Work announced a move from 2 days to 4 days

[Everanewbie]

Hi all. I'm looking for some suggestions of what avenues I might have.

I started a job just over a year ago. It is company that I worked for some time ago, but had to leave due to personal circumstances, which was with regret. I was thrilled to be offered the job. I applied and received the offer where I was told at both I was obligated to be in the office twice a week.

I left a job that was entirely remote (well, with the exception of trips in to London maybe once a month) to take up this role, accepting two days in person because I was excited by the role. Pay incidentally, is much the same, above the average, but only HRT if a decent bonus is paid. I now pay to park in a city centre twice a week and drive maybe 10 miles or so to get there.

I have child that is full time in nursery and my husband works long days. He is the main breadwinner in a job that is very well paid, think 6 figures, but only just. This means that I do the majority of nursery drop offs and pickups, however, he helps where his hours allow. We also have a dog. He is great at home on his own, but I only resort to that one day a week as a try to work my other day when my husband is off or on a shorter day.

So now, out of the blue, my firm have announced they expect people in the office 4 days per week. This will not work for me. Days will be too long, I'll be £60pw on parking, plus I will need to employ a dog walker 4 days a week. The salary no longer looks decent when you consider this.

I've heard about flexible working requests, and heard that these are considered on a case-by-case basis, but does any HR-y posters have any thoughts on the merits?

Would you be weighing up other options? Speaking to my manager, or holding my cards close to my chest?

I really don't want to leave this job, but I don't have the energy to be a mum and husband to do this, and the salary will no longer be competitive.

What’s in your contract

The company will do what they feel is best for productivity and efficient working. What are the terms of your contract!

You could ask for the status quo to remain, but if it doesn’t suit their business model, they probably won’t allow it. What do other employees think? Have they given a reason for the change?

If they insist on it and it won’t work for you, it may be time to look elsewhere.

The actual contract has the office down as the normal place of work. Here is where I have perhaps been naive. However, the role was advertised as being hybrid, and my offer email explained the hybrid 2 days in pattern.

Its a mix really. Some employees are very much tied in with the company as lifers, their income is related to the income that they generate. Those client facing will always manipulate 'meetings' to ensure their work life balance is met.

Many are annoyed, but it remains to be seen whether they are annoyed enough to vote with their feet.

Hybrid working often isn't contractual. You could try to meet them in the middle and see if they'll accept a flexi-working arrangement but I - personally - wouldn't add anything about a dog as that is really irrelevant. Could try on the caring arrangements argument.

But honestly it sounds like everything will happen in person now so this might not be a good fit. If everyone else is in the office having meetings and chats and such and you're pushing back hard on being at home, you'll miss a lot and the office culture will be quite different for you.

If you have an offer letter that might help you here. Agree with PP that hi said don’t mention dog, lean heavily on caring responsibilities

Thanks, I'll leave the dog out of it as far as work is concerned! Just trying to illustrate why flexible working works well for me. The irony is that at least half of the office population are client facing, travelling around the country to attend meetings, to the people that I could benefit from collaborating with wont actually be there.

It is very frustrating as I would never have left a solid fully remote job for this and feel pretty let down.

I can see why you are frustrated OP.

Everyone has the right to request flexible working, and you don't need to justify it. In practice, having a strong justification may increase the likelihood of having a request approved, although I don't think everyday reasons such as childcare, dogs, travel costs or lifestyle preferences are likely to be compelling. Technically there is no harm in putting in a request though, assuming you don't have a toxic culture where it might 'mark your card' so to speak.

Ultimately, if it is important to them to have everyone back in the office 4 days a week, that is what is going to happen, unfortunately. I think in your shoes I would think about making a temporary flexible working request - say for 12 months - with the justification being on the basis that you were hired recently and this presents some significant logistical challenges for you, which will need time to accommodated.

I would then use that time to look for a different employer, if I needed to.

Thanks for this. I hadn't thought of temporary requests.

You will only have a leg to stand on if it’s in your contract, I think.

As a LM, the thing I find very difficult to deal with is when someone wants to prioritise their husband’s job, and expects our employer to do so also.

I think your husband needs to be doing more drop off and pick ups, regardless of whether he “earns more”.

It was your family choice to own a pet or pets.
Therefore it is your family's responsibility to care for the pet.
It is not the responsibility of your employer

Thanks for your post. I don't really expect my employer to prioritise my husbands job, but I do expect them to honour the terms that they were presented as and not shift the goal posts on a whim. As I previously mentioned, perhaps I was naïve to accept the job based on how it was advertised and communicated to me. I won't be stupid enough to take someone on their word again. Although in fairness, it isn't my manager as such, but the bigwigs imposing this change for some nebulous 'culture' ambition.

I would love my husband to do more nursery drop offs and collections, however, he works an hour away in the NHS. If he has someone on the operating table, he can't abandon them so I can do an extra couple of days in the office. His job gives us a great lifestyle, and he certainly pulls his weight at home too. I can't ask much more of him without him given up hours.

I don't think your post is very fair. I accepted a job that allowed me to be there for my pet. It is my employer shifting the goalposts. I don't expect my employer to do anything to help me except honour the offer made to me a little over a year ago.

Another example of the pitfalls of wfh, dog walking, cc. All adapted to suit the needs of the employee. Parking charges and travel expenses and time are par for the course for many.
If I appear harsh, it is because I know of so many people who have abused their position of wfh.

No it’s not but changing the goal posts so soon after recruiting is very hard when you accepted a job that suited your lifestyle.

Yes they are, I accept what you are saying to a degree.

But the point is, I had a job that was entirely remote, paying the same salary, that I gave up for the conditions as they were presented to me. If it had been presented as a 4 day per week from the office role then A) I would have needed the salary to be £5-10k more to cover my travel costs and the time getting to and from work, and B) Well, even with the money, it wouldn't have worked so i would have not thought twice about it.

I appreciate that you may not be a fan of remote working, but to be frank, I'm not interested in your opinion on it, I'm interested in what people think I should do given my circumstances and the betrayal that I perceive this to be.

I totally understand why you’re annoyed by this OP.

Of course it isn’t your employers responsibility to worry about dogs or nursery pick ups, you know this, but as you’ve pointed out, they made you an offer based on terms that they are now retracting.

I think I would just tell them that unfortunately this new working pattern just isn’t going to work for you (leave out the reasons why to start with) and that you accepted the job based on two days in the office. Ask if they’re open to reasonable adjustments and if they say yes, I would play the health card, because they won’t want to be seen to discriminate on those grounds.

or perhaps the company want to make cuts and this is a good way of getting staff to resign rather than having to pay redundancy?!

I’m fed up with people moaning that having to go into the office to do a paid job interferes with their childcare. How do they think others cope if they work in jobs that can’t be done from home. If you’re doing childcare you’re not giving your work your full attention. Do what the rest of us do - pay for childcare then that’s one less worry for you. It comes with having children.

As your contract says you’re office based, they aren’t changing the goal posts or terms of your contract. You’ve had the benefit of them allowing 2 days from home hybrid working, this is still hybrid working albeit 4 days in / one day home.

With the best will in the world, your employer doesn’t care about family commitments, nursery pick ups or dog walking. All you can do is say that you will endeavor to meet the updated hybrid working plan and put in a flexible working request and hope they are open to it. It all depends on the needs of the business though.

Please climb down from your high horse and read my post again. My child is in nursery full time.

You could arrange a dog walker for each day and you and your DH both make flexible working requests so you can do the nursery drop off and collecting. We arranged it that DH did the drop off and I did the collecting.

I get your point but I suggest you are not interested in my opinion because it is different to many others. That is the point of the forum.
I appreciate that the change has been requested shortly after you gave up another job. It would have been fairer to you if you had been advised of potential change before accepting the job.
Re the change in finance associated with travel and time etc, that is another example of the divide between those wfh and those who don't.
The majority of employers don't pay their employees travel costs.
I hope you can come to a decision that works for you and your family
I appreciate the challenges of working, arranging cc etc.
Good luck

Thank you. Yes, it looks like a flexible working request is the route to go down. The 'business need' is one of these bullshitty culture initiatives around collaboration. In the real world, there will be no change to the way I operate, I'll just have a couple more people around me working in their own silos.

Thanks for your kind wishes.

It's people like you who are suggesting playing the health card ( when it's not directly related to health) that are abusing the system too.