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.

Are you WFH atm? Or job hunting at work?

Job hunting at lunch at speaking with recruiters on my commute. Did my interview in the carpark this evening!

Thankfully most tech places are used to early morning and later interviews and you get the most interviews through recruiters who tend to work to 7pm anyway. Otherwise I'd be screwed! I'm not so brazen as to job hunt in work time. Wish I had those balls.

Good luck with your interview today!

Hope the interview goes well. The company sounds insane, the faster you get out the better!

What are you doing at a day to day level in the office? Anything?

Why are you managers powerless to do anything? They manage to work from home. What would happen if you simply kept your wfh day and continued to have Teams calls?

I am confused as you said the job you were offered was hybrid. Sounds like they lied to get you in the door? Good on your for looking for a new job but if you can afford I would leave now.

My direct manager has a remote contract, which are fully remote. He does come in to the office occasionally when summoned but is legally able to stand his ground regarding WFH. He's tried talking to them about the no calls in the office thing (because that's a bigger issue than WFH) but got nowhere.

My manager has agreed to my WFH day, he doesn't see a benefit to me being in the office at all, but higher management don't like remote working, hence our supposedly hybrid contracts.

From the few conversations I've had, it seems like eventually they want everyone back to the office almost full time but due to how many people there are and how many would be forced to leave if forced in to office, they are doing it in stages. But I don't know that for definite.

My bosses, boss could talk with upper management about how difficult the role is without being able to do calls but either has done and has got nowhere or isn't willing to, it's unclear which it is.

From things I've seen in the office, I'd get shouted at (yes, like a naughty child in the 80s) if I did just WFH and as I'm in probation, probably sacked as they very much don't like people who don't tow the line.

Yes, job offer was hybrid. Contract is hybrid but says dependent on needs of service (which my last hybrid job contract also said, and I barely worked from the office in that one)! So yes, suspect they lied as it's really hard to recruit in tech to fully on prem roles. I don't think they ever had any intention of allowing hybrid working.

I can afford to leave now, but part of me is worried about how quickly I'll get a new job, and part of me wants them paying me and essentially wasting their money.

It's fast becoming not a lot if I'm honest. I answer emails and listen to recordings of calls, but it's such an efficient way to work.

One of the senior devs handed in his notice today. Cited lack of understanding from higher management in the working practices of the tech team as one of his reasons.

If you don’t think you’ll pass probation in a week or so, I’d hand in notice today

If you are allowed to listen to recordings of meetings, why can't you listen to them live if you pinky promise not to say anything?

Are you allowed to make any phone calls at all?

No calls at all.

Does probation end at the end of October?

I would really wind my effort at work back. There is no way they will fire you before the end of your probation, even if you don't do anything. Make the most of it.

Mid October.

I don't understand why they've employed another PM let alone kept me on! We are massively under utilised and no way creating any value.

I don't know how I can pass probation, but also think it'd be hugely unfair to fail me given how they're expecting me to do the job. And the fact they aren't raising concerns.

They passed all the other PMs with this ruling in place?

No, they've all been in post a while, some of them 4+ years.

And this policy is a decent thing?

What policy?!

Take it from me - I have had a similar experience. The questions of why they have kept you on, whether it is fair that you do or don't pass promotion and the fact they aren't raising concerns now are questions which would be valid, but only if you were working in a normal/ good/ stable/ supportive work environment.

The fact of the matter is that you work somewhere where people are actively working against you - whether they realise it or not. And you've tried all the reasonable routs to sort the problem out and been batted back.

So all those normal questions go out the window and you can't dwell on them, because the answers do absolutely nothing to reflect on your own character. It's time to focus on your future, which is undoubtedly going to be better than your present.

I was confused because I think of policy as written down, formal etc. this is just the COO shouting "no fucking calls in the office" every so often.

I've no idea how long this has been the "policy" as other departments don't need to make calls, it's been an issue since the PMs have been office based.

How long have they been twiddling their thumbs for, unable to do their job properly?