To not want to an out of hours work meeting at 7:30am?

[Hop27]

I work in a small leadership team, and generally speaking we offer flexibility around meeting times so that is suits all of the team. We used to hold a meeting at 7:30am for 1 hour on a Friday, so that it didn’t interrupt our billable client time. But one of our team moved onto a 4 day week, so we moved the meeting to mid-week at 8:30am to suit them, but we did condense the meeting into 30 minutes. The person who worked a 4 day week has now left and our manager wants the meeting back on a Friday at 7:30am. AIBU to request for the meeting not to be moved? I have a fitness related commitment which I would not be able to do, if I had to be in the office at 7:30am? I could rearrange my routine, but honestly I don’t want to. I like getting up at 5, to go to this class and not having to take a gym bag to work (and lug it round with me if I go out for Friday drinks). My contracted hours are 8:30-5pm, but we are always expected to do more outside of those. AIBU to request the meeting isn’t moved or should I just accept the change to avoid a potential conflict?

@Totalwasteofpaper ''Also assume, as others have, that this isn't some 50k pa job''

Most people don't make and will never make that amount of money...

The average salary in the UK for 2021 was £25,971 and the average full-time salary £31,285...

Anyway back to the OP, I would say that you now have a long term commitment on Friday morning at that time and ask for the meeting to be kept as it was midweek.

Just say it no longer suits you on a Friday as you have a personal commitment before work. If you don't say anything then they won't know you're not happy about it.

There was another thread like this and I said on that that there are obviously jobs that require you to work over and above normal working hours but that should not include routine meetings, which should be scheduled for normal office hours.

Block out the time in your calendar and say it is not convenient for you.

Downside of WFH I guess, they wouldn't try to do this if you had to come into an office.

If the meeting worked why are they changing it back?
At the very least keep it half an hour!

Where I work, UK staff would be expected to suck up the occasional 7.30am meeting

occasional, not every week

The issue seems to be the meeting clashing with your gym class/affecting your post work drinking arrangements. Therefore I think YABU. Why should everyone else be affected by your social plans?

Why is it unreasonable to accommodate your needs? Just ask...

OP I spent years of gentle persuasion to get my colleagues off their obsession with 8am meetings. Pre children it drove me insane for the same reason as you, that was my gym time. Post children it’s just too disruptive to my morning to do every week. I will of course make sure I can make early client meetings when I need to, but internal meetings can do one.

I came to the conclusion only unfit people with either no children or wives who didn’t work were happy with meetings pre 9am (I work in an area dominated by middle aged men).

Well, you used to hold the meeting at 7:30am, so it's not like it's a brand-new thing. I don't think you can complain/object on those grounds.
But if your hours are an 8.30 start then you (and I assume your colleagues) should be starting then, not before.

YANBU. A one-off would be fine but a regular Friday meeting at 7.30am is insane. I'd only put up with this if I was fairly senior and earned outrageously well, could dial in from home or if the flexibility worked both ways (i.e. if early time is to suit colleagues in Asia etc then fine but you could get the time back by say finishing work early another day). I'd definitely say u have other commitments on a Friday. Also if the meeting for 30 mins worked fine then extending to 1 hour is inefficient and completely unnecessary.

This is the kind of trick my work pulls, using the “sometimes you’ll be asked to work outside these hours and locations to suit the business blah blah we can treat you terribly” get-out clause in the contract.

I always say “No, I’m not available: what about [time within my contracted hours]” without ever offering an explanation why – if you give a reason they’ll have a comeback. Just say no, and eventually it will miraculously transpire that they can give up 30 mins billable client time just fine. They just don’t want to.

Say no and do not say sorry or explain why you cannot make it just say no that does not work for you and you are not available. No more details required.

Totally irrelevant now that you used to do it - so what? Things change.

You have a responsible job as part of a management team. So you should be able to use your management skills to come up with alternatives? I would definitely be bigging up that 30 minutes at 8:30 (or 8:00 since you can make it by then?) as being more efficient use of time.

But also this. You have presumably worked up to this position. Is this a make or break thing for you and the job? Can you easily find something else that would keep a roof over your head and pay for your social life? Can you change your role within the company?

Or would it be better to suggest alternatives, accept it if you don't get your way and find other ways to make the job work for you? (eg. Why not do your early gym routine on another day? you seem to indicate that you go from gym to work regularly, so if they don't want to change the meeting time, why not switch gym day?)
One thing that the last few years have taught us all (employers as well as employees) is that there are compromises to be made.

I'm a high earning manager in the kind of profession where people are 'expected' to work more hours than contractually stated. I don't and I will NEVER expect my employees to be available outside of their working hours. If they want to start early or finish late, all the more power to them, they might earn more. If they don't, it doesn't affect their career at all.

This whole working yourself to death thing is getting old. You are not being unreasonable in the slightest, OP. This would be my hill to die on.

Also working outside your contracted hours when it's your own decision to catch up on emails/admin/other work etc or to meet a big deadline is completely different from a weekly early meeting.

@MaryBoBary

The issue seems to be the meeting clashing with your gym class/affecting your post work drinking arrangements. Therefore I think YABU. Why should everyone else be affected by your social plans?

Why should OP’s life outside working hours be affected by work trying to make her work outside working hours? They get their pound of flesh from 8.30am, not 7.30am. Work culture in this country is insane.

@OfstedOffred

Are you paid a fuck ton?

The only people I know subjected to this sort of crap are lawyers etc who earn a huge amount. The more your employer pays you the more they are going to demand their pound of flesh.

I am a lawyer and wouldn’t do a 7.30M regular meeting!

If I were you, I’d say that you don’t want to change back to 7.30am, say you have a recurring appointment at that time

I'm a CFO and would never schedule a meeting at 730, unless disasters like insolvencies or something

Also how come meeting used to take 30 mins but is now going back to an hour ?

Can you just not go?

My team have a meeting 4-5, I finish at 4. I told them when they booked it I wasn't going and I don't. I offered 8-9 but that wasn't popular as the manager doesn't start work until 9...

Most people don't make and will never make that amount of money...

The average salary in the UK for 2021 was £25,971 and the average full-time salary £31,285...

That still doesn’t mean that at 50k pa, people are expected to be available around the clock.

OP, is this the same boss who agreed to pay for your cleaner? If so, why would you be worried about asking for something like this? They sound reasonable.

Nurses have a meeting day at 7am, just saying,