I'm a manager in an office building that's located downtown in a major metropolitan city in the US. For the past 2 years we've been mostly remote, with only managers having to come into the office on any routine basis. However that changed back in April when the company announced a full return to the office for everyone.
Honestly not a lot of people had too much of in issue with it, most people were preparing for it so it was no surprise. But there was one major change from the last time we were all in the office: Parking. We used to have a small parking lot near the building that employees used. At some point during the pandemic, the lot was sold off to be developed and we were given parking passes to a nearby parking garage instead. By we, I mean the managers as I said we were the only ones ever coming to the office during COVID. Turns out, the company never planned to extend those passes to the rest of the branch whenever remote work was cancelled.
This has understandably PISSED a lot of employees off since parking in this city is outrageously expensive. The nearest garage charges $3 per hour or a flat $30 for the whole day and there are very few, if any, free parking areas nearby. This has caused a lot of people to quit, particularly in my department. During a meeting with my boss (who's salary is probably between $100-120k) we discussed why my department is such short staffed, in which I listed the parking situation as the main reason. He instantly brushed this off, saying $30 wasn't that expensive and that there were cheaper garages “close by” (they're actually around 5 blocks away and only slightly cheaper). He then said it's not worth mentioning during interviews and if someone does ask about it, to downplay it. I continued to argue that it is a big deal, which annoyed him to the point he stated “Well if people really want to work here, they'll get over it and deal with it!” He did finally offer some resolution to the problem: A $3 parking voucher for employees who work a full day.
Sorry for the long post but I felt this would be something this sub would enjoy!