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.

Presumably he once did cover these less favourable work
Shifts in the run up to Christmas. If the OP doesnt like the Xmas arrangements then find another Job. If you are a more junior member of staff and view your senior leaders enjoying the fruits of their labour then, in time, you shall have the same but only once you have earned that privilege.

Manager lost your sympathy because they've worked hard enough to become a second home owner?

Company owners hire directors to do things they don't do. Directors hire managers to do things they don't do. Managers hire staff to do things they don't do. That's how businesses are run.

I'm forever amazed by people who see the fruits of success as some kind of negative.

Just say you can't because you're driving down to Cornwall at the weekend. Christmas day being in the week. Are you working the day after boxing day?

What do you do in the office? Are their any meetings booked etc? Why does he want you there?

Use the holidays to polish your cv and look for another job. Check your contract though.

Nah, fuck that

That's a perfect day to work from your parents home and it's really fucking shitty and unnecessarily power hungry for him to insist on this when you're not client facing

I would say 'I'm working from home the full day on Christmas Eve'. The worst thing that could happen is you get sacked if within the two years?

Or a verbal warning?

Drive over the evening after work on the 23rd and wf cornwall in the day at her parents house surely - or wf her parents 23rd and 24th so she can go over on the weekend.

No sympathy for the manager here. He's an arsehole who is being a twat about allowing the OP to WFH to allow her to travel outside working hours to be with her parents for Christmas. His insistence that the OP be in the office on Christmas Eve seems pointless and grinchy. He's not a decent manager if he won't even allow his staff to have some flexibility and he will lose any goodwill if this is how he treats people. Regardless of how hard the manager has worked to have a second home, he obviously doesn't have any decency or any good people management skills.

I read all the posts thanks. Her boss wants her in the office and as she’s provided no context other than she used to work at home, how are we to know if this is reasonable?

It depends. Why do they say you have to be in the office? Is there the possibility of in-person callers who need an in-person service? Or does the office have to be open for mail, stock or supplies to be delivered?

If there’s no reason for you to be in the office, because all your job description requirements can be met working remotely, IMHO, it’s unreasonable for them to say you must work in the office, especially if they know your family lives hours away.

I’d talk to them again to discuss the reasoning.

(If you haven’t already told anyone your plans…) I have a terrible premonition that you’re going to have flu Christmas 🎄 week 😷

Surely it's impossible to know if the boss is being grinchy without knowing the industry?
I've worked in a lot of public sector and third sector offices, and they were genuinely busy on Christmas eve- though only because they were skeleton staffed due to allowing more than the usual number of people to book leave. And the work with the public doesn't really stop!
The managers would often start letting people go in the afternoon although they weren't really supposed to. It is important for managers to lead by example though.
I'm sorry though, if you've got a six hour public transport journey to do for Christmas its a bit daft not to actually book it off in advance and just assume you can work elsewhere. It's not unusual even for workplaces that allow WFH to be stricter with 'either you're on leave, or you're in work ' over Christmas, because of the issues of childcare/guests impacting on work done, confidentiality and availability for meetings (not sure if it's everywhere but round us there are very few options for childcare during Xmas hols)

Maybe he thinks that someone traveling to the family home for Christmas Eve will be spending Christmas Eve with the family, instead of doing the work they're being paid for?

That doesn't make him an arsehole or a twat.

It'd be different if the company had a policy of letting people go at 12 or letting everyone WFH, but based on what the OP has said, some staff have used a day's annual leave to have Christmas Eve off.

It's hardly fair on those people that everyone else is allowed to "WFH" (wink wink), just because they want to.

Total Grinch behaviour. Ask if you can travel after work on 23rd and work remotely from your relatives on Christmas Eve so that there will still be an online and phone presence.

It's really bad luck about your Christmas break but if your contract says you work Christmas Eve then you have to, unless annual leave has been approved. If it's the sort of job where cover is needed on that day, it's not unreasonable. You could ask someone to swap with you. Or if you got a later train for most of the distance, could a relative pick you up in the car for the last bit?

Why would she not be working?

And yes that kind of assumption without evidence does make him a twat

I think the work ethic of a lot of posters is clouding their responses. They would use WFH as an excuse to skive off and just assume everyone is like them. I have WFH since Covid and me and my team who also do are all extremely productive (and yes I do see everyone’s stats in order to be able to ascertain this)

My 'non-essential' office was open every day of the year, from about 0600 to midnight. There used to be overnight staff on too until we 'handed over' the operation to the Hong Kong office who took the night shift.
Everyone worked shifts except quite senior managers (newsroom.)
In fact there was a lot of competition to sign up for Christmas Day working, you got three days extra pay for it plus a day off in lieu. So older people, singletons, and Christmas-phobes all jostled for it.
For Boxing and New Year's day you got an extra day's pay (in effect double time) plus a day in lieu.

@ThatsNotMyTeen it's not unusual for companies to restrict home working at Christmas, because there are so many extra demands that make WFH at Christmas difficult compared to other times of year. Children at home (no holiday clubs) extra guests, food prep, travelling... It's not about everyone 'skiving' but it's definitely impractical for many (unless you live alone and spend it alone, which would defeat the purpose!)

Call in sick and potentially face disciplinary action for gross misconduct? Great idea.🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

I've worked from home for over 20 years (in commercial and charity sectors) and have never heard of anywhere putting restrictions on WFH at Christmas time

Because she'd be in a house with a bunch of her family, celebrating and getting ready for Christmas day, and not at her desk working for eight hours?

It's not so much of an assumption without evidence as it is an assumption based on common sense.

Again, if her company policy for Christmas Eve is "Come in, have a cup of tea, do the Secret Santa, put your Out Of Office on and leave before lunch", then fine, she should be allowed to 'WFH'.

But if the policy is that it's a normal working day and you need to take annual leave if you don't want to be in, same as any other day, then that's how it is. Why should an exception be made for OP when others have had to use a day's annual leave?

WFH gig has had its day. It’s been abused so much by the lazyiness of people that it’s on its way out. Companies are demanding people back in the office and it’s hardly surprising. Get used to it. Whether it’s Xmas eve or any other day.

So to summarise, OP's boss who is already WFH with his family, has said she:

• must come into the office
• can't WFH
• can't take leave even though other people have, implying deadlines aren't an issue

Even though:

• OP is able to do her job from home, again, meaning takings deadlines won't be affected
• Can't get the train after work on CE because they all stop

And people are siding with the boss on this? There's no way, you're just being obtuse for the sake of it.

Why does he get to spend Christmas with her family and not her? How is that fair?

I wouldn't be so quick to write it off! I did my MSc dissertation on what was then called, "teleworking" in 2005, and it seemed the way ahead back then! A lot of the theorists were advocating it. My research in my organisation at the time showed that people would have liked a blended approach. Employers were slow to take it on board though, until Covid made it a necessity for many businesses.

It's conducive to so much of a better work/life balance, I can't see employees willingly giving that up any time soon! I no longer endure a pointless commute of 1.5/2 hours max a day, which is time I can be productive either in my work or my personal life. I'm in the last few years of my working life and while there are aspects of being in the office that I do miss, I wouldn't trade WFH for the world! (It is probably less ideal in some ways for young people starting out, and I get that) but I don't think I could handle the 5 day a week commute any more and I can get so much more done from home! I have the best of both worlds really as I do have to attend meetings out of the office (home!) as well. I'm at an age where I should have been retired until the fucking government moved the goalposts!

My organisation (public sector) is actively seeking to rationalise its estate, so in time there won't be office space for very many employees. Plus they have us paying for our own heat, light and stationery, and they won't reimburse us, so it's a win-win for the employer!

Clearly you're a hater but that doesn't mean that you are right! If people were being lazy in my team, it would soon be picked up on in terms of output! It's just a more sensible way to manage instead of presenteeism!

WFH gig has had its day

it must blow your mind that many people did remote or hybrid working pre Covid?

A lot of employers have policies though. So she'd have to check that. I'd have to apply to work from somewhere other than my home

My dad was doing hybrid work in the mid 90s! Fax and screechy internet dial up was the thing. I went online before Google did. He probably was there 2 days a week. One day in office and other days visiting clients.

WFH means employers can recruit people from other parts of the UK and increases their talent pool. I had an interview last month (didn’t get job) for remote customer service advisor role where the UK head office/bricks n mortar call centre is 125 miles away. There was no way I was going to apply for that job if remote work wasn’t available.