Workplace Cancelling Work from Home Completely

vv285 on 22/08/2023 - 11:56

So my workplace canceled WFH benefits completely and has asked people to come to work 5 days a week at the notice of a week a month ago.

Before joining the HR touted they offer 'great' flexibility and at max we will be asked to work 3 days from the office which now they completely reneged on. Most employees joined them a year ago based on such promises and now they've completely gone back on their promise.

This sudden change of rule might also be because the company is not doing well. Their share price has well below half and they might be looking to offload people without trying to lay them off. Not only that people with genuine work-from-home requests like people whose kids are registered in NDIS etc are being rejected requests officially and are being asked to take holidays or come to the office after taking care of their arrangements and working late etc.

Some of us work in IT and we really don't need to be in the workplace since its been proven over the last 3 years all over the world and they still insist that we have to be working from the office. Some people with no excuses do work from home though which angers most employees since there is a clear double standard between someone new and old employees.

Is this fair? Can something be done about this?

Education & Work

Comments

      • JimmyF on 22/08/2023 - 15:47
        +13

        People championing no wfh don't understand how stressful daily commutes are for the body and mind. Most employees have been calling in sick and are barrely have the energy in the workplace. Some have passed on colds and coughs to everyone.

        LOL The commute is so stressful that people don't have any energy in the workplace!?

        I think your companies problem is the type of workers they have if commuting to the office is all the work output they can do in a day.

      • bman20 on 23/08/2023 - 09:59
        +5

        You honestly sound like a teenager

        • RTX9090Ti on 24/08/2023 - 21:11

          Or a retiring employee who just don't care about work anymore.

      • TightAl on 24/08/2023 - 00:36
        +1

        Sounds like you need to jump on NDIS yourself

    • JohnWick1980 on 22/08/2023 - 14:33
      +3

      Mate, coz of what you (and hopefully others in your company) are doing, its unlikely your employer would ask for more days! Its generally the issue where no one rocks up that they have to bring in drastic rules making it mandatory. As someone who manages a team myself, given people are doing a day or two from office, the feedback upstream is that we are doing well and its going great. Another manager has no one coming whilst he has politely asked for people to do atleast one day of face time. that is information he has been feeding upstream to management. Now once management aggregate the feedback and they find there is very little face time, their hand is forced and they bring in mandatory office days. The same employees then start crying a river. They had a good thing going which if played smartly could have been extended (in most settings).

      Its more complex than one thinks. The CEOs are under pressure from city councils, politicians and other lobby groups to bring people in. Some of the responsibility sits with the employees for not doing the right thing. On the other hand, you do have those employers who want you under their nose which you cannot do much about.

      • CowFrogHorse on 27/08/2023 - 00:15

        Why should employees waste 2 - 4 hour without any pay so some coffee shop in the city can sell a coffee or two ?

        With that logic, why dont we get half of Sydney to commute to places like Dubbo or Albury Wondonga and buy a few coffees there ?

        You do realise that commuting costs tax payers money. Those metros cost billions, the roads also are not free. Saving on travel saves money, saves pollution and improves peoples health.

        • JohnWick1980 on 27/08/2023 - 07:49
          +1

          Very simply because employees are expandable or the lowest in the “food chain”! The rich dudes who have multiple investments in retail, restaurants, office buildings or ASX companies can lobby the government and other influential people who have a say. Employees don’t really have a say, we get told what to do. And yes, these dudes don’t give two rats about employees having to travel 2-4 hours! Welcome to the way of the world. I never said it was fair or right, just trying to explain how certain things are more complex that it appears!

  • pegaxs on 22/08/2023 - 13:16
    +3

    Either hand in your notice and cite what you have said here or remained cucked by the company and complain about it endlessly on forums.

  • pharkurnell on 22/08/2023 - 13:27
    +4

    I'd love to see how all these people complaining about going to the office cause how stressful daily commutes are for the body and mind would be if Covid never happened and Mon-Fri would be the normal.

    • vv285 on 22/08/2023 - 13:32
      +2

      Even before covid most places offered flexibility. Atleast a day wfh did a world of difference to peoples lifestyles even back then

      • onetwothreefour on 22/08/2023 - 14:10
        +8

        most places offered flexibility

        No place I ever worked did, it was always 5 days in the office.

      • pharkurnell on 22/08/2023 - 15:52
        +7

        Not on my planet they didnt.

      • infinite on 24/08/2023 - 22:35

        No, they didn't.

    • Usernames on 23/08/2023 - 16:51
      +4

      I’ve been WFH at least 2 days per week for over 10 years. It’s common in large corporates, so OP should try to work for one of them.

      • Willy Beamish on 23/08/2023 - 20:29

        That sounds alright, if you don't mind sharing, what cant you do from home that requires the other days in the office?

        • Usernames on 23/08/2023 - 22:29
          +1

          Socialise, I guess. For some reason management want to make staff come in and waste time having coffee catch ups, long lunches and discussing many topics other than work.

    • hasher22 on 23/08/2023 - 23:43

      You got to admit, the 8-8-8 rule is outdated

  • Payne on 22/08/2023 - 13:58
    +8

    Seems that the company has decided they need to shed staff, and the cheapest way to do it (i.e. without paying redundancies) is to change the working conditions.

  • coffeeinmyveins on 22/08/2023 - 14:02
    +6

    Welcome to gainful employment.

    Unless it was written in your contract, you don't have a leg to stand on.

    • vv285 on 22/08/2023 - 14:33
      +1

      Doesnt mean HRs go back on their verbal promises at the time of joining. This applies for nearly 100-200 people fyi.

      • onetwothreefour on 22/08/2023 - 14:38
        +1

        Did they promise you will be able to WFH forever? Or did they say their current way of working is hybrid?

        • vv285 on 22/08/2023 - 14:45
          +2

          We were told they will go back to 3 day work from home max during joining. Yes legally we dont have any ground to stand on but it is still wrong to go back on your word.

          The company has been trashed with recent reviews on Glassdoor. I am sure getting talent will be a problem for them going forwards.

          • pharkurnell on 22/08/2023 - 15:53
            +8

            @vv285:

            People championing no wfh don't understand how stressful daily commutes are for the body and mind

            but it is still wrong to go back on your word.

            are you 18?

            • vv285 on 22/08/2023 - 16:27
              -2

              @pharkurnell: So you are 10? Or maybe a crook?

              Since lying in a professional setting is acceptable to you?

              • pharkurnell on 22/08/2023 - 16:32
                +2

                @vv285: lol… 18.. This is the real world where the adults are.. not disney.

            • Willy Beamish on 23/08/2023 - 20:46
              +3

              @pharkurnell: No need for that dude, he's not wrong regarding the commutes it does put extra stress on your day even if for some it's minor and just accepted. Obviously WFH isn't suitable for all roles but why not if they are in a position where their duties can be completed from home, they should have that option, right?
              I know for my position it's atleast am extra 2 hours added to my day if I have to get ready, travel, set up and then travel home. If saving that 2 hours makes me more productive then that's a good thing.

            • CowFrogHorse on 24/08/2023 - 18:46

              @pharkurnell: @pharkurnell

              I guess you dont use taps at home ?

              You carry all water from your local river ?

              We can all see you have been watching a lot of American propaganda…where everybody kisses the bosses arse and wants less than minimum wage.

          • superuser on 24/08/2023 - 06:37

            @vv285: Then why you care for the company now and not looking for another place to work?

            • vv285 on 24/08/2023 - 14:06

              @superuser: Because it was a good place to work and now at a notice of a week its a shitty environment to work in. Most of us used to report 3 days a week and its sad that due to some higher up persons whim we need to sacrifice our work life balance.

              Most of us are looking for a new place and slowly will try to change when its the right time for me.

      • JohnWick1980 on 22/08/2023 - 14:42

        Unlikely it was meant to be forever. We tell new hires that we don't have mandatory days in office though people are expected to attend for some face time. That being said, the setting could change in future. This does not mean that one takes it as WFH forever. That is unreasonable and not realistic.

      • coffeeinmyveins on 22/08/2023 - 15:19
        +3

        Doesnt mean HRs go back on their verbal promises at the time of joining

        but it is still wrong to go back on your word.

        Are you new to the workforce?

        HR can't be trusted, they aren't there for you, they are there for the company to protect them from being sued. Don't get caught up in the name change from "Human Resources" to "People Team" either, that's just more spin BS.

        Companies will promise the world during hiring, and unless it's in your contract consider it a perk that can be revoked at any moment.

        If WFH was THAT important to you then you should have requested it be put in your contract.

      • infinite on 24/08/2023 - 22:36

        So you didn't bother reading your contract ?

        You didn't, did you……………

    • timothy2 on 24/08/2023 - 11:45

      This is only true if the contract has an ‘entire agreement’ clause. @vv285 please check your contract for this clause, if it is not there then it’s possible that anything HR said to you can be considered as part of the employment agreement.

      • vv285 on 24/08/2023 - 14:04

        It was all verbal. Nothing in the contract terms.

        Although the company had WFH guidelines which legal might have changed now since they reverted the rule. Leaving them is the best option instead of fighting.
        Its the companys headache. Their glassdoor has been trashed by angry employees who are leaving, so they have to throw more money or go back to old rules to get people in. Anyway they've shot themselves in the foot.

        • timothy2 on 24/08/2023 - 20:06
          +2

          Doesn’t need to be in writing. Verbal promises could still form part of the agreement

          • coffeeinmyveins on 24/08/2023 - 20:13

            @timothy2: not worth the hassle to take it to any sort of tribunal/court to then just….get a new job anyway.

  • JimmyF on 22/08/2023 - 15:44
    +3

    at max we will be asked to work 3 days from the office which now they completely reneged on.

    So asking you to go in a extra 2 days a week.

    The real question, as reading your other cases of people being refused to WFH, had you been going in at all?

    At a guess, they have reneged as people haven't been going into the office at all. So no WFH fullstop, this way you don't get the, but xyz gets to WFH why not me.

    since its been proven over the last 3 years all over the world and they still insist that we have to be working from the office

    Has it really? Lots of companies are suffering for various reasons, your company is too. Just maybe all those who are working from home are not really giving 100% ;)

    Is this fair?

    What does your contact say? Your employer can say where you work, just like you can say if you want to work for them or not.

    Can something be done about this?

    Yes, leave for another WFH job.

  • chris666 on 22/08/2023 - 20:00
    +1

    Glad people that work from home are going back to the office getting support from staff who work from home is a joke when dealing with big companies in the past few years

    • samfisher5986 on 23/08/2023 - 08:23
      +3

      Its amazing because I can often hear it in their voice that they are clearly preoccupied with something else and don't want to be on the phone. Half the time there are audio clues that tell you they are working from home. They are desperately trying to divert you to someone else so they can continue doing whatever they are doing.

      • chris666 on 23/08/2023 - 09:43

        Yep had everything from crying babies to barking dogs on my call then you ask for a manager oh sorry that will be 3 days as I'm working from home

        • CowFrogHorse on 24/08/2023 - 18:47
          +1

          Yes because we all know opffice people never disappear for coffee and other fake meetings…

    • Nebargains on 26/08/2023 - 08:15

      So true. Sure most people are fine but the ones that aren't stick out. Something I've noticed is that if I message someone on Teams with a work question, if they are WFH sometimes I don't get a response for hours. If they are in the office it's usually pretty instant. Also notice lots of people with the 'away' status when they are WFH.

  • brad1-8tsi on 22/08/2023 - 20:29
    -1

    Join the union and let them fight for you.

    • miwahni on 22/08/2023 - 22:14

      Some unions eg FSU will not take a case on for you unless you've been a member for a certain amount of time. Worth looking into though.

  • miwahni on 22/08/2023 - 22:22
    +7

    During Covid, all of my company's Seek ads said that the team worked from home "for the foreseeable future" - no promises that it would go on forever. Now all teams have been requested to come in for one day a week, and our ads now read that we offer flexible working arrangements by offering a combination of work-from-home and work-from-office. I have to say that productivity drops on that one day per week - a lot of time is spent catching up with each other, and in general chat. This probably wouldn't happen to the same extent if we were in the office five days per week but I won't be the one to point that out….

    I feel sorry for the cafe owners in my building who took on their new lease at the start of March 2020. I'm actually surprised they've managed to keep going. I'm quite sure they'd love to see us all back in full time.

    • cheekymonkey on 23/08/2023 - 09:23
      +1

      sick of hearing about the poor cafe owners. the business has a risk. for some it didn't work out. there are too many cafes around anyway.

      • SupeNintendoChalmers on 25/08/2023 - 07:02
        +2

        Not to mention the media rarely focuses on suburban and regional eateries which have done quite well.

        • cheekymonkey on 25/08/2023 - 09:15

          And some of those cbd cafes could turn into coffee vans…driving around suburbs, with a bell for all the wfh workers to come out when they hear it.

      • Nebargains on 26/08/2023 - 08:17

        I empathize with them, potentially solid business with steady foot traffic was destroyed by government attempts to control the uncontrollable.

    • Name on 25/08/2023 - 11:32

      I reckon same amount of inefficiency would happen but it'd be spread out over the week instead of just concentrated on a single day. Or maybe worse? Every day that I go in a group of us go and grab a coffee in the morning and in the afternoon. Probably adds up to about half hour each day just grabbing a coffee let alone all the other stuff that goes on throigh the week, like the chats in the kitchen when grabbing a water.

  • tabitha731 on 23/08/2023 - 09:27
    -3

    Regardless of it being pre or post covid, you took on the job knowing where your office was located. Had Covid never happened.. you would have been expected to work from the office 5 days a week, no questions asked.. unless u had specific exemptions. suck it up.. having to work in the office isn't the worst thing that could happen. you're not wasting electricity at home or water, and you have access to milk & coffee/ tea and social interaction with other people!.. and this is coming from an introvert!

    • SupeNintendoChalmers on 25/08/2023 - 07:05
      +2

      You taking the piss?

      You can claim electricity and other expenses in your tax, you save $$ on not eating out as much and most importantly, you save time and $$ by not commuting.

  • singingwolf on 23/08/2023 - 09:48
    +1

    The national employment standards under the Fair Work Act give employees the right to request “flexible work arrangements” if they’ve been with the employer for at least 12 months, and:

    • are a parent or carer of a child of school age or younger
    • a carer
    • have a disability
    • are at least 55 years of age
    • are pregnant
    • are experiencing family or domestic violence, or caring or supporting an immediate family or household member experiencing family or domestic violence.

    (not all at the same time 😀 )

    • infinite on 24/08/2023 - 22:09

      Employment legislation also gives the employer the right to acknowledge that request and decline it.

      • singingwolf on 25/08/2023 - 03:00

        Employee has the right to leave and find a job that meets their flexible working requirements. They are slowly disappearing sadly.

  • Rob-4x4 on 23/08/2023 - 09:53
    +9

    If the office was a decent productive environment to work in it would not be so bad.

    But in my case my home office has a better network connection to client networks, better ergonomic gear, vastly better monitor than my office desk.

    Additionally my office desk is in a productivity killing open plan office which as a software engineer are dreadful places to work.. (For those who work in other areas.. Most of my work is like studying math at school.. you need a quiet area with no distractions to do it well.. the complete opposite of the open plan office environments so many of us are forced to work and suffer in these days)

    • vv285 on 23/08/2023 - 09:57

      Exactly! Most of these people dont get this aspect. You dont need social interaction and free coffee to do your job. I keep complaining my IT dept about replacing my mouse and keyboard with new ones and they keep giving me old ones which are no good which is ridiculous.

      I never said no to WFO. People can be in office when its time for meetings etc. But its not needed 100% of the time to do your job. If we are completing the job on time and giving proper productivity where we are shouldnt matter.

      • samfisher5986 on 23/08/2023 - 10:39
        +1

        Like everything, the majority ruin it for the minority.

        In my opinion WFH reduces productivity overall, but it really depends on the industry and type of people.

        • ReaperX22 on 23/08/2023 - 14:25
          +2

          It's really per individual. Some people thrive in a busier/noisier environment where they can just turn out to their colleague and kick up a discussion and brainstorm and get things done.

          Others work better alone at home with less walk-by conversations. And some utilise the extra time they'd normally travel and end up working MORE at home because they're more focussed.

          For me, I'm somewhere between where I have some days where I'm glued to my screen and smash it out, then other days when I just definitely want to chill on the couch instead/get easily distracted by 'oh, it's a nice day, I should do some laundry' etc.

          Our company has no current FORCED requirements to go into the office. I get in usually once a week, though I aim for 2. (I work as an IT Consultant, 100% of my job can be done remotely).

  • monky on 23/08/2023 - 10:00

    For sure go back to the office, but you should start union seeding during your lunch breaks. 👍

  • bman20 on 23/08/2023 - 10:01
    +1

    since its been proven over the last 3 years all over the world and they still insist that we have to be working from the office

    Yes, you are right. It has been proven all over the world that the overwhelming majority of roles are far more productive when done in the office. It is why the vast majority of organisations have mandated returns to the office in one way or another.

    • vv285 on 23/08/2023 - 10:04

      Until they face another mass resignation where they will lie to their new employees to get them to work and then go back on their word when its convenient.

      Sounds good!

      • SwarlesBarkley on 23/08/2023 - 18:05

        Sounds like you think your company is filled with a bunch of liars and you are not a good cultural fit there anyway, so why would you willingly spend any extra days in that place and not just job hunt straight away now?

        Just put yourself out there and apply! Who cares if you don't think you have enough experience, in today's market you might be surprised what you get.

        Worst case scenario, you get more valuable experience with job interviews as it sounds like you haven't been in the workplace for decades. You win no matter what.

      • infinite on 24/08/2023 - 22:11

        Why would getting rid of the hypochondriacs be a bad thing for any office?

    • GettingThePlus190s on 23/08/2023 - 21:14

      Source?

  • kaleidoscope on 23/08/2023 - 10:35
    +1

    Is this fair? Can something be done about this?

    Unless the wfh arrangements when proposed was put into writing on your contracts you have no leg to stand on sadly I guess… With what you said it's very clear they are trying to force people out so they don't have to pay redundancy which is a shitty practice, but there is very little you can do I'm afraid. Put your best foot forward and look into a better job. Good luck!

    p.s.
    I work in IT industry as well and have done wfh arrangements long before covid came. While it used to work well with productivity back in the days and early covid days, when I see what most of my friends and colleagues are doing during wfh hours, it's really absurd. Some people even go on grocery runs and lengthy breaks and it's just really really annoying to see people abuse the freedom they are given. So when companies notice people doing that it's only natural of them to go back to take way that freedom to get back the productivity. It is what it is. I enjoy wfh as it makes me more productive personally and I save about 3 hours of commute time which I use to spend with my son.

    • vv285 on 23/08/2023 - 11:36

      Personally I feel Hybrid is a good model. I prefer to be at home when I have to receive a package or do things like servicing my car or other errands which cant be done after work hours. My job can be done after hours when it can be and when not I can finish up meetings in office. so its not an absurd request since IT jobs are of that nature.

      • bman20 on 23/08/2023 - 18:19

        If you ask me, I think an ultra hybrid model would work where I can do 80 hours one week and then nothing the next. And then I woke up and realised that the people that pay me get to make these decisions.

  • Darayus on 23/08/2023 - 10:35

    Mate, post Covid tough time has started with the increased cost of service and reduction in demand. The cost of finance has gone through the roof. Everyone is doing tough.

    The company is reasonable to ask its employees to return back to work as they have an office and all setup and face-to-face meeting makes sense.

    I am aware that people who are WFH has gone overseas and started asking the company to allow them to continue WFH facility while they are overseas and WFH has become a joke.

    Covid is over and if you feel that you cant come back to your desk then find another job that supports your comfort life around you.

    Get back to your arse otherwise, your job will be permanently outsourced to overseas as they don't find any difficulty to find your replacement at 10% of the cost they are paying you right now.

    • FlyingMiffy on 23/08/2023 - 19:42

      This exactly. I think what makes overt support for pure WFH dangerous is that it is proving to the business that the right knowledge worker can do any role from anywhere… and eventaully that anywhere is not the comfort of your home but rather lower cost centres in a different country with significantly larger talent pipelines. Sure sprinkle the benefits of WFH but dont forget to balance it with the benefit of in person collaboration, otherwise, you're simply giving credit to a global workforce business case where the most attractive option is not an Aus based employee.

  • 2esc on 23/08/2023 - 10:39
    +3

    The problem is a lot of employees need to be supervised to keep productive. The few that are productive are penalised.

    Companies that havent a good measure of their employees productivity resort to this logic of bringing staff back into the office.

    Wife on temporary contract recently basic requirements were for example 80% accuracy she was consistently getting 97-100% yet their were staff with 40% accuracy. This could be measured and those staff lost their jobs.

    • samfisher5986 on 23/08/2023 - 10:46
      +1

      This is exactly it, the majority just do the minimum possible so they can watch Netflix at home instead of working.

      I think WFH on paper can look very good until you start realising that most businesses need employees to have natural downtime to actually perform at their job to a high level.

      Doing the minimum and then immediately watching Netflix doesn't allow an someone to use their brain for anything imaginative.

      From personal experience, my interest in doing something beyond the minimum comes from human interactions with good people.

  • thesilverstarman on 23/08/2023 - 10:40
    +6

    Two words- Real estate.
    Either they own or are buying the building, or are tied into a lease. If staff work from home, they no longer need building space as large. Forcing people to come back to work is a way to justify spending money on real estate.
    Productivity is a smokescreen. Are there KPIs that are not being met? If there are not, then the only other reason is middle managers trying to justify their existence.
    Inflation has risen, and working from home has enabled employees to regain some of the lost real wages by not having to travel to work. If they are forcing you to return, I would be requesting pay rises to cover the cost of inflation. Perhaps suggest that a reduction in office space, and staggering days when people return to the office each week (i.e. if working from the office one day a week, don't have everyone in on the same day) would save a lot of money, more than any unsubstantiated productivity gains ever would.
    The reality is that the world has changed forever due to technology. There is no need to travel to the office to do work that can be done remotely. This also means that office space can be reduced, and is no longer needed to be in the CBD, but can be in the suburbs.

    • samfisher5986 on 23/08/2023 - 10:56
      -1

      The real estate argument never makes sense.

      We have been out of lockdowns for a long time, long enough that leases can be cancelled or alternative measures can be taken.

      If WFH employees were truly performing to the same or higher level then asking staff back to the workplace is going to be a huge extra cost for no reason and can actually send businesses bankrupt as they would be competing against 100% WFH businesses.

      KPI's are only one aspect and a successful business with 100% WFH is going to be a huge challenge for a lot of businesses, many would need to rethink how they do everything where during COVID is was more just coping with it.

      • SupeNintendoChalmers on 25/08/2023 - 07:15
        +2

        We have been out of lockdowns for a long time, long enough that leases can be cancelled or alternative measures can be taken.

        That’s not really how it works.

        Large companies take out 10 year leases and get cheaper rates than a 1 or 3 year lease.

        The caveat is that should they break said lease they’ll need to pay the balance at current market rate ie the 1-3 year rate + penalties + if they’re main tenant there’s signage fees, which are astronomical.

        • samfisher5986 on 25/08/2023 - 09:19

          But again its been a while and they would have done the maths.

          If WFH was truly better they would think of another solution.

          Also thats only the insanely large companies, no smaller companies will be getting 10 year leases, it would be 1 year at most yet they still want employees to come back to the office.

          • SupeNintendoChalmers on 25/08/2023 - 10:12
            +1

            @samfisher5986: I've worked at both small and larger organisations in the city.

            For example, big 4 professional services firm signed on for 10 years contract + signage rights.

            Another, smaller boutique firm I worked for was 5 years, plus signage.

            I'm guessing places like your CBD Starbucks are on 3-5 year contracts, possibly even 10.

            The smaller players would be on 1-3 year contracts, which are crazy high and may include fitout fees.

            edit-

            These larger companies do not want to pay to break their contracts so that they do not waste so much money. They have most certainly done a risk analysis and determine that losing staff because of WFH changes is less expensive than pay to break a lease.

            • samfisher5986 on 25/08/2023 - 10:49
              +1

              @SupeNintendoChalmers: I agree.

              So given that Covid was 2020, we are already nearly 4 years into it, thats enough time for companies to have considered their future plans and get out of having real estate if they want to.

              As I said, the real estate argument doesn't make sense.

              • SupeNintendoChalmers on 25/08/2023 - 11:22

                @samfisher5986: possibly, lots of factors I suppose, some may have just signed on before everything went to custard.

                Others may well have a managerial-style, that measures productivity as being able to physically see a person on site. Others may have done some level of analysis and determined that some workers are not as productive WFH, or maybe they do not have any reliable way to measure productiveness for staff WFH, so maybe case of better the devil you know.

                Some larger institutions, such as banks are heavily invested in real estate and businesses in the CBD, so its in their interests to ensure that these building and businesses are making money for their shareholders.

    • infinite on 24/08/2023 - 22:15
      -1

      TL/DR, your boss can have someone in India WFH produce the same work as you for a fraction of the price. Enjoy redundancy.

      • samfisher5986 on 25/08/2023 - 09:19

        Not right now but give it 2-3 years while AI improves and becomes more trusted.

  • navegante88 on 23/08/2023 - 11:10
    +4

    My sympathies OP, definitely would not want to be in your situation (especially if WFH was offered in the initial job ad you responded to). If this were to happen with me, I would definitely struggle as I am not great at finding a new job and wouldn't just be able to quit on a whim.

  • SpaceNinja on 23/08/2023 - 11:33
    +10

    Going to the office:

    1) $7 - 1 hr travel
    2) $12 for breakfast
    3) Casual talks
    4) $22 for lunch
    5) Not the best IT gear
    6) Internet troubles
    7) Not enough meeting spaces
    8) $6 for afternoon coffee
    9) $7 - 1 hr travel home
    Result: $54 spent, plus lost time and energy.

    • fezzo on 23/08/2023 - 13:01

      Things I've been doing to minimise costs of going into the office:
      * Prepare and eat breakfast at home
      * Pack a homemade lunch, or purchase ready-made meals to take into the office (comes to about $10-15 per meal)
      * Make coffee at home and take to work in a tumbler or travel mug with good insulation
      * Swap afternoon coffee for tea, fruit, nuts or other healthy snack

      Of course the trade-off is waking up earlier and a bit of extra time to prepare and pack, and I understand this isn't going to work for everyone. But I've been doing this for a few months now and saving around $15 a day.

      • samfisher5986 on 23/08/2023 - 15:42

        Just meal prep all your breakfasts and lunches and then you have $3 meals and you don't have to wake up earlier.

      • congo on 23/08/2023 - 21:10

        Tried instant noodles & instant coffee every day to save money.
        It wasn't healthy.
        Lunch are usually $15.
        If I can travel via bus or train, then I would get a Steam Deck.
        But unfortunately driving is expensive! Sydney tolls, parking and petrol are the killer !

        • keejoonc on 24/08/2023 - 09:12

          Hint hint. Prep lunch at home?

          • congo on 24/08/2023 - 09:23

            @keejoonc: Don't cook much at home either!
            By the time I get home, it's too late to cook.

            • keejoonc on 24/08/2023 - 09:24
              -1

              @congo: That sort of excuse is used by the lazy people. If you truly lack the time during weeknights to cook lunch. You can always cook in bulk on weekends.

              • congo on 24/08/2023 - 09:26
                +1

                @keejoonc: It isn't fair to category me as lazy. Far from it, I work 2 jobs including on the weekend.
                I work a lot more than the normal 40 hours per week.
                Not everyone has it lucky.

                • keejoonc on 24/08/2023 - 09:27

                  @congo: Mate, cooking lunch takes 30 mins if that. Or you can just cook more during dinner and bring the leftover for lunch.

                  • congo on 24/08/2023 - 09:28

                    @keejoonc: You are making a lot of assumptions. You don't understand it, don't worry.

                    • keejoonc on 24/08/2023 - 09:30
                      -1

                      @congo: What's there to not understand? There's almost no one, who can't spare 15-30 mins in the day to cook lunch. No one is that busy.

                      • congo on 24/08/2023 - 09:32

                        @keejoonc: Exactly, you've got a rigid and ungenerous perspective on the world.

                        • keejoonc on 24/08/2023 - 09:33

                          @congo: You've got time to be on ozbargain and post comments and yet you are telling me you can't afford 15-30mins to cook lunch. You tell me. Do you think anyone is going to believe you? And judging by some of your posts, you have time to play games on PC AND consoles too. Sure sounds like you are too busy to cook lunch. LOL
                          More like you are too lazy.

                          • congo on 24/08/2023 - 10:07

                            @keejoonc: Yes, I have purchased a large library of games and blu-rays, but sadly when I am home, I am too tired to play them …also there is no kitchen or microwave where I work, just hot water.
                            When you work 2-3 full time jobs, the only thing you want to do when you get home is sleep.
                            Also, I am a bad cook.

                            • keejoonc on 24/08/2023 - 10:34
                              +1

                              @congo: Excuses, excuses. If there's no kitchen or microwave, how hard is it to just wack together a sandwich? It doesn't even require any cooking skill and will literally take a few mins.

                              • congo on 24/08/2023 - 10:49
                                +1

                                @keejoonc: Yes, I have been eating sandwiches! It was healthier than instant noodles.
                                I am just saying that you cannot blanket everyone as lazy.
                                It isn't right. Some people have different circumstances.

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