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CEO Tells Employees To “Go Somewhere Else” If They Want To Work From Home And They Understood The Assignment

The pandemic taught us so many things about ourselves, about other people and about how it is actually not necessary to physically go to work if it involves sitting in front of your computer all day.

It showed companies that they don’t need those huge office spaces and that they could save some money if they would downsize as there will always be a group of people who prefer working from home and what is more, they can search for talent in other areas of the city, the country or even overseas as location doesn’t matter anymore.

However, there are companies who are eager to make their workers return to the offices as soon as possible, sometimes even ignoring that the pandemic is slowing down for a while just to come back even stronger.

But employees got used to working from home, not needing to commute or sit surrounded by colleagues, so if they are being forced to return to the office, they just quit. As this Redditor and his colleagues did when they were presented with a plan of getting rid of remote work.

More info: Reddit

This CEO told his employees that they should go work somewhere else if they want to work from home and they did

CEO Tells Employees To “Go Somewhere Else” If They Want To Work From Home And They Understood The Assignment

Image credits: Shane Adams (not the actual photo)

The Original Poster (OP) by the username Icerman used to work as a team lead in a company that developed apps. Like many companies, this one allowed their employees to work from home since the start of the pandemic when it was clear that it was a serious problem.

There were people who joined the company during this time and they haven’t even been to the office as there was no need and it was safer that way. Some people in the OP’s team were not even in the same city and worked from so far away, they were in different time zones.

When the pandemic started, the company allowed their employees to work from home and hired people from places where they don’t even have offices

CEO Tells Employees To “Go Somewhere Else” If They Want To Work From Home And They Understood The Assignment

Image credits: Icerman

The employees weren’t worried because everyone thought that this was how work would proceed in the future. But at the end of the summer of last year, the executives of the company decided that it was about time to make a plan to return to the office.

The people who were hired to work remotely were told they didn’t have to worry about working from the office as the policy would be flexible but eventually they realized that this was not the case and they were expected to move to a city with an office within a year.

But in the middle of the pandemic, they created a plan to gradually return to their offices

CEO Tells Employees To “Go Somewhere Else” If They Want To Work From Home And They Understood The Assignment

Image credits: Icerman

People were not enthusiastic about it at all. The CEO told them that it would be beneficial for the company’s spirit. But there were people who didn’t want to move with the whole family when the easiest solution would be to just let them continue to work remotely.

The CEO was relentless and didn’t care about their employees’ worries and suggestions. They that suggested people just leave the company if they like working from home, so much as it will not be happening there. Little did they know that the workers would take that to heart.

For those who were unhappy about this decision, the CEO suggested they just go find another job

CEO Tells Employees To “Go Somewhere Else” If They Want To Work From Home And They Understood The Assignment

Image credits: Icerman

Even though changing a job is stressful, the employees of this company seriously considered the suggestion. After this announcement, the atmosphere in the company was really sad as it was evident people were leaving. There were no people chatting in Slack channels or joining company meetings so the intention to keep the company’s spirit led to killing it completely.

Another reason why people didn’t hesitate to leave was that they were underpaid and they realized that. So it was completely clear that the company was doing what they thought was best for them and not their workers.

The CEO didn’t care if their employees would have to move with their whole families and were promised a flexible policy about working from home

CEO Tells Employees To “Go Somewhere Else” If They Want To Work From Home And They Understood The Assignment

Image credits: Icerman

The OP said that their team initially had 8 people and only 2 decided to stay and comply with the new policy. Icerman has knowledge that the company is still looking for new people and are struggling to keep things going.

If you’re curious what happened to the OP, he reveals that he found a job that paid more, required less time and was not as stressful, so it really worked out for the best.

So the employees took the suggestion seriously and began leaving one by one to better places

CEO Tells Employees To “Go Somewhere Else” If They Want To Work From Home And They Understood The Assignment

Image credits: Icerman

Many more people are doing the same, actually. Maybe the company had other problems that would have prompted workers to leave and the obligatory work from the office was the last straw. However, companies are experiencing what has been called The Great Resignation.

The term was coined by Anthony Klotz, an organizational psychologist and professor at Texas A&M University who predicted that people would quit their jobs in large numbers if they were forced to return to offices.

A Morning Consult survey showed that almost half of respondents with an office job that now work from home said they would consider quitting if their employers tried to make them return to the office before they felt it was safe to do so.

CEO Tells Employees To “Go Somewhere Else” If They Want To Work From Home And They Understood The Assignment

Image credits: Icerman

The OP also left and turns out being forced to do that led him to finding a better-paying job with less stress

CEO Tells Employees To “Go Somewhere Else” If They Want To Work From Home And They Understood The Assignment

Image credits: Icerman

So employers should think before suggesting their workers quit and before trying to force them to return, as the story of Icerman may not be an isolated event.

Other redditors were happy that the OP is now in a better place in his career and thought that their coworkers were right to quit if they felt that working from an office was not for them. What is your take on the story? Do you think this will become common and do you think that companies will adjust their working from the office policies? Let us know in the comments!

People in the comments expressed how they can’t understand why companies do that and thought the company deserved the mass quitting

CEO Tells Employees To “Go Somewhere Else” If They Want To Work From Home And They Understood The Assignment

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Having started as a content creator that made articles for Bored Panda from scratch I climbed my way up to being and editor and then had team lead responsibilities added as well. So it was a pretty natural transition from writing articles and titles as well as preparing the visual part for the articles to making sure others are doing those same tasks as I did before well, answering their questions and guiding them when needed.

Saulė Tolstych

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Saulė is a photo editor at Bored Panda with bachelor's degree in Multimedia and Computer Design. The thing that relaxes her the best is going into YouTube rabbit hole. In her free time she loves painting, embroidering and taking walks in nature.

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Kristin Ingersoll 2 years ago

It's all about trust. They don't trust the employees to actually work while they're at home. Ironically, they get a lot more out of me when I work from home. I work longer, and happier. I'm able to take care of personal business quickly, without making any impact on my work. I work for a very large, international corporation and it took the pandemic for them to realize that they got the same, if not better, results allowing those who are able to (like not working in retail stores, or out in the field), to work from home. I feel really lucky. And much, MUCH happier.

52points

Orillion 2 years ago

It really depends from person to person. I, for one, can not be trusted to work from home, and I know it.

20points

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Callie C 2 years ago

WFH isn't a game. You must actually be responsible for yourself, there's no nanny to chase you back to your desk. People who are stronger, more mentally disciplined and eager to work in an environment that lets them work distraction free are ideal WFH people. Strangely enough, people with ADHD excel at it.

8points

sam wijnberg 2 years ago

nah, it's not trust, if they don't trust you at home, they don't trust you at the office either. it's that the management in place has no idea what KPIs they need to monitor to ensure you are doing your work, it's easier for them to stand over your desk and watch you work.

1point

Blondhrsecrzy2021 2 years ago

I do understand what you mean. Its a completely different work climate than when I started workforce as teen(yeah yeah back in late 80s). But I see the boss/CEO side of things as well. But to expect the remote employees that was hired as such to uproot a year later especially with no help from company is very bad. I'd quit as well. I think its good that younger working peeps actually stand up for their situations. It makes companies more flexible so they can create a more diverse work force. I am one of those types that was taught "the boss is always right" but wouldn't move across zip codes just to sit in a cubicle doing the same work I'd been doing at home the past two years.

0points

Jaybird3939 2 years ago

Not a WFH situation, but I had a boss who was so scared we weren't working while he was on vacay, that he called the day he left (and after) and wanted to speak to each person there, to make sure they showed up, if not on vacation. I didn't last very long there.

0points

KimConic 7136 2 years ago

I agree I told my husband this exact thing. I don't want to work for a company that feels this way.

0points

Phillip Vinson 2 years ago

I disagree with this. I think (most) company leaders do trust employees and give them the benefit of the doubt to get their work done (i.e. treat them as adults). Some employees, like yourself, validate that trust by doing what you're supposed to do and being productive (bringing value to the company). Other employees betray that trust by being less productive or not productive at all, yet still get paid to bring no value to the company. I'm sure you can see how the owners/leaders of the company take exception to that and have to make decisions to ensure the company stays productive. It's not always easy, but it has to be fair. I can't let you stay home while I require Dan to come in, but you both do the same job.

0points

Phyzzi 2 years ago (edited)

Why on earth can't you let the person who is productive at home stay home while asking "Bob" who needs an office environment to be productive to come in? You say you trust your workers and then proceed to substitute absolute "equality" for equity and actual management. If you talk to "Bob" and you say "hey, we notice you aren't super productive at home, would the office work better for you?" you are setting a tone where you are showing that you see a person's situation and are responding to it with respect. If "Bob" says "yeah, that would be great" and you can invite him back, good. If Lisa is super productive from home, but people are coming back to the office, freaking talk to Lisa! "Hey, you seem to thrive on WFH, but people are coming back to the office and we don't want to leave you out, what works for you?". See? Was that so hard?

8points

Queenbee 2 years ago (edited)

Uh huh. We would actually like to hear from the people impacted by your "better work" because most who work from home end up slacking off and creating a nightmare for all who depend on them. I broke my hand on my job and it took over a month to get approved for the care I needed as the case mgr seemed to be too busy to actually read my case and approve therapy, a splint or even light duty work. Plus he and another slacker allowed my case to close 3x and never knew what was going on. I am still waiting for the mgr to formally close the case and until then my pay and work is affected. Bet he is saying he is doing stellar work also. The fact is when you admit during working hours you are able to get "OTHER STUFF DONE" during that time which you will be compensated, you are NOT WORKING FOR THE COMPANY and in fact may be stealing company time especially if you work on an hourly basis. It might make YOU happy but you probably are not as great as YOU think you are st your job. My case mgr is lazy and a slacker and me, by bills and my health are paying a price for that.

-2points

Grace C 2 years ago

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Chich 2 years ago

Far too many people in managment cannot feel 'powerful' unless they are physically looking over someone's shoulder. Can't do that when everyone works remote. Can't see your little empire. I was in mgmt and to be honest I could have cared less where my folks worked from as long as objectives were met. Also, why can't these people grasp the savings in downsizing physical office space?

38points

Dominique Deveraux 2 years ago

That is the only reason. Ego. I used to observe the higher-ups leave the office for lunch or when they would call us and say, "I'm working from home today, little Timmy is sick." Hmm Must be nice to work and fully be there for your family when you had an attitude last week when my kiddo had to be rushed to Urgent Care." Working from home was a perk to them. The pandemic took that away and now they want it back. They can't even think straight because they have to actually do the work they delegated to everyone else.

13points

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kensfarm 2 years ago

You hit it out of park.. totally correct. I was fired after first wave covid.. everyone back to office not wearing masks.. then Delta hit. We completed the biggest projects while WFH.. but IT director couldn't feel important.. and really wasn't needed.

2points

Queenbee 2 years ago

Home workers can be huge , sloppy slackers and a NIGHTMARE for a company's customers.

-3points

David Ventry 2 years ago

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Indra Servo 2 years ago

It's not about CEOs, it's more about how middle managements afraid that they look useless

22points

Naesil 2 years ago

Yep, I'm sure that most of the CEOs will see remote work as a good thing if presented the figures that people actually work, here are the results and here is how much we save when we dont need massive office building with maintenance. Lots of middle management positions however might become obsolete.

6points

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