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?

@PizzaCrust

I am sick to death of reading threads like these. I just find it so mindblowingly naive how many people who applied for roles during the pandemic which weren’t exclusively advertised as WFH roles and are now shocked they have to actually go to their place of work, to work. Complaining about 3 days a week as well, it’s not even a full week.

It just reeks of utter entitlement, to be honest. Flexitime is great when a workplace can offer it, but your family life should not depend on a WFH role unless you specifically work in a WFH job which will remain WFH. You should not be looking after children while being paid to work. Maybe on very occasional circumstances where a child is sick, for example. But not every single working day!

It also reminds me of the people who moved miles away from work and are now upset they have a ridiculously long commute. I swear people are just utterly dim at times.

It's not as annoying as those posters who don't read the update from the OP or make up things the OP hasn't said.

Of course you aren't being unreasonable to want to fully work from home if it suits you better - on the other hand I don't think them asking for three days in is outrageous but it sounds like you were led to believe it would be a lot less.

@pollyanna1962

Really? 3 days in work? Sorry I'm old school and worked 40 hours in a hospital mixed shifts. Covid rules have been there for a reason and now are relaxed of course people need to be in work not sitting at home one eye on the TV or whatever. I pity the poor employers not being able to watch the people they are paying.

If you were in the workplace now, in a sector where remote working is possible, this sort of dinosaur attitude would cost you the best candidates.

If it doesn’t work for you and you can find another role then do it!
After almost 2 years working at home most of our staff want to have a hybrid working life. We’ve told people that it’s up to them how they work, as long as the work is done and to the same high standards then fine. If they have a meeting that they need to be in the office or elsewhere for then they'll do it otherwise they can continue to work at home. We have some of our support staff eg finance who don’t ever want to come in!

I’ve agreed to two days a week back in the office but it was always on the table. Anymore than that and I’d be looking for something else.

@Earlyflash

Obviously the ‘do one’ comment had been taken literally, and it was not Intended as such. I’d never be so rude.

However I am going to be clear that the policy change is a huge issue for me, and the way it has been handled also.

To answer some questions;
The contract doesn’t specify location.
In the recruitment process I was told 1 day per week.

If it doesn't state location, then I'd be stating that a precedent is in place given that wfh directive only started in November again didn't it?

You have more jobs in the pipeline obviously so not committed to this job. if this one doesn’t suit you move on and leave this job too someone it will suit ,

When I talk about the social side of working, I'm not necessarily talking about socialising, but working alongside all sorts of people and developing social skills to manage those relationships, although finding new friends at work is also a real positive as well.

This!!!! Those social skills of learning how to get along with all sorts of people is what is going to disappear! By learning how to get along with the people you work with, even if they are not the sort of people you would normally gravitate towards, you then transfer those skills to dealing with other people you encounter in life. I already find many young people have no idea of how to provide good customer service, and that is only going to get worse.

Those social skills of learning how to get along with all sorts of people is what is going to disappear

People learn that in school. And if you're not wasting 1-3 hours a day on a commute you can join clubs and societies and meet people that way.

Those who don't have customer service skills are not only young. Plenty of older people in shops who hide away behind a shelf somewhere when there are people to serve.

Are you David Brent?

I've never watched an episode of The Office in my life (and had to Google David Brent!).

However, I don't live in the UK and am beginning to wonder if we have a completeley different working culture where I am. If so I think ours sounds so much better!

I pity the poor employers not being able to watch the people they are paying

And I pity the dinosaurs who think you need to watch someone all the time to get good quality work out of them.

Of course YANBU. Vote with your feet. Once more employers realise people want to WFH (or at least have the choice) they will accommodate it.

It would BAU if you knew full well it was temporary and you were just chancing it.

Those social skills of learning how to get along with all sorts of people is what is going to disappear

People learn that in school.

Rubbish. It's far easier to avoid people you don't like at school than it is at work and unless you have been assigned a project together you are generally working on your own.

And if you're not wasting 1-3 hours a day on a commute you can join clubs and societies and meet people that way.

If someone commutes 1-3 hours a day to work they are mad in my opinion.

Plenty of older people in shops who hide away behind a shelf somewhere when there are people to serve.

I never said bad customer service comes only from the young, and indeed some young people are naturally gifted at customer service, but the majority of bad experiences I've had come from young people - some of whom don't even understand the basic principle of smiling at the people they are dealing with!

I totally feel you here. If you've operated without an office for two years, in most cases, you don’t need the office. It's like the clothes you've not worn for two years rule. It's obviously not necessary. I've gone fully remote and it's rare I'll take work outside of the home. I've also taken the opportunity to educate my child at home. Life is so much better. The traveling and not being in charge of my own time was soul-destroying. I worked full-time for 15 years of my life and I am done. I now have three remote freelance gigs and one out of house employment. I make a good amount of money, few travel costs, can eat healthful meals at home, and am in full charge of my life.
My office job asked me to come back but I got out of it by telling them I'm not going to be vaccinated and they made my role fully remote after that.

If you can’t trust you’re staff to do the job you’re paying them for, why did you hire them in the first place

Depends on your role etc . Are you able to negotiate with them ? I recently had to negociante a new role for a employee and colleague as I was short a member on my team due to someone suddenly leaving and was more than happy to let her carry on working from home long term of it meant she could do the role . My office is still mostly working from home anyway

People learn that in school

I hated school and was bullied so learned absolutely no social skills there other than to try and avoid people who made my life a misery.

And I pity the dinosaurs who think you need to watch someone all the time to get good quality work out of them.

My manager likes to see us face to face as it's easier to tell if someone is really ok if they're in front of you than over Teams.

*Those social skills of learning how to get along with all sorts of people is what is going to disappear

People learn that in school.*

Rubbish. School ruined my social skills rather than improved them. The bullying, loss of self esteem, feelings of worthlessness have shaped my adult life and not in a good way. I started secondary school as a confident A grade pupil and left as a dithering wreck without any GCSE's above a D grade. It was getting my first job which turned my life around, actually working, literally shoulder to shoulder with adults who gradually brought me out of my shell and nurtured me into having a bit of self confidence again. If I hadn't had a "workplace", I'd probably have topped myself as the school bullying and lack of friends etc gave me suicidal thoughts!

You do what you want, just like your company have decided to do what’s best for their business. Neither of you are being unreasonable.

Just a question OP is it a problem going to the office? I am not sure how WFH works for most employees. Is it you can work whenever you want as long as the hours are put in? Or does it for example state you must work online from for example 9-5?

I think it does depend on what the contract says. I started a new job last year and the contract stated that my place of work was our London office. However, I worked from home. This of course in reality was just a gentlemans agreement to allow me to work from home and at any time they could have quoted the contract and forced me into the London office. For a variety of reasons i quit after 3 months. The new job I have now states that my office at home is my place of work. I am the only person in the company to have this contract and they drew it up specifically for me when I started. This means they can never drag me into an office to work full time or even a set number of days a week. I can go up for meetings etc (rare). It also means they pay all my expenses to travel to the London office as I am leaving my place of work.

So, if it states in your contract that your "official" place of work is in the office then sadly you are bound by this. That said the job market seems to be very buoyant at the moment so I am sure you can get something that suits you and your home life better.

YABU.
WFH was never going to be forever.

I don’t think covid is an issue here.

If you want to work exclusively from home and can find a job with those terms, you should. You are not a slave, your present employer doesn’t own you. If you can do better, walk away.

@SquirrelG

When I talk about the social side of working, I'm not necessarily talking about socialising, but working alongside all sorts of people and developing social skills to manage those relationships, although finding new friends at work is also a real positive as well.

This!!!! Those social skills of learning how to get along with all sorts of people is what is going to disappear! By learning how to get along with the people you work with, even if they are not the sort of people you would normally gravitate towards, you then transfer those skills to dealing with other people you encounter in life. I already find many young people have no idea of how to provide good customer service, and that is only going to get worse.

Fully agree with all that you both say.

Lots of people do find it a struggle to develop new friendships and interact with people. Glibly saying "join a club" completely misses the point. Some people won't have the confidence to "join a club", just like some people don't join the partying/social life at Unis. For socially anxious/socially awkward people, just walking into an unfamiliar place with people you don't know is a step too far. Extroverts simply don't understand that. Getting a job and working in a real workplace with other real people works wonders for introverts and shy people. I really, really, worry about such people if they're expected to work from home rather than a proper workplace.

many young people have no idea of how to provide good customer service, and that is only going to get worse.

I’m nearly 50, and I remember my granny saying this in the 1970s, so not sure how much weight I can give to it being a new phenomenon.