to be frustrated with work colleagues who wont support change

[Ceci03]

So its frustrating in our workplace as decisions are made, specifically about our hours, days, how many days we are allowed to work from home, etc etc, from "high above". If you are not happy, it's just tough. Even the manager 4 steps above me has no say in decision making of this kind. It comes right from the top of the organisation in an arbitrary way with no input or feedback.
So I have been garnering support to raise this with the 'decision makers'. Everyone is upset, and annoyed, but most just say 'thats the way things are you cant change them'. I had about 15 people who wanted to try and see if we could get heard, but most have dropped out now. they say they cant be bothered as there is no point in trying to change anything as 'thats the way things are'. It's frustrating.

Sorry what I meant to ask was, anyone who is active in a union, or an activist, how do you cope with people who complain and feel strongly, and say they want change, but are then apathetic when you try and do something about it, thanks.

Join a union or get a worker's council set up or find new jobs?

Have a read up on ADKAR and nudge theory, how to influence change. Not sure if that will help, but you have to start somewhere!

It's not your colleagues who won't support change though, it's your managers.

Maybe they want people to work set hours so it's easier to manage. You may work hard doing flexi but some people will take the mickey. Essentially the managers are in charge so they get to call the shots.

Maybe they've tried to change things in the past, failed, and don't have the energy for this particular fight?

I have found this all my working life (I'm old) unless you are prepared to put your head above the parapet alone and be labelled a troublemaker. Everyone moans very few are prepared to do anything about it. Sorry that wasn't very helpful but you have my sympathy

I think it must be coming from the very top because the managers are all “nice” there doesn’t seem to be any bullying that I have witnessed. The managers just say “ sorry that’s not my decision “ I’m thinking of asking the managers if they would support a request for a conversation with the decision makers. If we can even get that far. It seems like the managers just keep saying it’s not their decision or within their “power” and so everything settles down and now nobody wants to take it any further. It’s just that if the management at the top
never hear anything do they think everything is hunky Dory iukwim

Effecting organisational change is really, really hard going.

Have you considered setting up a People Forum or whatever you want to call it, to formalise feedback from the bottom up? You could pitch it to the Board or whoever - there's loads of theory to back up the fact that two-way communication and feeling listened to/heard are huge morale boosters and will improve both performance and retention. It's a win-win for everyone.

What changes do you specifically want to make? It sounds like you want to work when it suits you & from where you choose.

I don't think bosses are unreasonable to want you to work at specific times & from the office.

Presumably when you took the job that was the arrangement. We're coming out of lockdowns now & need to try to get back to normal.

I feel like you want to wind me up @converseandjeans

I mean the specific issue is that the upper management are dictating how much we have to come in. It's disappointing that for 2 years they weren't interested 'as long as the work gets done', and I think were happy and relieved the work from home went so smoothly. But now out of nowhere and with zero consultation or examination, they have ordered us back. And I'll be honest I don't see the point of me sending emails from a cupboard office rather than from home. I deal with people mostly from the East, China etc, who are on different time zones, I don't see anyone when I go in - they email me from the 'big office'. I have no problem going in part-time, I think that's good for me and them, but why do I need to be there 38 hours a week.
Anyway, that's just 1 issue.

It's the same for a lot of things. None of my direct managers have any decision making power, or are involved in the decision making. In fact the very top boss said 'if people dont like it they can go elsewhere'. So that's what I'm doing, applying for jobs.
People at my level, and frankly many managers above me have no say, and I hate it. So it's not the organisation for me. I've brought it to the union and they are interested, but again, say that it's the way the place is set up, it would involve a huge change. To me, it seems simple enough - allow managers to have more autonomy over how they run their teams/offices. Some will be people-facing, so it will be different for them, some people will want to come in 9-5 every day, why not let us have some flexibility. The excuse before covid was that the technology was not in place. Well it's proven that it is now, and it works extremely well, for them, and for us.

PS all the colleagues I've spoken to have been outraged, and cross, and feeling undervalued, low morale, fed up etc etc. I've said why don't we try and at least open a conversation about how we'd like to see change, and we'd like to have some input into decisions, but they've nearly all pulled out now. I don't even know why. Some of them just say 'ah there's no point that's what this place is like', some of the say 'ah its a waste of energy', others I've heard moaning, have said they feel like they will be 'singled out' if they say anything.
The union says they need someone like me with energy to galvanise people. But maybe like @converseandjeans says, I just need to put up and shut up.

ceci03

Well I guess that's what managers do isn't it - they decide what the workforce have to do. It's quite normal for the top managers to make decisions about what everyone has to do & at times it's not popular. I've been teaching all through & our SLT have made many decisions that I don't agree with, however they get to decide as they manage me.

Why don't you want to go back into the office? There's been other threads about this and I think those of us that have been going in all through covid find it strange that people are trying to stay home even if their managers have asked them to go back in.

I've found many things slower tbh while people are wfh. You may be more productive but unfortunately not everyone is. It's hard to manage people remotely. Surely you can see that some people may be slacking.

I’m just disappointed I guess. Such a massive change during covid. Teaching in fairness is totally different I mean u can’t do it from home! I too have been going in all through covid but not every day. To be honest the days I’m at home I get more done. I start earlier and finish later as I don’t have the commute. No our productivity has actually improved nobody was slacking. The opposite! People are on all the time meeting deadlines etc. all my work is in front of a computer screen so I just can’t see the benefit of having me on site every single day. Most days I don’t even see anyone. I just get on with it. As I said my clients are all in China and Thaliand and India so a lot of it is done on teams or zoom anyway.

I think they are making a mistake not moving from old fashioned presenteeism. And not asking us what we would like or even doing any kind of consultation with our managers or asking them how it went for the last 2 years. Or looking at the data. They won’t engage in any discussion. Just do it or leave your choice

I think you just have to not rely on other people to instigate the change and be the force for change yourself. Take it to the top yourself.

Join a union and lead from the front. People will remain sceptical until they see changes happening - start small and focus on the long term.

Side note - managers may have more input than you realise but may disagree with you but don't have the guts to say it. Large organisations thrive on hiding who the key decision makers really are.

If you have the opportunity to join a union - do it. I was the only employee in my workplace who was a union member. The union won many rights which benefited everyone, a bit frustrating when I was the only person who actually paid union dues, however that's just the way it goes. I did benefit several times though when the union intervened in my behalf with issues such as pay / grading errors, etc. whereas if my colleagues ever had any issues, they had to negotiate them on their own, which can be very tricky and stressful. Unions have, at various times, had a bad press, but I wouldn't have been without them. You can sail through decades of employment with no problem then suddenly find you need the professional support that a union can provide.

So the management want you to come back into the office as before? I don’t think that’s unreasonable.

I suggest you become a union rep; effect change that way. At the moment you're just one voice.

But - you know about your own work ethic and you don't have a strategic view of the company, there may be very good reading you're not privy to re office working v wfh.

Reasons...

thanks all, yes I'm in the union. They are disappointed more of my colleagues are being so apathetic.

@Hunderland sure, show us the evidence then, as from everything I have seen and done over the past 2 years, there is no advantage to anyone of us being in 5 days rather than for example 3 days.

I have an interview for another job somewhere else and if I get it I will probably go. It's a shame as I have made some friends where I am now. Nobody will care if I leave. Management will probably breathe a sigh of relief, but I'm not indispensable, I don't many of us are, I'm just a small cog, and will be replaced with hardly a ripple.

If you can work from home then someone far away can do your job more cheaply.

Have a look at what James Dyson says on the issue.

I think we work in the same place

Another restructure. Although we're not allowed to call it a restructure. It's 'new ways of working'. It's been new ways of working for 10 years now, when does it become just ways of working? I'm at that point now where it makes me so angry but actually can't be arsed to fight against the machine so to speak. People feel powerless

Ugh I have this at the moment at work.

I absolutely detest waste and I’m the ‘environmental champion’ at work - which is a wanky way of saying I organise recycling to be picked up and make sure plenty of recycling points are in the building. I job I took on reluctantly because there was literally no recycling points anywhere at one point and I hated throwing plastic and cardboard into the general waste.

So I have no fucking idea why the office manager (I am not her manager but my role is technically superior) feels the need to print out every email she receives and put it in a folder. We also have a weekly briefing meeting about work that needs to happen in the next week and a schedule is emailed round. She prints 120 copies out - 1 for each employee - and wastes time putting the copies in everyone’s pigeon hole or office. We’ve got the fucking email!!! The stock answer is “I’ve always done it like that”. This is about 70% of the staffing body’s answer to about 80% of questions. I’d love to actually financially quantify how much continuing to ‘do it like we always have’ is costing the company. And of course because I don’t join in with the moaning Minnie attitude every time someone suggests a small change, I’m unpopular with these people.

There’s also “Why did no one tell us” attitude, which is fine except they want to know stuff that isn’t relevant to them. My assistant is increasing her hours by a day a week as the workload has gone up since we returned from furlough and her DD is now in school so she wanted to start working 24 hours a week instead of 16 to get more money in. About 10 people in the last week have moaned at me that “No one told me Amanda is now working 3 days!!!”. Because it’s fuck all to do with you Steve.

To be honest the days I’m at home I get more done. I start earlier and finish later as I don’t have the commute. No our productivity has actually improved nobody was slacking. The opposite! People are on all the time meeting deadlines etc. all my work is in front of a computer screen so I just can’t see the benefit of having me on site every single day

I think managers find it difficult to gauge output & I am sure you get more done. However I don't know that is true for everyone.

I get the impression from threads on here that people with school age children expect to be able to nip out & do afternoon school run & then carry on working with primary age children home. Also there are threads where people are outraged about being asked to attend morning meetings at 9am because it interferes with the morning school run.

So I think if people are just in the office then there's no grey area where some colleagues are disappearing for 40 mins between 2.50-3.30 & then attempting to work while kids are in background.

I also agree with previous poster - if you deal with counties abroad & want to work remotely - then a time will come when people in those countries take your job as they're likely cheaper to employ.

Being back in the office is important for younger staff too. How can they ever learn properly & make contacts & get to know people if all the older staff refuse to go back in?