‘The CEO didn't like it’: Remote employee gets reprimanded after his daughter appeared on camera during a late-night meeting, leading employee to reconsider his position

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    Cheezburger Image 10404390144
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    5yo daughter appears on camera for 2 seconds and I get a call from HR
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    I am a senior remote employee navigating a new-ish job. I typically work all hours, signing on at 6:30AM and finishing around 9PM -- but I still do
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    things like drop my kids off at school etc mid day. I attend a recurring 8:30PM leadership meeting. My wife was out of town last week, so I gave
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    my 5yo daughter a tablet and let her sit in the office while I took the 8:30PM call. At one point she got up and momentarily peered over my shoulder. It didn't cause
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    a disturbance and I wasnt even embarrassed. These things happen right? At 4:30 on Friday I got a call from HR sharing that the CEO didn't
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    like my child appearing in the video and he is now requiring I work from a WeWork. I politely declined and said I would not be going to a WeWork
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    -- The company reconsidered, but now I dont think I can work here any more. Am I being unreasonable or would other remote jobs freak out like this?
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    LiveDirtyEatClean ⚫ 23h ago To be honest the fact that you work from 6:30-9 is insane and you should just get a new job because of that alone
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    wesblog OP 23h ago I probably only do a reasonable 40- 45 hours of solid work/meetings each week, but I remain online and available as much as possible to avoid blocking tasks that may rely on me... This setup always worked well for me in past roles, but I dont think it is working at this company.
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    wesblog OP 23h ago I have full time childcare until 7PM and after that my wife typically helps out if I have meetings. This happened to be a week my wife was out of town and a late meeting.
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    Living_Sign912 • 1d ago You are not being unreasonable. It's not like this is a regular occurrence or you don't have childcare in the middle of the day. It's a call outside normal working hours and no big deal. I've had it happen many times
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    with my colleagues and even once, with a recruiter, and I didn't blink. I'm confused why they would make such a big deal out of this. For context, is the full team also in your time zone?
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    wesblog OP⚫ 1d ago The CEO is young so maybe he doesnt have much perspective. Some of the C-suite works out of PT so the meeting is only 5:30PM for them.
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    I've worked remotely for several companies over the past 4 years and never had this problem. I also dont want to be terrified that my daughter may cry or escape the nanny and pop into the office at some point in the future.
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    Environmental-Leg 180 1d ago First, why are you attending meetings at 8:30pm? Is it a time zone issue? Why are you working such long hours (I understand there are breaks in between for personal stuff). Does the company expect that from you?
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    I don't think what happened with your child was that bad...it would be different if you were in an important call and the child is throwing a tantrum/screaming etc for longer than 30 seconds.
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    Ideally, as a remote employee you should be free from distractions but it's incredibly unrealistic when you have children, pets, or room mates in the home who may or may not be capable of/or willing to respect boundaries that you set.
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    If a company is going to be this difficult in this situation I can't imagine what they would do if were to hit the fan and you would need actual support and flexibility or something.
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    wesblog OP 23h ago Its a startup so I do my best to keep things moving quickly by being responsive and taking meetings when others are available. I think I feel so betrayed because I believe I have been going beyond normal expectations and being criticized for it. It would have been pretty normal for me to decline most, if not all, after hours meetings.
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    Environmental-Leg 180 23h ago Are you getting compensated enough for this? I'm not against going above and beyond...but it sounds like they're just taking advantage of you and on top of that they're being difficult about
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    a situation that isn't even that bad in my opinion. You shouldn't feel like you have to be flexible for them if they're not going to offer you the same thing.
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    wesblog OP • 23h ago It is pretty good compensation. I think it is enough for me to work very hard, but not enough for me to feel unappreciated or fearful of my work environment.
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    Return Economy • 23h ago Name and shame
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    wesblog OP 23h ago Maybe after I secure a new job ;)
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    Sir_Icy_Farts 23h ago They want you to work from a wework because you are also taking care of a child or because the child appeared on camera or both? Either way, that is nonsense. Hold the job but defn
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    start looking for a different job. I can't stand companies that don't create space for doing life things as long as work is getting done. Most companies wouldn't react this way I think.
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    wesblog OP • 23h ago I think the CEO was irked that I didn't have childcare so I couldnt be fully committed to the work -- though there was nothing to indicate my performance or attention. suffered.
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    lovehydrangeas • 1d ago The job is weird for having meetings at 8:30pm. Is the company 24 hours? I don't know what we work is but I don't think you're being unreasonable
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    wesblog OP 23h ago Some of the team is in PT and a few members are in Asia.
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    artful_todger_502 ⚫23h ago I work remote and on calls all the time. I'm an independent contractor so I deal with a lot of different companies, and even the ones with high level of obnoxious people don't even use cameras after
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    onboarding rituals. Forcing cameras is for blohard managers, more than anything else. Kids are part of life. I'd be very wary of someone who thought your tiny episode of life was an issue of any degree PPPPP
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    wesblog OP⚫ 23h ago Funny enough -- I am one of the few people who keeps my camera on during our meetings. I think it helps connect with the team. I never suspected it would cause an issue.
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    geckograham • 23h ago Maybe you could save a lot of money on the nanny by not working 14 1/2 hours a day? What are you doing with your life man?!?
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    wesblog OP 23h ago I probably only do 40-45 hours of true work/meetings each week. I just remain online and available as much as possible so I can provide quick responses and keep tasks moving.
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    • Temporary_Role_3247 23h ago Hourly? Salary? Is your extra time being "available" being compensated for? If you're not being comped for such definitely look for something less toxic. Even if you are being comped, still look elsewhere. Management is being ridiculous.
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    wesblog OP• 22h ago It is salary with good compensation. But I dont think it is worth feeling unappreciated or being worried. about my job security.
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    Puzzleheaded_Yam7582 • 22h ago Sure. I'm always on call though - I have direct team members working in nearly every timezone. Unlike OP, my boss doesn't give a about monitoring my time. CEO wants best of both worlds.
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    wesblog OP 22h ago Thats a good way to put it.

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