Going full time WFH

[Stakhanovite]

Pre covid I had one work from home day a week. Company is now offering two. Thing is, for various reasons I've been absolutely miserable in my job from day one and spent several years desperate to move. But WFH has completely changed that, and for the first time in years I'm actually happy. I'm so dreading going back.

So my question is, what's the best strategy to ask to become a permanent remote worker? I'm thinking make a show of coming in while it's still 'voluntary' and show I'm a team player, then kind of phase it in. Ask for another day at the end of the year, make it a long term plan?

Anyone have advice on that?

Apply formally if you can work 4 days wfh - fifth day for meeting and team building and do a trial period to see if it works for you snd them.

Maybe that's the best approach - bit more direct.

Read your firm's policies on flexible working requests and then put together a compelling business case that addresses the points that matter to your employer.

Also agree with pp suggestion re 4 days WFH, 1 day for in-person teamwork /meetings type stuff.

I don't think playing games is the way to go or likely to be effective.

Good advice, thanks. I'll start thinking about the business case. Several of my colleagues (unprompted) have said they feel the same. Will be interesting who else asks to change and who bites the bullet.

Put in a formal flexible working request. The only reasons an employer can refuse legally are the following (so address all of these in your request)

extra costs that will damage the business
the work cannot be reorganised among other staff
people cannot be recruited to do the work
flexible working will affect quality and performance
the business will not be able to meet customer demand
there’s a lack of work to do during the proposed working times
the business is planning changes to the workforce

Oh wow, I didn't know there was a legal framework behind this too -- that'll be very useful, many thanks!

Op do you receive inner london weighting?
That can be removed if you wfh more than two days a week.

Misconstrued no, fortunately that doesn't apply, but actually I wouldn't care if I earned less, my quality of life is so much higher. (Although, they're currently getting a lot more out of me for their money -- I'm certainly not going to be able to put as much into the job if I'm commuting.)

I’m not sure the flexible working hours framework applies to requests to work from home though, does it? Flexible working and working from home are two entirely different things.

I think the suggestion that you put forward a proposal for 4 days wfh, 1 day office based for meetings/team working etc. is a good one, it shows you’re willing to work with them to do what’s best for both you and the organisation (which in many cases is not having people wfh full time). I’d also be armed with examples of how your productivity is higher at home and how it hasn’t been detrimental to the activities of the business, including things like team development and creative/project work if applicable.

Thanks JeanClaudeVanDammit, yes, clearly I'm going to need to motivate quite clearly what's in it for them. Pity it's not that quantifiable. Would be useful to be able to show my hours logged on from home vs office. Obviously that 'bum on seat' measure doesn't say anything about the quality of the work, but there are days where I sit down at 7 and hammer out the work until 6 without a lunch break, just because I'm so much better able to focus.

Make a formal request, set out your reasons and your plan for how you will carry out your role at your current or a better level. Flexible working requests include both location and duration of work and as far as I'm aware unless the business can show you cannot so your job flexibly then you have a strong legal basis to pursue your request. There's lots of support available at the moment as so many people feel the same way you do.

Have a look online at the Acas advice on your legal rights: www.acas.org.uk/making-a-flexible-working-request

There is a helpful template letter here workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/sample-letter-to-request-flexible-working/ which you could tailor to your own circumstances.

Great, thanks hemhem, I'll take a look. When I think of the motivations I gave to get the one day a week pre-COVID, it was such a different world. My manager at the time made sure I didn't do Monday or Friday because that would make it a 'long weekend'. I've got so much more technology, fully kitted out home office etc.

Working from home absolutely is covered by the law on flexible working requests.

Working from home absolutely is covered by the law on flexible working requests.

Thanks, that’s useful to know. I’m surprised more people who really hated their commute or office environment didn’t try to request home working before. Genuinely, not being snarky.

I think because before lock-down most companies could easily say it would have a negative impact on quality/performance/meeting customer demand etc. There was also a lot of fear of setting a precedent and ending up with many employees working from home, which is quite a culture shift for most companies. I can understand that.

However, lockdown has proved this works just fine for many employees and organisations. I'm predicting there will be a lot of requests (and eventual ET cases) from people who have worked well at home but are being dragged back to the office by their employer.

Hollyhocksarenotmessy yes, that absolutely sums up my firm's attitude, But they're so keen on the whole open plan, close knit approach, I'm worried they'll revert to type as soon as restrictions ease. Interestingly, though, now even colleagues who I've always considered very gregarious networkers are telling me they're dreading going back.

I'm predicting there will be a lot of requests (and eventual ET cases) from people who have worked well at home but are being dragged back to the office by their employer.

It’s a tough one though because who determines what is working well? There are people in my team (myself included) who are doing what they need to do but we’re definitely missing the spark, the ideas, the team development, and that’s not in a creative role or organisation, that’s in a support function. Individuals might be delivering on their individual tasks but without enough in-person interaction we’re totally stagnant.

@JeanClaudeVanDammit

I'm predicting there will be a lot of requests (and eventual ET cases) from people who have worked well at home but are being dragged back to the office by their employer.

It’s a tough one though because who determines what is working well? There are people in my team (myself included) who are doing what they need to do but we’re definitely missing the spark, the ideas, the team development, and that’s not in a creative role or organisation, that’s in a support function. Individuals might be delivering on their individual tasks but without enough in-person interaction we’re totally stagnant.

I know for sure every company we have dealt with has been using the pandemic for their increasingly shit customer service - if employees are more productive it’s certainly not in customer service!

Familyspam we're not in the customer service business, but you raise a good point. I may be getting loads done, but I do wonder about some of my colleagues. So that must be a worry for management. Irritatingly, on the one afternoon I was shattered and decided to knock offs early, the big boss sent me a message and would have been able to tell I wasn't online. Hard for them to be sure what we're up to.