Unfairness at work when it comes to attendance.. is there only me who sees this?

Over time I have seen more and more that where some people can work from home in a workplace it brings an inequality. For example where I work some roles and those in a similar role but a higher position, have the option of working from home when they need to. The rest don’t have this option.

Many times over I have received a message those who have this option to say that they will be working from home for the day/week because they are feeling unwell/under the weather

I have been going through a bad spell and have had a few absences due to illness and as a result have a significant attendance meeting. Almost all of these absences could have been avoided had I had the ability to work from home.

Instead I have had to take time off and have absences on my record that will reflect badly not only in my company but to future employers.

I did have a discussion with a manager on this topic 2 years ago (this was before I had any absences) as I was starting to spot this problem with the system. He just said that he was sure it wouldn’t happen to be as I have a lot of integrity and he is sure that genuine absences wouldn’t be looked on badly anyway.

I guess it would be interesting to get some opinions.

Reply 1

Quackers21

2

Original post by Awaitingquavers

Over time I have seen more and more that where some people can work from home in a workplace it brings an inequality. For example where I work some roles and those in a similar role but a higher position, have the option of working from home when they need to. The rest don’t have this option.

Many times over I have received a message those who have this option to say that they will be working from home for the day/week because they are feeling unwell/under the weather

I have been going through a bad spell and have had a few absences due to illness and as a result have a significant attendance meeting. Almost all of these absences could have been avoided had I had the ability to work from home.

Instead I have had to take time off and have absences on my record that will reflect badly not only in my company but to future employers.

I did have a discussion with a manager on this topic 2 years ago (this was before I had any absences) as I was starting to spot this problem with the system. He just said that he was sure it wouldn’t happen to be as I have a lot of integrity and he is sure that genuine absences wouldn’t be looked on badly anyway.

I guess it would be interesting to get some opinions.

I'm still a student at uni and have never worked before so I don't know how viable these tips would be.

Honestly my dad also chooses to WFH whenever he feels sick or lazy but he allows the same flexibility to everyone working under him and often pushes them to just take the day off when they're sick. He's very accomodating with holidays and WFH and stuff as long as you get your work done (assuming it's not a serious illness). Since it's been 2 years since you last spoke to your manager about this, I'd say you should try again. People have become more accepting of it since Covid. Explain how your medical issues are big enough for you to not be able to come into work but would def try to complete the work at home. If he says no, try to convince him to let you try it once or twice, tell him that if your work isn't up to standards then you'll drop the idea completely.

I don't think it's fair that the basis of whether you can WFH or not is decided based on your rank in the company rather than the job role you have. Imo the job role should decide whether you're allowed to WFH or not. Maybe you can bring up this idea in some meeting or feedback session or anything like that if it happens at work.

Reply 2

Awaitingquavers

OP

13

Hi, due to the nature of the work it does turn out that some are able to WFH whereas others cannot. I don’t think that they are simply providing this leniency based on ranking, the nature of someone’s role will be the leading factor.

However I still think that the system is unfair (not just in my job but many others too) as they are already starting to be blunt with me about my absences

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 3

Quackers21

2

Original post by Awaitingquavers

Hi, due to the nature of the work it does turn out that some are able to WFH whereas others cannot. I don’t think that they are simply providing this leniency based on ranking, the nature of someone’s role will be the leading factor.

However I still think that the system is unfair (not just in my job but many others too) as they are already starting to be blunt with me about my absences

If it's possible, try talking about it with your manager again. Maybe they'll be more understanding considering that you've been taking holidays for medical reasons and are a reliable employee. Could try convincing him to give it a try at least once and if the work doesn't get done, you'll just take holidays instead.

If you think this might affect your future job prospects negatively, consider looking for jobs elsewhere where they're more flexible before you rack up too many holidays.

Unfairness at work when it comes to attendance.. is there only me who sees this?

Quick Reply

Related discussions

Latest

Trending

Trending

Articles for you