So my boss has asked me to go on flexible furlough; starting 2 hours later each day. I am a little quieter than normal but I wouldn't say I had noticed a drastic downturn in my workload. My boss has stated clearly that this is not him trying to review my contracted hours etc, its purely a way to save the company some money while things are tight. I can get onboard with all of that, I suppose. They are topping me up to 100% so on the outside this should be viewed as win-win for me; full pay and more time to myself. However, its made me feel very vulnerable and on edge. I am concerned that he will use this down the line (appraisal coming up next month) to suggest I cut my hours permanently. I wouldn't agree to such a thing as I need my salary to stay as is, so I can afford to live!
I already feel my role is undervalued in the company; I get paid significantly less than my predecessor and yet I have actually evolved the role to encompass far more duties. I should mention that I do work less hours (6 hours less per week) so I've never argued the point and for the most part I am happy to plod along as I enjoy my job in the whole.
I suppose my question is, can they use this period of flexi furlough to justify a permanent change down the line? Even if I can argue that there hasnt been such a downturn in work to justify this?
Im a very efficient person. I can smash work out in a morning that I know for a fact other employees would milk for up to two days. I think that has gone against me here because they think that if I can work at that speed (which I reserve for tight deadlines and urgent work), that I should be going at 100mph constantly and minimise my paid hours. I dont think that is fair at all. If I had to work at that pace constantly it would lead to exhaustion and anxiety.