Took a job 6 months ago that is hybrid. (Advertised 2 days a week) and they just announced they are going back to fully in office

[ilkhanapit]

I took a better paying job at a company that had been recruiting me for a year in Jan 2023 , I actually turned down a job there right before Covid because they were 5 days in the office and I was working hybrid at the time and the extra money wasn’t worth going into an office. After Covid though my job at the time went fully remote.

This particular company recruited me again under the understanding it was hybrid 2 days a week last fall. That is how it was presented to me and how it was advertised on. They just announced they are mandating 4 days a week starting in September and the full 5 starting next year.

After hearing some conversations , it’s apparent they were having a very difficult time hiring under 5 days in office and dropped it to 2 and was able to increase thier work force by 30% . After speaking to some other new hires we feel totally and utterly victims of a bait and switch.

I went from a fully remote position that I decently liked, to a company that deceived me and all these new hires. I’m beyond pissed and honestly feel betrayed.

I’m not looking for advise really, I’m going to start looking elsewhere immediately.

Why do these nimrods think we want to be back in the office???

 

[cisty]

@ilkhanapit It’s also sooo annoying when companies do this when teams have been as productive at home as they were in office. What do they expect people to do, stay at that job?? Lol. That 30% is going to disappear quickly.

 

[ilkhanapit]

@cisty We just hired someone that is commuting two hours each way , who managed because it’s 2 days a week . She just called her old company and is going back. I hope other do too to get the message across

 

[donttakesixes]

@cisty Bad apples spoil the bunch.

 

[joyandhope]

@ilkhanapit I genuinely think it’s because boomers hate their personal lives at home, and a lot of rich people are scared of commercial buildings losing their value

 

[katrina2017]

@joyandhope Oh this is so true. We have like 15 employees in our office and the only ones who go in are boomers. This was also true at our last job and my husband would always joke that they hated their wives or something because they were never ever home.

 

[joyandhope]

Oh and also lazy managers. If you don’t want to actually pay attention to what your team is producing you can just look for butts in seats.

 

[tanjaw]

@joyandhope It's also because Millennials grew up with the Internet and they didn't. They just aren't user to forging relstionships online like we are. They just simply can't function in a world where everything is online. This problem will likely go away once the boomers and Gen x are gone.

 

[imageboy]

@tanjaw I know a lot of GenX that work remotely. GenX are not the problem.

 

[hiltonmanonga]

@imageboy Gen X/xennial here - I WFH 100% since the plague and I never want to go back!

 

[causticwolf]

@tanjaw Gen X here. Trust me, we don’t want to be in the office either.

 

[kiteria]

@tanjaw This is a terrible stereotype.

My job it went and stayed full time WFH, it was the older generation who were the most excited for this and the Millennials with kids at home, that had the hard time adjusting and wanted to go into the office, because: A. They had small kids at home and B. They didn’t have extra space to work with privacy and would be distracted often.

 

[joyandhope]

@kiteria I wfh and still use childcare. I think most wfh moms do. We just don’t have a commute and can work in yoga pants. What you’re describing was a situation unique to lockdown during the pandemic that was very hard on working parents but isn’t a problem anymore

 

[avidreader9559]

@joyandhope My job is hybrid but my husband is a SAHD and so he and the kids are around all day. I prefer going to the office because I get more done there. I’m in no way responsible for parenting during the work day, but they are still loud and distracting even when I’m not engaging with them. So yes, it is still a problem depending on your situation.

 

[kiteria]

@joyandhope I am a mom and love WFM for the work/life balance. I don’t think this is still an isolated issue as it’s the younger generation that is complaining vs. older. Bottom line being a working parent is hard and all I was saying in my first response, is that it’s a terrible generalization that the it’s the older generations that WANT to go back into the office, when in my experience I saw/hear the opposite.

 

[161eth]

@tanjaw This!! Literally just said this today. It’s the boomers and gen x that are the problem and they are usually the ones in the high ranking positions making these decisions. I think once those generations starts to retire a lot of these problems will go away.

 

[ilkhanapit]

@joyandhope Yup.

 

[agnetha1988]

@joyandhope

I genuinely think it’s because boomers hate their personal lives at home

Dude, the youngest boomers are in their 60s and don't give a rat's ass about in or out of the office. The majority of them are retired.

This is driven by a stunning drop in productivity with the WFH trend coupled with the measurable lack of motivation of the most recent generation with regards to work (not saying that lack of motivation is improper, but you can't swing a dead cat on the internet without seeing a raft of Gen-Z complaining that work isn't worth what they're being paid).

While you might have a case for unemployment if you refuse and then get fired (for cause), there are solid facts behind the "WFH is not as efficient" movement and while some companies are working hard to retain that, many are (justifiably) not.

Whether that's from a lack of proper management of WFH employees (if they sell time-management cheat devices on Amazon, there's got to be a market for them - mouse jigglers and whatnot) or just that the specific business is being hit harder by WFH productivity drops, the business is there to make a profit, not entertain you.

My advice to OP? Memorialize everything you can from the recruiting process and your hiring parameters and stand your ground. If you get fired for it, sue. Unless they said up front that WFH conditions could change, you would not have abandoned your job. They would have eliminated it and created a new job which you are not willing to do.

 

[joyandhope]

@agnetha1988 You should look at some actual data about wfh productivity instead of basing an entire argument on some videos on the internet of young people complaining about their jobs- that is not a new phenomenon, only the ability to share their complaints so widely is new. You’ve forgotten your youth and have fully turned into an old man shaking his fist at the sky if you think otherwise.

 

[agnetha1988]

@joyandhope https://bfi.uchicago.edu/insight/re...personnel-analytics-data-on-it-professionals/

30% more hours, 20% less production.

Yes, the young generation being told to come back to the office is "quiet quitting" there and making the problem worse, but they'll end up getting replaced as they get caught at it or get reviewed.

But the reason BTO was pushed was because the productivity numbers fell so dramatically with WFH.

There are many reasons to accept WFH as the model - mostly to do with work/life balance, but employers were not getting as much out of WFH employees as they were from office employees.

I found dozens of sites that conflated "WFH productivity" with "WFH work/life balance" quoting slightly extended working hours for WFH (reduced productivity) and the many, many benefits to the employee of not having to find daycare or travel for lengthy commutes.

Those are good things, but they're not related to productivity.