AIBU to feel set up to fail in a hybrid role?

[Getofftheshitter]

Firstly, I am already looking for a new job because this place is going to hell in a handbasket.

I recently started a new job – I am experienced in my role and have done it for several years. I was hired on a hybrid basis, 4 days in the office and one at home. All fine, except in the 2 months I have been there I have worked one day at home as the Ops Manager (not my direct manager but a company director so big cheese) keeps finding excuses for why he needs me in the office on my wfh day. In reality he barely speaks to me, doesn’t need me in the office and just doesn’t agree with wfh. He’s like this with everyone who tries to wfh, not just me.

I can live with being in the office. What I can’t live with with is not being able to do my job because I am not allowed on teams meetings because it is “too disruptive”. I manage a tech team of multiple disciplines. I am the only person of my job role in my team, but there are 5 across the organisation, one in each team and we are all experiencing this issue. Only my job role from the tech department are office based, the others are remote workers, therefore my entire team is working remotely and I have no other way to get in touch other than teams and email. The office is large open plan with 3 meeting rooms and no ‘cubbys’ for taking calls. There are a number of different departments in the office – customer care, sales, marketing, operations etc. Their whole teams are office based.

Understandably I cannot take up a meeting room for the entire time I am on calls – I have been told this is not a solution. I am having to do everything via email which is time consuming and quite frankly ridiculous – we do loads of demos and live drawings and discussions, I should literally be spending my day in calls with various different people and I just cant. As a result I am not being effective, my team are complaining they can’t get info and decisions off me and I am just completely out the loop – as a result the team is making mistakes, work is delayed etc. It’s a shit show.

I have spoken with my manager (home based) and he has spoken to his manager (hybrid) my manager is understanding but powerless to change the situation – he is also the other of my roles managers and confirmed they all have the same problem. His manager has said “everyone else is coping, we just need to get on with it” basically inferring we are just trying to wfh so we can slack off. I’ve suggested the 5 of my job role take up one of the meeting rooms all together, like a mini- office for us, and that is not acceptable, I’ve suggested they put us all in a far corner, away from others – also not acceptable. I’ve asked for solutions from them and been told “email” or get people in the office. I am not able to get them in the office, they have wfh, remote contracts and are based country wide (and in other countries).

I just don’t know what to do!

WIBU to just stop doing my job and wait to be fired? They don’t seem to care.

Don't know if anyone else has suggested it but keep your friends close and your enemies closer! I'd say invite him to a day (or as much as you can handle!!) with you and your team to bring to life what you do and why verbal communication is so important. You'll probably need a tenured pm on side to do it too, but it could make your bosses boss see your roles differently ... Maybe!

Because its incredibly inefficient for tech and software development. You need to be troubleshooting and problem solving in real time, often while screen sharing so people can look at the issue/code together. So much back and forth is needed, it will result in very long email chains that could be a quick conversation.

You wouldn't ask a doctor to do a consultation with a patient by email because of how many questions you need to ask and respond to. It's much, much easier to do verbally. Similarly running a training session. Or workshopping ideas for a script.

Some bits of work are just best done in meeting format. That is why pretty much every project management methodology requires regular standups and scrums (meetings).

Yes but who has the team been complaining to?

and it is very possibly to get information via email (and screen share!) and decisions.

If you have a hybrid contract you need to go to HR.

I would insist on clawing back the missed WFH days accumulatively, and wfh on those days, in a row.

after that continue wfh one day a week. If the big boss says NO, or anyone else, just remind them it’s in your contract.

after getting HR involved send a carefully curated email looping in hr and all other relevant parties: you are great at your job, but due to operational impossibilities and insensabilities, that have been imposed to no company gain, they are tying your hands and limiting your ability to do the great job you’ve been employed to do.

The big boss founded and owns the business. HR won’t be doing anything.

after getting HR involved send a carefully curated email looping in hr and all other relevant parties: you are great at your job, but due to operational impossibilities and insensabilities, that have been imposed to no company gain, they are tying your hands and limiting your ability to do the great job you’ve been employed to do.

someone who is on probation and been there 8 weeks really wouldn’t be sensible to do this

I have absolutely no useful advice, just wanted to say this is absolutely fucking nuts. You're doing the right thing job hunting and one day this will be a hilarious anecdote about The Worst Job You Ever Had. In the meantime ... Don't let the bastards grid you down. 💪

What are your terms of employment according to your contract?. If you are specifically supposed to have 4 office days and 1 wfh, and you are not getting this then the company is in breach of your employment contract. If you push this and they refuse and then give you the push at the end of your probationaly period, then I suspect they could be accused of constructive dismissal.

I can say with 99% certainty that the team haven't complained. Working via regular meetings is completely normal in tech development. As I said, every project management methodology for tech puts a heavy emphasis on regular meetings for good reason.

This can be demonstrated as OP has said all KPIs have gone significantly downhill since meetings with project managers were basically banned in practice. The tech devs won't be enjoying the extra bureaucracy and higher error rate either.

This seems to be down to one (or possibly another) senior leader who doesn't understand the software industry well imposing his very rigid beliefs on the workplace to the detriment of productivity. This is something that is known to happen sometimes so its difficult to see why you are ao anti it being the likely scenario.