WF "Home" question

[CheesesandWines]

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 !

I did say before- hotspot (and VPN)

@AnneValentine - phone hotspot??

If the booth is enclosed and private then how did your manager spot someone in a robe walking by?

Wow, I feel really conflicted on this! My immediate response was YABU but upon further thought, why are you? How is it different to going to a Starbucks to work (my local one is packed with people on calls/video chats). If you're doing your work, in the allocated time, to a good standard then I can't see the problem.

However, blurred background ALWAYS.

Sometimes, it is just the optics.
It's these little pushes and nudges to expand the boundaries that make employers mad and in-office workers to scream "not fair!" It just looks bad.

I am WFH and I would have to clear it with my employer first - both the logging on 30 min early to create a 1.5 hour lunch and then working from the spa in the afternoon. I would never assume it is ok.

Depends on the work. The main reason I wouldn't work in a public place is data security.

Your manager may, quite rightly, object to café or pub. A company can easily change the requirements around work location under a consultation process and I don't think "I want to work from a spa" would be considered as a valid thing. Sorry.
Your manager may not know or appreciate the wonderful working location available in your particular spa. But can you see how generally spas may not be appropriate for work? And how it would be pretty challenging for managers to say "Yes to spas that have private booths, but no to chavvy spas that don't ". I think it's possibly less about your specific working but more about the principle ? It's hard to make rules that work for everyone

Why does a cafe have completely enclosed, sound-proof, but glass-sided booths?

Is it OK to have a massage straight after eating lunch (presumably not pie and chips as in a spa)?

Am I asking the wrong questions?

You are absolutely taking the piss out of home working and potentially affecting other colleagues!
Home working should be done at home, if you have issues then occasionally from a secure space. The spa is not a secure space!

Fit job div yi dee?

I suppose wfh when not actually at home depends on how confidential your work is , how much your work requires you to speak and disturb other people, and how secure and reliable the network is at the place you have chosen .

Personally I prefer to chill out after a massage, but then I am not trying to wind people up into a frenzy on MN.

I've worked for fully remote companies (ie no physical premises) and this would be something that would be celebrated, and may cover the costs of, because avoiding burnout, low productivity and ensuring staff retention are their key priorities.

Here's some talking points.

You are working remotely, not from home. A company has no business demanding that you use your personal accomodation for their business needs only that you provide a suitable environment for working.

While the laptop slip may have been a breach of this, it was a learning experience and you will not allow this to happen again, either blurring the background or using a virtual backdrop.

You understand about security and data privacy and you follow the company policies on these.

Boundaries are important between home/work life. Having a regular routine helps keep the day segmented into work and private time, which maintains productivity.

Pro-actively maximising well being reduces the chances of burn-out, stress and physical ailments that may lead to absence or resignation.

The costs of this are paid and organised by you to ensure that you have a suitable environment to conduct remote work, which demonstrated high quality output over a significant period of time, which is a net benefit to the company.

You’re totally taking piss OP.

I genuinely don’t see the issue.
Anyone who does is either jealous or doesn’t trust the staff they hired (which is nothing to do with you).

Clearly not discriminatory though. Fix your background, end of conversation.

I'd have given it 2/10 until the jealousy comment. These posters just don't put in the effort they used to.

You're lucky - our team manager insists that we have to have the camera on at all times. She reckons that you need to see the person you're talking to. I reckon she's forgotten that we used to use an ancient technique called 'phone calls' where you couldn't see the person you were talking to...

I got a bollocking one day because my husband came in through the patio doors into the dining room where I was working. I learned to use a 'background' after that. I also changed the angle of the table.

@CheesesandWines if my team manager found out I was working from a spa, I think she would have apoplexy!! You do sound somewhat precious. I would LOVE to know how you deem this 'discrimination' though - that's actually hilarious!! I suppose in theory it's no different to working in a cafe. I wouldn't do that either - don't understand the attraction? - because my work is highly confidential. 1.5 hours a day for lunch is a bit much too. We usually have 1/2 hour.

You have got yourself caught out now, so your manager will be on high alert. The wise person would revert to wfh, and save your spa treatments for outside working hours!

how do you know the wifi connection at the spa is secure enough to ensure that all and any work you are doing which is confidential is not accessible to others around you via the spa network?

I'm also trying to picture what the setup is and such that a nudge of the laptop allowed a view of the cafe area

Is there a photo online anywhere you could like to OP?

😂😂😂

It's in no way discriminatory, you need to find out what that means. There are a tonne of reasons they can require you to WFH. The clue as to what you should be doing is in the name. They'll no doubt have a good policy backing them up. If you were one of my employees you'd likely be in a disciplinary meeting next week 🤷‍♀️

When you say you secured WFH permanently, what do you mean?

What is written in your contract?

If it has working at X address i.e Your home, then your employer can revoke the WFH agreement if they feel you have breached this clause. I suspect there's a get out clause in your contract anyway that they can also use to make the change back.

There's a number of reasons they could be unhappy with you working there, for example they don't know its WHS compliant as they don't have access to the safety risk assessment of the spa. They could be concerned about a security breach as they cannot be sure you always use a VPN despite what you say. They don't know the physical setup enables a private space, so could be concerned about security issues with you being overheard.

You can say it's okay all you want, they don't have to accept your word for it and they are well within their rights to not be happy.

I think for me, she should be done with the spa by time calls start. Because she’s still going to have to travel home etc. after it (unless OP spends all day in the booth…) so it seems cheeky to be travelling back in her work time. If she was in a cafe she’d probs spend a few hours there and log off then go home, but it seemed like she was still half using the spa whilst working iygm?

Oh and those saying its okay to work in a cafe so why not a spa? it depends on the employer really, some won't be bothered about that and some will. Especially those with a cyber security dept that isn't asleep at the wheel 😂

Goodness you sound a bit spoilt. YABu and your manager is making a reasonable request - the spa does not give you privacy or security. But maybe your work isn't actually that important, so it doesn't matter that you do it where others might see it.

Are you received a monthly wfh allowance to cover heat light etc?