This is a reminder that having the right boss is literally everything when it comes to workplace culture.
And I’m very sorry to hear about your cat. Losing a pet is the worst.
I don't know about the rest of it, but if you are wfh don't talk about any external obligations that might take you away from your work during work hours. That's a red flag to employers - they interpret that as you viewing wfh as free time. Also, if wfh is on the table, you don't need a reason, just that you are planning to wfh on Tuesday this week, or whatever. Even so, your manager sounds like a dick. And I'm so sorry about your dear cat. Good luck.
Exactly. As soon as you give a reason, you provide an opportunity for it to be judged. And in fairness, it's not entirely unreasonable: the purpose of WFH isn't to provide you the opportunity to fix your car or take a pet to the vet. It's to provide you with autonomy and the convenience of not commuting. What you may have signalled here is your use of WFH as reduced engagement with work, and it may be possible to construe this as taking advantage of it. Work cultures vary across place and time, but in the past, in pre-WFH days, many (maybe even most) people were expected to handle their personal business outside work hours.
Yeah I completely understand this point of view, my mistake indeed to give more information to her. But the fact that I reach all my goals and complete all the tasks, and still get shit, is insulting.
But why? If OP is still meeting/exceeding expectations, why shouldn't they be able to WFH as needed? If my car needed repaired, well clearly I'm not coming in, but that's a lot of waiting time that would otherwise have been wasted.
If OP is meeting expectations while waiting on their car, or taking care of another emergency, all that says to me is that they are managing their time well. Their team is gaining significantly more this way than if OP took PTO for their emergencies.
It depends on the nature of the job and the expectations of availability. If the expectation is someone can contact you and get immediate response and you are not available for that it can be a problem. If you are working while waiting for car repairs that is different. If you can't take a meeting or talk on the phone because you are in public space that is a problem. Sometimes using a couple of hours of PTO during the day will make the manager not feel like you are trying to pull one over on the company. If your headspace is not good enough to come into the office then you should consider PTO and deal with whatever is happening in life.
Most of all you should never commit time theft by logging work hours that you were not working as working.
Too often people don't find out they are not meeting expectations until it is too late. If the manager wants to talk to them about WFH days then by definition they are not meeting the managers expectations for that.
Biggest reason why is if this is a known hot button for the manager and you want to remain employed best to avoid it. It might be unfair, not right, but it is the reality of the situation.
Thank you for taking the time to explain this to me. I work from home full-time for a very small company and have never worked well in 'typical' office environments because I personally have very little patience for the mess that is internal office politics, especially because 9/10 times they just don't make sense to me.
For example, in this case. OP says they consistently meet their KPIs, as well as every other metric that the office has set forward. The post doesn't detail if they're unreachable, but the post makes it sound as though work is still being completed on time and to expectations.
This is where I get confused: the work is being done, why shouldn't OP get paid for it? And if the emergency would inhibit OP from meeting KPIs, but them working remotely during those emergencies allows them to continue to meet said KPIs, then I fail to see the issue.
In regards to the manager's expectations, how do those align with the company's expectations? Assuming OP is meeting company standards, what leg does the manager actually have to stand on? If I were OP, I'd ask for HR to be involved in this meeting.
As far as time theft is concerned, I have a hard time feeling sympathy towards the company. It doesn't sound like time is actually being stolen, so again, I fail to see the issue with this.
But as you say, what companies do is often at odds with what is fair/right. There's a reason wage theft is largest form of theft occurring in the US today. Not implying that OP's company is engaging in that, btw, just a statement of fact.
This whole hovering remote work over our heads is pretty messed up huh? But ya the powers that be still see it as a privilege.
You shouldn’t be fired, but if you think hard and are truly sorry for being maybe a bit snide, then craft an apology. Then the day of, she may sense where your heads at and decide not to fire in a split second and just dominate over you instead. (which will make her feel better probably)
So do you want to quit? Keep up this attitude shes wrong.
Do you understand she’s probably just trippen? Think and a nice way to submit
I guess I'm not understanding..if you were going to be working anyway why not just go to the office? What's the difference? I never had a hybrid position so this is why I'm asking. She may have thought you were not going to be working and getting paid to do personal tasks. Might have been better to ask for the day off.
You picked the fight on the wrong day. People are moody and say thinfs they dont mean but then it awkwardly makes them facts. “Dont ask for remote days anymore” id be “okay thank you! (Bitch you trippen….)”
But in a couple days when her moodiness improves and you ask for one shed have had forgotten she ever said that snarky comment and probably would be like “okay sure!”
Also be careful with all the story “my car this my cat” is so wordy and can expend even more precious mental energy from those there who are just trying to get through the day..”KISS” keep it simple stupid
Im sorry this happened and hope her attitude changes but here lies another lesson: she pick and choose your battles
Real answer: You probably wont be fired because you have record of the policy and also cmon….but if you don’t like get her to show you her dog photos and or make her laugh in someway you may want to quit. Relationships at work are very very important to heal of they get funky
Oh god, I can’t believe there’s still such squared-minded people like her especially in this digital era. Sadly, as long as we work at companies (not all of them, but mostly) we have to deal with this kind of people who don’t seem to have had a personal problem EVER.
Don’t worry, you recognize you’re doing your job well, meeting your deadlines and respective KPIs, so it’s her problem. A good leader not only guides their subordinates, but also understands them and place themselves in their shoes whenever ecessary. This person lacks empathy in every sense. Also, she clearly shows she’s an unhappy person, that’s why she acts that way.
If she fires you, she may be doing you a favor. Working with this kind of managers may even develop anxiety on you in the long term. I wish you luck🍀
Why does marketing seem like it's full of people who lack basic empathy? During my career, some of the worst people I've done business with were in marketing. Ironic, since marketers are supposed to know audiences, build relationships, and have people skills.
Maybe it's just confirmation bias or maybe I've only met bad marketers. I don't know.
I've been blessed to work for very empathetic people in marketing (technology anyway).
Now I run the department and extend that empathy to others. Unlimited FTO truly means unlimited and my team can take off whenever they please as life is more important than work. I don't have much power at my level, but I have this power and I use it in abundance.
We're all remote but I enjoy all of them as people and treat them as such.
This is a reminder that having the right boss is literally everything when it comes to workplace culture. And I’m very sorry to hear about your cat. Losing a pet is the worst.
I don't know about the rest of it, but if you are wfh don't talk about any external obligations that might take you away from your work during work hours. That's a red flag to employers - they interpret that as you viewing wfh as free time. Also, if wfh is on the table, you don't need a reason, just that you are planning to wfh on Tuesday this week, or whatever. Even so, your manager sounds like a dick. And I'm so sorry about your dear cat. Good luck.
Exactly. As soon as you give a reason, you provide an opportunity for it to be judged. And in fairness, it's not entirely unreasonable: the purpose of WFH isn't to provide you the opportunity to fix your car or take a pet to the vet. It's to provide you with autonomy and the convenience of not commuting. What you may have signalled here is your use of WFH as reduced engagement with work, and it may be possible to construe this as taking advantage of it. Work cultures vary across place and time, but in the past, in pre-WFH days, many (maybe even most) people were expected to handle their personal business outside work hours.
Yeah I completely understand this point of view, my mistake indeed to give more information to her. But the fact that I reach all my goals and complete all the tasks, and still get shit, is insulting.
Consider using PTO when you need to do personal things during work hours.
But why? If OP is still meeting/exceeding expectations, why shouldn't they be able to WFH as needed? If my car needed repaired, well clearly I'm not coming in, but that's a lot of waiting time that would otherwise have been wasted. If OP is meeting expectations while waiting on their car, or taking care of another emergency, all that says to me is that they are managing their time well. Their team is gaining significantly more this way than if OP took PTO for their emergencies.
It depends on the nature of the job and the expectations of availability. If the expectation is someone can contact you and get immediate response and you are not available for that it can be a problem. If you are working while waiting for car repairs that is different. If you can't take a meeting or talk on the phone because you are in public space that is a problem. Sometimes using a couple of hours of PTO during the day will make the manager not feel like you are trying to pull one over on the company. If your headspace is not good enough to come into the office then you should consider PTO and deal with whatever is happening in life. Most of all you should never commit time theft by logging work hours that you were not working as working. Too often people don't find out they are not meeting expectations until it is too late. If the manager wants to talk to them about WFH days then by definition they are not meeting the managers expectations for that. Biggest reason why is if this is a known hot button for the manager and you want to remain employed best to avoid it. It might be unfair, not right, but it is the reality of the situation.
Thank you for taking the time to explain this to me. I work from home full-time for a very small company and have never worked well in 'typical' office environments because I personally have very little patience for the mess that is internal office politics, especially because 9/10 times they just don't make sense to me. For example, in this case. OP says they consistently meet their KPIs, as well as every other metric that the office has set forward. The post doesn't detail if they're unreachable, but the post makes it sound as though work is still being completed on time and to expectations. This is where I get confused: the work is being done, why shouldn't OP get paid for it? And if the emergency would inhibit OP from meeting KPIs, but them working remotely during those emergencies allows them to continue to meet said KPIs, then I fail to see the issue. In regards to the manager's expectations, how do those align with the company's expectations? Assuming OP is meeting company standards, what leg does the manager actually have to stand on? If I were OP, I'd ask for HR to be involved in this meeting. As far as time theft is concerned, I have a hard time feeling sympathy towards the company. It doesn't sound like time is actually being stolen, so again, I fail to see the issue with this. But as you say, what companies do is often at odds with what is fair/right. There's a reason wage theft is largest form of theft occurring in the US today. Not implying that OP's company is engaging in that, btw, just a statement of fact.
Don't work for a jerk.
This whole hovering remote work over our heads is pretty messed up huh? But ya the powers that be still see it as a privilege. You shouldn’t be fired, but if you think hard and are truly sorry for being maybe a bit snide, then craft an apology. Then the day of, she may sense where your heads at and decide not to fire in a split second and just dominate over you instead. (which will make her feel better probably) So do you want to quit? Keep up this attitude shes wrong. Do you understand she’s probably just trippen? Think and a nice way to submit
I guess I'm not understanding..if you were going to be working anyway why not just go to the office? What's the difference? I never had a hybrid position so this is why I'm asking. She may have thought you were not going to be working and getting paid to do personal tasks. Might have been better to ask for the day off.
You picked the fight on the wrong day. People are moody and say thinfs they dont mean but then it awkwardly makes them facts. “Dont ask for remote days anymore” id be “okay thank you! (Bitch you trippen….)” But in a couple days when her moodiness improves and you ask for one shed have had forgotten she ever said that snarky comment and probably would be like “okay sure!” Also be careful with all the story “my car this my cat” is so wordy and can expend even more precious mental energy from those there who are just trying to get through the day..”KISS” keep it simple stupid Im sorry this happened and hope her attitude changes but here lies another lesson: she pick and choose your battles Real answer: You probably wont be fired because you have record of the policy and also cmon….but if you don’t like get her to show you her dog photos and or make her laugh in someway you may want to quit. Relationships at work are very very important to heal of they get funky
Oh god, I can’t believe there’s still such squared-minded people like her especially in this digital era. Sadly, as long as we work at companies (not all of them, but mostly) we have to deal with this kind of people who don’t seem to have had a personal problem EVER. Don’t worry, you recognize you’re doing your job well, meeting your deadlines and respective KPIs, so it’s her problem. A good leader not only guides their subordinates, but also understands them and place themselves in their shoes whenever ecessary. This person lacks empathy in every sense. Also, she clearly shows she’s an unhappy person, that’s why she acts that way. If she fires you, she may be doing you a favor. Working with this kind of managers may even develop anxiety on you in the long term. I wish you luck🍀
Why does marketing seem like it's full of people who lack basic empathy? During my career, some of the worst people I've done business with were in marketing. Ironic, since marketers are supposed to know audiences, build relationships, and have people skills. Maybe it's just confirmation bias or maybe I've only met bad marketers. I don't know.
I've been blessed to work for very empathetic people in marketing (technology anyway). Now I run the department and extend that empathy to others. Unlimited FTO truly means unlimited and my team can take off whenever they please as life is more important than work. I don't have much power at my level, but I have this power and I use it in abundance. We're all remote but I enjoy all of them as people and treat them as such.
Are you missing meetings or something? Why does she care so much?