AIBU to think that team should be available at 9am for meetings?

[Overthebow]

I set up a weekly client meeting for my project team at 9am. I have had a decline from a key team member as it clashes with school drop of time. AIBU to think that 9am is a standard working time and my team should be available to attend important client calls at this time, unless they have a formal working hours agreement in place?

Didn't the OP point out the meeting is at 9 because it is across multiple time zones, so a later start means the rest of the international team would have to work later? In those circumstances a 9 prompt start sounds pretty reasonable to me.

In those circumstances a 9 prompt start sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Maybe, but in the first ten or fifteen minutes it is unlikely to be vital the other team member is there. So she joins late and picks up her agenda items when she dials in. It’s no biggie.

@BoredZelda

In those circumstances a 9 prompt start sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Maybe, but in the first ten or fifteen minutes it is unlikely to be vital the other team member is there. So she joins late and picks up her agenda items when she dials in. It’s no biggie.

If it's not vital that anyone hears it, why include those points at all?

I love the way some posters are assuming it’s a woman. It’s actually a male.

@Overthebow

I love the way some posters are assuming it’s a woman. It’s actually a male.

Oh. Well in that case you aren't unreasonable in the least.

@beatrice82

Haven't read the thread... how do you propose the employee gets their children to school if they have to be at a meeting at 9am? I don't get home until 9:10am

Childminder, breakfast club, however they used to get children to school when they were working in the office.

@FlyingSoHigh

Didn't the OP point out the meeting is at 9 because it is across multiple time zones, so a later start means the rest of the international team would have to work later? In those circumstances a 9 prompt start sounds pretty reasonable to me.

Yes, a later start means some team members will have to work past 5pm in their timezone. Trying to find a time to accommodate the different time zones, making sure no one has to start too early or finish too late, as well as accommodating officially agreed working patterns, making sure people get time for lunch, and now also including school run times means it’s impossible to find a time that suits everyone.

@beatrice82

Haven't read the thread... how do you propose the employee gets their children to school if they have to be at a meeting at 9am? I don't get home until 9:10am

I don't understand why this is the employer's problem and not the employee's problem?

I have to say k surprised at some of these responses. In my world I’m employed and paid a decent salary to be available and work during the working day and additional hours if needed by the business, and I put my work and clients first on work days.

@BoredZelda yes, DP made the mistake of trusting in his staff, taking the best aspects of roles where he was an employee and trying to be the sort of person he always wanted to work for. Unfortunately his staff are, frankly, a bunch of lazy, entitled twats who rather than appreciating the situation, have taken the piss. Despite investment in training and development, PIPs etc they don't improve, perhaps when they're unemployed in a few months or have to go back to office work rather than the luxury of WFH, they'll realise how good they had it.

I doubt it though. There are increasing numbers of people who seem to think that doing the bare minimum or less, and not even working your contracted, paid, hours is acceptable. As this thread demonstrates!

Have you asked why they can’t use a childminder or breakfast club?

There could be a genuine reason and in which case it’s still unreasonable to start the meeting at 9am when it coincides with the school drop off.

Why not start the meeting at 9am if that is what you want to do but make sure their agenda item is towards the end of the meeting.

No one seems to be against a fair days pay for a fair days work but the question was is it unreasonable to have expect someone to attend a meeting that clashes with a caring responsibility.

I am sure the person concerned would love to attend the meeting but cannot because it clashes with their caring responsibilities. It does seem unreasonable that a solution has not been found yet so that the employee doesn’t miss a vital meeting and can still make sure their child/ren are dropped at school.

Unless of course what is not being said is that there are other issues with this member of the team which is feeding into the 9am meeting scenario.

I wonder if moving the meeting will cause a lot more work and that is why there is some reluctance?

I wonder if moving the meeting will cause a lot more work and that is why there is some reluctance?

But hasn't the op already explained that this was a difficult meeting to arrange across international time zones and this was the only suitable time. If they hold it later, people in other time zones will have to attend the meeting after they should have finished. If the meeting was held here after work hours, all the parents would be up in arms that they wouldn't be able to pick up their children from school. Op can't win.

Yabu

Who cares whether the person who's promised they'll deliver the code / testing / report by cop is sat at their desk doing it at 8am or 10am? The key thing is surely that it gets done.

Well nobody cares, but that isn’t the situation that the thread is about.

Since this needs to be a recurring meeting and it crosses time zones, it is possible if OP talked to the person with a conflict and discuss options. Perhaps the time zones line up in a way that is the person who needs to do the school run calls before getting the kids up for the day, the times would work out for everyone. Sure it’s a bit inconvenient to get up that early, but it’s the kind of thing people regularly do in exchange for the flexibility being offered to them in return.

Ex-healthcare professional here, so obviously I’m finding this thread all kinds of bizarre, but I’m baffled by posters who need half an hour every morning to “get their heads round” being at work. I might need that if I’d just come back from a month off just to catch up on what I’d missed, but if you were only at work the day before?

@MrsFezziwig

Ex-healthcare professional here, so obviously I’m finding this thread all kinds of bizarre, but I’m baffled by posters who need half an hour every morning to “get their heads round” being at work. I might need that if I’d just come back from a month off just to catch up on what I’d missed, but if you were only at work the day before?

Me neither surely if that's the case should start earlier so can actually start working when you should.

9qm is when school starts lots of people are probably dropping there kids off at school. Why can't u make it 9m30 and get a reputation for being understanding rather then the person who doesn't understand life outside work

*22:45AudacityBaby

Hoolihan

Why do people think they're paying tax to cover other people's kids? You're contributing what YOU cost when YOU were a kid.

In which case your kids will be paying tax to cover themselves, not to cover our pensions…*

I found this graph from the ONS which is interesting.....

I am a HCP 9am start time is very leisurely. 8am meetings are absolutely standard. I suggest the employee logs on and has absolutely everything ready to go then drops kids as early as possible and is back as soon after 9 as is practical. As for this "warming up" time 9n your employers pay check WTF ?

Have we still not found out what it actually says in the contract?
Perhaps they should poll the staff to find out what they think their hours are

Can't they just join on audio only whilst on the school run from their phone and when back at desk, switch over?

@Lockeddownagain

9qm is when school starts lots of people are probably dropping there kids off at school. Why can't u make it 9m30 and get a reputation for being understanding rather then the person who doesn't understand life outside work

I’ve already explained why it can’t be 9.30. A later start means that’s other in different time zones have to work late.

madison I didn’t mean to insult you so my apologies. My workplace operates flexibly. It’s a tech company and most people set their own rules. There are people who have caring responsibilities you mention (with aged parents) but most flexibility is around childcare.

With my work, I occasionally work in ‘Sprint’ mode where I will be head down, all day, long hours, for 5 days at a time to finish a very specific piece of work. During that week DP and our childminder manage childcare. The following week I’ll be back to starting at 10am so I can do the school run. At no point in either scenario do any of my colleagues pick up my work except in very specific circumstances when I need cover. My calendar is blocked out 9am-10am so everyone knows not to bother scheduling time with me then.

However even without kids I would find the OP’s insistence on a 9am call unnecessary. I understand there are timezone issues. I work with colleagues all around the world but I always take care to ensure that calls I set up are not very early or late for anyone. Most of the people in my team are in the US. I could easily set up a call at 2pm but that means Brad in New York has to join at 9am and poor Jim in San Francisco will have to jump on at 6am. So I move the call. It’s not hard. Most organisations have shared calendars so you can find a time that works for all.

The OP could find a way around this situation.

@Tailendofsummer

Have we still not found out what it actually says in the contract? Perhaps they should poll the staff to find out what they think their hours are

We don’t have set times in our contracts.