to stop extra flexibility after my manager imposed office hours?

[LouuLou]

I work in a small office team of five people. I’m the only full-time member of staff, everyone else is part time. We had a new manager start last year and honestly, up until now, things have been really good. We get on well, I like his management style and he has always said he cared more about people getting the work done than clock-watching.

I work very hard. I consistently hit targets, usually go beyond what is expected, and I won an achievement award last month. I also work very flexibly. I regularly start work at 7am, answer emails early, and will often still be available after 6pm. I usually work through lunch too. That flexibility has suited both the organisation and me because it means things get done quickly and I can also fit other parts of life around work. It is one of the things I am regularly complimented on - how quick I get tasks done.

Out of nowhere, he has now announced that I have to be physically in the office 9–5 three days a week. No actual problem has been identified, no concerns raised about my performance, no suggestion that work isn’t getting done. The explanation was basically that he “wants to try something different”.

Fine. He is the manager and he is entitled to set office hours if he wants to. I’m not arguing with that part.

But my feeling is that if he now wants strict contracted hours and presenteeism, then that is exactly what he will get. I no longer see the point in starting at 7am, replying to messages before work, being available into the evening or working through lunch. I’m planning to work my contracted hours, take a proper hour lunch break and log off at the end of the day.

I know this will reduce the amount I actually get done overall. But another part of me thinks flexibility works both ways. If management removes trust and autonomy, they can’t really expect staff to continue giving unpaid goodwill on top.

There is no point.

And despite what other posters say, hes clearly targeting you as others are unaffected.

Really shocked at the shit you are getting on what's supposed to be a female centric parenting forum given that that is EXACTLY the demographic benefiting most from WFH.

Makes you wonder who posts sometimes and what their agenda is.....

Good luck OP, stick to your guns.

These threads always attract a lot of people who are very annoyed at the thought of people enjoying flexible working options.

There are jobs where the time you are at work is important - where your presence is needed for a specific shift.

But there are so many jobs where the goals and deliverables are the point and how you manage your time to achieve this can be decided by the employee.

Now if you aren’t meeting the goals required then flexible working might not be right for you.

But if you are meeting the weekly goals, and you are available for required meetings etc, I never understand why it bothers people on these threads why some people can split their working hours up around non work activities.

I notice that you have never said how many hours above your contracted hours that you actually work? Just frequent mentions of work done early and late. If you are not working more hours overall, there should be no drop in productivity unless you have been disengaging with company activities or meetings during the day because you are taking time back due to starting early (subsequently avoiding meetings and using the early hours to get stuff done - false productivity in a sense). Are you working over and above your contracted hours currently? This would be helpful

Sorry to tell you this, but you were not working flexibly. You were just working for free. Do the hours they want and no more. There's nothing at all unreasonable about working your contracted hours. Maybe he is trying to help you realise you shouldn't be working 7-6. But I understand if you preferred having more free time in the day, if that's what you were actually doing. You could investigate 'implied contractual terms' or start with a simple conversation to figure out what isn't working about your current work schedule. Sadly, some people just don't like when others have it better than them. Bring everyone down instead of working to lift everyone else up.

The fact it benefits women is mainly because of childcare and school pick ups etc presumably?

The problem is that some people still expect to work and look after their children at the same time so they don’t have to pay for childcare. I know a couple of employers who have had issues with that.

Just shut him down with - I thought I’d try something new and see how he likes it?

I dare you!

RTFT OP has said how many hours over she works.

Sorry to tell you this, but you are a stranger on the Internet with absolutely no hidden insight into OP’s work day. So it’s just an arrogant pot shot in the dark for you to tell OP she isn’t working flexibly when she finds her ability to run errands and get other things done for herself in amoung the hours she works to be flexible.

Efficency is actually getting things done in less time. So an efficient and high achieveing person would go into the office 9-5, get all their work done in 4 hours and spend the rest of the time having a chat, doing something to raise moral etc.

If you are taking 10 hours to do 8 hours work you are not efficient, you are struggling. I suspect you really don't want to go back into the office as your slow and unproductive way of working will be exposed, and adding in a commute and getting ready will overwhelm you. Workplace awards are to boost morale, I wouldn't put so much stock in them.

I suspect you are doing the school run more than you admit (what are the current arrangements for the children?) and 'popping out' daily to do silly things like pick up parcels. You are being paid to work at your employers choosing and that is what you are getting paid for. If you need time to look after your children and pick up parcels, go part time and take less money.

I suspect you have been singled out as people have noticed you are taking the piss.

Most people I know who WFH are lazy and do the same amount of work in a day that I'd do in an hour TBH

OP I kind of wish you hadn’t responded to every criticism here. You just ended up repeating yourself and accused of being defensive.

I get it. I see it from your side completely. It’s such a shame that what worked well for both sides is now over.

Remember that you promised to keep us updated 😁.

We only know that it worked well for the op and not everyone

OP mentioned winning the awards. My guess is that has been noted and the manager has had some questions from someone senior about the winner and their patterns or visibility (perhaps a comment about them not recognising you or knowing you or seeing you enough). Whatever.

I think it could be the award that has put a bit of a spotlight on OP and their working patterns. The manager might have been forced to make a change.

I am not popping out daily to pick up parcels or doing the school run.

If I have been single out because I am taking the piss why did I win an award last month for my achievement? Mine was not to boost morale. Mine was specifically for going above and beyond. I get everything done and I hit my targets. The manager was happy with my work in my last appraisal and said carry on working as you are.

Funny way of taking the piss.

That only works in some kinds of jobs. Certainly won't work in project based roles.

If you don't answer questions, you get criticised, if you do then you get accused of repeating yourself 🙄

I will keep you updated!

I have won the award for many years so they have had plenty of opportunity to put the spotlight on me.

I agree with the previous poster that it could be a visibility thing and people saying they don’t see you in the office and the award may have raised the questions. Or they are questioning you being ready for promotion but need to see you in the office for that.

You seem fixated on 'The Award'.

I suspect you wont answer this but -
If you are such a valuable worker, going above and beyond, etc, etc. Why are you not being paid for the additional 6-10 hours a week?

Are those additional hours being worked because you are not fulfilling your role in normal working hours because the idea that you are doing those hours out of the goodness of your heart doesn't wash.

Why has your manager not agreed payment for the extra time? 6 hours extra pay a week is more valuable than a token award.

You say your manager will pop in. How much is he in the office? And how much are his managers? I am also wondering if they want to see something more / different from you for a specific reason. I wouldn’t be happy to just do it without explanation either. Such a loss of goodwill.

I agree, and some of the most useless people I have worked with have worked over their usual hours. Usually, because they need 6 hours to do a report that should take 2 hours, get easily overwhelmed and need to stay behind to finish up or come in early to do it as they can't function quickly. They would also frequently drone on about how hard working and dedicated they were because of all the unpaid overtime they did.

Meanwhile those of us who can do a 2 hour report in 2 hours have a coffee and go home on time. We aren't working less or slacking....

Thanks to all the helpful posters. It has been useful to read a wide variety of views.

Overtime isn't a thing in many places - there's no overtime available where I work for example.

Not everyone working from home is taking the piss, and to assume that the OP is working over her hours because she's slow, rather than assuming that a) the workload is high and/or b) having international contacts makes working standard hours less effective, shows a very rigid and blinkered attitude.

We are short staffed in my team, and additional tasks have been allocated to us due to the increased workload in general affecting "front line" staff; if we fail to get things done in a timely manner is that because we take to long to get the work done, or because there's more work to do than hours available to the team (remember, no overtime here)?

I have a couple of managers in the area I work in who are excellent, highly productive, and to get their work done to a high standard often work many hours over their contracted ones - coming in on Monday to find emails from them working late Sunday evening is quite common. Both of them beat me into the office on the days they are there and are always still there when I leave despite me working flexi hours and often staying late myself.

Also as a pp said, many places salary for hours worked at certain grades, but then for the role rather than the hours at a higher level.

Are you saying that you do considerably more hours than you are paid for, or that you do the hours you are paid for but not within ‘normal’ office hours? If it’s the former then you are giving a false impression of how much can be achieved by someone in that role for the contracted hours. If it’s the latter then maybe the fact that you are sometimes not available during core hours, because you worked from 7-9 am then popped out between 9 and 11 is the problem, especially if the rest of the team are working part time and can’t get hold of you.

Also, if it’s the former is the former then potentially the company could have a legal headache if you are working more hours than you are being paid for.

Most non-manual jobs don't pay overtime. People may get time off in lieu but often they are just expected to work extra hours when required. However flexibility should work both ways.

Well, it wasn't meant to be anything other than supportive of the OP. Everything I said agreed with what they were suggesting. What did you make of the suggestion they now wanted to work only their office hours and nothing more? What did you understand from that? I read that they'd been working for free and would now stop.