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.

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[–] lemme_at_it 8 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Good for you! Children are only children once, jobs will always be jobs. I definitely am not going back to the office & will freelance if I have to. (software)

EDIT: Context. I'm not sure how the drag-back is unfolding in the US but where I work in the UK, the boss is not fighting us over it, thankfully. Almost all our clients are not in Europe & some team members were commuting an hour or more, some were leaving early to pick up kids - so a flex time policy was in place, even before the pandemic.

Since the pandemic, junior/mid members come in once a week & seniors once a fortnight. If I can fix it remotely, then I do, if not then I go in - never by threat & can leave when I'm done. As a plus, performance & work quality increased, people have claimed back 1-2 hours a day. Comms with US/ AUS teams is easier than before. So while I'm lucky, if they want it back to like before then I will freelance until I find the balance I need.