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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that they should have made a decision about WFH by now?

44 replies

LivinginWFHlimbo · 22/11/2021 14:59

I'm feeling quite fed up and not sure whether that's reasonable! My employer (a university) has still not made any long-term decision about working patterns/remote working for non-teaching staff. Non-student facing teams (including mine) are still currently fully WFH, but this is always said to be until the start of the next term and then gets pushed back and back and they've been promising some sort of long-term plan since about June 2020... The latest promised date for this update has come and the update is that we'll still be WFH for the spring (shock!) but that there is a 'long-term ambition to have some degree of campus working for most people', which seems to mean nothing. I really want/need to get special permission to come into the office even though the rest of my team aren't but keep being told to wait on this decision that never comes. Ultimately if we're going to WFH forever I need either a new job or a new house, and I'm so frustrated with feeling like this really quite large aspect of my life is in limbo. Am I being unreasonable to think that surely most employers have sorted this out one way or another now? Are lots of other people still not sure what's going to happen at their workplace long-term?

OP posts:
GoldenOmber · 22/11/2021 15:07

YANBU. My work is equally dithery and it’s maddening.

FirewomanSam · 22/11/2021 15:13

Am I being unreasonable to think that surely most employers have sorted this out one way or another now?

You’re not being unreasonable to think that they should have, but my understanding is that most employers seem to be very much like yours and haven’t made any firm decisions (or even if they have, those plans still keep getting moved around and changed).

Completely understand your frustration but I think there are still some big question marks over what’s going to happen with Covid over the winter and I can see why employers are still reluctant to make any definitive changes at the moment.

Original poster
LivinginWFHlimbo · 22/11/2021 15:22

Yes, the update-that-provided-no-update included a bit about rising case numbers, continuing uncertainty, etc etc etc... I think that no one wants the massive uproar that any decision (no matter what they actually decide) will cause, but I don't understand how they think that they can avoid it forever - do they think that eventually we'll just forget there was ever the 'before times' and so that no one will know there was ever even an office?!

OP posts:
LadyWhistledownsPen · 22/11/2021 15:58

@LivinginWFHlimbo I work in a University too and it's exactly the same with us. At the moment we are hot desking so can go into am office if we pre-book desk space but we can't go in every day. I work 3 days a week so I'm in 1 day a week at home the rest. We have various working groups that are supposed to be coming up with a long term plan but nothings been announced so farHmm I'm currently sharing the spare bedroom with my husband who's also still WFH

HarrietsChariot · 22/11/2021 16:01

There's uncertainty because nobody knows where the pandemic is heading. There's no point employers rushing to get people back then finding there is a spike in cases and the government advice is to WFH again. If people have coped with WFH for the last 20 months or so a few more really isn't a big deal. As you say, if you don't like WFH and don't have a clear idea when it will end for you, you can hand in your notice at any time and find a job that suits you better.

SickAndTiredAgain · 22/11/2021 16:12

I really want/need to get special permission to come into the office even though the rest of my team aren't

Their dithering over a decision for everyone shouldn’t really affect this - I assume you’d be working pretty much alone if all your team is still at home? I’d be annoyed they wouldn’t make an individual decision like this.

TotallySuper · 22/11/2021 16:17

Why can't you work from uni as a special consideration? My work has said we can work from anywhere either the office or home and it's up to us. But all the way through the WTF policy during covid if it was too difficult to work at home you would be given permission to work from the office. You need to insist and explain you are a special consideration. Or get signed off sick if they don't help you out in some way as I imagine it's effecting your mental health.

Chronicallymothering · 22/11/2021 16:18

In our workplace you’d be classed as a priority well-being returner if you’d prefer to be in and we’d find you a desk for some of the week.

daimbarsatemydogsbone · 22/11/2021 16:19

YANBU but 99% of employers "wait and see what the others are doing".

Seasonschange · 22/11/2021 16:30

I’ve had this too. I found another job!

Original poster
LivinginWFHlimbo · 22/11/2021 16:31

Yes, I'll have to talk to my line manager again about being classed as a special case. Without getting bogged down in the detail, I'm actually returning to work from mat leave - I applied to go in before going on mat leave and was told I'd fail the H&S assessment, but that was because I was pregnant and obviously I'm not now! I've asked a few times about applying for when I return and my boss keeps saying 'well, it'll all depend on what's decided anyway' but since it's clear that it'll still be full WFH when I go back I think I need to be a bit pushier about needing to be in - she seems to see this as a bit annoying/inconvenient for reasons I don't quite understand (though it is a ton of paperwork).

OP posts:
anniegun · 22/11/2021 16:32

Unfortunately no-one can predict the pandemic (or government policy) so it is very hard to give staff certainty about this

Badbadbunny · 22/11/2021 16:32

YABU. Firstly, we're still in the middle of a pandemic. Secondly, a permanent change from "office based" to WFH is a big deal and it takes time to properly monitor and review performance etc. Thirdly, there'll be as many people wanting to WFH as there will be wanting to return to offices, so staff opinion needs to be factored in. Finally, as many people have experienced from numerous interactions with organisations, WFH comes with it's own problems and organisations aren't going to rush in and say "WFH forever" until they've properly reviewed performance, customer complaints, speed and accuracy of service delivery etc. It's really no surprise that organisations aren't in any hurry to make such fundamental changes without proper review, consultation, etc.

WeAllHaveWings · 22/11/2021 16:35

I think it is completely understandable at this stage. No workplace wants to insist staff come back to work and potentially feel responsible for someone's longterm health issues/death if it is not critical for the business or a critical service. You might see it another way, which is also understandable, but you aren't in a position to make and be responsible for those decisions for other people.

Our office is not fully open, but you can go into the office voluntarily if you have issues working from home.

This is subject to talking through with your line manager to see if they can support you more with WFH and if you do decide to go in you need to advance book a cold hot desk each day, adhere to various checks and restrictions and all the windows are wide open ventilation is prioritised over temperature. There are no canteen facilities.

A colleague went in last week, to pick up some bits from her desk as she was retiring, and other than the person at reception who mans the switch for all the Scotland sites, she says it was like a ghost town in Antarctica.

It is unlikely we will be back now until the wave this winter is over with.

Can you tell them you are having problems working from home now and if you can get permission to go back, even if it means you are sitting alone and following their restrictions.

Dozer · 22/11/2021 16:42

YABU: not U for employers to manage the short term and await pandemic developments.

BritWifeInUSA · 22/11/2021 16:42

@HarrietsChariot

There's uncertainty because nobody knows where the pandemic is heading. There's no point employers rushing to get people back then finding there is a spike in cases and the government advice is to WFH again. If people have coped with WFH for the last 20 months or so a few more really isn't a big deal. As you say, if you don't like WFH and don't have a clear idea when it will end for you, you can hand in your notice at any time and find a job that suits you better.
Ah the good old “accept it or leave” argument. Are you in management?

So, even though her work might be suffering, her health might be suffering (she may not have a suitable workspace, chair, etc, her home life may be suffering, she should just continue with the suffering for another few months because she’s survived 20 months already? Would you say the same to someone who was suffering physically? Brilliant.

She Ford g want s different job. She wants the one she applied for and was working in before all this happened. COVID is not going anywhere. By now the employer has had more than enough time to sort out things on a more permanent basis. If the employer is waiting for COVID to be over, well the OP’s grandchildren will have retired before that happens.

BritWifeInUSA · 22/11/2021 16:43

She doesn’t want a different job…that should say

Dozer · 22/11/2021 16:44

If you have health and/or other reasons to want to work wholly or mainly from the office, without colleagues, would submit that request in writing and seek a timescale for decision.

JaniceBattersby · 22/11/2021 16:47

I had moved house and husband was doing childcare with a toddler and a baby at home and my only option was to sit on my bed and work on my laptop, with shit wifi and a load of child noise going on in the background.

My back was fucked so I told my employer that I could no longer facilitate working from home and told them, if they would not let me go into the office, they’d have to hire me a space.

Miraculously, I was back in the office within two days. I’m double vaxxed and happy to work with windows open etc. Others have now asked to come back into the office. We all miss it. We’re a close team. I don’t see the problem tbh. It’s our risk to take.

Boood · 22/11/2021 16:48

Given the sector you work in, I’d guess that your employers are putting all their energies into trying to persuade teaching staff of the importance of giving students a bit more than Zoom lectures for their £9k a year, and they’re fobbing you off because where you work has less of an impact. Shit for you, but I can understand it.

CatFaceCats · 22/11/2021 16:48

I work for a university in Scotland. We had a plan to begin hybrid at the start of October but only started last week. We all had to submit a request to wfh. Most of the team have opted for (been told to) 50%. So now there is a full rota, there’s never every desk used but it’s not hot desking either.
I much prefer my 2 days a week in the office than 4 at home.

ecceromani · 22/11/2021 16:50

You need to present your case under health, logistical reasons or whatever.
Your manager will then need to give this due consideration.
I know someone who worked from her bedroom for the 1st 15months. She just snapped one day and told her boss she couldn't do it anymore. She's now back in the large office (alone)

GreenClock · 22/11/2021 16:56

What are your reasons, OP? If this issue is affecting your mental health or your relationship, I think that you need to raise it with your boss again.

Original poster
LivinginWFHlimbo · 22/11/2021 16:56

@JaniceBattersby

I had moved house and husband was doing childcare with a toddler and a baby at home and my only option was to sit on my bed and work on my laptop, with shit wifi and a load of child noise going on in the background.

My back was fucked so I told my employer that I could no longer facilitate working from home and told them, if they would not let me go into the office, they’d have to hire me a space.

Miraculously, I was back in the office within two days. I’m double vaxxed and happy to work with windows open etc. Others have now asked to come back into the office. We all miss it. We’re a close team. I don’t see the problem tbh. It’s our risk to take.

This is exactly my situation! It feels like it's not being taken very seriously as a reason to not WFH - my boss said that the other parents on the team love WFH, which is true but that's because they've stopped paying for aftercare for their late primary aged children, which is quite a different situation and pretty irrelevant to me!
OP posts:
MilduraS · 22/11/2021 17:03

I also work for a university and they're equally undecided. I deal with students so I'm in for 2- 3 days a week, between staff I. our office we have every working day covered. Our manager got fed up of working from home and has been in 5 days a week for several months.
Other departments who don't need to see students still have a lot of staff working from home. A few don't have offices to go back to because large open plan offices were turned into lecture rooms to accommodate social distancing.

I'm quite happy with the current set up in our team but wish we'd get a definitive answer for the future. I'd quite like to move and could get more for my money if I go further away. I could manage a long commute twice a week but couldn't face doing it 5 days a week.