Company announces RTO immediately after employee signs a lease on an apartment 45 minutes away from the office: ‘My manager knew I was moving, I told him directly, he said nothing. HR knew, I updated my address in the system’

Author image for Olivia Arocena
Olivia Arocena • Writer and Editor
Jul 20, 2026 1:45 PM EDT

It's time to RTO

It's hard to think it's all for the best when you just signed the lease on an apartment 45 minutes away from the office you now have to return to. Some things we can't predict, and sadly, we simply have to adjust to. I don't think the company was basing its decisions on what would be suitable for every employee, but more on what was more suitable for the company itself, obviously. That's what every company does. Not because they're inherently evil but because it's kinda impossible to be suitable for everybody. I don't know how big the company this employee is a part of is, but if it's small, he can very well have a chance to discuss things.

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  • man sitting on a car
    via Peter Chirkov

    The man returning to the office

    Subject is a model

  • My company announced RTO two days after I signed a lease on an apartment 45 minutes further from the office

    I moved last year specifically because I'd been remote for three years and my lease was up. My manager knew I was moving, I told him.
    via Junior_Sir1398
  • directly, he said nothing. HR knew, I updated my address in the system. I found a place I really liked that was further from the city, cheaper, more space,
    via Junior_Sir1398
  • actually have a proper home office setup now. Signed the lease on a Friday. The RTO email went out the following Monday.
    via Junior_Sir1398
  • Three days a week, effective in six weeks. I sat with that for a bit. Then I went back through my emails to check if I'd missed any signals and
    via Junior_Sir1398
  • there was nothing, no hints in any all hands, no rumors from people I know in other departments, nothing. Just the announcement.
    via Junior_Sir1398
  • I'm 45 minutes away on a good day, closer to an hour and fifteen if there's traffic which there usually is in the morning. So we're talking potentially 2.5
    via Junior_Sir1398
  • hours of commuting on three days a week. I looked into breaking the lease, the penalty is significant enough that it's not really viable. I raised it with my
    via Junior_Sir1398
  • man using laptop
    via Kyle Loftus

    The man working from home

    Stock photo

  • manager who said he understood but that the policy came from above him and he had no flexibility on it. I asked HR if there were exceptions
    via Junior_Sir1398
  • for people who had relocated with no notice of a policy change and was told exceptions would be considered case by case, which seems to mean no.
    via Junior_Sir1398
  • I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet. Still processing it honestly
    via Junior_Sir1398
  • SoCaliTrojan We have people who live 2 hours away because they want a nice house. They don't mind the commute, or they take the bus or train. This was before the pan mic when we had to come in every day. I'm sure they are thrilled to only come in 3 days a week now.
    via Junior_Sir1398
  • Dailysunray They don't care and you should already know this. maybe you will get lucky and get an extra day at home but for now be glad it's not full time RTO
    via Junior_Sir1398
  • False_Ad_2744 "I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet" simple answer is you're going to get in your car and drive to work.
    via Junior_Sir1398
  • pocket watch
    via Andrik Langfield

    The employee calculating time

    Illustrative picture

  • I don’t think I ever had a say about my schedule. Every time I lived far away from school or any institution, I mean, schedules and locations were out of my control, and it was up to me if I chose to accept them; whether I lived three hours away or three minutes, it didn’t matter. I’m used to thinking that’s just the way those things work. I do understand there is a small opening to discussion when it was allowed to work from home like two days ago and now it isn’t. I mean, you can always talk to your manager and say, what if I keep working from home? I guess the worst outcome is that they say no, and then again, it’s up to you if you get in your car and drive 45 minutes or change jobs. Do you think this employee really has a say in this matter, or is he just too upset to see this is not up to him to discuss?



     

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workplace-stories toxic-workplace work workplace toxic-work-environment
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