I’ve been employed at the same job for 13years. I have been working remotely for the past two years after management closed our local office which was 15mins from my residence. I have been working remotely every day except making the 82 mile commute one way every Wednesday. The new CEO is considering making me drive to the office 3 days out of the week instead of one. This will take 3hours of production out of my day, and his reasoning is “he’s not sure what I’m doing while working remotely” without taking into consideration that I have been hitting all of my deadlines on a weekly basis. Let alone my daily driver is a truck and I am not looking to get a different vehicle just to make this commute less expensive. I do receive mileage for my commute but that barley covers gas and I have had to put new tires on my truck twice since starting this weekly commute 2 years ago. With that being said, I was hired without this commute. Can they force me to commute the 3 days? Any ideas on What my best options for fighting this would be, as it will most definitely hinder me from hitting my deadlines.Thanks!
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9"Can they force me to commute the 3 days?" Probably, but that depends A LOT on your specific location. Laws and rules vary greatly around the globe. Please add a location tag to clarify your jurisdiction.– HilmarCommented Aug 29 at 4:41
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7Some companies have admitted that they put in a "return to office" policy in order to convince the remote workers to quit. Fighting this is not possible.– David RCommented Aug 29 at 15:07
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1To add on to what David R just said. There has been cases where leadership have used revoking of WFH to downsize without doing layoffs nor severance pay. And if the severance pay is based on years of service, then it is also cheaper if the employee quits.– AnketamCommented Aug 29 at 18:25
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1"have been working remotely for the past two years after management closed our local office" << What happened when they closed your local office? Did it affect your contract? Did you sign something when that happened?– StefCommented Aug 30 at 10:42
3 Answers
The key to asking this kind of question is indicating your location and the jurisdiction in question. This answer comes from a US perspective.
Can they force me to commute the 3 days?
Almost certainly. There are no states within the US that would force a company to allow work from home. Two days per week would be considered generous in some companies. Traditionally there was very little work from home for most, but Covid changed much in that regard. Many companies are rescinding the Covid work from home policies despite the illness still being fairly active.
I do receive mileage for my commute
This will take 3hours of production out of my day
Both of these are generous policies and you should be thankful for them. My work place is one where people must report to the office. My own commute is 3.5 miles and takes me about 10 minutes by car, or 15 by bicycle. One of my coworkers commutes 50 miles each way which takes about 90 minutes and requires taking toll roads. He often drives a Jeep, a vehicle that gets poor gas mileage.
We receive identical compensation for commuting time and distance: none. We are both expected to be at our desks the same amount of time.
Any ideas on What my best options for fighting this would be, as it will most definitely hinder me from hitting my deadlines.
Its the same as making the case for working from home in the first place. You need to describe the benefits to the CEO and prove that you are more productive working from home. However, some cannot be convinced. I feel your CEO is one of those people.
Making the case of losing 3 hours to commuting might force them to rethink that policy and not allow you to count that time as compensation.
The statement:
he’s not sure what I’m doing while working remotely
is totally illogical as he probably does not know now anyway unless you sit adjacent to one another. When he is in a meeting you could be doing whatever the hell you feel. When the remote office was open it would be the same as if you were working from home. He would have no eyes on you.
How do you reason with that kind of lack of logic? You don't.
I’ve been employed at the same job for 13years
This is not necessarily something to be proud of. Most of the time, in the US, workers are better off job hopping. It normally comes with a larger raise or promotion than staying put in the same job. Most companies do not offer pensions, so building time with a company provides no value to you or your family.
If it was me, I would explore opportunities either closer to your home or with more than 2 days per week in the office. If you can find something suitable then move on; or, give the boss a chance to match their offer.
If not expect to have to come in 5 days per week eventually.
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9"This is not necessarily something to be proud of" it does mean that OP has 13 years of subject matter experience at the company he is working for, and probably works 2-3 x faster than someone with 13 years in the industry at 5 different jobs... And it also means that replacing him would cost the company 2-3 times his current salary. That's what I have observed anyway.– QuestorCommented Aug 29 at 16:30
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@Questor that is assuming that the company wants to replace him. They just may be wanting to get rid of him.– David RCommented Aug 31 at 14:31
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Right, if the "Irresistible Force" is your job moving, and the "Immovable Object" is your home, you have to choose one or the other. You can't keep one foot on shore and the other on the ship when it casts off. I agree that the logic of the demand is inscrutable. Commented Sep 1 at 12:49
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1@Questor the problem I have with your comment is your logic. Its sound. Projecting that kind of sound logic on management is dubious at best. Frequently new employees with less experience are brought in at higher salaries than someone such as the OP.– Pete B.Commented Nov 1 at 13:27
If you are in a state with at will employment, and not in a union, then your employers have the right to terminate you at any time and without a reason. If this applies to you, your boss has implicitly let you know that you need to either relocate or be terminated. Your 13 years on the job doesn't mean anything with respect to how the boss wants to run the business. You're going to have to either roll with it, or bounce.
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3"are in a state with at will employment, and not in a union," AND don't have a contract saying otherwise. Commented Aug 29 at 2:56
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1I have never heard of a contract guaranteeing work at a specific location. If you have, more power to you.– keshlamCommented Aug 29 at 3:16
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4@keshlam - in Belgium the location where you work is usually mentioned in the contract and if your employer unilaterally decides to change that location, you may be entitled to severance pay if the new location is too far away– AsheraHCommented Aug 29 at 4:34
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1@AsheraH: Uncommon here in the States, but I'll take your word for it. That still leaves the employee only with the choices of accepting the relocation or leaving, though at least it would pay them something to hold them until they could find a new job. Personally, I still suggest working until you have the new job, unless you are sure you're going to find one you like quickly. But the game is certainly played differently in different places.– keshlamCommented Aug 29 at 5:18
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2Employers don't have the right to terminate you for any reason. There are many reasons that amount to discrimination if they terminate you for Commented Aug 29 at 8:40
It's not uncommon for new leaders to shake things up a bit for various reasons that may only make sense to them.
If you're a valuable employee (not valued... which is different) you can just say no and see what happens. I've done this multiple times. Otherwise you need to toe the line at least until you can find other options or leverage.
Be aware that this sort of thing is often done with no other reason than to make you feel indebted to the newcomers. Eg. they eventually allow you to do what you have always done with a bit of to and fro. And you feel like they've done you a favour by giving you permission to do what you have always done. This is pretty basic strategy for many incoming leaders. Sometimes it has nothing to do with you at all, the new comer may be testing your manager.
