Background: Happily, I recently got offered a full time remote position where my supervisor explicitly said in the interview that she understands work isn't everything, we have lives to live and family, and that work comes second to that, that she's not a micromanager and will just let me work independently without constant check ins, or any expectations of set hours each day. I of course immediately put in my 2 weeks at my current job which has a very heavy culture of micromanaging. We're on a 3-2 in office/WFH schedule. (I asked to have more balance in my work week since I have a short commute and would have preferred to start in the office each day and have some WFH every day rather than the 3-2 split, but they said no that's not the policy). On days you're in office, you're expected to be in a full 8.5 hours. Even though we're salaried, they check the time that your ID badge scans the front door and you are also supposed to scan it on the way out so they check that you're there the full 8.5 hours. And yes, I did get reprimanded for leaving 20 minutes early one day. On WFH days you're supposed to text your supervisor at the start and end of the day and keep your calendar up to date with what you're working on each hour of the day. It's all pretty insane and any time I've tried to have a professional conversation about it I just get told it's needed for “accountability.”
Anyway, I was sent an exit interview document and I would love some feedback about my responses. I want to keep it professional but also try to communicate that their way of doing things is not going to lead to much employee retention in this current market. The excuse I hear a lot is that it's a government job, but I know for a fact that not all government jobs are like this. I've worked at other levels of government, and I've talked with people in other departments at my current employer.
- What does your new position offer that influenced your decision to leave?
Full time remote, work from anywhere, much more flexibility, no strict hours -
What would you have changed about your job if you could have?
More flexibility. The schedule I wanted to work was denied by Administration, even though it would have been the same amount of hours spent in office vs. at home, just spread out over the week. I wanted more balance to my schedule, and I don’t understand what was so wrong about wanting to start each day in the office and end each day at home. The policy that you have to end each day how you started it and are not allowed to leave locations until it’s been 8.5 hours is not conducive to the work environment that I felt would be most successful for me in terms of work/life balance. -
Do you have any other comments regarding your job or our Agency you’d like to share to help us improve?
Salaried positions are supposed to be goal evaluated, not time based. The rigidness this agency has regarding time and out of date policies is not in line with the flexibility that most other employers are offering and employees are demanding during this unprecedented time of worker reshuffling. ___ has been constantly dangling work from home as a privilege that he can take away from staff at any time. If ___ wants to remain an employer of choice, I believe they need to offer more flexibility to its staff, particularly salaried staff. I want autonomy over my schedule, and the ability to work in the way that works best for me. Some of the policies ___ in the name of “accountability” (such as checking pod times and requiring calendar updates) foster an environment of mistrust and low morale. Employees want to feel empowered and trusted to do the job they were hired for, not micromanaged. I know it’s government, but I also know that other government jobs are not like this.