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.

Yep, my husband has a physical disability, no more working an an appropriate desk (they had to hot desk), no more toilet trips where he can’t lock the door or appropriately wash his hands, no more kitchen taps that he can’t turn on and off. He has luckily always found work, but his access needs have never been met by an employer.

Exactly! It is good to hear that he is able to work now without the hassle from condenscending line managers. You hit it on the head! "fewer workplaces offered either fully remote or hybrid prior to lockdown, and obviously this was detrimental to some people who weren't able to access suitable working arrangements."
Indeed, discussions about types of offices, office bitching, gossiping, line managers forever walking up and down checking staff. Wanting to tell them off in their face. Having their favourite staff in their clique. Ugghh... on top of this, transport to work and back - petrol cost £80 before lockdown.££ Parking was so costly. ££££ Public transport was a lot more and had to buy in bulk deals for the year. Why should one pay going to work and sitting in an archaic system.

Are we all that instutionalised? This stuff about "Team Building" ! So 1980's.. what is the point? Love thy manager and his staff? Bonding?😝 No thanks! If that starts, look for another job! Birthdays, etc ... cakes everyday, putting weight on..all so unhealthy too.
Most office work requires a laptop only and many are work 'paperless'. One does not need much office space.
If one really wants to travel to the office and see their manager in person, feel free do so. Nobody is stopping you. WFH, managed properly, is the way forward.
Ideally, a balance between the two should be offered. Organisations should be flexible offering flexi-work.

Why should one pay going to work and sitting in an archaic system.

And yet people seem to think renting space in a hub is a good idea!

Most office work requires a laptop only and many are work 'paperless'. One does not need much office space.

I need at least one other screen, I have two in the office. One might not need much office space but one has to find somewhere to put the screens.

Nobody is stopping you. WFH, managed properly, is the way forward.
Ideally, a balance between the two should be offered. Organisations should be flexible offering flexi-work.

What is your suggestion for those of us who have a small home? What should their partner do when the living room has become an office?

I agree WFH from home is great for many people but there's a lot of very short sighted people out there, no doubt sitting in their home offices, who can't understand why having your only living space turned into an office isn't a great idea.

I don't disagree that you shouldn't have to do it - and if employers don't let you work in their office, they should pay for a co-working space. But if you work from home from a one bed flat and you don't like WFH, there are several options,:

Work in office (could be expensive and time-consuming commute)
Find another job
Move house
Build annex/loft conversion/get shed (not so practical for a flat, obviously)
Work in library or other cost-free space
Work in co-working space

Leaving a meeting for 30 seconds is not unprofessional. You might need to step out for a moment in the office.

By the way I pay £32 a DAY to get into my workplace when I go in. DH pays closer to £40 as he needs to use the Tube as well. So a co-working space, even the more expensive ones, would be cost effective for us if our house wasn't big enough.

It's also interesting that people on here are saying they'd like to find office based roles but can't find them. I thought that most jobs are still advertised as office/hybrid, so if you wanted to, you could be in the office full-time. There was an article in the Times saying that the number of jobs being advertised as remote working has dropped as employers want people in more.

I think it’s fascinating that for decades offices have been places which can be difficult for those with disabilities, and are centred around extroverts. Anyone complaining was told to find another job, that’s just how it is, etc.
Now that there’s suddenly an option that allows people with disabilities to manage with around their conditions, and actually helps introverts, all hell breaks loose and it must immediately be stopped

Agree

The same old misguided issues as with home schooling regarding people who work or study at home never come into contact with anyone else ?
The sheer flexibility gives you more opportunities, not less in my experience, and some people much prefer the peace of the home environment.

I work pt and love wfh but still have to go in once or twice a week. I don’t abuse it and work get more out of me in terms of productivity than they would if I was working in the office all the time (both on the days I am at home and the days I am at work). I also worked at home with my laptop when I had
covid.

I have a laptop, a hub at work and a second screen at home and I am using an old wireless keyboard and mouse of DH’s.

However, the same can’t be said for my colleagues who use the days they are working from home to take a break to eat breakfast away from desk, nip to the post office for 40 mins, outside of lunch time, clean the bathroom, mop the floor, spend an extended time collecting a Secondary School aged child from school, chatting to a friend on the phone etc etc and not making the time up etc. These same two colleagues are also never available to answer a call from me, our Line manager or a customer. I always make sure I am available and find it strange when my boss sends a team message to me to check I am free. I am only ever away from my desk for 2-10 mins maximum except at lunch time.

I wfh mainly, go into the office for one day a week and the occasional home visit for our customers. The difference is, we are available all day on Teams and my particular team, chat all day on it - work related issues, general chit chat etc. and we are available to take calls unless in meetings or concentrating on a specific piece of work. I can’t imagine baking bread during my working day 😂

Matter of opinion, surely? DH was working in our living area today and I didn't give a shit. We don't have enough room in our home for us to both have a dedicated work area but we still prefer it. It's personal preference.

You have a bad case on unprofessional colleagues. Best thing to do is book recurring meetings during core hours for collab work. If you have evidence that milestones and deliverables are not being met you can take that to your managers. Always good to hear if your manager will support you or let you sink.

I don't believe the 'Making bread' thing , nobody is doing that anymore!, and nobody dobs themselves in by blatantly saying they arent working when they should be.

There is only a problem with WFH if managers don't control it.

We have problems at our place due to piss takers and it's going to ruin it for everyone eventually if the managers don't pull them up.

The point is the living room does not become an office. It just needs a laptop.

I think it works as long as you don’t offer the flexibility of wfh with the flexibility on what hours you work because that’s a recipe for disaster.

We have a hybrid working arrangement. I work in the office 3 days, some weeks more if I need to work on something with someone in particular and they are in different days. When I work from home I work 9-5 like I would in the office and take my lunch like I would in the office. My work requires a lot of attention to details and very strict deadlines so I like the quiet at home so I can really focus distraction free. I am also offered to work 2 days in the office during half terms for childcare but this only works because my dd is 11 and she’s happy to place outside our house with her friends etc and will lunch when I do.

Some people prefer to not work from home and so they go in every day but there is no one who is exclusively allowed to work from home and I think that works.

I get far more done when I work from home. I have a long commute and it saps the life from me. The office is so noisy and it’s nice to catch up with people and I do show my face but yeah. I usually take work home with me on my office days and find myself catching up with it on my WFH days - my level of productivity has increased with WFH for sure. Working from home has enabled me to sit in my comfy clothes in a comfortable chair, not getting ill, and I can really focus. Part of my job is a higher degree I’m doing alongside it so I do need those quiet periods for sure. Helps you don’t have to make 20 cups of tea either!

Yes, that is fair enough. Flexi work office and home is new to many companies. They need to adjust the work systems/IT technology and bring it up to date in line with modern times.

If it’s not working for you then it’s not working for you - but YABU to say ‘it’s gone too far’ - your work management hasn’t taken control of the situation by asking for timesheets or setting core hours.

Im freelance and WFH for a few different clients, but submit timesheets as required and attend office twice a month as requested by another. There is no way I’d work an office only job again as it is so unproductive, and it’s no problem meeting remotely. I’ve worked with one company for over a year and we’ve never actually met!

I completely understand where you're coming from and am very firmly of the opinion that some jobs should not be allowed to be done FH, (mainly public service telephone stuff tbh).
However, I think a shift in the work/ life balance in this country has been a really fucking long time coming and it is a great thing that employers are finding it harder and harder to treat their staff like numbers, or to expect so much whilst giving no return except a shitty salary.

Actual life is more important than most jobs... family, health and happiness. That these are being recognised as more important is bloody brilliant. Bring on the 4 day week!

@Mumontour85 A lot of those public service jobs are low-paid. Ban working from home and they will struggle even more to recruit staff.

Absolutely this. I've worked mostly from home for years and years and it works perfectly well in an environment where people are professionals and are left alone to manage their workload and deliver to their deadlines without micromanagement.

Like you, with ADHD I could never get anything done in an office environment because of the constant interruptions and chattering. If there's something to discuss, people can book a meeting.

I always make sure I am available and find it strange when my boss sends a team message to me to check I am free. I am only ever away from my desk for 2-10 mins maximum except at lunch time.

Why do you find it strange? Don’t you ever have calls with anyone other than your boss? Are you never in the middle of something and don’t have time to stop to talk? Do you take your lunch at the exact same time every day - because if not, surely your boss won’t know whether you’re free or not at any time between 12 and 2?

It's just a simple courtesy. I can’t see anything strange about it.

Agreed (and I don’t personally enjoy WFH!)

Flexible working is one of the only attractions the public sector has to offer, in the current labour market it would be disastrous to take that away. Nobody would work there anymore.

I've voted YABU because this is clearly an issue with your workplace. I WFH 2/3 days per week and I'd absolutely get dragged over the coals if I was doing anything non-work related during my work day, except for medical appointments, which is the same as in the office. Obviously I get up to answer the door but that takes less than a minute each time

Our wfh policy is quite definate about arranging suitable childcare but we can be flexible to do school runs for older kids. To be honest it is saving people a fortune I get that but that is very different to have a small baby crawling round while your Meant to be working!!

In terms of doing stuff during work hours - our management aren't too bothered as long as we do our work

I know... what a quagmire!
Selfishly I just find it very annoying when there are things that can't be done because they're not in the office etc.!

You are quite right though, I'll wind my neck in 😏

I think that goes back to the point about how many of the things people complain about are consequences of worker shortages than of wfh per se.