'Nobody is questioning it': Employee submits Work From Home requests to HR, they never approve, he goes remote anyway and gets away with it

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Nov 1, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

Imagine getting away with this kind of corporate sorcery! We know that most companies that have since gone through the whole "return to office" process are pretty strict about in-person policies. Often what happens in a corporate environment is a gradual return to in-person work. It might start at a couple of days a week, but it also may gradually increase to a set period of mandatory days in a largely vacant office environment. Remember: it's all about the "culture." Just kidding, it's all about control and justifying a lease, but fools can dream that it's about the culture, I suppose.

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  • 01
    Computer - "I stopped coming into the office"
    via Austin Poon

  • This thread was posted to Reddit's r/WFH subreddit by u/Shoot_2_Thrill, who shared how he managed to get away with working remotely and never coming into the office without any consequences. Essentially, he realized after a series of debilitating headaches that he was better off working remotely. He got a doctor's note requesting for a few weeks of remote work, but HR never got back to him. Evidently, they meet weekly to review and approve/deny these requests, but they haven't been meeting. This meant that OP could just continue to submit these requests and work remotely until he was called out for it, which he never was. Talk about a useless HR department!

    For more stories like this, check out this collection of industry secrets. 

  • 02
    Font - I stopped coming into the office and... nothing happened Well there's actually some context but that's the gist. Long story short, I work for a very large company. Several thousand employees all across the country. I was 100% in office for years, including any OT. Then in March 2020 they told us to stop coming into the office... and work went on. Everybody got their jobs done from home.
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 03
    Font - Then RTO happened in March 2022, three days a week. Then they went to 4 days a week a few months ago. It I have a nice home office. My chair is more comfortable. I have windows and sunlight. My monitors are much bigger. I can have music or videos in the background, and I am sooo0 much more productive at home. But I only worked from home one day a week, plus OT. So in total, up to 30 hours a week from home, and 32 hours in office. Not bad.
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 04
    Font - But sometime in December I started to get headaches on days I was in the office. They really started to affect my work performance. I didn't realize how bad it got until I went on vacation for 2 weeks and felt better. It was like waking up from a dream. So when I got back, I went to the doctor and asked them to write me out. They did for two weeks.
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 05
    Font - It took a few days for my headache to go away. And then I was free. But here's the crazy part. I sent the medical accommodation to HR, and they said they'll review and approve it. And they just never got back to me! I followed up daily until they said they have a committee that meets once a week to approve these requests. And I guess they just haven't been meeting? When my two weeks were up, I got another note for a month. Submitted that one and again, zero movement. My plan is to get the
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 06
    Font - So officially, I am cleared to WFH until the committee approves me working from home. Bureaucracy at its finest! So technically, I am not approved to WFH, but I gave my management an excuse and stopped showing up. Nobody is questioning it. Honestly I could have made something up and nobody would care. I just got lost in the cracks. Wild.
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 07
    Font - The affects of being back at home are massive. I've lost about 15 pounds this month. I'm eating better, I have time to take long walks. My relationship with my wife improved. I get to play with the kids. I'm sleeping much better as well, and without meds! Almost no snoring which makes my wife happy. And most importantly, I haven't had a headache in almost a month. A feel like a new man.
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 08
    Font - 200 2201 Rammus2201 2 days ago What difference does WFH really make to corporations? We see that the result is obviously nothing. The Earth doesn't stop turning and the sun will still rise. 395 Reply Share
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 09
    Font - HelpQuestion101. 2 days ago It's all about control and the useless middle manager class needs to walk around the office to make themselves look busy and important 235 Reply Share
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 10
    Font - Lucky__Flamingo. 2 days ago Middle managers aren't the ones designing the policy. We're stuck enforcing policies we may disagree with. OP gave their immediate supervisor a fig leaf. The fact that nobody is rushing them back is evidence of passive noncompliance at the supervisor level. Don't make waves and rejoice. 145 Reply Share
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 11
    Font - mrsisaak 1 day ago Yesterday I received an e-mail entitled "Badge Report Review". I'm like, is this?". Turns out my employer is running reports on when we enter the building. Who knew? My employer is considered "One of the best places to work". This me off. We were not told this is happening and my "report" indicated that I was only in the office 52% of the time when it's supposed to be 60%.
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 12
    Font - Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm, I was out of town for a week for a WORK CONFERENCE, there was an out-of- office WORK GATHERING and I took some PAID TIME OFF which, last I heard, is an OK thing to do. So if you can't run this reported CORRECTLY, Oare you running it at all? BTW, we were mandated to be in the office on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (despite workers previously finding a 3 day/week schedule that worked for them) only for my managers to schedules meetings on Mondays and Fridays so I was
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 13
    Font - gotrdjrr78 2 days ago Somewhat similar situation. I have an ADA accommodation that was to be renewed or made permanent. The original HR contact vanished. Mgt claimed my WFH exemption was set to expire, which was news to me. Connected with new HR contact, but she wasn't clear on what I needed to do next. Since I didn't receive clear instructions, I pinged her to follow up, but crickets. She's still working for the company. I'll reach out often enough to demonstrate that we're "engaged in a
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 14
    Font - Shoot_2_Thrill OP 2 days ago Yeah I'm the senior member of our team and do more work then the rest combined. So they really don't want to lose me. On top of that, they are risking a legal mess if they refuse a valid medical accommodation. So it seems like they are ok with just leaving the situation as-is.
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 15
    Font - But the limbo is crazy. HR honestly just drags a company down. Those are the ones who set the RTO - but get this: They made themselves exempt! The entire company was back 3 days a week except for them. CEO stepped in a year later and made them RTO too lol.
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 16
    Font - What do those idiots do all day? I've never gotten a response from them on anything in the past. But for the first time, it works out in my favor.
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 17
    Product - phdoofus 1 day ago Next thing you need to work on is working 62 hours a week
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 18
    Font - Shoot_2_Thrill OP. 1 day ago Nope. I have no issue answering emails from the couch in the evening and being paid for it. And getting a few things done on the weekend as well. This is how I provide for my family.
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 19
    Font - My issues were wasting time commuting which obviously isn't paid, and my headaches. Also I said "up to" 62. I'm usually around 50 ish for the week. So that's only an hour or so after work and a few hours on Saturday morning. Then maybe Sunday night. Honestly not bad at all, and the pay is great. OT is optional. Nobody is forcing me. They'll have to pry the extra hours out of my cold dead hands.
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill
  • 20
    Font - Fantastic-Surprise98. 1 day ago Don't shake the tree. Lie down in its shade.
    via u/Shoot_2_Thrill

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