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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To not be sure about this job due to days in office?

47 replies

LikeAKipper · 27/10/2023 17:48

I've just been offered a role at a great company. I've been job hunting quite a while - I actually love the job I do, but the culture at my current company is not the best. This new role would be a very similar job but much nicer culture (I think).

BUT - I'm quite put off by the fact it's 3 full days in the office, and fulltime. I've currently been compressed hours (5 days work over 4 days meaning I get an extended weekend). I'm also currently fully remote. I know some people hate WFH but i love it. I find being in an office very hard to concentrate and whilst I love short stretches of socialising, find whole days quite draining. I love the "comfort" of having my home and dog near me and find I get way more done at home- not to mention saving the time commuting etc.

Is it unreasonable to not be sure on that basis? It is slightly more £, but marginal.

OP posts:

Charlingspont · 29/10/2023 18:40

BeeCucumber · 27/10/2023 18:14

I would run far away from anyone that calls their business “one big family”. If you hate being in the office, you will hate the forced fun of socialising with your colleagues.

This! I read that and cringed.

joelmillersbackpack · 29/10/2023 18:42

Bums on seats and one big family are massive red flags. It basically says we treat you like children.

They're showing you who they are, believe them!

Original poster

LikeAKipper · 29/10/2023 21:16

Thank you, really interesting to hear so many thinking this is such a big red flag. This company are well known in our area for having a great culture but I was very surprised that the reality seemed so different to what the advert said. It talked about being very flexible, remote, lots of progression etc and in reality none of those things appear to be true. I think they do mostly employ a lot of graduates and younger people, so maybe that also says something as I guess those employees will have lower expectations of what they want from a role and work life balance.

I am a bit worried about the likelihood of finding something with more days wfh though. The roles are definitely available but get literally hundreds of people applying.

OP posts:

NoWordForFluffy · 29/10/2023 21:26

LuckOfTheDrawer · 29/10/2023 16:13

This is a good point - it would actually be quite difficult to go back to the office when you're used to WFH. I think I'd struggle with more than one day per week in the office now.

Show quote history

I've been fully WFH since March 2020. I'm starting a new job soon, 1 day in the office, which is bearable. It's less than £8 on the train, so could be worse. Two days was my limit, but 1 is totally doable (plus I get a lunchtime to mooch around Liverpool once a week, which I've missed!).

HamSandwichKiller · 29/10/2023 21:28

Not sure how you're extrapolating that 3 days in the office means no progression opportunities either. Reality is lots of companies are now insisting on a minimum amount of days in the office - usually in the 2-3 days range. It's entirely up to you to decide if it's acceptable but bear in mind that a good chunk of companies are heading in the same direction.

paintingvenice · 29/10/2023 21:29

I couldn’t work somewhere where I was expected to go in for no practical purpose apart from to make the CEO feel better. There are lots of WFH jobs, or those where you only need to go in when it’s necessary rather than to soothe a boss’s ego I’d look for one of those.

LindorDoubleChoc · 29/10/2023 21:30

Doesn't sound like the right job for you in any way. It's completely obvious from everything you say! You don't need validation from Mumsnet.

Original poster

LikeAKipper · 30/10/2023 12:38

HamSandwichKiller · 29/10/2023 21:28

I'm not, the progression point is separate.

OP posts:

Original poster

LikeAKipper · 30/10/2023 12:40

LindorDoubleChoc · 29/10/2023 21:30

Doesn't sound like the right job for you in any way. It's completely obvious from everything you say! You don't need validation from Mumsnet.

Really? It's a company I've had my eye on a long time and the role itself is great. It's just the logistics that I'm questioning.

OP posts:

gannett · 30/10/2023 12:47

I squawked out loud when I read "one big happy family". RED FLAG RED FLAG DO NOT TAKE THIS JOB

Mrsttcno1 · 30/10/2023 13:20

I think most flexible/hybrid jobs now do mean 2/3 days a week in the office, the others from home. My job is hybrid and we have to do 3 office days but they aren’t set days so there is that flexibility of you decide which days work best for you, rather than every week set days. Feel free to pass on the job if you don’t think it’s for you but I would be wary of waiting if you are holding out for a completely remote role as these are few and far between now with crazy amounts of applicants. If you’re happy enough to stay where you are and wait then do that, but do be aware that it seems the tide is turning again on remote working and hybrid is the way forward for lots of companys!

HamstersAreMyLife · 30/10/2023 13:23

3 days in the office seems fairly standard, we do 40% so it's 2-3 for most and describe that as fully flexible.

Xmasbaby11 · 30/10/2023 13:24

I don't think the company is for you if they're into presenteeism and lots of socialising. From what you say, you wouldn't be a good fit, and it's not much of a pay rise, so I wouldn't be tempted.

OdeToBarney · 30/10/2023 13:25

Avoid OP. It's three days now, but if the CEO is keen on bums on seats, how long before it's entirely office based?

catgirl1976 · 30/10/2023 13:27

I wouldn’t go for it unless they agree to move on the days in the office and put it in your contract. The “bums on seats” thing makes them sound very old fashioned and I’d worry it would grow to more days. The “family” thing would make me run a mile too.

Cant hurt to go back and ask but make sure it’s water tight if they offer. Otherwise keep looking - there’s lots of remote or mainly remote roles out there

LolaSmiles · 30/10/2023 13:31

Hybrid roles tend to be 2-3 days a week in the office, often with some flexibility on which days they are. There's often some flexibility on start and end times outside of core hours as well.

Fully remote roles exist, but I don't think it's fair for people to apply for hybrid roles knowing that they're hybrid and then complain that it's a hybrid role. The people who want to WFH need to apply for remote WFH roles.

Fieldofbrokenpromises · 30/10/2023 13:42

cocksstrideintheevening · 27/10/2023 18:12

9 day fortnight is pretty common in my firm you do ft over 9 days, most take every second Friday as their off day.

I think fully remote roles are going to disappear and depending on your line of work they'll say no to your request of remote working if they are trying to get bums back on seats. It'll set a precedent that they have presumably being trying to reverse.

I have been 100% WFH in a variety of jobs since 2013. It's not going away for everyone.

Guttedme · 30/10/2023 13:42

I wouldn't trust any of it either. In May I had got a fully remote NIGHT job that just requiring training in the office when starting... (it never did sit right with me that apparent learning setup and surprise, surprise today in that same company, well the role is now actually hybrid remote.

Equally the role I'm just leaving, had some one liners I paid no attention to but turned out red flags...

These including, "be an inspiring team member, everyone looks up to" and "other duties to meet the needs of the business" employed to man the phones (in a job that could be done from home if it were not for opening 5 letters a week) not to assist people with decreased mobility at a risk of injury to myself.

Oblomov23 · 30/10/2023 13:48

Don't do it, bet your'll regret it!

SpiderMother · 30/10/2023 13:54

I’ve just made a similar change - up to full time from part time and 3 days in the office instead of 2. I am finding there is still a degree of flexibility in being in the office. The extra day is manageable but I am definitely finding I am more tired now I’m back to full time so I would think about that. I think maybe it depends on how much you like the role - I am really excited by mine so I was happy to make the changes and I don’t regret it as the advantages outweigh the impact of the change to my working pattern.

Bellyrumble · 30/10/2023 14:20

OP, are you me (two weeks ago?!) lol.

I recently turned down a second interview at a household name company in the North who had excellent benefits package but wanted me in the office 3x a week. I currently do 2, so it wasn’t much difference but I decided not to go to the second interview as the inflexibility about office attendance led me to think they would be pretty inflexible on most things.

they also wanted me to go in person to an interview with them at a days notice- I wasn’t willing to alert my current employer to the fact I was looking.

as it happens , I had an interview for a remote role the next day, same money and I was successful.

long winded way of saying- if it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. You know what’s important to you, for me it was flexibility and despite it being 35% more pay I was still happy to turn it down. And that’s worked for the best overall!

good luck with the search

Didimum · 30/10/2023 15:02

With the way companies are going with increased days in the office, compared to a year ago, if you want to move jobs, then I think it would be a mistake to decline this one. You may well find the exact same as you look in the future. You can always keep looking for a new role if this one does not suit, but if you decline it then you may be taking yourself out of a good thing.

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