Work situation - is this reasonable?

[Floofydawg]

I'm in a mid senior role in financial services. Work part time (4 days, not condensed) but still get a full time workload done. Am expected to travel around once a month for work which ends up in me doing more than my paid hours that week. I don't get that time back and I still have to get my work done.

Next Monday I've been asked to travel for a department wide 'away day' which will basically just be a talking shop. This would mean me leaving home at 6.30am and not getting back til around 8pm. I've said I'm not going and my manager is trying to pressure me. AIBU to stick to my guns?

And when did MN turn into FB? 🤔

No - I work at least 12 hours x 5 and will work weekends. Generally I do 7:30-7:30 in the office, work on the train on the days I’m in London, longer hours when not and will do a few hours at the weekend. Why is that not believable?

read my first comment - I stated clearly it’s no issue as long as you are happy to stay where you are. Multiple people came back and said that she shouldn’t have to do longer. That had nothing to do with my original comment. And if she doesn’t want to progress why are they making that point?

Let’s not start with the low brow jibes about reading comprehension eh. It’s mumsnet not a brief.

Oh God, you’re one of those people.

I’m a similar age to you and didn’t get many childcare concession either when my children were little. But I’m happy for younger women (& men) today that their childcare responsibilities are more respected in the workplace. It’s not a race to the bottom to see who can be treated the worst by their employers.

@Twiglets1 I'm talking specifically about people WFH with young kids there. I don't think that's reasonable - you can't do a proper job whilst entertaining kids.

You were also expressing your resentment over your colleague not attending this away day because she has young children.
That is between her and her line manager.

I’d be more pissed about the working 5 days and getting paid 4… as this is on too then, yes ask for a half days holiday maybe?

@Twiglets1 ok but we have the same line manager. And said colleague has just decided they're not going, haven't sought permission. I think I was responding to someone upthread who suggested that people with kids trump all other special requirements.

I have insomnia and the stress of traveling makes it worse. I literally won't sleep the night before and this wipes me out for the whole week. But I guess that's less common than childcare issues and not as easy to discuss.

A good line manager should show equal compassion for all the issues their staff are facing.
Your line manager may not be good of course. But that’s not the fault of your colleague with childcare issues so it’s a shame for you to get angry at people like her getting concessions we never had. The world has changed since then and this is one change that is better for the predominantly female workers juggling work with childcare.

That’s not the same as being unable to attend an event due to lack of childcare.

It's not unbelievable, it's just sad.

I agree with the pp who gave you some good wording to discuss it with your manager. But I'd definitely say you want to be paid as full time compressed hours because that's what you're doing anyway. If they try to push more onto you say no, as you are already starting to do. You're already in the mental space where you want to leave anyway, an extra two or three months of higher salary could be a helpful nest egg. If they say well now you're working full time you can also do X remind them you've always been working full time hours but not being paid for it so you have no additional hours to do all these new jobs.

I'd probs just do it. Office jobs have pretty short hours anyway. I usually do 10 hours a day but 12 is not uncommon. I'm now covering at another plant from Wed until Xmas and it's a 2.5hr round trip.

So, any 12 hour days will become 14.5 hour days and I'll still spend 1.5 hours in the gym Mon/Wed/Fri. It's only for a few weeks so I'm just going to deal with it.

I'd insist that your menopause insomnia is taken seriously by HR, OP. It's no small thing.

Why? It’s not slave labour? It’s my choice.

Well it's not big or clever in the context of your own life or health and I believe you will come to regret prioritising work in this way, but more importantly, it normalises this way of working for other people who actually want to have a life. People who aren't being paid as much as you. Because if people on 200K think it's fine to work 70 hour weeks, it quickly becomes expected of people on far less money too.

@MsRosley sadly my company's menopause policy is a bit of a joke.

Reading the thread, I can see your point. I was in a similar situation with work. They saw nothing wrong with me driving to Manchester from Bristol for an away day, driving at 6 to Swansea. Providing a day of training to external clients, leaving at 5.30 and driving to London for an all day client meeting.
My boss once objected to me leaving Halifax to go home to Bristol at 3pm....yet would leave Bristol as soon as he could to go to Halifax.
I had enough when I got to 40 and don't regret leaving. The only consolation I have is we were asked to provide feedback to HR for him as a development tool. I slaughtered him, much to the shock of the others taking part.

With the overtime would be looking at how much full timers do and if mine was disproportionate and there was little prospect of a workload decrease would be seeking to increase my paid hours whilst retaining a non working day. Eg 0.85 or 0.9 fte over 4 days.

This may no longer be an option, in my large financial sector organisation compressed hours are no longer allowed.

Oh yes we have compressed hours here. And people take the piss out of it. It's partly why my boss keeps forgetting I work actual part time.

These are really weird judgements based on preconceived ideas. I’m happy with my career, I have an excellent family and colleagues, our lifestyle is far from challenging.

This is a choice I made to progress, per hour jobs don’t have this expectation and neither do more junior positions. It’s a choice you make. And I am happy with mine.

@Floofydawg Bigger fool you then. Why aren’t you on a compressed hours contract?

So screw everyone else then?

Nothing to say about the fact that people who normalise crazy working hours are having a negative effect on everyone else?