I wonder if there is angle to take this further by claiming those that are outside of the required distance are basically getting a salary bump from not having to commute (ie gas, car value depreciation). I just don’t know what protections there are for corporate employees, probably none.
Principal Financial-Remote work
- Thread starter pfgemployee
- Start date
You're right, but thankfully, the whole thing fell apart. They tried TRO a few times, but each time, the effort fizzled. I think they had a hard time responding to push back when they had granted 100% remote status to a number of folks who then left the state.
Me: "Bill, anything to add before we close?"
Bill: "No..." [Bill proceeds to go on a 20-minute diatribe]
When COVID hit I was at a place that had some workers who legitimately had to be on site (food manufacturing). So, the management decided that everyone should continue to come in person out of solidarity.
As safety precautions they gave everyone a thermometer and we had to text our boss by 7 a.m. if our temperature was normal and we were "OK to work".
Meetings in conference rooms were banned. We had to put on masks to leave our cubicles or offices. We could only sit one to a table in the lunchroom. At the height of the pandemic, they were sending out multiple notices per week of exposures where someone infected had come into the office and crossed paths with others.
Most days I would come in, go to my cubicle and join remote meetings. I left a few times a day to use the restroom, get drinks, heat up my lunch etc. Sometimes I would not talk in person, even from a distance, to anyone else on my team.
It was the dumbest thing ever. After about 11 months of getting progressively more frustrated, I realized there were tons of job openings. I applied at a place that was a good match, and it turned out I had previously worked with the person who I would be replacing. He recommended me. Within a week, I had an offer for a 30% raise and 100% remote if I wanted.
And the rest is history. Now I come in to the office once a week if I'm in town. But sometimes I am not (for example worked for two weeks remotely in Ames just a couple weeks ago). Life is so much better in so many ways because of the change.
As safety precautions they gave everyone a thermometer and we had to text our boss by 7 a.m. if our temperature was normal and we were "OK to work".
Meetings in conference rooms were banned. We had to put on masks to leave our cubicles or offices. We could only sit one to a table in the lunchroom. At the height of the pandemic, they were sending out multiple notices per week of exposures where someone infected had come into the office and crossed paths with others.
Most days I would come in, go to my cubicle and join remote meetings. I left a few times a day to use the restroom, get drinks, heat up my lunch etc. Sometimes I would not talk in person, even from a distance, to anyone else on my team.
It was the dumbest thing ever. After about 11 months of getting progressively more frustrated, I realized there were tons of job openings. I applied at a place that was a good match, and it turned out I had previously worked with the person who I would be replacing. He recommended me. Within a week, I had an offer for a 30% raise and 100% remote if I wanted.
And the rest is history. Now I come in to the office once a week if I'm in town. But sometimes I am not (for example worked for two weeks remotely in Ames just a couple weeks ago). Life is so much better in so many ways because of the change.
It's always a diatribe that applies to absolutely no one else in the room that really should be am email to whoever is making decisions.
-people screwing around on company time? are they getting their mission done? if not then deal with it. if so, then Who the F cares if suzie is seeing her kids off to the bus and swaps some laundry. talk to me when its a performance issue.
-30 miles isn't going to go over very well. wonder if they will grandfather someone in if they decide to move? lets say you live in Ankeny and decide maybe you should move to Ames.
I honestly think this is a perception issue along with the people that are not eligible or not able to remotely work complaining all the time. I see this all the time with IT positions that have to be onsite always complaining about the remote slackers.
I am a remote worker and went in the office for the heck of it last week and found my self pissing half the day away with a commute, lunch and 5 different unnecessary conversations. basically 3+ hrs of my day just wasted with no productivity. I could have mowed my yard, had a few conversations with my kids, started two loads of laundry, unloaded the dishwashwer and repacked it and still been way ahead working from home. (not saying to do that, just kills me that you can waste time at work, but not waste time at work from home. )
The answer to all of this is not all jobs are created equal. they need to put remote work score on each position instead of one size fits all.
this could also be principals way of thinning the herd....
-30 miles isn't going to go over very well. wonder if they will grandfather someone in if they decide to move? lets say you live in Ankeny and decide maybe you should move to Ames.
I honestly think this is a perception issue along with the people that are not eligible or not able to remotely work complaining all the time. I see this all the time with IT positions that have to be onsite always complaining about the remote slackers.
I am a remote worker and went in the office for the heck of it last week and found my self pissing half the day away with a commute, lunch and 5 different unnecessary conversations. basically 3+ hrs of my day just wasted with no productivity. I could have mowed my yard, had a few conversations with my kids, started two loads of laundry, unloaded the dishwashwer and repacked it and still been way ahead working from home. (not saying to do that, just kills me that you can waste time at work, but not waste time at work from home. )
The answer to all of this is not all jobs are created equal. they need to put remote work score on each position instead of one size fits all.
this could also be principals way of thinning the herd....
CycloneErik
Well-Known Member
maybe its just be, but after a quick read of this thread, its seems ALOT of you need to find new jobs.
interesting...didn't realize WF even had a 60mile radius. Is that for ALL of WF? I knew all this was going to be coming, just not this soon.
The people who push hardest for folks to come back to the office are the same people who weren't required to come to the office regularly to begin with. That is what frustrates me.
It doesn't surprise me that most people don't like their jobs. Unfortunately, not everyone finds a job and environment that suits them. Plus some companies just suck.
I have a theory that 80% of people working are not in their ideal job. Maybe it's OK, maybe they are even good at it, but it isn't anything they really love to do. If only we could figure that out better, people would be a lot happier and society would be a lot better off.
And yes, some companies really really suck. Most from incompetence, some from malice.
I've never gotten the impression that "bottomless time off" is anything more than getting PTO balances off the books so companies don't have to pay out balances.
I think it would better to do commute miles since I doubt many people have helicopters to get to work. Also is the mileage to the post office or the address of residence? Like you could have someone in far south Ames having to go in but someone in NW Ames doesn’t?
Bottom line is that the people that are productive, quality employees will produce whether they are at home or in the office. The people that are not productive won't produce either way. They just have more cover under the guise of collaboration and team projects when everyone is in the office.
The other thing I'll add is that companies need to be better about making people that are poor performers go into the office more. Frankly, I think it would be a great motivator for a lot of poor performers. But no one wants to supervise them in the office so they get to stay at home and do not much. And then everyone gets called back in because a few are abusing it.
Some companies are awful, some employees are awful, management thinks lower employees screw around all the time, lower employees think management does absolutely nothing. Kinda the way things have been since the cavemen.