Asked to work from a different office with less than 24 hours’ notice

[wondershallneverend]

I’m looking for some perspective please.

My normal workplace is Office A, which is where my role and team are based. I have a meeting scheduled with my manager that was arranged a few days ago. However, today just before midday, he emailed to say that he will be working from a different office tomorrow and asked me to meet him there and work from that office for the whole day.

This other office is not one my team works from and it isn’t my usual base. It’s around 3.5 miles away from my normal office. The notice given to change work location is under 24 hours.

I’m not happy to attend the meeting there, I’m uncomfortable with being asked to work the entire day from a different location at such short notice, especially as this wasn’t mentioned when the meeting was first arranged and there’s been no prior discussion or agreement about changing work base.

Is it reasonable to push back and say I can meet him there but then return to my normal working location? Or am I being unreasonable given the distance isn’t huge?

I’d appreciate views on what’s considered reasonable in a work setting.

Unless there was a genuine reason (another meeting at Main Office shortly after the meeting with the manager), I would take a very dim view of an employee who took your stance.

YABU. Why is this other office such a problem?

Unless it's 3.5 miles out in the middle of nowhere that would require you to walk alongside a busy dual carriageway with no pavement to get there- or something along those lines - then you're being very unreasonable.

What's the issue OP? I've been asked to divert to Paris before now. I don't see what you are making a fuss about.

3.5 miles is less than an hour's walk even if there is no public transport. You're a grown up. It will take 10 seconds to look up the route.

Is there more to this?

if your boss is generally inflexible I can see why you want to dig your heels in, but I find that with my boss if I show flexibility he is happy to allow me flexibility

I think I’ve realised that I’m unhappy not just because of the situation itself, but because it feels unnecessarily inconvenient and unsupportive. It’s not only the office environment, but the wider team dynamic and my manager’s approach that are making it feel like an unpleasant place to work. At times, it feels as though requests are made to test me or make things more difficult rather than to genuinely support me in doing my job, and that’s been really hard to deal with. I don’t feel comfortable or valued, and it’s starting to take a toll on me. it is a very toxic pls where everyone is complaining but cant speak up due to fear.

Well it sounds like you need to start job hunting!

but in this specific instance your boss wants or needs to work in that office and I really wouldn’t look any deeper than that

Assuming there are no childcare arrangements which would be affected I would do the extra travelling in company time but not discuss it before hand. Its always better to ask forgiveness than permission.

For example if the meeting with your boss is (say) 10 am and you are usually in work for 9am I would leave later and get there just in time for the meeting. This would allow for the extra travelling time and also finding the new office, parking etc. Then I would probably leave at least 30 minutes earlier to account for the extra travelling home without explicitly asking.

When I first began work as a 16 year old library assistant I could (according to my contract) be asked to work in any branch in the city. Sometimes I was asked to travel to another branch on sick or holiday relief. In the unfamiliar location I would always ask the person in charge if I could leave early enough to get home at my usual time otherwise my very nervous mother would worry. This was back in the 1960s when many people were not on the phone.

I’d inwardly groan about it, but it’s 3.5 miles, not 35 miles.

Maybe there is a reason not to hold it at your office, such as unwanted distractions or confidentiality .

Kindly OP, do you have ND or other issues that make change difficult? If so, are work aware of this?

Feel free to throw the rule book at your boss but don’t expect him to rip it up for you when you need a favour that bends the rules. What happened to give and take - why is everyone so hell bent on policies and procedures these days? Although I’m from a work era where I was regularly patted on the bottom for doing a good job when I was a young woman and nobody thought that was too outrageous either 🙄🤣

But you’ve already said you will ‘push back’ so you’re obviously not frightened to speak up yourself? It sounds a bit like you don’t want to be put outside your comfort zone or you are playing tit for tat. Either way, I’d be looking for another job as you clearly dislike this one.

I'm usually team not unreasonable, but this, you clearly are BU.

Just suck it up

@7238SM there is ND issues which they are aware off.

@Bruisername oh yes job hunting for a long time it is a terrible place

I think everyone's being a bit unfair on OP, an extra 3.5 miles in e.g
London could add another hour to commute.
I've been careful to choose jobs in locations easy to get to from home and would definitely be grumbling if only had 24 hours notice!
What does it say in your contract @wondershallneverend about location? I don't know if it's just been courtesy from employers but when asked to work at a different location I've been given TOIL or overtime if its longer than my regular commute.

What difference would a few more hours notice made? It’s either hard for you to do or not. Unless with a few extra hours you’d have been able to have the car or something, I suppose. If you say you haven’t been given enough notice they will rightfully think you’re being difficult for the sake of it. Petty infact. I

So it’s convenient for the boss but not for you. So you’d like it convenient for you and inconvenience your boss instead? When your boss probably has loads of other stuff to do?

Just go to the different office OP. It’s a bit annoying but I wouldn’t turn it into a big issue and get into a conflict about it.

What impact would 3.5 miles have on your day?

Why do you need to work there for the day? Can you not go to the meeting, then come back and work at your usual place? It's only 3.5 miles away - it won't take you more than 10 minutes to drive there and 10 minutes to drive back.

It’s 3 miles!!!

Having read your update - you are making unnecessary fuss

I don think making you go that distance is a red flag

Very petty

I think the different buildings on some sites I've worked on have been >3.5 miles apart! You could walk there in an hour...

I think you're being a bit paranoid. But start job hunting as they seem to be making you that way!

Why exactly are you “uncomfortable” about working at the other office? Because unless there’s a massive drip feed (apart from you subsequent update that you hate your job) then on the face of it YABVU.