Working from home, good/bad?

[the_interloper]

There's a lot of stigma attached to WFH now.

People taking the piss is one of the main drivers companies want to get rid of it, but by the same token if I had a dollar for every lazy kent I have worked with in office environments I wouldn't need to work at all. So, so many people who think that attending a building means they are busy and useful.

I rang a colleague today (we were both WFH) and asked her to go through an email and sort something, she said she couldn't because she had to hang out the washing and walk her dog, she'd get onto it later. I think that's taking the piss ha ha

 

[The Golden Glenferrie]

I am being forced to go in 3 days now. So I take the piss at work and chew through my 8 hrs doing useless shit.

**** em

 

[Scotland]

I rang a colleague today (we were both WFH) and asked her to go through an email and sort something, she said she couldn't because she had to hang out the washing and walk her dog, she'd get onto it later. I think that's taking the piss ha ha

I am being forced to go in 3 days now. So I take the piss at work and chew through my 8 hrs doing useless shit.

**** em

Exhibit & exhibit B. People are entitled piss taking ****s regardless of location.

 

[RAPPA]

I’m in the office 2 days per week. I’m certainly more productive at home with less distractions which reduces my appetite to go into the office. The people you work with can play a massive part in terms of how your office days go. I work for a small business and the people aren’t the type I’d like to share a drink with after work if the opportunity arose, so it’s very much a below avg experience on the office days.

 

[The Golden Glenferrie]

Exhibit & exhibit B. People are entitled piss taking ****s regardless of location.

Days from home, I work non stop. Force me in for a third day, and I will take the piss

 

[HirdsTheWord]

Days from home, I work non stop. Force me in for a third day, and I will take the piss

Couldn't you just go somewhere that provides you want you want?

 

[checkraiseulite]

Couldn't you just go somewhere that provides you want you want?

seems a lot of rug pulling going on.

know of a few people who expressly negotiated their salary based on wfh expectations and flexibility (and turned down higher paying jobs). one even bought a house based on being told they would only have to be in the office 1 day a week.

they are now getting forced to return to the office and will likely quit / coffee badge and then quit.

great for recruiters, sucks for everyone else.

 

[Gralin]

seems a lot of rug pulling going on.

know of a few people who expressly negotiated their salary based on wfh expectations and flexibility (and turned down higher paying jobs). one even bought a house based on being told they would only have to be in the office 1 day a week.

they are now getting forced to return to the office and will likely quit / coffee badge and then quit.

great for recruiters, sucks for everyone else.

I think a lot of places are pushing return to office currently to get people to quit

Cheaper than redundancies

 

[HirdsTheWord]

seems a lot of rug pulling going on.

know of a few people who expressly negotiated their salary based on wfh expectations and flexibility (and turned down higher paying jobs). one even bought a house based on being told they would only have to be in the office 1 day a week.

they are now getting forced to return to the office and will likely quit / coffee badge and then quit.

great for recruiters, sucks for everyone else.

I mean if you have it in your employment contract that you agreed to certain WFH stuff, than yeah that’s cooked to have it be changed without compensation.

 

[ash_1050]

Started a new role back in November that's a bit more corporate and requires a bit more collaboration and being present.

While I could do a 3/2 split I'm finding 4 days in the office and 1 day WFH is the right balance at the moment.

Will still fiercely defend my team's option to do 3 WFH and 2 office days though given they have longer commutes, kids, and don't need to be in the office as much.

 

[Gralin]

I mean if you have it in your employment contract that you agreed to certain WFH stuff, than yeah that’s cooked to have it be changed without compensation.

my work has told people that were hired for remote roles that they need to come into the office full time or they'll get written up by HR

as they've decided remote roles don't exist anymore

 

[the_interloper]

Started a new role back in November that's a bit more corporate and requires a bit more collaboration and being present.

While I could do a 3/2 split I'm finding 4 days in the office and 1 day WFH is the right balance at the moment.

Will still fiercely defend my team's option to do 3 WFH and 2 office days though given they have longer commutes, kids, and don't need to be in the office as much.

Collaboration is difficult with everyone WFH, of course you can do Teams meetings etc, if you're all together you might overhear a conversation that you can contribute to or people can ask you something as it comes to them, you have to reach out if you're not in the same office.

There's a balance there like you say but for my role at least it's better if everyone is in a few days a week.

I work with a woman who really takes the piss, comes in one day a week where her role is part admin, she should really be in a lot more. Our director got the arse last year and there's no local leader so she's taking advantage. I've just sent her a Teams message, every chance she won't reply until late this afternoon.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

my work has told people that were hired for remote roles that they need to come into the office full time or they'll get written up by HR

as they've decided remote roles don't exist anymore

thats pretty cooked.

 

[PenAndPaper]

my work has told people that were hired for remote roles that they need to come into the office full time or they'll get written up by HR

as they've decided remote roles don't exist anymore

Do they have it written anywhere in their contracts of the role being remote? Hopefully so and hopefully that holds some weight.

 

[The Golden Glenferrie]

I've been forced to move to 3/2.

I'm the only one doing it which sucks and I don't need to collaborate so I don't get the deal

 

[errant bounce]

Collaboration is difficult with everyone WFH, of course you can do Teams meetings etc, if you're all together you might overhear a conversation that you can contribute to or people can ask you something as it comes to them, you have to reach out if you're not in the same office.

There's a balance there like you say but for my role at least it's better if everyone is in a few days a week.

I work with a woman who really takes the piss, comes in one day a week where her role is part admin, she should really be in a lot more. Our director got the arse last year and there's no local leader so she's taking advantage. I've just sent her a Teams message, every chance she won't reply until late this afternoon.

Started a new role back in November that's a bit more corporate and requires a bit more collaboration and being present.

While I could do a 3/2 split I'm finding 4 days in the office and 1 day WFH is the right balance at the moment.

Will still fiercely defend my team's option to do 3 WFH and 2 office days though given they have longer commutes, kids, and don't need to be in the office as much.

I can't stand this shit to be honest. if you have children or live two hours away from the office, why are you getting special consideration?

I work with a couple of people like this and it does my head in.

One lives a drive, a bus, and a train to our office. most of us get in about 8.30. her role is directly related to enquiries so she needs to be there for business hours. I reckon she's come in before 9 about twice in her eight months, most of the time she's bumbling in at quarter past. of course she leaves the second the clock hits 5.00. she constantly has 'car trouble' or 'train delays' or calls in sick for office days, clearly because the commute is too hard.

A major consideration when applying or accepting jobs is the distance. why am I and other other colleagues being penalised for living inner city?

Same with kids. plenty of parents have managed to fulfil their duties while also working full-time, so why does someone get to full on wfh during school holidays?

Then there's those people who are too socially anxious to ask me a question in person, so ping me out of nowhere on wfh days to ask 20 questions. I end up doing their job for them or I look like a rude ****er and tell them I'm at capacity with my own stuff. if they'd have come over to my desk two days ago we'd all have it sorted by now...

 

[The Golden Glenferrie]

I've just sent her a Teams message, every chance she won't reply until late this afternoon.

Yeah a bird at my old work got to a point doing this.

She would head out to the pub at midday on Fridays as an admin hahaha. I can't believe she resigned when she did no work and was given so much leeway to just do **** all

 

[errant bounce]

Yeah a bird at my old work got to a point doing this.

She would head out to the pub at midday on Fridays as an admin hahaha. I can't believe she resigned when she did no work and was given so much leeway to just do **** all

Lots of people genuinely think just rocking up is enough. there's a whole category of office workers who have never had a shitty job in their life and have no understanding of their incredible privilege.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

Lots of people genuinely think just rocking up is enough. there's a whole category of office workers who have never had a shitty job in their life and have no understanding of their incredible privilege.

the last 4-5 years have been good for employees, if we ever have another recession, it will change a lot of people's attitudes around work culture.

 

[the_interloper]

Yeah a bird at my old work got to a point doing this.

She would head out to the pub at midday on Fridays as an admin hahaha. I can't believe she resigned when she did no work and was given so much leeway to just do **** all

My workmate who is taking the piss reckoned she was looking for a new role a few months ago. I haven't heard much about it since, I'm guessing she's realised she won't find something as cruisy for the money she gets (doesn't stop her whinging though)

Lots of people genuinely think just rocking up is enough. there's a whole category of office workers who have never had a shitty job in their life and have no understanding of their incredible privilege.

With WFH people don't even need to do that anymore.

 

[Gralin]

the last 4-5 years have been good for employees, if we ever have another recession, it will change a lot of people's attitudes around work culture.

wages have gone backwards in real terms in that time so not sure whats so good for employees about the last five years

lot of job insecurity in that time as well

companies doing their best to replace people with automation and AI wherever they can

homelessness has been rising, food insecurity is rising

material conditions are getting worse

but don't worry corporate profits are at record highs so share holders are getting a lot of value out of this

 

[HirdsTheWord]

wages have gone backwards in real terms in that time so not sure whats so good for employees about the last five years

lot of job insecurity in that time as well

companies doing their best to replace people with automation and AI wherever they can

homelessness has been rising, food insecurity is rising

material conditions are getting worse

but don't worry corporate profits are at record highs so share holders are getting a lot of value out of this

it has been an incredibly tight labour market over the last 5 years with the lowest unemployment in a long time.

employees have had it very good as companies try to retain staff.

That is starting to turn now.

 

[Gralin]

it has been an incredibly tight labour market over the last 5 years with the lowest unemployment in a long time.

employees have had it very good as companies try to retain staff.

That is starting to turn now.

That's the line businesses have been using sure

But again, in real terms people's wages have gone backwards during that time

So no employees have not had it very good

 

[HirdsTheWord]

That's the line businesses have been using sure

But again, in real terms people's wages have gone backwards during that time

So no employees have not had it very good

I'm talking about their workplace conditions, not whether they are paid well or not.

one doesn't = the other

a large reason why our real pay is going backwards is also government, not only employers. This has been going on for far longer than stuff like WFH was widely introduced...

As far as workplace conditions, and the pull employees have had in a tight labor market has never been higher than in the last 4-5 years. If you can't see that, i can't help you.

 

[the_interloper]

it has been an incredibly tight labour market over the last 5 years with the lowest unemployment in a long time.

employees have had it very good as companies try to retain staff.

That is starting to turn now.

Absolutely. I mean since COVID and WFH becoming normal, if you're an employer who doesn't offer WFH you'll struggle to get or keep your staff.

I've read people saying companies only want people in the office to "control" them, not taking into account the collaborative improvements when people are in the same office (I've talked about this earlier ITT i think). People are just lazy and don't want to go in the office.

One of our staff didn't come into the office the other week when she really needed to, her reasoning was it costs her money to come in. I mean it costs us all to come into the office I suppose and always has, but this is not something the employer should have to consider.