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.

It’s not necessarily about productivity though, it could be about all being on the same page due to more interaction, collaboration, learning from each other, team bonding etc

Well the hours spent in the office might result in better output that outweighs the additional hours she was putting in.
And equally maybe it won’t but he won’t know without trying. Maybe he thinks that she needs additional support if she is having to do all those extra hours and wants to be in the office to give it

The staff who are part time work on the days when I will not be at the office so how does the team bonding work?

Ha yes. I used to get in early (before Covid) and started around 8am. Got loads done. I left at 5pm on the dot to make sure I made nursery pick up. My manager (who was never in before 9am... Usually a little later) would moan that I always clock watched and left on time.

I still did that. But took to getting a coffee before work and relaxing before I started. This manager (pre-covid) would also not let me WFH occasionally whilst waiting for surgery. Not because I did not work, or because other teams were not allowed to WFH. But because a junior colleague who was a tad work-shy in the office, could not be trusted to WFH... So it was not allowed for anyone in our team to do so.

A few weeks later Covid hit. I was headhunted for a different job a bit after. And never looked back.

Ergh. Yes. I see this often used as the reason for wanting more in office time.

That works fine if you have colleagues in the office to collaborate with. But is totally pointless if no one is in.

I like seeing people/ doing those collaborative bits together. But no one wants to go in an office to sit on their own on back to back Teams calls.

I wonder if the rest of your team have raised it as an issue as you have inadvertently set an expectation that they too should be available outside their (shorter) working hours, so by reinforcing contracted hours, that unwritten expectation is removed.

Ultimately I suppose your Manager doesn’t have to give you an explanation as it was never a formally agreed working pattern, but I’d certainly stick to 9-5 with lunch moving forward and enjoy my own time instead of lining the company pockets for free…

Hope it works itself out suitably x

Yeah. Thought the same! Win win for the company and OP is still dishing out her own time for zip!

It won’t.

There is no office magic formula that makes people more productive. OP has already said she is highly productive, is praised for that and does unpaid OP. I am equally as productive at home and in the office except at home I tend to work longer.

He has praised how responsive she is outside of hours and is now going to lose that responsiveness.

That’s “stupid.”

Questions that need answers!

I was referring more to the fact that the manager can't have the penny & the bun
Of course OP won't be able to do all that early/late/whenever work. OP will be travelling to/from work at those times.

OP just upset that she needs to go back into the office

nobody asked her to do extra hours

Going above and beyond in work did me no good nor did the employer appreciate it.

I was in a public facing role where my responsibilities included organizing outreach events and exhibitions. Because I enjoyed this work I did much of it in my own time. Then tstructural changes in the profession meant that older qualified staff were being sidelined in favour of new recruits with a degree. Back in those days (no internet) applying to uni was a year long bureaucratic process requiring a lot more research than it does today. I dropped all the work I used to do at home and instead researched the "applying for uni" process. As a result the amount I achieved in official working hours went down by a noticeable amount. When I had an appraisal with my boss he did remark that I was "less productive" but I was beyond caring. He did not find out about uni until I resigned 4 weeks afterwards.

Three years later, when I graduated with a 1st, I learned that many of my colleagues had lost their jobs in a brutal reorganization. I could have been one of them.

Trouble is OP that a large portion of MN really dislike people who WFH so will happily contort themselves into any knot possible to make it seem as if you’re to blame.

I had a 17-year career (pre-COVID) where you were expected to work longer hours when required, with no overtime paid. It was a bit hit-and-miss; some people did, others didn’t. Those who didn’t got shitty pay rises and were passed over for grade promotions.

One of the managers I worked for had the approach that you were expected to do extra when needed, but if it was quiet and the work was done for the day, you could go home. Or if it was early in the day you could take an extended break in the canteen etc. He got so much more from his staff - everyone loved working for him. Overall we definitely gave much more extra to the company than we got back but no one on the team ever complained. During busy times everyone just stayed - no complaints. Other teams with stricter managers didn’t have the same loyalty from the staff.

Eventually I became a manager myself and adopted the same flexible approach with my staff.

Treat your staff like adults and with a bit of autonomy and you’re likely to get so much more in return.

Some people are so hung up about rigid working practices and seem to be affronted at any suggestion that work should be flexible wherever possible.

I think cheerfully only working your contracted hours from now on is the way to go OP. Your manager will just have to suck it up - and you might eventually discover what’s at the heart of his request. Sounds like presenteeism to me but that’s only a guess.

Flexibility goes two ways and employers often need goodwill from their staff - something that they seem to forget.

I don’t think it’s about disliking wfh, I think it’s about many seeing it from the other side and understanding that working only from home doesn’t often work for the long term and that in most cases you need to combine wfh with a decent amount of time in the office

Op i think a lot of replies you've had are from people who have a job where they put the lids on toothpaste tubes or have some other strictly regular, it's Monday so we pay suppliers, Tuesday order the paint type of job. Not every job is like that and the need to respond quickly and get ahead of issues can be vital. A personal example was the client who I got on very well with, they were a manager in the building society where we were the insurance products they sold to their customers, branded in their name but it was our insurance company behind the scenes. He ran me one Sunday night...he'd been to a family event and a relative was having problems with their insurance claim. Now it's completely wrong that he ran me on a Sunday on something that could wait, but his relative had got onto him. I dealt with the issue by 8.40 Monday morning. Rang him at 9 cue one very happy client.

So I fully get where you are coming from. You've been flexible. The company has benefited from this flexibility. You've gained job satisfaction from the flexibility and been recognised for the EXTRA output you have achieved (I highlight the word extra because people seem to have got the impression that you're taking the piss with what you are doing in wanting flexibility to work both ways).

My view is you are completely right to stop doing the extra. It seems to me that you have been plugging the gaps because the team is basically part time and without you holding things together it's not going to be effective.

I wouldn't make a huge issue about it but I definitely wouldn't do anything at all outside of 9 to 5. I would say things like "I didn't check my phone till I got to the office ". Not making a production about it just batting back any queries

Personally I think your right. He's been short sighted will see productivity fall.

If I were you I'd log everything i did hour by hour. I know it's a.pain but if he queries why you're no longer so productive you have evidence to show you've been productive in the actual working hours

If you deliberately show less productivity when working in the office compared to home, then at least you'll be there to train your replacement.
Your employer probably has their reasons for home/office split, don't petty yourself out of a job.

Thank you for seeing the bigger picture. I was careful to agree straightaway when my manager suggested trying the new way. That is a good idea about batting back queries. Just had a quick look at email and several things have already cropped up. For one it will be too late to answer after 9. I will not start until 9 anymore.

I will keep a log of what I am doing in case it gets questioned. Thank you.

I think if one month your manager is praising you, and then the next month he’s changing the rules… that it’s a very strong possibility this change has not come from him. It’s likely come from above him and might even be about him ie your award last month might have highlighted to others that you are doing his job.

I think there is definitely something else going on as the only reason he has given is trying something new. Everything is being done on time consistently with extra.

I will see what happens.

I don’t think people try ‘something new’ without a reason. Its clear he does not want to tell you the reason. In fact managers usually explain the reason for change to help staff accept new ways of working and be motivated to embrace it with enthusiasm.
Hopefully this week you’ll notice signs as to why he has done this.

To offer up a different perspective.

I used to regularly check my emails over breakfast, and answer queries well into the evening, as well as working a "normal" office based day.

Then my company brought in a rule that you couldn't access work emails from personal devices unless you installed security software that my device was too old to cope with.

So I stopped working from home and just did my office based day.

The world did not end. Things still got done, albeit sometimes more slowly than previously. Sometimes things were simply deprioritised and not done at all.

On the other hand my mental health massively improved because I didn't feel I had to be available for work all the time.
This was a really positive change for me, and a fairly neutral change for my company.

In my DD's case it is realistic since she is an EA and the people she works for are all over the world. If they come to the office in London she's happy to go in when they do. She's never actually met a couple of them in the two years she's worked there, though she is in regular contact, via audio and video.

I have heard of multiple examples recently where a business or department is looking to make redundancies, and the first thing they do is mandate office working only. This means. That some people leave, and then the people who were doing sweet FA are exposed a bit more. Makes the redundancy process a bit easier for them

Redundancies are unlikely to be an issue. Finances are very healthy. Also I have friends who are part of the senior leadership who keep me informed about what is going on.

My job was such that I was accessing emails at home, out of hours even when I was working full time in the office. But I only ever replied in office hours unless it was an emergency or absolutely beneficial to do so. I think you’ve made a rod for your own back, OP.