After 3 wonderful years of waking up 5 minutes before my morning standups, spending breaks walking my dogs in a nearby forest or taking care of chores so I didn't have to spend my weekends on them, and saving thousands of dollars on commute expenses my work's executive team announced a mandatory return to office this morning. This comes after they repeatedly announcing that work from home has been a resounding success, has improved productivity, and has saved the company millions. Even promising in writing that work from home would be a permanent change. Many of my coworkers moved or sold their cars as a result of those promises, now it's looking like anyone who can't or won't comply with the order will be fired. For those who can comply this will effectively be a pay decrease across the board creating unnecessary commute costs as well as a serious hit to work/life balance. Leadership has refused to provide any data supporting their new claims that working from home is inefficient and does not allow for effective communication, and instead has insisted that we trust that they know what is best for the company.
Remember everyone, no matter how great you think your company is, no matter what your bosses promise you – we are all still just red lines in a ledger to them to be cut or replaced whenever they feel like it. Never trust an executive, never give them anything but the bare minimum.