The fully remote policy was a major factor in my decision to join. Now they're talking about mandatory inoffice days. Has anyone successfully pushed back against changing work arrangements? What wa...

Welcome to Indian Startups's Private Community

The fully remote policy was a major factor in my decision to join. Now they're talking about mandatory in-office days. Has anyone successfully pushed back against changing work arrangements? What was your approach?

Company asking us to come back to work.

Company asking us to come back to work.- Grapevine

Kailash (Zerodha CTO) published a blog on Zerodha asking everyone to come back to office - https://zerodha.tech/blog/remoteness-of-remote-work/. Most companies have now gone back to office. 
Do people find work in office (hybrid or fulltime) to be productive? 
How can people convince orgs to be remote or how can companies better convince people to come back to office?

Zerodha announces Return to Office

Engineering Manager

Welcome to Office Gossip's Private Community

My Indonesian based firm just announced mandatory work from the office within a few months and leadership was just heartless about this move :(.

I just shifted back to my hometown from Bangalore with my family and just sorted schooling for my kid.
Now I have to travel back to the expensive city . Please help a friend out with interesting roles in companies doing remote work.

Companies with remote work and decent WLB

DevOps Engineer

Welcome to Software Engineers's Private Community

I'm in an Indian crypto startup about 1y5m into existence and our product is in early beta right now. I've been a part since about 1y3m. I was the first hire.

The reason I'm considering a switch is because i was told we're a remote first company at the time of interviewing and after my joining they switched to in-office and all hires after me were required to relocate. They haven't made it a requirement for me yet.
I can't relocate, but now everyone except me is in-office and there's always a disconnect between me and the team. 

Decisions and discussions are done without me and I'm just told what they concluded. Sometimes even deadlines are set without informing me about the task even and i have to work/manage according to them.

I'm also technically the senior-most person after the CTO/manager (all others are either freshers or 1YOE). This has sort of restricted my growth as there's no one to review my prs or someone i can have a deep dive technical conversation with.

By how much I understand the manager and team are happy with me and my work. Also, I'm possibly the highest paid dev even as compared to the ones with the similar YOE.

I'm a frontend/fullstack engineer and the quality of work seems fine but i feel i could be doing and learning more in my field.

The culture and WLB has changed slowly for the worse as compared to when i was hired. 
Stuff like the leave policy and the whole in-office thing are the negatives.
But the manager doesn't ping me much regarding my work so that's a plus.

Switching doesn't feel ethical as the majority of the code is written by me and we're an early stage startup.
Not to mention with layoffs happening all around and a possible recession around the corner, it's not the best choice to switch i guess.

Any suggestions would be helpful!

If your company is hiring please let me know that as well.

TC - ₹18lakhs pa
YOE - 1y4m + 1y6m if you count startup contract work as exp

Should I switch?

Software Engineer

Been thinking about how remote work has changed the game for new hires. At my company, we've had to completely overhaul our onboarding process. It's been a real challenge trying to make newbies feel part of the team when they've never even set foot in our office. 

We've tried virtual coffee chats and online team-building activities, but it's not quite the same. 

How has your company handled this? Have you found any creative ways to build company culture in a remote setting?

Remote Onboarding: How to break the ice with new hires you've never met?

Welcome to News Discussion's Private Community

- Amazon's HR executive, Beth Galetti, defended the company's 5-day office work policy, stating it's a return to pre-pandemic approach. 
- Galetti mentioned young employees' desire for in-office mentorship as a reason for the policy. 
- CEO Andy Jassy emphasized that office presence facilitates collaboration and strengthens company culture. 
- Amazon is also developing an AI 'culture coach' for employee feedback. 
- Critics argue the policy may lead to resignations due to concerns about commutes, housing costs, and work-life balance.

Source: [Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/amazon-defends-5-day-work-from-office-policy-were-trying-to-get/articleshow/114041805.cms)

Amazon Defends Return-to-Office Mandate Amid Employee Backlash

Journalist

Hi all, 

I'm a PM with 3 years of B2C experience working at a mid sized startup. I recently joined and the toxic culture around being at office all the time is taking a toll on me. The founder is unwilling to even consider medical / health related issues for giving WFH and deliberately schedules meetings at 7-7:30 PM so that people stay longer hours. 

HR never told me about such strict aversion to WFH or flexible timings during hiring and now I feel stuck. Unfortunately, I have heard it's the same with a lot of companies - even big sized unicorns. 

I have now decided to only and exclusively be open to remote jobs coming from US/EU startups even if they happen to pay me lesser. If you're someone who's in similar company, can you please tell me the process of how you cracked it? And if there's an opening somewhere, would you be willing to refer me?

Thanks a lot

People who have gotten remote PM jobs - How?

Product Manager

Companies have started posting bad things about wfh. Stuff like cultural integration is not achieved in this model. I call it bullshit. Asking employees work from the office is the easiest way to control attrition. COVID WFH saw record attrition , all thanks to remote work. Models are faster becoming business centric than employee centric , which is good , but competent employees must be given a chance to support their families by remote work.

Goodbye wfh

Security Engineer

Companies are asking employees to return to office. What are some options for people willing to continue WFH?

I know:
- Headout
- Razorpay
- Hotstar

WFH options

I wanted to bring up an interesting workplace policy change that's recently been implemented at my company. They've decided to make it mandatory for employees to be online on Discord in a voice call during working hours. This decision has sparked quite a debate among my colleagues, and I'm curious to hear your thoughts on what would constitute an ideal feedback on this workplace culture change.

Some employees argue that this policy enhances communication and collaboration, especially in a remote work environment. They say it can replicate the casual, in-person conversations and camaraderie that have been lost in the transition to remote work.

On the other hand, many employees are concerned about the impact on work-life balance and privacy. They feel that being constantly on a voice call can be invasive and distracting, leading to burnout and decreased productivity. They also worry about potential privacy issues when it comes to discussing personal matters or dealing with sensitive information.

What is your overall opinion on the mandatory Discord voice call policy?

Discussing the New Workplace Policy: Mandatory Discord Voice Calls

Product Owner

I was always used to working from the office.

COVID changed the game and made remote mandatory. I didn't like it. I used to yearn to go to the office and finally changed jobs to an on site only role a year later just so that I could work from the office.

But now I miss remote work. The one year sub consciously charged me.

Interested to know some of your stories.

Remote work conundrum

Share your employer toxic trait/policy.

I'll go first 👇🏻

- My employer hired me when it was Fully WFH, now they force me to join office after 8 months of joining.
- Attend 5 days/week
- No hybrid
- Biometric system to track attendance 
- Complete 180 hours in a month or pay cut
- No relocation support
- Less appraisal (~5%) citing market conditions.
- Removed unlimited leaves just a few days below announcing WFO.

FYI: I was named best employee for 2023 Q1

Toxic company traits

Companies are asking to come to office for 5 days? Whaat? How common is this now?

5 days?

Data Scientist

Now why everyone is talking about benefits of working from office?
I saw post from Sunil Shetty on linkedin.

My take is, when pandemic hit companies asked employees to WFH to keep wheel rolling.
Now we know WFH can give greater control over personal and professional life(at least for me) we don’t want to go back to office.

In my opinion corporate want us to work from office cause,

- they can control our time, 9hrs in ofc, you are getting paid for time not skills.
- they want to show who is the boss here.
- Learning is key reason for WFO, bullshit, we have a lot of learning portals and traffic time can be used to learn but it is never a intention.

What you guys think?

WFH vs WFO

WFO- if you’re at entry level/early days of your career 
 WFH- works for mid- senior folks

Strategy & Operations

Network Administrator

Discussion has shifted to productivity in work from office vs work from home debate. I feel it’s a narrative which is kind of created by employers and their pr firms.

In reality it’s more about the power dynamics between employers and employees.

Employers are reclaiming control over their workforce by making work from office mandatory. By enforcing work from office policies, companies are subtly reminding employees of the limited job market, making them feel tethered to their current positions.

Controversial Opinion on WFH vs RTO

I know this is not what majority of people like to listen, but for people coming from other cities with no friends and poor social skills, working remote or hybrid starts taking a toll on your mental health. 

The isolation it brings is so overwhelming. You feel trapped and frustrated, when there's no one to talk to.

Sometimes, I feel the quality of life of our kind of lower than street vendors at least they have people they can talk to. I just hate the way we are wired to be social animals yet find it overly difficult to connect with people.

Unpopular Opinion: I prefer Work from Office

If you are early stage of your career if you don't have responsibility at home you should come to office it's a healthy approach but for people like me who has already spend more than a decade in office life and has a small child at home working for home is like a saviour for me and my wife

Senior Engineer

Software Developer

In the post Covid era when people are actually back to flooding offices and the highways are back to being jammed 24/7 and the elevator space is being hogged by everyone who has to get off before you, is remote still preferred?

Is remote working still the preferred mode?

Human Resources

With all this talk about quiet quitting and burnout, it seems like the traditional 9-5 grind is losing its appeal. I've noticed more of my colleagues advocating for flexible schedules and remote work options. 

Has this shift in priorities played out in your workplace too? How has your company responded to demands for better work-life balance? Do you think this is the new normal, or just a temporary reaction to the pandemic?

Quiet quitting, burnout, and the shift away from the 9-5: Is this the new normal for work-life balance?

I'm currently working from home .
My office is also very near to where I stay.
I have got an offer from another company , which is very far from my home and the recruiter is saying that you may have to come once in a while .

My concern is that , how do I convince them to give me permanent work from home .
Should I talk to the recruiter (HR) or should I directly talk to the senior most person (Director-who took the interview).

Although once in a while is ok with me , but if the company tomorrow says that you have to come once in a week , then that will be a challenge for me .

I want to grow in life but also can't leave my family .

What should I do ?

Company asking us to come back to work.

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