Another wfh one !

[StayAtHomeJo]

I know I’m being slightly unreasonable but….

I’ve wfh for over 2 years solid with no issues. My role can 100% be done remotely and other similar roles in the Org are continuing remotely (in line with Org’s new policy going forward).
However, my LM now wants me onsite for meetings which have previously been done remotely.
My reasons for wanting to continue remotely are changed caring responsibility (adult disabled dependent), petrol costs, ongoing Covid on shop floor (I get the sickness reports), the fact there’s no genuine business need, the Org as a whole had embraced new ways of working, and the that I know my LM will be aiming to get me back onsite full time (issues in the past which affected my mental health).

Should I push back in this request ?

It’s all down to what it says in your contract . Increased petrol , costs and caring responsibilities are not the concern of your LM

Its up to you how you deal with it. But never meeting facd yo facd with colleagues isn't ideal in a business IMHO. But I can see why you are concerned if you think your manager will insist on you being on site permanently in future. Does your LM work from home? She might be setting you up as the person in the office while she works from home. Not on.

are the meetings daily, 2x/week, how often, and how long do they last?

I don't think your employer is being unreasonable asking you to come in for meetings.

Could you proactively set your expectations? e.g. one a week /twice a month / whatever.

There is research being done at the moment on whether return to the office is adversely affecting women, as women tend to have more caring responsibilities, and therefor may be discriminatory for an employer to force an unreasonable return.

The stated location I haven’t actually worked at for a few years - I work across different sites but no longer at this one.

And that’s another worry, once I start attending onsite meetings for LM, I’ll be expecting to for everyone.

Contracts across the Org are being updated to reflect remote working going forward.

You should be proactive here and come up with your own suggestions. How often are the meetings?

You can't just use those reasons you've listed if your manager is saying it's part of your job to attend meetings in person. Your other issues are not really her problem.
There is a lot of communication lost in online only, difficulty mentoring new staff, keeping an eye on what's going on on the ground.

Don't put yourself in precarious position by appearing difficult or she may demand you come in even more!

Can you agree once a week, fortnightly ? What would work for you and the company?

Just for a meeting or for that day?

YABU, you only have to go in for meetings. Your reasons why you don’t want to see not your employers problems.

Completely agree that my problems are not their problems ! However the organisation as a whole is forward thinking and looks after its employees well. They’ve always recognised that people have a life beyond the factory and are all about work/life balance and wellbeing, hence why they’re embracing the remote working going forward.

There have been a few of these threads recently and I think that MN should lobby for a change in employment law as employers making staff with caring responsibilities go in to the office for no reason is sex discrimination as most carers are women.

If the employer has no complaints about the employee working remotely, then they should not be allowed to interfere with caring responsibilies.

They’ve always recognised that people have a life beyond the factory and are all about work/life balance and wellbeing, hence why they’re embracing the remote working going forward.

Absolutely, and that's great news.
But that's all about embracing flexibility. Are they not allowing you to do most of your job from home but saying you must be in for meetings?

You haven't stated how often these meetings are?
If it's once a week or fortnightly then employer being perfectly reasonable, 3 times a week not so

face to face meetings are the gold standard for communication.

yes, WFH saves travelling time and costs and can be worked around other responsibilities, but those are not the concern of your employer. They are concerned about the effective management of the whole workforce.

Yabu. Businesses are built on relationships. You can't build the same time of relationship online as in person. If your role is still predominantly remote with the occasional day in the office you should suck it up.

What did you do pre covid and your home commitments? Many people seem to have lost sight of this.

Depends on the meetings and the cadence of them. If it's a meeting that involves multiple stakeholders who will all be making the effort to attend in person then you should show the same commitment.
I agree with the PP who said that we've lost sight of what we did before. For everyone's sake there needs to be compromise on all sides.

Sorry, meetings are as and when required, so can be daily.

And whilst I agree that face to face has always been said to relay the highest % of communication, I’m not sure what has honestly been lost through online meetings.
With the exception of training/development and new starters settling in, that’s what the past 2 years has taught me anyway

It does sound like this is a stealthy way to get you back on site full time.
I would push back with a constructive solution that shows your commitment but also reflects your understanding that the company is offering flexibility/hybrid working. Eg you'll attend particular meetings in person but 121s or more adhoc meetings will work perfectly well remotely.
Keep any personal change in circs out of it as that's not the company's concern.

As and when required seems a bit much - can you ask/make a flexible working request for some sort of fixed pattern?

If I ran a business I wouldn't want everyone 100% working from home as I think there is value in meeting face to face- e.g. for exactly the reasons you mention training and helping new starters, but I think some sort of pattern would be fair e.g. every 2 weeks on a Wednesday or something- depends on business needs.

we are moving back to more in person meetings and I am really finding communication is significantly better.

we all wfh due to necessity, and made the best of it. It has changed a lot of work places and hybrid working is now the norm for a lot of people.

but the blanket refusal to ever have face to face to meetings from some is a concern.

talk to your employer. Try and get a feel for how regularly they want this. Be careful using caring responsibilities though. If you are caring for someone during working hours - how can you work? We have a policy that wfh is not a replacement for caring arrangements. People cannot care for small children and vulnerable adults while working. There will of course be the odd day where arrangements fall though and my employer has always been flexible - but this cannot be a permanent arrangements.

So if the meetings are as and when then even more reason to be proactive and come up with your own proposition.

"Why don't I come in for meetings X and Y which are big meetings with lots of people attending in person/mentoring/effective sharing of ideas required. But I'll not come in for Z as that's more of a catch up with what's going on/handover etc between 2 or 3 people which can be done very effectively online "

Be careful using caring responsibilities though. If you are caring for someone during working hours - how can you work? We have a policy that wfh is not a replacement for caring arrangements. People cannot care for small children and vulnerable adults while working.

This^
It is also setting women's progress in workplace backwards if it becomes acceptable that women let's face it it's rarely men can do a job and care at the same time.

*provide care, that should say

How very inconvenient that they're not prepared to run an entire business around your personal situation.

Obviously it is not possible to care for someone and work at the same time but not all disabled people need constant care.

I am a carer for my disabled husband but all that means is that I get his food and drinks for him.

I can do this doing lunchtime and when I get my own drinks.

No one is saying that employers should allow their employees to be full-time carers when they are working as no employee could do that

Meetings “can” be everyday but are they usually? I think given your concerns it’s fair to say you will come in up to once or twice a week (depending on distance and your pre-Covid work pattern), possibly on specified days of the week if that makes sense for the job.