Uk office based job.
Two people in my role full time, me and another as well as a third part timer.
I work in the office 5 days a week, my colleague works 3 at home 2 in office. Manager is in the office 1 day a week and there are a handful of others in other roles but same department, they are in the office full time like me.
After 2 years of the wfh arrangements I requested to work from home because I find it very distracting in the office and want to focus on doing my work. (Unofficial I cant stand my lazy colleagues and 'out of sight out of mind' will help me)
A week later I am offered a meeting to discuss and heres the list of reasons why it has been declined, I'm phrasing from the written summary that I requested after the meeting and below each reason is my response which will be mentioned at the next meeting in 3 months.
Warning, I write very bluntly but I have no intention of providing these as written responses, just paraphrased verbal responses in the next meeting.
●”I [manager] reviewed the times that OP has logged on and off at work to find he has logged in late on multiple occasions by up to 3 minutes and sometimes logged off around 1 early, op explained when he is late in he takes it out of his lunch but I explained this is not acceptable and I expect him to work his contracted hours”
[My response]
When I am late I make it up in my lunch. Its not regular and has no effect on my productivity. My contracted hours are 8:30 to 5:00 but the office doesn't open until 9:45 since covid so we provisionally agreed i would do 9 to 5 with 30 minute lunch as opposed to 1hr lunch. When do I get my contracted hours back?
●I [manager] mentioned that [colleague] works very hard and is given the reward of working from home and I fully trust her to work from home.
[My response]
If I'm not considered to be working hard then when would I have been given a performance review to address this? Why has this only now been mentioned?
●We discussed OPs balance between accuracy and quantity and I [manager] explained that work needs to be foremost accurate even if that means less is put out
[My response]
In the past 4 weeks (if not longer) I have received no negative or constructive feedback on my work, only positive [insert examples]
● I [manager] said when Op first moved into the role he showed great enthusiasm and potential and I felt his attitude and enthusiasm had decreased lately. OP said he finds it very distracting in the office and I said focus on doing a great job so I get positive feedback.
[My response]
I'm not happy that you're relying on voluntary feedback to determine my enthusiasm and willingness in the role rather than review / audit of my work. You're in the office 1 day a week so you don't see the day to day office interactions.
●I [manager] mentioned about helping others and said op didn't seem keen on offering help and it was something I would like to encourage. I was aware Op asked to move desks to focus on work which is ok but I didn't want him to feel excluded from the team. Op said he didn't feel excluded and still liaised when he needed to.
[My response]
Regardless of whether I'm keen to help or not, there is not a single instance where I have not tried to help when asked. I don't offer it on a plate because I focus on doing my own work before doing other peoples work. The implication that I am unhelpful is insulting and if necessary I will get everyone I help to send written confirmation that I have helped them once I have done so. Again you [manager] are not in the office 4 out 5 days so there's no realistic way to gauge this from your perspective.
In the meeting you mentioned [other colleague] needing more assistance because XYZ ((notably this is missing from the written transcript)) and whilst I don't mind helping, their attitude and reasons for needing help annoy me – stating they don't understand or have time to Xyz yet they take multiple personal phone calls a week and quite frankly never stop talking about their personal life. Why should I stop my work to help them when they clearly have time to learn?
●op mentioned the radio being played, finding it very irritating and explained that is why he wears headphones whilst working, I explained others want the radio on becausr its silent without it and headphones are fine as long as he can still liaise with the team and answer phones.
[My response]
No response needed but the main reason I put my headphones on is the unending talking, less so the radio, and again out of sight out of mind (more out of sound) is what I'm going for.
Like I say, I know its blunt and I've been stung by my tone in emails before i entered this role hence I won't be responding in writing but I would say my tone is misunderstood since I consider it direct/concise rather than rude or “too blunt”
This is a bit of a rant post but it would be nice to see what you lot think of the situation as well as any advice you have.
(other than switch jobs/companies- I actually like the work itself and pay is fine)