Lowered job satisfaction

[amers53]

Hi all, I am in need of some unbiased advice. I have been at my job for 3.5 years now, I work from home doing medical billing. When I started, we were a pretty small business, and I started at just 10 hours a week. Over time I have worked my way up and I am now working 35 hours per week. For the first two years, I worked from home all the time except one day a month I would work at my boss's house to check-in, catch up on any new stuff, etc.

 

Then one of our clinics moved to a new location which had office space for us, but I was told it was optional to come in, and the office space was there if I wanted to use it. I was told anyone new hired would likely have to come into the office more, but we would be grandfathered in. Once that opened, I began going there instead of my boss's house, and it increased to twice a month. I would have preferred once a month still, but ok, twice it was.

 

Fast forward to last April when I made the jump from 25-30 hours per week, I was told I needed to start coming in once a week. I was even less happy with this, but I had no choice. Now that I have again jumped to 35 hours, I'm told I need to come in twice per week. I am a single mom and working from home has been awesome so I can still take care of my daughter, and even now that she is in school I am available to get her off to school and pick her up. But I am very unhappy with having to commute twice a week....its a 45 minute drive each way, and about 45 miles round trip and they don't give any mileage reimbursement unless it's 30 miles or more one way. I have gotten raises here and there, but they have all been in conjunction with a yearly review, nothing to compensate for having to come into the office now.

 

This is mainly due to getting a new boss about a year ago, who by the way does not even live in on this side of the country...and my other boss only lives about 10 minutes from the office so it's really frustrating to be told by two people who have no commute and a very short commute that I now have to spend 3 hours per week driving plus gas and mileage (my car is a lease) that I have to do this. To make matters worse, I don't even have a desk at the office. I had one, but we hired someone new a few months ago, and that was a stipulation upon hiring that she would have to come in 3 days per week (and work 2 from home) and she gets there before I do, so she gets the desk. For the last 9 months I have just been stuck wherever there is room, and just this week my dept moved to a bigger office, so I can at least now be in the same room with them, but they both have nice desks and office chairs, and I got what is basically an end table with a waiting room type chair. I have no room for anything but my laptop and mousepad, not even room to write. When I said I need a desk, I was just told over and over why they want me to come in more and when I have mentioned getting a desk in the past, their reply is, are you going to come in more?

 

My job satisfaction has plummeted in the last year and I feel like it's kind of a slap in the face to require me to come in, yet not give me the space and work environment needed to do my job (especially when I have space and everything I need in my home office), and I have to spend money and time to commute when frankly I go in and basically do the same exact thing I could be doing at home.

 

If they don't give me a desk soon, I plan to sit down and talk to my boss's again and explain why it's ridiculous to not give me what I need, and I also think I should get some sort of raise for having to come in and spend time and money to do the same amount of work. So, is what I am asking fair? If so, how on earth do I figure out how much of a raise to ask for? Thanks!

[d0nnivain]

You need to explain how giving you what you want & need will give your boss what that person wants: improved productivity.

 

If you are that unhappy you can always look for another job.

[clia]

I don't think it's unreasonable that they want you to come in two days a week, and I don't think a 45 minute commute is excessive.

 

I do, however, think it's unreasonable that they expect you to come in, but they don't have a desk for you. Raising that issue with your boss seems perfectly valid to me.

 

Asking for a raise because you have to commute 2 days a week, on the other hand, seems absurd. You can certainly ask, but in my opinion, it doesn't make you look very good. If you are that unhappy about having to commute two days a week, then you should find a different job where you can work from home all the time.

[preraph]

I work from home. You need to be freelancing working for yourself where it's you that calls the shots. I have clients that sometimes think they can tell me what to do and what to charge, and I just dump them. Medical billers can find other work, so you just put feelers out and put in writing that you do medical billing from home and send it to the doctors at a bunch of clinics and quit that place. Feel free in the meantime to just tell them, No, that wasn't the deal. If I was interested in an office job, I could be making a lot more money. Or do what I have done once before and say, Can you pay me $$$$ per month? That' what it would take for me to work in the office.

[Mr. Lucky]

So, is what I am asking fair? If so, how on earth do I figure out how much of a raise to ask for? Thanks!

 

I'm not sure our opinion matters, especially as you seem fairly fixed in your stance. I'll just add, many of us could only dream of working from home 3X a week.

 

Having a boss pretty much always leaves you subject to change should he or she be replaced. The new person often brings with them new priorities and goals, the implementation of which usually impacts the staff.

 

You can comply, discuss or look elsewhere. If you choose to talk with them, you might base a raise request on the increased cost of childcare twice a week.

 

Let us know how it goes...

 

Mr. Lucky

[Foxhall]

I tend to agree with Clia's post there,

 

like everything else it comes down to how easily replaceable you are,

 

if it would be hassle and inconvenient for them to replace you they will have no problem paying you a bit extra,

if they can easily get someone else they are not too bothered and are not making your job satisfaction a priority I am afraid.

[amers53]

I work from home. You need to be freelancing working for yourself where it's you that calls the shots. I have clients that sometimes think they can tell me what to do and what to charge, and I just dump them. Medical billers can find other work, so you just put feelers out and put in writing that you do medical billing from home and send it to the doctors at a bunch of clinics and quit that place. Feel free in the meantime to just tell them, No, that wasn't the deal. If I was interested in an office job, I could be making a lot more money. Or do what I have done once before and say, Can you pay me $$$$ per month? That' what it would take for me to work in the office.

 

Thanks, I hadn't considered that. I will definitely see what I can find out about doing freelance billing!

[amers53]

I tend to agree with Clia's post there,

 

like everything else it comes down to how easily replaceable you are,

 

if it would be hassle and inconvenient for them to replace you they will have no problem paying you a bit extra,

if they can easily get someone else they are not too bothered and are not making your job satisfaction a priority I am afraid.

 

This is true, and I am afraid it is the latter as well. I think they are either going to eventually force me to come in every day or at least the majority of the week, or make it uncomfortable until I quit so they can replace me with someone that will have to work in the office full time.

[amers53]

I'm not sure our opinion matters, especially as you seem fairly fixed in your stance. I'll just add, many of us could only dream of working from home 3X a week.

 

Having a boss pretty much always leaves you subject to change should he or she be replaced. The new person often brings with them new priorities and goals, the implementation of which usually impacts the staff.

 

You can comply, discuss or look elsewhere. If you choose to talk with them, you might base a raise request on the increased cost of childcare twice a week.

 

Let us know how it goes...

 

Mr. Lucky

 

Thanks for the input. I am sure most people would love to work from home, and I did too, but that is what I hired in as and was assured it would stay that way. But yes, you're right, new boss = changes. I guess I had better go update my resume.

[amers53]

I don't think it's unreasonable that they want you to come in two days a week, and I don't think a 45 minute commute is excessive.

 

I do, however, think it's unreasonable that they expect you to come in, but they don't have a desk for you. Raising that issue with your boss seems perfectly valid to me.

 

Asking for a raise because you have to commute 2 days a week, on the other hand, seems absurd. You can certainly ask, but in my opinion, it doesn't make you look very good. If you are that unhappy about having to commute two days a week, then you should find a different job where you can work from home all the time.

 

 

It's all in what you're used to and what works for your family/budget. At my old job where I commuted 30 minutes each way 5 days a week, yes, working from home 3x per week would have been a dream come true, and that extra 15 minute drive would have been no big deal.

 

But when you've been working almost exclusively from home for 3.5 years and your budget (I am a single mom and I currently don't work full time, so I don't make all that much) and mileage allowance on your leased vehicle doesn't really allow driving a significant amount more and spending more on gas, it does feel unreasonable.

 

Thanks for your input though.

[Mr. Lucky]

But when you've been working almost exclusively from home for 3.5 years and your budget (I am a single mom and I currently don't work full time, so I don't make all that much) and mileage allowance on your leased vehicle doesn't really allow driving a significant amount more and spending more on gas, it does feel unreasonable.

 

Reasonable/unreasonable are concepts that apply in a relationship where parties are on equal footing. An employer doesn't have to be reasonable, they just have to operate within the law.

 

Though none of this means you can't ask to be accommodated. Be ready with data supporting your efficiency, hopefully they'll see it your way...

 

Mr. Lucky

[anika99]

I have worked from home for the past 7yrs and I absolutely love it. My company loves it too. They started allowing people to work from home about 15yrs ago and at first they were pretty reserved in how many employees they would allow to do this. They would pick just a few people here and there as I think they were initially worried that employees would be lazy and unproductive if they worked from home but they soon realized that this wasn't the case and that there also many benefits to the company by allowing people to work at home. People who work from home are far less likely to be late or take off work for minor ailments. They save on having to buy or lease large offices and spend less on office maintenance. Employees are more content and have more money so they take pride in the company and in their work. Now more than 1/2 of our department works from home. It doesn't sound like your new boss is very progressive or able to see the bigger picture.

 

I totally get why you are upset at slowly losing your work at home position. Once you become accustomed to working from home it's hard to go back to the drudgery of commuting and sitting in an office all day. Last year I had to go into the office every day for 3 weeks straight to be trained on a new system. I thought I was in hell, lol. But alas, as someone else mentioned, your company has no obligation to let their employees work from home. They also do not have to pay you for your commute. I am required to go into the office 1 -2 days a month and I nor anyone else gets paid for travel time. However I do think its unacceptable for them to demand that you come to the office and then not provide you with a proper work space.