Desk and office given away

[Proseccoprincess33]

I am due to return to work following maternity leave next month. I am anxious about going back but this has been further intensified by the fact my office has been given away during my time off. This has been my office for 5 years. Not only has it been given away permanently but I have not been allocated another office or even a desk. I only became aware of this because some colleagues alerted me to it and I then contacted my manager to discuss it.

She is off site and very hands off so we rarely see her if at all. In fact I have never met her. So had I not been given this heads up by my colleagues I would have been coming into work to see my office and desk occupied and no place for me to sit on my first day back.

I am part of a multidisciplinary team and I manage one of the departments. Therefore having my own desk and office is so important to supervise staff and the nature of our work is very sensitive so privacy is a vital. But at this stage I'd settle for a desk of my own.

I am having a meeting with my manager about this very soon and have found out she has invited 2 very senior managers along also which is intimidating and not helpful to the anxiety I am experiencing. I think she fears I will be very unhappy and so has her reinforcements ready to tell me tough sh1t.

Her solution so far has been that they'll slot me into a desk somewhere when other staff are off....ie hot desking.

AIBU that I am so upset about this and want to fight for a resolution? Any advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation would be much appreciated.

Thank you 😊

Has anyone mentioned Pregnant then Screwed yet? Their helpline was a godsend for me last year OP when I needed help.

Secondly, a lot of the posters on here slagging off "emotionally immature employees" and assuming "senior management will have planned for X Y and Z" clearly have no experience of senior managers and assume they are Gods with powers infinitely above that of the common or garden worker.

I suggest they will be a bit shocked when the AI job carnage comes and they have to all get entry-level care jobs because it's the only job that's left, and they suddenly realise most senior managers are a bit crap and self absorbed, just like everyone else is, and that they make mistakes/massive oversights all the time. And that in the NHS, the culture in some areas is to just keep promoting shit clinicians until they are senior managers to stop them directly harming patients with crap care.

A good manager makes decisions in collaboration with the staff involved, not in opposition to them.

And a good manager knows they work WITH their staff not ABOVE them.

There are no superiors or underlings, it's not 1920, working hierarchies are flatter nowadays, and some people need to get their heads out of their arses because the belief that they're fundamentally better than OP by dint of job title is really showing in some posts.

PS OP, thanks for everything you do. I personally believe social worker is one of the hardest jobs out there and one of the most under-appreciated and that anyone who has done the job long enough to have progressed into a specialism and who still gives a shit about their patients and hasn't gotten desensitised to patients' needs should have a whole fucking office block to themselves if they want it, never mind a single desk to do work on. You're really not asking for much.

@Nanaof1 I'm so sorry to hear about your sister but I am so happy that you got the help and support that you and your precious sister so rightly deserved ❤️

I would go in making the assumption that it is about how and when the "squatters" will be moving out of your space

Thanks for this. And so well said. So true about so many senior managers 🙈 it is scary who climbs the ranks and usually in very fast succession. And YES to working with staff and not above them. That is how I work with the team and always have ❤️ so important 👏

Haha, thank you so much. It is a tough job but it is so worth it and I feel so privileged to work so closely with people at their most vulnerable times.

Haha, I think I will go in with the assumption that a desk space will be sourced forsure. And if not suggest WFH on the days it cannot be. Thanks for your input 😊

@Sickdissapointed I am so sorry you went through this. That is horrendous. I truly hope you were able to find a working solution that worked in your favour. But what horrific management. So little respect for you as a worker and a person. Just heartbreaking 💔

You have every right to be upset. You should be not hot deskingas a senior manager.

And if they invited two other senior managers, I hate to say this I’ve been in your shoes, but more than likely they may give you the boot, or redefined your role. So just be prepared.

With the new hot desking, I had to provide my own power extension cable. Granted it only cost £8 but wtf?! The desks I could use weren’t close enough to power so I couldn’t use the 2 screens and docking station and my laptop doesn’t hold enough charge to last a full day - by 3pm it’s dying.

I wish you the very best of luck. No advice op. But I hope you will take a union rep with you. It does sound as if something is afoot.

@SisterMichaelsHabit sorry I meant to say I have contacted pregnant then screwed 😊

Thank you ❤️

@jrc1071 thanks for this. I have a permanent contract with the trust so thankfully I won't be left jobless but yes a redefined role is very possible or an internal move.

@TeenLifeMum that is so bad 🙈🤣 I love what you do with the screen backgrounds 🤣

Thanks to everyone who commented. Some messages left me feeling sad and concerned for the future of humanity with the lack of empathy and cruel undertones. However the respectful replies (for either side of the debate) and the supportive messages have eclipsed any negative or sad feelings I had and I really do appreciate all of your amazing advice.

I will update you all with how the meeting goes. It's not until Thurs week. Thanks again ❤️

@TeenLifeMum If they supplied the laptop with the insufficient battery - perhaps just call it a day at 3? 😛

I haven’t read the whole thread but hopefully the meeting will go well for you, and that the union rep is available.
You will be at an advantage as to do your role you will have lots of social skills and this manager whose never bothered to meet you in 5 years clearly has none - best case scenario is she won’t come out looking too good to her bosses!

Whole thing seems like an NHS manager at their most infuriating. I think the person with the 10 points to consider, had some really good things to say, and it is only 2 women post MAT leave who are being left to got desk so intentional or not it LOOKS discriminatory as hell.

IMO I wouldn’t worry too much about being redeployed - a trust would have to have really screwed up priorities to consider downsizing a relatively small palliative care CNS team. (Assuming this is your role) The team in my
trust make such a difference - they’re ace.

Are you the OPs manager?

@noodlebugz I did consider that. I now just rarely go to that office unless there’s a tangible benefit for me.

Sorry not read all replies but if you are the only person having to "hot desk"( btw that is a not the definition of hotdesking - there should be pool of available desks - to match the number of hot deskers !) then your company has dropped a clanger! I would think you are within your rights as a maternity worker coming back to work (full time I presume ?) to have a desk/office as you did before UNLESS they are making changes to ALL workers arrangements. Good luck

Hmmm. I hope it was PAT tested and wasn't trailing across common walkways - and that your H&S person had approved it.

I also think that hotdesking and DSE requirements can often be conflicting, this is where you need a strong H&S manager for each site.

Good luck @Proseccoprincess33 with everything

Good luck for next week's meeting OP!

Start by asking for a keeping in touch day

see what happens

how long have you been off for?

That isn't quite true though. You didn't respond to me saying that most likely they will simply tuck a third desk into the remaining office for the extra employee.

I can appreciate you felt upset because your colleagues told you there is no desk. It would be a bit unusual to disturb someone's maternity leave with minutiae about desks, it's a fine line about what counts as "reasonable contact" and if there is a plan of sorts then they would not contact you to avoid harassing you on leave. Your employer MUST contact you however about redundancy or reorganisation (or promotion opportunities too), so make sure you ask on the spot about dates when decisions were taken if anything like that is raised. Surprising if that has only just come up at the end of your maternity leave, but possible. Stay calm and reasonable, and ask for thinking time if you don't like the answers. Raising issues is much better done outside the meeting calmly and in writing, with help from ACAS, union rep etc.