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Standing my ground on going back to the office

I guess this is a correct community to post about this? If not let me know.

My company finally is asking politely that we have to go to the office twice a week. Or else. That else is not yet defined, but obviously there will be consequences of not going to the office.

I have been at this company for 15 years, from junior dev to manager.

I did a daily commute of about 40 mins in the morning, 40 to an hour back, never gave a second thought about that. That was normal.

After pandemics, I found out all I have been missing on my kids growing up. My second kid is much more attached to me since she saw me daily, even if I was in my office room at home, she got to see me more often.

So I found out how much my life improved by doing working at home. Hell in the middle of this sentence my kid just showed me some thing she drew.

I stood my ground, I basically politely told HR that I am not going back. And actually my reasons make sense, I work with people in other countries, they don't care where I am.

And it will affect my performance, driving to the office, moving all my equipment, and having people around trying to talk to me will take a toll.

So yeah, I am polishing my resume, because there is no turning back now. I will be shunted if I ask for a raise, they can easily say "hey but you are not coming to the office, how come you want a raise if you are not part of the team", never mind that I do everything that is expected and more.

Just off my chest I guess, and anxious about the future.

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  • You’ve made your case and stood your ground, and until it’s an official policy and nothing more than “guidance” you’ll probably be ok, honestly.

    A few months back I was offered a promotion and a fancy new job title, with the caveat that I would need to move to another country. I countered with more or less the same argument as you, “I’ve been doing this from home for years and everyone I work with is remote anyways; I’m not moving” and was met with a “hmm…fair enough”.

96 comments