A follow-up to my previous post.
Previously my employer emphatically declared a no enforced return-to-office policy, in whatever form, at least as long as the current VP ran engineering. Wednesdays became the unofficial day-in-office for those who needed a break from home or wanted to collaborate. After the initial excitement of seeing actual people, attendance dipped and varied weekly, definitely not approaching capacity. Attempts to coerce – End of summer ice cream party on the rooftop! – did not result in permanent changes.
The message changed unexpectedly last week: beginning in September, employees are expected in office each month on three scheduled, consecutive days. The justifications were not related to lost productivity but were the de rigueur cultural references: lack of hallway buzz, missed random conversations, employees unable to engage. Total management bullshit, nothing legitimate in my opinion, and likely an attempt by HR to justify their existence.
You may ask, Scott, what are you going to do? Work from home as I always do. Whaaaaa?? I am not just de facto remote, I am a USA – MN Work from Home employee. I expected this, just didn’t know when, therefore I intentionally got hired as a remote employee, not as an employee who just happens to work remotely. Ta da!
My employer has employees scattered internationally, including many who moved during the pandemic to escape Minnesota winters, and my team is very distributed: Minnesota 4, Colorado 2, Utah 2, Florida 1, South Carolina 1, Canada 1, and Costa Rica 5. Previously team members lived in North Carolina, Texas, other states. Chances of the complete team in one location are nil.
The stated expectation is that remote employees will fly in occasionally, but not monthly, so for now I’ll be found at home until a working majority actually shows up in Minneapolis.
