Working From Home Megathread

depends on how you define career progression, i understand you have grades etc in the PS, that means very little to anyone outside the PS, for most people its euro and cents.

fair enough but it does give you a different perspective on work, promotions etc.

I really don’t think you understand what it is you are discussing.

At interview, employers may have minimum criteria for selecting applicants. As long as they don’t discriminate on any of the nine illegal grounds, discrimination based on personality and how the person comes across at interview is not illegal. Similarly, the most productive in an office do not always get promoted, the manager may select based on personality, interactions, whether they hit it off professionally etc, so again, as long as the manager is not discriminating on one of the nine grounds, that is not illegal. Those that are there the longest do not always get promoted, some are fast tracked based sometimes being in the right place at the right time. It is a fact of life, there are not many who will not have seen this in their workplace.

Nepotism is favouring family and friends, no doubt that happens is some places, but if there are 10 people on a team and only one promotion, managers can’t promote everyone so they have to discriminate by picking one.

yeah I dont need to be mansplained by you thanks. Not sure why you feel the need to explain your recruitment policy to me.

Personality is not a factor for interviews in my workplace - not assessed and shouldnt be in yours. And nobody is fast tracked - thats another breach of our policies and procedures. Jobs are advertised and anyone who is eligible applies.

what you are describing is your own workplace but is doesnt sound at all fair and quite toxic but I like transparent workpractices.

Promotion based on the idea of hitting if off professionally can be argued as discrimination but that would be for a court to decide on social media.

Also none of what you have said has anything to do with remote working. Dont do remote working if you feel you need to lick the arse of your employer. Work away.

oh yes I agree thats why remote working doesnt work for everyone.

you would describe making a recruitment decision based on personality (which will inform cultural fit) as creepy ass?

yes absolutely. Ive seen a lot of dodgy replies here regarding remote working. What the hell has personality got to do with remote working or recruitment I have no idea. Promotion based on a manager hitting it off better with someone is creepy ass aswell as being unfair, prejudicial and possibly illegal.

but I only came for comments on remote working..its always entertaining how some people feel the need to throw in other irrelvant topics.

Regardless of what you came for you have been commenting on the above, and your comments in that regard are both naive and idealistic.

in your opinion but I can prove same based on the recuitment polices and procedures in my workplace.

But we arent interveiwed by our managers for promotion nor by anyone we have a personal connection with. Personality or idealism doesnt come into it. I also sit on interview boards. I appreciate which completely different than some private sector businesses but staff are still entitled to transparency when it comes to recruitment.

From a lot of the feedback to my original query some employers dont have remote working policies in place - or in some cases recruitment polcies.

I commented on what someone else commented to me - in summary in person interaction is needed in the workplace in some instances. Also some people want it. I agree but remote working doesnt prevent that or hinder it in any way. I still have no idea how remote working means you arent readily available for work but I dont think the person who commented knows much about remote working.

I think you are beginning to grasp it.

Personality may have less to do with remote working. But will continue to be important in the office. So depending on how promotions are decided upon, the office worker may have an advantage.

Is it unfair? Possibly, is it prejudicial and/or illegal? Unless the decision contravenes one of the nine grounds of illegal discrimination, doubtful.

You say it is creepy, maybe personality is not important where you work, but in most work places it has a baring on career prospects if promotions are limited and applicants are many.

And this topic is relevant, there will be some consideration as to whether those who are not in the office are at a disadvantage to those that are. It may not apply in your workplace, that is not to say it will not apply to all.

Incidentally, this thread existed before you posted and had a broad spectrum of opinions related to wfh, it is not confined to providing comments for your questions.

I wasn't making any assumptions on gender, my explanations are not gender specific. I don’t claim to know more than you, I am however pointing out that remote working does by definition mean you are removed from in person communication and interactions with managers/owners who make decisions on promotions, hirings and firings. Most people who worked in offices understand the dynamics of a shared workplace and the reality that the hardest working or most productive don’t always get promoted ahead of those that are good at networking/making themselves seem more valuable to their employer. It is of course conceivable that this will not play any part in career progression, but it is naive to rule it out or refer to it as a “creepy ass” policy.

As Jules said, “personality goes a long way”. 😜

Our place are saying we have to come in next week and wear masks. IT so totally unnecessary. Surely a mask isn't going to make much difference if stuck with people in open-plan for almost 8 hours? Unless n95 ones. Do you think this means can't drink water or anything at desk? I'm constantly drinking water or coffee so mask will be off half the time. And have allergic rhinitis so will be blowing nose every half hour. The mask is a tokenism surely.

A risk assessment? As in a risk to me or others? I thought this was quite common, allergies to dust etc. Is it a big deal if I'm constantly removing mask blowing my nose? I'll go in and let them say to me if they have an issue. They're gung ho on bringing us in regardless. Will masks be gone end of February do you reckon? Nobody knows I guess

It takes me about 50 mins in one way to work, so 100 minutes per day

22 days a month on average

12 months, or even 12 months minus 5 weeks

Gets to over 16 full days a year spent in traffic lol..