A parking attendant tickets an employee's car.
Picture does not depict real parties.
It has long been theorized that, amid other social motivations, the real motivation behind return-to-office mandates was to find some renewed use for the lengthy corporate leases that companies were still paying for in the work-from-home years post-2020. That, and work-obsessed managers who were itching to bury themselves back into their careers and escape their families, were all too eager to get back into the office.
It has also been well documented that return-to-office mandates not only significantly increase turnover, but that they actually lead to high-value talent leaving in greater numbers. You would think that this brain drain would be a reason why the long-term outlook of companies that have aggressively instated return-to-office policies faltered soon afterward. Not naming any names here, but there were massive corporations that forced five-day in-office mandates that led to desk shortages in the offices that were under-equipped for the number of staff. You think they would have at least done a headcount first. This, among other capacity limits and space shortages, and plummeting employee morale.
Of course, for some companies, driving people into quitting was the whole point. And while it might be the latest trend to really lean up a company's bottom line to increase profits. But I really do think that this is a great way to trip over quarters to pick up dimes.
Just who is going to give your company that next great idea, and who is going to put in all of that above-average work, when you've demoralized your workforce, including your most invested employees, and forced out your top minds?
Well, if sales drop after your return-to-office mandate, you can always take a leaf out of this company's book and just nickel-and-dime your employees to increase profits. Start charging for parking spaces, put in coin-operated toilets, heck, rip out the plumbing and install vending machines with bottled water as their only source of hydration. It's an MBA's ultimate fantasy.
(Real quick aside here. I'm quite sure at least several of these are completely illegal… either way, this is a joke. Don't actually do this. Ok, thanks.)
This employee shared their story with a popular online workplace community where employees discuss employment grievances. Telling how their employer had instated a wildly unpopular return-to-office mandate and shortly afterward instated a monthly parking fee for all employees who wanted to drive to work and park at the office. The final sentence of their account of events sums things up pretty nicely…
“Being ordered back into a building I don't need to be in and then being charged for the privilege of parking outside it is driving me insane.”
See their story below. It details the alleged events that took place in their workplace. Their account of events sparked discussion on the topic in the viral thread that resulted, some of the select reactions and advice follow the story.
My company forced us back into the office and then started charging us to park there
Story/ProfessionalDog5742
Most of us have been fully remote for the past 4 years, with some people coming in on a hybrid schedule. Zero issues with either setup. A few weeks ago management announced everyone had to come back 5 days a week because they wanted to rebuild company culture.
Fine, whatever.
Today we got an email saying starting next month the employee parking lot is going to cost $80 a month. They apparently hired an outside company to manage it, and employees don't get any kind of discount.
There is basically nowhere else to park around our building. Management has reserved spots underneath the building of course, and those are still free.
One guy asked during our meeting if we could stay remote or hybrid since coming into the office now literally costs us money, and our director said commuting expenses are a personal responsibility.
I'm seriously considering just quitting over this. Being ordered back into a building I don't need to be in and then being charged for the privilege of parking outside it is driving me insane.
A parking notice on a car that hasn't paid the fine.
For contextual reference.
A parking meter at a parking lot, representing the charges to the employees in the story.
Photo is a representation of story scenes.
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