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News from the archives of Rutherford Hall, critical communications strategist
WhatsApp to Stephen: Is this a joke? Can Alan work from the sea in August? I don’t know. Is he a lifeguard? No, then obviously not. This is getting ridiculous. We already offer early closings on Fridays in the summer; we allow our staff to work from home up to twice a week, but pretending you’re at work just to answer a few emails and take your phone to the beach is going too far. There’s no such thing as Wednesday by the water, Mai Tai Monday or just a quick pub lunch and a long walk along the seafront on Thursday.
WhatsApp to Stephen: We’re a customer-focused business. We need to be where the customers are, so unless they’re all in Southwold – you can’t really rule that out – I don’t see how it’s going to work. We want our people working outside. I know things quieten down in August, but that’s why we encourage people to take a holiday then.
WhatsApp to Stephen: That’s different. I don’t say I work while I’m in Como. I’m on holiday, but I do some work during my annual leave.
WhatsApp to Stephen: Do you know how much a villa in Bellagio with a pool and lake view costs? If I charged the company for every hour of work while on vacation, I could afford to eat at Villa d’Este every day. I’m off work, but I’ll call you because I own the company.
WhatsApp to Stephen: Sorry buddy, I’m obviously a co-owner. And no, I’ll probably only eat there two or three times a week. Anyway, I’ll write a note to the staff about it.
WhatsApp to Stephen: Yes, I’ll show you first. And that last one didn’t start with “Hello lazybones.” That was just someone’s idea of a joke.
Out of: [email protected]
Hi, Stephen and I have received some inquiries about allowing employees to work from their vacation spot in August. I understand the appeal. It means you can save vacation days and spend more time with your families. But we also want you to take your vacation.
We want to be flexible. On summer Fridays you can leave as early as after lunch. Our existing home office rules also mean you can take long weekends and work from a holiday home on Mondays and Fridays. We will try to help in special cases but cannot agree to a general policy that requires whole weeks of full-time work outside of London or the UK. We need to be where our clients and their interests are. Surf, sun, summer and sand sound so much better with Saturdays and Sundays. Rutherford.
Find me on Strava, KoM Sydenham Hill, PR Al Jubailah/Bawdah Loop – 42 mins
WhatsApp to Alan: I’m sorry, Alan, but there is a line between work and vacation and we have to draw that line.
WhatsApp to Alan: It has nothing to do with not being trusted. It has to do with the company culture.
WhatsApp to Stephen: Of course I don’t trust him. Nobody works that hard on vacation. They just do what they have to do to get by. And he doesn’t work that hard in the office. If we couldn’t tell our clients that he once worked for Rachel Reeves, he’d be finished.
WhatsApp to Alan: I find this answer very disrespectful. My three weeks in Como are vacation that I take as part of my annual leave. I may interrupt my vacation to work, but that is my business.
WhatsApp to Stephen: Stephen, did you tell Jean that she could work from home while her family was on vacation? You could have mentioned that before the memo. We specialize in communications.
WhatsApp to Jean: If Stephen agrees, that’s fine. But can we say that this is a special case?
WhatsApp to Jean: I’m not asking you to lie to colleagues. I just hope you can help me.
Out of: [email protected]
Moving on to my comment about summer work. There was some confusion that resulted in some private agreements being made before my comment was sent out. We cannot set different rules for everyone. So we will agree to work out of the office in August of this year. We will monitor this closely, but let me stress that this is not a precedent.
Rutherford
Find me on …
WhatsApp to Stephen: OK, if we have to do this, then let’s make sure they don’t make fun of us. No calls at 9am or 4:30pm. I want all team calls to be in the middle of the day. Ideally between 11am and 3:30pm. And mix up the times.
WhatsApp to Stephen: No, I will not blur my background when zooming. Remember, I really am on vacation.
Messages recovered by Robert Shrimsley
