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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Meeting: 'Working from home' - your vote needed!

371 replies

coxesorangepippin · 12/09/2023 00:53

Got a meeting invite late tonight titled simply: Working from home'. Scheduled for half an hour. No additional info.

What are they gonna say?

Return to the office full time? Full time WFH???

Your guess is as good as mine. We're currently in once every two weeks.

Results posted in here tomorrow once the meeting has been held.

Yanbu = back to office
Yabu = WFH

OP posts:
ismu · 12/09/2023 09:27

I'm going to throw in covid... I think it will be about the possibility of everyone wfh this winter or wfh if you have covid....

BitOutOfPractice · 12/09/2023 09:37

So when is the meeting OP?

TheGreatATuin · 12/09/2023 09:48

autienotnaughty · 12/09/2023 01:13

YANBU they will have decided they need people in to make sure everyone is working

I'm a manager and we all had to go back into the office full time. I find that my team are less productive in the office, not more because of the additional chatting that goes on, as well as people being more tired by the end of the day.
In my opinion, anyone who can't successfully manage someone who is WFH can't manage them at all. You should know whether people are doing their jobs whether you're hanging over their shoulder or not.
I find it really frustrating because no one likes it. We all spend extra time and money on commuting, and we've really struggled to recruit staff because no one wants to be in full time, leaving us short staffed.
Forcing people into the office is a complete waste of everyone's time and money, and is worse for the business.
Personally, I think that the only reason that most high level execs are forcing people back to the office is because they're doing it to beat their chests and swing their willies about and show what hard-arses they are, keeping staff in line It's clearly not evidence-based.

stayathomer · 12/09/2023 09:51

best of luck with it op (placemarking-sorry!!)

MissDollyMix · 12/09/2023 09:52

Haven’t read the full thread but I think YABU. If the meeting was about getting everyone into the office it would have been entitled ‘office working’ or ‘working from the office’! As it’s entitled ‘working from home’ then that’s what it’s about…. Well that’s my logic anyway!

Rotterdam · 12/09/2023 09:57

I work in the office 3/4 sometimes 5 days a week because I prefer to have a distance between home and work. In practical terms my laptop is fairly heavy and I prefer to leave it at work and also not worry about emails etc until the following morning.

It is noisy though! Not sure if people lost their pre existing office skills but I don’t recall people speaking loudly over desks about social matters for extended periods before.

The noise at lunchtime from the nearby open plan kitchen also seems really loud! People forget there are others working nearby!

ilovebrie8 · 12/09/2023 09:57

let us know OP 😉

TenderDandelions · 12/09/2023 09:58

I hate it when people put a meeting title that just leaves everyone speculating! At least it's fairly short notice so you don't have too long to wonder.

My friend had a similar meeting towards the end of Covid and they were told that they'd given up the lease on half the office so everyone now was WFH permanently with only 1 or 2 days in the office each week, but that you had to book the time in the office to guarantee a desk. She enjoys WFH but is now having to look to move house because 3 years of working on the dining table has finally tipped her over the edge and she needs a dedicated workspace.

With companies like Zoom even now asking people to come back to the office I think a lot of businesses are using it as an excuse to get everyone back where they can be overseen.

We still are hybrid as we recognise that staff enjoy the flexibility more. Everyone has their own desk and can come in if they want, but most of them split their time. People do have to be managed properly and thankfully our manager is very good. We have one team member who was performing poorly and not responding to interventions well, so he now has to be in the office each day. When his performance improves, he can have the option of WFH again.

Businesses do have to be careful now though as the world has changed and they may find it more difficult to recruit some candidates with a blanket 100% back in the office rule.

Privatelyliving · 12/09/2023 09:58

I could just be about setting some expectations re working from home or possibly introducing some new technology so they can see what you're up to better?

ememem84 · 12/09/2023 09:59

i'm working from home today because the schools here are shut due to teacher strikes. i typically am office based 5 days a week. this is my choice. (although my organisation prefers us to all be in).

i personally find that i'm more distracted at home - i find it more difficult to draw the boundary between personal life and work - whereas in the office i'm more focussed. i think because i dont have a separate office space here so i'm surrounded by the every day life noises.

Newpeep · 12/09/2023 10:01

GonnaGetGoingReturns · 12/09/2023 08:25

So many people think if you WFH you skive. I e worked in jobs WFH especially over covid where I actually worked more hours than I was supposed to do and didn’t take breaks!

I’m at the age now where I’ve been there and done that re commuting, office socialising etc.

If some slackers abuse the WFH system then that ruins it for others.

I’ve got a few reasons for wanting to WFH but a straw poll out of friends reveal most want to and are wfh effectively.

Husband WFH. He goes into the office 'for a reason'. Some of his team go in most days. Some never. He goes in from time to time. He is FAR more productive at home and visibly happier. His job involves long periods of focused work. He struggles to do that in a noisy office. He's won awards and bonuses since he has been WFH more so than before. He uses his mandated break to take our dog out and clear his head before knuckling down to more work.

Time wasters will waste time wherever they are. It's always going to suit more people than others, depend on the job and I am not sure why there is the resentment. His organisation have been able to recruit more broadly and retain people in a difficult and specialised sector.

I am wasting time now replying to this as I am waiting for someone to come back to me before I can proceed with my next task. My job is output focused and my boss values my many years of experience and flexibility when I do need to work outside my hours. Long may it continue. Much better end result for my company.

iamwhatiam23 · 12/09/2023 10:05

I much prefer talking to someone who is working from home! Its much easier to hear them properly when they are not in some big office with loads of other people talking in the background! I don't see why people don't like others wfh, although I would be useless at it because i would get distracted by other things to easily!

iamwhatiam23 · 12/09/2023 10:07

circacircle · 12/09/2023 08:07

The trouble with WFH is the knock on effect of making jobs with no possibility of wfh far less attractive.
It is harder and harder to attract and retain teachers, nurses, retail staff. These are jobs that have traditionally been staffed by women. Teaching used to be regarded as family friendly. Now with the option of wfh, far fewer women are considering these careers. My local primary lost 50% of teachers at the end of the summer term. Few of these were going into other teaching roles but leaving teaching completely. Why use a job with so many demands on your time when you can opt for a flexible wfh job in the Civil Service. Again and again teacher unions raise the lack of flexibility as a reason for teacher dissatisfaction.

I don't agree! I don't think its anything to do with wfh! It's because the pay and working conditions in these jobs are shit! Im an ex NHS worker.

Privatelyliving · 12/09/2023 10:07

I actually think too much wfh is a problem for recruitment, not vice versa. It depends on the role, but young people don't want to wfh and they also don't want to work for an organisation where everyone else is wfh. It may suit people who have done what they want to in their career and enjoy the flexibility with DC etc, but it doesn't suit ambitious people in their early careers.

SunRainStorm · 12/09/2023 10:12

I'm guessing mandated days in the office - and a heavy implication that people have been taking the piss

WomanStanleyWoman2 · 12/09/2023 10:12

circacircle · 12/09/2023 08:07

The trouble with WFH is the knock on effect of making jobs with no possibility of wfh far less attractive.
It is harder and harder to attract and retain teachers, nurses, retail staff. These are jobs that have traditionally been staffed by women. Teaching used to be regarded as family friendly. Now with the option of wfh, far fewer women are considering these careers. My local primary lost 50% of teachers at the end of the summer term. Few of these were going into other teaching roles but leaving teaching completely. Why use a job with so many demands on your time when you can opt for a flexible wfh job in the Civil Service. Again and again teacher unions raise the lack of flexibility as a reason for teacher dissatisfaction.

Then we need to make those jobs more attractive in other ways - not make other jobs less attractive by removing the option of WFH.

If someone who was planning on training to be a nurse suddenly decides to chuck it in because they could work from home as an accounting assistant, I’m glad they’re not going to be a nurse.

JustFrustrated · 12/09/2023 10:14

Fairyliz · 12/09/2023 07:02

I’m sorry if it’s not what you want op but as a consumer I do hope it means everyone back to the office.
As a consumer the service provided by every single organisation I deal with has been abysmal. Yes I know some of it is Brexit, Covid etc but I’m sure a lot of it is wfh. People don’t seem to understand their jobs and systems, how are they going to learn stuck in a bedroom?

I think comments like this speak to the absolute naivety of some people's understanding of different jobs.

I WFH - Have literally nothing to do with the public.

My DH - same

My best friend - same

In fact, everyone I know who WFH or hybrid works, has literally nothing to do with the general public. Our jobs have a down the line impact, but in a way that our work place has no bearing on.

So why should we be back in an office, because Bob at HSBC can't shut his dog up when you've lost your bank card?

SatelliteStomper · 12/09/2023 10:16

I'll go into the office more frequently when my employer invests in up-to-date systems that actually allow me to work productively and effectively!

I was in yesterday for a face-to-face meeting. When it finished, I went into 'my' (reality, hot-desk) office on-site to get some further work done. I needed two screens, one of which wasn't working. The ancient PC took ages to get started and kept crashing. I couldn't access the files I needed. There was no working printer on the whole floor. Plus I have to adjust all the equipment every time I use it as someone else will have changed the chair / desk configuration!

I gave up, went home and got the work done there within a couple of hours, on my fast, efficient, comfortable home set-up.

WeWereInParis · 12/09/2023 10:16

they will have decided they need people in to make sure everyone is working

Surely you can tell whether people are working wherever they are by the work that gets done? I don't know what jobs people have where it's not obvious if someone isn't working - maybe not immediately obvious, but there must be some sort of output.

CharlotteBog · 12/09/2023 10:18

stayathomer · 12/09/2023 09:51

best of luck with it op (placemarking-sorry!!)

FYI you can 'watch' a thread if you want to follow it, rather than add to the thread.

Dibblydoodahdah · 12/09/2023 10:22

@Viviennemary the rest of my team are in the US. Do you want me to commute there every day?!! You clearly have no idea how many international companies function and have just made yourself look stupid.

Tiredalwaystired · 12/09/2023 10:25

circacircle · 12/09/2023 08:46

It matters if you cannot recruit key workers.

This has been a problem since way before covid. Dare I say Brexit here…?

NearlyMonday · 12/09/2023 10:29

Hypothetically, if they did ask you to go in a bit more, would this be a deal breaker? So many places do hybrid, and it seems to be a good compromise. I go in two days per week, works well for me, and because the workforce wants it to work, I haven't seen any evidence of p*ss taking.

My job is public sector, there would be mutiny if they wanted everyone back in full time, and thankfully the unions got involved a good while ago, and have obtained written assurances that hybrid is here to stay. Can you say what sector you work in (sorry if you have already said?)

ManchesterLu · 12/09/2023 10:29

People will have been taking the piss, so it'll probably just be a threat to say if productivity doesn't go up, you'll all have to go back into the office full time.

Luana1 · 12/09/2023 10:32

It really bugs me when people have black and white reactions to working from home. The main problem is that people with jobs not suited to working from home such as customer facing roles have been allowed to work from home for whatever reason and that is having a negative impact on the service they provide. Other people who don't have any public interactions are fine to work from home, in fact I worked from home half the week pre-covid, so did many people where I work. Just because some jobs are suited to WFH, it doesn't mean all are and people shouldn't feel entitled to WFH, equally people shouldn't state that just because some jobs aren't suited to WFH, none are.