5 days in the office - rant!!!

[DonnyDoris]

My company mandated 5 days in the office a couple of months ago, which in principle I have no issues with. However, my commute is just over an hour on motorways that have long term roadworks, so massively tedious and today I have no meetings so absolutely no reason to be here other than presenteeism. Could have got so much more done and also all my housework if I could've worked from home 😖Just needed to get that off my chest!!!!

@WitchesCauldron so because some people have terrible jobs with terrible working conditions we should put up with whatever conditions our not sweatshop jobs throw at us?

Why is it always a race to the bottom - there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a better work life balance. It's just plain weird that you are so bitter about it.

Many jobs are suited to home working. Many are not. Take your pick. But if yours isn’t the only reason I can fathom for your intense dislike for those that are, is envy. Home working piss takers, same as office based piss takers are found out, because in my industry we measure output by time billed. Having that balance between high professional productivity and quality down time is immense, and to be fair, something I would totally envy if I didn’t have it. But I made my job choice. You can be negative (and absurd)about wfh roles all you like, it won’t negate the benefits or make your shitty commute /lack of work life balance any better.

Make your choice.

No one is bitter dearie. But there's an awful lot of WFH people who are ever so slightly touchy about it.

Not in the slightest. I’m quite happy with my situation, why would I be touchy? Just utterly bemused that people can be so bitter about other people’s situations (and you are coming across as ever so bitter!)

@SwingTheMonkey 100% it makes sense to defend the position you are in -but to be so angry about the way someone else works especially when it doesn't impact you is peculiar at best

Can you dig down into this comment because I have re-read it and still cannot make sense of it.

The people who work from home are happy.
Some of the people who don't work from home are not happy.

Why would the happy people be 'touchy' about it. I'm genuinely interested in whatever answer you come up with. Feel free to elaborate on your answer because its quite difficult to understand where your reasoning is coming from.

The wfh threads always bring out the crowd who love the boot on their neck.

Sweatshops a bit OTT it's not my comment that started this but I thought on mumsnet there would be a more informed debate instead of utter rudeness. I am not answering anymore tell the person who put the comment in before answering me. I dont work I don't care

What is even happening on this thread 😂😂😂😂

I don't.

I have an issue with laziness and entitlement .

Absolutely insane, isn’t it?!

So you think people who work from home are lazy and entitled? Is that the crux of your argument?

Oh well… I’m neither lazy nor entitled so I guess we’re good 🤞

She'd gain 2 hours a day by not commuting.

A. Do you work from home or the office?
B. Is the job one you can work from home?
C. Are you in the public sector?
D. Are you a people manager?

I'm trying to see what angle you are coming from.

To be fair, you do sound very resentful.

How in earth is it entitled to work from home? 😳

Or she could do the housework in the time she is currently commuting...

I started a job that was entirely remote, as part of an entirely remote team. The company reached out to me to be interviewed. I did live near the office, but was literally in the process of moving back to my hometown, but they assured me that it was remote. My first manager lived in Scotland (English company) and my second another hour further than I was. Then, after 2 years, they decided to make is hybrid. I wasn't prepared to spend 4 hours a day and God knows how much on petrol to go to an office and be less productive. I also have a second job I do in evenings so would not be able to get home for that either. I changed jobs to something entirely in-person, which was max 30 minute commute, and absolutely couldn't be done remotely. Quite a few of us on the team left at the same time because of the change, all of whom lived over an hour away from the office.

This thread started with an OP who used to be happy when she was working from home and doing all her housework during working hours.

She is no longer happy, because her employer has now decided - for reasons she cannot understand - that it's in the best interests of the business that she and her colleagues work from work instead.

None of us can know for certain why OP's employer made this decision, but unless OP and her colleagues have a contractual right to work from home, the employer is within their rights to insist they work from work.

I doubt they have made this decision without a good reason, but OP has herself given us a possible clue as to what the reason might be.

If she (and maybe her colleagues) think doing all their housework in company time is OK, the employer might be justified in wanting to monitor them.

If you can work from home and you enjoy working from home, FFS don't abuse the privilege.

My old employer alienated nearly all senior staff by mandating 4 days in the office. 21/28 of us left, and I'd been there +12 years. I work remotely now and I will never ever commute for a job again.

Its a shame you all didn't walk out en masse rather than wait to find another job thereby giving them time to recruit.

They'd have had no option but to allow you to continue WFH if you'd all stuck together at the time.

It's not a privilege, it's just a different work setting. Anyone can WFH if they so wish, nobody is told that they have to do a certain job.

There were lots of other reasons why working there had become intolerable for most of us. It was a very toxic workplace where employees weren't treated well. Turning the tables on wfh was the final straw.
As the breadwinner, I didn't have the luxury of risking reliable income, so I had to have a contingency plan in place.

Exactly, I wonder how much other "multi-tasking" the OP does?