I’m a student who is also employed by a research lab at my university in a position that is also held by non students.
The building I am required to work in is massive and the office within it is huge as well. However, it is entirely empty. No one else except for me, my supervisor, and 4 of my coworkers are working in it. That’s right. An entire empty air conditioned office with every light on is entirely empty except for 6 people. A total waste of resources. All because my supervisor likes working in the office and not from home. Everyone else is working remotely.
My research lab’s building has a huge parking lot that is essentially empty because all the staff are working from home. I do not qualify to buy a parking pass to park there, as first priority goes to long term employees. If I park in this lot I get ticketed. Even if I was able to buy a pass, it costs more than I make in one paycheck.
This building is not in a walkable area. It’s about a 20 minute drive from my house. It is not connected to the main campus.
My only options for parking are to park on the street in a nearby neighborhood or to pay for meter parking.
Except this morning is “street cleaning day” and I am not legally allowed to park in the neighborhood or in the spots where I can pay for street parking.
I asked my boss what he recommended I do since there is no where for me to park and I cannot walk to work. I asked if I could work from home. He said absolutely not and that it’s not his problem.
To get an Uber would cost me more than I make in an hour and it’s not near a bus route.
I get that it’s not his problem but also how greedy can a uni be that they won’t let their researchers park at their place of employment without paying for it? It’s bullshit.