Work issues - feeling demoralized

[debiam]

Please help, i was signed off work 2 weeks ago with a lower back problem (i have 3 prolapsed discs), due to go back to work tomorrow but so stressed, anxious and in pain, not sure what to do.

 

I checked my work Blackberry tonight and i have a couple of emails from my manager (sent to me at 8 & 9pm Friday) telling me she is disappointed with my recent workload and is requesting a weekly report from me.

 

In addition for the past 4 months i have experienced very poor internet connectivity (which she is fully aware of) and this will not be resolved until 30th November. I do not feel that this has been taken into account, I work from home and am unable to complete 60% of my work due to the fault with the broadband.

 

I am unable to access spreadsheets ect and my nearest office is a 200 mile round journey.

 

I m so confused about how i am feeling at the moment, just looking for some help or advice on what direction to take this. I work for a very large organisation and feel totally demoralized. No email asking me how i am or if i am returning to work tomorrow!!!

[assisted blonde]

Have you told your boss why you have not completed so much of your work? A weekly report should not be a problem if you are putting in the required hours and will show what you are doing. you may be feeling a bit down due to your recent ill health but you may feel better once you start working again. Not all employers think to ask how you are and assume that if your sick note has run out and they havent been told otherwise then youy are returning to work.

In your position I wouldnt rock the boat so near to christmas, fill out the report and see how it goes once your internet is working.

I work from home and quite honestly messages at 9pm on a Friday are quite usual.

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG. I'm sorry to hear that you have problems.

 

I've spaced out your post a bit to make it easier for the people trying to help you. I'm sure they'll be along later with advice for you.

 

My best, HB

[Emmzzi]

Your internet problem is yours not your employers. Go buy a dongle....

[debiam]

Lol Emmzzi, before responding to a thread i suggest you find out facts first. I am employed to work from home (there are approx 500 of us) and we are all supplied / provided with Business Broadband. Oh and i have a dongle thank you, also supplied by my employer, however its a load of rubbish just like my broadband. I live in a remote village and sadly, although its the 21st century, the signal strength is dire.

[Emmzzi]

If you have unreliable service then you may not be the best employee for them is more my point. What alternatives have you investigated? Working from a friend's house in another town? connection at library? If there are concerns about your productivity I would expect to see you looking for options.

[debiam]

What an extremely dogmatic view you have. My employer has known for over 5 years about the connectivity issues and we have attempted to resolve these in every way we can. BT Infinity is being installed on the 30th November, its taken them this long to realize the extent of the problem.( i live in hope ) !!!

[Atlas01]

Take it as bluntly as this, your employer pays you to achieve a set amount of "work" if you can't because of your circumstances that isn't their problem, a bad internet connection has the same weight in law as a very small bag of feathers

 

At least by working from home your in your own environment and not having to travel and work in an office.

 

Bottom line is if my employer got told i couldn't fulfil my contract because the speed wasn't enough to work properly, i wouldn't last 4 months, nevermind 5 years and i work for a good employer!

 

I'm not saying this is the case but your predicament will sound like a load of BS to most employers and employees alike, You have 12 days until it should be sorted to hang on in there. Mainly because legally you do not have a leg to stand on

[altobelli]

Hi debiam, certainly not good management for your employer to email when you're off sick and complain about your work. I understand why you feel demotivated, I would too.

 

What exactly do they want from the weekly report and what is the intention of the report with regards to helping you with your job?

 

I would sit tight at the moment, you have only one or two weekly reports to be submitted before the employer finally gets you a decent internet connection, which will hopefully resolve the problem. In the meantime, if you need to use spreadsheets, are you able to save the spreadsheet on your pc? That way, if you lose the internet connection, you'll still be able to update the spreadsheet. Make sure when you do this 'weekly report' that you include exactly how much time the poor internet connection is costing you, to show that this is the main reason for the loss in productivity.

[honeybee13]

Hello again.

 

There is a telecoms/broadband forum at CAG. It might be worth having a look at other people's problems and how they've resolved them and you could start a thread too.

 

HB

[Nagasis]

If the broadband is provided by the employer then it is the responsibility of the employer to ensure it is adequate for the employee to complete the role required.

It is no different to telling a shop worker why havn't you put any money through the till when the till is knackered.

 

Your employer should be working with you and their IT department to resolve the real issue not sending emails which do nothing to help the actual problem.

 

Sounds like your manager likes the title and pay but is not keen on actually managing or as quite frequently simply incapable.

[assisted blonde]

I still say a weekly report as to what you do shouldnt be a problem for anyone who works from home and the internet problems could be sorted by taking the laptop to an area where there is better conectivity (in the short term) I work from home and due to the personal details that are stored on our work system, of very well known people(bank accounts, home address etc etc) we have to have quite a lot of internet security but it dosnt mean that our laptops will only work at home we can use them out in the field as well.

At the moment i cant see that the OP has a lot to complain about against their employer 40% of work completed over the last 4 months, I would say they are being quite tolerent and it would be a silly move to start complaining about friday evening text messages and filling in an activity report. As far as the messages go if you are only contracted to work for certain hour/days turn the phone off or dont look at it at other times then it wont matter what time the messages come in.

[altobelli]

Its important though to ascertain what the report is for. If the manager allocates the work then they should know what the OP does.

 

My worry here is that this report will be used to try and show that the OP is somehow being lazy/unproductive, when the problem is clearly down to the dodgy internet connection. It doesn't need a report to demonstrate that. Its only a week or so until the new internet connection is being installed, it would be better for the employer to wait until then and monitor the situation from there.

 

Sending texts at 8 or 9 at night criticising an employee for their work when they're off sick is just bad management and shows a lack of people management skills. Any employer with a bit of common sense would have stopped to think of the impact on the employee and how they are likely to view an employer after that.

[assisted blonde]

i seriously dont think that a bad internet connection can be responsible for such a poor rate of activity when there are ways that it could be overcome and although texts at 8 or 9 at night may not be good management you can decide to turn your work phone off when it is out of hours unless you are on call.

[altobelli]

Given that the OP works over the internet from home the potential fall in productivity could be far larger than it is. Its clear this is the main issue, anything else is just peripheral at the moment. Once the company has resolved the main issue thay can monitor the situation from there. What do you think is the main reason for the fall in productivity, and how would you expect the weekly report to highlight this? How long would the weekly report take to complete? How would the weekly report be submitted without an internet connection?

 

Turning off the phone may delay receipt of messages (assuming the phone is used purely for work), but the point is the manager shouldn't be sending these messages when someone is off sick, the OP would be well within their rights to complain about this (I wouldn't suggest this though, an informal word with the manager might be more effective in having them consider their actions).