Just trying to get my ducks in a row really and wondered if anyone had any thoughts on my situation….
I was employed six years ago to work in an office. When we went into lockdown we were all sent to work from home. A lot of people in my office didn’t take to it and came back when they could, but I really enjoyed it and my contract was changed to say my place of work was at home.
I go into the office now for meetings and training, if they are particularly short staffed, etc, so it’s not like I’m never there, but my day to day work is generally done from home.
im now being asked to work from the office one day a week, more if I want. They are saying it’s coming from head office, the underlying message I’m getting is that they will want it to build up to 5 days a week.
i AM willing to give one day a week a go as a trial, because I think it’s a fair request and I might be pleasantly surprised. But in the back of my mind, I know I really struggle to focus there now because of the noise levels of a big open plan office and constant interruptions. My work involves a lot of numbers and spreadsheets with formulas and my concentration is so much better when I can work in a quiet environment. The other thing that bothers me is that almost all of the team I used to work with are no longer there, and virtually all of them have left because of a couple of managers. I’m quite protected by that working from home.
Im curious as to where I stand with regards to them potentially changing my contract and making me go back in the office full time - how much notice do they need to give me and can I effectively say no? To be clear, there are no issues with my performance and this isn’t a reason they are giving for wanting me back in the office.