This may be a minor and petty form of protest, but whatever
I was hired into this role last year being told it would be hybrid. I didn't mind, because my last company did not handle things very well virtually and I thought it'd make the learning process much easier. The role I do is quite typically a remote role too and I thought that they would likely let up a bit after I got through the training phase. I was unfortunately wrong.
Turns out my whole team works in a different state, this office in my city is a company they acquired and everyone works on a different product than I do here. So I was going to the office to have Zoom meetings all day. But no one in the office was in my chain of command and I noticed no one was watching me, so I just started kind of coming and going as I pleased, usually only coming in maybe once a week. We also went full virtual in December and January with the Omicron outbreak.
When we went back to the office in February, this came with a caveat- They were going to start pulling the log of who came in, because we swiped badges to come in. And if you didn't comply you would be switched to full time in office, and if you didn't comply with that you'd be terminated. I started coming in for like two or three hours and then leaving, then we get a VERY condescending email from a higher up saying you need to stay at least most of the day (not targeted at me, apparently multiple people were doing this). They don't have a log of when we actually leave, but the bathroom is in the hallway and you have to swipe to get back in so they can usually kind of tell if you actually stayed for a bit. Which is way too micromanagey and shitty.
And so I'm going to the office 3 days a week now as they want, but I made a rule with myself- I'm only commuting in the 8 to 5 time frame. I'm never going to leave for the office earlier than 8, and I'm always going to leave from the office to get home by 5. The other day I missed a meeting because of this, a coworker asked if I was going to join and I said I couldn't because I had to drive to the office as per the rules. My commute is roughly 40-70 minutes roundtrip depending on traffic, and if they want that extra 40-70 minutes per day of work out of me they can let me work from home. So I'm really only working 7 hour days + a 1 hour commute and that makes up the 40 hours a week I'm paid for. I also don't plug my computer back in when I get home, on my work from home days I'm way more liable to answer something if it comes in just after 5. On an office day, I'm done at 5 and it can wait until the morning.
I haven't got in trouble yet, but I'm a damn good worker and I've already made myself very valuable to my team, we're actively having trouble hiring (because of the hybrid policy might I add) and need people so they aren't going to let me go anytime soon lightly, and I honestly don't need this job if they do, I have back-up options lined up already in case this comes to a head. It might be a small form of protest, but fuck it. I already have a response planned if they get on to me about this too, because the gas prices I'm paying for no reason are getting ridiculous
tl:dr- Company unnecessarily makes me come into the office, I make sure to only do my commute between the hours of 8 and 5 and do an hour less of work every day than I would working from home.