To think WFH has gone too far now?

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I am very lucky to have a fully flexible role in a very understanding organisation. My colleagues come from a range of backgrounds and have various reasons for appreciating the level of flexibility we have - not all are parents.

We are now almost entirely home based, which in principle is fine but in practise becoming frustrating. Our work is desk based and requires quite a lot of collaboration.

My issue is that people are becoming so much harder to talk to in the day because it’s as if work fits in around their home life when it suits. Almost everything has to be booked in as a meeting, rarely is anyone available for a spontaneous call / chat on teams as you would have done in the office. We are supposed to be available core hours 10-4 for a 35 hr week, and either side of that as you see best.

Recent examples when I’ve sent a message to ask if people have five mins for a chat - sorry I’m making bread / feeding the horses / talking to the plumber etc etc. I’ve also noticed people are booking in more and more non-work appts in the working day yet still expect to clock off by 4.30. They are things which could easily be done before / after work day. We have a colleague (who does some important work for me) coming back from mat leave in summer who is planning to have her baby at home with her on at least a couple of her work days because flexibility.

AIBU to think that people are becoming less and less available and that it’s affecting our work and working relationships? I’m quite a collaborative person and I like exchanging ideas with colleagues (but I don’t overdepend on them before anyone starts!).

Starting to wonder if this is the right place for me but before I decide what to do I wanted to see what other peoples experiences are. This is not a large corporate company, it’s a small design firm where we work to super tight deadlines but we do lots of client facing work too eg pitches.

It is very difficult for mums with babies. Work will not support young mums in allowing a flexible work approach. There is no choice is there!

There's plenty of choice. Childcare, and work full time. Stay home, and don't work. Work part time. Work flexibly....there are endless jobs that are flexible. Choose not to have children at all.

None of that changes the point, that you cannot work from home while caring for a baby. You know that, so what are you waffling about?

Unless someone moves my flat to the other side of the building, how do I know who is at my intercom without answering it?

I'm glad I don't work with you! lol!

Since you think that women can mind babies and work (ie not actually work) from home, right back at you. Though I doubt you actually work at all.....

Exactly you have no idea why anyone is knocking! It could be someone saying they have backed into my car and damaged it. Or someone saying I have left my car lights on.
Its not as if people are knocking my door all the time, it is rare. But I am not ignoring it. If work want me to ignore it, then they have to provide a receptionist at my home.

Such a lovely person, thank you. I have three kids, one at college and my work experience over the last 20 years is more than you could understand. So I won't bother to discuss anything because there is no point with someone so stuck in a rut.

@antelopevalley If work want me to ignore it, then they have to provide a receptionist at my home

What an odd comment - if you were working at the office there would be no one there to answer it either. Anyway - I think this is what ring doorbells are for!

It’s really not archaic to think that you can’t work from home with a 15 month old. All my friends with young children agree that it’s not possible.

Yes it’s cheaper but that’s a totally different question.

Also notice how it’s all about “working mums” WFH with their babies/toddlers in the background. No mention of the dads having to try and dial into teams calls with a child crawling over their feet. Hardly progress.

I have two kids and can't believe there are people on here arguing you can & should be able to wfh with a young child at home (and no childcare). You cannot do a proper job while minding a young child. Ive had to do it in emergencies a couple of times and it was a nightmare, got less than half the work done.

If you are working you need childcare for any child under probably at least 8. A junior age child can be ok being around in the house for school wraparound imho but thats if they are well behaved, mature & independent and understand you are working and can't be disturbed, and it can be more than an hour or so either end of the day.

I am in general on the side of: you're still working, don't take the piss.

But this idea that it's wrong to answer your door is ridiculous.

I don't always know if it's a package because not all parcels have tracking, sometimes my DH has ordered it, sometimes someone has sent me a suprise. I can't see who it is from my window and unless work lets me expense it, I am not buying a ring doorbell so that my colleagues don't have to sometimes wait 30 seconds for me to answer the door.

It's not in any way comparable to working while looking after a baby or wandering off to feed the horses etc

I absolutely love it when there’s a cat in the team meeting! A terrific WFH bonus is all the cats

I sort of used pets as a catch-all when really I mean dogs :) I don't mind cats.

I do wonder if the majority of people who love WFH have big enough homes that they can have a separate office and can shut the door on work. I live in a one bedroom flat and the living room is now really my office and I'm sick of it to be honest. While I agree it's great for a lot of people, I don't think companies have put any thought into how it affects all their staff

I do have a separate office (in the garden). But don't you have some sort of co-working hubs near you? If I had a one bed flat I'd use one (or go to the library if I didn't need to make loads of calls). If that's not possible due to confidentiality then employers need to make office space available, they can't demand their employees use their own spaces if they are not suitable.

As for answering the door, if I work in the house, I can see if it's a delivery and could also see if there was some sort of emergency situation in the street. If I do work in the house, I can be seen, but I can draw the curtain if I can see it's a cold caller.

None of that changes the point, that you cannot work from home while caring for a baby I agree, unless it is a VERY flexible job!

Nonsense. There are plenty of employers out there that do support flexible working for mums of young kids. I have worked in 3 workplaces since I had my kids and all were very supportive and accommodating.

However you are still there to work despite flexibility and it is not possible to do many jobs properly whilst caring for a young child. My job is client facing and has to be done within normal business hours, there’s no way (a) I could focus on the job and my kids at the same time (b) I could speak to clients with kids running around in the background, crying, needing a poo etc. it is wholly reasonable for an employer to require that an employee is not solely responsible for caring for children when wfh. Barring emergencies or special circumstances such as the pandemic.

You can't work at home with a toddler or baby. You can 80% work with an older child but pandemic parents rejoiced when they returned to school

You can open your door! And I also like all the cats.

Yes, there are "plenty" of employers who will be flexible with working mums and young kids. I worked fulltime before kids and then Employer decided to get difficult because I had a baby and wanted to return part time to work.
I changed employers and job shared working for a large cororate company. My manager having children herself, completely understood. Kids at school and I eventually worked fulltime and promoted to senior position..
However, a life balance, looking after an elderly parent, it was back to part-time. The employer I worked for who is a large corporate company was completely understandable of life situation. No micro-management or unreasonable condenscending attitude that I received in my previous job.
The huge problem is that Childcare is so expensive compared to salary. Luckily, some organisations are savvy to this and provide discounted childcare for their workers.
What is so loathsome is the attitude from managers who are stuck in a rut and refuse to understand how new parents try to juggle work and life when their circumstances change. Yes, a young mum applying cannot change the rules of that company, that young mum needs to look for more suitable jobs. The UK are behind times.

Hopefully, that mum with a 15 month baby will find a nice place to work for that allows a life balance. We are not at school, being micromanaged, clique groups, is the worst nightmare for any office worker.

I work in a very nice place. I have a good work/life balance. It absolutely cannot be done while looking after a young child, never mind a baby.
I am not micromanaged, there are no cliques. I am a professional. I enjoy great flexibility (and actually "the best of both worlds" can make for a very long day) and work with a group of people who respect each other.

@Simonjt you'll know whether you could be causing an obstruction without answering it

Your colleagues are probably taking the piss somewhat but that's a line-management issue. That said I think WFH as a policy is one of the best workplace policies ever conceived. I truly think it's fantastic; I'd actually forgo AL and more money if my job was permanently WFH. Even the downsides of it are upsides (for me).

I do have a separate office (in the garden). But don't you have some sort of co-working hubs near you? If I had a one bed flat I'd use one (or go to the library if I didn't need to make loads of calls). If that's not possible due to confidentiality then employers need to make office space available, they can't demand their employees use their own spaces if they are not suitable.

I don't know and even if there are I'm not paying to work somewhere! We have a perfectly good office that I could use free of charge but I can only go in when there's someone else there.

I am not paying to work in a co working hub!!

What you describe OP is not the norm for most people who WFH, in fact it is things like this that gives WFH such a bad reputation. My workplace has a flexible grown up approach, we are expected to be working and available in the same manner as we would be in the workplace. However there is understanding if someone has an appointment or emergency childcare issues within reason. It would not be acceptable to WFH permanently with a young child as the reality is that they could not work to the same standard. It will cause resentment in the team if others have to pick up the slack.

Reading with intrigue

I work from home 4 days a week, office once a week. I have to physically be at my computer 9-5, so even though I work from home I still couldn’t go and do other things… I couldn’t work if I didn’t have this job because of childcare x

How will I know if the random stranger who is ringing my intercom has a question about my car unless I answer the intercom?