I guess this is a correct community to post about this? If not let me know.
My company finally is asking politely that we have to go to the office twice a week. Or else. That else is not yet defined, but obviously there will be consequences of not going to the office.
I have been at this company for 15 years, from junior dev to manager.
I did a daily commute of about 40 mins in the morning, 40 to an hour back, never gave a second thought about that. That was normal.
After pandemics, I found out all I have been missing on my kids growing up. My second kid is much more attached to me since she saw me daily, even if I was in my office room at home, she got to see me more often.
So I found out how much my life improved by doing working at home. Hell in the middle of this sentence my kid just showed me some thing she drew.
I stood my ground, I basically politely told HR that I am not going back. And actually my reasons make sense, I work with people in other countries, they don’t care where I am.
And it will affect my performance, driving to the office, moving all my equipment, and having people around trying to talk to me will take a toll.
So yeah, I am polishing my resume, because there is no turning back now. I will be shunted if I ask for a raise, they can easily say “hey but you are not coming to the office, how come you want a raise if you are not part of the team”, never mind that I do everything that is expected and more.
Just off my chest I guess, and anxious about the future.
First of all, I think there’s absolutely no reason to be worried, you‘re a developer at manager level, I think you have nothing to fear about on the job market. There are literally thousands of companies around the globe who want just you in their team no matter where you work from. There are so many jobs you can do 100% remote, so you’ll find just what you want in no time. If a company isn‘t developed enough in the year 2023 to let people work from home while their whole team is spread around the world then f them.
I not only believe that it‘s just an excuse from you, I am convinced that your productivity will go down if you had to go back to the office. Your reasons totally make sense, if they seriously question your arguments I think it’s ok to question yourself if those are people you share the same values with and want to keep on working with.
It‘s also important to show companies that their employees is all they have and they are the ones who should provide them a comfortable and enjoyable environment to work in, otherwise people will leave sooner or later.
Covid should have shown us that (mental) health and time for yourself and your loved ones is top priority in life so your move was the only logical decision. Additionally you proved you‘re a woman or a man of integrity and honestly you have my full respect.
Enjoy the time with your family and in the worst case you will find an employer soon that takes you with a hand kiss and you‘ll be happy then.
Keep us up to date please and enjoy your day! 🌞