To feel that remote working should be a right, not a privilege?

[AlertBird]

With the advances in technology, it seems outdated that so many companies still require employees to come into the office for jobs that could easily be done remotely. AIBU to think that, for jobs where possible, remote working should be a right, not a privilege? It could help with work-life balance and reduce stress, but a lot of employers seem stuck in their old ways of thinking.

Of course it is dependent on the type of work that you do, but I agree that it should be offered by default for most bog-standard office-based jobs. Or at least hybrid work should become the norm.

Also, I think that people with disabilities/long term health conditions should be given the automatic right to WFH.

It really is intrusive to have to keep giving details of your health condition to justify WFH and being pressured all the timer to change your work arrangements. I have a long term health condition and I live a 2.5 hour commute each way from my company's office. I only took the job because at interview I was assured that I could work remotely and only attend quarterly all staff meeting. 6 months into the job I was told to be in the office once a week and felt completely misled...having more protection in law would mean employers can't just take the piss in this way.

People with disability keep being told that they should be in work so WFH is one way to support many to achieve this outcome.

Also environmental concerns don't seem to be a thing anymore but commuting accounts for around 5% of the UK’s CO2 emissions

Exactly.

As long as those employees don't object to pay cuts in order that those within the company who cannot work from home (because a 20ft long machine weighting 2 tons won't fit in their house), get paid more. If you see it as "right" to work at home, then you'd have no objections to others having the "right" to be paid extra for having to be on-site.

It shouldn't be imposed, definitely not by law which was what I'm assuming you meant?

Some professions and sectors can't operate on WFH basis so it would be a pointless right to acquire anyway.

Sectors better suited to WFH will develop their own policies and a natural competition of work benefits will develop between them to attract the best workers. Hybrid and remote work are great benefits to have on the table but some people don't like it and aren't suited to it, so might not appreciate it as a right anyway.

I wouldn't rule out secondary education being all online in future. If most parents wfh anyway they can supervise their teenagers, feed them and provide workspace which would save a fortune. No expensive school sites to run just a "hub" for them to pop into once a week for a bit of PE or woodwork.

I think it would be utterly crap as an education model but I can see it happening in my lifetime.

No. It has been used and abused as a form of childcare. If you’re at work you are at work. Your kid shouldn’t be in the house unless they are being supervised by another adult and even then it is distracted. Pissed off employers are pushing back for a reason.

How much does heating 30 homes during the day rather than one office for 30 people account for?

What I think there should be is for some defined jobs the right to at least one day a week wfh. More importantly, if you have done a given number or all days wfh, a minimum notice period to increase the number of days working in an office.

I'd like to think that some of the reasons that make going to an office difficult could be solved, but public transport will take years to improve, and the colleague who you find has unpleasant habits or behaviour is not going to leave or be sacked, no doubt.

I am a supporter of hybrid - with some in office time every week.

I work in an industry which revolves around relationships. More and more meetings are retuning to in person because they are just more effective.

I have noticed an erosion of interpersonal skills since Covid. Staff reluctant to meet in person, attend conferences and seminars, meet to train new starts. Inappropriate behaviors in in person meetings from new staff who simply don’t get the opportunities to observe how things should be.

People now refusing to put their camera on when meeting clients, wearing entirely inappropriate clothing to in person meetings, having loud conversations when others are speaking, turning up late to meetings with no apologies.

The younger graduates who are resistant to time in the office are visibly falling behind their peers who spend time around colleagues and senior managers.

hybrid does allow more balance in home life, but also ensures people have the best of both worlds.

The OU has moved to all online (no day schools or even books now) and it’s a terrible learning experience.

No. Your hypothesis is wrong. How would you apply that across all businesses.

Yep brilliant, remote working is a right.
I’ll be teaching from home then, hope you’ve got some childcare in place and my SIL can tell her patients to come round to hers for their hysterectomies and fibroid ops as she is doing surgery from home.
Oh, you mean just for people like you that work in offices? That’s how rights work - just for some people?

The op stipulates - “AIBU to think that, for jobs where possible, remote working should be a right, not a privilege?“

Remote and Hybrid working can be a huge help in the Levelling up agenda.

The ability to have well paid jobs move to places that aren’t commutable to a large city, will bring more money into those towns / villages / regions.

It also helps people with a disability into work, who may be unable to drive or to access public transport.

I work aligned to the Civil Service and find the drive back to office working unnecessary. What CS shouod be doing is saying .. let’s actively move these roles to more deprived areas, let’s leverage Home / Hybrid working to assist in redistributing wealth around the country. The govt should be encouraging large organisations to do this.

Moving some of those “big four” etc salaries out if London / Manchester etc, could help spark regeneration in poorer areas.

Of course it’s “up to the business” .. but I do wish they saw it through a lens of Social Responsibility sometime (especially the CS, who should be leading by example)

The op stipulates - “AIBU to think that, for jobs where possible, remote working should be a right, not a privilege?“. Teaching and retail wouldn’t be 100% WfH - so this falls under the caveat “where possible”.

So many posters misunderstanding op - district nursing cannot be WfH, same for retail etc. I don’t think they read the op properly - she is talking about jobs that can be done 100% from home.

It's really up to a business to decide which model they believe is going to be successful for them. In just the same way as they decide where they'll set up, what kind of medical benefits they'll give, whether they'll provide company cars, whether they'll have some kind of dress code or uniform.

And each of those is driven by what they think will make money, what they think will attract and retain staff, what they think is the best way to shape company culture.

If you don't like the medical benefits or the car or the flexibility around WFH, don't join. If no one will join, they'll change the policy. If people do join, then they've found a good model.

Nobody is missing a point or misunderstanding, they are using examples to clarify how this is not a sensible suggestion.

You can’t have a right ‘as far as possible.’

A right is universal, if something can’t be universal it can’t be a right.

Therefore remote working can only ever be a privilege of some roles.

I support hybrid working where it is possible- we are allowed to work 40% of our time at home if we choose and I take full advantage.

However I also recognise the huge benefits of being in the office for in person interaction and development of soft skills as well as general mental well being.

On Friday I went in and spent pretty much all day head down writing a complex document - something that could be done at home. However I chose to go in to the office. I got to chat through a tricky issue in person with a colleague who was sitting near me, I had lunch in the canteen with a couple of people, I had a better set up for working (an adjustable desk and three monitors) and I was able to leave it all at the office door, physically and mentally when I left at 6pm.

Again.
You can’t have a right ‘as far as possible’.

The misunderstanding is people using the word ‘right’ a right is universal.

I’m not saying flexibility is a bad thing or that remote working shouldn’t exist for anyone, it is an excellent benefit of many roles just that it can’t be a right if it isn’t available for everyone.

I know so many that take the piss when they’re wfh that I can see why employers have had enough tbh.

You can have the "right" to request it and the employer could reasonably refuse if it was unworkable (ie if you were a bus driver)

I do think so people take the p*
I know for a fact not everyone wfh is actually working, despite what posters claim on here.
There are many, many times I’ve found it completely unhelpful when someone is wfh and I’ve needed immediate assistance. If learning from an email or Teams message was that effective then why are we wasting millions on face to face education?
I think hybrid is a good solution.

Me too. I think many more will be back in the office in the next few years. Many companies will follow Amazons example.