As a junior is it unethical to leave after 1 year for remote?

Question

The context

1 year ago, after a Master's degree I had my first real web developer job in a great startup (~50 people) along two other juniors, we all were trained and were given a lot of resources (time to work on side projects, daily meetings & any resource we asked for) which I am very grateful for.

I always have been pretty autonomous but thanks to them I'm a much better developer.

For ~8 months we were all in remote.

The problem

Today they want all of us to go back onsite which I don't find necessary, my question is: would be it very unethical for me to leave/threaten to leave right now for full remote?

The details

They basically trained me and now that I'm a bit productive I'm threatening them to leave if they don't offer something full remote, in my mind it seems very unfair but objectively I know I can find a full remote job, it would make my life so much easier but I would lose a great environment. Also I live far from my workplace and I already asked my manager for that, but he didn't offer any solution.

Answer 1

As a junior is it unethical to leave after 1 year for remote?

Threatening to leave will not get you anything other than possibly being let go from your company before you have a replacement job.

If you want to work 100% remote at your current company then ask if you can do that. Don't mention anything about potentially leaving. The worst that they can do is say "no".

If they do say no, then simply search for a new job that is 100% remote and once you have accepted and signed an offer you put in your notice with your current company. There is nothing unethical about pursuing better opportunities for yourself in your career, even if it is after one year of work. The situation at your current company has changed and is not in your favor, so you have every right to seek a better working situation.

Answer 2

would be it very unethical for me to leave/threaten to leave right now for full remote?

It's not unethical to decide you want another job. Especially as a junior it's expected you may have a few short stays as you find the job that's right for you.

I'm threatening them to leave if they don't offer something full remote

This isn't unethical either - just stupid. You're essentially holding yourself hostage, which gives you zero negotiating power. This is more likely to get you fired than get you the full remote you want.

Start looking for a full-remote job now. Turn in notice when the ink is dry on your new employment contract

Answer 3

Never be fooled by a company that gives out a few candy bars as a benefit.

Every single thing they do is for the massive benefit of the corporation.

Programmers leave constantly and ubiquitously, it's a non issue. As is said often on this site "30 seconds after you leave, nobody will remember your name."

If you want to change jobs, do it.

You never owe any loyalty to a company. Companies exist to make vast wealth for a few, based on paying a few pennies to the actual workers.

Be aware that if they happened to want to sack you for any reason (bankruptcy, save a few pennies, whatever) you'd just get a form email from a HR outsourcing company and that would be that.

It's not possible to treat a company "morally", it would be like looking for a "moral" aspect in the weather.

Answer 4

You are extremely lucky to have found a first job where your employers are willing to spend time and money training you well. This will put you in good stead for the rest of your career. Personally, I feel like you owe them something, but at the same time, they are a business and have presumably done the calculation that training juniors is worth it even if some leave earlier than they'd like. A bigger issue for you is that you wont necessarily find the same nurturing environment in your next job. In fact, you probably wont. You may well find yourself stuck in a high stress job where your employers don't care one jot about developing your skills - So weigh your options carefully.

Answer 5

Leaving an employer is never, and can never be unethical. There can be no reason, no way, no theoretical concept which can make it so.

If there were a case in which leaving would be unethical, then that would be slavery - which would be unethical itself.

Leaving is the one choice and action any employee has which does never require the approval of the employer. You never discuss it with the employer, you never threaten with it. It is simply at your disposal - the final action that ends the relationship with your employer.

If your employer forgot to make provisions for this case, it's their own fault. Normally, this would be handled somewhat like this:

• Say the employer funds a very expensive training for you. It would then be fine (and, in my experience, also quite usual) if you make a contract beforehand that says that if you leave within 1 year of the training, you are required to pay back part of the cost.
• If your employer allows you to spend plenty of time on side projects or developing the skills, then he is required to calculate these "opportunity costs" (i.e., your time not generating money for the employer) in the everyday business. These things are part and parcel of the overall work structure. You could, instead of quitting, simply become ill or die - in both cases it's the employers task to make sure that this would not somehow lead to losses, simply because before your demise you had 20% time to learn stuff...
• If your employer wants to give you a bonus payment for our good work, this needs to be in such a way that it is for your past good work. I.e., you brought benefit to the company, you are getting the bonus, but the bonus is payed by the benefit you brought. That is, you have no further obligations through this bonus.
• If the employer wants to make sure that you do not leave and go directly to the competition, he has to add a non-competition clause to your contract; you have to agree to it (and know of it, of course) right from the beginning. This may or may not be legal in your country, but it is what it is.

And so on.

TLDR: You never need to feel obligated because the employer was "nice". You of course need to fulfill any contracts you signed, and consider the workplace laws and so on. The concept of "ethics" does not come in for your decision to leave.

Answer 6

The ethics of employment:

You are loyal to your company as long as they pay you and treat you decently. When you quit, they stop paying, so you don't have to be loyal anymore. If they behaved decently, you behave decently after quitting.

On the other hand, the company pays you as long as you work for them, and ought to treat you decently. If you quit, or you are laid off, they stop paying.

That's it. So there is no ethical problem about quitting. They are a company, which means they should behave like grown-ups, and they have to consider the possibility of employees quitting in their planning.

Since you worked from home for eight months without problems, and I assume it is much more convenient for you, they are changing the employment deal very much to your disadvantage. That is a situation where it is unethical if you don't consider what is best for you. If quitting after finding a job with a company that lets you work remotely is better for you, then do it.

Now about "threatening" that you leave: You don't threaten. You can have a talk with your manager and explain that working at the office is a substantial downside for you, and probably a very small upside for the company, that you would very much prefer working from home, and that you might start looking for a position that allows you to work remotely, if there is one. There's always the possibility that they change their mind, especially if you are not the only one saying this (and you won't be). If they force you to come to the office, you might give them notice one day and leave 14 days later, but you don't threaten.

Answer 7

Throughout your career, developer is a learning position. You will constantly have to spend a large portion of your time learning new things, because the field is in a constant state of advancement. What is current today is obsolete tomorrow.

Smart companies understand this, and factor continual professional development into their approach. If they don't they can't attract and retain talent. However, the provision of professional development does not create an obligation to the developer to stay. After all, the same company is also going to benefit from developers that some other company trained.

Most companies pay junior developers considerably less, knowing that a particularly large percentage of their time is spent in learning, and that they have high turnover. If a company has not taken this into account, that is their problem, not yours. Your ethical obligation is to do your best work to the best of your ability at any given time.

Answer 8

Yes, it's unethical. You're hurting other people who might want to become software engineers in the future.

The company spent money training you, in the expectation you would stay and earn the company more money. You now want to leave, before they're able to recoup the value of their investment in you.

This will result in the company being more hesitant to hire junior software engineers in the future. When this happens often enough, it becomes almost impossible for a new software engineer to find work once this happens to a large enough portion of the companies in an area. They become terrified of turnover and wasting money on training on employees who leave, so they refuse to hire anyone who's unable to hit the ground running.

I've personally spent years fruitlessly looking for work because of the actions of people who have done things like the thing the OP is proposing. Yes, it is unethical, without a question.