Turn down job offer that requires 4 days a week.in office?

[Greenbootgrass]

Hi All

Offered a new role at a different company, salary increase and better pension however....

I currently wfh 2 days a week, new job only allows 1 day a week wfh

Am I mad to say no to this?

Really enjoy my 2 days a week at home, comfy clothes, no commute ( hour each way) and doing errands etc at lunchtime.

I wouldn’t change job nor would I negotiate. I’d just stay where I was. Chances are if you ageee a further say at home that your colleagues may be pissed off and it’s not worth it. Stay where you bar relationships and the company is set up for remote working. Ask for a 3rd day at home in current role. They know you. It’s different.

A 10% pay crease would make a huge difference in my life. I’m
surprised do many think that it’s ‘nothing’.

I think it depends on what 10% amounts to in real terms and your costs going into the office.

Ten percent for me would be £6k, I’m in Scotland so after tax it would give me £500 more, which is definitely worth having.

My commuting costs for an additional 2 days would be £60/week and I’d need childcare for my youngest which adds another £30/week assuming I can find someone (childcare hard to find wheee I am). So a £500 pay rise per month set against £360/450 additional costs (not to mention time and inconvenience) is much less attractive.

Don’t forget to factor in the cost of another day’s commute to the salary increase. And if you’re disorganised like me that means spending £10 on lunch/coffee too!!

I’ve turned down a couple not solely because of 4 day on office but also to do with the role. I have noticed that salary’s do seem to be higher now for roles that are more in office than at home though so that’s something were the right role to come up.

I'd be declining and making it very clear when I decline that it's a shame as I'm keen on the role and think I could be good at it etc but the inflexibility of office days won't work for me. You never know, they may suddenly be able to find some flexibility for you if they really want you. Otherwise, never mind and just keep on looking.

This. Add in the fact that you are likely to spend more on coffee and food when in the office, then it doesn't make much of a pay rise.

I made a similar move recently and actually enjoy being in the office more. Collaborative working is easier, I’ve bonded quicker with colleagues, I enjoy leaving home behind and the commute to wind down each day/switch off work before I get home.

It’s not a fixed number of days in the office but it tends to be 3-4 most weeks.

if the commute costs are high could you negotiate a bit more salary? Or like others suggest ask if you can wfh 2 days and see what they say.

'the world has changed and companies who won’t offer better flexibility (where the roles allow of course) aren’t going to retain the talent.'
How presumptuous does that sound - no wonder the country is in such a mess with that prevailing entitled attitude.
Most of you posters seem to have such high opinions that your jobs are so vital that employers would be so lucky to pay you to take an easy working life.

The WORLD has not changed - just your little corner of it.

I’d possibly do it for a 50% increase but for me mostly working from home is priceless! I have been working 80% from home for years, even pre-pandemic.

Nah sorry you are wrong. I work in HR/Recruitment and the world of work and what people expect has most definitely changed and rightly so. People have had a taste of a more balanced lifestyle and work so much better because of it. If employers want the best talent then the policies they have in place surrounding the role are vital. We very often land really good people who come to us and not our competitors simply because of working practices. Pay comes second to that these days.

For only one extra day I’d accept it. If you did 3/4 days wfh then it would be a bigger adjustment but going from 2 to 1 isn’t that different.

This. Employees have a lot more say now and it’s not being entitled.

Not getting a lunch break in an 08:30 - 18:30 job is illegal.
I wouldn't want to work for a company like that!

Would you get a lunch break in the new role?

The world of work HAS changed though…!

@Greenbootgrass this might be your last pre retirement move… Mandating 4 days in the office seems quite inflexible to me. Is presenteeism just the tip of the iceberg?? Have you looked at glass door?

Because it's not like OP will get that extra 10% straight in her pocket.

Some will go to tax, NI, pension.
Some will go on the additional days' commute each week.
Some might go on extra childcare costs for that extra day.

So what starts out looking like a great increase may only turn to be something like £50 a month.

Interesting that they put hybrid but not 4 days. They know!

It depends on the commute length but if I was happy in my current role then no, I wouldn't change.

I do think going into the office is really important but 2/3 days is enough. I left a job because we moved to 3 days in the office and my 2% pay rise at the worst of COL crises didn't cover the petrol to get there the third day despite me taking the job and it being highly advertised at 2 days at most in the office.

From the minimal info we have, this employer are getting away with as much as they can and still calling it hybrid. Reeks to me of 5 days within a year.

I wouldn't want a job with a 6.30 end time and then an hours commute but you were prepared to do it 3 days, not sure the 4th would be a deal breaker for me if I was you. Is it more interesting, better prospects, more secure. Those are the things that might swing it for me.

I wfh and wouldn't consider extra office days for 10%. 20% maybe but not 10

It's not so much that people can't hack it, more they don't have to. It doesn't sound like the OP has to either with the choice of staying put and trading the pay increase for that day WFH.

The extra day in the office wouldn't bother me, but the culture you describe of working 8.30 - 6.30 with no breaks would put me off.

We pay a bit over the odds and have no problem retaining the talent
Worth the extra money for the better productivity with staff in the office
Win /Win

Hard no, and I'd tell them why.

Corporate decided that everyone had to be in the office 4 days a week for "Collaboration".
Problem is, my main role is dealing with the other sites outside of the UK so I still have to do the majority of my work via email and teams.
The "Collaboration" turns out to be me helping the new people on the team as the managers are too busy most of the time.
So I end up doing much less work in the office because I'm essentially training other people that are in different roles.
I'm drowning in my work because I'm the only one that can do my role but management are pleased because I'm helping my colleagues and even got a glowing review about it.

I'm looking for another job.

I love how these posts always brings out the WFH haters, I too was once a WFH hater (or perhaps jealous of those that could) until I took a pay cut to leave a 5 day office job to one that offers 3 days WFH.

Those 3 days WFH have changed my life for the better in so many more valuable ways then the extra pay could of ever done.

I save about 4.5 hours commuting, which I now spend going to leisure centre after work for swimming. I have an hour lunch break which I spend prepping lunch or keeping on top of house work so that I don’t waste my weekends doing housework. No I’m not taking the piss in working hours doing this, it’s my lunch break which I can choose to spend how I want whereas in the office even on lunch people would come and ask things of me so it was never really a break.

The pay cut was huge, but after factoring costs after taxes/No/cost saved in petrol I would never do 5 days in the office again. Times have changed, as much as you office fanatics say they haven’t. Whilst many back to the office employers are reported on the media, there are many more employers extending their WFH privileges it’s just not reported on as the media doesn’t want to paint that picture

Of course you are not mad, do what suits you, I left my job and retired because it changed to wfh and I didn't want that, we all want different things.