Anyone else had work refuse WFH?

[Oysterbabe]

My job can easily, easily be done from home. We all have a laptop ready to go in case Boris orders companies to let people WFH. My company are yet to agree it and everyone has been told to go in today as normal. It's a large company with in the region of 500 staff working in offices in close proximity. I have a feeling they won't allow it unless they have no choice. They hate people working from home for reasons they've never been able to explain.
They're cunts right?

Agree they are c*s. I have a difficult boss who challenges my decision last night to follow govt advice. I was told we are not yet at that stage, and that we are waiting for our employer to give the direction to WFH. Slept badly feeling very angry about this (we are prepped to work remotely and have equipment). There is a macho/martyr culture I hate. The message was slightly more accepting if grudging, this morning, that a few staff are staying home. I don't know how they can justify treating staff that way, maddening. Am staying home and trying not to feel bullied.

We had an email before we left yesterday saying still expected in office, playing it by ear etc (this was before yesterday’s announcement) then in the evening got a message saying now to work home indefinitely, with no access to office.

They are being SO irresponsible, and as a PP has pointed out, you are seeing the true colours now of workplaces and businesses

DH isn't allowed to work from home. We're in a state of Germany where schools are closed. I'm an essential worker (medical/ social care, clients with medical needs in a supported living set up which cannot be unstaffed and is already understaffed) . Single essential workers and couples where both are essential workers get free emergency childcare. We don't because DH isn't an essential worker. But he isn't allowed to work from home.

Schools are also sending out high maintenance work plans which need very significant parental input for primary age children, accompanied by dire warnings about our responsibilities.

Yep. My firm were kind enough to send us a message referring to the health secretary saying if you're well, you should work. They may make a decision today but being in central London which is apparently just about to hit its peak and making employees travel in makes them arseholes in my eyes.

DH is a boss (small firm) and is having to try to make decisions on this.

Some of the jobs can be done from home and some really can't.

At the moment he is asking the ones who can't work from home to come in.

No idea what happens if they refuse; he can't force them. Presumably he still has to pay them even if they don't come in and the work doesn't get done. In the long term, how affordable will that be?

Ironically DH's role can be done from home. But he is still going in, because he can hardly stay home and ask others to go in.

Yup. Everyone who works in the office works a day a week from home anyway. We all have laptops. So far we have been told it’s not fair for us to wfh because another team that isn’t office based can’t. It’s pathetic. My work has nothing to do with their work.

I have a long term health condition impacted by stress and my work place has a duty of care to all of us. They haven’t even given us official advice or sent a single piece of communication to staff. I’m debating on whether I should be putting in a formal grievance. Not just for me but the other staff who are all angry and upset.

Oh, and we are local government! What a joke.

I just don’t understand the “not fair” thing. If I have to be there then I would rather there weren’t loads of other unnecessary potential virus transferrers around

Ironically, many of the workers who have to have stopped into the office today seeking communication because there’s been none and they’ve all said the same thing. THEY get that it’s not personal, it’s about thinning the spread of infection, but the bosses don’t get it.

I can well believe it. It’s just senior management who thinks they have to treat employees like children who can’t differentiate between different working environments

I know someone who works for a well known kitchen firm in their very large offices. The boss has been working from home for some time due to cv fears. Everyone else still has to go in.

No reason they couldn't all work from home if it's on a computer, they can log in remotely.

It’s just senior management who thinks they have to treat employees like children who can’t differentiate between different working environments

Yep, we've been allowed to wfh from today, but have been told that from tomorrow, in our teams we will have to sit on a skype call all day, with our cameras on (can mute the mics), presumably so our team leader can check we look busy enough. I'm in a role where its very clear when someone isnt working as there are lots of short tasks, so it becomes obvious pretty quickly. I'm bothered less by the camera itself, than by the complete and utter lack of trust it shows to employees, some of whom in my team have worked here over 10 years. (In case anyone wonders why I'm on mumsnet and thinks maybe I do need monitoring if I spend my day posting here, I don't start until 10:30).

Yup total cunts. I'm in the same boat, I can easily wfh but not allowed. I work for a very large organisation (household name). I think there will be a reckoning when all this blows over when it emerges who were sensible and who were cunts.

We had out IT systems upgraded last year for just this type of thing - initially as a staff retention thing, but also as a save costs on office space measure. Last week we were told to carry our laptops, cancel any external face to face meetings and not travel to any other office. Last night we got the directive to wfh until told it is safe to come in - once payroll had double checked our IT systems could cope with doing the pay run from home.

If we don't have keyboards, mice et al we are to order them & claim them as expenses.
We are being encouraged to keep in touch with colleagues via internal social media (Skype, Teams, Email) - esp with people who are in single households.

If friends & family need help /caring for we are told just to do it..... even if it means we aren't available to work our full hours. No questions no quibbles.

Husband is military and I’m civil service working on the same base. We are allowed to work from home normally (one day a week) but there is NO official guidance! It’s carry on as normal. Nobody in HQ can make a decision to close the base even though 90% of staff could work from home. Madness.

DH and I have work laptops because our buildings have no computers - we all have laptops, docking stations and screens. Friend works at Main Building for the MoD, they only have pool laptops that they share between 4 people!

I'm not allowed to work from home either .....

Although I'm a nurse so that maybe why

We are in the 'carry on as normal' camp. Some decisions I am already making myself outside the official advice.

They are not giving us good advice.

Fyi, some companies IT infrastructure can't support full workforce WFH. This is the big blocker to many companies authorising full WFH even if their work force all have laptops and some WFH regularly.

The issue is that those who work from home get paid and those that can't won't. If this wasn't an issue, there would be less of a problem.

Just tell them you are self isolating as per government guidance. See if the silly fuckers change their tune.

I'm now a home worker indefinitely. Luckily we all had laptops and headsets, and were advised last week to take all equipment home with us every night just in case.

have been told that from tomorrow, in our teams we will have to sit on a skype call all day, with our cameras on (can mute the mics)

How to fuck up the bandwidth.

If management can't work out from people's output whether they're working effectively (which can be a very different thing to being sat at your desk for hours) then they're crap management.

I've WFH for over 25 years, way before Skype and webcams. My company is positively encouraging everyone who can (which is most of us) to work from home. Their headline message is that we need to keep ourselves and our families healthy. They know it may be difficult for people with kids in the house but its going to be more productive for people to do what they can than to be forced to go into work and get sick.

Wonder if OP works in the same place I do?? My work seems to be doing absolutely nothing and anytime someone mentions wfh eyes get rolled and we're told a plans in place nothing else.. Oh and their solution to all this was to leave fire doors open so we don't touch handles 😂 what a joke!

My boss wants us to carry on visiting learners and going into various setting including nurseries and care homes (who of course rightly won't let us in anyway). I have stayed at home and am building a better Google classroom space which hopefully I can use along with Google hangouts. I do not consider it essential at the moment to sit next to a person and teach them percentages. She probably disagrees and from a business point of view she may be right but things are more serious than that i think.

Seems I misjudged my work, plans are being put in place for us to wfh, it will be an interesting few weeks to say the least.

I properly kicked off today and tantrumed and complained and fought and finally had WFH agreed for me until further notice. It has been agreed on the basis that I am primary carer for a vulnerable child. My colleagues are still having to go in. It's wrong, none of them need to be there. Travelling in and sitting in the office is going to spread the infection, it will lead to deaths. Why don't my company care?