Office schedule change - pets

[MXVIT]

Hi

Very long story short, my office worked on a 2 home / 3 office day post covid, never rigidly enforced but i stuck to this schedule and company line was this was the new way of the world.

This schedule works very well for me and my dog who I purchased after the above was put in place, I arrange care for him on office days and at home I'm obviously at home.

He cannot be left alone for longer than 2 hours, nor would I want to as its cruel.

My company is now mandating 4 days with a bit more rigidity (and still calling it hybrid, lol) with a line that flexibility from them will be key and easy to talk about

I cannot do four days because of dog care, I cannot afford a fourth day and cannot arrange familial care. He cannot be left alone for a work day, I cannot arrange anyone even to call in. I live alone.

I consistently hit my objectives working on the current 3/2 split consistently, and I am happy to increase the contact days every now and again if fully required.

WIBU to bring this up as a legitimate flexibility point.

How do you get anything done, have a social life, go to the cinema?

Short answer is I don't! And I love it that way because I'd always rather have him with me than not. The idea of a meal out or the cinema whilst knowing he's alone in the kitchen missing me is hell!

Train the dog to be left a little longer and pay a dog walker to pop in over lunch to let him out for a wee and spend some time there?

Or flexible working is a good option to ask for

Is there a reason he can only be left for 2 hours?

@JustinOtherdad no dog should be left alone for a whole work day! It's cruel and doesn't mean the dog isn't suited to being in an office. 4 hours is the absolute maximum a dog should be on its own.

At my workplace we run a system whereby employees with dogs give a couple days notice and then those who would rather not be around them for whatever reason are free to wfh that day, it works well.

Does he have separation anxiety? What happens if you leave him for longer than 2 hours? Honestly I would find a very good dog walker who can take him for a VERY long mid-day walk so he will sleep all afternoon.

I imagine it was custom and practice to work 5 days a week in the office, previously.

It won’t hurt to ask. You may be denied, but you may also get lucky. I know someone who was given the flexibility for pet care.

You can ask, but be prepared to be told no (and probably have your colleagues laughing/rolling eyes behind your back).

By all means ask. But as a seasoned dog owner, I urge you to get your dog used to being left longer for your sake and his.

I don't leave mine for more than four hours. And I have more than one. But if there was an emergency or I couldn't get home I know they'd cope for 8 hours. Dogs need to be resilient for their own sake. It's not cruel to leave them for a few hours, it's good for them to have regular down time. Dogs will naturally sleep for huge swathes of the day.

If you have a dog that can be left for up to 4 hours, it's not ok to leave him 4 hrs, "pop home for lunch" then leave him another 4 hrs. That's leaving him for 8 hrs, with a short break in the middle.

He's not a legal argument, you cannot get round the 4 hour limit with a loophole 😂

The restrictions imposed by the pandemic have been done and dusted for about 2 years now. I don't think it unreasonable that people will have gone on to make permanent arrangements and shaped their lives, based on the new ways of working in that time. It's not like the months immediately following when it might have been more risky to bank on the status quo being permanent.

I'd ask, OP. Presumably you've been working that way for 2+ years now.

Why can your dog not be left for more than 2 hours? I have had dogs for years and i do believe leaving them all day every day is cruel. But there are times that you have to leave them for 4 hours or more. Mine do cope when this happens - very rare. They get a good walk before i leave them, kong toys or lick mats to keep them entertained, have a large cat flap - they are small dogs so they can go out side and do their business in an enclosed garden. I WFH most days but do have to go into the office so on these days i arrange for them to go to doggy day care or a very good neighbor comes in . I also do these as my short days and make up my hours the rest of the week . You need to start building up your dogs resilience - it not good for both of you to be like this

@AllyCart I did point out that the employers have the right the change the goal posts

Going by the clues in the OP, I am guessing this dog is still pretty young - maybe under 18 months?

Coping for 2 hours alone at that age is about par for the course, I think. It tends to build easier once they start to slow down with adulthood, proper.

OP also lives alone - in these scenarios the bond between dog and owner does tend to be stronger and more needy (on the dog's part). Again, that's par for the course.

Was there any contractual change when you went to the hybrid way of working?

Raise it . I don’t see why it cannot be requested . I authorise a team member to work flexible because of her pets .

You really need to start thinking about getting your dog used to spending more time on his own. That too is part of responsible pet care.

In the meantime, are you putting the radio or tv on for hhim when you're out?
Have the dogwalker pop in half way through the day as suggested up thread.

What happens if your dog is left for longer? What does he do?

Childcare is completely different. Many companies don’t allow WFH as an alternative to childcare. At our company you are not allowed to WFH if there is child under 12 in the home without another adult. A dog just needs to know there is a human presence in the home to be settled. As the OP said, are sees the dog in 2-hour bursts which is about how often you should step away from your screen anyway to give your eyes a break. Young children require more involvement and interaction than a dog.

You have my sympathy, particularly since your employer indicated that this was going to be the long-term arrangement, not just during covid, plus you are responsible enough to not leave your dog for more than two hours which is exactly the right thing to do. You only really have the following options if finances restrict your access to additional dog care which are: to ask for special consideration so you can continue as you are; ask to bring the dog into work (you could at least try, if desperate!) ; offer to work in the office for half of that day and go home at lunch; get an inexpensive pop-in visit rather than pay for a walk or doggy day care. Hope you find a way.

That works for people like me who just don't want dogs around, but doesn't work for people with allergies.

Make a flexible working request, this can only be denied if there is a business reason not to grant it.

Or she pays for dog day care.

There are limited reasons that a flexible working request can be denied (7 I think) check the acas website.