Have name changed for this in case it’s outing but looking for advice on what you’d do in this situation.
I’m in a relatively senior position in a media company, working in the finance department. The role I signed up to was 2 days a week in the office, 2 at home. I raised concerns at the time that the role wasn’t really part time but I needed the flexibility for child care and so I accepted the job.
Fast forward a year and there are a number of issues that mean I am regularly working a large amount overtime to cover not only my own workload but assisting with covering the work of team members who have left due to the toxic working environment (probably a thread in itself). I’ve had glowing feedback about my performance and I’ve been repeatedly told how valued I am.
The entire company has now been asked to come back to the office for 3 days per week. At this point I submitted a formal flexible working request to continue WFH 2 days per week (and policy is that I would get a response in 4 weeks). My request stated that a 3 day in the office would make the position unviable for me given the level of overtime and due to extra commute etc and I don’t want to be pushed out of the workforce.
The goalpost was moved and I was told it would now be 8 weeks for a response. This was incredibly stressful. By week 7, I was invited to a meeting to discuss my proposal further and was asked the same questions I’d already covered in the proposal. My manager said if I was not physically present in the office for the extra day then they might as well outsource my role to somewhere cheap like India (I do not believe this to be true for a number of reasons) Ashamed to say I cried and at this point the meeting came to a close.
24 hours later I still hadn’t got a response, wasn’t feeling valued at all and resigned via email. I got a call from HR and my manager the next morning to say ‘oh well of course we would have approved it but you’ve resigned now’. My replacement hire has since been put in budget for a full time position on full time salary.
I’m continuing to work overtime during my 4 month notice period because I need a reference and also due to my personal work ethic. I’m worried that this will be communicated to my team as ‘not being able to handle the pressure’ and the ‘we were always going to approve your request’ narrative is being pushed. I just feel taken advantage of, unfairly treated and want them to acknowledge this but also worried it will do more harm than good if I raise a grievance or mention constructive dismissal.
Is this really what it’s like to be a working parent in 2023? The company often pays lip service to events like international women’s day (think Beyoncé playlist) but when it comes to initiatives that would actually help working mothers, there is very little on offer.
If you made it this far thanks for reading. Not sure what I want from this post but mostly to vent and maybe hear others experiences and advice.