Remote Working & Commute

Whiterose23

sheramber said:

You have to put forward what spouts you, not what suits other 

Everybody has their own position of what would be  reasonable  in their opinion, which is all they can give you. 

You don’t like these opinions so go ahead with what suits you and open negotiations with your employer, if necessary. 

It isn’t that I don’t like the opinions, it’s that the opinions aren’t on topic that’s all - some of the responses are hung up on the fact I’m going to be working remotely and how bad that is for the company etc, which isn’t really what I’m asking.

Grumpy_chap

Whiterose23 said:

currently one or two days a week in the office 

I want to return to my home town 280 miles away 

Whiterose23 said:

I’ve been asked to put forward my views on what would work for me. I think a 5/6 hour journey there and back twice a month would be too much/too expensive for myself (fuel) and probably the company (hotel) as well. 

Whiterose23 said:

I think every two weeks would be a bit much for a 5/6 hour drive plus the cost of fuel but it would work once a month for sure 

I know this won't be what you want to hear but, from anywhere that I have worked, what you are requesting would be too far from the current / typical arrangements to reach a viable compromise.  Any company would go through the motions of hearing the employee's viewpoint / request as they have to be seen to be properly considering the flexible working request but would almost certainly be looking at managing the employee out from behind the scenes.

You are fortunate, though, in that you indicated that the employer has similar "once-a-month" arrangements in place for other employees.  What I have experienced as more typical is therefore less relevant other than to give the context of your workplace versus more typical workplaces. 

If the "once-a-month" is viable with your employer, you probably need to put some flesh to the bones of how that would work, how any challenges / negatives to the employer will be overcome by advantages in another way.  How many days would the "once-a-month" attendances be?  One week, so a five-day block.  With the travel time, that will really amount to four days in the office as half day each way is lost to travel.

In considering this, do not under estimate the personal burden of that long trip.  I am, but I had a contract in Sheffield for a few months earlier this year and did three days each week (from London) in the office.  I have to say I found it quite exhausting - and it was not the first go or the second go, but it slowly crept up to the exhausted state.  I was quite relieved when that ceased.

Whiterose23

Grumpy_chap said:

Whiterose23 said:

currently one or two days a week in the office 

I want to return to my home town 280 miles away 

Whiterose23 said:

I’ve been asked to put forward my views on what would work for me. I think a 5/6 hour journey there and back twice a month would be too much/too expensive for myself (fuel) and probably the company (hotel) as well. 

Whiterose23 said:

I think every two weeks would be a bit much for a 5/6 hour drive plus the cost of fuel but it would work once a month for sure 

I know this won't be what you want to hear but, from anywhere that I have worked, what you are requesting would be too far from the current / typical arrangements to reach a viable compromise.  Any company would go through the motions of hearing the employee's viewpoint / request as they have to be seen to be properly considering the flexible working request but would almost certainly be looking at managing the employee out from behind the scenes.

You are fortunate, though, in that you indicated that the employer has similar "once-a-month" arrangements in place for other employees.  What I have experienced as more typical is therefore less relevant other than to give the context of your workplace versus more typical workplaces. 

If the "once-a-month" is viable with your employer, you probably need to put some flesh to the bones of how that would work, how any challenges / negatives to the employer will be overcome by advantages in another way.  How many days would the "once-a-month" attendances be?  One week, so a five-day block.  With the travel time, that will really amount to four days in the office as half day each way is lost to travel.

In considering this, do not under estimate the personal burden of that long trip.  I am, but I had a contract in Sheffield for a few months earlier this year and did three days each week (from London) in the office.  I have to say I found it quite exhausting - and it was not the first go or the second go, but it slowly crept up to the exhausted state.  I was quite relieved when that ceased.

Thanks for your response. I do feel daunted by the prospect of this arrangement I won’t deny it. I’m a long term commuter - my current drive is 1 hour ten mins each way and I used to do this four times a week for years. 

After Covid however, the company were happy with most people just working one or two days in the office so that’s what I do now. The situation I’m in is a difficult one as it involves sharing/providing care for an elderly parent. I’m currently driving there every two or three weekends and it’s expensive and tiring.
My company employs a lady who has only attended the office two or three times in two years due to anxiety; plus two employees who live in Sheffield and Derbyshire - they travel down for key meetings only a couple of times a year, so it’s not that unusual. Then we have external Sales people who work mostly remotely.

I’m not that far away from retirement so if Im
managed out of the business at some point, it wouldn’t be the end of the world but currently, I’m needed but that could change.
My thought is that once a month I would travel to the office in my own time (Sunday afternoon) and then work in the office for three days Monday-Weds then drive back on Weds after work. I could then either take the next day or morning off to rest from the journey if needed.
I think it’s doable but it’s an unusual situation for sure, certainly for me.