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.

True. But what about service dogs like mine? If I have to go to the office - and although I have a lot of wfh I do have to attend meetings and the office at times - I cannot go without my dog. Whether you like them or are allergic to them, I can't go anywhere without mine. And it is against the law to prevent me from taking him to the office (or anywhere else).

It's definitely worth asking. I manage quite a large, hybrid team and get requests like this occasionally and I carefully consider them all. When a member of staff is reliable and has been with us a long time I'm more likely to approve their request because they could easily leave and find another job with more WFH and I don't want that to happen.

It really depends on their outlook and flexibility though. I can see why they might refuse it. For me I'd need to consider the rest of the team and give the same level of flexibility which wouldn't work if I was trying to tighten everything up.

I think it is the OP who has separation anxiety!

@Cleethorpes I think so too!!

LOL, good one

Yes but how many service dogs are there? And how many genuinely allergic people?

Both in small numbers so the situation probably never arises.

The OP is talking about a pet, not a guide dog.

Guide dogs don't bother me because they are highly trained to do a job, they stay with their owner and don't go round wanting attention or licking/jumping up at people.

Depending on the workplace you can probably separate someone with allergies from someone who needs their guide dog. But you don't need to go to those lengths for someone's pet, when they could just work from home and use doggy daycare for the times they do need to be in the office.

Same! That’s more tying than a child. What the hell has happened to dogs in the last 10 years that means so many of them can’t even be left for an afternoon?

Thing is, if they made an exception for you then they'd have to do it for everyone. I'd not purchase a dog based on my employment at that time, as its always possible to change in the lifespan of a dog. I'm an animal lover, but I'll admit, if I accepted rule changes like that in work, I'd be miffed if a colleague got special allowances for their dog while I struggle with childcare.

All you can do is ask.

I used to work in a seven day a week industry and DH worked Monday-Friday. I managed to organise working three set weekdays (plus weekends) so that I only had to pay for three days of doggy daycare instead of five.

My boss was absolutely fine with it.

Ask and if they refuse, be prepared to leave.

It’s a shame but the majority of workplaces where face to face with customers isn’t required allow far more flexibility or fully wfh.

My employer allows staff to bring our dogs into the office as otherwise so many of us would have left. We only go in once a week though.

Unfortunately I had to work every weekend anyway as part of the role anyway

But originally I was working three rotating weekdays which meant I couldn't book daycare without overpaying two days each week iyswim.

All you can do is ask.

I WFH since covid, and would probably have to leave if they suddenly demanded that I went back to the office.

We were asked last year what our preference was, and I said that would rather continue on as I am.

My boy has just turned one, and can I can now leave him for around 4 hours.

Have you worked on extending the 2 hours OP? There will be instances where you may need to have the option to be away for longer.

Definitely ask

No way you can afford the extra daycare if you ask for higher pay/get promoted/take a second job - do some surveys online for extra cash?

I have dogs and I would literally get a remote job/leave the company/do anything so that my lovely rescue dog got his needs met

It's an employees market so as you meet your objectives I'm guessing they'll really want to keep you

You need to train the dog to be alone for longer.

I would then look at something like borrow my doggy for someone to come in and fuss them and take them out? This wont be as reliable as proper doggy day care though.

I work in HR and would like to think we would look at all options for staff to accommodate requests - e.g working longer days and having half days etc.

I don't have DC :)

lol, that's retail for you unfortunately!

By all means, raise it if you think it would be taken seriously.

Very much this. Every one of these at work has been denied.

Have you got anything in your contract indicating the 3/2 schedule? If not then they have every right to insist on 5 days in the office. I can't believe how many people have got pets they can't leave thinking they are going to be wfh forever. (I've been in the office throughout and dp was back full time from May 21) my ddog is fine at home btw, he was rather confused and if anything fed up when people were at home all day! He's happy with his own company

Also have a dog that doesn’t like being left alone for long and is the main reason I got a (almost) fully remote job. If I was told I had to go into the office it would be a deal breaker for me and I would tell them I’ll be looking for a new job. Plenty of employers out there that offer remote work and honestly don’t see why any company would start saying you need to go in when it’s been working fine for the last 3 years.