I work for a tech company that garners contracts for lucrative projects.
As an employee of this firm, I get to pick and choose which contracts I take on. They're a great company to be honest so I have to say they're not the ones at fault here.
I took on my current contract because it stipulated that I was never required to work in office, the job could be worked entirely from the comfort of my own home..
“Splendid, that's perfect” I thought because i recently moved to a new place i just got comfortable in (On the spectrum) and my partner and I have a (now) 8 month old we both want to be present for in the early stages to help each other out.
So I signed up, and for the first 5 months all was well.
The work is complicated, there is a lot of mathematics that can go wrong, and a lot goes wrong, so I've been on the forefront of getting these issues sorted out on a daily basis.
Now, I have been allocated the position of lead test analyst as of last Friday.
It's Monday today and the client is demanding that I work in office 3 days a week because the “promotion requires my presence”
Here's the thing, the closest client office to me is 1 and a half hours away if I were to drive (during peak hour) there and back, more if I was to take public transport, that means minimum 3 hours out of my day to get to and from the office.
I am not remunerated for that time and in my mind that time is billable so I told them straight up, no I'm not required in office I can do my job from home as I have been doing the whole time.
Not to mention my “presence” is available over Microsoft teams as much if not more so than if I was in office so that excuse is bullshit.
I'm always fucking available if people need help.
I've never palmed anyone off, if I've needed to change a diaper or console my child I let people know that I will contact them when I am ready and have always followed through. So fuck that.
My contract stipulates that I can work entirely from home and I'm not needed to work in office.
My position and pay check may have changed but my contract still says I'm not required to work in office.
If the client takes issue with my decision they can contact my company.
If my company takes issue with my decision they can contact my union.
Fuck them, my work doesn't rule my life.
Watch this space guys.