Flexi Working Query

Barny1979

Is your company set up for flexible/remote working? I work for a Local Authority and we are going down to a 0.5 to 1 desk ratio, so Office 365, drop down locations etc are being introduced.

marginalone

Barny1979 wrote: »

Is your company set up for flexible/remote working? I work for a Local Authority and we are going down to a 0.5 to 1 desk ratio, so Office 365, drop down locations etc are being introduced.

Yes. In terms of IT the business has been setup for a couple of years. I use Office 365 daily, and we do video con calls via Skype.

marginalone

74jax wrote: »

Could you show it wouldn't impact the team?

Sorry for all the questions but just trying to see how you can move forward. I believe you have to wait now to put in another request but if it doesn't impact the team and you showed this can you not query - may help for next time?

That was one of the main areas I worked on and showed to the boss. Most of my work is with other people outside of our site and conducted over Lync for example. She knows this.

getmore4less

What aspect of the team dynamics will be the problem.

Often it is if they can work from home why can we all work from home.

marginalone

getmore4less wrote: »

What aspect of the team dynamics will be the problem.

Often it is if they can work from home why can we all work from home.

Nail on head I think.

getmore4less

Looks like you misread the situation.

If the starting point is every one is in the office it can be very hard to show business benefits to working from home.

A good starter is when it is difficult to get into work weather or transport.
Also dealing with stuff out of core hours
Weekend overtime to get stuff done

Anything that creates a track record for a more permanent situation.


You might have been better to start with say a 3/4 day week in the office and slowly sneak extra days at home. After a month or two once you prove it works.

Barny1979

Is it a direct relative, as this may be a factor in their view too, if not, then they are probably presuming others in the family can take more responsibility

TELLIT01

HR would normally only be in a position to express the company position on flexible working i.e. they broadly support it or they don't. Anywhere I have worked the actual decision on whether it's practical or not is one for department management as they are the people with the in depth understanding of the business need.
Changing from having somebody entirely office based to in the office 1 day per week and being 150 miles away the rest of the time is a massive change. I'm not at all surprised that the request has been declined.
Have you been given a formal explanation of the reason for refusal?
The suggestion to go for 3/4 day week in the office is a sound one, that of 'sneaking extra days at home' is a recipe for having the trial terminated and having disciplinary action taken against you.

getmore4less

You don't sneak them by just not turning up you have reasons to need more flexibility.

The trick is to learn to manage the situation by antisipating and preempt problems as a result of working from home making more days possible.

Probably too late for the OP unless them leaving will be more disruptive than their proposal.

Les79

marginalone wrote: »

Looking for advice about flexible working. I am moving 150 miles away from my site office to be closer to help with family look after an elderly relative.

Have you explored other options in relation to THIS element?