Workplace making WFH difficult

[LadyGarcia]

Hello all!

I'm just after some advice/thoughts etc regarding recent changes at my workplace. I work from home on a remote contract and up until a few weeks ago everything was fine but now the following changes have been made and the atmosphere at work is going downhill:

(FYI, this is a Customer Service role meaning we deal with Customers via Email, Phone, WhatsApp or Live Chat).

1. We have a group on Google Hangouts and have to ask to go for a bathroom break, wait for a Team Leader to give us a 'ok' before we can head off - they also tell us we need to limit it to 2/3 minutes.
2. We have been told that if children are heard in the background during Phone calls, we face disciplinary action.
3. We are never encouraged to get up and have a break from our PC/Laptop EVER and if we do ask for one, we need to ask for permission and usually are told 'no' because we need to be on our platform assisting Customers - so we end up sitting on our PC for 8 hours, only moving if we need to head for lunch or use the bathroom.
4. I've never had a Risk Assessment for WFH in terms of making sure I've got a comfortable/correct chair, mousepad with wrist support etc

What I am asking is, is this normal? Does anyone else WFH in Customer Services with a similar set up?

I work for a white goods manufacturer and when I worked in CS we had a similar set up in the office, so I assume it would be the same at home. Like needing to ask to go to the toilet, never being able to get up and stretch legs outside of break times, which were also strictly regulated and if you missed your assigned break "slot" because you were on the phone with a customer for example, you'd sometimes have to wait an hour or more until you could take your break as otherwise it would cause a shift in the universe (not enough cover for the phones 🙄).
I really do not miss that role, I can imagine inmates in prison have more freedom than those working in CS during working hours.
I once asked if I could take my breaks in a one 1 hour slot (they used to be split into two 15 and one 30 minute breaks) so I could have a drs appointment, as under no circumstances were you allowed time off for one (only hosp appointments) and I was told no.

Most workplaces have a policy that you shouldn't be doing childcare while working, so the part about children is reasonable. Bathroom break approval sounds a bit draconian and I'd hate to be micromanaged like that but I think call centers have a reputation for it even when their employees actually work in the office.

Interesting...

FYI we only get half an hour break which is rubbish, I can just about make a sandwich in half an hour!

The toilet break is what has really thrown me off - I just think having to ask permission to go to the toilet is very year 2.

Not everybody who is WFH and had children at home is responsible for the childcare though. A SAHP and a locked office door isn't going to stop some noise travelling.

30mins break is standard though - just do what you would do if you worked outside the home and prep it before you start work in the morning.

This kind of Hugh needs management where they track your every minute is exactly why I wouldn't go into a role like this, but I accept that not everyone has the option to avoid jobs like this.

I understand that completely but they meant in the scene if a child is heard screaming from another room.

For example, my nephew comes over on Tuesday's so he is under my parents care... I don't see him during my working times (as I'm in my room locked away) but he's 2 years old and he screams as kiddies do. I can't control how loud he is but I don't feel it's fair I get a disciplinary for that.

I don't see myself staying here much longer, asking for permission to use the bathroom had really miffed me.

Having a half hour lunch is quite normal, why aren't you making your sandwich before work, that one is on you but I agree that the rest isn't an ideal work environment

Unfortunately a minority of people have been taking the piss in most workplaces while working from home . That's why a lot of employers are clamping down.

I have heard of people "working" from home with preschoolers under their feet for instance. Or in one case someone taking two full time salaries at the same time.

How does it take half an hour to make a sandwich ? do you milk the cow then churn the milk for cheese?

I agree I think it's appalling. CS roles are hard enough as it is. You get all the shit from the nice people who have been screwed over by the company and you have no power to help them and you get screamed at by the horrible people who make complaints about everything. It is really hard. I appreciate all the CS agents I speak to even if I'm angry with the big company they work for - because I know it's hard. But whilst this set up is awful, it's getting more common, unfortunately.

I would be looking for something else. Sounds horrible.

I worked in a call centre and although we didn’t have to ask permission to go to the toilet, I had to put my phone on a special code to indicate I was going to the toilet so no calls should come through. The smooth of time your phone spent on that code was monitored and if you were too long, the management suite would call down to the shop floor and get you to explain why you had taken so long. They had calculated the average time to visit the toilet and nobody was allowed to deviate from it - it was so draconian. You also had to take your break at the agreed time but if you were stuck on a call, still had to be back at the original time and if your shift finished at 8pm and the phone rang at 7:59, you were expected to stay and take the call. But you weren’t allowed to go to the toilet more than once in two hours for longer than 6 minutes!

The children part I do understand. Not only for the childcare element but also because it is quite unprofessional for a customer to call up and have a child screaming and shouting at the other end of the phone.

Haha that made me laugh out loud...

Ok maybe it doesn't actually take hour an hour to make a sandwich but there's only soo much you can do in half an hour.

The children thing is totally understandable
So unprofessional

I think this isn’t as much about working from home, but more about what awful environments a lot of call centers are.

If you worked in the office of the call centre, you’d still have half an hour for lunch, and would have to ask permission to leave your desk for toilet breaks.

I understand the child thing. I’d be really annoyed if I rang a customer services number and would hear children in the background.

I really appreciate you saying that, thank you.

It's awful - I won't give too much away of the Company I work for but it's a British Luxury Jewellery Brand so you can imagine the type of Customers we have when there is an issue with the order. It is really hard, times where we've finished a call, and burst out crying because of how someone has spoken to us - my work friend once was inconsolable because a customer was VERY rude during a call and our Manager wouldn't take over the call and insisted she continued with the customer.

I intend to!!

We used to have a similar feature as you've mentioned but it was removed because during a busy Black Friday sale period some temporary staff members would pop themselves on 'break' so no calls came through and remain off Phones for their entire shift whilst others were answering back to back calls.

I guess it very easy to take the mick when working from home, but the environment at work has changed drastically and it's quite sad - not because we had soo much freedom before but it was tolerable before and now it just feels very strict.

Oh that's terrible OP - no-one should be made to cry by a customer. Good luck with finding something new - I'm sure you will soon.

Agree with PP about people taking the piss. I know people in my line of work who have been found taking two f/t salariés and plenty of friends I know take far more time away from their desks than they would have done at the office.

Tricky

I understand the child thing too, I would be VERY unimpressed as a customer if this happened.

The ergonomic chair/desk thing isn’t good - do you have a proper chair and desk and do the company provide these or do you have to use your own? You can download guidelines online (workstation risk assessment for VDU users) and carry out your own ergonomic assessment. Do you know if they would be prepared to buy you things like wrist supports and proper chairs? H&S rules apply at home as well as in a traditional workplace.

The child thing is understandable, you shouldn’t be working from home with children around. A call would be unlikely to pick up kids noise from behind a locked door unless they were screaming at it. The rest is a bit strict, but not unheard of for call centre work in an office so it would translate to home too.

I mean you've answered your own question:

We used to have a similar feature as you've mentioned but it was removed because during a busy Black Friday sale period some temporary staff members would pop themselves on 'break' so no calls came through and remain off Phones for their entire shift whilst others were answering back to back calls

When people are taking the piss, businesses drop into treating staff like children.

Most workplaces have a policy that you shouldn't be doing childcare while working, so the part about children is reasonable

That is not what OP said.

OP has that if children are HEARD on a call then the employee faces a disciplincary action.

Have you considered that they might have a partner or family member doing the childcare in their house?

Honestly? Toilet things aside, I’m fed up trying to get through to CS in the U.K. (I’m calling from overseas), being put on hold for ages then hearing a child in the background. It’s very poor.