attended a team meeting in her bikini!

rottd · 10/08/2021 07:54

So what will be the underlying recession driver?

I think there will be economic fallout from increased remote working & furlough ending. The NHS desperately needs more investment & income taxes have been raised by stealth.

People have been saying the housing bubble is about to burst for decades.

In my part of London house prices have been pretty stagnant since Brexit & I think they will continue to stagnant. Equity drives so much of the housing market. And we don't know if interest rates will rise.

I'm not sure if we will have a recession but I think we are in for a tough time & will have less disposable income.

rottd · 10/08/2021 07:56

My post makes it clear that the baby was in her lap as she had a screaming fit as she didn't fancy nanny at that point. Nanny = childcare so so it wasn't in lcokdown

So she could have gone to work because the office was open but instead chose to wfh?

RampantIvy · 10/08/2021 07:56

My point being that if people are behaving poorly, and are continuing to be able to do so despite being told otherwise, then there are probably very crap managers involved.

Or the employee is a piss taker, and no amount of good management is going to change that. Fortunately the team member in our team who needed to be micromanaged found another job and left, and the bully who used to intimidate other team members was furloughed straight away, then made redundant.

rottd · 10/08/2021 07:57

@ActonSquirrel I don't think your workplace experience sounds normal & as pp pointed out why are the staff not being managed?

Marmitemarinaded · 10/08/2021 07:57

@ExpressDelivery

Last summer one of our senior staff members attended a team meeting in her bikini!
Out of interest What was she like before WFH?
rottd · 10/08/2021 07:58

Or the employee is a piss taker, and no amount of good management is going to change that.*

You still have to manage them, see below

*Fortunately the team member in our team who needed to be micromanaged found another job and left, and the bully who used to intimidate other team members was furloughed straight away, then made redundant.

ExpressDelivery · 10/08/2021 08:01

Out of interest
What was she like before WFH?

In the office she's not always the smartest, but perfectly acceptable business attire for the environment. Professional and good at the technical aspects of her job, not always great at meeting deadlines, easily distracted. I'd imagine she's not great at applying herself wfh (neither am I TBH)

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