Employee outsmarts toxic management's unreasonable free labor expectations after denying him WFH privileges: ‘My contract says that I am prohibited [from] work[ing] from home’

Author image for Lana DeGaetano
Lana DeGaetano • "Show me to me please."
Jul 24, 2024 6:00 PM EDT
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  • Before work-from-home structures became popularized in more recent years, it was expected that employees enter the office, in person, every day. Of course, a lot has changed since then, so there's a bit more leniency when it comes to on-site, remote, and hybrid companies. Finding a remote-leaning position 10 years ago sounds like a fluke — the term “remote” was barely thrown around back then. Even then, finding a work-life balance when working from home is difficult at times because there is no physical separation between “work you” and ‘home you". This balance is even more laborious when your bosses expect you to work in the office and work from home. With no overtime.

    The employee in this story was looking for a job with a lenient WFH policy. In his last job, the policy was beneficial for him and the reader can infer that his position does not require him to be in office, anyway. Well, when he finally landed a job offer, he asked about their WFH policy and was met with a stone wall. They strictly prohibited the concept, and though OP was bummed, he decided to take the job. After initial training and knowledge transfers, this employee was assigned 80 hours worth of tasks and was expected to finish them in six days. He was not offered overtime and management expected him to bring his work laptop home. This is where it gets fun. Wasn't he strictly prohibited from WFH? Or does that only count when he's working during company hours? No extra pay for 12-hour work days? Read the rest of the story to hear it from OP. 

  • 01
    Strictly Work from Office
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  • 02
    Backstory: This happened almost 10 years ago. I was looking for a change from my 1st job. My first company had a great WFH policy, so I was looking for an opportunity with a similar WFH policy.
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  • 03
    Story: Back in 2014-15, I was looking for a job. 2 years had passed in my 1st job, and I was looking for a better opportunity. At the time, I was working as a Java developer at a company that is known as a Telecom service provider. I was finding several
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    opportunities, but none had a good WFH policy, and I had grown quite accustomed to the policy my 1st company had. This was years before normalized WFH, and it was hard to find a good WFH policy at most companies.
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    Eventually I had to forego of my requirements. I was about to join a company, and I asked the HR about WFH and received the most strict response that I had received of all the companies before it is a strictly WFO - opportunity. The pay was really
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    opportunity. The pay was really good, almost twice what I was making, so I tried my best to look at that bright side. I also ask HR to add this "strictly WFO only" in my contract. Thinking they have got the better of me, they oblige. This additional clause would later lead me to the MC in question.
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  • 07
    After joining and getting inducted into the project team, I found out that the team was short at least 4 people. Due to this, everyone was overworked, and people were working 60-70 hours' weeks while getting no OT. I was the only one with my area of
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    expertise, and I was taken as a replacement of someone who was about to leave. Beginning of the second week, and there is a meeting where the domain lead comes up and congratulates the team regarding their latest
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  • 09
    success, explains how the project has made the company a hefty profit and how we are going to get a pizza party soon. I realize right then and there the toxic culture the company has, where people overworking without additional pay or promotion/bonus when it makes the company money.
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    I make sure to get a locker at the office and start leaving my laptop at the office locker at the end of the day. For the first 3 weeks, this poses no problem, as I am getting training (knowledge
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    transfer). Once my training is completed and the person training me leaves, I get my first batch of work. The work volume will easily take 80 hours - that's 2 business weeks. I am given 6 days to complete it.
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    I work at my normal pace. At the end of the 6th day, lead asks me for the delivery of my part, and I say that I am only 60% done, and it will take me another 4 days to complete. Apparently that's not gonna cut it, and I am pulled into a meeting with the project
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    manager. He wants to know what the problem is. I tell him - this requires 80 hours, I have done about 6 days of work, which is 48 hours. I need additional 4 days. He says, and I quote: "Work at
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    home, that's why you have a laptop that you can take home." Cue MC. I politely apologize and say that I am unable to do so as my contract says that I am prohibited to work from home.
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    Manager is not convinced. He schedules a new meeting the next day with me and HR to go through my contract. There it is, in black and white: Working from Office only, Working from home not permitted. I mention that I had tried my best to get WFH before joining, and was vehemently denied the opportunity to. Manager is at a loss of words, HR is also dumbfounded.
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    Long story short, for the next 8 months, I worked at my normal pace. During end of year salary review discussion, I am given the opportunity to work from home. I ask them to add OT clause that would pay me additional for every hour worked after 8 hours everyday. They disagreed, I disagreed to take WFH. Every other team mate refused WFH in their salary review and asked for OT clause as well.
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  • 17
    We stopped getting pizza parties.
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  • 18
    foil_k 20h ago • That last line is brilliant.
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  • 19
    Saint_of_Stinkers . 19h ago Did you all get paper hats. and ice cream at the pizza party? It is not really a party without paper hats and ice. cream.
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    sydmanly 17h ago Who works 30 hours for free a week? What company expects that as well? Oh, that's alright. Will give you two dollars worth of pizza.
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  • 21
    ChiTownBob • 19h ago A great example of "unpaid overtime = corporate welfare"
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  • 22
    molewarp • 20h ago How on earth did you all survive without your couple of tepid slices of pizza?
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