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See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

Back to the office when it feels pointless?

36 replies

Cleopatra2022 · 09/02/2022 20:37

I have loved being allowed to wfh the past couple of years. It’s made my life/work balance much better. I rarely get to finish at my official finish time and am often added to meetings that don’t even start until I’m supposed to have stopped working. All so much easier from home when I don’t then face a commute home after.
There’s nothing in my job that requires me to physically be present in an office or with colleagues. Yet from April we are being told to go back. Working patterns mean that for two days a week I’m literally going to be sat there alone. 3 hours of commuting just to sit and do what I could be doing at home. It’s so utterly pointless and just makes my life harder for no good reason.
Is anyone else finding themselves in a similar situation?

OP posts:
MNHQ
DawnMumsnet · 10/02/2022 11:44

Hi @Cleopatra2022, we're just giving your thread a bump to get it back into Active Conversations. We're sure there are many Mumsnetters feeling the same way...

Lottapianos · 10/02/2022 11:47

That sounds ridiculous, and totally pointless. I would find that so frustrating. Did they not do any staff engagement to find out what people would prefer? And what's the reason (if any) for everyone being told to come back to the office?

Thesefourwhitewalls · 10/02/2022 11:47

Three hours is a long commute, did you do that before covid?

(I’m imagining @DawnMumsnet sitting grumpily in Mumsnet Towers now Grin)

TheFlis12345 · 10/02/2022 11:49

If you are not going to be with colleagues I would push back hard on those days, it’s pointless and essentially the company would be shouting themselves in the foot as you would no doubt spend less hours actually working.

labyrinthlaziness · 10/02/2022 11:53

I think you are not alone. I do not have the commute issue (live very close to work) but the office is now a barren wasteland and we have to go in one day per week. We are not all in at once so all meetings are still by zoom, and the office is not set up for our needs at all. It just feels ridiculous, and the fact we are hybrid means no one is investing in making wfh work properly in terms of training and collaboration.

Mrmoose23 · 10/02/2022 11:53

My partner is having to do this 3 days a week, they are also moving the location of the office soon to 40 miles away where there is no parking available at the office either meaning he will need to catch 3 trains and it will be 2.5 hour journey each way.

labyrinthlaziness · 10/02/2022 11:55

Have you asked if you can wfh for those two days?

Could you raise a complaint if the answer is 'no' without a business justification? This depnds on the size /nature of your organisation I guess.

SickAndTiredAgain · 10/02/2022 11:58

I agree. We have to go in a couple of days a week, and we go in as a team so we’re in the same days.
That’s all fine, but if we’re on leave or off sick for a day the rest of the team is in the office, we have to go in to the office on another day, to sit alone.
I totally get the benefits of having us all in on the same day, but making someone go in just to tick a box of “two days a week” when it’s no different to them sitting at home annoys me because it’s just pointless.

labyrinthlaziness · 10/02/2022 12:04

if we’re on leave or off sick for a day the rest of the team is in the office, we have to go in to the office on another day, to sit alone

There are no words for this level of managerial stupidity. Imagine writing that policy, what an utter fool to think that up. How to alienate good employees, presumably in the pursuit of a small minority who are behaving badly.

AlwaysaLittleBitTired · 10/02/2022 12:13

Me, I am in exactly the same boat @Cleopatra2022. We're due back in next month.

Arguably I should have been back for a day or so this week, but I have just ignored the suggestion for now.

After almost 2 decades in this firm, I have just interviewed for a new and similar role elsewhere which I can do remotely if I wish. There's a thought... (at the very least if I get the offer it gives me a point to argue if they want to keep me)

LethargicActress · 10/02/2022 12:17

It's not pointless. People like you with experience are vital for younger colleagues to be around. They learn so much from other people that they will miss out on if everyone stays WFH, and it's not just about you, it's about the workforce as a whole.

I don't think it would take many years for us to be able to see the damage that would be irreversibly done for companies when they can't train new recruits properly because everyone's at home.

Avarua · 10/02/2022 12:20

Good point @LethargicActress, didn't think of that.

Sprig1 · 10/02/2022 12:22

Push back and if they are unrelenting then start looking for a new job.

anon12345678901 · 10/02/2022 12:28

@LethargicActress

It's not pointless. People like you with experience are vital for younger colleagues to be around. They learn so much from other people that they will miss out on if everyone stays WFH, and it's not just about you, it's about the workforce as a whole.

I don't think it would take many years for us to be able to see the damage that would be irreversibly done for companies when they can't train new recruits properly because everyone's at home.

I agree. Learning from others is what the office is good for, screen sharing simply isn't the same as learning next to someone.
Viviennemary · 10/02/2022 12:29

If your firm wants you in the office thats where you need to be. IMHO. If you want a job permanently working from home then apply for such a job. The wfh was a temporary measure because of a pandemic.

AlwaysaLittleBitTired · 10/02/2022 12:30

The point about being an influence on younger colleagues is fair, and true, but some of us have no such colleagues or other team members to physically work alongside. The problem is that policies can't be written for the minority, but must be fit for the majority, and therefore there is no 'one size fits all'.
My younger/less experienced colleagues sit in other countries, and so I coach them remotely. I don't need to be in my 'home' office at all
but am still expected to be in for the 'sense of community' which my sitting alone in my own office helps to engender....
The problem is finding acceptable exceptions to the general rule, and that comes down to sensible management. Somebody will always feel aggrieved.

TillyTopper · 10/02/2022 12:32

If you really are being forced to go back then could you look for another role that's remote? If you go on LinkedIn and put "remote" as the locate you may be surprised at what comes up.

BIWI · 10/02/2022 12:36

I rarely get to finish at my official finish time and am often added to meetings that don’t even start until I’m supposed to have stopped working

Regardless of the issue of WFH vs a long and pointless commute, this really stood out for me.

You need to take charge of your own calendar and stop this kind of thing happening. Be assertive and make clear boundaries around your time and your work day.

It used to happen to me, when I went back to work after my first child - into a workplace where few other colleagues had children, or childcare to deal with - and the number of people who just assumed they could swing by my desk with 'just a quick question' at 17.29 was awful.

But be prepared for this not to work out well for you. If your contribution and performance is measured by presenteeism, then this kind of stance won't go down well. In which case, along with the WFH issue, you may decide that another company is better for you.

dgirluk · 10/02/2022 12:37

Yep I'm with you ! For me to get to the office is about 2 hours each way, on public transport. Which I hate. And is unreliable. And just to sit at a hot desk (if there are any) or even desk share with >1 to a desk, or sit on a coffee table somewhere to find space, and be less productive than at home. Having spent money on the commute and wasted all that time.

I'm fine to go in when there's a reason, if I've got somewhere to sit, but just for the sake of it ??

SickAndTiredAgain · 10/02/2022 12:38

@LethargicActress

It's not pointless. People like you with experience are vital for younger colleagues to be around. They learn so much from other people that they will miss out on if everyone stays WFH, and it's not just about you, it's about the workforce as a whole.

I don't think it would take many years for us to be able to see the damage that would be irreversibly done for companies when they can't train new recruits properly because everyone's at home.

OP has said there are days she’s there alone though. And as I said upthread, the same happens to me sometimes but I still have to go in. There are no younger or less experienced staff to coach, they aren’t in the office on that day. I will spend the day not speaking face to face with anyone, exactly as if I was at home. I have no issue going in when other people are there, but if OP’s experience is similar to mine when she says she’s literally sitting there alone for 2 days, then that is a waste of time.
Sharrowgirl · 10/02/2022 12:41

Can you not suggest a change to the days so that you’re not there alone for two days? How has that come about?

WondrousAcorn · 10/02/2022 12:41

Not everyone works with younger or substantially more junior colleagues. There has never been anyone in the teams I’ve been in in my current company that would need this sort of immersion with more experienced colleagues as we don’t hire at that level.

Same goes for the justifications for office-based work around being with ‘your team’ or supporting other businesses. Irrelevant in my job as the team is all dispersed and the office is in the middle of nowhere.

WeirdlyKind · 10/02/2022 12:43

@LethargicActress

It's not pointless. People like you with experience are vital for younger colleagues to be around. They learn so much from other people that they will miss out on if everyone stays WFH, and it's not just about you, it's about the workforce as a whole.

I don't think it would take many years for us to be able to see the damage that would be irreversibly done for companies when they can't train new recruits properly because everyone's at home.

That's fine, when there's other staff about, but sitting in an office on her own is stupid.
BootsScootsAndToots · 10/02/2022 12:44

I took my current role because it was sold to me as remote. Turns out I do have to go into the office, but I'm sticking to my once a month.

The senior manager in the office wants everyone back in, and tbh most people want to go back in it seems.

We had a meeting today where we had to confirm how many days we're planning a week to be in. Lots of 2/3 days a week.

Gets to me and I say about once a month. It's just too far 🤷

Luckily my manager sits in another country and is happy for me to be in once a month or thereabouts

Sharrowgirl · 10/02/2022 12:45

it's not just about you, it's about the workforce as a whole

This is true. I’m sure many individuals could make a case for why WFH makes sense for them, but when you multiply that across the workforce, you run into difficulties. Better to have a blanket policy.