To object to my manager arriving at my house

[HerveLeger]

My line manager turned up at my house at 14:00 today. Rang the doorbell - I didn’t answer because I wasn’t expecting a delivery. I live in the middle of nowhere, I don’t get random callers. I don’t lock my back door. Next thing I know, my manager is in my house. “Just checking”. Apparently I sounded a bit weird in the team meeting this morning. Which is odd, as I didn’t actually speak in the team meeting. Am I BUR to find this completely inappropriate? She is a lovely person and I have had some mental health issues in the past. For which she has been very supportive. But this was one day - half a day, when I wasn’t present at work. She let herself in.. next thing I knew, she was in my sitting room. It was a bit scary :(

Hi team, just to let you know I am logging off for the rest of the day.

That took me seconds to type, totally bizarre behaviour to not keep colleagues informed.

I have no doubt, you will come back with but, but, but, as you are so over invested in this thread, but truly updating colleagues is courteous and stops this type of scenario occurring.

All this fuss for just not spending 10 seconds of your time?

OP I would suggest in future, you just let your team know? Then you can sleep peacefully and not worry about intruders, trespassers etc.

@HELLITHURT You seem rather over-invested too.

If the OP doesn’t work scheduled hours, works flexitime and is owed a week’a worth of hours back then I don’t think she’s in the type of job that she needs to inform collleagues of her every move. ( -and if they don’t hear from her for a few hours that warrants her manager turning up and letting her in to her house)

’Hi collegues, it’s 7am, just to let you know I’m logged in and working now’.
‘Hi colleagues, it’s 7pm just logged on now and catching up on some work’
Doesn’t work like that in many jobs. People are actually, shock horror, given the responsibility to work their own hours and trusted to get the work done. It’s not factory where you clock in and out and your every minute is monitored.

This is normal for people in senior positions. Just because you don’t have that type of job doesn’t mean others don’t.

And again. If the manager was worried it takes 10 seconds to pick up the phone...or send a text.

’Are you ok? I’m poppinbt over now to check on you, see you in 20 minutes’ for example.

Popping

Clearly OP doesn't have that type of job, hence the visit! So, to avoid additional visits and wasting the managers time, it might be worth just doing that? So as not to invite more drama?

"People are actually, shock horror, given the responsibility to work their own hours and trusted to get the work done. It’s not factory where you clock in and out and your every minute is monitored.
This is normal for people in senior positions."

I've always found the opposite. It's the senior people who have to tell their staff all the time, even more than people lower down, because the senior people have other people helping with their calendars and people wanting decisions from them all the time. They can't usually just disappear to play golf without telling someone how they're contactable.

Well I really can’t win here. Not that winning was ever my issue. I was accused upthread of “being another OP who didn’t come back”. To being “overly invested” in the thread. Well, it was my thread, so I feel it’s OK to be invested in it. I don’t think “overly “ is actually accurate. But you know, you do you.

I work flexibility and I work more hours than what I'm paid for, I just take the hours back when I can.

However I don't just log off without telling anyone.

The OP has said if she needs to take some hours off she can.

She works flexitime.

So she takes a few hours off. If that was such a problem then surely a phone call would suffice. Not a manger letting herself in to her house.

Don’t worry @HerveLeger it was me that was over invested apparently!

Only because I think it is insane that a manger rocks up at your house with no warning and let’s herself in.

Just checked and 81% agree YANBU.

Those that think you are are really focusing on the wrong things. Such as why you didn’t tell them you were taking a few hours off.

We don’t know anything about OP’s job and her working pattern and whether it’s normal to have to account for every hour and tell people when you are logged on or off

I wasn't referring to you, I tagged @Delatron,who has posted way more than you!

Of course you wouldn't, takes seconds and avoids unnecessary drama.

I think people think that there must be more to it because it's a completely and unreasonable and unusual thing to do if there's not.

If, assuming what you say is all there is to it, then of course she is being unreasonable. However I still think it was probably done out of (misplaced) concern, unless she has a history of being intrusive etc. So I would probably just let it go in terms of complaints, but maybe tell her you didn't think that was ok, and work out an appropriate way to ensure you are ok if she is concerned.

You appear to know a lot about her job and working pattern and the fact lots of people can just down tools and used banked hours without so much as an email.

No @HELLITHURT that’s the point. We don’t know what kind of job she has so we can’t make any assumptions. We don’t know that she needs to tell colleagues every time she logs on and logs off. I’ve certainly had jobs (and know many others who do) where I don’t need to account for whereabouts every minute of every day. I could quite easily do a school run, pop out for coffee for a few hours. Then get the work done later. Flexible jobs like this do exist.

You are saying she has to tell colleagues when she’s not working. There are many jobs where that is not the case.

@Delatron you seem to lack comprehension skills, to say again if OP want's to avoid drama and worry and unwanted visits from her manager (thereby interrupting her managers day),she should have the sense to just say

"signing off for the rest of the day".

I disagree many jobs would allow carte blanch of just coming and going as staff pleased.

Anyway, I will leave you to argue with the next person that dares to disagree with you, at least it's only 19% of the people, otherwise you would be needing a whole day off to MN.

Ok @HELLITHURT you know more about the OP’s job and working schedule.

We’ll have to agree to disagree. I know many people (in various industries) who can pop out for a few hours without needed to tell anyone. I guess we mix with different types of people.

Like I said we don’t know what is usual for the OP.

But I would assume she would need to disappear for quite a while before a manager turns up at her house! Not just an hour or two. You haven’t explained why you think it was ok that the manger didn’t call or check first?

’Hi OP, not heard from you in a few hours. All ok? Can we have a catch up meeting this afternoon?’

Not that hard. Takes 10 seconds. Default would not be - rush straight over and let yourself in to the house!

If that's a concern you get police to do a welfare check, sad to say I've been in the situation of having to make that decision

Did they try and phone you at all? Why didn't you just answer the door? Being 100% honest if my exs work had called an emergency contact or gone round to his house wheb he didn't turn up for a meeting he might be alive today or at least would have had medical intervention to try save his life.
I think work places need to be doing more to care for staff especially those who have mental health difficulties.
I know it felt like an intrusion but it's possible there's a reason she wasn't taking any chances.

How did she get in?

The OP clearly stated that one of the doors was unlocked.

I think your manager has massively overstepped a boundary. I work in mental health. If our clients don't turn up for sessions we don't just walk in to their houses! We'd ask for a welfare check from the police...
If they were that concerned they should've contacted you by phone. Why just turn up. Also we were allowed to have off days. Doesn't meant we're in a mental health crisis.

Regardless of whether her intentions were well meant, this is a clear invasion of your privacy, and also breaches GDPR laws - your address is personal information and cannot be used for reasons other than that which it was provided for (I’m assuming you didn’t give it to your work saying they can come and let themselves in whenever they feel like it). If your manager didn’t know where you live she has clearly broken the law in obtaining your address for this visit, even if she did through other methods, entering your property without your consent is even more so illegal.
Her actions would be grounds for a grievance at work, but if you feel that you don’t want her to get into trouble, a conversation with her to express your thoughts would be the first step.
I hope you are feeling ok and it hasn’t stressed you out, and also I really hope this isn’t an occasion where a boss has tried to ‘catch and employee out’ while working from home!

I would hate it if someone randomly just walked into my house. To avoid that happening… I lock my doors! I think the manager (with good intentions and out of genuine concern for OPs welfare) overstepped the mark by walking into the house, but let’s face it… she wouldn’t have been able to if the door was locked?! The options then would have been to break in or call the police and I would assume they would have then called the police to perform a welfare check. If nothing else, OP, I hope from now on it you’ll secure your house properly. It could have been so much worse than just your concerned boss walking in to check on you.

Like I said, I would hate it if this happened to me. But how many of us would have been asking questions if someone had had concerns and not done anything? This post is probably exactly why so few of us do 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don’t answer my door either unless I am expecting someone or expecting a delivery. I’m not sure why people think this is odd. It’s my house, I can choose whether or not I wish to answer the door 🤷🏻‍♀️