Working From Home

[scooterscot]

It's very simple. You say yes, it's possible to modify our contract. The rate at home, £50p/h, is now modified to £150p/h away from home.

I've done this in the past myself. Sit back and watch them change their tune quicker than the latest boyband.

[tomtomagain]

Hi All

I have had a new manager

Just chucking in some thoughts from the managers perspective:

He's got a new job and a new team, so he doesn't know anyone, what their work ethic is like, what their output is like. Who is a positive influence or who is a drag on the team. He doesn't know who are his go-to guys are or who is a time-waster. He doesn't know anyone's capabilities yet.

He may have been burned before by people claiming to be "Working from Home".

He has got a lot to learn about his new team and the dynamics within it. As well as potentially a new set of customers, new business area and new technology.

He's likely to have been given some higher level objective from his management. It might be "Bring this thing under control" or "End the project" or "Reduce the costs" or "Prepare for more investment". Whatever it is, it is more important to him than any discomfort you may feel.

The key consideration for him right now is about establishing CONTROL over the team - and you kicking back over a contractual issue is something that he might well be prepared to fight because it lets you ( and everyone else ) know who is in charge.

If you have ever taken over the management of an existing team ( as I have on several occasions ) you will know that establishing your authority is critical in the first few days.

So really it's about re-establishing the trust you had with the old manager with the new guy. He might turn out to be a complete arse, in which case you have a decision to make about staying or leaving.

But it is more likely that he is not a *complete* arse. Most people aren't. At least not all the time.

Personally if I wanted to stay in the contract I'd turn up every day and say to the new guy "Is there anything I can do to help you get established? Is there anything you need from me? Is there anything you would like to do differently?"

The #1 route to contractual happiness is to make your managers life easy. And the #1 route to increased rates and renewals is to make your manager look good in front of his managers.

[SueEllen]

You can do the above without being in the office all the time. It means you have to answer your phone and instant messages immediately.

[psychocandy]

Must admit this is arse-ish behaviour from manager it seems. BUT as others have said, I fear pushing it it not going to end well.

All depends on how much you want to keep the gig I suppose and how much hassle it is attending site.

For some of us, it'd be a showstopper I guess. If gig was 200 miles away and you were doing just one day in office then its now completely different in terms of both cost and hassle if they want you in office 5 days. i.e. would you have taken on gig in these circumstances.

For me, for the above example, I'd say nope, I never agreed to that, I cant do it, good luck and all that.

[clearedforlanding]

Just chucking in some thoughts from the managers perspective:

He's got a new job and a new team, so he doesn't know anyone, what their work ethic is like, what their output is like. Who is a positive influence or who is a drag on the team. He doesn't know who are his go-to guys are or who is a time-waster. He doesn't know anyone's capabilities yet.

He may have been burned before by people claiming to be "Working from Home".

He has got a lot to learn about his new team and the dynamics within it. As well as potentially a new set of customers, new business area and new technology.

He's likely to have been given some higher level objective from his management. It might be "Bring this thing under control" or "End the project" or "Reduce the costs" or "Prepare for more investment". Whatever it is, it is more important to him than any discomfort you may feel.

The key consideration for him right now is about establishing CONTROL over the team - and you kicking back over a contractual issue is something that he might well be prepared to fight because it lets you ( and everyone else ) know who is in charge.

If you have ever taken over the management of an existing team ( as I have on several occasions ) you will know that establishing your authority is critical in the first few days.

So really it's about re-establishing the trust you had with the old manager with the new guy. He might turn out to be a complete arse, in which case you have a decision to make about staying or leaving.

But it is more likely that he is not a *complete* arse. Most people aren't. At least not all the time.

Personally if I wanted to stay in the contract I'd turn up every day and say to the new guy "Is there anything I can do to help you get established? Is there anything you need from me? Is there anything you would like to do differently?"

The #1 route to contractual happiness is to make your managers life easy. And the #1 route to increased rates and renewals is to make your manager look good in front of his managers.

As a CIO I completely disagree with you on control. A manager's first objective is to establish trust & respect from his team.

Trying to establish dominance, or control over an existing team with it's own dynamics, relationship & cliques is amateur management. With professionals you can be assertive but the concept of control is ridiculous and a one way street to alienation. A manager alienated by his team is dead in the water.

Every day? Sure ask this once and then anticipate the hard & soft requirements of your manager.

[VectraMan]

I disagree, I have experienced a very competent agent resolving a similar issue early in my contracting career. He didn't contract wave, he was simply a more experienced negotiator than I.

Push come to shove they will back the client, but saying that there is "No point talking to agency" when OP has nothing to lose by doing so doesn't feel right to me.

I disagree as well. The agent is meant to be representing you and negotiating on your behalf. We all know that's largely cobblers and they mostly do bugger all, but if you're not getting anywhere by yourself then approaching the agent seems entirely sensible. The client is their paymaster, but on the other hand they're potentially losing their cut of your work and the client may well replace you with a contractor from a different agency. And the latter is what scares them the most.

The agent may also be able to talk to someone higher up in the organisation who perhaps wouldn't talk to you.

[MrMarkyMark]

As a CIO I completely disagree with you on control. A manager's first objective is to establish trust & respect from his team.

If you are a good manager / lead, people will want to work hard for you, anyway.
No need to be a dictator, or, control freak about it.

Obviously, you get a few slackers, along the way, but, these tend to be the exception, rather than the norm.
I usually, have "frank" discussions, if that is the case, which 9/10 will resolve the issue and you can then, both, move on.

[LondonManc]

If I am taking over a team of people that I don't know on a project that I'm not familiar with, I'd probably prevent non-essential WFH until I knew how the team fitted together, who was doing what, was the plan realistic, does WFH improve/impair things such as productivity and communication.

Perhaps talking to the new manager to ask about his motives behind culling WFH would be more productive than just claiming you've got a clause in your contract that allows it?

[tomtomagain]

As a CIO I completely disagree with you on control. A manager's first objective is to establish trust & respect from his team.

As a CEO I completely disagree with you.

A managers first objective is to establish control of the situation he has been placed in. Respect & trust are secondary. This does not mean that establishing control has to be a combative experience that destroys the prospect of building respectful, trusting relationships.

Maybe I should have used the phrase "Establishing his Authority".

[Danglekt]

my personal take on it.

I'd ask for a meeting with him/her, outline the previous situation, explain you understand his/her views and why and want to be accommodating, then outline your track record/examples of where you haven't spent your day at home on contractorUK, and explain how you are happy to attend the office more regularly but that you really value working from home and so would like to find a way forward which meet both his management needs, and your needs.

If you go in there with the view you have posted up here - that basically the good old days have been ruined by an a55hole of a new manager...your only going to get one result.