So I left my previous job to take this fully remote job at a pretty reputable company in my area. I started at the beginning of July. They are a top choice employer and I was really excited to have the chance to work with them. I was really looking for a remote job where I would not have to drive and where I would not be worried about Covid exposure due to health issues. I was also looking forward to the flexibility to travel.
All of my onboarding so far has been remote. My expectation was that I would be able to be remote and I would only have up to 5% travel per year.
The company is headquartered in the suburbs of the city I live in. It’s about an hour and a few minutes outside of where I live.
Throughout my onboarding, multiple people Have mentioned how I should come to the office and meet everybody since I am “local”… some of the other people on my team are expecting me to come on site to do some work that they do not want to come in and do. I mentioned to these coworkers that I was not planning on coming into the office and really looking forward to the flexibility that this role was offering.
Later on, I had a one on one with my boss and she was like “since you are one of the people who is local, it’ll be nice to have you come in and do XYZ…” I mentioned to her that I was a little bit concerned about coming in and that I wasn’t really comfortable with it. She told me that I didn’t need to give any reason and that she’s glad I’m transparent and open with her. She doesn’t wanna force me into the office…she said that sometimes business needs come up where somebody needs to come in and even though there are other members who are local, they are covid conscious. She said sometimes these needs are like three times in one week and then there will be a few weeks without anything and then there will be more stuff again. She said if the only option was for us to do things online, then that’s what we can do. She said we can take it on a case by case basis and figure it out as we go along. The conversation was good but I still feel kind of unsettled.
To be honest I don’t mind coming in like once a quarter but I don’t feel good about things right now. Right now it’s feeling like they want me to come in whenever I can. Multiple people outside of my team were encouraging me to come onsite on Thursdays and said they thought I was going to be there today.
I’m just not sure how to handle it or what to do. I’m trying to draw my firm boundaries right now because I honestly did not sign up for coming onsite consistently. The thing that’s really frustrating is that all the team members are fully remote and the other ones in other states are not held to the standard, they are not asked to come to the office. The whole situation is so awkward because I’m new.
This just me venting but any support or advice would be great. Also, I also realize that this is a very privileged problem to have so bear with me lol. I appreciate any positive and good vibes!