To resign because my job suddenly requires me in 3 days a week?

[Earlyflash]

We got told on Friday that we would be required to do a minimum of three days a week in the office from monday.

I’m new at the company (4 months) and this was never mentioned in the recruitment phase. That said I didn’t push them for a written answer.

Given we’ve spent the last two years working 100% at home, this seems like a massive overreach, and I’m intending to tell them to do one.

It’s going to have such an impact on me, my partner, and my children (from previous relationship).

I already have interviews for fully remote roles.

So, AIBU for reacting to such a request?

It’s going to have such an impact on me, my partner, and my children

How can it have a massive impact, are you saying you do other things than work when you get paid to wfh?

@MarshaBradyo where are getting the info that wfh guidance hasn't changed already? That's the whole point of the OP for one.

@Dishwashersaurous thank you

@lagerandcigars

Do you have any evidence? Trains are reaching capacity - unless everyone's out on leisure trips - which is possible!

True look at travel for changes

And agree with Dietrich that if people loathe doing what employers ask, try setting up something else.

It would not be unreasonable to resign if the working conditions no longer suit you-assuming that you have the prospect of another job and can afford to support yourself until you get one. It would be unreasonable to couch your resignation in playground language, especially if you want your employer to give you a reference.

We are in a pandemic and WFH was always a temporary measure for most companies to abide with lessening spread of the virus. It wasn't forever. If you don't like it go for another job. You're taking the wrong stance acting like your entitled to it. You got used to the situation and found WFH suits so that's what you should look for.

Many employers have spent two years helping people juggle work and other commitments in a way never seen before

Indeed, though TBF many did it because they had no choice
However given the number of times it's said that "I'd be willing to do so much more if they were helpful", it's interesting that - instead of appreciation - we're now seeing entitlement taking its place

@ontana

Only the lonely, the desperate and the sheep will be flocking back , despite the Daily Mail dogma.

What a contemptuous way to talk about people who want human contact in their working lives.

It's all very well for middle aged middle class people who already have established friendships and relationships to wax lyrical about wfh. My 18 year old cousin started an apprenticeship in the civil service. Her experience of working life so far has been sitting in her underwear on her bed staring at a screen.

Yes, totally agree with this. I think it must be awful for those just starting out on their careers to miss out on the social side of working.

I suspect your workplace is listed as the office on your contract so the employer can request this. It gets a bit murky as to when precedent is set, etc. But as you are so new to the job, you don't get most of the protections that would allow you to legally contest this anyway.

As such, I'd suggest you look for new roles that suit your needs and move on. I think that it isn't great that your employer can't communicate and engage with staff properly that this change is such a surprise to you.

True look at travel for changes

yes they are no one near pre pandemic levels or close to November 21 levels but @MarshaBradyo are you acknowledging the guidance has already ended?

I've not seen an employment contract that didn't have some form of location on it, even if that specifies an area you need to work in, home working or an office location.

Did people work in the office before the pandemic?

@SarahBellam

YABU to be outraged, but YANBU to move jobs if your current one doesn’t work for you.

This

@NorthernLighting

It’s going to have such an impact on me, my partner, and my children

How can it have a massive impact, are you saying you do other things than work when you get paid to wfh?

Possibly the commute?

The (public sector) organisation I work for sent out an email last week saying that there will be a phased return to the office over the next two months, building up to offices being 80% occupied by April. My team will only go into the office once a month so we will remain wfh - although we are classed as "flexible" workers.

Having just a few days notice is not on.

I’m amazed at the people who state they have all become massively productive because both mine and my Hs experience is that emails get unanswered for days and days these days , stuff answered at funny times where you have no chance to call and clear up a misunderstanding etc — and anything call centre related— 30 minute holds rather than 6 etc. Have to be honest this probably depends what sector you are in but I’ve certainly not experienced a massive upsurge in productiveness. Our jobs have always been WFH , and I think that’s a different thing—. If you can get a job fully WFH that’s worth having then fair enough but most good jobs that aren’t self employed/your business seem to have some expectation of a flex arrangement.

userbot999

If employers aren't put in a position where this is obvious to them, then why wouldn't they hire people who live in Hull (presuming this is a cheaper place to live)

Yes it would be much cheaper to live in Hull than in the South East. So a professional would probably accept a lower salary.

The good thing for employers I guess is they can have better choice of who they employ.

@EmmaGrundyForPM

The (public sector) organisation I work for sent out an email last week saying that there will be a phased return to the office over the next two months, building up to offices being 80% occupied by April. My team will only go into the office once a month so we will remain wfh - although we are classed as "flexible" workers.

Having just a few days notice is not on.

Have you been wfh the whole time?

I can’t imagine this if it was this phased some periods of change would have just been phasing

It’s been quick changes all the way through - but private sector with mostly SME

Maybe a factor

Your contract would state your place of work . So if it is the office then I think you are being unreasonable.

This happened to us with an employee. She knew where the office was, it was stated in her contract. Covid situation was exceptional. Now she is saying she can’t work in the office so she is leaving l.

Very inconvenient for us as we have to retrain , but tbh I am glad she is going that sort of attitude is quite honestly selfish .

@ontana. Very well put— it’s all very well people with roomy houses and established social networks finding it suits them better— it certainly doesn’t suit ‘most’ younger people in shared houses or living with parents and ‘a lot ‘ (not all) of them haven’t yet built up the discipline not to see it as an opportunity to skive off as much as possible unless monitored- unless it’s something they love doing.

It’s an employees market out there, well it is in my profession, people were pissed off with the way that they were being treated and have left the profession in droves. My inbox in linked in is inundated everyday, employees are holding a lot of the cards. People have seen and lived an alternative which for the most part has worked absolutely fine.

Maybe, in future (not holding my breath) employers will learn not to use "impossible" as a synonym" for "can't be fucked". Never a great idea to treat employees like idiots unless that is what you are paying them for.

One friend changed jobs in very early 2020. They asked about flexible working and were told - emphatically categorically and finally - that it was impossible. Then 3 weeks later it suddenly became "essential". They tried to put that genie back in the bottle and stop WFH. My friend said: "Why, is it 'impossible' again ?". After a little bit of word soup they upped and left for a role that was fully WFH. As they said to me (and the employer) "If you've lied about that, I don't want to find out what else you lied about.

Any history buffs out there (I know it's not very popular) might look at what happened when the Black Death was over. Basically it broke feudalism forever. Now listening to the hyperbole (mainly) in the Express and Telegraph press it seems contemporary employers are terrified it's happening again. And believe you me they haven't spent the last 43 years trying to rebuild feudalism only to see a bunch of people loafing around in pyjamas to stymie the end goal. Not when they were so close to achieving the holy grail of not only getting people to work for free, but paying for the privilege too.

I may need another coffee

It's the same situation here. people who live in Mullingar and Gorey who drove up to Dublin every day pre-covid 5 days a week now they cannot cope with that drive 3 days a week??

This is a good situation for them!

If I were in these shoes I would ask the employer if I could do 2 days a week in the office, three from home to begin with, just to re-acclimatise and then see if they allow you to stick with that......

But personally I wouldn't resign over it. What are you going to say at interview, that you refuse to do blended work/home, it's going to sound inflexible.

The civil service aren't going back f/t & the majority aren't even back yet despite the PMs orders. For those that can, hybrid is the new normal.

@Coffeepot72

Hybrid working will be the norm. Any employer who doesn’t offer hybrid will look very unattractive to applicants

This is our experience. We've just hired a new person and it's taken us about 8 months to fill one role. In the tech industry people want fully remote and we were only offering hybrid which put lots of people off.

hybrid yes.

Just get on board with ''hybrid'' @Earlyflash agree with them about how GREAT hybrid is and then say just one thing, I'm going to tweak it slightly and do 2 days in the office and 3 days at home, but .... fully on board with hybrid!

Honestly, you might as well try this first before resigning.

But maybe I'm a slave or a sheep! I don't know.

@Puzzledandpissedoff

Many employers have spent two years helping people juggle work and other commitments in a way never seen before

Indeed, though TBF many did it because they had no choice
However given the number of times it's said that "I'd be willing to do so much more if they were helpful", it's interesting that - instead of appreciation - we're now seeing entitlement taking its place

Employers who just want to return to the situation pre-pandemic will get the same employee engagement they had pre-pandemic at absolute best. Employees who have for the first time experienced some more flexibility from their employers are not being entitled to be unhappy when that flexibility is withdrawn with little to no consultation.

I've always said that employers can only expect the loyalty and trust from employees that they give them. Jobs for life are a distant memory and most employers are quite crap at supporting and rewarding existing employees. Demanding that all employees return to the office immediately regardless of situation does not smack of trust and is certainly not being "helpful".