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?

@Earlyflash Of course YANBU to find a new job and then hand in your notice (on your current one,) if you are unhappy.

If you resign before securing a new job, that would be breathtakingly stupid. Anyone who is so reckless and immature as to finish a job without another one to go to, is not someone I would employ, and many others will feel the same. So you will very likely struggle to find another job- well, not a decent, permanent one anyway!!!

I returned to work one day a week in October and then wfh again now but I know we’ll be back soon. We’ve already been told that we’ll eventually be 40% in the office and 60% remotely but one can go in more if you choose and I’m happy with it.
However if my employer has changed the rule with just a weekend notice like the OP’s employer, this will impact lots of people and really, I won’t think they are a company with peoples interest at heart.
Yanbu to leave for any reason however I would want to get another suitable job before leaving one. Most companies advertising fully remote now might change their stance so you might be shooting your self in the foot.

@NorthernLighting

And the number of times I’ve heard on the phone ’Well, I’m wfh so there’s no-one here to ask.. but I’ll get back to you!’ Ok, but I’d prefer an answer now rather than a day later.

Yeah this. I have had this when we have called our social housing landlord to get someone out to do a repair. We get 'Lynne' who is answering the phone from her home, and when we finally get through, we struggle to hear her over her dog barking.

When she eventually notes the details, she says 'Steve Bentley's team deal with that. I will send him an email, and get back to you with a date for the repair... as he has his own diary, so I can't book it from here!'

2 days later no call back, so we ring them, and a date has already been allocated, and 2 out of 3 times it's inconvenient. So we have to ring up and change it, and then they say the same thing. 'Need to speak to Steve, and get a date sent out...'

It's happened 3 times in the last 3-4 months. Last time it took us THREE ATTEMPTS to secure a date that was convenient for us.

We used to pick a date over the phone, like if they fired a date and it was inconvenient, they'd suggest one or two more. NOW, they send a date in the post FFS! (Because 'Lynne' doesn't know where Steve is to ask him for a date!) Why these people answering the phone calls don't have access to the workmens diaries I have no idea. Fucking stupid!

Also, it takes them between 30 and 45 minutes to answer the phone.

Not their real names in that post obvs! ^

I'd resign too OP. Wouldn't want to work for an employer that doesn't trust me to do my job from home.

[quote HelloFrostyMorning]@NorthernLighting

And the number of times I’ve heard on the phone ’Well, I’m wfh so there’s no-one here to ask.. but I’ll get back to you!’ Ok, but I’d prefer an answer now rather than a day later.

Yeah this. I have had this when we have called our social housing landlord to get someone out to do a repair. We get 'Lynne' who is answering the phone from her home, and when we finally get through, we struggle to hear her over her dog barking.

When she eventually notes the details, she says 'Steve Bentley's team deal with that. I will send him an email, and get back to you with a date for the repair... as he has his own diary, so I can't book it from here!'

2 days later no call back, so we ring them, and a date has already been allocated, and 2 out of 3 times it's inconvenient. So we have to ring up and change it, and then they say the same thing. 'Need to speak to Steve, and get a date sent out...'

It's happened 3 times in the last 3-4 months. Last time it took us THREE ATTEMPTS to secure a date that was convenient for us.

We used to pick a date over the phone, like if they fired a date and it was inconvenient, they'd suggest one or two more. NOW, they send a date in the post FFS! (Because 'Lynne' doesn't know where Steve is to ask him for a date!) Why these people answering the phone calls don't have access to the workmens diaries I have no idea. Fucking stupid!

Also, it takes them between 30 and 45 minutes to answer the phone. [/quote]
I’m stressed just reading about your situation @HelloFrostyMorning! How annoying it must be. 😂

@Cattenberg

I’m in a similar position. After a year of WFH, we were told that we wouldn’t be returning to the office, except for occasional meetings. I took this into consideration when moving house.

Nearly a year later, management have changed their minds. They want us back in the office and they want to give us some unpopular tasks that were previously carried out by another department. According to our contracts, they have the right to do this. I don’t want to go back to hot-desking in the office and I loathe the thought of my new duties. So I’m looking for another job.

I did wonder re people who moved at the time whether management / companies would switch back anyway.

Hope you find something quickly

Are you sure your contract doesn't state location?

Mine is a remote one, I moved jobs recently and this was one of the criteria for me. It's highly unusual for a contract not to state a location/remote.

Trains and buses cannot cope with increased travel.

Neither can they cope with reduced travel ....

I’m wfh so there’s no-one here to ask..

In my experience that's just as likely to be true in the office, people are often busy, unavailable or out and have to be contacted later. Only people don't use WFH as an excuse! I can just as easily message someone or set up a Teams chat at home as at work.

Contracts I have had have usually said place of work is office location and anywhere else that I may have to work which will cover home or another location to do with work, so usually very wide for every eventuality.

@NorthernLighting I KNOW RIGHT! #firstworldproblems

Be curious to know what peoples experiences with companies that run an offshore capability are ? They clearly haven't got an over-ready excuse that they "can't support" remote working. They have to explain why they can't support your remote working.

The customer service of companies with 'offshore capability' is generally worse. For example I phoned O2 yesterday about a direct debit and could hardly hear the person I was speaking to as it sounded as though he was outside. He was repeating everything I said and then asked me for my bank details for the DD. I refused to give them to him as I didn't want him repeating them if he was outside. I won't even go into the shit service from Three or Vodafone, one of the reasons I left them.

Trains and buses cannot cope with increased travel

There will be no trains and buses left if demand doesn’t pick up. TFL in particular is fucked.

Contracts I have had have usually said place of work is office location and anywhere else that I may have to work which will cover home or another location to do with work, so usually very wide for every eventuality

That's often pretty standard, but as with whatever folk were "told at the time" they're details which tend to glossed over when it doesn't suit

Fortunately there's usually the option of just applying for something else - though as said, it's as well to be aware that the same thing could happen later

@KateyKontent

Trains and buses cannot cope with increased travel. Before Christmas there were a lot of services cancelled without notice because of staffing issues. One of my team had awful problems with train services. They could get to work ok but travel home was awful and took 3 hours longer than expected.

They can't cope with a decrease in travel either, they'll go under! Then what will essential workers who can't drive to work do?

It's perfectly reasonable to resign. You signed a contract ink not blood. If the new arrangements aren't to your liking then go.

It's also reasonable for your work to require you to attend.

It would have been better if you got all this clarified when accepting your new job. But you know that. Lesson learned for the next one.

@TheKeatingFive

Who has the right to dictate what we do with our time in that sense.

Well it's partly on yourself. You signed the contract with the place of work clearly stated on it, presumably. So not so much 'dictating' as applying the terms both parties agreed to.

If you don't like it, you either renegotiate the contract or renegotiate a new contract with someone else.

I do find it weird when people say things like this. My office has a few as well: “why should work get to MAKE me drive on the motorway for 70 minutes each way?” Well work aren’t telling you where to live, and the office hasn’t moved since they hired you, so…? Maybe the pandemic will do some people good in helping realise they do have an element of choice about their work/living situations, even if the government isn’t dictating it.

Anyway in OP’s situation I would probably try pushing back on the 1 day a week thing she was told at hiring, and quietly look for another job in the interim, rather than hand in notice without another job to go to. Safer than risking having to work your notice without a safety net and when they will be less inclined to allow 1 day a week in office.

If it doesn’t suit you, leave.

@Ginandplatonic

Well I wouldn’t say it was “massive overreach” if they never said it was a fully remote job, and you WBU to tell them to “do one”. You are not BU to resign from a job that no longer suits but keep it professional and polite.

This.

There does seem to be a huge number of people who have made plans based on being told something verbally but without getting it in writing /contracts changed.

The OP was told there would be an element of working in the office in the near future when she took the job. Its more than she was told, but didn't get it in writing that her job was 4 days at home, 1 in the office. A company might be more flexible to 2 days a week in the office, it was always a risk taking a job that wasn't specified as fully WFH and expecting it to stay WFH.

I am in a newish job and currently work from home but it was discussed this would change as and when appropriate and we may be required in at least a couple days a week
I also asked as I wanted to know and most o have seen advertised here say remotely - temp
Your lucky you live in an area with a choice of wfh roles and able to hand notice in without a job , many of us don't have that luxury

It does make me wonder how some are wfh with children doing normal hrs our contract says we can not be in sole charge of young child or similar whilst working from home ( during work hrs ) there is flexibility to do school runs or collections and make hrs up by having shorter lunch etc
But you read on here people saying yes no childcare as i wfh and have 5 year olds , a10 year old for a couple hrs is different to a 5 year old

I think the lack of notice is pretty rubbish - I know of a lot of people who have changed their childcare plans to work around WFH and would need notice to change them back again

@Floralnomad

They are not being unreasonable unless they had told you it was always going to be a WFH role , which apparently they did not . However if going into work doesn’t suit you then you are not being unreasonable to look for a different job .

This. No one is being unreasonable. But if your needs and their needs don’t match then you will of course want to work elsewhere.