Deleted
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May 15, 2024 16:39:25 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2022 3:00:16 GMT
Not for me, but DH. He already knows how he's going to approach it but I thought it would be interesting to see if others thought the same as us.
DH works for a smallish company. Less than 100 people but large enough that they have a HR dept (even if it's only 2 people). Since March 2020, he's been 100% WFH. Multiple times, they've started up a return to office plan based on your comfort level. Currently, there's 5 or 7 people that are in the office full time and these are people who are able to shut themselves into their own office or space out. Everyone else is pretty much at home. Owner has changed their plans about having everyone returning and is leaning towards a hybrid schedule. As a result, they sold their stand alone building that was just outside of downtown with their own parking lot and leased a space that's smaller in the middle of downtown where parking is a premium. DH is ok with all this so far.
Last week, an email went out. We need help moving stuff. Please come in this weekend and help us move stuff into the new space. It wasn't mandatory but DH didn't like it. DH and I agree that the owner is being cheap and trying to get free labor. I could understand sending out an email saying since we're moving, you need to come in and pack your personal belongings if you hadn't already. Everything else should be moved by movers, not your employees.
Your thoughts?
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Post by elaine on Jan 11, 2022 3:05:32 GMT
Not for me, but DH. He already knows how he's going to approach it but I thought it would be interesting to see if others thought the same as us. DH works for a smallish company. Less than 100 people but large enough that they have a HR dept (even if it's only 2 people). Since March 2020, he's been 100% WFH. Multiple times, they've started up a return to office plan based on your comfort level. Currently, there's 5 or 7 people that are in the office full time and these are people who are able to shut themselves into their own office or space out. Everyone else is pretty much at home. Owner has changed their plans about having everyone returning and is leaning towards a hybrid schedule. As a result, they sold their stand alone building that was just outside of downtown with their own parking lot and leased a space that's smaller in the middle of downtown where parking is a premium. DH is ok with all this so far. Last week, an email went out. We need help moving stuff. Please come in this weekend and help us move stuff into the new space. It wasn't mandatory but DH didn't like it. DH and I agree that the owner is being cheap and trying to get free labor. I could understand sending out an email saying since we're moving, you need to come in and pack your personal belongings if you hadn't already. Everything else should be moved by movers, not your employees. Your thoughts? Is there any chance that the owners really meant “to move your personal stuff?” It seems like a recipe for disaster in terms of on-the-job injuries and workman’s comp if they expect workers to move office equipment. |
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Post by librarylady on Jan 11, 2022 3:10:22 GMT
I would go in, move my personal items and let the rest be done by the professional movers.
If the owner won't hire professional movers, oh, well..........it can all just stay where it is.
Not my job description..
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Post by ~summer~ on Jan 11, 2022 3:11:09 GMT
I agree with elaine. Total chaos asking employees to help move stuff other than boxing up their own stuff. And even that, corporate movers know how to do that. |
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Jan 11, 2022 3:11:20 GMT
Tough call. Possible injuries = big issue. Not a nice ask...
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Deleted
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May 15, 2024 16:39:25 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2022 3:13:03 GMT
Not for me, but DH. He already knows how he's going to approach it but I thought it would be interesting to see if others thought the same as us. DH works for a smallish company. Less than 100 people but large enough that they have a HR dept (even if it's only 2 people). Since March 2020, he's been 100% WFH. Multiple times, they've started up a return to office plan based on your comfort level. Currently, there's 5 or 7 people that are in the office full time and these are people who are able to shut themselves into their own office or space out. Everyone else is pretty much at home. Owner has changed their plans about having everyone returning and is leaning towards a hybrid schedule. As a result, they sold their stand alone building that was just outside of downtown with their own parking lot and leased a space that's smaller in the middle of downtown where parking is a premium. DH is ok with all this so far. Last week, an email went out. We need help moving stuff. Please come in this weekend and help us move stuff into the new space. It wasn't mandatory but DH didn't like it. DH and I agree that the owner is being cheap and trying to get free labor. I could understand sending out an email saying since we're moving, you need to come in and pack your personal belongings if you hadn't already. Everything else should be moved by movers, not your employees. Your thoughts? Is there any chance that the owners really meant “to move your personal stuff?” It seems like a recipe for disaster in terms of on-the-job injuries and workman’s comp if they expect workers to move office equipment. That email went out shortly after they announced the move. DH got his stuff a few weeks ago. He said that a few people showed up and they actually moved stuff from building to new space. He wasn't clear on how much but may not have been much as another request went out for this weekend. DH is ignoring it. |
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Post by grammadee on Jan 11, 2022 3:20:27 GMT
I would go in, move my personal items and let the rest be done by the professional movers. If the owner won't hire professional movers, oh, well..........it can all just stay where it is. Not my job description.. Speaking as someone whose workspace was relocated several times— though never during a pandemic—this is what I would do. Even go into the current site in the evening and load my own stuff in my vehicle, then take it home to be taken back to the new location if or when I reported to work there. Even the time I was opposed to the move, I made sure all my stuff was packed up then worked elsewhere until management figured out how to move it. |
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Post by Skellinton on Jan 11, 2022 3:24:20 GMT
That does seem crazy to have employees move stuff, that is just asking for worker’s comp filings. My boss has a fit when we move stuff around our classroom, and let me tell you I am not moving anything heavy.
I think your husband was wise to ignore it.
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pilcas
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by pilcas on Jan 11, 2022 3:25:08 GMT
Totally inappropriate.
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sassyangel
Drama Llama
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Post by sassyangel on Jan 11, 2022 3:46:00 GMT
Seems a major liability/potential workers comp issue, more than anything.
When we were bought out we moved into the company that bought us out, office building. We each boxed up our personal stuff, left it on our desk and it was moved over for us.
I could see with a smaller company perhaps having them take their own personal items, but anything more seems to be asking for potential trouble, and not worth the risk.
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tanya2
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Refupea #1604
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Post by tanya2 on Jan 11, 2022 3:55:17 GMT
email? what email? I would say I never received an email & had no idea this was happening
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Post by summer on Jan 11, 2022 4:06:30 GMT
Totally inappropriate. Your DH retrieved his personal belongings, that’s all he was responsible for moving.
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pilcas
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Post by pilcas on Jan 11, 2022 4:18:52 GMT
There is more than the injury issue. They are in fact being asked to work with no pay on a weekend. And moving things is hard work.
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Post by 950nancy on Jan 11, 2022 5:03:59 GMT
If they were asking people to help when they were already on the clock, I could see this happening.
I worked in education and I had to move my room on my own multiple times. My last move was 186 boxes or pieces of furniture. The custodian moved my desk and the empty file cabinet. One of the moves involved moving out of the building , up a ramp, and into a separate building. If you are an educator, in many cases, it is expected that you do so much off of the clock. And we only were in this building for one year and then had to move it all back inside the main building the next year. Ridiculous.
I am glad your husband is ignoring the ask. I am assuming he is in a for profit business and someone should be paying for the move.
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Post by malibou on Jan 11, 2022 7:02:37 GMT
Sounds like a workers comp nightmare.
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scrappington
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in Canada
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Post by scrappington on Jan 11, 2022 12:06:32 GMT
I could even see them asking for you to pack your workspace. Not actually move it .
Other than Your personal belongings.
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Post by kenziekeeper on Jan 11, 2022 12:20:18 GMT
Every teacher on the board is opening this and silently backing out… 😉
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Bridget in MD
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Jun 25, 2014 20:40:00 GMT
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Post by Bridget in MD on Jan 11, 2022 12:25:57 GMT
email? what email? I would say I never received an email & had no idea this was happening I would have said "Oh I thought you meant just my personal stuff, which I took home weeks ago - I figured you wouldnt have wanted us to move the actual furniture in case someone gets hurt or stuff is broken..." |
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rickmer
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Post by rickmer on Jan 11, 2022 12:36:15 GMT
i have worked for a big multinational company and mom and pop shops. i have been asked to pack up office (i am the one who is going to need to use these documents, etc so best for someone who know the stuff to keep them organized). i have always been paid for it - mon-fri regular office time. and i have never been asked to be a mover.
so that is from a company with thousands of employees to a company that i was the only employee.
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SweetieBsMom
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Post by SweetieBsMom on Jan 11, 2022 12:38:32 GMT
Sounds like a workers comp nightmare. This. I work for a large company and every time we’ve moved, we’ve been told not to move ANYTHING. I mean even the time I was moving my cube 3 rows over, I was told to box everything so the movers could move it. Ridiculous. I ended up moving everything on my desk except computer and phone. Moved all my files from one filing cabinet to the other. I didn’t want to waste time boxing and unboxing. I caught hell for it. However, the heaviest thing I was moving was my computer which was a desktop at the time. I wasn’t moving furniture and the like. No way I’d go in, on a weekend and do that. Hell, I wouldn’t do that during the work day especially not being paid for it. |
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peabay
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Jun 25, 2014 19:50:41 GMT
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Post by peabay on Jan 11, 2022 13:10:33 GMT
Super unprofessional. What if someone drops something of value?
(I'm sure already someone said this - I didn't want to read the other responses first.)
Your own personal belongings from your office? Fine. Furniture, computers etc...? No way.
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Post by sean&marysmommy on Jan 11, 2022 13:50:50 GMT
If they were asking people to help when they were already on the clock, I could see this happening. I worked in education and I had to move my room on my own multiple times. My last move was 186 boxes or pieces of furniture. The custodian moved my desk and the empty file cabinet. One of the moves involved moving out of the building , up a ramp, and into a separate building. If you are an educator, in many cases, it is expected that you do so much off of the clock. And we only were in this building for one year and then had to move it all back inside the main building the next year. Ridiculous. I am glad your husband is ignoring the ask. I am assuming he is in a for profit business and someone should be paying for the move. I was going to say the same! I've had to move classrooms and I was responsible for pretty much all of it. I had one big wardrobe style cabinet that the custodian helped me with, b/c he took pity on me, lol. I had my husband and my father come in to help me with the rest. ETA- I'm not defending the practice; I think the workplace should be responsible for getting the stuff professionally moved. I just wanted to vent about how often teachers are given the shaft with this, like so many other things! lol |
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