I’m under increasing pressure to get my team back into the office. All of the top performers have indicated they will leave the business if we are forced to come in more than twice a week. Team members have even offered to forgo pay rises this year to keep the status quo.
All of this suits me perfectly as I relay it to senior management, as I feel exactly the same way as the team members. I am saving 1.5 hours a day on the commute, and my family life now bears no relation to that pre-Covid.
If the team was forced back into the office, I, and many more, would leave with a wealth of experience. How can I convince senior management to maintain the current arrangement, and if they demand that everyone returns, is there any recourse for us, as we have a remote working agreement? Surely they would not go forward with such demands if my whole team threatened to leave?
It seems that moves to return to the office full-time on the part of large multinational organisations such as Amazon are having knock-on effects on smaller companies, says Damien McCarthy, founder and chief executive of consultancy firm HR Buddy.
Your work questions answered: I was humiliated and verbally abused by my manager, what rights do I have?
Your work questions answered: My employee has changed hours without permission, what can I do?
My company is clamping down on working from home. Can I reject this change?
Your work questions answered: ‘I have ADHD and so work from home a lot. When I go to the office, nobody speaks to me’
“Some employers see this as an opportunity to set their sails whilst the winds are blowing in their direction,” he says.
Alongside restoring creativity or cohesion in the workplace, sudden calls to return to the office can be due to a myriad of reasons, potentially including an effort to “cull staff” or to rein in poor remote performers, McCarthy says.
“Many organisations use this tactic to deal with a minority of poor performers, and it impacts negatively on the high performers, so everyone is punished for the poor performance of one or two individuals who may be abusing the remote working allowances,” he says.
If remote working arrangements are tied to the terms and conditions of employment, a request to return full-time may not be straightforward, he says, advising the reader to check whether there is a duration date for these arrangements.
“If not, the team’s case may be stronger to argue that the open arrangement should continue. Obviously, the power balance may be with the reader and their team, as is the case in many of these situations in the current tight labour market,” he says
The reality is that being on-site two or three days per week is the new norm and a more realistic way of working as we move forward, compared to being fully at home or expected to be in the office five days per week
— Sharon Vize, Cpl Recruitment
It is worth noting that should this employer demand that the reader and their team return to the office, employees have a legal right to request remote working, he says.
The request is an opportunity for workers to explain how they can do their job remotely while also giving specific reasons for the request, which can include personal or domestic circumstances, special medical needs, or simply reducing commutes and carbon footprints.
However, according to Sharon Vize, chief people officer at Cpl Recruitment, leaving in search of more favourable working arrangements would be a “radical” and “risky” move in the current jobs market.
“The reality is that being on-site two or three days per week is the new norm and a more realistic way of working as we move forward, compared to being fully at home or expected to be in the office five days per week,” she says.
Generally speaking, companies are not permitting “heavily hybrid” offerings for new starters, while fully remote positions are evidently rare, she says.
“The rare ones we see are some European-based organisations which do not want to set up an office here in Ireland but who want to tap into the local tech talent here by offering them a fully remote option,” she says.
[ My company is clamping down on working from home. Can I reject this change?Opens in new window ]
Across the board, companies are changing their hybrid policies to reflect a greater amount of time working from the office, Vize says, noting recent examples of large global firms removing hybrid working arrangements altogether.
Companies may have largely taken a “hands-off” or relaxed approach to their policy implementation to date, resulting in low uptake and workers generally remaining at home for the most part.
“However, we are seeing a big shift in this, with these companies now insisting on their workers committing to being onsite more and in line with their hybrid policies, which is more conducive to collaboration, innovation, team morale and a positive culture,” she says.
If you have a work-related questions you’d like to ask our team of experts, from how to deal with difficult colleagues and big workloads to career progression, you can submit your question in the form below
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
