Civil Service - Post Lockdown - Blended Working?

Avenger2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118645454#Comment_118645454

Yes but it seems the authorities clearly prefer building hotels over residential accommodation.

Look at how many families are living in hotel rooms - subsidised majorly by the state. Look at how the “purpose-built” student accommodation in Dublin city centre quickly became a hotel during the pandemic despite protest from residents in the area.

also look at communal living proposals - more discussed than building two-bedroom appartments.

also commuting 2 days would be ok. So I loose 4 hours each day for two days. Means I can collect my child on other days. Wife can WFH 2 days Im in Dublin as in private sector small firm. Easy peasy. 3 days brings in issues of Child care - so hard to find these days.

Avenger2020

Also, the line manager or A/Sec would designate the days of course. For example Wednesdays are busy for sectional meetings in my field so obvs that day in office.

Im not proposing total anarchy xD

but currently they say go in any day - I went in and met no one. Waste of time. Should do anchor days. A sheep dog would be better at organising this!

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118645918#Comment_118645918

yeah similar - located at x but can be reassigned at their discretion. The address on my contract doesnt actually exist anymore so I am covered by the second part. Covers everywhere really

Sammy96

That's very interesting, thanks for the replies on the contracts.

This certainly differs from my perspective where I don't have a place of work in my contract only a general headquarters with no term stating that the headquarters is my place of work.

Perhaps an oversight. Very interesting indeed.

Burgo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118646476#Comment_118646476

Yeah it states on your CS contract your place of work, as when i moved location it was by a local arrangement with my manager. It was only official when I was promoted and the new location was stated in the new contract.

edit:

I also know there is a caveat in that you can be asked to move location once it is within a certain radius (50km i think?) of either your residence or current place of business. This would have less impact of departments who have offices outside of dublin, but i know this was used to move staff from offices around Dublin City pre pandemic many of whom did not appreciate it as you can imagine.

Burgo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118645738#Comment_118645738

Just on your point about "once the work is being done then why not facilite people". I had being speaking to my departments union rep about the blending working policy, since it seems that it will be some variety of a 3/2 split and why not any thought as to a full wfh option. That was apparently not a consideration for forsa, let alone something they were going to discuss with DPER.

martysparty

doc22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118649251#Comment_118649251

DPER would just say no

gmisk

Had a senior meeting today in our place....it was heated....a lot of people don't want to go back even for a day a week...lot of resistance

I know a few people have moved well outside of Dublin...seems a bit of a mad move the WFH thing wasn't going to be forever at least not full time..

Sammy96

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118649339#Comment_118649339

They were right to make the decision themselves. Why should they wait to move and ask their employer if it is okay?

Many of my friends have also done this. Especially those who were paying massive rents and could see what type of house the could buy compared to a box terrace in Dublin. Two years is a long time and none of us can say for certain that covid is over, especially come winters.

They will try all they can to get near full wfh or one day a week in Dublin. If they don't they will move on. One has already moved on. They left on good terms as both couldn't offer what was needed.

It is an employee's market.

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118649419#Comment_118649419

Yeah thats all grand if you are willing to quit the job.

laoisgem

I think anyone thinking full time wfh would be considered are absolutely mental, as previously stated, 3 days wfh and 2 days in office would be a good outcome, even 2 days wfh and 3 days in office is a bonus in my eyes at least.

Sammy96

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118649433#Comment_118649433

It is grand as they are. They have been planning this for two years.

gmisk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118649461#Comment_118649461

Ah I was talking in general but ah yeah good luck to your mates.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118646476#Comment_118646476

That will be addressed in the DPER framework.

Flinty997

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118649419#Comment_118649419

They had no way of knowing the COVID and wfh would last 2yrs. Might have been 3 months, 6 months etc.

billyhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118649447#Comment_118649447

That's what it will be i.e. 3 days in the office.

Liberty_Bear

The general sense appears to be that either take blended working (3 days in and 2 at home) or else flexi time full time in the office. I would rather the latter tbh. Unions might have something to say about it though. Id be chuffed with a mix of WFH and flexi!

hardybuck

Had my first day back in the office for a couple of months this week, and I think my team will be joining me next week. Some thoughts and reflections:

• No effort has been made to reconfigure the office layout in any way, and no plans are in place to do so. That's a shame as we were packed in like sardines before, the place badly needed a spruce up, and we've missed an opportunity to rejig it. We got some hand sanitiser and wipes to protect us though!
• I know my productivity dipped in the office and I had to get a shove on when I got home to get a few jobs out the door. Some of it was people popping their head in the door for a chat, and some of that will calm down in a while, but straight away I can see that we (my team) will need to give some thought to how we use our time both in the office and at home strategically. Some jobs are done much better at home, others can be done better in the office.
• Was on an Inter-Departmental call involving senior staff in about 4-5 organisations, it struck me that all of the staff from my Department were the only ones in the office. Funnily enough I actually lost functionality by going into the office as I couldn't use my video.
• We'll have to figure out how to support participation in video meetings in an open plan office setting. It's difficult to concentrate and contribute when you have a lot of people milling about around you. We have a huge shortage of meeting rooms and breakout space and that's a new way of working that the organisation will need to have a think about.
• A lot of late work and communication at all hours of the night crept in during work from home, some of which was helpful and kept things moving and some of which wasn't (e.g. emails in the early hours of the morning). I think it's going to be a culture shock for some people when work actually finishes at a certain time in the evening when you leave the office and go home.

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118651613#Comment_118651613

Yeah attending online meetings in an open plan setting is a challenge!!! - especially when you have a lack of private space. Kinda defeats the purpose of being in the office but that is still something we are working on - but most people are opting to wfh where possible and do meetings etc at home.

I also find myself less productive in the office - and definitely I do my work better at home.

hardybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118651840#Comment_118651840

Video calls are absolutely fantastic for us because we end up on a lot of inter-Departmental groups. Internally we also have staff dotted around different buildings too. Meetings run so much more efficiently online, they're easier for people to attend and it saves and awful lot of shuffling around between different buildings around town. So even when we're back in the office more frequently we'll still be doing them.

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118651983#Comment_118651983

100% agree - online meetings are the way to go. Its just the logistics of numerous people in an open plan office having different online meetings at the same time. - can be loud. Even attending the same online meeting while in an open plan space - you can hear the meeting from all angles 🤣🤣

Or staff not using their headphones when in a meeting when at their desk - simple things like that.

Flinty997

Our meeting rooms have their own Teams Account and room cameras & mic's.

But not enough rooms for meeting was always a problem since we moved open plan.

gauchesnell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118652698#Comment_118652698

yes ours have cameras and mics but just not enough of them. And they arent soundproof 😂

Burgo

I've always worked in an open plan office, I wonder what it would be like to have a cubicle.

Flinty997

Watch the movie office space...

Avenger2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118649889#Comment_118649889

I know. My back is gone. Been working on a low desk for two years now. I should have bought a standing desk if I knew it would be so long. Knowing my luck I ll buy it now and be told to go into the office 5 days. xD

Avenger2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118651983#Comment_118651983

So we’ll miss the walks to other buildings etc. The chats before meetings . No doubt Management will opt for online meetings to get most out of our time. Also lack of meeting rooms a big issue.

Avenger2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118652126#Comment_118652126

They haven’t given one thought about all this. Valid issues.

some departments will be WFH throughout March while we have been told to go in. Open office space will impact meeting quality and quality of the work of colleagues within earshot.

Avenger2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118645782#Comment_118645782

On the Contract issue, my contract hours state flexi-time. This was disbanded during Covid for no valid reason. It is a fundamental change to the contract - working hours. What was the reason? I still have a manager managing my time. Just now he has more of it. No increase in pay. But on higher management hours.

i get the need to change office location due to offices being too small during a pandemic. But changing working hours ?? The employer has the right to change anything? The employee just accepts automatically? EU employment law??