To think you shouldn't have to work in the office on Christmas Eve?

[oliverwe]

I work in an office environment. Some people work from home fully remotely, most people are in the office 3-4 days a week. My manager has decided that we must come in 5 days a week. That is minus him and other managers of course, who usually go to their country houses for long weekends.

My folk live in Cornwall and I'd like to go and see them for Christmas. It's about 6 hours on the train or driving.

Manager has told me he expects me in the office on Christmas Eve. I can't take annual leave as other people are. AIBU to think I shouldn't need to be in the office? I can and used to work from home so it's just grinch behaviour.

OMFG has your manager created 20 sock accounts to be a cunt to you on here? It's like a fucking monty python sketch, "back in my day you worked Christmas eve 48 hours for a lump o' coal and were glad of it". Fuck me.

Yes your manager is a bastard if he works from home regularly so he can have long weekends at his holiday home, it's really fucking shitty behaviour that he won't allow a wfh day on Xmas eve if you aren't in an essential services patient/customer facing role.

(I have also worked Christmas eve, Boxing Day and NYD in retail roles in my 20s)

Answer me this OP will he be in on Xmas eve?

And to PPs, she stated she would be travelling after work so assume she would be WFH in Cornwall not whilst travelling. What a mad assumption to make.

Hope you get to have a nice Christmas with your family OP. Sorry your manager is a twat.

I do think the managers should be there if they expect the staff to be.

I worked at branch of a bank in 2003. At the time, there were about 7 other branches of other banks (Streetview shows just 2 now) down the same row of shops. They all closed at 12/12:30pm. We stayed til the normal closing time 4pm and not a single customer turned up. As they presumed we closed early like the others.

All the managers working from home but making everyone else come in means that if I did come in, I would be pestering them every 5 minutes.
Would these slackers even know ifvyou weren’t physically in the office?

It depends on where the OP works....that's why I said it. I work in an office and 4pm will be busy for me.

And did you previously work from home and did you need to travel for several hours to visit your family?

@potatocakesinprogress but the OP isn’t objecting to working on CE, she just wants to do it from home.

I was replying to you not the OP.

Another Christmas Eve, I worked in a call centre. Everyone used public transport as no parking, unless you are a manager. We were expected to finish at normal time on Sundays 5pm. After 1pm, we had no calls coming in - as people were receiving guests, driving to family, getting pissed and got better things to do than to ring a call centre. There were 3-4 other call centres across the UK taking similar calls.

I drove in as the city car parks were free for 5-7 days before Christmas. Plus had to take my ex in early for his work. Stopped off at a hotel on the way and had breakfast buffet.

The head of the call centre where I worked contacted head office explaining that staff are worried missing the last bus or train as the last one was 2-3 hours earlier than normal. They agreed to do this and we left at 2:30pm and divert any calls to the other call centres which majority drove in or carshare.

We got paid the 2.5 hours too.

Christmas Eve is a normal working day. Yabu. Book the time off if you want it off.

Wfh over the Christmas holidays is hugely abused by some. Generally my employer is relaxed about wfh in that everyone can do half the week wfh and it's not monitored too closely - except Christmas, they tracked it last year and it was shocking how lax people were with it, so thanks to some we now we have a policy of no wfh at all over the Christmas period, all have to be in the office unless on annual leave and since it's come in I've come across lots of others with similar rules

Before having DC, travelling to see family was important to me so I used to book Christmas Eve off as annual leave as soon as I could. My work were really good about letting me do this.

I don’t think you should be travelling while ‘working from home’.

@potatocakesinprogress but you’re replying to me referencing the OPs office but whether it’s busy or not is irrelevant as she is not objecting to working.

It’S a NoRmAl WoRkInG dAY

.. The world of work changed almost 5 years ago. One of the benefits of hybrid working is that you CAN work from anywhere now. I certainly took advantage of it when I lived 600 miles away from home. And for the record I actually don’t like wfh 🤣

I would have thought more people work from home during the Xmas period regardless of potential travel plans.

If you have many colleagues who use PT to go to work, they will struggle as last bus is normally 6pm. Then if need a taxi its double rate and some places its triple rate. I am sure they want to finish early.

@Auburngal not sure why people will struggle though as apparently it’s a “normal working day “.

Not according to bus and train companies. If you travelled by bus to work and you missed the last bus, how pissed off would you be paying double rate for a taxi taking you home?

@Londonrach1 why do some shops eg large supermarkets, shopping centres, department stores close early if it’s a normal working day? Why is there a reduced public transport service in the evening? Why do some McDonalds and other eateries close early?

You should have booked annual leave.

Yep, pretty obvious your brain is not working at is very obvious what she means by her post at 8.44.

oliverwe · Today 20:44
I'd get the train after work on the Monday...

Travel after work on Monday 23rd, easy to conclude meaning she will work from where she is travelling to on the 24th.

One thing that pissed me off with Christmas was the number of people who work part time booked time over Christmas and have family within 30 min drive away. That happened at my last work. Colleagues booking 27/12 off when they finish at 2pm and their family live 2 streets away. I have family living 80 mile away and I finished at 6-7pm

Those like OP who have family living miles away never are able to book it off even if they are the first ones to submit a request.

@Auburngal I was quoting other posters, I’m not someone who claims it is a normal day.

Your boss is a hypocritical grinch. Any decent manager would show some flexibility around Christmas, particularly if you would be alone over Christmas and wanting to spend it instead with your parents. Will you be alone in the office?? If he sticks to his guns then I would be looking for another job in the new year and making clear to him why. If you have to work in the office on Christmas Eve is there any chance you can get an internal flight from one of the major airports near you down to Newquay so you might still be able to be with your parents for Christmas?

One thing that pissed me off with Christmas was the number of people who work part time booked time over Christmas and have family within 30 min drive away. That happened at my last work. Colleagues booking 27/12 off when they finish at 2pm and their family live 2 streets away. I have family living 80 mile away and I finished at 6-7pm

They still want to spend the festive time with their families though so why shouldn’t they also have time off?

There should be a rota though so it’s fair.