'[The company] will be charged at $20000 annually': IT guy forced to work from an office where they can't work as part of their company's "Return to Office" strategy, stalling productivity and incurring massive expenses

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Jul 28, 2024 10:00 AM EDT

If you're being required to work from a specific location, it doesn't really make any sense at all if you can't actually work from that location. Like, at that point, what's the point?.. All it's doing is servicing the ego of the person ordering you around in a self-defeating "Do it because I said so," type of way.

We've seen a few stories pop up like this from time to time, and they usually result in the person being ordered around getting less work than they were initially before someone higher up the chain notices what's going on and steps in. In this specific tale, this IT guy was being made to work from a location that wasn't suited for his accommodations, and he wound up getting nothing done at all until the higher-ups got involved, with the whole ordeal stalling progress and costing a bunch of money in the process. 

For the purpose of readability on this one, keep in mind that "MNC" is probably "Multi-National Corporation," and "grandfather" is likely just a translational error of the author referring to their boss' boss. 

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10380573440
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  • 02
    Return to office to increase productivity? LOC Backstory: I was recruited by an IT MNC during Covid. My manager is extremely chill and an outstanding leader. My grandfather (Manager's manager) is a stickler for rules. For the purpose of this post, I will address my manager as SK & my grandfather as MD (just abbreviations of their names). I work as infrastructure and configuration manager. Work passes through my gate first, and if I don't pass it, it doesn't go to the next team. I act as a chokin
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  • 03
    Story: When I joined, there was no office in my city. My joining was at a city over 1100 miles away. All joining formalities were done online. Since then I have never been to the office, except for a 2 weeks' workshop, for which I was flown in by the company. 3 months ago, a new office has opened up in my city with just 14 people, my official location was transferred here to show the minimum number 15 required to open an office as per bylaws.
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  • 04
    We are an IT MNC that provides service to an automotive corporation. My work is completely remote, so I never need to go to the office. I also really enjoy WFH. The company started elective WFO last year & hybrid at the beginning of this year, but everything was mostly dependent on Manager's approval. SK is onsite in a different country. He has never asked any team member to work from office. MD on the other hand, expects everyone to return to the office fulltime. Usually we are protected from t
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  • 05
    Recently SK has transferred to a different team in the same project, and a different guy is now managing our team. SK remains as my manager, but I no longer get to collaborate with him on my work, which is a huge bummer. The new guy is new to the company and easily swayed by MD.
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  • 06
    MD is originally from my city and decides to come back to his city to oversee the new office. The first thing he decides is everyone in this city should work from office. The other 14 are not affected, as they were already working from office. They work with specialized hardware that is only available at the office. The only one affected is me. I try to tell him that this will reduce my productivity. He is not convinced. I discuss my situation with SK. He sympathizes, but is not in a position to
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  • 07
    Now, I am a tall guy with several orthopedic challenges. I need my workstation & chair of specific dimensions. At home, I have set it up over the last 3 years, but setting the same thing up at a new office is troublesome. However, I have been ordered to return to the office. Cue MC. On my first day at the office (~16 days ago), I talk to the building manager and present him with my workstation requirements. Each requirement mentions the corresponding OSHA violation if not adhered to. He tells me
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  • 08
    I spend the next 2 weeks at the office. relaxation zone, which has a chair on which I can be seated without hurting my back. However, it is not a work-desk, so while I am at the office, I cannot work. Suddenly everything is running really slow. Teams are sitting idly because work is stalled at my gate. There are biweekly deliveries across multiple milestones. About 6-12 deliveries every month. We miss 7 deliveries during that window.
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  • 09
    MD is are stalled. The new manager is also confused. This is escalated to the CEO and he asks SK to consult for his old project to see what went wrong. It takes SK 30 mins to realize that my gate is stalled. He asks me on teams to join the call to discuss what's wrong. I am obviously not on my laptop. It takes a lot of back and forth, but eventually MD himself gets out of his room and searches for me. However, the office relaxation zone is on a different floor. He cannot find me, and decides to
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  • 10
    The conversation goes like this: • MD: Where are you? I couldn't find you in our floor. Can you please come to my room? • Me: Sure. I come to his room and tell him what the issue is. • MD: Why didn't you tell me this 2 weeks ago? • Me: I did. I told you making me come to the office will reduce my productivity. And the workstation issue is a building manager issue, it has nothing to do with you, hence I did not inform you. My manager knows about it (I had informed SK when I joined the company). •
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  • 11
    Next day, which was last Friday, I am WFH. The call with SK happens before lunch. CEO joins the call as well. SK asks me why things are stalled at my gate. Before I say anything, MD jumps in and says that it was a minor issue and that work will be cleared fast. But CEO wants to know what's what. So I present my case. SK agrees with me when I mention my condition. He also mentions that this was specifically mentioned in his handover to the new manager when he left the team. I am then asked to lea
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  • 12
    After lunch, there is another call among MD, SK, building manager and me. Building Manager informs us that it will cost the company ~$2500 to set up my workstation. Since it is a non-standard workstation, it needs to be placed in its separate room. Room will be charged at $20000 annually. It will take 30 days to get everything ready if we decide to go ahead. MD tells me he will let me know what is decided by coming Tuesday.
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  • 13
    It's Sunday today, and I decided to write. this up after I received a call from SK in the morning. Apparently, MD is done working in his city and will go back next week. I can continue working from home. My workstation, chair and separate room will be ready by the end of next month, and I am welcome to work from office whenever I want.
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  • 14
    Affectionate-Low8342 2 hr. ago What's MNC stand for? scyllafren 2 hr. ago Probably Multi National Company
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  • 15
    SubstantialBass9524 46 min. ago Sad that you had to fight your grandfather in the workplace about this. kuldan5853 30 min. ago I think he means grandboss, not grandfather. This looks like a language mixup.
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  • 16
    mizinamo 41 min. ago • For the purpose of this post, I will address my manager as SK & my grandfather as MD (just abbreviations of their names). No, please don't use abbreviations as names. Call them Bob and Dave or something.
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  • 17
    Lori2345 13 min. ago • Why would the room your workstation be in be charge $20,000 annually? What is needed in the room that could cost so much?
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