Mums forced into office by big UK company?

[MM90]

I work for a big, well-known company. The bosses are considering plans to force all colleagues to come to the office 3 days a week. They are thinking about checking our turnstile data individually and disciplining anyone who doesn’t come in for 3 days every week, whether they need to be there or not. I thought this was the 21st century where working women have the chance to create a sensible work / life balance so long as they perform in their job. My line manager gave me a great performance rating during Covid. I have two children under 5 and no family nearby. Any thoughts on this?

We allow working from home 4 days a week, so one day in the office but women have to show the children are in daycare/school. They can not have children in their care whilst in working hours

What makes you think I feel any kind of need to justify anything I do to an internet random? 😅 You're the one taking offence/ obsessing over a random person who has started a random thread and didn't come back to it.

This is boring me now so adios 🎩

Do you look after your children whilst working from home? If so you cannot possibly be siring either job to your full ability. I cannot even concentrate on the tv whilst going on my phone so how you can give 100% to work whilst caring for children ?

I’m in the office 5 days a week. I have friends who wfh 3 days a week and do very little on those days!!!!
get back to work , pay childcare like everyone else does

I’m getting quite bored of being the only one in my team who goes in to the office 50% of the time which is our company policy. We all have children and I agree it is easier to sort out pick ups etc when not in the office but I really feel that it’s affected our team spirit. My colleagues act like it is just the most enormous hassle to come in even though they did it 5 days a week before Covid. For a while we did have someone who I really don’t think was pulling her weight wfh but she left thankfully. But I feel like things have swung a bit too much the other way now. I also feel a bit like I am penalised for having taken a role 30 mins from where I live, one of my colleagues actually moved during lockdown and seems to just view me as “lucky” to live closer and just thinks it’s much easier for me. But it was her choice to move!

Your point 100% valid but you are wrong in saying this affects "mum's". It makes the work/life balance much easier for all.
It affects childless people and dads too.

My husband recently had to go back to the office 3 days a week. It's a pain for all of us and affects us both. He does almost as much childcare as me and not having him here till late in the evenings is a pain.

Three days of week should be manageable, make provision for your children. Wfh has been abused

I think WFH and in the office should be determined by the business's requirements.
Noone can do a proper job trying to do a paid job and looking after small kids simultaneously. Obviously!
And I agree that this should apply across the board, not just mothers or fathers.

You do know that prior to covid going to office every day was the norm regardless of it you had young children at home??? That’s I had to pay for full time nursery and after school clubs. Working from home is a bonus - it’s not a right. The fact you can still work from home 2 days seems a good compromise to me.

Trouble is that a lot of people are taking the piss about wfh, and most managers have no idea about how to manage people wfh. (I've just written a book about this) As long as this continues, people will be forced back into the office. It's also fair to say that wfh is not suitable for all jobs.

@pinacollateral same to you dearie 👋

This ⏫️
Organisations are probably sick of wfh when employees are actually looking after their kids.
I'm all for wfh but my kids are looked after whilst i do what im paid to do!

Don't think this went the way OP expected....

Everyone should be back in the office now. You were there before!!
Most WFH mums say they are doing housework etc. that's not what your paid for.

In in a similar situation let’s be honest you want to wfh as it’s the easy/ lazy option. Not everyone feels like making an effort to go into the office. You should be able to work with your line manager about being flexible around start/ finish times. Maybe you could do one week in the office and the next wfh.

When I pointed this out on a recent thread about people going into the office I got attacked! I really don’t see the problem with hybrid working - they’re still better off than when they had to go in full time.

Exactly, managing young DC simultaneously is not a reason to wfh!

Yes.

Not always.. no

Your post seems very biased and entitled towards women with children.

You also don't say what basis you were employed on. I used to work five days a week and had to organise appropriate childcare. I understand it's easier to do the school run but otherwise you should have childcare in place for all five days anyway.

I agree OP and feel the responses you are mainly getting abit crap. Working from home massively helps parents and those with disabilities. It’s not about having your kids with you whilst you work. My commute is over an hour away so if I finish at 5 I can’t get home to pick up the kids on time.
Alot of business are making these types of decisions based on the effect of the economy on us not spending our money commuting/lunch breaks etc. Then blame it on staff not performing at home. I personally don’t mind an office day but find I actually get a lot more work done at home without distractions.
People saying you chose that job is ridiculous there are very few jobs that work around school hours. Most parents would not be able to work if we restricted ourselves to them hours.
I have been able to increase my hours simply because I can work from home. If I had to work in the office 5 days a week it would just not work.
Also read up thread the policy is not just aimed at working mums/parents. This is called indirect discrimination whereby a rule disproportionately affects one particular group.

I really don’t see the problem with hybrid working - they’re still better off than when they had to go in full time

With some it's the classic "give an inch and they'll take a mile"
So many were rightly pleased when hybrid became more common, except now it's well established they want the next thing - as in not to go in at all

Noticeable, too, that the all round horror about looking after the kids while WFH is gradually getting eroded by "Why shouldn't they, when childcare's not easy to get?"

And then it's wondered why some employers do everything they can to avoid hiring parents of young children; it's wrong of course, but reading some of these threads it's hard to blame them

It's lacking too much info to give an opinion

Were you recruited WFH?
What are the majority doing currently? Is there already a general consensus of people in at least 3 days that you aren't matching?
Are you caring for your children during the working day?
In all honesty, would your output be higher quality if you worked in close proximity to colleagues and could collaborate more readily? (Online collaboration has its place but falls a long way short of in person)

Nope. My boss really doesn’t care one whit if I work 1.5 hrs less than others. Not at all. I work in a position where it becomes very obvious very quickly who can give the desired outputs and who can’t. I am lucky that I can. I am also lucky that I can do it while not doing all the hours under the sun. I have a colleague who just cannot produce. They are in The office at 7am till 6pm. They do this whole ‘I never take holidays, I live for my job’. They are perfectly nice, but just not very good at producing anything. I reckon a lot of work is like this. There are people who talk the talk - very visible, constantly talking about work, constantly ‘collaborating’, ‘mentoring’, etc; but producing sweet nothing. My boss explicitly tells me (and rewards me) based on the fact that I produce. It drives said colleague up the walls. Is constantly implying that I shirk. But then we have meetings where outputs are discussed - as I said very obvious who is pulling the real weight.

Your phrasing of this issue is what will cause loads of people, currently benefiting from a calmer, healthier lifestyle, to be forced back into commuting into the office.

If you wfh, you still need childcare for the full working day (for primary aged kids). Why so many women think they can ignore this and ruin things for everyone else is beyond me.

The bigger point is most companies function perfectly well with a hybrid working workforce. Forcing people to do a job they have proven they can do from home in an office is just obtuse. It's is difficult to recruit the best people without offering flexibility - I work in the corporate world and I know this. People just won't give it up - most have no reason to and the slackers can be managed out. Checking turnstile access feels like taking the register - it's childish and does nothing to foster positive employee relations. Most large companies trying to get people back in are doing so because they signed very long leases on now vacant property and they cant face the sunk cost. If their lease was up for renewal, you can almost guarantee they'd embrace hybrid working.