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?

@Endoftether2000

Belladonna12 you have said it all in Think they work from home effectively. Employers may have evidence Employees aren't working effectively. By moving with the times Skills have to some extent already been lost in some areas of employment and on a personal level. The ability to converse without a screen in front of a face will be the new problem.

Some employers just want people in the office for the sake of it and it's usually the older ones. I used to work for such a person. When he retired his replacement said that she didn't care where we worked as long as we me our deadlines. Being treated like adults who can be trusted meant we actually became more productive rather than the other way around.

@Endoftether2000

Missfliss that is true and I am pleased it is working for you, your days sound positive and I am sure all those extra hours are rewarded. I am not sure why you are trying to validate it to me though. I am irrelevant. Unfortunately though you are missing the point. In introducing WFH Employers have a responsibility to Employees to make sure that people are maintaining a work life balance. So my comments are not about you as WFH is not all about you. I picked up on your posts as it highlights a reflection of the Government latest WFH statistics about work activity. I am interested in people's lifestyles and how WFH is working so I can ensure my colleagues don't suffer from a blurred into one lifestyle. Especially when core hours need to be adhered to, to keep the business going. Apologies if I have made you feel like you have to validate your lifestyle choices. It has been interesting for me to learn how people are embracing it. It is helping me outline a safeguarding strategy for WFH. Thank you.

I think you may be missing the point, WFH has enabled the 'Individual', to reprioritize their 'own' work-life balance. Why do employers insist on blurring the boundaries between work and home by interfering in an employee's personal choices?

Maybe HR could advise people on a meal plan or how to manage children's bedtimes too. Perk boxes are now offering exercise routines, sleep stories.
Maniacal.

Tether : you are correct - it's not all about me, or all about your experience.

My work life balance in my case has been significantly enhanced by WFH. Financially and in terms of stress in the household too.

It will be the same for many - but of course - not all.

I am trying to illustrate to people here that my employer has also benefitted. Partly in retention but also directly in my ability to be available to corporate global clients - this is regular frequent contact BTW which always happened by web calls.

I have never said that this is for everybody- but it is a shift and as someone else said the genie is out of the bottle in terms of flexibility for vast swathes of the workforce. This gradual shift should help with workforce equality.

On that note - just coming back from a short walk and going to crack on with my work day now.

Belladonna12 I understand your comments but what people have to realise is that you are making a sweeping generalisation based on your self and your experience. You may be productive WFH. Some people are not. In the comment being treated like an adult, Employers are treating people like adults. Do you think that 100% of people that are working from home are working from home and being productive as expected. If you do then you are looking through rose tinted glasses. You are also being ageist 😂🤣😅. Age and work experience (not in your case but it maybe how you perceived it) can often offer insight into practices, that have been tested previously and failed which enables people to learn where root causes of failure can be ironed out, to try a refined process again. Out of interest in the change of manager did any process to the achievement of work change with the exception of working from home? Or do you still process it the same way as that is the way it has always been done. If people were all 100% moral and conscientious then our society would have a lot less crime.

What is becoming more and more evident is that many workplaces are not kitted out for true hybrid working. That is true of both my own workplace and many of the clients I work with. Meetings work well when everyone is in teams, or when everyone is in a room. But the minute you start to have one group all together and the rest remote and the technology seems to break down. Usually sound quality issues being the problem.

@Belladonna12 or you just had two people with two different experiences and two different view of what’s important in their job.

It might be that one manager has more experience in introducing new people to the department and the pitfalls associated with it.
It might be that one is more used to certain ways of working and are therefore more comfortable.
Etc etc

What is totally true overall, is that few companies have actually thought through HOW wfh will impact work in general, the cohesion of the teams etc…
When people still know each from before covid and lockdowns, you have a certain dynamics. That dynamic is different when people have never seen each other, had a chat around the coffee machine and talked about their weekends.
When you have some people in the office and others not, how are you going to ensure everyone gets a fair promotion if one group is more likely to hear about vacant posts in the organisation than the other, when they have the opportunity to network in a way that others don’t etc…

That’s just a couple of the issues associated with wfh. Wfh is not just working from home as if you were in the office.

And that’s so talking about the fact some people don’t want to be wfh for many reasons, Incl MH (who wants to be working from home when theyve just graduated, are in a town they don’t know with no friends around?? Work is a BIG source of social interactions!)

Hrpuffandstuff I understand what you are saying and I do not think I am missing the point. Everybody's post has enlightened. I realise that WFH needs to accommodate what the individual wishes to do during the work day, to accommodate their work life balance to make the work that needs to be done actionable. What I don't want is employees to feel that they have to be available every hour of the day, because they had a personal appointment. That took hours out of the work day. I don't want work to be a constant when home life should be home life. It has a knock on effect if not carefully managed into home life and personal relationships. It is about an individual switching off. Your working life for you sounds really positive missfliss. What concerns me is people that I engage with that ring work whilst on holiday just to.... This to me is a no no, as work and the world still keep turning if they are in work or not. You have helped me immensely. Thank you. As an aside Hrpuffandstuff the perkbox for all its incredulous information may just define a moment of clarity for some one that is lost. In the age of mental health we need to be kind. Not all Employers are conscientious. I do not want to work for a company that hasn't considered and allows the individuals anxieties or concerns to be aired . For the many people that structure is not required, their are roughly the same amount of people where it is. The policy needs to be fair to all.

@Endoftether2000

Belladonna12 I understand your comments but what people have to realise is that you are making a sweeping generalisation based on your self and your experience. You may be productive WFH. Some people are not. In the comment being treated like an adult, Employers are treating people like adults. Do you think that 100% of people that are working from home are working from home and being productive as expected. If you do then you are looking through rose tinted glasses. You are also being ageist 😂🤣😅. Age and work experience (not in your case but it maybe how you perceived it) can often offer insight into practices, that have been tested previously and failed which enables people to learn where root causes of failure can be ironed out, to try a refined process again. Out of interest in the change of manager did any process to the achievement of work change with the exception of working from home? Or do you still process it the same way as that is the way it has always been done. If people were all 100% moral and conscientious then our society would have a lot less crime.

You are also making sweeping generalisations too though and it doesn't sound like it is based on theory rather than experience. No, I don't think everybody who has worked at home during lockdown has been 100-percent productive. However not everyone who goes into the office is 100% productive either and they will generally be the same people. One of my colleagues has chosen to go back in and based on previous experience during this lockdown I know she will do less work now because she would be spending quite a lot of time chatting to people. I don't agree age and experience will offer any extra insight into home working as the technology wasn't there to work at home effectively how many jobs in the past.

If there is no place of work detailed in your contract, and contracts normally state 'any other reasonable location' to ensure employers have this flexibility of request and you did not ask the question and have it specified at the time of accepting the job then then onus is on you I am afraid.

That being said, it is not unfair, nor unreasonable, to hand in your notice under the correct proceedure and seek another position that suits your needs more aptly if you wish, people do it all the time.

Belladonna12 agreed some people in the office do less work to do with chat and the social side. I am guessing you are in the younger age bracket. I agree technology has taken out a lot of requirements for age and experience. I am guessing that your role requires no hands on interaction or any requirement to change what is in place. Which I am guessing is a good place to be.

@Endoftether2000

Belladonna12 agreed some people in the office do less work to do with chat and the social side. I am guessing you are in the younger age bracket. I agree technology has taken out a lot of requirements for age and experience. I am guessing that your role requires no hands on interaction or any requirement to change what is in place. Which I am guessing is a good place to be.

No, I'm in my 50s and have worked at home for nearly 10 years. It is much much easier now to WFH than in was even 10 years ago.

Wow that is impressive. Unfortunately my industry is one of those black arts. The technology is there but cannot compensate experience on tweaking machines to ensure the end product is compliant. Sometimes if we stick to purely technology running jobs,we end up with costly failings. Good luck to you. Do you not find new recruits to the business aren't encouraged to tap into your experience? I would be.

@Endoftether2000

Hrpuffandstuff I am so laughing are you naive enough to think that does not go on in workplaces. The people who are caught though are generally married but not to each other 😂😅🤣😅then it becomes a right HR nightmare.

This is so true ^^

A timely read:

www.linkedin.com/news/story/proximity-bias-may-hurt-your-career-5229740/

Proximity bias — the idea that employees with close proximity to their leaders are seen as better workers — will penalize women, people of color and working parents the most, as these groups are spending less time in the office than their peers.

Interesting
I have concerns that long term WFH could be bad for women

I have concerns that long term WFH could be bad for women

I think that's fairly obvious in fairness

I think reading the articles on that link, WFH could be a disadvantage to anyone regardless of gender 😳

I think that there’s a good chance those who get promoted will be those doing a hybrid or going into an office regularly if I’m honest. It depends if this bothers some— I think it might with men in particular if they keep getting overlooked.

@Iamsodonewith2020

All those who have been WFH for the past 2 years you should realise how lucky you are to have had that option. A large number of the workforce (myself included) in this country have continued to go in to work since March 2020 with little more than hand sanitizer and a mask. I personally think unless you are ECV all should be back in the workplace

Why should people go back to the office? It's an outdated view.

And it's possibly a bit greener to be at home in the most part. Less cars on the road, less need to buy new clothes for the office etc. Sure you may be using more in heating/electric, but overall I know I am saving money/energy

All those who have been WFH for the past 2 years you should realise how lucky you are to have had that option. A large number of the workforce (myself included) in this country have continued to go in to work since March 2020 with little more than hand sanitizer and a mask. I personally think unless you are ECV all should be back in the workplace

I don’t feel lucky at all, I’ve fucking hated it and it’s been completely terrible for my physical and mental health. I couldn’t even leave for a different job because everything I’m qualified in has been working remotely too. The people who’ve been able to retain a bit of normality through leaving the house to go to work are the lucky ones imo. The organisation I work for is dragging its heels and despite the wfh advice being lifted, we’re going to “begin phasing to” “hybrid working” “no sooner than” 28 fucking February.

I agree with you @RobinPenguins. I would go back 5 days a week if I could just to have my home back. I have been able to go in a couple of times a week as they kept the office open for those of us who needed to go in but I'm limited as people are refusing to go in on Monday and Friday. I'm presuming when we start going back officially a rota will be drawn up and we'll be told what days we're doing

Telegraph reporting that the WFH tax reliefs are being clamped down on, perhaps that will discourage some people from WFH.

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/01/27/work-home-tax-loophole-closed-cost-treasury-500million/?utm_content=telegraph&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR3coUYaDP9QJqidX5jMOCz_NbW9Fwtu1GKIbA86jyEW2mYGa7N-bGZnI9M#Echobox=1643352873

Whatever works for you OP but I don't think they were necessarily BU unless they had told you it was permanently WFH - albeit it seems a little strange that neither of you at least discussed this during the recruitment process. That being said, they perhaps should have given more notice. My firm has been very open with staff the whole way through all of this, consulted and brought in their new agile working policy of 50% of time minimum in the office once Covid rules relaxed, and have have given lots of advance warning about when this would start applying again, so there's a lot to be said for companies giving people plenty of notice but it's fairly normal that companies want people back in the office at least part of the time now.

Telegraph reporting that the WFH tax reliefs are being clamped down on, perhaps that will discourage some people from WFH.

Not quite sure how that tallies with environmental pledges ? We'll have to wait and see until the environmental impact report is release.

What's that you say ? The government doesn't release figures on the environmental impact of it's policies ? Why, it's almost like it's a complete load of bollocks.

Is WFH definitely better for the environment? Everyone heating their own individual houses every day rather than meeting at a communal workspace?

I don't know the answer, just a question really.