So, I currently work and live in Chicago. I support 2 projects in Cleveland and Detroit (90%) REMOTELY and maybe 5% of my time is actually supporting some projects here in Chicago.
To save a wall of text to read through, upon interviewing and hiring back in November 2021, I was led to believe this would be a fully remote position.
NOPE! It was slated to be hybrid once COVID was “under control”. We were supposed to be working in office 3 days a week & 2 days a week from home. I went in a few times until I realized “wow this is dumb, all my meetings and work are with people in a different state!” and I stopped going in.
My boss (who is pretty laid back) knew, but kind of kept it low key. Well, my boss’s boss recently came to Chicago this week and someone in the office snitched that I don’t come in (lol).
SO, my boss shot me a message as a heads up saying “FYI Bill (fake name for boss) visited Chicago and was told you don’t come in to office to work”.
I was cordial and said “Thanks for the heads up. I accept the consequences and responsibility of this. Should I meet with Bill to talk?”
My boss said “No you don’t have to, but you should start going in to the office to get to know the other departments”.
Mind you, these departments are ones I never interact with. Like, no interaction!
On one end, I’ve been lucky skating the line for almost a year of just saying “i’ll continue to WFH”, but a part of me knew this would catch up eventually.
The other thing to note is, this company has been losing staff like crazy. Not sure why and I actually don’t think it’s due to what I’m talking about. BUT, I know that they need me more than I need them.
SO, I have a few options:
- Suck it up and go into office (low risk)
- Negotiate my position to actually be fully remote (medium risk)
- Continue work as I have been (high risk)
- Begin searching for new job (low risk)
As a final note, I get all my work done to a high quality and on time. I get along great with my teams in Cleveland and Detroit (virtually, shocking right?). I do like this job but I love being home with my partner and dogs a lot more.
What would you do if you were me? I’m open to all perspectives, opinions, and advice.
Thanks in advance