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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

172 replies

Hop27 · 21/02/2022 06:19

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?

OP posts:
cherish123 · 22/02/2022 18:33

YANBU
Just say that you cannot make that time as you have other commitments.

Mandyjack · 22/02/2022 18:35

If your contracted hours are 8.30 to 5 then you are not being unreasonable. State you'd prefer it to stay as it is. Could you also wfh some of your time to give you more flexibility?

TonksInPurple · 22/02/2022 18:37

@Totalwasteofpaper

Yanbu just say you now have commitments and can't do Friday.

Also assume, as others have, that this isn't some 50k pa job and it pays bank although i personally love sleep so would need a min. 500k base salary to get up at 5am on weekly basis

If I was feeling especially saintly I might offer 8am midweek but that would be IT.

Isn’t some 50k PA job do you have any idea how stuck up you sound looking down on a 50k job when a huge percentage of the country earn half that!
caranations · 22/02/2022 18:40

If they are paying me to work, I work.

If they're not - fuck 'em.

(Sorry op, that's not much help to you, is it?!)

TheOrigRights · 22/02/2022 18:41

YANBU.

I have work calls/meetings at daft times to accommodate all staff.
We all work remotely and apart from these meetings we have great flexibility. We are also paid well.

Thus attending a 5.30am meeting once a month is an expectation.

It does not sound like this is your set up, hence the YANBU.

If you are senior enough then please speak up and don't let this continue.

MunchyMonsters · 22/02/2022 18:54

Hope you are paid well for this bullshit.

YDBear · 22/02/2022 18:56

I don’t even understand the concept of work meetings that aren’t in work time. Is this nonsense usual these days? Have I just been lucky in never facing this?

YorkshireLass2012 · 22/02/2022 18:59

Urgh, this happens all the time in banking too. We used to have breakfast meetings. When those were accepted, lunch meetings started to creep in then diaries became so saturated, dinner meetings became the norm. So many meetings and not enough time to actually execute the work apart from into the early hours and / or at the weekends. I started to block time in my diary one hour a week to actually have lunch rather than hoovering a sandwich in between meetings in the lifts. Life is too short for that sort of caper. So I say OP YADNBU! Draw the line now or regret it later when breakfast meetings become the norm.

Feeascotime · 22/02/2022 19:03

No ways I would put that extra hour weekly at such an early time. You obviously don't have the school run! You joined expecting your hours to be 8:30. Would they be OK if you shifted your finishing hours to an hour earlier? Pity you set a president.

FlowerArranger · 22/02/2022 19:05

Not read the whole thread, but if the 30 minute meetings worked satisfactorily, I'd focus on that rather than your gym commitments. Though either way, 7.30 am is ridiculous.

Cheesecakeandwineinasuitcase · 22/02/2022 19:19

@Totalwasteofpaper

Yanbu just say you now have commitments and can't do Friday.

Also assume, as others have, that this isn't some 50k pa job and it pays bank although i personally love sleep so would need a min. 500k base salary to get up at 5am on weekly basis

If I was feeling especially saintly I might offer 8am midweek but that would be IT.

“Some £50k pa job”. You do realise this is almost double the average UK salary don’t you? I would love “some £50k job”. I wouldn’t have to worry about paying my bills for a start…
Shamoo · 22/02/2022 19:24

Fuck that. It would be a hard no from me. And I’m a lawyer who has done many an all-nighter, but no chance I’m agreeing that on a regular basis!

rifling · 22/02/2022 19:33

I think expecting you to work every now and again outside your stated hours is acceptable. Scheduling a regular meeting outside your regular house is not.

rifling · 22/02/2022 19:33

regular hours not house!

LaChanticleer · 22/02/2022 19:53

I am flexible when the business needs me and in exchange I expect my personal life to be respected when it’s not urgent.

This is a really helpful way to consider it @WorryMcGee. Thanks for writing it - a cut out and keep post!

lioncitygirl · 22/02/2022 19:59

I want to say YANBU but most of my meetings start at 630am 😱😭

SolasAnla · 22/02/2022 20:18

1 free hour on on a 37.5h week
the company getting free inputs
Employee takes a paycut of 2.7% of annual salary.

48 weeks
6and a half work days days

You work is personal billing hrs @20k you bill out at 10.26£/hr so
every 20k of agreed salary you loose +£533

tillyandmilly · 22/02/2022 20:22

You get up at 5.00 am? Meetings at 7.30am - Blimey what time do you go to bed? I could not sustain your working day for long term - it would burn me out!

katepilar · 22/02/2022 20:35

Of course you can bring this up. There might be other people who dont like it.

Momijin · 22/02/2022 20:51

They shouldn't be scheduling regular meetings outside of your work hours - wtf? Yanbu. I'd say no.

Yourcatisnotsorry · 22/02/2022 20:52

Yanbu. Not a chance I’d accept that. I decline everything before 9am unless it’s with the Asian/Australian teams or clients to protect time with my kids (6 figure salary so a fairly ‘important’ job).

Whydoesthecatalwaysdothat · 22/02/2022 21:19

@Fluffy40

Nurses have a meeting day at 7am, just saying,
...and they are generally contracted to work 12 hour shifts over 3 days.

Op is contracted to work from 08.30 over 5 days.

You are not comparing like for like.

Florabelle · 22/02/2022 21:24

Most organisations, including Consultancies , have thankfully moved away from this archaic set of expectations! Core hours for set meetings are meeting like 10-4 to accommodate working parents, carers or those with a life outside work. Move jobs. You’d probably get a massive pay increase and MUCH beater culture elsewhere x

OMG12 · 22/02/2022 21:52

No matter what you’re paid working outside contracted hours should be the exception not the rule. If it’s worked for a while at 8:30 then it can continue to work.

Just say sorry can’t make that I have other commitments at that time.

Fwiw, I work in an environment where some people think that’s acceptable and generally people are well paid. Most of the working day is spent doing shit and then they complain at working at 10pm. I’m not impressed and it signifies that they are ineffective at managing their workload, usually work is their life.

Livelovebehappy · 22/02/2022 22:02

Would guess you need to go with the majority? What if the other colleagues are happy for the meetings to be held at this time? Find out the general feeling around it - it’s always easier approaching these things in numbers if you want the management to back down.