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AIBU?

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Original poster

WF "Home" question

299 replies

CheesesandWines · 15/10/2023 14:15

I am in the lucky position to WFH 5 days a week. Of course this happened in COVID, and I have since secured this permeantly. I'm good at my job and at this stage don't feel the need to "network" and be physically present at work.

One of the benefits of wfh is that I don't have to commute and can also fit in hobbies and exercise in the day. Twice a week at lunch (which is 1.5hrs) I like to go to my local gym/ Spa and really relax / switch off. To fit this in, I then work from the spa in the afternoon. There's a private booth in the cafe with no outside noise and because I'm a regular customer I have the space reserved for the afternoon automatically.

Here's the issue. On one occasion the laptop moved and my line manager could see someone at the spa walking around in their robe. Nothing more. She is now saying that wfh means your home and that I can't work from the spa two afternoons a week. I think her attitude is discriminatory and is impinging on my own health. I work much better from the spa and all the work is done with my body benefiting from a full body massage before an afternoon of work. She says that me working from the spa will affect colleagues who have not been allowed to wfh. I've looked at my wfh contact and nothing i am doing is not allowed. I have a good mind to work from the spa every afternoon now to prove my point !

OP posts:
Beveren · 15/10/2023 17:58

OP, where is this spa? I'd love to find one with enclosed booths that I can take over for half a working day.

londongirl12 · 15/10/2023 17:59

I think you’re annoyed as you’ve been caught out. If there’s colleagues not allowed to wfh, then how would you feel if you were them? They have to work in the office, and you’re allowed to work from a spa?? They could claim discrimination against you!

qualitychat · 15/10/2023 17:59

This has to be a reverse. I've rarely heard anything more ridiculous! So are you sitting in a white robe as well? The booth can't be fully enclosed if your boss could see someone wandering around in the background. I would be royally pissed off it that was me. Why don't you go to the gym and set your laptop up on the treadmill - get exercise while you are working ha ha.

MayThe4th · 15/10/2023 18:02

itsturtlesallthewaydown · 15/10/2023 17:58

What did you put into chat gpt to get that out?

“Write me a post about how I work from home, how two days a week I go to the spa for a massage and then work from a booth in the spa. My manager saw someone in a robe on camera and has told me I have to work from my house This is discriminatory. Write me a post about how I work from home, how two days a week I go to the spa for a massage and then work from a booth in the spa. My manager saw someone in a robe on camera and has told me I have to work from my house This is discriminatory.”

ReadingSoManyThreads · 15/10/2023 18:03

I voted YANBU, on the basis that working outside of your own home poses no security threat. If this is the case, then it shouldn't matter where you are, as long as you're working.

If you work for the government or an organisation that requires strict security measures, then I could see their point that it must be from home.

I think your manager is being a bit of a dick, but I'm also wondering why from this incident you have presumably then told her you do this twice a week?! Why would you volunteer this information?!

Check your contract, then if there's nothing specific in there, blur your background. If she creates a problem with HR, be sure to fight your corner with your productivity levels.

I find that people who go nuts about this stuff have massive jealousy issues with people that can WFH, so take comments with a pinch of salt!

itsturtlesallthewaydown · 15/10/2023 18:10

MayThe4th · 15/10/2023 18:02

“Write me a post about how I work from home, how two days a week I go to the spa for a massage and then work from a booth in the spa. My manager saw someone in a robe on camera and has told me I have to work from my house This is discriminatory. Write me a post about how I work from home, how two days a week I go to the spa for a massage and then work from a booth in the spa. My manager saw someone in a robe on camera and has told me I have to work from my house This is discriminatory.”

Show quote history

So you pretty much typed in the post and chat got echo'd it back at you. Not really that surprising, I don't think you've proved anything...

5ive · 15/10/2023 18:15

I have worked from home full time for 14 years and the only time I have worked anywhere other than my own home was during a move, when I worked from a relatives home, and times when I have been travelling for work and I've worked from my hotel room.

IMO working from home full time is a privilege and your boss/employer needs to be able to trust you 100%.

BalloonSalesperson · 15/10/2023 18:15

I wouldn’t be allowed because I can’t use public wifi

I have a bunch of techie children and friends, and this applies to all of them.

Womencanlift · 15/10/2023 18:17

CheesesandWines · 15/10/2023 15:32

So do people fundamentally disagree with working anywhere from home / office. Lots of people (including a few team members) work at wewoek - is this a security threat also as in a public space?

We are only allowed to work in a home or office. So no office/pubs/shared workspaces/gyms. Also hotspots can only only be used from work phones not personal and would only be used if wifi failed. From speaking to friends this is similar set up to most companies I am aware of

In my last company it was the same and we also had to switch off the likes of Alexa’s while working and also declare which companies the other people in the house worked for.

While both past and current employer would be happy for lunch times to be used for the gym, we would be expected to go home afterwards to work

Icannotbudget · 15/10/2023 18:23

I don’t believe you work from a spa, get the same booth reserved for you each day and I most definitely do not believe you have a full body massage before resuming work🤣🤣🤣

Eleganz · 15/10/2023 18:24

It all depends on the specifics of your working from home policy really. I am assuming you are contracted to work from home so all the posters talking about how "those that can't work from home" feel is irrelevant as their contract is different to yours.

Are you dealing with anything sensitive or confidential?

And more importantly...

Assuming you are using teams or similar why are you not using a background? They are standard in my company.

I'll be honest, as long as you aren't handling anything sensitive, if you are getting your work done I wouldn't care If I was your boss.

icantthinkwhatusernametouse · 15/10/2023 18:25

Is this for real?! You are taking the piss and possibly risk you or even worse your team being made to commute to work

hattie43 · 15/10/2023 18:30

I wfh and wouldn't dream of working from a spa , or anywhere but my desk at home .

Puffalicious · 15/10/2023 18:30

MasterBeth · 15/10/2023 14:38

One of my colleagues works from the gym cafe a couple of days a week. As long as she does her work (she does), I don't know why I should give a flying fuck where she works.

Unless we know what job the OP does, it is impossible to know if it's unreasonable or not.

I completely agree. I admittedly don't work in an office environment or have the option of WFH, but if I did what would it matter if I was in a cafe (with privacy)/ my campervan by the beach/ on top of a hill?

Just blur out the background/ one if those filter thingies & surely it's grand?

OP if you do your admin before work why shouldn't you use your time for the gym/Spa? If more of us had a better work-life balance all the better (I get a snatched 20 mins if I'm lucky between coralling teenagers/ marking more work/ replying to bloody emails- so I'd love this).

Puffalicious · 15/10/2023 18:32

hattie43 · 15/10/2023 18:30

I wfh and wouldn't dream of working from a spa , or anywhere but my desk at home .

But why? What's the problem?! Personally I'd travel in my camper & be in a difficult location daily!

Cosycover · 15/10/2023 18:32

You get two massages a week?

hattie43 · 15/10/2023 18:33

@Puffalicious

Because I feel lucky to be able to wfh as most of my colleagues aren't allowed to . It's not fair to them if I'm larging it up elsewhere .

Eleganz · 15/10/2023 18:34

As an addendum to my answer above, where I may have a concern is, as it is a regular thing, are you setting up your work station to minimise DSE use risks? Probably not I reckon.

SilverGlitterBaubles · 15/10/2023 18:37

And people wonder why so many firms are ordering their staff back to the office.

NatashaDancing · 15/10/2023 18:41

Eleganz · 15/10/2023 18:24

It all depends on the specifics of your working from home policy really. I am assuming you are contracted to work from home so all the posters talking about how "those that can't work from home" feel is irrelevant as their contract is different to yours.

Are you dealing with anything sensitive or confidential?

And more importantly...

Assuming you are using teams or similar why are you not using a background? They are standard in my company.

I'll be honest, as long as you aren't handling anything sensitive, if you are getting your work done I wouldn't care If I was your boss.

Almost everything you are doing at work is "sensitive" to some degree.

The OP has shown she has no concept of that by not even blurring the background. The person in the bathrobe consented to other users of the spa seeing them in a bathrobe- they didn't consent to the OP's work colleagues seeing them.

I'd put money on the WiFi connection not being secure or the OP.

Can people in the spa see what's on her laptop screen?

kopitiamgal · 15/10/2023 18:42

Puffalicious · 15/10/2023 18:30

I completely agree. I admittedly don't work in an office environment or have the option of WFH, but if I did what would it matter if I was in a cafe (with privacy)/ my campervan by the beach/ on top of a hill?

Just blur out the background/ one if those filter thingies & surely it's grand?

OP if you do your admin before work why shouldn't you use your time for the gym/Spa? If more of us had a better work-life balance all the better (I get a snatched 20 mins if I'm lucky between coralling teenagers/ marking more work/ replying to bloody emails- so I'd love this).

Show quote history

IMO the issue here looks like the unfair treatment of colleagues. Admittedly, not the OP's problem, but if other people asked to WFH and were denied it seeing her work from the spa would be a slap in the face.
Like unequal pay, it benefits the OP personally to keep quiet about it - otherwise she risks everyone else kicking up such a massive fuss that it's easier to order her back into the office than give everyone else WFH. However this doesn't go any good for fair treatment.

if OP had any sense she'd see that it's not just about her. Especially as she wasn't smart enough to hide the truth from her manager, saying she only works at the spa occasionally. Will she be smart enough to hide it from colleagues?

CatkinToadflax · 15/10/2023 18:43

Fascinated to know what your protected characteristic is that makes it discriminatory. Are you a mermaid and therefore need permanent easy access to the pool?

NatashaDancing · 15/10/2023 18:44

CatkinToadflax · 15/10/2023 18:43

Fascinated to know what your protected characteristic is that makes it discriminatory. Are you a mermaid and therefore need permanent easy access to the pool?

It's a pity we aren't at the bottom of page 40. That deserves to be the last word on this nonsense.

babyproblems · 15/10/2023 18:58

I’m clearly in the minority but if you are carrying your workload fine I don’t see the problem. There’s been no actual problem raised by your working habits. The only ‘problem’ is your manager has seen something they don’t like.. I’m not sure they can accuse you of much of there’s no actual documented evidence of you falling short at work. As long as you are actually working your contracted hours and managing your work fine I think you’re within your rights to work where you deem appropriate. The attitude shown by most on this thread is why we’ve got such crap employment rights in the UK. We should be working to live, as competent grown ups, not living to work under scrutiny and crap conditions. I get the impression it’s such a race to the bottom in the UK from thread like this! Everyone begrudging someone else having better conditions. If everyone insisted on better working conditions the standard of living in the UK would be considerably better. I am an expat so live elsewhere but I honestly don’t think you realise in the UK how crap your quality of life is particularly at work compared to other countries of similar ilk.

BobblePin · 15/10/2023 19:04

Personally I can't see a fundamental issue here. You are remote working, you work the correct hours and seem productive. You get admin done in your own time to free up your lunch. You also work in a private pod. If others don't want to be in office then they should try to make those changes with managers.