To ask if you (also) just ignore your "required" days in the office?

[Everythingisnumbersnow]

I am supposed to do two days. But the office is a minging hotdesk box full of coughing weirdos and the toilets are smeared with shit by 910am.

I can't do my job well in the office so I just don't go. I do manage people and they seem to appreciate the flexibility (half go into the office sometimes, half never do, we perform well).

Anyway it's been a real eye opener for the power of low key just defying silly rules.

Anyone else?

(If they cracked down I'd go elsewhere)

If didn't do my days in office I'd be in breach of my contract and ultimately I'd be sacked. Sounds like you have contempt for your colleagues so should leave anyway

Not everyone. Plenty of people couldn't work as a result. (I'm a civil servant and I'm on 0% - I sometimes go to meet my boss for coffee)

There isn't.
As the quote says:
If everyone else is ALWAYS the problem, maybe the problem isn't everyone else.

I kind of ignore it but I figure it all balances out. Last two weeks I haven’t been in at all. Next two weeks I’m in 4 days each week as I need to be in. Nobody monitors it. Often if I go in it’s deserted so seems little point

My dh has to do 40% in the office. They do check that they swipe their ID cards to get into the building and his manager gets a report monthly. So yes he does go because he would get called up on it if he didn't. He does a 4 day compressed week so just works out how many days that equates to for the month and makes sure he does them. They have at least 1 planning day a month which is compulsory. His manager leaves it up to him to manage.

Even before COVID my team was only in one day a week but it was a really effective day. We solved issues, caught up, worked out plans.

Now though it's back to presentism. I didn't have a problem going in for my old role except I was the only one made to go in. Even my LM never came in. So I went in to sit on my own, getting little done because of the noise. On the days where others were in they went into meetings all day. It was counter productive.

It may be nonsense for you personally, but it's not nonsense for everyone. There are some things which do need to be taught in person. There are some people who learn better when shown, than when they try to self leam.

Agree with vulnerability to redundancy, especially in large organisations like cvil service. There is plenty of downsizing currently as the longer term economic effect of pandemic is felt. No-one is immune.

Those of you saying you would get another job if made to work in office or more hours in office do realise many companies are switch back to more office time so getting those kind of jobs will become more rare?

Well I decide how often people come in and if they didn’t do it they would be moving on for sure.

What about people who live in accommodation not suitable for working from home, e.g. shared houses, slow wifi, can't afford to have the heating on all day?

During the pandemic, some people were working from their bedrooms, sitting on their beds with a laptop on their knees. You are obviously in a priviledged position in terms of your home office set up.

I've never worked in one where the toilets are always rank. I'm seriously wondering about your colleagues.

I don't think you've discovered a 'power'. I think you're just fortunate enough to work somewhere where the management have a fairly soft preference for office working and don't think its worth enforcing, or they've not noticed it yet. If you're happy, then long may that continue for you. But I'd be a bit cautious in congratulating yourself on the power of defiance. It typically tends to wind managers up more if they think you're being sneaky. If you're a manager yourself a lot of your currency will lie with their ability to trust you to implement things. Non compliance without even the professionalism to raise it isn't the most desirable trait in an employee trusted to manage others.

I do 3 days in a week, as does my DH. We both enjoy it. Our offices are both pleasant and functioning.

Ouch 🤣

I've been in twice in two years, last week and before that 18 months ago. My oh hasn't been in since pre COVID, bar the odd day, they are supposedly three days a week now, but no one goes in. He works in canary wharf for a bank and says it is absolutely filthy, they hot desk now and he needs three monitors and there never are any set up like this so he had to run around getting them the mouse or keyboards don't work and it's just stressful all around. There is a canteen and a Starbucks tho but it's super expensive. So he stays home. They all go in if there's a big meeting last one was maybe 6 months ago.

I work in a team that’s only
meant to have one day a week at home but people take the piss and it builds a lot of resentment in the team. Also often people working at home won’t answer any messages all afternoon and are obviously doing non work stuff. As a manager you should be following the rules as you should be setting an example.

We are monitored for attendance so I can't ignore it.

So I've got a new job.

If you never want to work in the office and want to wfh forever, please do crack on with that, but please don't wish for offices to be completely abolished. Some of us don't have the space to wfh, or hate wfh, or feel much more productive when in an office environment, or don't want their home to also be their workplace. Please allow us access to offices.

Tbh this will be why a lot of employers are now just scrapping wfh altogether because it's easier to punish all rather than tackle the individuals.

Friends workplace has just done this and the 3 that made it happen (in everyone else's eyes) have been blamed by everyone and pal said they have put complaints in because no one talks to them anymore 😬

I remember reading statistics that a big percentage of people meet their partners at work. I wonder how the loneliness epidemic will be worsened by WFH.

Others in my team do it to their detriment, and I don’t know if they’re even aware. Opportunities are deliberately not offered to them first which would naturally affect career progression and earning potential. They are pulled up on it and make an effort for a few weeks, then revert back to one day a week in the office, if that.

So whilst they get away with it, they lose out in other ways.

That's more than just rank. How on earth have they not set up regular monitoring of the state of it and fired the person responsible?

We’re supposed to be monitoring it, though as my manager is overseas they’re not that fussed. I quite like one day in a week, but 2 isn’t practical as my job is out seeing clients and most of my team are in another country…
I only go in for the snacks and coffee and efficient printers!