To think that Boots move to 5 days a week is a step back for workplace equality

[Vistada]

Boots HQ, a predominantly female workforce - has been told they are to be back in the office five days a week from September with no debate and no real solid reasoning (in my view)

https://www.personneltoday.com/hr/boots-to-end-hybrid-working-for-office-workers/

I think the move to hybrid working is amazing for everyone, not just women, in terms of helping to achieve the work/life/parenting balance that has eluded us for so long, but we can't deny women shoulder this juggling act more.

I think this move, and any move back to 5 days in the office (where its really not needed) is a huge step back for workplace equality - and for a male CEO to enforce this just shows how out of touch he is.

I would say we are definitely not lazier.

The majority of people work longer because we aren’t stuck in traffic, or having to work 15 minutes from the car park to the office because the main car park is full 🤷🏼‍♀️

As for us one comment I’ve seen so far about us perhaps not being ‘productive’, considering we’ve worked bloody well remotely and then in a hybrid set up for the last 4 years, and still delivered better-than-expected growth year after year, I’d say that’s not the case here.

I was musing. Been boycotting Boots for years so have absolutely no interest in following their successes or otherwise. I’ve no idea what has caused the growth, or whether it’s at pre-Covid levels or higher.

Many businesses have found productivity has been impacted by WFH. Not beyond the possible that Boots had found this.

I know of two people through a friend that this will Impact. If it goes ahead they will both leave and say that others will too. There’s so many companies offering wfh now that you really don’t have to be in the office if you don’t want to be.

If you work for an employer that thinks giving you time to do the school run is "bunking off"...I feel for you.

Luckily my employer has always given this time where they can even pre covid.

Jesus.

Do you have an idea of the proportion of staff were hired pre-Covid and how many since? Because the ones who were hired before have less cause to be outraged to be honest. If you were hired on a remote/hybrid basis, then they have more of a point.

@custardcreamed

As for us one comment I’ve seen so far about us perhaps not being ‘productive’, considering we’ve worked bloody well remotely and then in a hybrid set up for the last 4 years, and still delivered better-than-expected growth year after year, I’d say that’s not the case here.

Louder for the people in the back!!! Delivering record results working remotely or hybrid undermines the whole move to five days for any company

Its disingenuous and a disgusting way to treat your people.

I sincerely hope this backfires in the worst way for them

Massive backward step for the environment

Can you share the breakdown of how profit growth has been achieved?

maybe half of the staff have been working really hard and the other half haven’t. Maybe they were lucky. I’m not sure every person working there directly impacts the net profit.

regardless of what contract you signed, a shift in working pattern of this magnitude for four years cannot be ignored, peoples lives have organically changed around hybrid and home working - it would be impossible for it not to.

Oft trotted out. Presumably on the basis of fewer cars on the road.

nobody ever considers the environmental impact of running offices for 20-50% of staff whilst the other 50-80% are heating their individual homes.

I don’t to be fair, I don’t want to out myself and say my own personal circumstances!

In some areas there is a lot of turnover (and this is through internal moves as much as external leavers) and I would say actually the percentage is quite high in some of those teams.

We’ve also been recruiting for a good while highlighting a hybrid 3 days in the office/2 days wfh structure (and this is still in the job ads as far as I know!) and I know of at least 2 people who have recently started, who have decent commutes and childcare responsibilities who took the job on the hybrid wfh basis.

As far as I’m aware it was news to even senior leaders, if you want to know how much the rug has been pulled from under us.

omg nine consecutive quarters of LUCK! How lucky can one company be!

Do me a favour.

You have to discount the first 2 years though. They wouldn’t have created custom and practice arguments being government mandated.

There are too many women I know who are juggling childcare, home stuff and work because of WFH, whether that's preschool kids 100% of the time, after school or school holidays. I do not know of many men who do this.

I think WFH is a backwards step for women. It means that they are expected to do it all. Men would just use childcare.

I WFH but work school hours (and my husband works extended hours throughout the year so he takes most of the summer off). I don't think doing pick ups, having 'quiet' kids in the background is good for for workplace or home life.

KPMG CEO Outlook survey suggests two thirds if CEOs expect full time office working will return within 3 years. A retrograde step. I do hope they’re wrong

Fine. But we're still talking two years.

not getting the change friday and completely changing my whole life around it by monday.

I presume they did pretty well out of Covid tests. Weren’t they one of the government suppliers? And then vaccinations etc.

WFH being the norm as opposed to the exception takes us further down the road of human interaction becoming redundant and AI doing the work.

Employers have every right to ask for office attendance. Those who need home working can state that at appointment level and have it in their contract.

No but we have to discount any benefit government mandated remember! Your words not mine.

And it was beauty.

I do love No7 tbf.

Other large companies have done this recently too, I do know of one that has had a lot of people hand in their notice and some who have challenged it because its gone on so long, I don't know all the details of that though and how you go about challenging it legally. I agree that where it isn't necessary to be physically there, companies should embrace the technology we now have and be more flexible.

As I say, I’ve boycotted them for years. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Incidentally. 75% of the CEOs I've worked for, and the bulk are pre covid. Were not based in the town where the office was.

They used travel up Monday night and travel back thursday night.

It was always thus for CEOs working outside of london (where these were all based)

Go figure.

I can’t without getting too close to outing who I am.

What I will say however is that this is a full group level (so internationally), and we know that Walgreens is struggling, and they haven’t come back into the office at all (even though it had been mandated).. so there could well be truth to that comment but I wouldn’t say it’s been a problem for us.

Stay safe. Don't give too much away

The discounting the first 2 years is based on employment law.

my comments about their profits are based on business exploits.

2 different animals.

I think their pushing the ideology that men can be women is pretty ignorant of women’s issues, so not sure why anyone would be surprised by this.

and in any case, there is NOTHING to suggest they will enforce it.