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

[lovemenomore]

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?

[quote VladmirsPoutine]@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.[/quote]
Ok, thanks @VladmirsPoutine, this had not occurred to me, white privilege in action!

Despite all the objections I see on these types of thread I suspect there is a strong correlation between those that physically show up and those whose work product is superior.

There’ll always be exceptions, but success includes myriad factors beyond being able to meet your objectives. Being seen to pull your weight; being trustworthy and likeable; stepping up in others absence; willingness to go above and beyond.

Some of those women, or people with disabilities, will have been working flexibly/from home pre-Covid too.

I don't think it's terribly sensible, or good management, or good for diversity and inclusion, as an employer to say those who are physically in the room will get the good projects and the promotions.

Besides anything else your employer have told you clearly what success looks like at your organisation and it involves showing up.

You might not be interested in progression. And that’s fine, plenty of people are not. But if you are you now know what is required.

My company hasn't said this but surely it doesn't come as any surprise?

If I'm working with someone or doing/attending a presentation you create a connection when it's in person, not over the internet. When the boss sticks her / his head in the office just because they're passing the door, it's the person who is sitting at their desk they see, not something prearranged via the internet. It's that 30 second good morning when you pass the receptionist at the front desk.

"This is terrible. WFH has been a godsend for so many people!! For example if you have kids, have disabilities, are an ethnic minority!" You're paid to work, not look after your kids. Your hours don't work for you - request different hours or get a different job. Your workplace should have made alterations for your disability - assuming you were previously in the workplace with your disability these must have been in place so what's different now (I do have a disability so perfectly aware of the issues). No idea what an ethnic minority will gain wfh!

Honestly, yes there needs to be work life balance but if your current job and employer doesn't suit your life then find something else.

I assumed the phrase about ‘time served’ was meant to indicate that it wasn’t a question of how long you’d been with the company, but about how effective your work is, even if you’ve been there only a short time. Reading the comments, it seems I was wrong.

On a related note, I heard this morning, that some organisations are considering pay cuts for those who are wholly working from home. I guess that if you worked in London and accepted a London salary and then moved much further away, where things are less expensive and there are no commuting costs, then your costs are less.

@Ceara

Some of those women, or people with disabilities, will have been working flexibly/from home pre-Covid too.

I don't think it's terribly sensible, or good management, or good for diversity and inclusion, as an employer to say those who are physically in the room will get the good projects and the promotions.

It depends on the organisation, it could be a small one where no one applied for flexible working beforehand. Was it really commonplace for women to work from home before covid over men?

We have an employee in her 20s who barely leaves the house and wears a mask even on the street even though she has no vulnerabilities.

She refuses to come to the office even though she frequently needs stuff done for her there. She could save everyone's time by coming in and doing it herself.

It is OK for the branch manager and other managers to come in frequently to deal with emergencies since the lockdown started and they are late 40s and early 50s and higher risk than an early 20s.

Don't think for a single moment people don't notice things like that. The lazy little cow should get her backside into the office.

@Carycy

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!

I agree. I hate wfh with an absolute passion.

The more of these threads I read the more convinced I am that those who enjoy full time wfh really are at the selfish and lazy end of society.

This isn’t about lockdowns and all these ‘we must lockdown’ people even though the worst is over are actually saying ‘I’m a lazy sod who’s happy working at home whilst the rest of you plebs go to work’

Honestly it’s a joke.

It’s honest if nothing else. It has always been the case that you need to be “seen” by the powers that be in order to get a promotion. How you make your self “seen” from home is a new conundrum and one that all WFH staff face. It will be interesting to see who thrives in this new environment. I guess you’ve got to find a way to keep your presence felt.

Not everyone wants to be 'seen' and be 'promoted' and 'impress the head honchos'. Honestly, corporatism has rotted some of our brains. I'm at stage in life / the workplace where I do my job and I do it well. I really don't need the accolades, awards and attention. I'm really not that interested.

Don't see it's an unfair policy. Those who make most effort should be seen for promotion over those whove been there longest.

However..... I would hope that work produced is still taken into account.

It would be awful if someone who came in and chatted to colleagues and networked management got promoted over someone who didn't but productively for the company they achieve more before they WFH without the distractions and a long commute that makes them less productive.

WFH has opened up a world of opportunities, good employers have embraced the positives. There are ways round managing issues, and where I work performance and productivity have increased. We're saving money, the workforce is happier and enjoying the better work-life balance.
If you can't manage people remotely, reward good work and spot the people going above and beyond unless you physically see them, then you and your management style are the issue.
Also, people might have worked from the office pre pandemic, but you have no idea if there was a health or wellbeing cost to that. And covid isn't over, many people are rightly very fearful of returning to busy offices and public transport.

Why do we have to go back to the way things were? Why can't we take the best bits of remote working, and allow more people to have a better balance? There will always be some people who want to be in an office. But if they are just as productive as those at home, why should they be prioritised for promotion?

Such a policy favours men. What a surprise.

@Thevoiceofreason2021

It’s honest if nothing else. It has always been the case that you need to be “seen” by the powers that be in order to get a promotion. How you make your self “seen” from home is a new conundrum and one that all WFH staff face. It will be interesting to see who thrives in this new environment. I guess you’ve got to find a way to keep your presence felt.

I went into the office for a settlement meeting in summer last year. It was easier with big screens and video conferencing than trying it at home from a tablet or laptop.

The managing partner happened to be in and I didn't know that. Got talking to her told her of my meeting.

I settled by midday (I'm a solicitor) and the managing partner took me out and paid for lunch and cocktails to celebrate.

Got talking to her about all sorts from my work and how it was all going to personal stuff and family background, it was really nice.

Now with wfh any successes you just email your supervisor and it gets put on the monthly minutes of the meeting.

You don't get really get any notice taken if you are not actually there.

As for the I have children argument you had them knowing you worked full time...what did you do before?

Surely they are just saying “out of sight, out of mind”. Sometimes the best opportunities are not advertised, they come from water cooler chats and so on. These impromptu meetings are very valuable to how employees fit into a business, how they network across the organisation, how other employees see them. They just don’t happen when WFH.

This is just stating the obvious tbh. I’m not sure why it’s such a shock to people.

If wfh works for you then brilliant, embrace it, but of course there will be consequences to that.

@VladmirsPoutine

Not everyone wants to be 'seen' and be 'promoted' and 'impress the head honchos'. Honestly, corporatism has rotted some of our brains. I'm at stage in life / the workplace where I do my job and I do it well. I really don't need the accolades, awards and attention. I'm really not that interested.

I agree with this too. There is an assumption that everyone wants to be promoted. They don't. Many are happy with their jobs and the rewards they receive for doing their current job well.

@igelkott2021

Such a policy favours men. What a surprise.

One of my colleagues is a single dad. Not a world has he said about think of my children.

His wife died. He gets the fuck on with it.

I work part time ( with the pay cut to match) so that I can be there on the school runOr you could fo as one of our guys did, who got his full time contract changed, starting early, finishing late, with breaks to allow him to fo the school run. Options like this aren't available for all roles, but there often are solutions if you accept that being at a desk between 9-5 isn't the only way of working these days.

One of my colleagues is a single dad. Not a world has he said about think of my children. His wife died. He gets the fuck on with it

how do you know what personal conversations he has had with HR.

And why are you swearing at me for expressing an opinion? So rude (and if you do it in your workplace, massively unprofessional, too).

@VladmirsPoutine

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.

I genuinely don’t understand how WFH has been a godsend specifically if you are from an ethnic minority?? And for the people having kids yes it was a godsend when school and childcare were closed but everything is open now, and obviously we are therefore not expected to look after children while working so how does it make a difference? WFH the odd time a child has to isolate is one thing, WFH to avoid paying for childcare is definitely not on.

@igelkott2021

One of my colleagues is a single dad. Not a world has he said about think of my children. His wife died. He gets the fuck on with it

how do you know what personal conversations he has had with HR.

And why are you swearing at me for expressing an opinion? So rude (and if you do it in your workplace, massively unprofessional, too).

Gosh you're funny if you equate swearing on MN to a work place.

There's an article in the Times today saying exactly this. The Civil Sevice wants people back in and is saying promotions will go for those who "turn up for work" because you don't know who's suitable for promotion if you never see them.

Now, I'd like to think there was a selection and performance management process that could overcome that, but even without an official policy, I do think human nature will be to offer opportunity to those people who are seen regularly and "known", whether that's an actual promotion or an opportunity to take on an interesting project or a secondment to a new team or the opportunity to deputise for the experience.

It's also very a very valid concern that those who are happy and comfortable at home, aren't contributing to the development of new staff in any of the soft ways they would if they were sharing an office, the way they will have benefited early in their careers.

Continuing to wfh after colleagues have gone back, may help with work life balance and save you money, but it will damage careers IMO and it will mostly affect women.

@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.

Where do they say that? The inference is that those who work in the office achieve better results than those who wfh.