How to handle work in office vs. work at home requirement when I want to work almost exclusively from home?

[Wiseman2]

19 hours ago, TheEternalPessimist said:

You don't understand, I can't find another job just like that, the market is extremely limited for my field and in english.

Get a good profile on LinkedIn and update your CV. You're not happy about the changes and inconvenience so having an updated CV and professional LinkedIn profile can't hurt you. Quitting (or being fired from) a job you need for residency isn't a good strategy. So a backup plan seems essential.

[TheEternalPessimist]

3 hours ago, Lotsgoingon said:

Let's get clear here: a company can require you to work in a warehouse, in a hayfield, outside in the cold or anywhere it sees fit. You have no right to work at home, none--just as you have to right to work at this company. 

You ask whether you should get a lawyer---that's like asking if I should consult a lawyer when my girl friend complains about me. No lawyer would take your money.

You have to pitch and persuade and make the case for working at home like you want. Stay on that channel: you think you serve the company well to work at home. Ironically you should hang out in the office a bit in order to get the political temperature for asking to not have to go to the office. The atmosphere and feel of things in the office is what determines the approach. Like if you're a superstar and in high demand and they don't want to lose you, that's one thing. If you are an employee who can be easily replaced (most of us can whether we like it or admit it or not), then that's a very different thing.

It's much better to pick up the political context by just hanging out than it is to directly call and ask for this information. 

 

I already did hang out at the office before I decided, commute and other disadvantages aside, that I do not want to work there half a month. I didn't just blatantly assume I don't like the new option, I actually went and verified for myself that this is not what I want going forward.

[basil67]

On 2/3/2023 at 7:00 PM, TheEternalPessimist said:

having done it now for a few days, I came to the conclusion that it's just not feasible for me in the long-term.

You're only a few days in.  At this point in time it's a bit of a shock to the system, but I found that I got relatively used to it.   And spending half the time in the office and half the time at home isn't an unreasonable request from them.   Instead of being mad about having to travel for half the month, try being grateful that you get to work from home for half the month.  There are a lot of people who have to travel an hour five days a week who'd love to have the deal you're being offered.  

Meanwhile, if you're in a car, enjoy some podcasts or music.  If you're on public transport, add reading to the options.    And look forward to the end of your contract and being able to move to where you want.

[Alpacalia]

Right.

I had a co-worker who used to commute from Pennsylvania to New York City every day for work, now that is a thing of beauty.

Trying not to sour the day, you might have to adjust your work-life balance until you find an alternative. There's been a list of options presented, and you've poo pooed most of them. 

Edited February 4, 2023 by Alpacalia

[glows]

4 hours ago, TheEternalPessimist said:

I already did hang out at the office before I decided, commute and other disadvantages aside, that I do not want to work there half a month. I didn't just blatantly assume I don't like the new option, I actually went and verified for myself that this is not what I want going forward.

There may be a lot of others also in the same boat uneasy or disgruntled about the return to the office. It’s not just about you, an island onto yourself, verifying what you want.

An important issue to consider is how replaceable you are, something covered by the member you just quoted but didn’t acknowledge here. You’ve made it sound unfortunately that this is the only company available to you for the work you’re looking for in this city or area and your sponsorship depends on it. Beggars can’t be choosers essentially. 

I get that you’re pissed off and irritated about the inconveniences. Keep working on your cv as someone else also pointed out. If you’re early on in your career or need to work on your experience/skills make yourself as indispensable as possible. Look at what your colleagues bring to the table and anything they can do, you do 10x over with either speed, accuracy or greater knowledge. Take up some classes and brush up on skills others don’t have. It’s easy to ask for favours but hopefully you are also backing that up with tangible results in the very high quality of your work and productivity.

Let us know how it goes. 

Edited February 4, 2023 by glows

[Lotsgoingon]

OP, the issue isn't that you went to the office to figure out if you liked it. That's part 1. But on a job, you go to the office to figure out the mood of things and to determine HOW and when you can argue for what you want. 

[hajk]

On 2/3/2023 at 9:13 AM, PotatoHead said:

 However I have also been able to explain to my bosses that working from home occasionally has the benefit of gaining me back 2+ hours in the day that I could be working, it's better for my mental health and energy to get a break from the commute and therefore allows for better performance to be sustained through the work week.  You could try saying something along those lines.

These are really good tips how to say to the bosses about benefits of working from home.

[ShyViolet]

A one-hour commute to work is not at all unusual.  I did it for years.  That is not considered an excessive hardship.  I understand it would be easier for you to work from home; all you can do is ask and make your case.  But they are not required to give you that.  I find it very strange that you asked if you should "get a lawyer". 

[basil67]

We've talked about if there's a benefit to the company for you working from home and you say there's none.   What is the benefit to the company from having staff onsite on a semi regular basis?    

For example, my husband and his two team mates work from home are in an IT development role - but he's going to suggest they meet up more often because they are so much more efficient when working together.    Are you in a role where you have to work with others?

[TheEternalPessimist]

20 hours ago, basil67 said:

You're only a few days in.  At this point in time it's a bit of a shock to the system, but I found that I got relatively used to it.   And spending half the time in the office and half the time at home isn't an unreasonable request from them.   Instead of being mad about having to travel for half the month, try being grateful that you get to work from home for half the month.  There are a lot of people who have to travel an hour five days a week who'd love to have the deal you're being offered.  

Meanwhile, if you're in a car, enjoy some podcasts or music.  If you're on public transport, add reading to the options.    And look forward to the end of your contract and being able to move to where you want.

Trust me, it's enough for me to know this won't work out. 

Good for them...

I have an unlimited contract but I cannot afford to go jobless until after mid-2025.

[TheEternalPessimist]

1 hour ago, basil67 said:

We've talked about if there's a benefit to the company for you working from home and you say there's none.   What is the benefit to the company from having staff onsite on a semi regular basis?    

For example, my husband and his two team mates work from home are in an IT development role - but he's going to suggest they meet up more often because they are so much more efficient when working together.    Are you in a role where you have to work with others?

No, I'm on my own. My work doesn't affect other people's work, we don't have any meetings and if I'm not working one day, the whole company doesn't suffer as a result. 

[basil67]

3 hours ago, TheEternalPessimist said:

Trust me, it's enough for me to know this won't work out. 

Good for them...

I have an unlimited contract but I cannot afford to go jobless until after mid-2025.

I guess you have no choice but to suck it up.  Plenty of us have done it and survived until we got into a betten position.  And some still end up doing the commute.  

Hate to say it, but it truly is a first world problem

 

Edited February 5, 2023 by basil67

[Alpacalia]

Change anything in your life that you want to. Remember ONE thing.

You will never feel like it. Ever. Nobody is coming. Motivation isn't happening. The feeling will never come to you.

So just do one thing. Tomorrow morning, set your alarm for 30 minutes early. No snooze. No delay. DO IT.

Spend that time wisely. Whether it's doing things to get in a better frame of mind, giving yourself more time to relax during your commute, or planning and searching for a better, more satisfying job.

It's your job to force yourself to do the stuff that you don't want to do. So that you can be all that you are supposed to be. Waiting to feel like it is so damn time-consuming. And you're never going to want to.

At some point we have to parent ourselves. This is what it means to be an adult.

[Els]

On 2/3/2023 at 11:27 PM, TheEternalPessimist said:

You don't understand, I can't find another job just like that, the market is extremely limited for my field and in english.

In that case, it sounds like unfortunately they have the upper hand. If they needed you more than you needed them, you could quite easily press the issue (and if they said no you could easily find a better job), but in this case I'm not sure.

In your position, I would ask the boss nicely if you could keep working fully remote for personal reasons. If he says no, I'd just hunker down and keep doing it til I obtained permanent residency or a better job offer.

[Els]

On 2/3/2023 at 6:00 PM, TheEternalPessimist said:

Should I get a lawyer maybe? 

Not sure which country you are in, but I don't know of any where remote work is a statutory worker's right, so you would probably end up wasting a lot of money if you go this route.

Is this your first job?

On 2/3/2023 at 6:00 PM, TheEternalPessimist said:

Can they fire me for refusing to work at the office half a month?

Yes, of course they can. (Barring the possibility of a mythical country where working from home is enshrined in law...)

[Alpacalia]

Working from home also has its downsides. Because it was so simple to sit at my computer, plug away all night (voluntarily), and work through the evening, I ended up putting in a lot more hours and drinking an ungodly amount of coffee.

It's not always greener on the other side.

[Els]

14 hours ago, Alpacalia said:

Working from home also has its downsides. Because it was so simple to sit at my computer, plug away all night (voluntarily), and work through the evening, I ended up putting in a lot more hours and drinking an ungodly amount of coffee.

It's not always greener on the other side.

It depends on the person. I work from home and I put in the same number of hours as I would at an office (but more efficiently, so my productivity does increase). I also know some people who apparently "work" from home but, based on how much I see them playing online games, are almost certainly not really "working"... 😂

[Alpacalia]

1 minute ago, Els said:

It depends on the person. I work from home and I put in the same number of hours as I would at an office (but more efficiently, so my productivity does increase). I also know some people who apparently "work" from home but, based on how much I see them playing online games, are almost certainly not really "working"... 😂

Yes, a good way to is to take note of their post count. lol 

[Els]

4 minutes ago, Alpacalia said:

Yes, a good way to is to take note of their post count. lol 

Pfff, post for another 10 years and you'll exceed that, young whippersnapper!

[TheEternalPessimist]

On 2/6/2023 at 3:39 AM, Alpacalia said:

Working from home also has its downsides. Because it was so simple to sit at my computer, plug away all night (voluntarily), and work through the evening, I ended up putting in a lot more hours and drinking an ungodly amount of coffee.

It's not always greener on the other side.

I know it's not always greener on the other side but I have personally not taken up any bad habits since I started working from home and I would actually save a lot of time if I was allowed to choose how often I want to come at the office. 

[Wiseman2]

7 minutes ago, TheEternalPessimist said:

 if I was allowed to choose how often I want to come at the office. 

Have you spoken to them about it yet? Is it negotiable?

[TheEternalPessimist]

Not yet, that conversation is planned next month when my boss will be in town and in the country.

[Alpacalia]

2 hours ago, TheEternalPessimist said:

Not yet, that conversation is planned next month when my boss will be in town and in the country.

This is great. Do you have any idea what you will say? Have you been working on it?

[TheEternalPessimist]

You have all given me ideas about what to say, now I just need to figure out how to properly express it.

[Wiseman2]

8 minutes ago, TheEternalPessimist said:

You have all given me ideas about what to say, now I just need to figure out how to properly express it.

Exactly. Since the meeting is a month away and you know what your objectives are, you can formulate a better plan to negotiate something.