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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:
VladmirsPoutine · 09/08/2021 11:00

@MurielSpriggs Office-based micro/macro-aggressions. I'm Black/mixed race and honestly could write a book about the struggles of being Black in the workplace. WFH is bloody amazing!!

I think in the end most companies will have to go with a hybrid approach. WFH is just far too popular to be completely eradicated.

Buccanarab · 09/08/2021 11:00

Seems a bit of a daft thing for a company to put in writing tbh.

It's going to be interesting when someone who has legitimate / protected, reason for not being able to go into the office often is passed over for a promotion/opportunity.

DameFanny · 09/08/2021 11:01

It's in contravention of Equal Opportunities legislation if the people WFH are doing so due to a health condition that makes them more susceptible to covid, or if WFH is easier for to disability

It's lazy management if they're substituting bums on seats for actually managing productivity by output

So they've basically told you they don't care as much for your productivity as they do for seeing you take up space.

This kind of approach tends to favour men as well, as women more often have caring responsibilities which mean they can't stay the extra half hour or nip to the pub for a bit of team building without notice

Frankly, I'd hoped we'd be moving away from this crap as a positive outcome of the lockdowns but ineffective management will out.

mistermagpie · 09/08/2021 11:02

I kind of admire that they are being upfront about it. We are wfh just now but I have carried on going in one day a week because all my kids (three little ones) are at home on that day and it's a nightmare. Quite often the few of us who are in the office will be talking about something and a person's name crops up and somebody will say 'oh I forgot such and such existed!' - it's out of sight out of mind unfortunately, despite the fact that that person might be doing great work at home.

I only work three days a week so I'm doing 33% in the office and I think this is a good balance. I think if possible most employees should aim for something like this rather than permanently wfh, keeping yourself seen does matter, whether we like it or not.

alltheemptyfields · 09/08/2021 11:06

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

exactly

It's terrible management when companies put presenteeism over actual results. It does exist, but it's a very poor and inefficient to look at things.

They could just ask for a day a week in the office if they need to see employees.

Otherwise you just turn up every day, do very little, have no incentive to do much anyway, and go ahead? That's a rubbish system who benefits no one.

Potatoy · 09/08/2021 11:06

They have to be careful if people are working from home due to a protected characteristic.

UserStillatLarge · 09/08/2021 11:07

So they've basically told you they don't care as much for your productivity as they do for seeing you take up space.

Or they've realised that there is a need to come into the office for collaboration/training/mentoring type/team building activities and that these things can't be measured purely by "productivity".

If people are doing exactly the same thing in the office that they would do at home, then I'd agree you had a point.

DameFanny · 09/08/2021 11:07

@Cuddlyrottweiler

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.
People who develop stronger relationships with colleagues and management are most often the same gender/class/colour/nationality as those colleagues and management, where those relationships are built on water cooler type interactions. Yet another way to reinforce white males as a norm.
BrightYellowDaffodil · 09/08/2021 11:07

It smacks of a company/management saying "We'll only pay attention to those who dance for our notice" which is lazy management really.

You can be good at your job, and noticeably so, without having to sit in front of someone.

I can see where the company are coming from but it still comes across as a bit off, really.

VeryLongBeeeep · 09/08/2021 11:11

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.

I've done more coaching and mentoring since WFH 75% of the time than I did when I was office-based (to the extent that I won one of our internal awards for it fairly recently) because I'm dragged into far fewer pointless meetings, and thanks to modern technology it's possible to share screens, have collaborative online work spaces, video calls etc.

Lavender24 · 09/08/2021 11:13

I think it's fair enough tbh.

DrinkFeckArseBrick · 09/08/2021 11:14

I think they need to improve their communication to be honest. It isnt clear from what you've said, what they expect in terms of attendance. Eg lots of companies are saying minimum of x days per week or month in the office. They have stayed silent and then said it may affect your career if you don't do x....why not just be up front and create a proper policy on office attendance so people are clear. What did you agree when you started? As it was always clear covid isnt going to be around for ever. What's your contract, are you home or office based or hybrid?

Heartshapedrocks · 09/08/2021 11:20

It's weird how many people are championing those who really struggled with working from an office before this, their voices were quite quiet until they decided they wanted to stay working from home also, and now use them to try and justify it. Funny that, definitely no ulterior motive there is there.

SeasonFinale · 09/08/2021 11:21

@Ceara

Indirect discrimination? This policy will disproportionately disadvantage women and those with disabilities...
Not really - everyone can go in - like they did before Covid so if they choose to stay home that is their own choice entirely.
alltheemptyfields · 09/08/2021 11:24

@VeryLongBeeeep

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.

I've done more coaching and mentoring since WFH 75% of the time than I did when I was office-based (to the extent that I won one of our internal awards for it fairly recently) because I'm dragged into far fewer pointless meetings, and thanks to modern technology it's possible to share screens, have collaborative online work spaces, video calls etc.

I agree!

We recruited a (surprising) number of people since the first lockdown, including many graduates with no experience.

It worked very well.

The ones who said it was weird was the more experienced ones, quitting a job on a Friday (and logging out) and logging in a new place the Monday.

Whatever happens, I highly recommend WFH on your very first week. Instead of being bombarded with procedures, names, and waffle, you have set meetings to be introduced to various people and department, it makes it so much easier to understand and remember immediately who is who.

PizzaCrust · 09/08/2021 11:26

It’s a harsh reality. Networking is important within a company (certainly in my industry it is, anyway). You certainly want to be known by the higher ups and not just a faceless name on a rota.

Obviously, though, they still should take performance and the like into account. It would be utterly daft to promote Dave over Andrew when Andrew sells more/has better feedback/has more experience.

But, yes. For anyone wanting to progress you’ll have to put yourself out there more and make more effort. If that means coming into the office regularly, so be it. If you’re happy in your role and don’t care to progress and climb the ladder, then WFH as you have been and leave it at that.

alltheemptyfields · 09/08/2021 11:27

Or they've realised that there is a need to come into the office for collaboration/training/mentoring type/team building activities and that these things can't be measured purely by "productivity".

we always had to plan and schedule training days, team building activities... even when people were in the office, you just don't randomly tell people to pop in a meeting room or to go to another building/city!

WFH is no different. You can plan and organise similar.

Monday26July · 09/08/2021 11:31

I mean, I don't have an issue with the point they're making (that they'd like people back in even if they're not forcing it), but the message in general would piss me off. It's very passive aggressive. They're basically saying we would like to make you come in, but as we can't do that we're going to pretend that it's your choice but really here are the consequences if you don't... it's treating you all like children. And their sentence about valuing what you achieve over time served has literally nothing to do with the preceding information.

Poor.

mewkins · 09/08/2021 11:33

@DrinkFeckArseBrick

I think they need to improve their communication to be honest. It isnt clear from what you've said, what they expect in terms of attendance. Eg lots of companies are saying minimum of x days per week or month in the office. They have stayed silent and then said it may affect your career if you don't do x....why not just be up front and create a proper policy on office attendance so people are clear. What did you agree when you started? As it was always clear covid isnt going to be around for ever. What's your contract, are you home or office based or hybrid?
Yes. Why not just say we expect you to be in the office xx days per month in order to maintain team morale or whatever? Oh, they can't because some people were employed overseas and will have no chance of even leaving their country. So on the one hand it will foster a weird competitiveness of how many time you can show your face at the office, while those overseas become demotivated knowing that however hard they work they will probably still be overlooked for promotion.
ufucoffee · 09/08/2021 11:36

You can't have it all ways. Work from home because you fancy it and it's easier for you, or go to work, be visible and get a chance of progressing. The choice is yours.

EBearhug · 09/08/2021 11:36

It wouldn't fly with us. We have teams and departments split across different offices, even different countries. Being able to collaborate via online tools is key. We aren't often all physically present together (though pre-pandemic, they'd try for once a year,) but if you can't manage and notice people who aren't physically in the same place as you, you don't have enough skills to be a manager here.

There are other ways of being noticed than just turning up to sit at a desk - in fact, sitting at a desk has little correlation with how good someone is at their job.

MorrisZapp · 09/08/2021 11:39

Our company have specified no wfh at all now unless arranged directly with the partners.

Lots of companies don't thrive with off site working, they have every right to expect staff to be in the office every day unless there's a demonstrable reason why they can't come in.

Staffholidayclubrep · 09/08/2021 11:39

Different businesses will take different approach to wfh and hybrid models. You are not chained to a business so if you don’t like it apply for a position in another company.

MurielSpriggs · 09/08/2021 11:40

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

Not really - everyone can go in - like they did before Covid so if they choose to stay home that is their own choice entirely.

It might not be that simple, but it's a good question. Almost certainly coming soon to an Employment Appeal Tribunal near you!

Dongdingdong · 09/08/2021 11:45

I don't know what the issue is here - they're just being honest. It's obvious that if you're never in the office and other people are, you will get forgotten about pretty quickly.