This morning our lead (who we all really like) gave us the shot across the bow that upper/senior management is most likely about to end any and all telework. After receiving this announcement I politely said that he should inform his boss that right now all employees are happy and that I haven't job hunted in years (since I've worked here). And left it at that.
It's worth noting that we did not get a telework schedule until over 18 months into the pandemic. We were on site and getting exposed left and right until the end of Delta and the start of Omicron. This caused several instances where quarantine made all staff off the board for days and weeks at a time.
Our telework schedule was hybrid. Some guys would work Monday and Friday and some T-Thurs. I was on the T-Thurs group which meant I have soft long weekends each week. Not the worst thing in the world lol. it's been over 6 months and we're all sorta used to it and unanimously agree that life is much better and the burnout factor is low if not zero most of the time.
I've recently became sorta over qualified for my position due to a large cyber security certification I received in the last few months, ironically enough, while teleworking. So basically the only thing keeping me from floating my resume is the fact that my job is extremely good and the people are great, especially when I only see them and come in office about half the time.
The kicker is one of our guys is retirement age and has foregone actual retirement due to the ease and quality of job we have. He's stated several times that his 3 days of telework per week are about all that's keeping him from pulling the trigger. He'll receive this news tomorrow and I can't wait to see the aftermath. Matter of fact, I've often said I don't wanna leave this job until he leaves and I can witness the turmoil that causes.
Our organization stands to lose over half of their IT team from this move and it's flooring me why no one wants to send that info up the chain. This is just proof that the older generation just does not get it. If it can be done from home IT SHOULD BE DONE FROM HOME.
My apologies for the rant but it's just another example of the cluelessness that seems rampant right now.
For reference: I'm in IT and am a quasi-senior level tech/engineer. Other than cabling most of what I do can be done from home. And the 3 days on site each week is usually way more than enough time to get anything physical accomplished. Also, I've never said no to coming in on a telework day if something needed my immediate attention.